Music City Bloggers

At least we aren’t playing annoying hold music…

GingerSnaps — Sat, 31 May 2008 21:28:26 GMT

Phoenix has landed

Jim Voorhies — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:55:08 GMT

I remember when President Kennedy committed to putting someone on the moon. The Space Race launched a lot more than just rockets to the moon. It launched science and engineering as the jobs of the future. It launched a whole industry bent on making things small enough that they could fit into a space ship - everything from telemetry to medical instrumentation and most of it evolved into things we take for granted today, like cardiac monitors in the ER, pacemakers, and laptop computers.

Last August, the US launched the Phoenix Mars Lander. Getting stuff there isn’t an issue. Getting it to slow down from 17,000 miles per hour and land is the issue. And the Phoenix was successful. Steve, at Whites Creek Journal, blogged about this yesterday and we’ve got the first photo from Mars after the jump. (Steve has more links to photos as well, just go there.)

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Hey there!

Jim Voorhies — Fri, 23 May 2008 20:05:04 GMT

Have a happy and safe holiday weekend, everyone! If you are doing a road trip somewhere this weekend, remember that other person is Chevy Chase, and you’re not. You need to avoid becoming the inspiration for a new Grizwold National Lampoon movie, if at all possible.

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This just in

Jim Voorhies — Fri, 23 May 2008 16:58:55 GMT

From theSpoof.com

Facing certain defeat due to Barack Obama’s insurmountable lead and his refusal to look for sex in public bathrooms, Senator Hillary Clinton resigned from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday night.

She then immediately accepted the Libertarian Party nomination, which was offered to her outright in a shocking and unprecedented move by a political party long believed by casual observers to identify more closely with Republicans than with Democrats.

Former Libertarian Party frontrunner and Johnny-come-lately Bob Barr could not be satisfactorily sedated for comment.

“I offer the Libertarian Party a revitalized vision,” Clinton told a small but enthusiastic crowd of party insiders. “Henceforth, let our motto be, ‘What about the children?’”

“She’s our man,” said Libertarian Party spokesman Will Cave. “She’s privatizing her health care model. Everyone will have to pay fifty cents to see a doctor or have brain surgery.

“She will order Homeland Security to eliminate some domestic spying programs that can be turned over to local police or voluntarily managed by busybody sheep with cell phone cameras.

“She also will not allow her vice president to run roughshod over the rest of the world. That’s her job, and he’ll just be her paid lackey,” Cave concluded.

I love satire.

School’s Out for Summer!

Malia Carden — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:59:37 GMT

Today was the last day of classes for students in Metro Nashville Public Schools. I, for one, am happy to have about 11 weeks of not having to make sure my daughter has clean SSA (standard school attire) to wear the next day and hopefully some lazier mornings instead of rushing to get ready to catch the bus.

But the summer looms ahead of me like a blank canvas and my children are of the opinion that I was put on this earth to entertain them endlessly! (They’re wrong, of course, but not easily convinced otherwise.) So what I need is a plan. And it needs to local and cheap, better yet, free!

So, this summer, I want to take in some of the sights and attractions that Music City and its surrounding cities and counties have to offer. It’s a self-serving venture designed to give an answer to the inevitable question of, “What are we doing today?” Would you like to join us? Please e-mail me at malia dot carden at gmail dot com. I’ll put together an e-mail list and send out announcements of when and where bloggers with school aged children will be hanging out. It’ll help me, it’ll help you. And if you have any suggestions for cheap or free outings, include that in your e-mail and I’ll put it on the list!

Condolence Blog Set Up for Chapman Family…

GingerSnaps — Thu, 22 May 2008 16:13:23 GMT

This was excellent thinking on the part of who ever set this up…

A special blog set up for you. We invite you to share your condolences here.

The Chapman family is so grateful for the incredible outpouring of love and support at this difficult time.

Birthday wishes!

GingerSnaps — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:48:01 GMT

Today is the birthday of who I consider to be the Queen B of the Nashville blogging community…

Happy Birthday, Aunt B!!!

That’s a fact, Jack

Jim Voorhies — Thu, 22 May 2008 12:46:30 GMT

OK, in truth, I don’t know if this is factual but it is terrifyingly possible, since the price of crude went up $5 a barrel yesterday alone. Over at Random Mumblings, Jack Lail quotes from a Fast Company interview of T. Boone Pickens, the Texas oilman.

Fast Company: What will happen in the next five years?

Pickens: Demand will go up, and price will go up.

Fast Company: Take a stab at what we’ll be paying at the pump in five years.

Pickens: Oh hell, that’s so far out. Maybe $6 to $8 a gallon.

Pickens is a walking contradiction. He was the principal funding behind the Swift Boat attack ads on John Kerry and he believes in global warming to the point that he’s spending $10 billion to create the country’s biggest wind farm with 2,000 turbines. He may be controversial, but he does know oil and he’s probably not far off. Will the possibility of doubling your gasoline bill over the next presidential term affect votes? You know, issues, over personality or race or sex or age.

Sad News

GingerSnaps — Thu, 22 May 2008 02:26:02 GMT

From The Tennessean:

One of contemporary Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman’s six children was killed this afternoon when she was struck by a car said to be driven by her teenage brother in the driveway of the family’s Williamson County home.

The child, Maria, age 5, was taken by LifeFlight to Vanderbilt Hospital, which confirmed the death, according to Laura McPherson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

She was hit by an SUV driven by her teenage brother, she said. Police did not give the driver’s name.

The teen was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser down the driveway of the rural home at about 5:30 p.m. and several children were playing in the area, McPherson said. He did not see the 5-year-old in the driveway before the vehicle struck her, she said.

Our thoughts are with the Chapman family tonight.

Not on your side

Jim Voorhies — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:40:09 GMT

Nationwide Insurance is, despite the ads, probably not on your side all the time. Like when you’re driving and talking on your cell phone the way that 80% of us seem to do. They’ve done a survey. In a study published last year by Harris Interactive, 92 percent of Americans said driving while talking on the phone was as bad as getting behind the wheel of a car after having a few drinks.

40% of cell phone owners between 16 and 30 text message while driving

60% of teens use cell phones while driving

65% of baby boomers between 45 and 61 use cell phones while driving

78% of users between 18 and 30 use cell phones while driving

80% of users between 31 and 44 use cell phones while driving.

Hang up and drive, people. And, since you can’t text without looking at the keyboard, don’t even try it.