Light the Candle

Astronaut Alan Shepard is hurled into space atop a Mercury-Redstone rocket. Freedom 7 was the first American manned suborbital space flight, making Shepard the first American in space. (May 5, 1961)

He later commanded the Apollo 14 mission, and was the fifth person to walk on the moon.

Image Credit: NASA

Great place to nab space related wallpaper.

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I love the scene in The Right Stuff where Sheppard (played by Scott Glenn) is tired of the delays while perched atop the rocket and tells Mission Control "Let's light this candle!"

Police Standoff Ends in Tragedy

From the Newschannel 10 website



A friend of mine who works for the Texas Dept. of Transportation said he was called to help close off the roads in the area.

He called me earlier this a.m. with the news that the man had died.

Bald

This would look a whole lot like me if I had mascara and lipstick on.

And bracelets and earrings.

And a shirt with fringe.

I'd look like an old, flaming Davy Crockett, I expect.

Michael Yon Widget

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A fantastic source of war news. His website is well-worth the time spent reading and the photos are both stirring and stunning. Yon is a most respected war journalist/blogger.

I also have the RSS feed on my ISP home page.

Drunk as a Skunk

I really like this one; would be cool to print out and frame if I had a basement rec. room. I'd call it "Stinky Leroy's Bar & Grill".

I've always thought I'd like to own a bar, but I know it'd only be fun for a little while, kinda like being married to a nymphomaniac.

Mental Health

From the email archives:

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In 2009 the government will start killing all the crazy people.
I started crying when I thought of you.
Run little friend, run!

MENTAL HOSPITAL PHONE MENU

Hello and thank you for calling The State Mental Hospital.

Please select from the following options menu:

If you are obsessive-compulsive, press 1 repeatedly.

If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2 for you.

If you have multiple personalities, press 3, 4, 5 and 6.

If you are paranoid, we know who you are and what you want,
stay on the line so we can trace your call.

If you are delusional, press 7 and
your call will be forwarded to the Mother Ship.

If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully
and a little voice will tell You which number to press.

If you are manic-depressive, HANG UP!
It doesn't matter which number you press,
nothing will make you happy anyway.

If you are dyslexic, press 9-6-9-6.

If you are bipolar, please leave a message after the beep
or before the beep or after the beep.
BUT PLEASE WAIT FOR THE BEEP.

If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.
If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.
If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.

If you have low self-esteem, PLEASE HANG UP.
OUR OPERATORS ARE TOO BUSY TO TALK WITH YOU.

If you are MENOPAUSAL, PUT THE GUN DOWN,
HANG UP, TURN ON THE FAN, LIE DOWN AND CRY.
YOU WON'T BE CRAZY FOREVER.

If you are blonde, don't press any buttons.
You'll just mess it up.

This coming week is NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH CARE week.

You can do your part by remembering to contact at least
one unstable person to show you care.

(Well, my job is done. Your turn!!)