Day 63 of 2010 and Old Abe

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I've often called Google the 8th Wonder of the World and here is yet another reason.  According to Google Maps API the below map shows, in RED, what counties have more bars then grocery stores.

YEA - Go Wisconsin!!!!
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My whole day has been thrown into a tizzy as I find out my dentist appointment is NOT today but NEXT Thursday.  I was looking forward to this one. No really, I was.  

My teeth are or were like limestone. I would brush regularly but it was a half hearted attempt until I got an Oral B electric toothbrush and then there was a HUGE difference in my teeth.  It was astounding.  BUT - like most people flossing was something that while I did it, again, it was a half hearted procedure.

YEA YEA - the dentist said that if I did not floss I could get heart disease.  Come on - do you think I'm stupid?  My heart is no where near my mouth. Nice try Gummy Bear!

But then I purchased those things on the right.  You get like 10,000 for $3 and they are WONDERFUL. No more little strings cutting your fingers and what I love about them are the poker ends. Not only do they poke the crap out of those crevices between the teeth but they massage your gums and NO MORE BLEEDING!  IT'S A MIRACLE!  

Speaking of not being stupid . . . I have to get blood work done tomorrow for cholesterol and PSA. Yea - they can look for butt cancer in my blood!  COME ON MAN? They take blood from my arm looking for butt cancer!  NICE TRY ASS MAN!  I got a bridge you can buy also!!!

No worries, my cholesterol is fine. 155 overall.  I have very low BAD cholesterol but also very low GOOD cholesterol and my troglodytes are a little high or low (which ever is worse).  I was told to take fish oil.

Did you know you really CAN get fish oil out of sucking on a fish?  There are easier ways though.  Most fish oil comes from herring and sardines which are low on the food chain (I'm thinking humans are near the top . . in most cultures) and Peru, Denmark, Chile, Iceland and Norway are the main producers.

BUT I Digress ,where was I . . .I don't know . . . let us move on.
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One of the canvas prints I have hanging on the 6th floor of Health Services is the the Assembly Chamber.

And if you will look, just between the flags is a bird. That bird is Old Abe.

This is the real Old Abe, not some poser and SHE has an interesting story and YES , my goal is now to get a better photo of her.
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1n 1861 an eagle was captured by Chief Sky (not fond of that name . . no flow to it, could be Chief Crazy Sky or Chief Blue Sky or Chief Sky Cow or something)  near a small town called Jim Falls (and what kind of name is that for a town - what the hell was going on up dare in Wisconsins). She (the eagle) was traded to a farmer for a bushel of corn who sold her to the 8th Wisconsin Company C from Madison for $2.50 ($58 and a jail term in today's money).

She was named after Abraham Lincoln and a special perch was made on which she was carried into battle in the First American Civil War.

Old Abe participated in the Second Battle of Corinth along with 38 other battles in the war.

She became Legendary in the war as she would scream and spread her wings in defiance (typical woman . . .what? . . . did I say that out loud?) in battles. The enemy called her "Yankee Buzzard" and made many attempts to capture her with no success. She lost feathers from bullets and a number of times her handlers were shot from under her.

Generals Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, and William Rosecrans were seen removing their hats and bowing slightly when they passed her in the field of battle. 

She retired from the war in 1864 and lived a comfy life and was invited to the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and in 1880 she attended the Grand Army of the Republic National Convention.

When not at public events, her caretaker kept her in the Wisconsin State Capitol where she is now.

The 101st Airborne Division, the Screaming Eagles has Old Abe depicted on their shoulder patch.  You might be wondering why the 101 used Old Abe and this is because Wisconsin was the territory of the original 101st Division.

Little things you never knew. 

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BASEBALL IS HERE!!

The Brewers first spring game is today. Number 1 of a possible 211 games. SWEET! No more wrestling in the news papers.
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Finally - you might have noticed this if you have a DVR that did not record correctly.

The earthquake in Chile seems to has messed up the earths rotation and the days are actually shorter. YUP - reset your DVRs as we lost 1.26 milliseconds - DAMN YOU EARTH. Now LOST is really messed up! 

Check this out. An amateur astronomer was taking photos of the Andes east of Santiago when the  earthquake happens. Check out the stars.  The earthquake was SO powerful the stars moved! WOW 

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For the 1st time since 1947 there were no tornadoes in The U.S in February.

I will have no blog tomorrow as I'm on the road with mom going back and forth to the Doctors and Brewery's (well, she will not go to the brewery, it's on the way home though).

(ROD - STEP AWAY FROM THE PARENTHESIS KEY!! )

So have a great warm and slightly wet weekend, say good buy to the 30's.A warm air mass out west is slowly moving our way, Canada is much warmer then average so there is "warm" surrounding us on all sides (well . . .who cares about the east's weather, been there, done that).  

Looking 10 days out there is nothing out there that says anything about returning to the 30s and every day NOT 30  is a day closer to NEVER having a high in the 30ss.  The last day we had a high in the 40s was December 25.

Cheers
Rod