The Hawks took one back in grand style tonight at the United Center...
The Blackhawks were down 5-0 about 12 minutes into the game. But instead of acting like the Hawks of old, the kicked ass and won 6-5 in overtime.
From Chris Kuc at the Chicago Tribune...
Anyone who witnessed the first 12 minutes of the Blackhawks' game against the Calgary Flames on Monday night would find it hard to believe the night ended with the Hawks at center ice raising their sticks in a victory salute.
(Photo credit: Scott Strazzante, Chicago Tribune / October 12, 2009)
After spotting the Flames a five-goal lead in the first 11:43, the Hawks roared back with three goals in the second and one in the third and went on to record an amazing 6-5 come-from-behind overtime victory at the United Center.
The comeback matched the biggest in NHL history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Brent Seabrook scored the winner 26 seconds into OT. Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists, and Patrick Sharp, John Madden, Dustin Byfuglien and Dave Bolland also scored. Brian Campbell added two assists as 10 Hawks landed on the scoresheet.
The fifty dollar bill is my favorite denomination of US currency.
Why?
Twenties are the universal bill these days thanks to ATMs. Most people get cash from machines, and that cash is delivered in 20s. They are the modern coin of the realm.
Hundreds are both the flashy, look at me bills and, oppositely, are the utilitarian bills used by people who only deal in cash when paying large bills. "Benjamins" are glorified in the movies, rap songs and videos, and in all kinds of other ways. They are better than a platinum American Express Card for impact.
But the fifty dollar bill, with the hard-drinking U.S. Grant's visage gracing the front side, is kind of unique. You have to get them at the bank, but they just don't have the gravitas a hundred does. But they are still too big for a convenience store to change. They're less popular than other bills, but unlike the two-dollar bills, fifties are in continuous production.
I like fifties. And I'll keep that in mind as I celebrate my 50th birthday today.
The previous five foals from our Friesian mare, Salvana, have all come in the early, early morning hours. As such, we have never actually witnessed a birth. We've been close, and Tom caught the last push one time, which is more than I ever saw.
Not this time.
Last evening after dinner, I went into the barn to give Salvana some carrots. She was acting kind of spacey, and less interested in treats that usual. A short time later, Tom and his mother went in to check on her. She was pawing the ground, sweating, and showing what looked like contractions. No sooner did we drag some chairs in to wait, her water broke. Within a few minutes, out popped the foal. We have been hoping, after three colts in a row, to get a filly... and we did.
Everything went as well as we could possibly expect. Completely normal in every way. The foal was quick to get up -- within an hour -- and was nursing, peeing and pooping within the next hour... all good signs. By 10:30 last night, we left mom and baby to themselves and called it a night.
Early this morning we introduced "Elpis," named for the Greek goddess of hope, to the outside world. This takes a little doing, since mother will not allow herself to be more than a few feet from the baby. So with me leading Salvana very slowly, and Tom urging Elpis along, we made it out to the nearest pasture and let them in. Our other horses called out to them, as did the donkey. The barn cats both came out to see the show. (Dogs are banished for the time being, as Salvana will consider them predators and stomp the living crap out of them if given the chance.)
Gigger, the miniature donkey with the big mouth and bigger attitude, slipped out of where he was being kept and came up to the fence to gawk at the foal. Mother was NOT happy. She put on her most menacing look, charges the fence, spun around and bucked. Point made. Gigger sounded an immediate retreat. Amusing to witness, yet also a clear demonstration of how protective an 1800 pound horse can be when given a reason. I'm glad she trusts us.
We always think we'll sell the foals. So far, we've sold exactly one of the five Salvana has had since we bought her eight years ago. The first of those was purchased in utero by a good friend before we took possession of Mom-horse. We still own the four year old gelding Orion. Three-year-old Ulfie was sold to people who live nearby, so we see him all the time. Poor little Zevon from two years ago had to be put down because of a birth defect. Something tells me that Elpis has found a permanent home already. And I bet this is the last time Salvana will be doing the baby thing. But one never knows.
One thing is for certain: Salvana is a great mare, and seeing her give birth to a foal was one of the coolest things I've ever witnessed.
There's a great story on Mashable today from Jennifer Van Grove that details the role an iPhone played in sending some backwater larcenists to the slammer.
A teenager, Dustin Simantob, returned with his dad to their car after a canoe trip. There they discovered the car and others in the same spot had been broken into. Among the items stolen was young Dustin's iPhone. Upon his return home, he remembered that he had set up the "Find my iPhone" feature. Through MobileMe, find it he did, and he turned over the exact location to the local police. Officers promptly visited the home of a family they suspected of similar crimes but never before had proof. They did this time.
Van Grove learned of the story when the teen sent Mashable an email. She verified the story with the Mesa County (Colorado) Sheriff's Department, and published the email in it's entirety. With full credit to Van Grove and Mashable, here's the unedited email:
“so, my dad and I went on a 3 day father and son river trip and parked the car where we get out of the river to leave, so we get up to the cars and all 4 cars had one window broken and all the valuables taken from the car, so we ended up submitting our case to the near by cop and started on our 5 hour journey home, when we got back i remembered that i had set up the “track my iphone” on the mobileme site and immediately got on and tracked it.
it ended up being at a house near by where it was stolen, so i called up the cop that had taken our case and told him where it was located. as soon as i told him the address, he started to laugh, apparently the family had done a few things like this before and the local police had been trying to catch and arrest them but could never get proof that they had been the culprits.
now they had proof. so 4 police showed up at the door of this house and ended up getting mine and my dads iphones back along with my wallet and the Garmen GPS, they also were able to recover the two phones and wallet that was taken from the other car that was broken into. so thanks to obileme we will all be getting our belongings back and a family of criminals will be put in jail.”
This strikes me in several ways. As FAILs go, it's hilarious. It also points up a unto fore considered (by me, anyway) benefit of the new iPhone 3.0 software. I can assure you that had I not already set up the "find" feature for my iPhone, I would be doing it immediately after reading this story.
It's worth noting, as Van Grove did in her post, that this can and should become a key selling feature for iPhones.
If you were pretty sure your phone was stolen, instead of the typical "if you find my iPhone message like the one above, it might be fun to post something like: "Have you ever been served with a search warrant at 3 AM? You may want to put some pants on."
I was up late last night, trying (and succeeding) in completely reloading my iPhone. (Kudos to Apple for a solid back-up system that works right down to the smallest detail.)
Around 1 AM the overnight quiet was shattered by the unmistakable sound of fighter jets. LOUD fighter jets. Outside of the occasional air show, the last time I heard that sound was when F-16s were in the skies over Chicago on September 11, 2001.
WTF? Is Illinois coming for us? But the Twitterati knew better, as the Chicago Now's "Breaking Tweets" page notes...
Around 1 a.m. last night, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) successfully carried out a military exercise over the Chicago area involving F-16 fighter jets. The training involved at least one plane headed toward downtown from the north and another going west, according to witnesses.
The exercised is based on new restrictions placed on Chicago airspace and is a direct response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to the NORAD Web site.
Some Chicago Twitterers were still awake at the time and noted the event.
The post goes on to show some lifted Tweets...
Just another way the Twitter, the thing I loved to make fun of when it first made the scene, is actually pretty cool when it comes to disseminating news as it happens. I'm up here in Wisconsin, which in terms of F-16s, is in Chicago's neighborhood. Within minutes of hearing those things roar over our house, I was able to read that it was a NORAD test.
Our cheese curds are safe from the FIBS. For now.
The American Experiment. That's what it's been called. During a hot, humid Philadelphia summer, a group of men risked their lives to pull together a statement of independence for the world to see.
When I was in junior high school I saw the musical 1776. That's when I first became so fascinated with the story of the Declaration of Independence and the contributions of great men like Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Rutledge and Dickenson.
This song, delivered by John Adams (William Daniels) captured the urgency of the moment back then. I still know all the words to that musical, and this remains my favorite part. (Yeah, make your gay-guy/show tunes jokes! I care not.)
People argue back and forth across political ideologies about what it means to be a "true" American. The men who crafted, debated and then affirmed this document... true Americans.
hen
in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to
dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and
to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station
to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent
respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare
the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
