Laughter is a connection between all humans. We all laugh. And it appears that we have been laughing at the same types of things for years and years.. I found this list of the ten oldest jokes. Some were funny, some not so funny. I haven’t toured the whole site so I don’t know how kid friendly it is, but that page was OK.

It does remind me of a story I read years ago. A scientist was studying humor and came to the conclusion that it was part of an extra-terrestrial project. I just can’t remember who wrote the story or where/when I found it. The conclusions in that story were a bit different than the oldest jokes though… I’ll have to find it know and share the author/story title.

Ok, there is a war on drugs, a war on terror, a war on wars, but now awar on beer pong.

I never really heard of this game until I was with some young people just after my daughter’s wedding last summer. I never really saw much point to the game, and it seemed to me that the people playing were drinking just as much beer while playing the game as they were forced to by the other team making a point. Not much to the game at all.

But it was going to be released for the Wii and all heck breaks loose. I can see why you wouldn’t want to condone the game, but it isn’t any worse than some of the other games out there. Judge it with you Dollars folks. If you don’t like it don’t buy it. Bad products will fade away in time. Drawing it to our attention in the news is just free advertising. I didn’t see it there, but I wonder if beer pong spread anymore after the announcement of the beer pong fight…

Oh well…

Anyone care to join me the the Star Trek drinking game. 😉

This blog does not condone the use/abuse of alcohol. Please remember don’t drink and drive. Alcohol should only be used by adults over the age of 21.

IF you don’t like anything you read here, you can just ignore it. It may just go away on its own.

… and other food stuffs. I mentioned IHOP in the previous post. It was always a favorite place to stop when the girls were much younger. Especially on Sundays. Sundays used to be “Kids eat free” day. Now, you had to buy 1 adult meal for each free child’s meal, but any amount we could save would be a good thing. Things like this made going to IHOP the same cost as going to a fast food place. We were waited on too. Many other restaurants also offered the same type of deal. It was a great way to be able to have a good meal for a very reasonable cost.

Anyway, my lovely wife really liked IHOP . A favorite of hers were the blueberry waffles or pancakes. Topped with more blueberry syrup. I preferred the boysenberry. What got me was the last time I was in a IHOP, they didn’t have the boysenberry syrup. They also didn’t bring the Hot maple flavored syrup to the table. The four flavors of syrup at the table were Maple, Walnut, Strawberry and Blueberry. I missed the boysenberry and the hot syrup. I’m not sure if this was a local restaurant thing, it now covers all IHOPs

And that brings me to another pancake house, Perkins. In my younger days, my friends and I would spend many hours in that establishment. As long as we kept the blueberry pancakes away from Bill, everything was fine. Bill hated anything to do with blueberries.. And we loved teasing him about it too. That Perkins Restaurant is closed now, and it looks as though I would have to travel many a mile out of my usual range to get to one. Maybe on some cross country trip, I’ll have to find one on the way, just to relive old memories.

HELLO EVERY PEOPLE!!!! I a come back live from seeing Abdula Obalamadingdong.  I a must say that I a not understand something on the tv box.  I a no understand how Obalamadingaling is a responsible for a the price of the gas in America country.  He a must go to the place of gas and change all a the pricing.  But, I a come a to Edgertown to once again visit with the strange person.

Today, I a go to this Flag Festival to see him a sing in a choir.  WOOLY SHEEP!!! There were a lot of a peoples on the stage under a tent to a sing the songs.  All a these peoples sitting in the chairs watching the a people look like they very hot… waving fans, pogrmas.  I a thought it a just right.  Lithwathistan summer gets up a to 102 degrees on a cool day.  So, it was a little cool for Morat.  The a people sing many, many songs about America country.  I a think I hear something like “Your Land This Is,” “Beautiful the America Country,” “Doodle Yankee,”(what a dis Doodle, Morat not understand) “America County Anthem,” and many other music songs.  Strange person, he a read Oath of Citizenship.  Morat a must think about becoming a America country citizenship.  I A LOVE AMERICA COUNTRY!!!

While I a walk with strange person back a to his home, the cousin of strange person ask if we like a ride.  Strange person say he a tired and his foot fall asleep from standing on the a rising stairs for long time.  It a been years since he a had to stand in one place for a so long (45 minutes).  I a tell him about songs of Liswathistan like “My Poor Liswathistan,” “The a Song of Sad Yanish,” or a one of my favorites, “Carry a Me to a Little Muddy Water for a Swim with a My Dog Name a Mushinta,” and “Vladamir Goes a to Flaksington.”

So… next day I a go to Christopher Columbustown to OHHO Fair.  I will a come back soon and EVERYONE WINS!!!

You’d think that these three foods would be easy to serve for a meal. Not so fast in these times. You can get all three in the frozen food section, but outside of toaster waffles, I don’t care for any of them. Pancakes should be easy, but there are different recipes for these and some the girls like, and others they don’t. You have your Bisquick pancakes, blueberry pancakes, Buckwheat pancakes, corn fritters, apple fritters, and so on. We generally stick to our tried and true recipe. I guess I should copy that out of the cookbook before in falls completely apart.

Waffles, well you have to have a special device (the waffle iron) to make them, or just buy the frozen toaster waffles. I said I like the toaster waffles, but I do like the home made better. Then you could always get a Belgian waffle iron if you want waffles with deeper pockets/holes. Do you want round or square waffles? Hmmm, seems like you can have as many choices as the pancakes.

But french toast, I grew up with one and only one type of French toast. Mom would either cook it on the griddle or she could bake it in the oven. Both ways, the french toast tasted exactly the same. Then I got married, my lovely wife’s family had a different version of french toast. It was a heavy batter dip, compared to the Egg and milk dip used by my family. It was tasty, but very, very filling. I found it was cheap to make too. So my little family grew up with my wife’s family recipe for french toast. Now they don’t care for the kind I grew up with (tastes too much like egg!!). Oh well, they are getting older now, and soon I’ll be able to make it the way I want. Or better yet, go to IHOP and order the stuffed french toast. Good eating, and now I’m hungry.

No toaster waffles, so I guess I can wait till morning…

Some of the most fascinating parts of a Bond film are the opening credits. All but the original movie opens with an action packed opening scene follow by what could be considered a pre-cursor to the music video. Most of them feature tantalizing, scantily-clad (or less) beauties often in silhouette. Accompanying these scenes are 21 songs by artists of today or others who have gone by the wayside. While some of the songs have been more popular than others, only one has topped the US singles charts and two have been Academy Award nominees. In the opening to For Your Eyes Only, singer Sheena Easton became the first performer to actually appear in the video. This marked the first time the performer appeared in the credits video. One singer has performed two memorable themes. In one of the latest films, a singer/actress had a brief (THANK YOU) cameo.

After troubled performer Amy Winehouse was deemed incapable to record and Paul McCartney could not create a rhyme for the word “solace,” Alicia Keys and Jack White (?… is he the twin brother of Jack BLACK who was accidentally switched at birth?) are recording the first duet to be used as a Bond theme.

By clicking on the link, you can test your knowledge (whatever it may be) of just 10 of the 21 themes. I had to brilliantly guess on a few of them; however, I did slightly better than Dr. “Oh” No ranking. Or you can reminisce by posting your favorite Bond theme, for those who like such things. Mine is the instrumental theme to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service which is very underrated as is the movie (unfortunately… as I find it one of the best and different from most).

Ok, all you Dark Knight fans, I want to know who would dress up as one of the Batman bad guys and then try to rob a movie theater of its Batman posters? Maybe he thought there would be many other dressed the same way, but this wasn’t the first weekend of the show. Most of the movie goers that dress in costume will go on the first day, or at the very latest the first weekend. Well, it happened in Detroit. What was he thinking?

Now most who know me, know that I love to talk about ways to commit crimes. Someday, when I grow up, I would like to write a decent mystery/murder story. I just have some problems with developing characters, that is a story for another day. I can come up with good plots, and even a way to write about the crime and throw out a few false clues. But never in my wildest dreams would I come up with this sort of crime. I mean at the very least this guy should have been robbing a bank, but no, he wants Batman stuff. And how does he try to get it? Dress up as the Joker, and steal it during the Sunday Morning show…. Hmm…. There are a lot less people at the movie theaters for those early Sunday shows, but guess what guy, you’re going to stand out like a sore thumb in that Joker getup. He would have had a much better chance putting on a pair of Dockers and a dark shirt. That would have given him a chance of looking like one of the theater workers.

Oh well, it takes all kinds. I think he could make it in a Dumb crooks list somewhere.

The other day, I ate something that disagreed with me just a little bit. Sparing you any of the details, let’s just say I was awake most of the night. I tried going to work the next day, but between stomach problems and the lack of sleep, I just couldn’t finish the day. This morning I thought I should stay home for a bit just to make sure I was in better health. So what did I do? Well, I slept… I guess I needed a bit of sleep because I did go to bed early last night and then slept a good portion of this morning away. I normally don’t do that unless I’ve been out with friend ’till the wee hours of the morning.

Anyway, I guess I shouldn’t have done that this morning. Now I’m wide awake and ready to go. No late night ballgames to listen to, I really not into watching movies late at night, so what do I do, I check my blog. Not really a lot going on here either. Web surfing, not much going on at the places I frequent, but I haven’t checked them all. I just put down a book at a convenient stopping place, I don’t want to keep reading only to leave something hanging when the urge to sleep does hit me.

I did see a news report earlier that I thought would make an interesting blog… If I could only find it before I get tired…. Until I find it, I will subject my readers to mindless rambling. I don’t call this blog “Random Thoughts” for no reason. Every once in a while I need to clear my head of all the things in it. This bit a trivia, or that bit, or even things I’m just thinking about. Tonight it is sleep and/or the lack of it.

I’m off to search for the news story I sort of remember, I just wish I could remember where I saw it….

A friend at work loaned me a book that she thought I would like. The authors of the book were Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. The story was one of a series and the title was “Brimstone”. A very good book revolving around a New Jersey Cop and an FBI agent. I’ve learned that this book was part of a continuing series of D’Agosta and Pendergast stories. Each one dealing with some strange crime. They could be weird science disguised as occult, or even ‘real’ monsters. The story telling was gripping, and these books are very hard for me to put down. Some were a little tense for late night reading, but all of them kept my attention.

I’ve read the following and am working on the others. I would recommend them for any who likes good mysteries.

Relic — First book in the series
Brimstone — not sure where this is in the series, but I think there is more than one book before this one
Dance of Death — Follows right after Brimstone

For those of you who live in my area, forget the local library for a month or so, I just checked out the following

Reliquary — 2nd book I think
The Wheel of Darkness
The Book of the Dead
and Mount Dragon — Not part of the above series.

Good reading..

I meant to post this a few days ago in response to the conviction of Ralph Lewis in the fatal accident that killed 16-year-old Corey Diamond (CLICK HERE FOR STORY).  Apparently the jury didn’t take much time, under three hours in fact, in deciding that yes, he is guilty of first-degree murder.  This story made me wonder just what constitutes first-degree murder.  I had always thought that first-degree murder was a premeditated killing.  The killer planned to kill someone and then carried it out.  Maybe the plan wasn’t always long and drawn out, but could have been mere seconds ago, “Okay, I’ve drawn my gun and I’m going to shoot you now.”  That would cover killing police and vicims in armed robbery.

So what happened in the case of Ralph Lewis killing Corey Diamond?  Well, apparently Lewis was trying to get away from police after a botched attempt to make a purchase from a store using false ID.  He wove in and out of traffic and through red lights until finally smashing into the car where Diamond was a passenger.  Now, in my mind, first-degree murder in this death would have meant Lewis thought to himself while trying to get away from the police, “Hey, here’s a car with some people in it- I think I’ll just crash my truck into it and see if I can kill anyone.”  This of course is not what happened and even the article discussing his conviction doesn’t say it happened this way.  So it would seem that I am wrong in what constitutes first-degree murder.  Here’s what Wikipedia says about the subject:

After the Supreme Court placed new requirements on the imposition of the death penalty, most states adopted one of two schemes. In both, third degree murder became the catch-all, while first degree murder was split. The difference was whether some or all first degree murders should be eligible for the most serious penalty (generally death, but sometimes life in prison without the possibility of parole.).

• The first scheme, used by Pennsylvania among other states:

1. First Degree Murder: A premeditated murder, and (in some states) murders involving certain especially dangerous felonies, such as arson or rape, or committed by an inmate serving a life sentence.
2. Second Degree Murder: Non pre-meditated killing.
3. Third Degree Murder: Any other murder.

• The second scheme, used by New York among other states, as well as the Model Penal Code:

1. First Degree Murder: Murder involving special circumstances, such as murder of a police officer, judge, fireman or witness to a crime; multiple murders; and torture or especially heinous murders. Note that a “regular” premeditated murder, absent such special circumstances, is not a first-degree murder; murders by poison or “lying in wait” are not per se first-degree murders. First degree murder is pre-meditated. ^[55] However, the New York Court of Appeals struck down the death penalty as unconstitutional in the case of People v. Taylor.^[56]
2. Second Degree Murder: Any premeditated murder or felony murder that does not involve special circumstances.^[57]

The death of Corey Diamond doesn’t seem to fit the definition of any of these.  But then Wikipedia just has a generalized definition for the entire US.  As this happened in Illinois, a look at IL law is necessary.  From the Illinois Criminal Code of 1961:

(a) A person who kills an individual without lawful justification commits first degree murder if, in performing the acts which cause the death:

(1) he either intends to kill or do great bodily harm

to that individual or another, or knows that such acts will cause death to that individual or another; or

(2) he knows that such acts create a strong

probability of death or great bodily harm to that individual or another; or

(3) he is attempting or committing a forcible felony

other than second degree murder.

The rest of this section of code is about the death penalty.  As far as this case goes, apparently they got Lewis on the second one listed.  My own thought on first-degree murder seems to be contained in the first part and so was clearly limited, at least in Illinois law.  So it sounds like any time someone does something that they know could lead to “a strong probability of death or great bodily harm” to someone they could be found guilty of first-degree murder.  Is it just me or does this seem kind of broad?  Say in the classic example of moving a very heavy object like a piano or safe either to or from a second (or higher) story room using a rope and going through the window.  Now suppose, also from the classic example, that the rope breaks just as someone is passing under so that the piano/safe kills the person.  By Illinois law, the people moving the piano/safe are guilty of first-degree murder since they knew there was a possibility that the rope could break, causing the death of anyone who happens to be passing below at the time!

Am I just being pedantic about all of this, or does this case make you wonder too?  I’m not saying that Lewis was completely innocent of everything and should walk away scott-free.  Crimes were clearly committed, but should one of them have been counted first-degree murder?  Please discuss.