Ugh

Empty stomach + Bus riding + Looking for items that breached a purse pocket into the inner lining = Motion sickness.

I'm eating a little to see if it will settle my stomach. This is why I don't read whilst riding, either, although I never had trouble as a child--I've lost the knack, apparently.

Today's funny story

World's biggest matzo ball unveiled in NYC: 267-pound ball gobbled up by hungry lower East Siders

It was created to raise awareness of a charity basketball game between the New York Knicks and the Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv, playing to raise money for the Migdal Or orphanage in northern Israel. Among those who got to taste the mighty matzo ball soup were those at a senior centre who are served kosher meals six days a week. Go to the link above to see a picture of it.

Only in New York, I'd say.

Isn't it sad

that someone could have survived the horrors of Auschwitz--allegedly having been in line for the gas chambers four times, gone to a new country and achieved success as a discotheque owner, and then be beaten and strangled to death at the age of 89 by apparently stupid [in terms of how easily they were traced] robbers motivated by greed?



A Murder Victim Found in His Bed Had a Colorful Past
Bronx woman arrested in murder of high-profile Holocaust survivor Guido Felix Brinkmann
Two brothers arrested in murder of Holocaust survivor Felix Brinkmann

Also hard hit by flooding

--the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs in Louisville:

Derby Museum damage could total in millions

'The curator is going through it now as much as she can in the dark,' Treinen said. 'We are seeing things that have water damage but nothing so far that we don't think can be conserved if necessary.'

'Really we're playing a race against the clock. Because all of those things haven't suffered massive water damage, at least things of real high value, the time is now to save it. If it got damp at all, it is going to be sent to cold storage and frozen for the next couple of months. That prevents the mold from setting in. It's really the paper that's the first concern, before the mold starts.'

For updates, see the Kentucky Derby Museum Flood Blog.

Right now the damage is estimated at around 4 million dollars. Tours of the Downs and museum gifts will relocate to the racetrack's gift shop starting tomorrow. The grave of Eight Belles was undisturbed--even the begonias were in place, although the track itself required more dirt and they brought sand into the barns to help. But the museum itself is particularly hard hit, and they continue to be closed to evaluate the collection and prepare it for conservation. I didn't find any information on the blog for flood relief donations, but here is the address/contact info for the museum:

The Kentucky Derby Museum
704 Central Avenue
Louisville, KY 40208

(502) 637-7097 Info
(502) 637-1111 Office
Tour reservations: (502) 637-1111 ext 220
Front desk: (502) 637-1111 ext 242
info@derbymuseum.org

Their website is up and running so I'm assuming the e-mail is currently valid. I'm not sure about the phone infrastructure.

Whew! It's been a rough week for Louisville!

A great little animated short about digital preservation and metadata :) [and preventing nuclear holocaust, too]

by Digital Preservation Europe.

Something that made me cry (I know, I cry at the drop of a hat, but...)

Iconic koala that survived fires dies in surgery: ‘Sam,’ who was captured on film during Australia blazes, loses fight for life

Sam the Koala had cysts associated with urogenital chlamydiosis, which affects up to 50 percent of Australia's koala population, and went through surgery to correct the problem, but the disease was so advanced and would have continued to have been very painful, so she was euthanised. Sam became a symbol of hope during the horrible Australian bush fires when a photo was taken of her taking water from a bottle. She was treated for severe burns at a wildlife centre.

I had seen a news story where they said they were going to do the surgery, and had a feeling it would not come out okay. I'm sorry I was right.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Some humour on an otherwise somewhat dismal day

Great Western Dragon from LISNews posted the this, and it's absolutely hilarious [click the picture to enlarge and read the print]. I'm not sure if the credit goes to GWD or to someone else; no other one was given, and I couldn't find it anywhere else that wasn't derived from that post. If anyone knows otherwise, let me know.

As a special bonus prize, Great Western Dragon also led me to a great little comic called Sinfest by Tatsuya Ishida. Check out the oh-I'm-so-glad-cultists-in-Call-of-Cthulhu-haven't-figured-out-this-one comic, when a young boy teaches a book to speak. I also love today's, where an advertisement asks, 'Do you enjoy power? Do you like to crush people and laugh at their pain? Then you have what it takes to be an Illuminati! Call now! Be part of the shadowy action!'

Oh, and the dismal day part? It's actually been a lovely day to a point--I took off from work to take a friend to an appointment and do some much-needed errands, and he in turn bought me lunch, then I took another friend to work. Fortunately I got everyone shuttled about and was on my way home when my transmission went out. Again, no power at 25 mph and 4000 rpm. Again, smoke coming from under the hood--but in greater amounts. People on Alumni Drive were quite wroth with me and I pulled over and let them pass since they were honking, then slowly made my way to over by the synagogue so I'd be safely off the road. At that point, when I made the turn, the car went backwards in drive, so there's really no doubt that it's the transmission. I had it towed the last few blocks home and informed my friend that I can't pick him up tonight. So now I get to weigh my options. The car isn't really worth rebuilding the transmission, although I will go ahead and call the owner of the tow company--who apparently does them--just to get a price. I haven't heard back from the car lot, which could mean that there was no instant rejection or it could mean they haven't heard yet if financing will be available, or it could just mean that they're ignoring me. I have a call in to the sales rep. I guess for now there's nothing to do but go ahead and pay my electric bill, which I'd been saving in case I needed more money for a smaller auto repair (I was, ironically, heading home to double-check a few things (like bank balances) and then was going to head to the shop to have them do a test-drive and tell me the problem) and put the rest of what I don't need immediately into savings, then put more in at the end of the month. I believe 'bummer' doesn't quite cover it. :(

A funny Thai commercial

...and here's a hint--it's not for yoghurt. :)

Before the current game adventure, which is partially set there,

I couldn't have told you where Tonga is. Now I keep finding it in the news. This is particularly sad news regarding the island nation:

Dozens missing after Tonga ferry sinks

Women, children 'trapped' as ferry sank

Some fundraisng for a library in need

Louisville Free Public Library needs your help

Or donate to:

The Library Foundation
ATTN: Flood Relief
301 York Street
Louisville, KY 40203
(502) 574-1709