Pulp Free

Pretty dramatic title for such a quick post, right? That’s because for the first time in two weeks, I was exposed to the 15 minutes of Guiding Light that C can’t live without each morning. It seems to cause me a little bit of extraneous drama that I don’t normally have in my life… Anyway…

At 4:37 (ish) - I had the delightful realization that our house was shaking. Of course, I was sleeping - but it woke me enough to enjoy the last 5 seconds of it. Being rather sleepy, I got up to look around. As if I’d be able to “see” something outside. (If you want to really enjoy yourself, wake me up in the middle of the night and ask me some questions… the answers will truly amaze you…)

Not seeing anything of particular outside (like a large ogre, a bulldozer, maybe some pissed off squirrels) - I went back to bed wondering “what could it have been?” Did an earthquake cross my mind? No…

Did I mention that I’m a certified genius?

So this morning I said to C - “Did you feel that house shake this morning?” - she said she was sleeping. But flipped the news on and said, quite matter-o-factly - “it was an earthquake this morning.”

I actually like San Francisco - I’ve even been to San Jose. I think I’d probably do okay in California - because this morning’s 5.2 earthquake didn’t really seem to bother me. It was… well - interesting. Thankfully we didn’t have any damage - and it looks like it didn’t impact much of the region. I just wonder what it was like in West Salem, Illinois where the earthquake was centered. They probably had a better ride…

A child’s birthday party at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant was cut short after a fight broke out between two mothers. Natick police said the mom of the 9-year-old birthday boy apparently became enraged because the other woman’s son was “hogging” an arcade game.

Sgt. Paul Thompson said Catherine Aliaga, 38, and Tarsha Williams, 33, both of Boston, would be summoned into court to answer charges of simple assault and battery stemming from the scuffle.

Thompson told the MetroWest Daily News that police received a number of 911 calls about the fight Saturday night.

He said what started as a birthday celebration turned into a “birthday melee.”

Tonight has had it’s fair share of newsworthy events… Not only did we get a pretty nice looking lunar eclipse (with a very clear sky in Saint Louis)…

but it seems that our US government has successfully blown up an orbiting satellite in outer space.

A missile launched from a Navy ship struck a dying U.S. spy satellite passing 130 miles over the Pacific on Wednesday, the Pentagon said.

It was not clear whether the operation succeeded in its main goal of destroying a tank aboard the satellite that carried a toxic fuel that U.S. officials said could pose a hazard to humans if it landed in a populated area.

“Confirmation that the fuel tank has been fragmented should be available within 24 hours,” the Pentagon said in a written statement.

While I’ll be the first to say that blowing up a satellite from a ground-based launch site is quite impressive (knowing that it’s traveling at over 17,000 mph at the same time) - doesn’t that make you wonder a bit about what else they might feel like blowing up in the future? Or now that “we” can do it… would somebody else care to take pot shots at our satellites? I mean - the next time DirecTV has a little signal degradation on their HDTV channels somebody might feel like taking some action!

C’mon now… Was I the only one distracted by the American flag in this picture?

Yeah… While this made news a few days ago, I just had to post a picture of this somehow. As you should already know:

The Spice Girls announced Thursday that they have agreed to reunite for 11 concerts around the world in December and January.

They will be the group’s first concerts since it broke up in 2001, and the first with all five original members since Geri “Ginger Spice” Halliwell quit to pursue a solo career in 1998.

The group said shows would be in Los Angeles on Dec. 7, Las Vegas on Dec. 8 , New York on Dec. 11, London on Dec. 15, Cologne on Dec. 20, Madrid on Dec. 23, Beijing on Jan. 10, Hong Kong on Jan. 12, Sydney on Jan. 17, Cape Town on Jan. 20 and Buenos Aires on Jan. 24.

Halliwell, 34, appeared with Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham, 33, Melanie “Sporty Spice” Chisholm, 33, Emma “Baby Spice” Bunton, 31, and Melanie “Scary Spice” Brown, 32, to pose for photos and announce tour plans.

“We wanted to say thank you to our fans. It just feels very right for us,” Chisholm said.

Granted, I actually purchased the Spice album (I think I picked it up during my BMG music club days…) and enjoyed a few tracks (like Say You’ll Be There and maybe 2 Become 1). Heck, when I was in England many years ago they were playing Geri Halliwell’s “Lift Me Up” so many times on the radio even I bought the single! But aren’t they just a bunch of average ladies with average voices? I guess some of them made out pretty well… (Sorry Baby Spice - you didn’t make that list…)

Perhaps just more American flag pictures…

(Quick update… Since the first picture was from Yahoo - I now see that there’s also a slide show… Whoa. Hello flags…)

On my nightly news parsing, I wandered across a news article about pickpocketing…

Bill Barnes says he was scratching off a losing $2 lottery ticket inside a gas station when he felt a hand slip into his front-left pants pocket, where he had $300 in cash.

He immediately grabbed the person’s wrist with his left hand and started throwing punches with his right, landing six or seven blows before a store manager intervened.

“I guess he thought I was an easy mark,” Barnes, 72, told The Grand Rapids Press for a story Tuesday.

He’s anything but an easy mark: Barnes served in the Marines, was an accomplished Golden Gloves boxer and retired after 20 years as an iron worker.

Jesse Daniel Rae, the 27-year-old Newaygo County man accused of trying to pick Barnes’ pocket, was arraigned Monday in Rockford District Court on one count of unarmed robbery, a 15-year felony.

Barnes said he had just withdrawn the money from a bank machine and put it in the pocket of his shorts before driving to the Marathon service station and Next Door Food Store in Comstock park, a Grand Rapids suburb.

He remembers noticing a patron acting suspiciously, asking the price of different brands of cigarettes and other items. While turned away, Barnes felt the hand in his pocket, so he took action.

“I guess I acted on instinct,” he said.

Kent County sheriff’s deputies said the store manager quickly came around the counter. The three of them struggled through the front door, where two witnesses said the manager slammed Rae to the ground and held him there.

“There was blood everywhere,” said another manager on duty, Abby Ostrom, 25.

Barnes was a regional runner-up in Golden Gloves competition in the novice and open divisions before enlisting in the Marines in 1956.

He lived most of his adult life in Comstock Park with his wife, Patricia, before recently moving to Ottawa County. The couple have three children.

After retiring as an iron worker, he now works part-time as a starter at a golf course.

Barnes said he’d probably do the same thing again under the same circumstances, if for no other reason than what he would face back home.

“I wouldn’t want my wife to give me hell for lettin’ that guy get my money,” he said with a smile.

While this story is a nice tale, I had to ask myself, “What is a golf starter?” And I found:

The starter maintains the starting times and tee sheet, and ensures that golfers get off the first tee in a prompt and orderly manner. This job is crucial in keeping the tee times on time. Starters must possess excellent interpersonal skills and be able to handle customers in a friendly and courteous manner. Starters also are very important in making sure that customers have properly paid for their round. The starter also helps golfers find a game if they are by themselves. The starter also is an important part of making sure customers will have a pleasant golfing experience.

Can you imagine if you caused him to start a round late? Or what if you didn’t like his “interpersonal skills”?

Hope you have a pleasant golfing experience!