Close Encounters Of The Life-Changing Kind

I just rediscovered a great article I had found months ago.  It relates a chance meeting that reaches down into a problem that pervades our society today and comes up with the simplest of solutions… do something.

The old man turned back at his coffee, took a sip, and then looked back at me.

“In fact, I’ve done lots of things that haven’t been done before”, he said half-smiling.

Not sure if he was simply toying with me or not, my (curiosity) got the better of me.

Oh really? Like what types of things?, All the while, half-thinking he was going to make up something fairly non-impressive.

I invented the first computer.

Um, Excuse me?

I created the world’s first internally programmable computer. It used to take up a space about as big as this whole room and my wife and I used to walk into it to program it.

What’s your name?”. I asked, thinking that this guy is either another crazy homeless person in Portland or legitimately who he said he was.

“Russell Kirsch”

Sure enough, after .29 seconds, I found out he wasn’t lying to my face. Russell Kirsch indeed invented the world’s first internally programmable computer and as well as a bunch of other things and definitely lives in Portland.

Please take a moment to read An Unexpected Ass Kicking  by Joel Runyon at his Blog Of Impossible Things.  He has also posted a follow-up.  Dont miss it.  My two favorite takeaways are:

• Nothing is withheld from us which we have conceived to do.
• Do things that have never been done.

 

Vote Or Die…

… a coward’s thousand deaths.  Bill Whittle says it better than anyone when he says that a vote for ANYONE but Mitt Romney is a vote for socialism and the destruction of our republic as it was founded.  Take a moment to watch and then share it with everyone.

On The Side Of The Road

I’m glad to see people working to get the word out far and wide as to how important the outcome of this election is.

Billboard at the intersection of M40 and Blue Star near Saugatuck, MI.

(From Dave S. in my e-mail… thanks)

Occupy Halloween

Liberalism and the holiday spirit.  NOW I’m scared.

*****

Some great Halloween cartoons about the Occupy Wall Street protests.

Dear College Kids…

Tweet sent to me by my friend Brad:

Dear college kids: trust me on this, having a job when you graduate is WAY more ‘cool’ than voting for Barack Obama. I PROMISE. #Mitt2012

 

Lost and Found – October 24th Edition

What to remember about October 24th…

• 1861  Western Union completes 1st transcontinental telegraph line
• 1901  Annie Edson Taylor becomes the first person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel; it is her 63rd birthday
• 1929  “Black Thursday” begins a  stock market crash that starts the 12-year Great Depression
• 1944  American Navy sinks Japanese both an aircraft carrier and a battleship at the Battle of Leyte Gulf
• 1945  United Nations is formally established with the ratification of the United Nations Charter
• 1949  Cornerstone of the United Nations Headquarters in New York is lain; construction financed by $65 million loan from U.S.
• 1951  President Truman proclaims that the war with Germany is officially over
• 1992  Toronto Blue Jays become 1st team outside of the United States to win Major League Baseball’s World Series
• 2003  Supersonic Concorde passenger jet makes its last commercial flight
• 2005  Civil rights activist Rosa Louise McCauley Parks dies at home in Detroit, Michigan (b. 1913)

Lost and Found – October 19th Edition

What to remember about October 19th…

• 1781  Formal British surrender at Yorktown; Cornwallis sends his second-in-command to surrender his sword
• 1789  John Jay is sworn in as the 1st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
• 1864  Union forces avert disaster after surprise Confederate attack at Battle of Cedar Creek in Virginia
• 1935  Fascist Italy invades Ethiopia; League of Nations votes for ineffective sanctions while hoping for peace
• 1950  Chinese Peoples Liberation Army invades Tibet to capture city of Chamdo and annex the nation
• 1965  Thousands of North Vietnamese troops attack Camp Plei Me; a dozen Green Berets and 400 Montagnards repel attacks for almost a week
• 1982  Automaker John DeLorean is arrested in $24 million cocaine deal
• 1983  Prime Minister of Grenada is assassinated in military coup; President Reagan will soon dispatch 6000 troops to liberate the island
• 1987  Black Monday; stock market loses 22% in one day; largest percentage loss in history
• 2005  Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein goes on trial for crimes against humanity

Michelle Obama’s “Huge Recovery”

Investor’s Business Daily has taken a look at what Michelle Obama has described recently as the “huge recovery” her husband has fostered.  They agree with the First Lady that the current state of the economy is the result of “what this president has done”.  While the graphic below sums it all up, I urge you to read the entire story.

Atlas Shrugged Part II – In Theaters Today

Ayn Rand’s classic book returns to the big screen beginning today with Atlas Shrugged – Part II.  Don’t look for a hollywood studio ad splash or media reviews of the film.  They want this film to disappear quickly and quietly.  Take a moment, check out the trailer, and then take a friend to the movies this weekend.

 

 

 

Wow! This About Sums Up The Choices This Election.

Great new video from Ben Howe.

(Hat tip to Ace of Spades HQ for finding this.)