Just look at the picture. Go ahead, keep looking. No, this is not a play on your vision and some sail boat is going to appear. Just look. Any idea yet as to what this is?

This photo is actually the first photo of a planet outside our solar system. It is known as an exoplanet which is a planet that does not rotate around the sun. The pictures were taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, which it 18 years old. That just proves that sometimes we do not need new advanced technology, the old goodies work just fine.

My only hope is if there is life outside Earth that they are as friendly and cute as E.T. I will keep some Reeses Pieces in my desk drawer just in case.




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At first glance, it seems far more likely that this 73 year old man would be shooting a free throw for the typical audience contest that takes place in many games, in the hopes of winning a prize. However, 73 year old Ken Mink is a player for Roane State varsity basketball team. Shown here shooting a free throw for the teams 93-42 win over rival King College's junior varsity team. 

Mink became the oldest person to play college basketball, and it appears age has no bearing on his performance. A full-time student at the college, the last team he played for was Lees College, 52 years ago. He was expelled and kicked off the team after someone apparently soaped the coach's office. Mink still maintains it wasn't him. 

After re-discovering his passion for the sport, he wrote to colleges in the area to see if a coach would give him a chance to play again. Randy Nesbit of Roane State gave him that chance. Now he practices every day with the team and attends classes. I guess this just proves its never too late to find your calling, or get another shot at a dream. 

To read more about this story, see the original article at:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/11/04/sports/s111803S90.DTL

At first glance I see empty spaces and some guns on the wall. Then I thought wow guns are going quick. This article's about gun owners being worried because Obama won the election'

Now that Obama has won the election, people across the country are worried about gun sales and rights. Since the election, many people have gone out and bought guns. The reason is because people believe Obama will be harsh on gun control. Many feel a harsh tax will be put on guns and ammo.

The gun dealers across the country are reporting a big hike in gun sales. Assault weapons seem to be the ones coming off the shelves the most. Many feel Obama will hit assault weapons the most with restrictions, or some feel taken right off the shelf. I don't know how to feel about this one, guns are bad if bad people have them. Then again I know responsible gun owners as well.


to see article...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/11/11/obama.gun.sales/index.html

No specific article goes along with this photo; however as the saying goes, this picture does say 1,000 words. The day after the Nov 4th Election the Illinois Evening Pick 3 lottery randomly generated this 3-digit winning number; 666. Call it irony, coincidence, whatever you may - it's interesting to say the least. Take it for what it's worth.

At first glance, this seems like a typical interview picture from CNN. Look a little closer and it looks like the woman, who is CNN correspondent Jessica Yellin is about to be abducted by aliens. In an effort to win viewers on election night, CNN took interviewing over the top and beamed in Yellin as a hologram. Yellin was actually in Chicago covering the results.

I guess this was not a true hologram, but resulted in the use of a green screen and many cameras taking the images and transmitting them into the studio. I do not know anything about technology, but I do know it is not natural to interview real but fake people. I actually watched this on TV and it did look good, but creepy at the same time. What do you think? They used the technology twice that night when Anderson Cooper interviewed Will I Am from the black eyed peas. I personally did not see that interview, but I hear it is a YouTube favorite.

To see the article

At first glance, duct tape certainly does not inspire the story that follows. After reading this article, it turns out that a United Airlines flight from Puerto Rico to Chicago had more than they bargained for in the way of drama. Maria Esther Castillo, a native of Oswego, NY, was restrained with duct tape to her chair after fighting and grabbing at the flight attendants and passengers. Castillo hit a flight attendant on the buttocks, and then proceeded to fall on a blind man's head and pull his hair, after falling from her stance standing on the seats. 

The situation apparently became so out of control that the flight was forced to land early in North Carolina.  While ankle cuffs were attempted to restrain Castillo, they did not hold. Flight attendants were forced to use duct tape to hold her to the seat until landing. Witnesses claim to have seen her drinking at an airport bar, and flight attendants served her another drink on the flight. Do you think that there should be limits to how many drinks you are served on an airplane or at the airport?

Castillo is being charged with resisting arrest and interfering with the operations of a flight crew, and is due to court for her arraignment today. Certainly it appears Castillo had one too many drinks. Not to mention the airport isn't exactly a club. No doubt the airline will be more cautious in serving alcoholic beverages to its passengers in the future, and we can only hope that Castillo will be just as cautious as well. Do you think that the use of duct tape was warranted by flight attendants? 

 

To read more, see original article at: 

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/11/05/passenger.duct.tape.ap/index.html

What a race and now it comes down to the final hours. The world is watching and waiting for the declared winner. Polling stations are filled and there is excitement all over the nation. The campaigning is now slowing; candidates have given their reasons of why they are the best choice to lead the nation. Myself I’m very excited to see what happens, it’s an important time for the country. Our new leader will have his plate full of problems that will need to be solved.

I think the current situation in the U.S. is the reason for mass numbers of voting. People are ready for a change and so am I. This turnout shows how upset the public is with how things have been run these past years. I think that everyone is ready for a change in the way this government is run. In a few hours there will be a new president and the country will wait to see if things are being addressed.


To see this article

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/election.president/index.html