New pedal-free bicycle relies on running momentum

By Eric Pfeiffer

Could the Fliz be a viable alternative to conventional bicycles?

The latest in modern bicycle innovation takes some cues from the fictional mode of transportation used in the "Flintstones" cartoon.

A new bicycle designed by German engineers does away with pedals and instead requires the rider to run or walk to generate speed.

Dubbed the "Fliz Bike," it is actually based on the world's first bicycle, the "Laufrad," which also operated without pedals and was created by German inventor Karl Drais in 1817.

"The prior aim of developing FLIZ was to bring a completely new driving experience to everyone," designers Tom Hambrock and Juri Spetter write on their website. "Its laminated, innovative frame with 5 point belt system provides a comfortable, ergonomic ride between running and biking."

Riders of the Fliz must strap themselves into a harness (the "5 point belt system"). After building up enough speed, they lift their legs onto footrests located near the bike's rear wheel.

"The frame integrates the rider and due to its construction it works both like a suspension and like a top carrier whereas the belt replaces the saddle and adjusts your position," the designers write.

Respect, or lack of it

Talking today a thought occurred to me.

WHO commands respect anymore? WHO do you actually respect, what profession deserves or commands respect. Politicians are at the bottom of my list, evangelists are there also. When I was young, I respected Doctors and Ministers. Doctors no more, as my Father once said (and he was a Doctor), man Doctors no longer practice medicine, they practice deceit. There is much truth to that.

I have been trying to figure out who I actually do respect anymore. There has to be someone.

I think that certain athletes command respect. Roger Federer, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, all people I look up to, but there are not too many. I am sure there are others. It is a shame there are no politicians on my list. I think the very nature of becoming a politician necessitates qualities that lose my respect.  Like becoming a gangster or a thief.

Lawyers, certainly not. Millionaire evangelists, no way.

I think some Educators would be high on my list. I admire grade school teachers, I think their goals are lofty and they are dedicated.

An easy list to remember, educators.

Jury convicts Drew Peterson of 3rd wife's death

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — Drew Peterson, the former Illinois police officer who gained notoriety after his much-younger wife vanished in 2007, was convicted Thursday of murdering a previous wife in a case centered on secondhand hearsay statements from both women.

Peterson, 58, sat stoically looking straight ahead and did not react as the judge announced jurors had found him guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. Her relatives gasped, then hugged each other as they cried quietly.

Illinois has no death penalty, and Peterson now faces a maximum 60-year prison term when sentenced Nov. 26.

The trial was the first of its kind in Illinois history, with prosecutors building their case largely on hearsay thanks to a new law, dubbed "Drew's Law," tailored to Peterson's case. That hearsay, prosecutors had said, would let his third and fourth wives "speak from their graves" through family and friends to convict Peterson.

Scorpion Sting Leaves Arizona Woman With Huge Bill

PHOENIX — An Arizona woman is wondering what hurt more: getting stung by a scorpion or seeing her hospital bill after treatment.

Marcie Edmonds says the bill from Chandler Regional Medical Center was more than $83,000. That includes two doses of anti-venom at nearly $40,000 per dose.

The Arizona Republic () says Edmonds' insurer has paid more than $57,000 and the suburban Phoenix hospital is asking

The 52-year-old Ahwatukee (ah-wha-TU'-kee) Foothills resident was stung in June while opening a box of air conditioner filters in her garage.

Edmonds says an emergency room doctor told her about the Mexican anti-venom Anascorp that could quickly relieve her symptoms, but she was never told about the cost.

Chandler Regional says Edmonds' bill represents the out-of-network costs for her treatment.

I have done some checking and found different estimates, found below:

The Arizona Republic reported last year about the pricey markup Arizona hospitals were charging for the antivenom made in Mexico. Pharmacies in Mexico charge about $100 per dose.

 Distributed to hospitals for about $3,800 per vial, toxicologists say.

Either way it shows what the entire medical profession has degenerated to. See my next blog.

Old adage.....

There are three kinds of people in this world.

Those who are good at math

And those who aren't.

All gone

Maybe I have lived too long. I was just thinking, the house I grew up in at 319 South Brown Street in Dayton, Ohio is gone, a freeway goes directly over where the house used to be.

The ship I served on in the Navy, the USS William Mitchell, TAP114, has been cut up for scrap.

The Nevada Club and Harold's Club where I worked in Reno, Nevada are torn down.

A lot of my past is gone.

DNC Drops ‘God-Given’ From Party Platform

The Democratic National Committee has removed the term “God-given” from its platform.

This is the paragraph that was in the 2008 platform, the Christian Broadcasting Network reports:

“We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values, and interests of working people, and gives everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential.”

The paragraph now says this:

“We gather to reclaim the basic bargain that built the largest middle class and the most prosperous nation on Earth – the simple principle that in America, hard work should pay off, responsibility should be rewarded, and each one of us should be able to go as far as our talent and drive take us.”

Was this done at the suggestion of the president?

Password

With my ailing memory at my advanced age of almost 80

I'm thinking of changing all my passwords to "Incorrect"

That way when I log in with the wrong password

My computer will tell me

"Your password is incorrect"

Levis

Just doing some reminiscing. I remember many years ago, late 30's early 40's, Emerson Junior High School in Dayton, Ohio, if a kid came to school in "overalls" (now bluejeans), it meant he came from a poor family. He was often kidded and ridiculed for being poor and coming from a poor family, probably from Kentucky, better known in those days as "briarhoppers."

I graduated in 1950, and not sure when I wore "levis" to school. Maybe never did. I remember a few of us went to a live "country" show in Dayton. We went to a store downtown and bought a Levi Jacket and pants for the occasion. Saw Ernest Tubb and Grandpa Jones. We were kidded at school for doing that.

Wish I had those Levis now.

Been an eventfull day

My wife had a 10:30 appointment at a medical office to get some sort of a bone scan. We got there about 10:20, she did the usual sign in paperwork and came over to where I was sitting and sat down. At 10:34 they called her in for the procedure. She came out about 10:50 and we were in the car heading home before 11. To the best of my recollection, the fastest appointment yet involving the hospital or a doctors office.

The we went to a local restaurant for breakfast, been eating here for many years. We were about done eating, and what went scurrying across my wife's plate, a roach. I signaled the waitress, she came over and casually nailed him with a towel as he was escaping up a wall. Management came over and apologized, we chatted a while, and as he was walking away, picked up our check. My wife's purse is now sealed in a plastic bag with bug spray in it.

The worst of all, the Democratic convention starts today. Speaking of "hot air."

Last week a question was posed to a group of us. After you die, and come back in spirit form, what would you do to let people know you were with them. One person said he would "flick" the lights, so that any time you saw a light flicker, it was him. Others had other ideas.

Then I was asked, I had no ready answer. Those in attendance came up with an idea for my signal.

Hot air, when you feel any hot air, say hello to Joe, he is with you.

30,000 Dead North Carolinians Registered to Vote

A Raleigh-based group devoted to reducing the potential for voter fraud presented the N.C. Board of Elections on Friday with a list of nearly 30,000 names of dead people statewide who are still registered to vote.

The Voter Integrity Project compiled the list after obtaining death records from the state Department of Public Health from 2002 to March 31 and comparing them to the voter rolls.

“Mainly, what we’re concerned about is the potential [for fraud],” said project director Jay DeLancy. “Since there is no voter ID law in North Carolina, anybody can walk in and claim to be anyone else.”
DeLancy said his group has found evidence to suggest voter fraud in these numbers, but will not quantify how much until he is able to do more analysis. Most cases of what look like a dead person voting are likely just administrative errors, such as a son named Junior voting in his father’s name instead of his own.

1932

More events from the year I was born, 1932

• 13 million Americans unemployed.
• More than 24.5% of the population are unemployed
• 10s of thousands load up all belongings and live in cars going from place to place looking for work
• Hooverville's or shanty towns appear around the country built by homeless people using wood from crates, cardboard, scraps of metal, or whatever materials were available to them
• 43,000 marchers Inc. 17,000 World War I vets ( Bonus Army ) march to Washington DC and set up campgrounds demanding early payments of cash bonuses to help survive the Great Depression.
• Troops under the orders of General Douglas MacArthur advanced with bayonets and sabers drawn under a shower of bricks and rocks, but no shots were fired. In less than four hours, the troops cleared the Bonus Army's campground using tear gas.
• Comptroller of the Currency (or OCC) announces temporary halt by banks of foreclosures
• The Revenue Act of 1932 raised United States tax rates across the board, with the rate on top incomes rising from 25 percent to 63 percent.
• The first federal gasoline tax part of the Revenue Act of 1932 taxes apply of 1 cent per gallon.
• The Emergency Relief and Construction Act enacted July 21, 1932 was the United States's first major-relief legislation to fund public works hoping to put millions back to work, enabled under Herbert Hoover and later adopted and expanded by Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of his New Deal.
• Government and Companies implement wage cuts up to 30% for those lucky enough to be in employment
• Government and Companies cut working hours for those in employment hoping to provide more jobs for those who are unemployed.
• Due to Malnutrition and poor health Tuberculosis becomes widespread throughout the US
• The Communist Party of America organizes a “March on Hunger” in Detroit
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt wins a landslide presidential election on November 8th
• The United States forced 10's of thousands of Mexicans out of the country during the recession years
• American loans to help rebuild the German economy end

Another ad from 1932

You just gotta love Erin ..........

With 1:40 remaining in Friday night's season opening football game between South Plantation (Fla.) High and Nova (Fla.) High there didn't seem to be much time left for major drama. Nursing a 31-14 lead and marching the ball down the field to kill time, South Plantation could easily have let the game run out and moved on to week two.

Instead, Paladins coach Doug Gatewood decided to break through a metaphorical glass ceiling, inserting his backup quarterback for two snaps.

Her name is Erin DiMeglio, and she is believed to have become the first girl in state history to play quarterback in a varsity high school football game as a result. According to the Associated Press, some 500 girls have played for Florida football teams, but none have ever entered the game as a quarterback.

There are no official records of other girls who have played quarterback in varsity games in other states, so it remains unknown if DiMeglio is just the first girl to play the position at a varsity level in Florida or the first girl to play the position anywhere in the nation. Either way, the accomplishment is a notable one.

Labor Day

Labor Day is an American federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September in 2012) that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.

Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers. It also symbolizes the end of summer for many Americans, and is celebrated with parties, parades and athletic events.


In 1882, Matthew Maguire, a machinist, first proposed the holiday while serving as secretary of the CLU (Central Labor Union) of New York. Others argue that it was first proposed by Peter J. McGuire of the American Federation of Labor in May 1882 after witnessing the annual labor festival held in Toronto, Canada.

Oregon was the first state to make it a holiday in 1887. By the time it became a federal holiday in 1894, thirty states officially celebrated Labor Day. Following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland reconciled with Reyes, leader of the labor movement. Fearing further conflict, the United States Congress unanimously voted to approve rush legislation that made Labor Day a national holiday;

Cleveland signed it into law a mere six days after the end of the strike.

Just a comment ..............

Heard part of a radio show today pertaining to retired football players who have head injuries of some kind and apparently they are either taking, or anticipating taking action against the NFL. My guess is that none of them complained when they were making all that money.

Football probably got them through high school, a free ride to college, and then BIG bucks to sign with a pro team, and then their career.

Did it never occur to them that it was a violent sport, so much so that they wore "protective" headgear. Did they never see their teammates getting carried off the field and perhaps say to themselves, "This certainly is a violent sport, I might suffer some permanent injury."

What is the NFL supposed to do? Admit it is a violent sport, I think that is self evident. They jeopardized their very lives when then donned the uniform. They new the risks, and for large sums of money, were willing to take them. How do you determine which injury caused their problems. High school, college, or the pros. The pros have more money, so sue them.

If a policeman or a fireman gets injured in the line of duty, should those wives sue? Should we just outlaw football altogether? Don't tell the TV networks that.

There are many old adages that sum this situation up, use whichever one you want ...... but be sure to watch Monday Night Football, and college games, and support your local high school .... and listen for the complaints on NPR.

A Simple Solar Oven Makes Salt Water Drinkable

It functions by filling the black boiler with salty sea water in the morning, then tightening the cap. As the temperature and pressure grows, steam is forced downwards through a connection pipe and collects in the lid, which acts as a condenser, turning the steam into fresh water.

The Empty Chair

Phenomenal what one empty chair can do. Regardless of your politics, what happened with Mr. Eastwood the other night, whether it was his idea or not, is truly amazing, and shows the power of social media sites. Within seconds, thousands were aware of it, and within minutes, millions were exposed to it, an empty chair.

I have an empty chair sitting here in our apartment, by the door. I have never talked with it, or imagined someone was sitting in it, but I am more aware of it than ever before.

Bob Newhart used to talk on the phone to imaginary people, some very funny material. I remember the one from the days of the old "non-scheduled" airlines, the one where it was an airline and a storm door company, you went upstairs to the bathroom to weigh your luggage on their scales. The bus driver training one was great also.

I have to wonder whether the chair was an accident, or whose genius of an idea it was. I doubt that many people, in the world, see an empty chair, and think of Clint Eastwood.

Who would have guessed that an empty chair would draw that much publicity.

An ad from 1932 - the year I was born

We had one of these, don't remember what the left door was for, not sure if it was a freezer or an ice maker, no frozen foods in those days. Anyone remember?

T in C Article NO Truth to it at all ......

It was disclosed this morning in the Milwaukee Star Recorder, that recent star of the Republican Convention, actor Clint Eastwood revealed to his fellow residents at the swank Carmel-by-the-Sea Nursing Home that his "chair" stunt was in fact an accident.

"I told them to have a wheelchair available in case I got woozy and the stage manager didn't understand me and brought out that chair and put it behind me," Eastwood stated. "Hell, I have a tendency to get a little fuzzy in the evenings from some of the medication I take, and I thought I saw that damned Obama sitting in the chair, well, everyone laughed so I thought I would go along with them. I guess it worked out good though, better than the old "make my day" line.

Eastwood was flown back to the nursing home right after his speech on the new "campaign" plane belonging to Romney. When asked by RNC Chairman Reince Priebus if he would like to meet with Romney, he replied, "Hell yes, I want him to get me one of them new Ramblers, hell of a car, good on gas too."