When in Louisiana...

....Watch out for Alligators! They could be lethal.

AMELIA, La. — An offshore oil-field worker was killed after losing control of his car when it struck and killed an alligator that was crossing the highway.

Samuel Burgess, 26, of Bayou Lourse, was pronounced dead at the scene Sunday after his car slammed into a tree along Louisiana Highway 662.

Troopers say Burgess was alone in the car.

Burgess, a native of Illinois, lived in Assumption Parish.

Fishin' on the weekend

Took the kids to Jennings Park to do some fishin' this weekend. Just thought I'd share some pics:

Beefy Sytem to Run Microsoft Vista

Want to run all of Vista's features once Microsoft finally releases it? Better have a beafy system!



Microsoft, for the first time, is telling PC owners exactly what it'll take for them to run its forthcoming Windows Vista operating system.

As expected, the software giant on May 18 unveiled its Windows Vista Get Ready Web site, along with a set of minimum PC hardware guidelines for Vista Capable PCs — which call for at least an 800MHz processor, 512MB of RAM and a DirectX 9-capable graphics processor, but ask for more for those who seek to use all of Vista's features — and an Windows Upgrade Advisor application as part of a campaign to prepare people.

Vista, Microsoft's first major overhaul of Windows since 2001, promises numerous updates for performance, security and productivity.

Given that it's long been expected to require more powerful PC hardware than Windows XP, consumers and business IT managers have been awaiting Microsoft's recommendations as they plan for upgrading to the OS, due in early 2007, or as they evaluate the purchase of new systems.

But even though the minimum hardware specs for the OS show that Vista will run on just about any PC sold over the last few years, its most advanced features — including the three-dimensional Aero user interface — will require additional performance, causing at least some consumers and corporate IT departments to take a look under the hood before upgrading.
To that end, Microsoft released two sets of minimum hardware recommendations. In addition to delivering the Get Ready Web site and upgrade advisor application, now in beta, it issued a second set of recommendations it calls Windows Vista Premium Ready.

The software maker's Windows Vista Premium Ready PC specifications call for a 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and 128MB of dedicated graphics memory, along with a fairly recent graphics processor that meets several additional specifications, so as to ensure a PC can run Aero. The machines must also have at least a 40GB hard drive or 15GB of free space and an internal or external DVD-ROM drive.

Microsoft, assuming that most consumers and even IT managers aren't going to want to take the time to dig into their PCs' hardware to determine their Vista readiness, will lend a hand with its Get Ready campaign.

The Get Ready site, a part of the Microsoft's Vista.com site for providing information about the OS and its various versions of Vista, now offers the Upgrade Advisor beta.

The application, which site visitors can download and run on a Windows XP PC, will render advice on what a given machine might need to be ready for Vista when it arrives.

$14 for a Twenty Minute Nap?

Would you pay it? Apparently some people do...but not enough for this guy to keep his store open.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Wake up! We're closing!
The lights are out at MinneNapolis, a store at the Mall of America that sold naps for 70 cents a minute.

The nap center, which charged $14 for 20 minutes in a private, themed room, brought in fewer than 1,600 customers during its six-month run. That was far short of owner Steev RamsDell's projections.

He blamed the failure on the high number of tourists who shop at the mall.
"We had people who said they loved our service and they'd be back next time they were at the mall — next year," he said. "We couldn't develop the repeat business."

The concept seems to work in some places. MetroNap sells space in sleep pods in the Empire State Building in New York and at the airport in Vancouver, British Columbia.

RamsDell still hopes to make money from tired Minnesotans. He said he has signed a lease in the trendy Uptown neighborhood in Minneapolis and plans to open a smaller version of MinneNapolis on June 1.

70,000 cans of beer on the wall....

24 cans of beer a day times eight years! What does that get you? This guy and 800 bucks...lol.



Here’s to you, Mr. Can'tfindhiswaytothetrashcan guy!

It seems one Ogden, Utah, man was a little more than a casual fan of the occasional cold one after work.

Last year, Century 21 property manager Ryan Froerer — acting on a tip from a real estate agent — went out to check on a townhouse, but when he got therem he realized he’d missed the party.

KSL-TV reports that Froerer was greeted by a barrage of beer cans — tens of thousands of them — piled high on the floor of the otherwise abandoned abode.

"As we approached the door, there were beer boxes, all the way up to the ceiling,” Froerer said. "It's just unbelievable that a human being could live like that."

But "live like that" someone had, and for quite some time.

Froerer snapped a few pictures of the boozy metallic mountain and e-mailed them to friends, but soon they were circulating among beer fans everywhere.

Luckily for Froerer, once the townhouse was de-brewskified, it was clean enough to lease out again. The estimated 70,000 cans (that amounts to 24 beers a day for the beer dude's eight-year stay) were recycled for $800.

New American Hot Dog Eating Champ

The hotdogs I understand, but the Jalapeno Poppers, wow! This guy is my new hero. This guy also ate 173 wings in 30 minutes. the fact he is the exact same height and weight as me is scary!


Chestnut, a 22-year-old civil engineering student at San Jose State, ate 50 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes Thursday at the Las Vegas qualifier for a spot at the table at the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.

The mark sets the American hot dog eating record, beating the 42 hot dogs and buns swallowed by Sonya Thomas last year. In the same competition, Chestnut had only eaten 32.

"I was hoping to do 40," said Chestnut, the champion in pork ribs (5.5 pounds in 12 minutes), waffles (18.5 in 10 minutes) and jalapeno poppers (118 in 10 minutes). "I did 48 at home, but it's always harder to do it in front of a crowd."

Chestnut estimates he has won $50,000 in cash and prizes in a year on the circuit, including a car and ring after prevailing in the Wing Bowl. In the event, which took place in Philadelphia, he ate 173 buffalo wings in 30 minutes.