2nd Debate - The Comedy Side

I'm looking forward to seeing Jimmy Kimmel's take on the debates. If I was his writer, I would suggest he do the many sides of Donald Trump. The Donald can sure make some funny faces. Speaking of Trump, he in an awkward conciliatory way, I think he apologized.

We saw a few jokes. Jeb's Secret Service name is "Everlasting" because he has energy. (Saying this while looking at Donald.)

CNN tried to set each candidate against each other. Carson did a wonderful job, not allowing the media giant to do that.

Journey to the North Pole

"This is fantastic," says Donelly as the 318-passenger ship he's on smashes into a car-length ice chunk along a few hundred miles from the North Pole. A shudder goes through the vessel. "In all my dreams, I never thought I would make it to the edge of the North Pole."

Just outside Ny-Alsund, they come across polar bears. The ship circles clockwise around an island looking for other wildlife. Equipped with rubber boats the passenger disembark the ship, exploring more of the frozen island.

This far up in the Arctic, the sun stays up for nearly the entire summer, one day even brings a 2 a.m. passing of a blue whale.

Would you travel to the North Pole, given the opportunity?

Robots on a Small Dairy Farm

We lived at a dairy farm many years ago. We enjoyed it. (Except for when the cows got out and went into our garden.)

In Graniteville VT, Robots operate on a dairy farm. The farmer says it makes for happy cows. Jennifer Lamberts says the automated milkers gives time for other farm duties and collects vital data about the animals. It also boosts the amount of milk being produced because the cow gets milked when it wants to.

I can hear a collected, "WHAT?"

I reread the article and the cows get milked when and as often as the animals wants. It didn't go into detail as to how, but I'd sure like to know.

Beautify America First

I remember a speech by Paul Harvey, the radio commentator, that ended all his broadcasts with: "Good Day." Paul made the case that the first duty to Americans is to make America great. He spoke of a time that the monies used were spent to make America strong and an example to the world. "People wanted to follow America," he said.

But today it seems like we have to give a lot away in order to gain any influence upon countries. Our leaders call evil, okay and good, evil.

I'd say let's get back to building up America, making our borders secure, our country an example. Then we can take refugees and help them become our citizens.

Cheetah Escapes

Sunday afternoon, Indianapolis Zoo was on a locked down.  A code red was issued which meant all the visitors to the zoo were to remain inside. All the visitors were moved to safe areas. A cheetah escaped. It remains a mystery as to how the animal was able to leave its cage.

The cheetah was located, and the zoo safety team used a tranquilizer dart to subdue it. (Zoo officials said the animal was behind barriers and was unable to get to public areas.) The cat ran back to its exhibit.

Around 11 a.m. a statement was released, announcing that all zoo guests and staff were safe and that Pounce, the cheetah was safe.

Americans Drawn to the West Bank

Mordechai Reich moved to the West Bank, 7 miles south of Jerusalem in 1994. "For me, Israel is a young country where individual contributions add up to create significant change, he says, a psychologist who immigrated from New York. "In that sense it is a land of opportunity, just as America is. We integrate Israeli culture and American culture, and the result is a strong culture."

There are approximately 15% U.S., Jewish citizens in the West Bank. Many have said it was their upbringing in the U.S. that brought them to Israel. Once they are there, many of them, help the new arrivals.

Roaming Buffalo

South Dakota, my home state, stays on top in the U.S. for bison production. A slogan known in the Midwest but not across the country is: "Bison, it's what's for dinner." I've eaten a buffalo burger. It's not as tender as ground beef but tastes good. 

There are 33,637 bisons in the U.S.A. Of that amount, 20.7 percent is found in South Dakota. The number two spot is our Dakota neighbor to the north. I've seen buffalo at different times while traveling across South Dakota. It makes me think about the early days of the wild west.

A farmer of bison, Mahoney says, "Cattle is much different from bison. The fences have to be much stronger. The animal is wild and has to be respected as such."