A better position

The sleeping position works well for me. I’m probably in the sitting position too often too.

I’ve had positions of some authority somewhere in my past, I’m sure of it.

a bed or a bench?

A few thoughts to nibble at before I offer a more consequential one. Grab a drink, some might be a bit dry.

Walking on sunshine - certainly more stable than walking on moonshine.

Facebook confession: Bless me Facebook, it’s been 14 minutes since my last reaction to someone’s rant.

Poor Renee - So many people telling her to walk away. Wow, such a multitude of “Walk Away Renee” covers. And when I see the sign that points one way, I’m going to just stand, stare and cause a traffic jam.

Start playing bridge - I just discovered the game of bridge uses the terms, no-trumper and dummy. I’ve never even tried to play bridge but our dummy president doesn’t even make a good joker. It would be nice to have a no-trumper day.

When you retire you work by the hour. You punch out when you die.

I was just a kid with black and white TV when JFK was shot. I didn’t need technicolor to eventually learn that our world should not be viewed as black and white.

a sign found at an art museum

Now a slightly more serious thought regarding position. Are we/world/you/family/anybody in a better position today than a generation ago? Looking backwards can distort your view. The good stuff will appear larger in the rear view mirror. What exactly was better back then?

There are a few books out about this idea (I have not read them but did read a magazine article on this subject). Here’s my short take - yes in general we are in better position regarding life expectancy, crime, education, air quality and other stuff like availability of flavored yogurt. However, the better positions/conditions are not evenly distributed. Also, the billions of connected internet users become more aware of news. (first quarter of 2018, Facebook had 2.19 billion monthly active users - I didn’t know the number was that high) Since stories of tragedy, threats, disasters, deaths, and general awful events sell much better in the news business than the wonderful stories there are more people than ever before learning about awful stuff. It makes us think our world situation is very bleak.

One more thought about viewing/remembering the past. Often the bad times are forgotten more than the good times. (let the bad times roll??) The result of this is the past looks better than now. I reason this is because if the bad didn’t actually happen to you, you probably were upset because of its uncertainty. Uncertainty of possible bad events can be very scary. If that possible bad event never happens or at least if it doesn't happen to people you know, then later on you forget about it.

I recall a time when news organizations and government would worry about spreading a panic. Do they still worry about panics or have they discovered there is revenue in little panics?

Certainly we are better off. We have youtube. Ok here’s a cover (from Ally McBeal soundtrack) of that simple song about Renee and a street sign:
 

unexpected trip

Last week I got a call from my brother who has a place in the middle of nowhere (older post about that). It's not unusual to go a few of weeks without a phone call with him.

He called with a proposal for me. Would I be interested in traveling to the middle of nowhere with him. I've enjoyed my trips over the years down there but I also like to plan my trips.

After my positive reply and a few calls the start of the trip was set for the next day. It was a short trip having the main objective of checking on his place down there.

This whole short trip turned out great. My brother is quite the story telling (that's the nice way to say it). I've been told by family that I tell a story too slow with too much detail. My brother owns that characteristic at an even higher level.

Now over the years I would guess I visited down there about 10 times. On this trip the locals still surprised me. Most of them are best neighbors you could ever find.

We had just crossed the border (it feels to me like there should a marked border there) into the area via ferry. The ferry crew knows my brother and his wife very well. After the common exchange, "how's things haven't seen you in awhile", the talk turns to this guy who got released early from prison because he was willing to wear a wire. This local guy was bad news and has been for a long time.

Some miles down what turns into a dirt road we meet a neighbor of his traveling toward us. We stop, roll truck windows (definitely truck country) down and talk. The conversation quickly goes to this wire-wearing-bad dude.

It might have been during this longer conversation that I learned of another local crime story. Guy who runs a the only pizza place for miles has been busted by the feds for tax evasion. The guy is scheduled to show up at federal prison soon.

Now we decided to get some of this pizza one night. The business will probably be sold but for now the guy's family is still running it.

We walk in and there are a few customers but it's mostly empty. It is winter and there's little going on around the lake (except for crimes I guess). Well look who comes in? The fed-busted guy. We have never met but he knows my brother.

Surprising to me, he sits down at our table. Not too many sentences into the conversation he starts telling his tale. Much of it has to do with his ideas of who was out to get him.

After at least an hour of talk, we left. I told my brother that I was shocked that he shared all that detail about this with customers. He certainly didn't know me. I could have been a fed.

Just one more crime story - we stopped at the local store and post office. Very interesting place. For those of you who can remember Mayberry R.F.D., it could have been used as a set piece. One difference is this place is not a R.F.D. because you need to drive in to pick up your mail.

Of course you can rent P.O. boxes at most every post office. I just don't know how many still have a local postmaster handing your mail to you.

Before we left the store/post office, I learned that someone tried to break into it last month. Luckily they failed but did set off an alarm and damaged a door.

typically can't see the lake in summer

While I still am not planning to join the twitter "space", I do enjoy clever funny tweets. I found this one on the Chicago Tribune site.

Winnie the Pooh is an addict who doesn't wear pants and lives in the woods. 
If he were a person, he'd be the first suspect in every crime. 

Hey how about something not at all related to this post? Here's an unexpected version of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" - enjoy -

doing time for facebook time

Warning: The news commentary you are about to read contains Lisleman’s distortions and speculations. It only takes a quick spin on my office chair start my inner ear spinning. The truth is out there, I just don’t know where.

Non-bloggers have asked me why I continue to spend a good amount of my time blogging. Most bloggers would have an answer. The writing, the feedback, sharing ideas and laughs with people from around the world are all parts of my answer. It’s a hobby and like other hobbies you become enthused about, you can find yourself slightly addicted to it.

I mention that because maybe for some users, facebook becomes an addicting type of hobby/activity. The appeal of FB apparently was very strong for a Minnesota man recently. A twenty something burglar had checked his FB profile while robbing a home and had left himself logged on to FB. (I try to avoid FB.  Blogging is very different.)

Doesn’t take much to figure out how this ended. With the FB info it was simple to track down the thief. His inability to resist FB might have helped him get 10 years of prison time.

It could be that this guy is just a fry short of a happy meal. He also left wet shoes so I’ll assume he was not of the caliber of the jewelry/art thief I’ve seen in the movies. According to my movie watching, a professional thief would be quick and leave no trace of his visit. Just missing goods.

my type of smart thief

I do wonder how the FB attraction can be so strong that risking the extra time to use the homeowner's computer for some FB time was worth it. But then who knows maybe he was intoxicated.

Here’s a link to the story.

we all hustle to survive

Holy plunging neckline, “American Hustle” is a good movie. (does a neckline transform to something else when reaches far far from the neck? I mean I stopped looking at her neck instantly.)

We took in “American Hustle” at the matinee this weekend. It should win best picture (the only other nominee I’ve seen was “Gravity”). Now that’s just this fool’s opinion. Movies like other art is very subjective. The movie has been released for more than a month so there has been plenty of talk and buzz about it. I don’t care to see movies on their opening weekend. I dislike crowds.

The plot is based on the real ABSCAM story from the late 1970’s. There was a real con man who the FBI used in a large sting operation. So often truth is stranger than fiction. Of course they added a good amount of fiction to the story too. The twists and moving shifts in the character’s relationships kept me wondering who was scamming who. Who was going down and who would end up on top at the end. I guess in the end we all scam each other and ourselves at some level.

The creators pieced together perfect background music for the various scenes.  Ok the story takes place in the late 70’s, so the soundtrack appeals more to those that were adults (older teens) during that disco era. One of the best matches was the scene with Jennifer Lawrence whose character had just ratted on her cheating con-man husband singing “Live and Let Die” as she aggressively cleans. The scene focuses on her anger in a funny way. (my wife doesn’t sing while cleaning but if she ever started belting out this song, I would be hitting the road)

I found a site called what-song that not only lists the songs but a short description of the scene it was used it. From their list I discovered that the “White Rabbit” cover was done in Arabic by Mayssa Karaa. It was such a fit that I didn’t even notice it was being sung in a different language. The scene involved the mob meeting with the fake Sheik.


Finally, this movie refreshed street wisdom I tend to forget: 

Hustlers are found in both genders.

 

FTC FCC friday fragments

Don’t you just love abbreviations? They create a quasi secret code within your group or industry. My first bombardment of initialism was in the USAF. Within the blog gang I hang with, FF means Friday Fragments. 

If you like FF posts then be sure to visit Mrs. 4444 blog. She has a whole catalog of FF links to share.

(sent from my brain)

The other day I sensed I was just drifting in space. Where am I going?  Should I choose a path, road, trail or track?  Then I remembered a astrophysics lesson. We actually are drifting in space.

Way back (eons ago in internet time) one blog gang member often created a post based on comments she made. Unknown Mami called it, “I Comment Therefore I Am”. I love comments and can occasionally drop a good one off on a blog.

Last week’s FF post Tami who is “Not Just a Hockey Mom” posted that her husband surprised her with some shoes. I offered the following comment: 

Just a hypothetical question -- If at some future date your husband were to angry you (very unlikely I know, guys are typically perfect) would you remember he was buyer of those shoes and therefore never throw them at him? 

I have given my wife slippers as a gift and but only consider soft type shoes like flip-flops. One needs to protect oneself.

I had a birthday years ago. Alright like you I have them every year. You know how often because of schedules you don’t celebrate your birthday on your birthday? I had a great idea (on my blog all my ideas are great) today. I’m going to suggest celebrating my 60th birthday when I’m 65. Oh, my birthday was a months ago and 60 is not here yet.

Remember the post title? Yeah FF posts bounce around a bit and before you know it you are drifting in space (oh I covered drifting at the beginning). 

I hate telemarketers. If anyone out there loves telemarketers please let me know. I think your brain should be studied. 

I got this message yesterday from Prize Direct (708-279-7721). Jack wants to talk to me about my entry for a $25000 contest and please call him back at 1-866-430-3177. 

Oh right, sure I’m going to do that right away. I called the FCC (they run the Do Not Call list). The FCC representative asked many questions and then said it sounds like a scam and I should call the FTC because they could warn people and possibly prosecute. The FTC took my complaint and the phone numbers. They also ask many questions. Who knows if my report will lead to prosecuting a scammer but afterwards I felt better than when I just cuss into the phone. (I included the phone number in the chance that you receive the same call)

I downloaded this cover of George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. This song made #7 on the Rolling Stone list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.  I found this cover by Santana and featuring India Arie on youtube. The clip interprets the song with an interesting story.



(proofreading provided by C. F. Eyecare)

pardon my typo

Warning: The following contains an acceptable amount of errors. Please realize this is the internet. 

Today while finishing a task many considered outdated, I read the word “iniquity”. I found it used in a newspaper (made out of physical paper mind you) article about New Orleans. I’ve only been there once for a short time but I understand there might be a few dens of iniquity there.

This is not a word I use often but I always do associate it with a den. There are other dens of course but our small house does not have a den. Don't you need servants to have a den?  I do have a man-cave area in the basement.

Accordingly to extensive internet searching (google search engine is powerful) it comes from “den of thieves” which was referenced in the Bible.

Now I can’t imagine a group of thieves using the word iniquity but I just do not know. Maybe I should take a trip to Scotland because according to google there is a “Den of Iniquity Tattoo & Piercing Palour” operating there.

 


It would be fun to create a den of bloggers. We could plot our posts together and keep a chest of comments.  Late at night someone would break out singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall.  It would be grand.

Oh if you are researching on the internet, don’t forget youtube. My searching on the phrase, “den of iniquity” turned up this clip from the past.

could of happened to me

The Chicago Tribune site runs a feature (service?) called "Mugs in the News".  I know various law enforcement agencies often publish mug shots too.

Today I glanced over and I just could not resist checking out the story behind this title:

Punched Slow Driver

Here's the mug shot:

Hinsdale Police Department Photo

Now first off let's be clear here, this woman has ONLY been accused of a battery offense.  So remember "innocent until proven guilty".

I just want to say, this could of happened to me.  I have driven through the intersection where the alleged road rage crime occurred.  I also have been accused of driving too slow.  Just the other day my MIL insinuated that I drove too slow.  But I know she would never punch me.

Also I noticed this snarky comment on the web page with the story. 

"Only in Hinsdale can you have your mug shot taken while wearing pearl earrings, a diamond necklace and a designer bag over your shoulder. However, I hope she was on her way to get a root touch-up"

Oh one very last bit of advice - don't smile for you mug shot.  No one expects you to be in a happy mood.

future friday fragments

time - it's so confusing

It's already Friday where some readers live.  So if you read this on Thursday then consider it a future Friday Fragment.

Don't know if Princess of FF, Mrs. 4444, has a crystal ball or any crystal for that matter.  But she does collect FF posts and you can enjoy them anytime.

Dumb criminal stories are funny, don't you think?

This is not the first time I've heard of a sting like the Cook County Sheriff did recently.  They sent 10,000 letters to people with outstanding warrants offering promises of $500 gift coupons, plasma televisions and video game systems.  50 wanted fugitives made appointments to collect their prize.  Their prize was a ride to jail.

 

I was digging through boxes of old pictures (hey don't get going about organizing them.  Some are in albums) and came across this one from a past Halloween.  Maybe our family was a-few-clowns-short-of-a-circus.

Last Sunday I posted a few old pictures.  Pictures are among those things that get better with age.  People also can get better with age.  It is just a matter of what they get better at.  Blogging might be one.

maybe wearing more stylish clothes get better with age

Old vs. new -  Now you might have seen the Apple ad for their latest I-phone smartphone.  You might even have one already.  I'm not a smartphone user but if you are and have interacted with this personal assistant, Siri, please share in the comment section.  I find the whole subject of computer interaction interesting.  I knew it would not be long before we saw Siri parodies.  Here's an ad you will never see Apple run but it will crack you up.






I discovered by accident that blogger offers up your post pictures in a slideshow now.  For as long as I can remember, readers could click on post picture and if there was larger version it would pop up.  Now when you click on a picture you get the bigger version but it comes in a nice slideshow along with the other post pictures.  Go ahead give it a try here and let me know what you think.

Happy Halloween

Reminder - The LLL #4 is still open for your links to laughs.  Share a laugh and promote good dentistry.
 

compare and contrast

Back in the days when a phone was actually used for talking, I was a student. I recall being assigned “compare and contrast” essays. Did you ever write those? 

Recently the following two news stories caught my interest:  

Facebook flirting turned into date from hell 

and 

Man says he found $150K in his garden

Both stories involve a man and some money. One man is more than twice the age of the other. Apparently both men are out of work. 

The FB guy turns out to be not only a knife wielding robber but a con man too. He conned this nice young woman into being his unsuspecting get-away driver for his crime on their first date (last date also). Nothing like a date ending up in jail to ruin the fun.

Contrast that no good scumbag (I don’t remember if I was allowed to use scumbag in my student essays) with an honest guy who becomes worried about finding about 150 thousand dollars in his garden. I don’t know maybe money grows on cabbage. I have only heard about the trees. 

The money garden guy told this story of telling his father about his discovery: 

“I told him, we have enough problems, now we got another problem. Look what I found in the garden,” he recalled. “What are we going to do with all this money?”

He has reported the money and needs to wait for law enforcement to investigate. Since reporting the money he has hired a lawyer and is continuously being bothered by the media.

Links to the news - 

Honest gardener

Facebook con

Will it pay to be honest?

another circus 

codename tow truck

I need agents. Publicity agents sure but they typically charge money. No, I’m looking for some undercover agents.

Actually, a better description might be underfoot, in-shoe, or happy-feet agents.

I’m trying to crack the pedicure conspiracy. I don’t want to actually get one because that would just be too weird for me. Wow I still vividly recall the trauma of having someone shampoo my hair at a salon once. I can wash my own hair - please.

Did I miss the memo?

Nobody sends memos - Ok, did I miss the text?

What? Everyone has happy feet that just need to be photographed.

I don’t buy it!   (I hate shopping so I don’t buy much of anything but I already posted about that.  In that hate shopping post I described some shampoo I had to buy.  Would you believe a reader commented that they use the same shampoo for their horses?  Oh I love comments.)

There is some devious plot behind all these toes showing up on blogs and Facebook. Reminds me of the marketing campaign devious conspiracy of the Marlboro man.

How about that silly rabbit telling you Trix are for kids?

That was no silly rabbit. An evil hare that almost fooled me into thinking rabbits were stealing my food. Hurry up eat the Trix before that rabbit gets here. After Trix it was a short time before I wanted to grow my hair long, join a rock-n-roll band and make a break for the border.

Nehru jacket on and headed for the next 007 mission.

I need to snap out of these memories of it. Oh the wasted hours and money chasing the fantasy of a Bond-girl waiting in a hot Aston-Martin.

People I see the same signs again. Oh sure, just some colored toes. Then it’s my painted toes next to your toes. Cute colors. Hey you have sparkles on yours?

They are stringing you along. Guiding your feet ever so gently and slowly to some new product or service. You will soon believe it to be a must-have, to-die-for thing.

Who knows (except the evil masterminds) what it will be. A type of nanotechnology that tingles your toes. Maybe your toes will glow in the dark and become the latest version of a mood ring.

At first I thought I would post examples from the many blogs I have noticed toe pictures. But no, there’s problems with that. We are talking innocent victims here so I don’t want to point them out. Also, I would not want anyone to get the notion that I enjoy toes or feet. I don’t. In fact I think toes (ok baby toes are cute) are one of the uglier parts of our bodies. Right there with elbows. The world doesn’t need more toe pictures. Stop taking them.

Instead I’ll just ask you, if you feel strong enough, to open up about your toe pictures. Maybe you have a friend that needs an intervention to halt their pedicure addiction. Maybe you just have some extra nail polish to unload. Let it out.

As I said at the start - codename tow truck (yes I know toe vs. tow - it’s a codename that needs to subtle) - who wants to be an agent?

*+*;)  urgent updated report  ;)*+*

Agent 002 (notice that we still have room for many more agents) just sent this in.

OMG - Interesting - maybe they are jumping from toes to fingers. Oh that would be a sly move even for a trix-eating-rabbit.

live from blogland it’s Friday Fragments

I still remember when SNL was really good and hilarious. Now it’s rare that they offer a good skit (IMHO). Comedy probably changes faster than, ah, hmm - tires on an Indy 500 car.

Blogs can be lively but they are not live. Someday the FF bloggers should gather around and go live in a big chat room. I remember the old AOL chat room feature that was a big hit years ago. This idea got me wondering if FB had this and it seems you need to accept some other FB app to do it. If anyone is interested in this idea, I think the better way to go than FB would be google chat/talk.

I took a quick look back at my blog posts of about one year ago. I’m not sure why but you don’t always need a reason. I found this picture of an odd job - snake transporter.

from Onestonedcrow

Maybe you heard about the Aflac duck voiceover story but that’s not the only ducky news out there.

Police looking to quack the case of 2,500 stolen rubber ducks

Don’t you love it when a story is just begging for a funny headline?

In Yorkville IL. (which is near Plano and Sandwich) there was no time for playing duck, duck, goose. There was crime on the streets and ducks missing. Thieves had taken 2,500 innocent rubber duckies. I learned of the crime back in March and hoped to find an update telling of the duck thieves being brought to justice or at least being run out of town. I suspect the rubber duck community might never know because this article indicates a juveniles gone bad situation and therefore their names might not be released.

From up north comes this interesting legal finding:

Canadian, Paddi Anne Moore was pulled over by a police officer last spring and asked to blow into a breathalyzer. She failed to blow into it. Police charged her with refusing to give a breath sample.

Later in the court of justice, her charges were thrown out by the judge. Her defense - Botox. Having received Botox injections she could not pucker her lips.

Mrs. 4444 gets her ducks in row every Friday and offers FF. There plenty of Friday Fragments to share, you don’t need your ducky or blow into anything, just click her badge/button below.

Krazy neighbors north of us

What's going on in Wisconsin (they are north of Illinois for the non Midwesterners and geo-challenged) ??

In the past few months I've noticed and posted some strange stories coming from Wisconsin. Maybe because it's a neighbor state, I notice the stories.

Well I have posted about a drunk lady driving without pants, a wiener truck crash, and some of my own adventures in that crazy woodland of cheese and beer.



BREAKING Wisconsin Cheesehead News:

Women stick together against cheating lover (Chicago Tribune)

quick summary: A married, 36 yr. old guy having multiple affairs (3 plus wife) gets his other head (the dumber lower one) glued to his stomach by the revenge seeking women.

This guy thinks he can juggle 4 women at the same time. Well the women get together and plan their revenge on this genius.

Here's another bit of the story (if you don't care to follow the above link):

"We had a plan," one of the women, Therese Ziemann, 48, told an investigator, according to court records.

Ziemann lured the man to a Stockbridge hotel Thursday, promising a "rub down," the complaint says. He was blindfolded and tied to a bed. Then Ziemann text-messaged the other three women, including the man's wife, who joined her in the room.

The makers of Krazy glue never imagined the possible fun uses of their product.

Johnny's blazing guns

Just got back from seeing Public Enemies. Great movie.

As you might suspect this gangster movie has some spectacular shootouts as it describes the last couple of years of John Dillinger. Since I read about the filming last year I've been interested in the movie.

Toward the beginning of the movie there's a cameo that surprised me. Diana Krall sings a jazz song in a nightclub scene. She's a great jazz singer who knows what she's doing.

Before seeing it, I had read about this Wisconsin lodge location used in the movie that is still open to the public. The Little Bohemia web site has a good story about the FBI-Dillinger shoot-out which is reenacted in the movie.

The movie changed the story slightly from what is described on their web site. The owners called the FBI (probably for the reward) but the movie doesn't show it that way.

The Wisconsin lodge Little Bohemia.

The scene of Dillinger back in Indiana custody is recreated accurately. The charm of Dillinger comes out in this picture below from a FBI web page on Dillinger and in the related movie scene.

After watching this scene and then seeing the real picture, I think the real Dillinger looks like an actor.



FBI web page explaining the above picture

My earlier post on the filming of Public Enemies.
---update---
For a movie of this type which is based on real events, I prefer to know as much as possible before seeing the movie. I know some don't want to know anything about a movie beforehand. What's your opinion of this?
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big screen chicago

I've written about my interest in Chicago movie making before. The summer 2008 Batman movie was full of Chicago street scenes. Remember the truck flipping end over end. That was on LaSalle St.




Now the hype is building for the July 1 release of Public Enemies.

My post on it from last year has some good background links (and I just checked - they're still good).

There has been numerous other big movies made in Chicago. Home Alone, Backdraft, Blues Brothers, and the Fugitive to name a few. Here's a long list.

Do you agree it makes a movie more interesting when you recognize some of the locations?

In addition to the promotional value given to a location, the filming brings in local revenue.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Public Enemies beat The Dark Knight on the local revenue generated. "Public Enemies," generated $46.7 million in revenue for Illinois, compared with $40 million for "The Dark Knight." That's a good chunk of change!

Deals are negotiated on a case-by-case basis for the use of restaurants or bars. The money can be thousands of dollars a day of shooting.

BTW it does seem that Chicago filmed movies tend to be crime related. It's a big sometimes nasty city but it's not as crime ridden as the movies would make you believe.

I've been lucky to visit some sights that have been movie locations. Two of the most interesting ones (other than Chicago) I visited were Savannah GA. and Squam Lakes NH. Do you know the movies for those two places?



Being an extra in movie would be a thrill. I have a brother-in-law that was in American Pie (filmed in CA).

more background info please

Picture from the eternal ephemeron blog


One of the news items on the last "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" show was about longtime UK resident, Joe Weston-Webb.

The Nottinghamshire Police informed him that is chicken dung catapult would be illegal to use as a security device. It's not use of “reasonable force”. It's a large one - 30 ft long.

Ok that itself is a strange humorous news story.

- BUT IT GETS BETTER -

The background story is better than the current headline story.

Why does he happen to have a catapult?

Well Joe of Grumpy Joe’s Flooring had this catapult left over from the days he was trying to throw his wife across the river.

--

Stop - lets listen in as the two converse in the garden:

Mrs. Gumpy - "Joe I told you to get rid of that damn catapult years ago."

Grumpy - "Just come over here and help me load it."

Mrs. Gumpy - "Oh no, you are NOT putting me on that again. What is that awful smell?"

Grumpy - "Oh, shit."

--

Joe of Grumpy Joe’s Flooring was a stuntman in years past. He also has a cannon that can be loaded with a person. Around his place is an exploding coffin (how often would you need one of those?) and a car with wings.

He really needs to write a book. People will want to know.

Telegraph UK
Times Online


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serious tampering

A reward from AT&T - (taken from their press release)

AT&T* today announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for incidents of vandalism to the AT&T network near San Jose and San Carlos, Calif.

Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, AT&T's networks were declared National Critical Infrastructures in recognition of their importance to the nation's security. Anyone who tampers with, destroys or disrupts the company's network or its components is in violation of federal and state laws and AT&T will assist with any prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.

The early-morning vandalism incidents today involved cuts of fiber cables in manholes at two locations:

• The intersection of Monterey Highway and Blossom Hill Road overpass in San Jose.
• The intersection of Old County Road and Varian Road in San Carlos.

Restoration efforts were under way immediately.

Tips can be given to the San Jose Police Department at 408-277-4161 (ask for Detective Carlos Melo or Detective Dan Phelan);
Tips can be given to the San Carlos Police Department at 650-802-4423; and
Anonymous tip for either incident can be made to CrimeStoppers at 408-947-STOP.

Here's another press release from AT&T that I suspect might be related to the above outage (just my guess)

April 5 (2 a.m. CDT) – AT&T Inc. and Communications Workers of America (CWA) Core wireline contracts in the West expired at 11:59 p.m. PDT on Saturday, April 4. The West is the last of the Core contracts set to expire in this round of negotiations. Union-represented employees covered by these contracts will work under the expired contracts

AT&T stands ready to negotiate at any time in a continuing effort to reach an agreement.

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more on filming in Chicago

Today's Chicago Tribune has more on the filming of "Public Enemies." Also, their web site has interesting pictures of the set. (see the other links in my previous post)

gangster history

I knew Dillinger was killed outside a movie theater in Chicago, but until I noticed a few pictures of the filming of "Public Enemies" in Chicago, I didn't know the theater was on Lincoln Ave. I also learned from the FBI web page that the last movie that gangster watched was a gangster movie.

There's a good description of the events on the FBI site. Here's the summary:

Agents fired. Dillinger fell, mumbled a few words, and died.

So they transformed the area around the Biograph Theater on Lincoln back to the 1930's. Here's a blogger's page with a short video about making the set.

Some pictures on flickr

Here's a good set of pictures too - Travels with Sandy blog

quick grieving period

Story I heard on NPR's show "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me".




So this sixty something guy dies in New York, his roommates decide he doesn't need that last social security check. So they wheel his body down (using an office chair?) to the nearby check cashing service to cash the check. These buddies (a true friend will move a body) of the decreased must have had a QUICK grieving period. Hey maybe they were going to use the money for the funeral expenses (??). Well that dead body slumped in an office chair on the sidewalk drew TOO much attention (even in the city). The two were arrested. The man was dead less than 24 hours. Maybe some febreze would have help.

Ok, what's with the picture? - It was difficult to match up a good picture with this story. I stumbled on picture related to dead bodies and robots. This Japanese rescue robot that among other things can pick-up dead bodies. New York should look into this (yeah maybe Chicago too). Links to the story MSNBC New York Times Boston Herald Here's the link to the background on this picture.