Oh where, oh where is he.

Oh were is he?  Who am I talking about?  It was forty years ago today when union activist and leader and gangster, Jimmy Riddle Hoffa disappears.  What happened to him?  That is the riddle and that is also his middle name (grin).

He and I do have something in common.  NO!!  I am not a gangster.  He was born on Feb. 14, 1913, exactly 30 years before I was.  Yes we were both Valentine's Day babies, but that is where the similarities end!!  Did you know that he was born in Brazil?  OK, I don't want to mislead you, he was born in Brazil, Indiana.  He just vanished and presumed dead.  He could have died then or he could have just disappeared to keep from dying.  I have no idea which was the case.  If he were alive today he would be 102 years old, so I doubt that he is still alive and kicking.  You know, I hate to say this but I don't miss him at all.  Now, if any of you know where Jimmy is, you will let us know won't you?  Now you all have a great day, you hear!! 

Wondering What Animal Kills the Most Men.

What animal has killed the most humans?  Well that is easy to answer.  In my opinion two things have caused the most human deaths;  other humans and disease.  The smartest creature, man, and the smallest creatures, germs, bacteria, and molds have been responsible for the most human deaths, hands down.

OK, so you say that is cheating, you want to know what animal kills the most people.  I would say, if you classify cold blooded creatures as animals, that snakes would be on top of the list and then would come alligators and crocodiles.  Why just back earlier this month, July 3rd, a young 28 year old fellow named Tommie Woodward was killed by an alligator here in Texas.  Despite warnings, he chose to swim in alligator invested waters, and of course, he was killed by one of them.

Above, I stated that humans cause a lot of deaths.  Back in 2013, 37,719 highway deaths occurred!!  And what about wars?  Yes, we humans are pretty good at killing off ourselves, no help needed from animals.  Of course, at one time animals ruled this earth and I am sure they will regain their reign after mankind is gone.  Only because of science and medicine has man been able to exist in this world that he has over populated and the numbers are still growing.  This does not paint a bright picture for mankind, but insects and animals will probably survive.  They made a test and found out that the cockroach was not affected by radiation. . . that means they could survive a nuclear war.  Now that I have painted such a pretty picture of our future, have a nice day, you hear?

Pictures of the Evening Sky

Last evening, the sky looked really pretty to me and to add to it, the moon was visible.  From where I was standing, the moon was just over the top of the trees:

Of course I had to move to a different location for another shot.  Aren't the pink clouds pretty?

I walked on out the driveway and took another picture:

This last picture is looking west.  The sun had already set, but the sky was still very pretty and bright:

That, my friends, was a sunset from my house and I am sending it to you, my readers, so you can also enjoy it.  Of course pictures did not do it justice, but they do give you an idea of how pretty it was.  Now, I hope all your sunsets and sunrises are beautiful and make sure you have a great day, you hear?

The End of Famous Outlaws.

Yesterday I posted about some famous outlaws.  I think today I will go a step further and tell you about the end of these outlaws.  The first ones on yesterday's blog were Bonnie and Clyde.  The police (four Texas officers and two Louisiana officers) set up an ambush for them on a road to Texas in a heavily wooded area in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

John Dillinger was shot down as he exited a theater in Chicago on July 1934 by police and federal agents.  An informer alerted authorities that Dillinger would be coming out of that theater:  

Bob Ford shot Jesse James in the back as Jesse got up to straighten a picture hanging on the wall.  Bob Ford must have thought that his actions would make him a hero but the opposite was true.

Doc Holiday died from tuberculosis and his last words were, as he looked down at his bare feet, "This is funny."

I believe we all know that Pat Garrett was the one who shot and killed Billy the Kid.  No death pictures so a tombstone with the dates will have to do.

And again, no death picture but a tombstone.  Sam Bass was born in Mitchell, Indiana and was killed in Round Rock, Texas.  He tried running a legitimate business but they must not have done very well because he then turned to a life of crime.  He was wounded in a shoot out with authorities but escaped only to be found lying in a pasture west of Round Rock, TX.  He is buried in Round Rock Cemetery on Sam Bass Road.

I can't find a death picture of Capone, so I guess his tombstone will have to do, too.  Since he had syphilis, it may have caused the stroke that led up to his fatal heart attack.

Well, I believe that covers everyone that I mentioned in yesterday's blog posting.  It seems that a life of crime ends at an early age and usually in death, at least in days gone by.  Now, you all keep out of trouble and have a great day, you hear?

Wondering About Famous Outlaws

Got to thinking about some famous outlaws and decided I wanted to put a face to the names.  I have posted seven pictures of famous outlaws and below the pictures are the names.  Scroll down slow so as to only see the picture and try to guess who they are and then tell me how many you got right.

You know all the movies and television westerns all gave us a picture of the actors who the producers of the show hired to play the parts.  The one that surprised me the most was Doc Holiday.  Maybe it is because I have never seen a picture of the real Doc Holiday before, only actors that played him.  OK, here are the pictures:

Did you know that Bonnie and Clyde were short people?  Yep, Bonnie was 4'-11" and Clyde was 5'-4".

 John Dillinger

 Jesse James

 Doc Holiday

 Billy the Kid

 Sam Bass

And a more modern criminal:

Al Capone

Sam Bass also didn't look like a bad guy, but as you know, looks are deceiving.  Some of the smartest people I have met looked real dumb and visa-versa.  So, it is just as hard or even harder to tell a crook just by what he or she looks like.

I know that none of you are criminals and neither am I, except I have been told that my spelling is a criminal act.  Thank goodness for spell checkers but I can out smart, or should I say, out dumb them. (grin)  Now, you all stay out of trouble and have a great day, you hear? 

Empty Space.

There is more empty space in our universe than there is matter. . . gee, I wonder if that is why they call it space? (grin)

Here, I will zoom in on our little section of the universe:

Yep, you are "here" where the arrow points and most of the time so am I (grin).  There is no way we will ever know about or see all of the universe, unless after the "big bang" is through expanding, it starts to shrink back to a pin point.  Then there will be a gigantic explosion and then it will all start all over again.

Yes, there is a lot of empty space out there but there is also a lot of empty space here on earth.  Even the heavy metal lead (you know Barney, what sinkers are made of for fishing) have a lot of space between molecules, atoms, and whatever other tiny particles may exist.  Now, this next statement should make us all feel sort of insignificant.  

Hey we could all fit into an apple, wow!!  That gives one a different way of looking at the apple in the Garden of Eden, doesn't it.

Just because we can be shrunk down to almost nothing doesn't mean that you are not important.  You all are very important to me and I want you to keep all of your empty space, even though some of it may be in our heads (grin).  Now, have a great day, you hear?

Some Limericks to Enjoy

Limericks are fun and I like fun things, so, today I am going to post some limericks.  I know a few but thought I would find (on the internet) new ones to me and maybe they will be new ones for all of you.  Hope you enjoy at least some of therm.

OK, I hope you got a giggle or two from them.  Let me know which ones you liked the best, and have a great day, you hear?

Bad Day at Work.

Back on my first day at a new job at a nuclear fuel and components plant, I walked into my future boss's office all tensed up and then above his desk I saw a sign like this one:

I felt relieved immediately and figured anyone who would post this sign in his office was my type of guy.  That was years ago and we have been friends ever since.  We now live almost 1500 miles apart but we still communicate to this day.

You know I am retired now but when I worked I actually liked what I was doing.  There were a few bad days, but my job was nowhere near as bad as the fellow in the following clipping:

Some people get sick when they are flying in an airplane, but what happens when an astronaut gets a real bad case of altitude and/or motion sickness or eats something that makes him sick?

No, there are no barf bags built into the space helmets.

This next picture is of a dollar bill.  Quality control must have been asleep or out to lunch when this one got through and out into circulation.  Maybe the printer operator had a rough night the night before and had a really bad hang over?

Talk about having a bad day at work:

The Odd Essay always ends her blog posting with a picture of the rear of something and then says "The End".  So, this is my "The End" picture.  Hey Odd Essay, did I do it right?  Now, you all have a great day whether at work, at home, on vacation or out in space, you hear?

A Post About Stupidity

There is a lot of stupidity in this world.  Some people are just plain stupid and others are only stupid once in awhile.  Of course doing really stupid things can shorten your life expectancy quite a bit.  We have all done stupid things, and yes, even me.  Can you believe that (grin).  But today I am not going to list all the stupid things that I have done, that would be way too long of post and would take days to write and days to read.  Here is what Einstein had to say about stupidity:

Ole George Carlin seems to have a grasp on the situation: 

This next picture looks like it was taken in the wild and that means that crocodile is not tame and that guy is feeding him a little fish.  That fish would be an appetizer and just maybe that man will be the main meal.  What do you think? 

 Now, I bet this next guy will soon get to visit his dentist:

Wow, this guy got a great haircut and mustache trim.

Now in this last picture, someone found a real safe place to store their keys so that they don't get lost and don't get separated from the lock that they are for:

I could have posted a lot more pictures but I think this is enough to prove that stupidity is alive and well in this world.  Now, I know that none of you are stupid, because you read my postings :) , and I want you to have a great day, you hear?

Some Things To Smile About

I hope that I can put a smile on your face today with some of these things I found on the internet.  This first one is the most difficult things to do in the world. . . but I can think of some more difficult activities.

If someone asks the owner of this vehicle what his license plate number is, he could just answer license plate:

This next one makes a lot of sense.  One sure wouldn't want to make the animals sick, so please don't stand, sit, climb, or lean on this fence or you will be sorry:

The placement of this next sign was dead on.

This last one sure does make a lot of sense and is so true, don't you think?

Well, I hope you all are smiling now and I sure hope you have a great day, you hear?

Cartoon From a Friend

Yesterday, I posted about our ninth planet, Pluto.  My friend, Erma, who lives in Pennsylvania, sent me this cartoon about the Pluto Flyby.  It sure gave me a laugh and I hope it gives you one, too:

This cartoon came from the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

Then I got a comment from another friend, The Odd Essay, who mentioned the two fellows who discovered Pluto, Bill and Clyde Tombaugh.  And we can't forget the one who named the planet, an eleven year old girl named Venetia Burney.  She named it Pluto after the Roman god of the underworld.

I just wanted to show you this cartoon in the hopes the you have a great day, you hear?

A Trip to Pluto.

There has been a lot of talk about our ninth planet (downgraded to a minor planet) since our probe took some great pictures of that way out frozen planet.  Since it takes 248 years to make one orbit of the sun, we best take advantage of it while it is as close to Earth as it will be in our lifetime and our grand-kids' lifetime.  Here is a picture taken by our probe:

See the heart shape?  No, I have no idea how it came to be unless it wanted to send its love to us for coming to visit and taking its picture.

Our probe took a close up of the white patch on one of its closer orbits and you can see the cracks and designs in it:

Then, of course there is the other Pluto, the one that has made us all smile and laugh out loud.  Yep, Walt Disney's Pluto:

And before you ask, no, the dog Pluto was not the inspiration for naming the ninth planet Pluto.

Now, you all have a great day and enjoy what all the latest probe to the outer planet will show us, you hear?

A Blastoff I Remember.- Update

Back on July 16, 1959 1969 a Saturn V rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center, it was Apollo 11 and carried the first men to step foot on the moon.  I remember that launch and the landing and the first two men to walk there, Neil Armstrong ad Buzz Aldrin.  They stepped on the moon four days after they left Earth.  The space race was won, and it laid the foundation for flights to come.

Dang, I just noticed that the last sentence above was a one line poem (grin).

OK, how many are like me and remember that historic launch, moon landing, moon walk (not like Michael Jackson's), and all the rocks that they brought back.  In fact, I even touched one of those moon rocks.

I better not forget the fellow who stayed with the moon orbiter, the Command Module Pilot, Michael Collins.  Well, that was my little bit of history for today and I hope it brought back some memories for any of you who are old enough to remember it.  Now have a great day, you hear?
****************
Correction, I made a typo in my first line and my friend Erma caught it.  The date should be 1969, not 1959.  Sorry for the error.

Faith and Good Answers

Some people try to test a persons faith.  They believe that they are logical people and faith and prayer are fruitless exercises.  I tend to disagree.  Faith and prayer have helped me immensely through the years.  I found this story on the internet this morning and it is an explanation of this and it may also give you a little chuckle or two: 

A boy was sitting on a park bench with one hand resting on an open Bible. He was loudly exclaiming his praise to God. "Hallelujah! Hallelujah! God is great!" he yelled without worrying whether anyone heard him or not. 

 Shortly after, along came a man who had recently completed some studies at a local university. Feeling himself very enlightened in the ways of truth and very eager to show this enlightenment, he asked the boy about the source of his joy. 
  
 "Hey" asked the boy in return with a bright laugh, "Don't you have any idea what God is able to do? I just read that God opened up the waves of the Red Sea and led the whole nation of Israel right through the middle." 

 The enlightened man laughed lightly, sat down next to the boy and began to try to open his eyes to the "realities" of the miracles of the Bible. "That can all be very easily explained. Modern scholarship has shown that the Red Sea in that area was only 10-inches deep at that time. It was no problem for the Israelites to wade across." 

 The boy was stumped. His eyes wandered from the man back to the Bible laying open in his lap. The man, content that he had enlightened a poor, naive young person to the finer points of scientific insight, turned to go. 

Scarcely had he taken two steps when the boy began to rejoice and praise louder than before. The man turned to ask the reason for this resumed jubilation. "Wow!" exclaimed the boy happily, "God is greater than I thought! Not only did He lead the whole nation of Israel through the Red Sea, He topped it off by drowning the whole Egyptian army in 10-inches of water!"

OK, now you all have a great day, you hear?

Beauty Along the Way

Today was trash pick-up day so I carried the garbage cans down to the road.  When I was walking back, I noticed a lot of beauty along the way.  This beauty was in the form of wild flowers, bird feathers, and fungus.  The first two pictures are of pretty purple and white flowers.  I posted pictures of the same kind of flowers before.

This next one is of one like I showed above along side lacy reddish-purple flowers:

I tried to get a closer picture of the lacy flowers, but the camera didn't focus correctly on them:

 Then I noticed a feather laying there being supported off the ground by a leaf and some grass:

And I a little further on there was another similar feather:

And of course there was fungus and this one was very colorful:

Well, that was my walk on the driveway back to the house this morning.  I am glad you could come with me and enjoy the sights that Mother Nature puts there for us all to see.  Now, have a great day, you hear?