catesta

Happy Birthday, my friend.

Getting ready to move on to Vodka Tonic and then with dinner......, some Sangria over ice.

haha That's one I have never read before. Study Reveals: Babies are Stupid May 21st, 1997 LOS ANGELES - A surprising new study released Monday by UCLA's Institute For Child Development revealed that human babies, long thought by psychologists to be highly inquisitive and adaptable, are actually extraordinarily stupid. The study, an 18-month battery of intelligence tests administered to over 3,500 babies, concluded categorically that babies are "so stupid, it's not even funny." According to Institute president Molly Bentley, in an effort to determine infant survival instincts when attacked, the babies were prodded in an aggressive manner with a broken broom handle. Over 90 percent of them, when poked, failed to make even rudimentary attempts to defend themselves. The remaining 10 percent responded by vacating their bowels. It is unlikely that the presence of the babies' fecal matter, however foul-smelling, would have a measurable defensive effect against an attacker in a real-world situation," Bentley said. Another test, in which the infants were placed on a mound of dirt outdoors during a torrential downpour, produced similarly bleak results. "The chicken, dog and even worm babies that we submitted to the test as a control group all had enough sense to come in from the rain or, at least, seek shelter under a leafy clump of vegetation or outcropping of rock," test supervisor Thomas Howell said. "The human babies, on the other hand, could not grasp even this incredibly basic concept, instead merely lying on the ground and making gurgling noises." According to Howell, almost 60 percent of the infants tested in this manner eventually drowned. Some of the babies tested were actually so stupid that they choked to death on pieces of Micronaut space toys. Others, unable to use such primitive instruments as can openers and spoons due to insufficient motor skills, simply starved to death, despite being surrounded by cabinets full of nutritious, life-giving Gerber-brand baby-food products. Babies, the study concluded, are also too stupid to do the following: avoid getting their heads trapped in automatic car windows; use ice to alleviate the pain of burn injuries resulting from touching an open flame; master the skills required for scuba diving; and use a safety ladder to reach a window to escape from a room filled with cyanide gas. "As a mother of four, I find these results very disheartening," Bentley told reporters. "I can honestly say that the effort I have expended trying to raise my children into intelligent beings may have been entirely wasted, a fool's dream, if you will." Study results also prompted a strong reaction from President Clinton. "All of us, on some primitive, mammalian level, feel a great sense of pride in our offspring," Clinton said. "It is now clear, however, that these feelings are unfounded. Given the overwhelming evidence of their profound stupidity, we have no choice but to replace our existing infant population with artificially incubated simu-drones, with the eventual goal of phasing out the shamefully stupid human baby forever." - The Onion

Frittata with broccoli rape, cubanelle peppers, a little pancetta, and Grana Padano.

And, I quoted you.

who among us will start a silent thread of nonposts? It already exists, I post in it all the time.

I've heard "This Must Be Heaven" played on satellite radio maybe a few times.

I watched an excellent documentary on HBO last night. If you have not watched it, I highly recommend you do. Talk about great film footage..... Brooklyn Dodgers, The Ghosts of Flatbush Review

I think you may be right. Was trying to find it in the archives but could not locate. However, I did find one of my favorites. Study: Dolphins Not So Intelligent On Land February 15, 2006 | Issue 42•07 GAINESVILLE, FL—Although dolphins have long been celebrated for their high intelligence and for appearing to have a complex language, a team of researchers at the University of Florida reported Monday that these traits are markedly less evident on dry land. A dolphin performs poorly in a University of Florida land-based locomotion test. According to study researchers, a group of 25 bottlenose dolphins removed from their holding tanks failed 11 exercises designed to test their basic cognitive abilities and reasoning skills. "The dolphins were incapable of recognizing and repeating simple gestures," said study co-author Dr. Scott Lindell. "Their non-verbal communications were limited to a rapid constriction and expansion of the blowhole, various incomprehensible fin motions, and heavy tremors while they lay prone on the lab table." After capturing the dolphins from the ocean, Lindell and his colleagues tagged them and placed them under the intense, high-wattage lights of a moisture-proof lab. The researchers then administered an extensive battery of tests designed to measure everything from the dolphins' self-awareness to their aptitude for writing and reading comprehension. "Dolphins have a popular reputation for being excellent communicators," Lindell said. "But our study group offered only three types of response to every question we posed: a nonsensical, labored wheezing, an earsplitting barrage of unintelligible high-pitched shrieks, and in extreme cases, a shrill, distressed scream." Even the dolphins' proven ability to navigate through a form of sonar called echolocation was ineffective on land. "The military has claimed great success in training these mammals, utilizing their echolocation skills to detect mines that have been placed underwater," said Lindell, who conducted a similar experiment in a concrete parking lot. "We were unable to replicate this finding ourselves." Lindell added: "In most cases, the dolphins succeeded in finding land mines only when we placed them directly on top of the mines." In another test, several pounds of mackerel were placed on the ground, separated from the test dolphins by only 20 feet of concrete. The dolphins were unable to reach the food and feed themselves. Despite their failures in the initial series of tests, the animals were given further opportunities to demonstrate their intelligence on land. The dolphins were unable to display novel behaviors, use a map to pinpoint their location on campus (spatial reasoning), or complete a simple obstacle course and wall climb. "Their learning curve was actually negative," Lindell said. "The more time we gave them to complete basic land-based tests, the more pitiful their efforts became, with many of them opting to bask in the sun rather than perform a simple task." "In some cases," Lindell added, "the dolphins appeared to be looking directly into our eyes, as if pleading with us to help them perform better in these tests." Many scientists believe these findings may help to explain why dolphins, for all their vaunted intelligence, have never developed technology or agriculture, or harnessed the power of fire—skills still exclusively in the domain of Homo sapiens. Said Lindell: "Their failure is a great disappointment to all of us who once felt an intelligence-based kinship with these majestic animals."

Oh shit, you're right I didn't recognize the name, but did the face immediately. What a career, and what a long live he had. In 1990, Lane was rushed to the hospital after having difficulty breathing. A doctor asked if he was still smoking, and Lane replied that he had kicked the habit 45 minutes earlier. In 2005, the TV Land Awards paid tribute to Lane by celebrating his 100th birthday. Seated in a wheelchair in the audience which had sung Happy Birthday to him, Lane was presented with his award and then announced "If you're interested, I'm still available [for work]!" The audience gave him a standing ovation. As for being typecast, Lane described it as "... a pain in the ass. You did something that was pretty good, and the picture was pretty good. But that pedigreed you into that type of part, which I thought was stupid and unfair, too. It didn't give me a chance, but it made the casting easier for the studio". R.I.P.

Beautiful! I'm going to save that clip for future comparison purposes when Ichiro is all roided up in ten years with a giant head and hulk hogan arms.

On Saturday or Sunday, I'm going to try for the first time ever to smoke/cook a brisket. Not a huge one, maybe around 5-6 lbs. The barbecue bible says it should take about 6 hours.

Sammich! Cappicola, mortadella, provolone, lettuce, tomato, olive oil and vinegar served on fresh bread courtesy of Joe's Sicilian.

18? I thought for sure you were at least 19 like the rest of us. Anyways, have a nice birthday. I'll drink one in your honor tonight.

Smart move. I also see a lot radio stations are now dropping the brilliant CBS format "Free FM". FYI, Cousin Brucie can be heard all over satellite radio on Sirius Gold and 60s Vibrations.

You have to resize the photo. Do you have a photo program like photoshop or iphoto? I suppose so. I guess I'll have to have the lady take a look for me.

Have a great day, Guy.

I was trying to upload some pictures off my computer to post up here but it says the files are too big. How do you change that to make the file smaller?

they only put meat on the pizza if you ask for it. True, but most cheese contains meat (rennet, made from the stomachs of calves). And for me, I don't do dairy or yeast. Or eggs, though they're more rare in pizza crust, I s'pose. And yes, sometimes I feel like I'm 'missing out'. That means you gotta make a pizza with this stuff.... Although, I don't know how you get around the no yeast thing.

Have you seen the others first hand?

lombardi's is your "neighborhood delivery" place? g_d what a life of oppulence you must live.... I used to live around the corner, now I'm a few blocks up. They haven't been nearly as consistent since the character-killing expansion, but the pies are still often great and never worse than pretty good. This may be a fluke, but in my experience you tend to do much better with delivery than with in-store pies, almost as if they are more careful with orders from regular customers vs. the tourists who constantly mob the restaurant. Overall they still make a nice pizza, but I won't go in anymore unless I'm with a friend of mine that knows the management. Otherwise the high school age hostesses sit you in the back with all the tourist riff-raff.

Yeah, go to south Jersey. Actually, I've had pizza one time in Philly and it was pretty good. I had to look it up since I couldn't remember the exact name but am 99% sure it was Tacconelli's. It was a recommendation by a friend a few years back.

Tortellini stuffed with spinach in a very light marinara sauce.

Sorry I don't share the same enthusiasm as some of you when it come to deep dish pizza. I'm a purist and pizza was never meant to be made that way. New York has many great pizza joints, here are a few favorites.. In Brooklyn.... DiFara (Avenue J, Midwood) Totonno's (near Coney) L&B (86th Street, Bensonhurst/Gravesend) Grimaldi's (on Fulton) Casa Calamari (Bath Ave) Queens... Nick's (Forest Hills) New Park (Howard Beach) Michelangelo’s Famous Thin Pizza (Astoria and Great Neck LI) VI (Bayside) Staten Island.. Joe and Pat's