Let's hope they keep it to themselves

At least 40 al-Qaeda fanatics died horribly after being struck down with the disease that devastated Europe in the Middle Ages.

The killer bug, also known as the plague, swept through insurgents training at a forest camp in Algeria, North Africa. It came to light when security forces found a body by a roadside.

The victim was a terrorist in AQLIM (al-Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb), the largest and most powerful al-Qaeda group outside the Middle East.

It trains Muslim fighters to kill British and US troops.

Now al-Qaeda chiefs fear the plague has been passed to other terror cells — or Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.

One security source said: “This is the deadliest weapon yet in the war against terror. Most of the terrorists do not have the basic medical supplies needed to treat the disease.

“It spreads quickly and kills within hours. This will be really worrying al-Qaeda.”

Black Death comes in various forms.

Bubonic Plague is spread by bites from infected rat fleas. Symptoms include boils in the groin, neck and armpits. In Pneumonic Plague, airborn bacteria spread like flu.

It can be in the body for more than a week — highly contagious but not revealing tell-tale symptoms.

Deadly ... the plague bacteria causes horrific symptoms

The al-Qaeda epidemic began in the cave hideouts of AQLIM in Tizi Ouzou province, 150km east of the capital Algiers. The group, led by wanted terror boss Abdelmalek Droudkal, was forced to turn its shelters in the Yakouren forest into mass graves and flee.

The extremists supporting madman Osama bin Laden went to Bejaia and Jijel provinces — hoping the plague did not go with them.

A source said: “The emirs (leaders) fear surviving terrorists will surrender to escape a horrible death.”

AQLIM boss Droudkal claims to command around 1,000 insurgents. Training camps are also based in Morocco, Tunisia and Nigeria.

AQLIM bombed the UN headquarters in Algiers in 2007, killing 41. Attacks across Algeria last year killed at least 70 people.

In an interview last July, Droudkal boasted his cell was in constant contact with other al-Qaeda “brothers.”

Cool quote

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."*

*-Robert Heinlein*

Riding in the sunshine

It was sunny with the temperature in the 50s this afternoon so I went for a motorcycle ride, just because I could.

It was the first time this year that I've had the K1200GT out. Both bikes are on trickle chargers and it fired up right away.

Now I'm having thoughts about riding to Daytona Beach Bike Week. BMW friend Charlie is keen to go so, weather and finances permitting, this will be my third Bike Week.

The People's Choice

I have a Flickr account and it tracks the number of times each photo is clicked upon to view in more detail.

This HDR image of a Victorian home across the street from Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind. has had the most views - 408 as of this writing.

I guess people like it. Or maybe the owner found it and can't get enough of it.

You can see all of the photos by clicking on the Flickr widget over there on the right side of the page.

Owoooooooo!

ASU Red Wolves home basketball game tonight.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

They lost. Because they played badly.

Whatever. It was fun to get out.

Another one bites the dust

Circuit City, Jonesboro's only consumer electronics store (no Best Buy closer than Memphis) is closing.

Company officials announced today they will close their remaining 567 U.S. stores, throwing 30,000 employees out of work.

The has hired a liquidating firm to dispose of its assets. Employees were being told today they are losing their jobs and, if a judge gives final approval for liquidation, stores could begin the closing process as early as tomorrow.

I will, of course, be on high alert for deals on iPods and such.

The company file for bankruptcy protection last year and closed 155 stores in November.

Circuit City also has 765 retail stores and dealer outlets in Canada. Their fate remains undecided, but clouded.

One down, one to go

I just cranked out 21 column inches about tax preparation software for Maria's paper.

My reward for beating the Monday deadline was another assignment - stock market dos and don'ts for these troubled times. Oh, joy.

Actually, it's not too bad. I rather enjoy writing something a bit more complicated that the average blog post and the tax software story got me kinda fired up to do our taxes as soon as the information I need shows up in our mailbox.

The mailbox contents were a bit depressing yesterday - the quarterly statements for our 401Ks. Like everyone else, we lost thousands of dollars in value last year. With the federal government now firmly in the grip of fiscal lunatics, I don't expect things to get any better for a long time.

Now, I'm off to pack a CD I sold on Amazon.com and mail it at the post office. The Weather Channel website says it's a brisk 17 degrees out there right now. At least the sun is shining and the greenhouse effect will have warmed the interior of my del Sol.

God bless those Canadians!

Israel was right. Again.

I used to think the "Get Us Out of the U.N." people were loonies.

I'm not so sure anymore. This from Joel Mobray at Fox News:

The United Nations agency that administers a school in Gaza where dozens of civilians were killed by Israeli mortar fire last week has admitted to employing terrorists to work at its Palestinian schools in the past, has no system in place to keep members of Hamas or Islamic Jihad off its payroll, and provides textbooks to children that contain hate speech and other incendiary information.

A growing chorus of critics has taken aim at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in recent years, although momentum on Capitol Hill has been slow. But last week’s incident, which Israel maintains was prompted by Hamas operatives firing mortars at Israelis from a location near the school, has prompted some lawmakers to scrutinize the U.N. agency.

Rep. Steve Rothman, D-N.J., introduced a resolution in the fall calling for greater transparency and accountability at UNRWA. The bill called on the agency to make its textbooks available on the Internet for public inspection and to implement “terrorist name recognition software and other screening procedures that would help to ensure that UNRWA staff, volunteers, and beneficiaries are neither terrorists themselves, nor affiliated with known terrorist organizations.”

Rothman said he plans to re-introduce his UNRWA resolution in the coming weeks because, “as timely as this bill was before, it is even more timely now. It is urgent that Congress can be assured that U.S. taxpayer money is not being spent to support Hamas and its murderous activities.”

Bring on the W-2s

I bought the most recent copy of H&R Block's TaxCut income tax software the other day and am watching the mail for W-2s, 1090s, and other tax-related reports.

I've used TaxCut for about a decade now and can't imagine preparing our tax returns the old way, with a pencil and a calculator.

I remember my dad at tax time. He had a big 30-pound adding machine that he would bring home from his insurance office and set up on the kitchen table, along with what seemed like mountains of paperwork, his trusty mechanical pencil, a pack of Winstons, ashtray and cup of coffee.

He never got audited, so I guess he knew what he was doing.

Before I got a computer in the early 1990s, we paid a tax preparer to handle the annual ordeal.

Fellow reporter Skip Hess did a story on tax preparers for The Indianapolis News in the late '70s in which he took his tax papers to several places, including IRS Taxpayer Assistance and H&R Block. He got a different result with each one. The biggest refund was calculated by Pat Storen, owner of Storen Services, in Brownsburg, Ind.

Word quickly spread through the newsroom and in a few years just about everyone at The Indianapolis News was going to Pat to figure their taxes. Pat was a personable fellow who knew his stuff and had a knack for ferreting out deductible stuff you'd forgotten or overlooked.

He even stood by me the year we got audited. (It's a long story and I won't bore you with it here.) I ended up having to pay, but Pat gave it his best shot.

But by the early '90s, Pat's business had grown to the point where he was farming the work out to employees who weren't as confidence-inspiring and his rates went up substantially.

So I was ready for tax software when it showed up. I used TurboTax for the first few years, but switched to TaxCut because of the promise of H&R Block to go to bat for me if I got audited.

Last year's tax preparation was a little labor-intensive because I had returns to figure for Indiana as well as Arkansas. Not so this year, since we are no longer Indiana residents.

I plan to crunch the numbers as soon as I have all of the pertinent forms in hand. If we have money coming back, I'll e-file immediately so as to get the cash as soon as possible. If we owe, I'll hang onto the money until April 15.

It's -30- for Number 6

Patrick McGoohan, who created and starred in the cult classic TV show "The Prisoner," died Tuesday in Los Angeles after a short illness. He was 80.
McGoohan starred in the 1960s CBS series "Secret Agent," and won two Emmys for his guest appearances on the detective drama "Columbo." Most recently he appeared as King Edward Longshanks in the 1995 Mel Gibson Academy Award-winning film "Braveheart."
But he was most famous as the character known only as Number Six in "The Prisoner," a 1968 British series about a spy who resigns from the intelligence service, only to be abducted and held captive in a mysterious haven known as The Village. There his overseers strip him of his identity in their attempts to glean information, while thwarting his attempts to escape.
Prior to "The Prisoner," McGoohan starred in "Secret Agent" (also known as "Danger Man"), which debuted in 1964, and whose memorable theme song seemed to speak of the hazards facing the characters in both series ("They've given you a number, and taken away your name").
McGoohan's agent, Sharif Ali, said Wednesday that the actor was still active in Hollywood, with two offers for wide-release films on the table when he died. "The man was just cool," Ali said. "It was an honor to have him here and work with him. ... He was one of those actors, a real actor. He didn't have a lie."
Born in New York on March 19, 1928, McGoohan was raised in England and Ireland, where his family moved shortly after his birth. He had a busy stage career before moving to television, and won a London Drama Critics Award for playing the title role in the Henrik Ibsen play "Brand."
He married stage actress Joan Drummond in 1951. The oldest of their three daughters, Catherine, is also an actress.
After "Secret Agent"'s success," McGoohan pitched to producers the surreal and cerebral "The Prisoner" to give himself a challenge. McGoohan also wrote and directed several episodes of the series.
Although only 17 episodes were made, it became a cult favorite, and its cultural impact continues, as evident by his guest appearance playing Number Six in a 2000 episode of "The Simpsons."
The show is being remade as a series for AMC to premiere later this year.
"His creation of 'The Prisoner' made an indelible mark on the sci-fi, fantasy and political thriller genres, creating one of the most iconic characters of all time," AMC said in a statement Wednesday. "AMC hopes to honor his legacy in our re-imagining of 'The Prisoner.'"
Later came smaller roles in film and television. McGoohan won Emmys for guest spots on "Columbo" 16 years apart, in 1974 and 1990.
His film credits include "Ice Station Zebra," the 1979 Clint Eastwood film "Escape from Alcatraz," the John Grisham courtroom drama "A Time To Kill," "Silver Streak," and "Scanners." He also starred in the 1963 Disney TV film "The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh," playing an 18th century English country priest who thwarts the king's minions as a disguised avenger.
His last major role was in "Braveheart," in what The Associated Press called a "standout" performance as the brutal king who battles Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace, played by Gibson.
In his review of the film for the Los Angeles Times critic Peter Rainer said "McGoohan is in possession of perhaps the most villainous enunciation in the history of acting."
McGoohan is survived by his wife and three daughters.

Dogs vs. Cats

More drama at Gannett papers

Gannett is stealing a week's pay from about 40,000 employees between now and the end of March.

The word of company-wide (except for Detroit) furloughs - time off without pay - came down today in a memo from CEO Craig Dubow.

I've already heard from one Gannett employee who is worried about making her rent payment because of the loss of a week's pay.

It's hardly a surprise that Glassdoor.com ranked Gannett as 36th in its 50 Worst Places to Work list, based on employee satisfaction.

Is there any of that pie left?

Friend Tim Evans writes in The Indianapolis Star that State Sen. Allen Paul, a Republican from Richmond, Ind., has proposed a resolution in the Indiana Legislature to declare the sugar cream pie to be the Official State Pie.

He also wants to designate Winchester, Ind., (which happens to be in his district and home to Wick's Pies Inc.) as the Sugar Cream Pie Capital.

Turns out there are two other states with official state pies - Vermont with apple (ho-hum), and Florida with Key Lime.

Sugar cream pie is an Indiana farm favorite and is also known as Hoosier sugar cream pie, Indiana cream pie, sugar pie, or finger pie. It's a pie shell spread with layers of creamed butter and maple or brown sugar with a sprinkling of flour, then filled with vanilla-flavored cream and baked.

Whatscookingamerica.net says:

The recipe appears to have originated in Indiana with the Shaker and/or Amish communities in the 1800s as a great pie recipe to use when the apple bins were empty. You will find somewhat similar pies in the Pennsylvania Dutch County and a few other places in the United States with significant Amish populations. The Shakers believed in eating hearty and healthy food. They definitely must have had a sweet tooth, though, judging by the sugar cream pie.

This pie was also know as finger pie because the filling was sometimes stirred with a finger during the baking process to prevent breaking the bottom crust. People used to skim the thick yellow cream from the top of chilled fresh milk to make this delectable dessert.

Allrecipes.com has six variations, the richest being 541 calories per slice. This is clearly not on a diabetic menu and it's guaranteed to spike your blood sugar bigtime.

Here's the recipe my wife favors:

No big deal for a Hoosier

We're expecting a little cold snap here in the Mid-South.

The local TV news was full of cold weather tips and warnings about frozen pipes costing "thousands of dollars" to repair.

This on a morning when the temperature was 33 degrees, headed for a high of 47. The overnight low is forecast at 10 degrees with a high tomorrow of 25. The temperature is expected to rebound into the 40s over the weekend to near 50 early next week.

But where we come from in Indiana, it's 17 and snowing with a wind chill factor of 2 degrees this morning, headed for an overnight low of -10 and a high tomorrow of 1. The temperature in Thorntown, Ind., isn't expected to climb back out of the single digits until Saturday.

Now that, my Arkansas friends, is real winter weather.

That said, I have absolutely no desire to ever experience the prolonged brutal cold of an Indiana winter again. I've lived through 62 of them and that's quite enough, thank you.

This is me on the campus of Indiana State University in Terre Haute in January or February of 1966 - lots of layers under my hooded pea coat, heavy gloves, a U.S. Navy cold weather face mask and sunglasses.

Giving Nancy Grace the (extra) finger

If you spend much time watching CNN Headline News, you'll be subjected to hype for Nancy Grace and her obsession with the Caylee Anthony case.

The most ridiculous bit - so far - has Nancy proclaiming, "When you point a finger at someone else, you have four fingers pointing back at you."

Huh?

Unless Nancy Grace is an alien or a mutant, it's only three fingers.

I can see how something like that might slip through, but CNN should have caught it and yanked it before now because it's been running for weeks.

Heavy thoughts

If someone offered you a cubic foot of gold, would you be able to carry it away?

Not bloody likely. A cubic foot of gold weighs in excess of 1,200 pounds. A cube of gold slightly over 14 inches on a side weighs a ton.

If you want to know how much you're worth if you're worth your weight in gold, go to this site. I'm worth about $3 million.

If it were only good today...

This is a 50 million mark bank note from Germany. At today's rate of exchange, that equals $34,196,683.44 in U.S. dollars.

But this is a Reichsbanknote issued in September, 1923, when German paper money was more valuable for burning than for spending because of hyperinflation in the wake of the collapse of the German economy.

According to Wikipedia, hyperinflation in Germany reached the point where the Weimar government's Reichsbank issued banknotes as large as 100 trillion marks and postage stamps with a face value of 50 billion marks.

When the Reichbank took to printing bank notes denominations in the millions of marks, they didn't even bother to print anything on the reverse side.

Let's hope things never get that bad here.

Here's something you don't see every day

This is a 50 peso note issued by the Japanese government during the time Japan occupied and controlled the Philippines (1942-45).

It's pretty much worthless today.

A milestone

I added Blog Counter to this blog back on Oct. 10, 2007, because I wondered how many hits I was getting on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.

It was down for the better part of November and December, 2007, so the regular counting started in January, 2008 - a year ago.

The total hits topped 10,000 about 10:30 a.m. (CST) today.

That's hardly huge - only about 24 hits a day - but considering that this is hardly a high profile blog, I'm gratified by such a milestone.

I added ads from Google AdSense last January in a modest effort to monetize my blogging habit. I made my first $100 from visitors clicking those little ads in October of last year. Again, no big thing, but it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

If you're reading this, you're adding to the count. If you click on an ad or two, you're putting some pennies into my tin cup.

Thanks to my regular readers for your interest and support. I hope you keep finding something of interest here because I don't think I'm out of stuff to write about yet.