Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
Today is a HUGE day. HUGE!!! Why? Well, as you know, I'm a HUGE fan of second chances...and the Philadelphia Eagles. Well, those two worlds blindsided each other when Michael Vick signed with the Eagles. Now, a move like this isn't without its criticism...and I respect everybody's opinion...including what seems to be the overwhelming majority that think the Eagles have made a HUGE mistake...and if there's ever a passionate bunch of fans, its those of the Philadelphia Eagles. That being said, let me explain why I think this is a great day for everybody. Now, this really wasn't considered a possibility even by me. I was as surprised as everybody else...because I think the organization had sent out a message saying they weren't interested...but it's a great move for all parties involved. For the Eagles, they get a former Pro Bowl quarterback and amazing athlete that they can slowly work into their system at a bargain basement price...and they get a solid backup for when/if Donovan McNabb gets nagging injuries late in the season like he seems to do. For Michael Vick, he gets to play in the NFL again after his controversial two year stint in jail for organizing a dog fighting ring...and apparently Philadelphia has a dog fighting problem according to PETA, so he may be able to do some great PSA's and work to help improve his public image. For the organization, they get to give this man a second chance at being a great role model. Okay, so great role model might be out of the question...but he also has the opportunity to be the greatest comeback story in sports history. He seems very resentful for what he has done...and has hopefully learns many many wonderful life lessons...and wants to turn a new leaf. A kind of fairy tale...that really happened. After two years of prison, he's mentored by great people like Tony Dungy...and joins one of the finest organizations in sports...and under the tutelage of great minds & surrounded by quality players and coaches, he becomes a great football player and outstanding citizen again...because as everybody knows, it's always sunny in Philadelphia. Anyway, that's my dream...and I wish Mister Vick, the Eagles, and underdog stories (no pun intended) of all kinds the best of luck. I for one am VERY excited. Don't believe me? Feel these nipples. You KNOW I'll keep you posted. Now as for other fairy tales...
Mermaid in Israel - Locals and tourists in the Israeli town of Kiryat Yam have been flocking to the coast in hopes of glimpsing a creature that most people believe only exist in fairy tales. An alleged mermaid, said to resemble a cross between a fish and a young girl, only appears at sunset. It performs a few tricks for onlookers before disappearing for the night. One of the first people to see the mermaid, Shlomo Cohen, said, "I was with friends when suddenly we saw a woman laying on the sand in a weird way. At first I thought she was just another sunbather, but when we approached she jumped into the water and disappeared. We were all in shock because we saw she had a tail." The sightings apparently began several months ago. The town's tourism board is of course delighted with their newfound fame and local mystery fauna. Taking a cue from the town of Inverness, Scotland (on the shore of Loch Ness), the Kiryat Yam government has offered a $1 million reward for the first person to photograph the creature. Town spokesman Natti Zilberman thinks the reward money is well-spent. "I believe if there really is a mermaid then so many people will come to Kiryat Yam, a lot more money will be made than $1 million." Of course, if the mermaid does not exist -- perhaps it is a hoax, an optical illusion, or a simple misperception of a known animal -- then the town's reward money will remain safe and unclaimed, while the economy benefits from the influx of tourists vying to get a photo that will leave them set for life. It's not clear what people are seeing, though the power of suggestion and imagination can be strong. Identifying animals in water is inherently problematic, since eyewitnesses by definition are only seeing a small part of the creature. When you add in the factor of low light at sunset and the distances involved, positively identifying even a known creature can be very difficult -- to say nothing of a mythological one! Mermaids have long held fascination for seafaring peoples. There are a few dozen significant historical claims of actual mermaid sightings. Most of them are clearly myths and legends, such as "true" stories about lovely young women who married sailors but were later discovered to be shape-shifting mermaids (such as in the film "Splash"). Other reports date back centuries, and offer no proof or evidence other than a curious story. For example, a Capt. Richard Whitbourne claimed he saw a mermaid in Newfoundland's St. James harbor in 1610. Another story, from 1830 Scotland, claimed that a young boy killed a mermaid by throwing rocks at it; the creature looked like a child of about 3 or 4, but had a salmon's tail instead of legs. The villagers supposedly had it a funeral and buried it in a small coffin. Hoaxers have worked to satisfy the public's appetite for mermaids; the fact that none have ever actually been found is only a minor inconvenience. The great showman P.T. Barnum (who will be played by Hugh Jackman in an upcoming movie) introduced a mermaid to astounded crowd in the 1840s: his infamous "FeeJee Mermaid", actually a taxidermy fake. The head and torso of a small monkey was grafted onto the body and tail of a fish. It was bizarre and strange but a far cry from the banners and posters suggesting a beautiful, half-naked woman (and as we all know, sex sells). Other mermaid fakes appeared throughout the centuries. Some were manatees that had been dressed up to resemble a human form and exhibited for profit. Whether the Israeli mermaid sighting is genuine, a hoax, or an innocent mistake exploited for tourism, the reality of finding a real mermaid might be different than people imagine. We'll see. I'm not expecting them to find a woman that comes up onto the rocks to sing pop tunes from the land of Atlantis or anything...but hey, whatever's good for their economy I guess. By the way, I've seen the Loch Ness monster during my visit to Scotland...and it's even cooler than you would imagine. He doesn't talk...but he doesn't want to eat you either. He prefers haggis...and the occasional neepes and tatties...and makes a gurgling sound when he surfaces. It's a rather strange creature actually.
Vegas & Dinosaurs - A rare Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton, among the most complete specimens in the world, is to go on the auction block in Las Vegas in October, the auction house Bonhams & Butterfields has said. The T-Rex, which goes by the name "Samson," is believed to be some 66 million years old and was discovered in the Midwestern state of South Dakota in 1992. "We have been able to establish that we have approximately a 57% complete T-Rex, which means the third most complete ever found," said Thomas Lindgren, consulting co-director of Natural History in Bonhams & Butterfields. "I think my estimate is going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of six to eight million dollars," he said. The owners of the 12-meter-long (39-foot-long) skeleton hope "a public museum or institution would actually be the buyer ultimately," he added. In 1997, the skeleton of a T-Rex named "Sue," which were 73% complete, were sold for $8.3 million. Dozens of other fossils are also to be auctioned at the event, to be held in the Venetian hotel-casino in beautiful Las Vegas. So you can own a T-Rex...if you have the cash. I wonder if they're going to have it built up and on display there at the Venetian. That'd be pretty cool. Walking around San Marco Square and then BAM!!! T-Rex skeleton looming around the corner ruining your buzz!!! Three of my favorite things all at once - Vegas, Dinosaurs, and SURPRISE!!! May have to do another trip down there in October to check this out. Hey, it's an excuse. You know that I don't even need a good one for Vegas...or Dinosaurs...or Surprises.
Sexy Killer Update - U.S. researchers have discovered a compound that can kill breast cancer stem cells, a kind of master cancer cell that resists conventional treatment and may explain why many cancers grow back, they reported on Thursday. The discovery came using a new method of screening for drugs that specifically target and kill cancer stem cells, and it could be used to find drugs targeting other cancer stem cells as well. Many teams have been looking for ways to destroy these master cancer cells in hopes of making cancer easier to cure. "There is a lot of evidence to suggest now that these cells are responsible for many of the recurrences that are observed after treatment has stopped," Piyush Gupta of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Broad Institute, whose study appears in the journal Cell, said in a telephone interview on Thursday. The problem is that cancer stem cells are rare and difficult to study in the lab because they quickly change into other types of cells...and they are hard to kill. "It wasn't clear it would be possible to find compounds that selectively kill cancer stem cells. That's what we did." To study the cells, Gupta's team first devised a method for stabilizing cancer stem cells in the lab and getting them to multiply. They then tested them against 16,000 natural and commercial chemical compounds to see which ones were able to kill the cancer stem cells specifically. That turned up 32 contenders. They narrowed down this list to a handful of chemicals, and tested these in the lab and in mice. A chemical called salinomycin hit the target. It was 100 times more potent at killing breast cancer stem cells than Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's cancer drug Taxol, or paclitaxel. Cancer stem cells treated with salinomycin were far less able to start breast cancers when injected into mice than cancer stem cells treated by paclitaxel...and the treatment also appeared to slow the growth of tumors in the mice. Gupta said it is not clear if salinomycin will emerge as the best drug compound for killing breast cancer stem cells...or that it will be safe to use in people with cancer...but the study offers a new roadmap for drug companies to isolate and test compounds capable of killing the cells. "We now have an approach that can be used very systematically to find such compounds," he said. We may finally be able to find a cure to not only breast cancer...but all kinds. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this pulls through...so together, we can lick breast cancer. Mmm...
New Chevy Volt - General Motors said Tuesday its Chevrolet Volt electric car could get 230 mpg in city driving, making it the first American vehicle to achieve triple-digit fuel economy if that figure is confirmed by federal regulators...but when the four-door family sedan hits showrooms late next year, its efficiency will come with a steep sticker price: $40,000. Still, the Volt's fuel efficiency in the city would be four times more than the popular Toyota Prius hybrid, the most efficient car now sold in the U.S. Most automakers are working on similar designs, but GM would offer the first mainstream plug-in with the Volt, which seats four and was introduced at the 2007 Detroit auto show. The Volt will join a growing fleet of cars and trucks powered by systems other than internal combustion engines. Unlike the Prius and other traditional hybrids, the Volt is powered by an electric motor and a battery pack with a 40-mile range. After that, a small internal combustion engine kicks in to generate electricity for a total range of 300 miles. The battery pack can be recharged from a standard home outlet. Hybrids use a small internal combustion engine combined with a high-powered battery to boost fuel efficiency. Toyota's Prius (which starts at about $22,000) gets 51 mpg in the city and 48 mpg on the highway. The number of all-electric vehicles available to U.S. consumers remains limited. The Tesla Roadster, a high-end sports car with a range of 224 miles, is perhaps the best known and has been mentioned on this blog before...but its $100,000-plus price tag keeps it out of reach of all but the wealthiest drivers. So we're stepping in the right direction...but it's moving very slowly. 230 miles per gallon gets me all kinds of excited...because that's basically a trip to Vegas on $5 of gas...but we'll see when/if that's viable. Good move, GM. Hopefully this can help pull you out of bankruptcy or whatever they're calling it.
Well, that'll do it for today. Super excited about the possible Redemption Story of Michael Vick...and I hope that he turns this whole experience into a positive thing...and I'm REALLY glad that an organization like the Philadelphia Eagles was willing to give him a chance. Kudos, Mr. Lurie (he's the owner). I don't think that Michael's going to disappoint. He seems to have learned his lesson. I hope that all of you reading this out here give him a chance too. I mean...it's been TWO YEARS!!! That's a long time. Forget the millions of dollars he's lost with this mistake...now he just wants to have a somewhat normal life, which will never happen...but hey, it beats the alternative. Best of luck. As for everybody else out there, you guys & gals rock...and I enjoy bringing my zaniness to you on a pretty much daily basis. Hopefully you do too. Have a great day everybody!!! GO EAGLES!!!
Today is a HUGE day. HUGE!!! Why? Well, as you know, I'm a HUGE fan of second chances...and the Philadelphia Eagles. Well, those two worlds blindsided each other when Michael Vick signed with the Eagles. Now, a move like this isn't without its criticism...and I respect everybody's opinion...including what seems to be the overwhelming majority that think the Eagles have made a HUGE mistake...and if there's ever a passionate bunch of fans, its those of the Philadelphia Eagles. That being said, let me explain why I think this is a great day for everybody. Now, this really wasn't considered a possibility even by me. I was as surprised as everybody else...because I think the organization had sent out a message saying they weren't interested...but it's a great move for all parties involved. For the Eagles, they get a former Pro Bowl quarterback and amazing athlete that they can slowly work into their system at a bargain basement price...and they get a solid backup for when/if Donovan McNabb gets nagging injuries late in the season like he seems to do. For Michael Vick, he gets to play in the NFL again after his controversial two year stint in jail for organizing a dog fighting ring...and apparently Philadelphia has a dog fighting problem according to PETA, so he may be able to do some great PSA's and work to help improve his public image. For the organization, they get to give this man a second chance at being a great role model. Okay, so great role model might be out of the question...but he also has the opportunity to be the greatest comeback story in sports history. He seems very resentful for what he has done...and has hopefully learns many many wonderful life lessons...and wants to turn a new leaf. A kind of fairy tale...that really happened. After two years of prison, he's mentored by great people like Tony Dungy...and joins one of the finest organizations in sports...and under the tutelage of great minds & surrounded by quality players and coaches, he becomes a great football player and outstanding citizen again...because as everybody knows, it's always sunny in Philadelphia. Anyway, that's my dream...and I wish Mister Vick, the Eagles, and underdog stories (no pun intended) of all kinds the best of luck. I for one am VERY excited. Don't believe me? Feel these nipples. You KNOW I'll keep you posted. Now as for other fairy tales...
Mermaid in Israel - Locals and tourists in the Israeli town of Kiryat Yam have been flocking to the coast in hopes of glimpsing a creature that most people believe only exist in fairy tales. An alleged mermaid, said to resemble a cross between a fish and a young girl, only appears at sunset. It performs a few tricks for onlookers before disappearing for the night. One of the first people to see the mermaid, Shlomo Cohen, said, "I was with friends when suddenly we saw a woman laying on the sand in a weird way. At first I thought she was just another sunbather, but when we approached she jumped into the water and disappeared. We were all in shock because we saw she had a tail." The sightings apparently began several months ago. The town's tourism board is of course delighted with their newfound fame and local mystery fauna. Taking a cue from the town of Inverness, Scotland (on the shore of Loch Ness), the Kiryat Yam government has offered a $1 million reward for the first person to photograph the creature. Town spokesman Natti Zilberman thinks the reward money is well-spent. "I believe if there really is a mermaid then so many people will come to Kiryat Yam, a lot more money will be made than $1 million." Of course, if the mermaid does not exist -- perhaps it is a hoax, an optical illusion, or a simple misperception of a known animal -- then the town's reward money will remain safe and unclaimed, while the economy benefits from the influx of tourists vying to get a photo that will leave them set for life. It's not clear what people are seeing, though the power of suggestion and imagination can be strong. Identifying animals in water is inherently problematic, since eyewitnesses by definition are only seeing a small part of the creature. When you add in the factor of low light at sunset and the distances involved, positively identifying even a known creature can be very difficult -- to say nothing of a mythological one! Mermaids have long held fascination for seafaring peoples. There are a few dozen significant historical claims of actual mermaid sightings. Most of them are clearly myths and legends, such as "true" stories about lovely young women who married sailors but were later discovered to be shape-shifting mermaids (such as in the film "Splash"). Other reports date back centuries, and offer no proof or evidence other than a curious story. For example, a Capt. Richard Whitbourne claimed he saw a mermaid in Newfoundland's St. James harbor in 1610. Another story, from 1830 Scotland, claimed that a young boy killed a mermaid by throwing rocks at it; the creature looked like a child of about 3 or 4, but had a salmon's tail instead of legs. The villagers supposedly had it a funeral and buried it in a small coffin. Hoaxers have worked to satisfy the public's appetite for mermaids; the fact that none have ever actually been found is only a minor inconvenience. The great showman P.T. Barnum (who will be played by Hugh Jackman in an upcoming movie) introduced a mermaid to astounded crowd in the 1840s: his infamous "FeeJee Mermaid", actually a taxidermy fake. The head and torso of a small monkey was grafted onto the body and tail of a fish. It was bizarre and strange but a far cry from the banners and posters suggesting a beautiful, half-naked woman (and as we all know, sex sells). Other mermaid fakes appeared throughout the centuries. Some were manatees that had been dressed up to resemble a human form and exhibited for profit. Whether the Israeli mermaid sighting is genuine, a hoax, or an innocent mistake exploited for tourism, the reality of finding a real mermaid might be different than people imagine. We'll see. I'm not expecting them to find a woman that comes up onto the rocks to sing pop tunes from the land of Atlantis or anything...but hey, whatever's good for their economy I guess. By the way, I've seen the Loch Ness monster during my visit to Scotland...and it's even cooler than you would imagine. He doesn't talk...but he doesn't want to eat you either. He prefers haggis...and the occasional neepes and tatties...and makes a gurgling sound when he surfaces. It's a rather strange creature actually.
Vegas & Dinosaurs - A rare Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton, among the most complete specimens in the world, is to go on the auction block in Las Vegas in October, the auction house Bonhams & Butterfields has said. The T-Rex, which goes by the name "Samson," is believed to be some 66 million years old and was discovered in the Midwestern state of South Dakota in 1992. "We have been able to establish that we have approximately a 57% complete T-Rex, which means the third most complete ever found," said Thomas Lindgren, consulting co-director of Natural History in Bonhams & Butterfields. "I think my estimate is going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of six to eight million dollars," he said. The owners of the 12-meter-long (39-foot-long) skeleton hope "a public museum or institution would actually be the buyer ultimately," he added. In 1997, the skeleton of a T-Rex named "Sue," which were 73% complete, were sold for $8.3 million. Dozens of other fossils are also to be auctioned at the event, to be held in the Venetian hotel-casino in beautiful Las Vegas. So you can own a T-Rex...if you have the cash. I wonder if they're going to have it built up and on display there at the Venetian. That'd be pretty cool. Walking around San Marco Square and then BAM!!! T-Rex skeleton looming around the corner ruining your buzz!!! Three of my favorite things all at once - Vegas, Dinosaurs, and SURPRISE!!! May have to do another trip down there in October to check this out. Hey, it's an excuse. You know that I don't even need a good one for Vegas...or Dinosaurs...or Surprises.
Sexy Killer Update - U.S. researchers have discovered a compound that can kill breast cancer stem cells, a kind of master cancer cell that resists conventional treatment and may explain why many cancers grow back, they reported on Thursday. The discovery came using a new method of screening for drugs that specifically target and kill cancer stem cells, and it could be used to find drugs targeting other cancer stem cells as well. Many teams have been looking for ways to destroy these master cancer cells in hopes of making cancer easier to cure. "There is a lot of evidence to suggest now that these cells are responsible for many of the recurrences that are observed after treatment has stopped," Piyush Gupta of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Broad Institute, whose study appears in the journal Cell, said in a telephone interview on Thursday. The problem is that cancer stem cells are rare and difficult to study in the lab because they quickly change into other types of cells...and they are hard to kill. "It wasn't clear it would be possible to find compounds that selectively kill cancer stem cells. That's what we did." To study the cells, Gupta's team first devised a method for stabilizing cancer stem cells in the lab and getting them to multiply. They then tested them against 16,000 natural and commercial chemical compounds to see which ones were able to kill the cancer stem cells specifically. That turned up 32 contenders. They narrowed down this list to a handful of chemicals, and tested these in the lab and in mice. A chemical called salinomycin hit the target. It was 100 times more potent at killing breast cancer stem cells than Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's cancer drug Taxol, or paclitaxel. Cancer stem cells treated with salinomycin were far less able to start breast cancers when injected into mice than cancer stem cells treated by paclitaxel...and the treatment also appeared to slow the growth of tumors in the mice. Gupta said it is not clear if salinomycin will emerge as the best drug compound for killing breast cancer stem cells...or that it will be safe to use in people with cancer...but the study offers a new roadmap for drug companies to isolate and test compounds capable of killing the cells. "We now have an approach that can be used very systematically to find such compounds," he said. We may finally be able to find a cure to not only breast cancer...but all kinds. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this pulls through...so together, we can lick breast cancer. Mmm...
New Chevy Volt - General Motors said Tuesday its Chevrolet Volt electric car could get 230 mpg in city driving, making it the first American vehicle to achieve triple-digit fuel economy if that figure is confirmed by federal regulators...but when the four-door family sedan hits showrooms late next year, its efficiency will come with a steep sticker price: $40,000. Still, the Volt's fuel efficiency in the city would be four times more than the popular Toyota Prius hybrid, the most efficient car now sold in the U.S. Most automakers are working on similar designs, but GM would offer the first mainstream plug-in with the Volt, which seats four and was introduced at the 2007 Detroit auto show. The Volt will join a growing fleet of cars and trucks powered by systems other than internal combustion engines. Unlike the Prius and other traditional hybrids, the Volt is powered by an electric motor and a battery pack with a 40-mile range. After that, a small internal combustion engine kicks in to generate electricity for a total range of 300 miles. The battery pack can be recharged from a standard home outlet. Hybrids use a small internal combustion engine combined with a high-powered battery to boost fuel efficiency. Toyota's Prius (which starts at about $22,000) gets 51 mpg in the city and 48 mpg on the highway. The number of all-electric vehicles available to U.S. consumers remains limited. The Tesla Roadster, a high-end sports car with a range of 224 miles, is perhaps the best known and has been mentioned on this blog before...but its $100,000-plus price tag keeps it out of reach of all but the wealthiest drivers. So we're stepping in the right direction...but it's moving very slowly. 230 miles per gallon gets me all kinds of excited...because that's basically a trip to Vegas on $5 of gas...but we'll see when/if that's viable. Good move, GM. Hopefully this can help pull you out of bankruptcy or whatever they're calling it.Well, that'll do it for today. Super excited about the possible Redemption Story of Michael Vick...and I hope that he turns this whole experience into a positive thing...and I'm REALLY glad that an organization like the Philadelphia Eagles was willing to give him a chance. Kudos, Mr. Lurie (he's the owner). I don't think that Michael's going to disappoint. He seems to have learned his lesson. I hope that all of you reading this out here give him a chance too. I mean...it's been TWO YEARS!!! That's a long time. Forget the millions of dollars he's lost with this mistake...now he just wants to have a somewhat normal life, which will never happen...but hey, it beats the alternative. Best of luck. As for everybody else out there, you guys & gals rock...and I enjoy bringing my zaniness to you on a pretty much daily basis. Hopefully you do too. Have a great day everybody!!! GO EAGLES!!!
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