On the Jobs Council
President Obama recently appointed General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt (also a Republican) to lead the new jobs council. I wonder how many jobs GE outsources out the country. Then again, maybe Mr. Immelt offers a perspective on how to increase US jobs.
On the Upcoming Budget Talks
February will be an interesting month as negotiations with the Federal budget begin. Yes – the talk between the partisan ideologues, the wackos, and the pragmatic will deliver interesting light to we who anxiously listen.
Will this strange marriage occur? That is, the political left that doesn’t want the US military fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq uniting with the political right that is against fighting a war we can’t afford. Since time will tell, we’ll wait.
On Revisiting the Gulf War
The Gulf War to free Kuwait was 20 years ago. NBC’s Brian Williams had this interesting 40-minute interview with our main leaders at the time.
On the Bearcat Basketball
For much of the 1990s and into the new millennium, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats (love them or hate them) were a force to be reckoned with in college basketball. In 2005, then (now gone) UC President Nancy Zimpher decided the program needed a fresh start, thus dismantled the program. I recently added a home game – one with a small, subdued crowd. I gazed into the upper deck and renamed the empty seats in Zimpher’s honor. Meanwhile, this weekend UC fans will welcome back former coach Bob Huggins with open arms.
On FYIs
- Actor James Franco, one of the hosts for the upcoming Oscars show, is a PhD student at Yale.
- A University of Utah study shows that people have already given up on 40% of New Years’ resolutions.
- Farting in public can be dangerous – even deadly.
- Most vegans don’t eat marshmallows.
- Insomniacs should get out of bed of better sleep (huh?)
- Being ballroom dancers, we’ll see Burn the Floor this weekend.
- Which is riskier: smoking or taking Chantix?
On a Worldly Example of a Hero
CNN honored Narayanan Krishnan a few months ago as one of its Top 10 Heroes. Cheers to him for demonstrating amazing goodness to fellow humans, and thanks to Mckenzie for identifying this powerful video.
Have a safe weekend.
A Frank Angle 
Happy Friday Frank!
About the article you inserted;
Wild eh? I can’t help but notice that guy has a really ‘deflated-look’ hahahaha
LikeLike
Meesh …. sure needed a rim-shot at the end of your comment. Hope you have some fun planned for the weekend.
LikeLike
Frank- Two more anniversaries, one a day late, both sad.
34 years ago yesterday, 3 astronauts (Command Pilot Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Senior Pilot Edward H. White, and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee) burned to death in a fire aboard Apollo One. For some reason which defies logic even today, the technicians behind the flight believed a pure oxygen atmosphere to be both practical and safe.
25 years ago today, the shuttle Challenger headed for space with a crew that included the first civilian “teacher in space”. Christa McAuliffe and the other of the “Challenger Seven” were lost when one of the solid rocket boosters burned through a joint in the casing and exploded the contents of the shuttle’s external tank. The fault was a simple rubber “O” ring, which failed to seal the gap between the booster joints due to the unusually frigid night causing the ring to harden, and fail to expand and seal.
To this day, whenever I watch a shuttle launch, I always cringe when I hear the shuttle answer back to control, “Roger, Houston, go with throttle up.”
LikeLike
John,
Good additions. I’ve been thinking about Challenge today …. and the day it happened. In terms of the Apollo accident, being a kid of the Mercury program, I remember this accident well. Thanks for reminding me and others about both events.
LikeLike
You want scary? The ONLY 2 space vehicles I have ever seen on the launchpad were Apollos 1 and 13. That STILL gives me the willies.
And if that isn’t scary enough, I wrote my post from memory – the only thing I looked up was the Apollo 1 crew’s names, to be sure I got them right. Then again, having spent a large portion of my school years working towards being an aeronautical engineer, I kinda locked onto the science behind the events. 🙂
Although I’ll let you in on a little secret – knowing the science doesn’t help. In my mind, I can still picture the site of AA Flight 191’s crash – the DC-10 that lost an engine on takeoff from O’Hare and crashed just short of both a trailer park (well known) and a large oil refinery’s “tank farm” – hundreds of thousands of gallons of gasoline, diesel, avgas, and jet fuel (rarely mentioned). I can describe down to the last rivet what happened – and the sight of one lone landing gear standing among the debris, 2 tires slowly burning, won’t go away. And that’s why I cringe at “go with throttle up”.
LikeLike
John,
We’ve explained very well your appreciation. Whew … Thanks for sharing.
LikeLike
Sorry to get so “heavy” on you with that last post. I can’t tell you how many people have given me the “knowing the science makes it easier” line. I was at the scene of Flight 191. I saw a Chicago city K-9 cop (the training area was nearby) stand there, tears rolling down his cheeks. And I smelled that horribly unique smell. I wish I could take every person who’s ever said “knowing what happens makes it easier” back to that horrific day. That’s why I was rather graphic, and I apologise if I sounded like I was talking down to you. 🙂
Okay, heavy stuff over. Have a good weekend! 😀
LikeLike
No problem John.
LikeLike
Sorry, just a dummy post to get the “notify” option turned on.
LikeLike
John,
Surely you don’t expect me to comment about “dummy”?
LikeLike
What’s the old saying? “You are what you post?” 😀
Why do you think I don’t have a blog? 😉
Oh, and fair warning, I insulted Ohio over on Writechic’s blog. I really like you and have great regard for you, but dude, it’s OHIO!
(Not that I think Illinois is pure as the driven snow. More like a snow drift – a big pile of fluff, with a heart of ice, that sticks around no matter what you do!) 🙂
LikeLike
John … just keeping you on your toes.
LikeLike
That CNN video of Narayanan Krishnan is AWESOME Frank and McKenzie!
How incredibly touching!
LikeLike
Meesh,
Many thanks … not only amazing, but an example for all of us. Thanks for visiting!
LikeLike
Hi Frank!
In to get my weekly fix of informative and interesting reading–you didn’t disappoint. Have to give credit where it’s due, so hat tip to President Obama was his continued commitment towards working together in a bipartisan manner with his latest appointment of Mr. Immelt to address the critical issues facing all Americans.
Also, when I see former Bearcat Coach Bob Huggins patroling the sidelines of his new team, the West Virginia Mountaineers, something just don’t seem right/natural. I guess the consolation to him and the West Virginia hoops program may be he’s a native son. Wish him and his team well.
Have a great day, Frank! Carpe Diem, my friend!
LikeLike
Al,
Many of us still hurt because of Huggs’ departure … and many are still bitter. Let’s face it, they used to play in front of capacity or near capacity crowds … but not now. At the same time, Coach Cronin started from scratch, and they have improved each year – but still not close to the level they were.
Thanks for stopping by and safe travels when you hit the road again.
LikeLike