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Guys, I will sorely miss everyone, but I am heading out on vacation in just a few hours. We're heading up to the Northwoods, where we will be in good company with ruffed grouse (okay, all together now..."Look at the grouse! Look at the grouse! Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!), loons (the birds, not the kids, although they are coming too!) and wolves and bears and bobcats...and NO computer or internet!
My dog sits here looking at me with big, sad eyes, but as soon as my daughter shows up to house sit, she will probably forget all about us, as she will be spoiled totally rotten!
Have a good week, good luck with Bourne and Jellyfish and everything else. Zach - don't burn your eyeballs out reading HP too many times, okay? Fluffy Cow - please keep everyone in line. Sandi - find us some more freebies and contests (you're the best!!)...
Joe, BJ, Uncle Jesse - just do what you do best!
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I received the following e-mail on Tuesday:
"I just wanted to
let you guys know that Mercedes lost her fight to life this evening. I got the
phone call about 7:20 this evening. She was suppose to come home last Saturday,
but become ill again Friday night. She then developed pneumonia and went into
respiratory failure Tonight with the entire staff at Rood and Riddle by her
side. This little girl new nothing but love her time here on earth and now she
is running strong with the big girls in heaven."
What a terrible travesty. That poor foal never had a chance it seems; abused even before she was born. Please, if you haven't done so already, please consider supporting this wonderful organization that has tried to do so much for Mercy and all the other abused horses out there. Read about what they do, and if you can spare it, please donate: www.ihrsouth.com
I received a follow-up today from Hutch:
Hi Scout ... sorry for
the forward and run on this subject ... Couldn't bring myself to talk
about it ... I even left a note on the counter for my husband about it
because I just couldn't get the words out of my mouth. Now we know
what kind of things shuts 'Hutch' up. I've done some research and
believe it may have been the colustrum given to her from another mare.
If it was infected and/or incapatible with Mercy then it could have
caused all kinds of problems. But, I'm not a vet ... just can't find
anything else that would have led to this. I want to thank you and
Steep for all the support ~ We all appreciate it so much. And again,
sorry for the 'forward' and run on Tuesday.
----- Original Message -----
From:
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2007 10:10 AM
Subject: Re: Mercedes
big lump in my throat, tears in my eyes .... have they ever figured out what is going on ?
In a message dated 7/17/2007 12:22:17 PM Eastern Daylight Time, ihrsouth@msn.com writes:
Hey. No they are still trying to figure out what
really started everything. They are going to do a necropsy on her to
see if there was something there that they could not find running blood
test and ultra sounds and everything. I am still crying over this one.
She was suppose to come home last Saturday and they called me before I
got on I-64 and told me she had taken a turn for the worse over night.
I will let you know if we find out anything.
Becky
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Loser? The man who is only 4 home runs away from breaking Hank Aaron's record? How can he be a loser? Face it, he only got where he is by taking steroids. Period. That means he couldn't do it on his own.
Does the taking of steroids wipe out the home runs he hit? Is his recent slump in numbers the result of the close scrutiny of him; resulting in an inability to maintain the level of "performance enhancing drugs" in his system? Does it all come down to he's a big jerk who pumped himself up to pump up his numbers, and we all figured it out so were p*ssed off?
Look at his attitude at the All Star Break. He almost didn't make it in. He wouldn't have, except for a last minute push. Yet, he acts as if those votes show how beloved he really is. Yeah, right. Then he decides he's "too tired" to participate in the Home Run Derby. More like "I know I can't do it because I'm not taking 'roids anymore." That's a loser for you. He dismisses the fans who boo him and carries on as if he is the greatest thing to ever happen to baseball. During an interview, when asked, he says the boos don't bother him. Yet his followup is very telling. "Do you know me?" he snapped. "What have I done? Have you seen me do anything wrong? I asked you a question. Have you seen me do anything? So, how can you judge me? No," he said. "I played the game. It's a game. This is just a game, man. We're not saving lives or doing anything more important. We're just playing a game. A game. And the only difference froma child playing this game and us is age. Why should we be treated any different? You wouldn't tell your child, 'You suck.' Would you? You wouldnt want anyone else to tell your child, 'You suck.' Or, 'He sucks.'"
Yeah, well my kid doesn't take steroids, either. Loser.
All I can say is, I hope whatever city he hits the record breaking home run in, the fans DON'T throw the ball back on the field. I hope they take it and toss it in the trash, where it belongs.
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Police are stating that the body found Tuesday in the town of Fitchburg is in fact that of Kelly Nolan. They were led to the area by following a signal from her cell phone. Madison police were assisted in the search by agents from the FBI, Dane County Sheriff's Department, K-9 units and horse search teams, as well as police agencie from Wisconsin, Illinois and numerous volunteers.
A preliminary autopsy confirmed her identify but it will be several more weeks before all tests results come back and a cause of death can be identified, according to Coroner John Stanley
The case has officially been termed a homicide and police are seeking any and all information regarding the last person to have been seen with her. As reported by America's Most Wanted, Joel DeSpain, spokesman for the Madison Police Department, said that a lot of evidence was recovered from the scene, and some of the leads are looking pretty good right now.
The reward money was donated by the Carole Sund/Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation, a California group that helps find missing persons and an anonymous corporation with ties to the family, acorrding to Kelly's mother Mary Jane Nolan.
AS OF JULY 20, 2007, THERE HAVE BEEN NO FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN THIS CASE. HOWEVER, ANOTHER FEMALE COLLEGE STUDENT HAS DISAPPEARED, THIS ONE NEAR GREEN BAY.
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This year, for the first time, I'm participating in a NASCAR Fantasy League. Although I've followed the sport for years (yes, it is TOO a sport!), this is the the first chance I've been invited to join in the league here at work. Although I was apparently a curse upon Tony Stewart, all three of my active drivers were in the top 10. We redraw at midseason, and although I don't have the same lineup (Stewart, Burton and Truex), I did score the first draw again and grabbed Jeff Gordon.
Now, I have to admit, he's not my favorite driver - my top guys are Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex, Jeff Burton and Mark Martin (oh, yeah, and I would be disowned by my sons if I didn't say Jr. and Kenseth) - but I have to admit it seems to be his year and I grabbed the chance to draft him.
Here are the top 12 in the Race for the Chase. Twelve drivers will qualify for the Chase this year, thanks to some changes in the rules.
Nextel Cup Series
Official Standings
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Pos. |
|
Driver |
Points |
Behind |
|
1. |
|
Jeff Gordon |
2773 |
Leader |
|
2. |
|
Denny Hamlin |
2496 |
-277 |
|
3. |
|
Matt Kenseth |
2390 |
-383 |
|
4. |
|
Jimmie Johnson |
2366 |
-407 |
|
5. |
|
Jeff Burton |
2345 |
-428 |
|
6. |
|
Carl Edwards |
2308 |
-465 |
|
7. |
|
Tony Stewart |
2234 |
-539 |
|
8. |
|
Kyle Busch |
2190 |
-583 |
|
9. |
|
Kevin Harvick |
2172 |
-601 |
|
10. |
|
Martin Truex Jr. |
2157 |
-616 |
|
11. |
|
Clint Bowyer |
2142 |
-631 |
|
12. |
|
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
2040 |
-733 |
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You know, we're halfway through the season and STILL we have guys who don't quite get it. Granted, this is not nearly as severe a violation or penalty as we've seen earlier in the season (no one suspended - "just" a $25,000 fine and probation for the crew chief, and only 25 owner and driver points) but still...
NASCAR Official Report:
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR has issued penalties and fines to the No. 7 team that competes in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, as a result of rule infractions found last week at Daytona International Speedway.
The No. 7 Ford, driven by Robby Gordon, was found to be in violation of Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used do not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-6.7C (8) (unapproved camera shell) of the 2007 NASCAR rule book. The violations were found during opening day inspection on July 5.
Gordon has been penalized 25 championship driver and 25 championship owner points. Crew chief Gene Nead has been fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31.
Gordon remains 24th in the standings with the penalty, but instead of owning sole possession of the position he is now tied with David Stremme with 1,620 points, 1,128 behind leader Jeff Gordon.
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Just wanted to give everyone an update on the little foal, Mercy, that was rescued by Hutch and the Indiana Horse Rescue South group.
Shortly after being rescued, Mercy had to be taken to the hospital (or is that horse-pital?) for an undetermined illness. It is believed it may have been as a result of something passed along to her before she was born.
She's still in the hospital and still on a feeding tube, but "began eating on her own and has gained 12 pounds and is 'poking' around onthe vets! Things are looking UP!" To read more, click here.
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If you'd like to help out, you're donations are gratefully welcomed. To donate, or to get more information about what they do, you can visit their website: http://www.ihrsouth.com/
Indiana
Horse Rescue South
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Here are a few photos of our neighborhood after a fast moving, violent thunderstorm came through this afternoon.
Just one of many trees that lost large limbs. This is a tree that was blasted by lightning, straight down the center.
This WAS a brand, new fence.
And this WAS a new truck!
(Sorry about the size on this one.)
This storm was through here in less than 30 minutes. We received a little over half an inch of rain, but it was the winds that were unreal. Nearly all of the damage was located in and around this neighborhood, although there were scattered problems throughout the city. We're expected more of the same tomorrow, as the cold front that came through gets pushed back again by a stagnant warm front stalled just south of Chicago. (And you thought I only did sports and pirates!)
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At least one person believed Venus Williams - ranked 31st at the start of Wimbledon - believed she could win the women's singles. Venus Williams herself. " I was really motiviated beause no one picked me to win. They didn't even say, 'She can't win.' They weren't even talking about me," said Williams.
Even though she was ranked No. 1 in 2002, just wasn't looked at as a true, serious contender this year. But she never doubted herself. Not even after missing time wih a wrist injury. It took a lot of hard work to make it, nearly being eliminated in the first round by a 59th-ranked teen. Venus made sure that didn't happen. Along the way, she played her last four matches without a break, beating No. 2 Maria Sharapova (4th round), No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova (quarterfinals), No. 6 Ana Ivanovic (semifinals) ultimately facing Marion Bartoli of France in the finals. She got better as the matches progressed. In the end, she was 27-9 in winning points and won 13 of the 18 points that lasted at least 10 strokes.
"I know how to face this surface. If there's a surface to pick, grass at Wimbledon's not a bad choice." In winning, she is the first woman to receive the same paycheck as the men's champion.
Speaking of the men's champion...
Roger Federer won his fifth straight title at Wimbledon - the first to do so since Bjorn Borg from 1976-80. And, just like Borg, he collapsed to his knees after hitting an overhead smash to beat his arch-rival Rafael Nadal of Spain. Borg was watching the match from the Royal Box with other past champions. After leaving the court, Borg and Federer exchanged hugs. "Thank you for coming out," Federer told Borg. "Not at all. Sure." was Borg's reply.
Federer beat Nadal for only the fifth time in 13 meetings. The past two French Open finals, the Spaniard has defeated Federer, spoiling his chance to complete a career Grand Slam.
"Today was a little bit disappointing because I had good chances," said Nadal, who also lost to Federer in last year's final. "Tomorrow I will be happy about my tournament and about my game."
"It was such a close match," Federer said. "I told Rafa at the net he deserved it as well. I'm the lucky one today."
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With the movie scheduled to be released this week - and the book coming out on July 21st, I just couldn't resist. The answers can be found at the bottom of the post - after the link to the BIG quiz:
1) What sport is played at Hogwarts?
A. Broomball
B. Rugby
C. Cricket
D. Quidditch
2) When was the first Harry Potter book released in the U.S.?
A. 1999
B. 1998
C. 1997
D. 1996
3) What does the "J" in J.K. Rowling stand for?
A. Janine
B. Jillian
C. Joanne
D. Jessica
4) True of False: J. K. Rowling is worth more than the Queen of England.
5) What's the highest number of Potter books sold in the U.S. in one 24-hour period?
A. 6.9 million
B. 5 million
C. 2.7 million
D. 7.8 million
6) Which of these is not the name of a Harry Potter book?
A. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
B. Harry Potter and the Glass Prophecy
C. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
D. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
7) Books from the series have been official translated into the following languages except:
A. Ancient Greek
B. Russian
C. Estonian
D. Zulu
8) What is the highest-grossing Harry Potter movie to date?
A. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
B. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
C. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
D. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Want more? You can take the "Decade of Harry Potter" quiz from Parade Magazine. It's 50 questions covering all six books and is divided into three levels: Challenging (for anyone who's seen the movies); Daunting (book knowledge absolutely required) and Cruel and Unusual (for die-hard Potter fanatics only)
ANSWERS: 1. D 2. B 3. C 4. True 5. A 6. B 7. D 8. A