Oh, great! Now we are going to have to not only take off our shoes at the airport but also ours hats. And our monkeys.
My favorite part of the story:
When passengers noticed the fist-sized primate on the flight, they asked the man “if he knew he had a monkey on him“, Ms Russell said.
Story #1: A NASA report says that at least two astronauts have flown drunk. Personally, if I was sitting on top of that much rocket fuel and about to be blasted into space, I’d need to be drunk too. Real drunk. Maybe NASA will install one of those car breathalyzer systems in the shuttle. Full story here.
Story #2: A computer due to be delivered to NASA had been intentionally damaged. The computer system was to be used on the space station. Apparently, someone has a bit of a grudge, a really bad day, something. I’d hate to be the subcontractor’s program manager delivering that news… “You know that really expensive computer system that you ordered. Yeah, the one that’s supposed to go up on the shuttle. Well, funny thing…” Full story here.
Story #3: Old story, but still bizarre. The latest about Lisa Nowak.
What Jeff Listens To — This Week is an occassional feature on my site which highlights, well, what I have been listening to this week. Pretty self-explanatory. Some of these are programs that made me laugh. Some made me think. Some made me almost cry. Some just made for good background noise while I worked. Hope you enjoy.
[iTunes] - Free download available through 7-29-07
The Opening Lines of the radio program:
Host Ira Glass: Edward was just a little boy when he was switched from regular classes to special ed. It was kindergarten. And he viewed the move as a big step up.
Edward: I thought it was cool because when you think of the word special, meaning, like, special. You know, like good. A good thing. And like, with my name being Edward. I thought it was kind of built for me.
Ira Glass: Oh, like, Ed meant you.
Edward: Yeah.
I love Act One. It’s about the interviewers from a documentary called How’s Your News?. I want to watch that show now after listening to this segment. It sounds great! Act Two scares me, but makes me hopeful at the same time.
Good show this week. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald plays the game called, “We are so not going to ask you about Scooter Libby!” All questions not about Scooter Libby.
I first heard about the StoryCorps project some years ago. I’ve been fascinated with it ever since. I tried, unsuccessfully, to reserve a spot for my wife and I when the travelling booth came through Austin.
If you’ve never heard of StoryCorps, I’ll let them explain the project in their own words:
StoryCorps is a national project to instruct and inspire people to record one another’s stories in sound.
StoryCorps is modeled — in spirit and in scope — after the Works Progress Administration (WPA) of the 1930s, through which oral history interviews with everyday Americans across the country were recorded. These recordings remain the single most important collection of American voices gathered to date. We hope that StoryCorps will build and expand on that work, becoming a WPA for the 21st Century.
You can search the archives here or receive a daily podcast through iTunes.
A few of my recent favorites:
“Liddy did things on her own schedule” (Thom and Karen Horsey remember their daugher, Liddy, who had Cornelia de Lange Syndrome. Liddy died from an illness unrelated to CdLS.)
“My father was everything to me” (Dr. William Lynn Weaver to his daughter, Kimberly.)
“I had never been to the circus before” (Surviving the Hartford Circus Fire of 1944)
“A car drove up late evening” (Trudy Henry tells her daughter Jan Scoggins about some unexpected visitors.)
“Who is important in your life right now?” (LeKeisha Williams interviews her best friend, Tia Williams.)
[Audio (Explicit)] | [iTunes - Audio (Explicit)] | [iTunes - Video (Explicit)]
Sarcasm — gotta love it. I know that many of (OK… most of) the stories are not politically correct or even nice. But they are certainly funny and sarcastic.
The audio and video podcasts have different content.
Favorite line from video podcast of July 26, 2007: “Nobody’s going to trade oil for sticks.”
“I would like to buy three dollars’ worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul, or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk, or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation. I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want about a pound of the eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy three dollars’ worth of God, please.” –Wilbur Reese
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” — Marianne Williamson*
*I heard this in the movie Akeelah and the Bee with an incorrect attribution to Nelson Mandela. Good movie.
My wife and I went for a walk last night near the UT campus. I saw what I thought at first was a large, ugly cat walking across the street. But then I realized that it was a large, ugly raccoon.
It was walking across a grassy area between the road and the sidewalk when it encountered a squirrel. The raccoon sped up a little as if it were going to attack the squirrel. The squirrel took a couple of steps back but stood its ground.
Then as the raccoon started to walk away the squirrel actually chased after it. Brave little squirrel.
I wish I had my camera with me.
Don’t Treat Your Employers Better Than They Treat You: Words of wisdom at Violent Acres.
I think I’ve worked in that same department. I shouldn’t have ever given them any notice. If your office doesn’t treat you decently at all, here’s the procedure: Go to the office, clean out your desk, say goodbye as you head for lunch, don’t come back. (Found via digg.com)
I read an interesting article awhile back about why people steal things from the office. I’ll have to see if I can find it again. The main gist was that if employees don’t feel respected and aren’t compensated appropriately, then they will return the disrespect in one form or another and find their own way to make a little extra compensation — no matter how petty it might be.
Joe Rogan vs. Carlos Mencia: According to Joe Rogan, Carlos Mencia steals material. Watch the video. (I miss News Radio | Quotes.)
Escher’s Relativity in Lego by Andrew Lipson: That is just so freaking cool! A re-creation of Escher’s “Ascending and Descending” in LEGO. I always thought that the stairs were an optical illusion that could only happen in two dimensions. Apparently, not.
She is mine and I am hers.
Her God is my God.
She makes me a better person.
She encourages me in all that I do.
She is absolutely gorgeous.
She’ll listen to me babble on about most anything.
She asks me about my day.
She tells me about hers.
She has beautiful brown eyes.
I love her long hair.
She loves the TV show “24″.
When I miss an episode, she can’t wait to tell me about what happened.
She gets scared sometimes.
She allows me to comfort her.
She encourages my passions.
She understands that she does not have to be passionate about the same things that I am passionate about.
She makes me laugh.
I can make her laugh.
She laughs at my silliness.
We are very sarcastic about many things.
She didn’t grow up watching all of the same shows that I did.
She is wonderful with children.
She has great friends.
My friends love her.
My family loves her.
She is passionate about cooking and baking.
She loves cheese.
She is energized by being around people.
I love her hugs.
She’s a great kisser. ;-)
She loves BBQ.
She loves exploring new restaurants with me.
We have great vacations together.
We’ve never had an awkward moment.
She will walk beside me all of my days.
When I’m sad, she consoles me.
When I am happy, she shares in my delight.
When I am tired, she lets me sleep.
She allows me to be myself.
I know that she will always stand beside me no matter what.
I find that I am more myself when I am with her.
My wife is my best friend.
I am her best friend.
When she is sad, she allows me to calm her.
She makes my lunch for me in the mornings even though she doesn’t have to.
She makes me cookies, cake, and other desserts.
She is a great cook and wonderful baker.
We connected with each other from our very first conversation.
I cannot imagine not having her in my life.
We had an incredible wedding.
We’re going to have a great life together.
I am excited to think about the future with her.
We have so much in common.
We have so much that is different.
Family is important to her.
She wants to have children.
She will be an amazing mother.
She lets me have my space when I need it.
She is my ever-present companion and friend.
She makes me feel like the most important person in the world.
I love that she knows that she is the most important person in my life.
I miss her when I am not with her.
She is seeking after her dreams and desires.
My wife loves me dearly.