A weblog from the observer-reporter
Findings Findings Findings
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Lawmaker, law breaker
Supposedly, it's "very incomplete!" But poticialgraveyard.com's List of Politicians Who Got into Trouble or Disgrace includes enough information that I had to hit the Page Down button on my laptop 61 times to reach the end.

Included are stories like that of Daniel E. "Devil Dan" Sickles, a U.S. representative from New York City who "shot and killed Philip Barton Key, his wife's lover and the son of the author of the national anthem." Devil Dan got off scot-key - er, scot-free - after arguing the first successful plea of temporary insanity in American history.

That didn't stop the Union Army from making him a general, for those who recognize his name from the Battle of Gettysburg.


Saturday, June 03, 2006
Lots o' letters
I'm not fond of acronyms. In my 21 years as a journalist, I've had to wade through countless combinations of capital letters that mean absolutely nothing except to the people who invented them. If you've had your fill of seeing the acronym TIF lately, you'll know what I mean.

So, what happens when you're not sure what something like TIF is supposed to mean? Visit Acronym Finder, type in the letters, and you'll see a bunch of possibilities. There it is, third one down: Tax Increment Financing. (For a definition, look elsewhere.)

Let's see, if I type in my last name ... "For Using New Knowledge." Hey, that's pretty cool!


Friday, June 02, 2006
Off Mikes
I listen to ESPN's Mike and Mike - as in Greenberg and Golic - as I get ready for work each morning.

In addition to their radio and TV show, they have an online feature called Off Mikes, which takes an on-air segment and applies fanciful animation. You may have seen something similar on the later-season DVD releases of "Seinfeld."


Meet Joe Walker
You've heard of Joe Walker, if nothing else because a South Franklin Township school is named after him.

During the early 1960s, the South Franklin native was nationally known as a pilot of the experimental X-15 aircraft, setting altitude records that stood for decades.

June 8 marks the 40th anniversary of his death in a midair collision.

Cathie Godwin, a longtime admirer of Joseph A. Walker, has put together a comprehensive memorial online. Now included is a travelogue of her recent visit to Washington County to gather research for a book she is writing about Walker.


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