My Bracket After Round 4

My bracket heading into the Final Four of the Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament

My NCAA Bracket Update

My bracket updated after round three of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

Man Pays Water Bill with Check Written on Toilet Paper

An upstate New York man embroiled in a dispute over his water bill is not being allowed to pay off his debt with a check written on toilet paper. Ron Borgna tried to settle his $2,509.66 bill with a check written on floral print, two-ply toilet paper Wednesday.

It has always been my understanding that a check that included all the necessary information and was properly signed had to be honored regardless of what it was written on.

Read more ...
Man writes check on 2-ply toilet paper - - msnbc.com

Digitally Visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Footnote.com has digitized the entire Viet Nam Memorial wall and made it free to view. The image was assembled from 6,301 images photographed by Peter Krogh and stitched by Darren Higgins. It is 400,000 pixels by 12,500 pixels.

The 58,320 names on the wall can be browsed by all, enlistment type, service branch, or hometown. You can chose to learn more about a name such as full name, rank, specialty, and hometown. Images and comments can be added. Military data is based on information supplied from The National Archives.

You will need to zoom the image several times before you can read any names. Because the image is so large it takes a few moments to refresh when you zoom, so be patient.

See it ... Vietnam Veterans Memorial (The Vietnam Wall) : Footnote.com

What's Better Than Good Stuff Free?

What's better than good stuff free?

This is an extensive list of The Web's best free stuff compiled by Preston Gralla and Erik Larkin of PC World and IDG News Service

My NCAA Bracket Round 2

My NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament bracket through Round 2

Really Old Beaver

I've got TV Land on with a really old Leave It to Beaver. Wally is not Tony Dow, and he has different friends. Ward is not Hugh Beaumont. Lumpy's dad isn't Lumpy's dad, but works for a milk company. This must be the pilot episode. I don't think I ever saw it before.

It's about Wally and Beaver collecting 1000 bottle caps to win a bicycle from a TV show. But there really was no contest. Wally's buddies had made it up. But the milk company gives them a new bike anyway. Ward then explains to the boys why it would be wrong to keep the bicycle.

How much did we learn about appropriate behavior from TV like Leave it to Beaver and The Andy Griffith Show? How much did our parents learn about parenting?

Bounce, Bounce, Bounce

I realized I had an error in the post yesterday of my First Round NCAA Tournament results. I had Clemson beating Villanova, opposite the actual outcome. So I was 25-7 in round one.

As for round two, I took a big hit when Pitt went down. I had them into the Final Four. For awhile, too, it looked like UCLA might get bumped out which would have eliminated the right side of my Final Four bracket. Fortunately, the Bruins pulled it out. Stanford gave me some anxious moments, going into OT and hitting the winner under 2 seconds remaining. West Virginia's upset of Duke was painful, too. Duke did not look good in either of the two games they played. They got back cut far too many times.

I'm glad the college 3 point arc is moving back. I think teams take too many threes when they could be getting the ball inside. I also think there are too many threes taken too quickly instead of making the defense play.

I'm kind of on BB overload right now. I feel like it's keeping me from other things I'd like to be doing. But, I still love it. 

My Round 1 Results

St Paddy's Day Snow Storm

On my first teaching job at West View JHS in Pittsburgh, I was told by an older lady, a science teacher, that there is always a significant snowfall within a week or so of St Patrick's Day. That was in 1973. I have taken note ever since. It has always happened, though I was beginning to think it might miss this year. But as these images show, she's right again.

The Irony of it All

Does anyone else see the irony of having Dennis Hopper do commercials urging retirement planning?

"You gotta have a plan."

How Much is $12 Billion-a-Month?

This article reports on a study by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Bilmes that the war in Iraq will cost about $12 billion dollars a month in 2008.

Studies: Iraq a $12 billion-a-month war - Conflict in Iraq- msnbc.com

A little simple arithmetic means the war costs a family of four in America about $150 a month. What would en extra $150 a month in the family bank account mean?

DST: A Brief History

Daylight Saving Time was first conceived by Benjamin Franklin in a 1784 essay. Daylight Saving Time has been in use in the US and many European countries since World War 1. President Franklin Roosevelt implemented full time Daylight Saving Time (War Time) during World War 2.

Prior to passage of the Uniform Time Act of 1966, the observance of Daylight Saving Time was determined by local laws and varied widely throughout the US. This law set the beginning of Daylight Saving Time as the last Sunday of April continuing until the last Sunday of October. However, states could opt out by passing their own legislation.

The beginning and end of Daylight Saving Time in the US has been altered several times over the years since.

In 1974, President Nixon signed the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act of 1973 into law. This extended Daylight Saving Time from January 6 until October 27, 1974.

Now, in most of the US, Daylight Saving Time runs from the second Sunday in March to the last Sunday in November. Daylight Saving Time is not observed in Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and a few other locations.

In Europe, Summer Time runs from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October.

Daylight Saving Time changes our clocks to shift an hour of daylight from early morning to late evening. The two predominant reasons for the implementation of Daylight Saving Time are supposed energy savings and more daylight for leisure activities. The former is somewhat in dispute as the result a recent study by Matthew Kotchen and Laura Grant (University of California in Santa Barbara).

Read much more about the history of Daylight Saving Time at webexhibits.org.

Inspector Clouseau Would Love This

In a small village in southwestern France it is against the law to die and violators will be severely punished. Exactly how is not clear.

In an ordinance posted in the council offices, Mayor Gerard Lalanne told the 260 residents of the village of Sarpourenx that "all persons not having a plot in the cemetery and wishing to be buried in Sarpourenx are forbidden from dying in the parish."

It seems this unusual ordinance has arisen as a result of the local cemetery being full up.

The rest of the story …
Cemetery full, mayor tells locals not to die | Oddly Enough | Reuters

Fifty Years On ...

A friend emailed this to me this morning ...

SCHOOL -- 1958 vs. 2008

Scenario : Jack goes quail hunting before school, pulls into school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack.

1958 - Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.

2008 - School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.

Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.

1958 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.

2008 - Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.

Scenario: Jeffrey won't be still in class, disrupts other students.

1958 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by the Principal. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.

2008 - Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.

Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his neighbour's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.

1958 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.

2008 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. Billy's sister tells state psychologist that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has affair with psychologist.

Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school .

1958 - Mark shares aspirin with Principal out on the smoking dock.

2008 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.

Scenario : Pedro fails high school English.

1958 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college.

2008 - Pedro's cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English banned from core curriculum. Pedro given diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.

Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed.

1958 - Ants die.

2008 - ATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated, Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

Scenario: Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him.

1958 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.

2008 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.

It's truth is what makes it so funny!

Wow! Some People Will Do Anything to Miss Work

Another one for the Stupid Files ...
A man gets his buddy to shoot him in the shoulder to avoid going to work.

Officials: Wash. man took bullet to skip work - USATODAY.com