Tom McMahon

Another tale of Rochester, Minnesota, home of the World Famous Mayo Clinic: They were lucky to get the fireworks show in on July 4, 1978, as it had been raining pretty much every day for the past two weeks. The ground was saturated with water. But the show went on, a very typical 4th of July display.

The next day on the 6PM weather report the forecast was for a 30% chance of showers. It ended up raining 7 inches in 6 hours. It was raining so hard we weren't sure whether to go upstairs to flee the rising water or go to the basement to escape a possible tornado. You know how a typical thunderstorm has a really heavy part where it rains a lot for about 20 minutes? That's how hard it rained for 6 hours. The water was knee-deep in the streets by 10PM and was coming up to the sidewalk. Finally, since we were exhausted and our bedroom was on the second floor of the house, we decided to go to bed about 1AM. It seemed like the worst was over.

Sure enough, we woke up about 7AM to blue skies, chirping birds, and absolutely beautiful morning. Our street was bone dry, no evidence of the storm from the night before. We turned on the radio (KWEB 1290AM) and the DJ was talking about some kind of flood. At first we thought it must be in Atlanta (why? I don't know) or the Twin Cities or somewhere like that. No, they were talking about the city where we were, Rochester, Minnesota! Now, you must understand Rochester was only about 55,000 people at that time, not a large city at all. The more they talked, the more I couldn't believe it.

So I went outside. People were walking their dogs, doing normal summer stuff. That is, on my street they were. Four blocks to the east, people were indeed navigating through their neighborhood via canoe. The contrast between those few blocks was something I'll never forget.

Five people died in that flood. One was a lady who drove her car off of a washed-out bridge at night. The other four were in a nursing home on the first floor, and the attendant wanted to make sure they were out of harm's way, so they put them on the elevator to take them all up to the second floor. Except the elevator shorted out due to the flood water, and the elevator went down to the basement, where they all drowned. If they had just stayed where they were, they all would have been fine. My first lesson of the Cruelty of Fate. And to this day, whenever I hear a forecast for 30% chance of showers, I take it with a grain of salt. 

The Monty Hall Problem: If you've already chosen Door #1, 2, or 3, and Monty has shown the prize behind one of the non-picked doors, what do you do when he asks if you want to change your choice of doors? Basically, the theory says that if the contestant changes their mind, the odds of them winning the car double. And over many episodes of the tv show, the facts supported the theory - those people that changed their mind had double the chance of winning the car.

The site has a simulator so you can check this out for yourself. 

From Rainy Day Playhouse: "Click and drag the inside of the image to warp and twist famous politician Hillary Clinton." As if that's possible. 

The Telegraph: Advertisements that affront 'human dignity' by demeaning women would be prohibited under proposals being drafted by the European Commission. Television programmes would also be censored to ensure there was no promotion of gender stereotypes. The plans, still in their infancy, are already provoking bitter dispute in Brussels and were described by one commission official yesterday as 'lunatic'. 

3d&i discover design discuss. Another great site for the kids on summer vacation.  

Gilligan's Island Goofs includes this little-known fact: In the show's opening, there is a very minute detail which indicates that at the time of filming, our nation was in mourning over the loss of President Kennedy. As the S.S. Minnow is departing from the marina, it passes in front of a small building on the shore in the background with a flagpole situated to the right of it. The flagpole enters the picture just before the camera switches to a different view of the boat, which then shows the Minnow heading out to open sea. Flying from the flagpole is the American flag, and it is flying at half staff which (on November 26, 1963) is in memory of President Kennedy. This opening sequence can be seen on the opening of all black and white episodes.  

From Persistence of Vision: A Compilation of Lopped, Cropped, or Chopped Cartoons. Protecting our children (our most valuable resource) by removing scenes such as "Donald smoking cigar and blowing smoke to make Chip and Dale think they're in a storm" 

Vice Presidents Trivia Quiz: "A lot of people have commented that the quiz is too hard, or that they didn't know any of the answers, but the point of the quiz is to realize how little we know about these figures from our own historical past. " Like this one: Which 71-year-old veep married his 38-year-old girlfriend, thus becoming the only V.P. to enter into matrimony while in the office? 

Ready-to-Use Naughty French Spot Illustrations: 247 amusing vignettes, a bit risque, selected from rare French books and periodicals of the 1920s and 30s: amorous couples, seductive flappers, cabaret scenes, chorines from the Folies-Bergere, ill-matched lovers, more—all rendered with inimitable French elan. 

Start off with the Electric Map of 50 States by Roadside America. Also check out the Roadside Art Online page. For the bookish sort, check out Little Museums: Over 1,000 Small (And Not-So-Small) American Showplaces as well as NEW ROADSIDE AMERICA : THE MODERN TRAVELER'S GUIDE TO THE WILD AND WONDERFUL WORLD OF AMERICA'S TOURIST. Hey, what's with the shouting? You kids settle down or I'm turning this car right around and we're going home. etc etc etc 

Nancy merchandise, Nancy Lives Again essay , and the current Nancy Home Page
. 

Only $50: Need a zero-volume bottle? Searching for a one-sided surface? Want the ultimate in non-orientability? Get an ACME KLEIN BOTTLE! It's what Felix Klein had in mind back in 1882, when he first dreamed of a closed, one-sided surface. It's elegantly curved, with a side loop making a transverse puncture at the nexus. An Acme Classical Klein Bottle is big enough to show to a classroom, yet slides easily into your backpack for trips across the Yukon. 

On the cover of Life Magazine, 900 years to the day after the Battle of Hastings. 

The Weekly Standard: In his dual roles as head of the $75 million Florence and John Schumann Foundation and PBS Pontificator-in-Chief, Moyers regularly interviews the people he funds (conflict of interest). He has gotten rich at 'the public trough,' producing shows partially financed by taxpayers and lining his pockets with the royalties (profiteering). And while he demands strict disclosure of others in the public sector, Moyers rarely tells his viewers when his interview subjects are the recipients of his foundation's grants or discloses details of his own financial relationship with public broadcasting. The Enron-like lack of transparency at PBS has caught the attention of Rep. Billy Tauzin, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has oversight of PBS. Tauzin has asked the General Accounting Office to look into government-funded broadcasting, indicating a particular interest in Moyers and his refusal to let taxpayers know what's happening with their money.  

Automata from Cabaret Mechanical Theatre. The offset cam mechanism works with stop plates to prevent their heads from spinning around completely. 

TheAgitator: If we could clone a thousand Jack Welches and/or Mother Theresas, and drop them into Bombay with some start-up money, which of the two options would do more good for more people, a thousand Jack Welches, or a thousand Mother Theresas?

Drawing on my fine command of the English language, I said nothing. 

Tribnet.com: "Meetup.com is a big reason why Dean has gone from being a niche, antiwar candidate to leading or running neck-and-neck in polls in key states with better-funded and more well-known Democratic presidential hopefuls like U.S. Sens. John Edwards (N.C.), John Kerry (Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (Conn.) and U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt (Mo.)."  

All About Frank Nelson: A site is dedicated to the greatest character actor of the fifties..or any other decade. Frank Nelson was a familiar actor in radio and the early days of television. He appeared regularly on 'The Jack Benny Program' over a span of 38 years. The store clerk guy on "I Love Lucy". With pictures and sound clips. 

Best of History Web Sites: An award-winning portal created for students, history educators, and general history enthusiasts. It now features links to K-12 history lesson plans, teacher guides, activities, games, quizzes, and more throughout its pages. This History stuff, is it old news to you? 

Zhang Ju li shows us one way it could be done. 

. . .what happens when Ricky goes on one of his tirades? Does he speak English? 

From Sacred Heart Health System: "Jessie's family says he continues to make slow progress in his rehabilitation from a brain injury and other injuries suffered in the shark attack. He continues to undergo physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. He is not able to talk, but his family believes he understands much of what they say to him."

From the Pensacola News Journal: "Jessie Arbogast's eyes and movements are full of meaning. He chuckles at jokes, hollers in greeting and sometimes tugs - mischievously - at his sister's hair. But even with the strength and resilience of youth, and 1 years of expert medical attention and unwavering family devotion, the 10-year-old is nowhere near the happy, agile youngster mauled by a shark in July 2001 at Pensacola Beach."

Our son Ryan was the same age when he sufferred the same time of brain injury. From personal experience, it can be quite a rough go, so why not consider a donation?:

The Jessie David Arbogast Medical Fund
Account number: 012428229
c/o Hancock Bank
P.O. Drawer 609
Ocean Springs, MS 39566

And while you're at it, why not pass on this message to others? Thanks! 

From The Secret Life of the Brain. Color-coded interactive twirling goodness. Paid for with your tax dollars to PBS, so you've paid for it already. So click away, you've earned it. 

Right Wing News (Conservative News and Views): John Hawkins: You've caught a lot of heat for a couple of quotes you made. In your column three days after 9/11, you said, 'We know who the homicidal maniacs are.They are the ones cheering and dancing right now. We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity.' You also said in an interview with the New York Observer, 'My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building.' Do you stand by those quotes or do you think that perhaps you should have phrased them differently?

Ann Coulter: Ozzy Osbourne has his bats, and I have that darn 'convert them to Christianity' quote. (Thank you for giving the full quote. I have the touch, don't I?) Some may not like what I said, but I'm still waiting to hear a better suggestion. RE: McVeigh quote. Of course I regret it. I should have added, "after everyone had left the building except the editors and reporters."  

The Maine Solar System Model: Built by the People of Aroostook County, Maine. At forty miles from Pluto to Sun, the largest complete three-dimensional scale model of the Solar System in the World. 

The Complete Transcript: This speech was given by the late Vince Lombardi June 22, 1970, in Dayton, Ohio. A week later, he entered a Washington hospital suffering with terminal cancer which claimed his life September 3, 1970. An excerpt:

"I believe that man’s greatest hour, in fact -- his greatest fulfillment, his finest fulfillment, is that moment when he has worked his heart out for a good cause and lies exhausted but victorious on the field of battle -- whenever -- wherever that field of battle may be -- in your business, in my business, wherever.

SUCCESS in life is a matter not so much of talent and not so much of opportunity but rather of concentration and perseverance. The man who succeeds above his fellow man is the man who early in life clearly decides his objective and towards that objective he directs all of his powers." 

Like the Atari model discussed earlier in these pages, this one also fits everything in the controller, all you need is a TV. Games included are Pitfall, Atlantis, Boxing, Tennis, River Raid, Spider Fighter, CrackPots, Freeway, Ice Hockey, and Grand Prix. Go Retro for just $19.99! 

With the World Map Place Mat. This mat lasts for years and years and makes every meal fun and educational. So go find Brussels, and eat your Sprouts! 

Compiled for you by Mr John Hawkins.  

Why, in these days of automatic deposit of payroll checks to employees' bank accounts, do we still have the antiquated United Way? To be sure, the United Way served a function in the days when a "one size fits all" approach was all that could reasonably be accomplished by the technology of the day. But if employers can deposit millions of paychecks in millions of bank accounts, then why can't they take out a few of those dollars and deposit them directly in the bank account of a charity chosen solely by each employee? The technology has been here for years. You eliminate the Middleman. And it would take companies out of controversial situations (e.g. the Boy Scouts) where they can't win no matter what they do. Sounds to me like an idea whose time has come. 

Amish Tech Support wonders what has happened to the new Ren and Stimpy . . . . . . Ben Hammersley has spent the day dealing with Lawyers, Estate Agents, and the French. He needs a beer . . . . . . Michael J. Totten writes about Liberia, Our Forgotten Colony . . . . . . . . . Right We Are reports that a new voice has emerged in the re-election campaign of President Bush, that of Dennis Miller, who is gaining a reputation as a conservative comic by attacking Democrats with biting humor. . . . . . . . . . The Greatest Jeneration has a great post about Peace in Jerusalem, Bush's Divine Mission . . . . . . . . . more later . . . . . . . 

From Roadside America: Xanadu was a white-domed home of the future, with franchises in Kissimmee, Florida, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The Xanadus promoted an environmentally sensitive sci-fi lifestyle, offering a peek at Tomorrow's do-it-all domiciles. Xanadu championed a novel method of home-building: wet polyurethane foam sprayed over gigantic balloons to form the frame of this low-cost, energy-efficient structure. As J. Thomas Gussel, proponent of foam construction for the layman explained, "It's like turning over a Styrofoam cup and living in it!" Today, the last Xanadu is deserted. Stains mar the exterior foam curves; the communications spire and dish have disappeared. The property is for sale.  

A Sniglet is a word that should be in the dictionary but isn't. Sniglets are the brainchild of comedian Rich Hall who, with a little help from his friends, wrote a series of books containing sniglets in the mid-eighties.  

WorldNetDaily: "In her first radio interview, the woman who nursed the wounds of Juanita Broaddrick shortly after an alleged sexual assault by Bill Clinton, says she remains convinced the ex-president is a rapist."  

Maps.com: "From Alienz! for children to Super Quiz for geography professionals, the Maps.com games area has something to offer for just about everyone". More Summer Vacation Fun Fun Fun.