Now, don’t get me wrong on this post–I’m not trying to make light of the current situation over in Thailand… I think it’s absolutely horrible how many lives are being lost over there right now.

But Tim sent me this picture and quote which were kind of funny and I thought I would post it for you to enjoy.

A motorcycle rides past a shop destroyed by a massive tsunami that swept into Patong beach in Phuket, Thailand December 29, 2004. REUTERS/Kin Cheung

PHUKET, THAILAND.

Or, as Tim put it, “Phuckit Island.” So witty that Tim is….

GD it, Erica. I told you to stop sunbathing with your friends in Australia….

Pod of 20 Whales Beached on Remote Australia Coast

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Twenty adult female sperm whales have been found washed up on a remote Australian beach but wildlife officials on Tuesday were unable to explain the third such mass stranding in the same area in a month.

The whales, each between seven and 23-32 feet long, were discovered dead late on Monday on a beach near Strahan, 110 miles west of Hobart on the southern island state of Tasmania.

Scientists said it was impossible to tell if the mass beaching was linked to a huge earthquake recorded between Tasmania and Antarctica last week.

“It’s very hard to pinpoint those sort of things because … this year has been a year when we’ve had lots of strandings anyway and obviously they’ve all happened without an earthquake,” zoologist Mark Hindell told Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) television.

The Australian government has said it would set up a national database on whale strandings. Last month, 115 long-finned pilot whales died in two separate strandings on Tasmanian beaches.

Bob Brown, leader of Australia’s Greens party, expressed concern last month that those strandings might have been linked to “sound bombing” of the ocean floor used in seismic tests for oil and gas.

Wildlife officials said it was not unusual that all the dead whales in the latest stranding were females.

“The males travel in bachelor pods or big solitary breeding males and the females travel in either nursery pods or non-breeding pods, so it is quite a normal pattern for these animals,” Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Serve ranger Chris Arthur told ABC radio.

I came home from a trip to Madison this afternoon and found that the old Gallun Tannery building that is basically across the street from my house was on fire. Turned out being a 4-alarm fire–there had to have been over 20 fire engines here–pretty wild. I didn’t get out there in time to catch the flames before all of the firefighters got there, but I did get some pictures of them breaking into the building to put out the flames. They have been tearing down parts of this building so that they could eventually put condos up there, but I guess the fire will help with the tearing down efforts…

Click here to see more pictures.

It’s a sad day in Packerland. Reggie White, one fo the greatest defensive players in recent history, passed away today at the age of 43.

The “Minister of Defense” holds a special place in the hearts of Packer fans. Along side of Brett Favre, he was the person who came to the Packers in the early 90’s and turned our team from someone mediocre to something great. No one ever thought he would come to little ol’ Green Bay. White not only signed with Green Bay, but he did his part to recruit others to come to Green Bay by telling them what a great city and team we have in the Green Bay Packers.

Initial reports say that he died of a massive heart attack at his home in North Carolina.

I hope Reggie is watching down on the Pack this post-season… our defensive line could use some divine intervention. We will miss you, Reggie!

Darrell Kunzler, a rancher in Utah, was recently arrested for not keeping his cattle herd under control. In the past 4 years, there were 31 police reports written up about this guy, and how he can’t keep his cattle under control and locked up.

Well, his stupidity finally caught up to him, as they are now charging him in the death of a 40-year-old mother of SIX who hit one of his cattle on the road and it killed her. Serves him right.

The part of this story that really gets me is the end though. They guy never really cared if people hit his cattle:

The warrant said troopers have complained to Kunzler in the past, but he made remarks to the effect, “I don’t care if my cows are hit by cars. I make more money claiming them on my insurance than selling them at the auction.”

Man. Let’s see how much money you can claim from JAIL on this one…

Neill told me the other day how Mo’s is opening yet ANOTHER restaurant in the Milwaukee area called “Mocha, a coffee bistro.” It’s going to be across the street from Potbelly’s downtown.

This is the 5th restaurant that Johnny Vassallo has opened under the Mo’s name. There are…

Mo’s Irish Pub
Mo’s, A Place for Steaks
Mo’s Cucina, Italian Casual Dining
Moceans, A Place for Seafood
Mocha, A Coffee Bistro

Onmilwaukee.com ran an article on Johnny V back in November and basically just picked his brain. Hard to believe that a HS dropout from Racine could put together such a successful restaurant franchise.

This got to me to thinking, “What is he going to do next?” Basically, I want to beat him to the punch, but I need your help. I’m thinking the next thing that he doesn’t have is like a custard or ice cream shop. He’s got coffee, dining restaurants, and a bar. No dessert??? What kind of name would he call it that could integrate Mo into the name? Mogurt (as in Frozen Yogurt) was the only thing that I could come up with. Do you have ideas? I promise to share in the royalities…

I heard about this website a few days ago on the radio and have been meaning to post about it.

www.bobbywarns.com

This is a very simple website that was put up in tribute to a US Marine named Bobby Warns that was killed in Iraq. The funeral of Bobby was recorded as a keepsake for his unborn baby. This short highlight-video was quickly placed online to share with family members who were overseas or otherwise unable to attend the service. The web address was also given to the Marines to pass on to Bobby’s friends in Iraq. Within days, the popularity of Bobby’s tribute site exploded, and comments are still pouring in from all over the world.

Wisconsin note to the story, the video was made by Darrell Boeck and Mark Lamkin, owners of Creative Images, a small company in Brookfield, Wisconsin
which specializes in recording weddings and producing promotional programs for business.

If you have 5 minutes, watch the video–well worth it.

Back when JBC had her wedding, I mentioned that we went to Bub’s Irish Pub afterwards to visit my friend, Mark, who manages the place. Bub’s is a very cool bar out in Germantown, and even though it’s a drive for those of us that live South of basically the UP, it’s well worth it.

Well, Bub’s was featured on the front page of onmilwaukee.com yesterday, so I thought I’d feature the bar again and give everyone the option of reading the article and heading out to Bub’s. See you there!

You’ve got to give this guy props for being creative.

Homeless Man Builds Hut into Bridge

CHICAGO-December 14, 2004 — For three or four years, a homeless man achieved the impossible: He found a cheap place to live on pricey Lake Shore Drive.

Actually, Richard Dorsay lived under Lake Shore Drive, in a wooden shack built into the beams and girders of the drawbridge that crosses the Chicago River.

Dorsay was recently evicted after another man arrested in suburban Streamwood told police about the home under the bridge.

When authorities went inside, they found an elaborate setup that tapped into the bridge’s electricity to power a television, microwave, space heater and PlayStation video game system. There, Dorsay could relax, turn on a Chicago Bears game, invite friends over and pop open some beers.

“I’ve never seen this,” Tom Powers, a deputy commissioner for the Chicago Transportation Department, told the Chicago Sun-Times. “Usually, it’s somebody trying to get warm at night.”

The home had it quirks. Whenever Dorsay heard the bells that signal the arms of the bridge would soon rise to let boats through, he held on as the bridge slowly pitched him forward.

“The first time it was scary,” he said. “After that, it was almost like riding a Ferris wheel.”

Two other people also moved to the same area of the bridge, and a number of wooden huts with sleeping quarters were built. Dorsay used blankets to camouflage the huts to make them harder to spot from the water below.

His house might be even better insulated than mine. I’m glad they aren’t charging this guy with anything though–he should be given credit for being so creative if you ask me.

In true “It Could Always Be Worse” form, I’d like to give a salute to the Cleveland Browns this week. If you are upset about your football team doing bad, just remember, it ALWAYS could be worse. Check out the box score on the Browns from their game on Sunday:

NET YARDS RUSHING: 29

NET YARDS PASSING: -12

TOTAL NET YARDS: 17

17 TOTAL YARDS??? Dude, Peyton Manning throws for like 300+ yards a game and even a crappy running back can usually get 50 yards. Cleveland’s quarterback, McCown, threw for -12 yards? How is that even possible, you ask? Well, he threw for 62 yards, but was sacked SEVEN times and lost 74 yards on those sacks.

And let’s look at those rushing yards. William Green gained 5 yards on 11 attempts. That calculates out to be roughly 16 inches per carry (thanks to Bob and Brian for figuring that out on Lazer yesterday). 16 INCHES. That’s like the size of my computer screen. Or as B&B said, the distance across home plate in baseball. You can’t tell me that he couldn’t take the football from one side of home plate to the other side? Heck, even our crappy punter, BJ Sander, could punt further than that–and that’s saying a lot.

Nonetheless, I salute you, Cleveland, for having one of the worst performances I’ve seen in a long time…

To me it seems like just yesterday that Saddam Hussein was being captured out of his little hole in Iraq… guess it was a year ago already… who knew…

To celebrate this day, watch this video. It’s pretty funny…

Feud turns personal
Bryant claims Malone hit on his wife at a Laker game

Honestly–grow up. I don’t get this. Is this one gigantic publicity stunt for Kobe Bryant, or what? If it is, Kobe is doing a great job getting his name out in the news. If it isn’t the break up of him and Shaq, it’s his rape trial, or Charles Barkley ripping on him. Now, it’s that Karl Malone hit on Kobe’s wife. You’re adults. Act like it.

Ok… out of the following three, who, 1. Has the best reason for going bald and 2. Looks the best bald?

Brett Favre, who is shaving his head slowly in support of his wife, Deanna, who is going through chemotherapy for breast cancer.

Chandra Johnson, the assistant to the president of Notre Dame, who shaved her head in protest of the firing of Tyrone Willingham (ND’s football coach) and says she will keep it shaved until they win a national championship.

Kevin Tripp. No explanation necessary.

Who do your votes go towards?

I always thought that Dick Clark was immortal. He’s been around forever–doing American Bandstand, dropping the New Years Ball in Times Square, and just being Dick.

Turns out he had a mild stroke this week. He’s 75, but come on! You gotta take care of yourself, Dick. We NEED you–get healthy soon!

That’s right–pictures that I took from Christmas Dinner are online and ready to be looked at. Enjoy!!