A seven bean salad of topics!

Well, my first entry was deleted when my Internet Explorer v. 7.0 hung up. This browser has to be the most unstable piece of software I've ever used. Geesh. All to keep pace with Mozilla Fox Fire. At least Mozilla doesn't seem to crash randomly.

Let's try to remember what I wrote:

First I wanted to start off with a sports entry about the NFL draft. Normally I would write (or email as in the past) an extensive analysis about the Bears' picks. Unfortunately, I don't feel that it's really worthwhile. It doesn't appear, on the surface at least, that any selection they made will have anywhere near the impact on their success next year as their extremely difficult schedule will or their continued loyalty to their incompetent quarterback. As such, taking a tight-end was good, but they still need to get him the ball somehow. And I like Garrett Wolfe, the runningback out of Northern Illinois, but he's not an every-down back and is not really the answer for when Bensen goes down. You can find out about your favorite team's draft by checking out this link.

Today, while driving around, I heard a term that made me think a little bit. It's a common term that I wouldn't have even given two thoughts about if I didn't have a blog to write. If I'm not mistaken, it was mentioned during a car commercial. The term is horsepower. We really take this term for granted without knowing what the hell it means. It's the power of a horse to do what exactly? What's the difference between 100 horsepower and 1,000 horsepower? I have no idea what horsepower my car is, but it's in all the ads. After reading the Wiki entry, I find it hysterical that James Watt measured meticulously the power of a mule and then said, "Well, a horse is about 50% higher than a mule, so multiply those mule figures by 1.5 and call it horsepower." It's absolutely ridiculous!!

Thanks to Fark.com for the next two stories and links which I had to pass along. The first one is a link to postcards from 1900 that predicted what the world would be like in the year 2000. The cards are pretty cool using somewhat futuristic (now current) ideas with old technology. Check out the rollers on the moving sidewalks.

If you like and use internet radio (not satellite radio like XM or Sirius as far as I can tell), then May 15th might be the last day for you to get your service. The RIAA is increasing the fees charged to these portals well above what is charged terrestrial stations (like AM and FM). They didn't kill the song downloading industry, but they might kill off this form of media.

Over the weekend, during dinner on Saturday I believe, my sister (poster Bee) commented on my dad's GERD acting up.

"You don't have a GERD." I said.
"Sure, look it up! And make sure you credit me on your blog!" She replied.
So and I did and while it's not an organ of any type, it is indeed a condition that can "act up".
I'm not sure I'm up for referring to GERD in regular conversations, but at least I know what it is now.

Finally, since I have a new T-Rex, which I bought at my local hardware store, I decided to deploy him in my backyard. Now, the rat hole is technically in our neighbor's yard (where Basra is located, but in their backyard) but the rat(s) have dug under the fence and the hole opens up into our backyard. I figured we might as well get an early start on the rat killing season!!

As you can tell from the pictures, T-Rex is on a slope and he often doesn't work as well on slopes. We'll give it a shot though. The bait of choice for tonight is ground beef (15% fat variety) flavored with taco seasoning (McCormick's hot flavor if you're interested). I'm looking forward to the hunt again!!

Update!!!! I came home from dinner tonight and checked T-Rex and he has a victim! Pictures tomorrow!!!!