Best Use of Lost & Found Hotline

Have you heard about the drug dealer, Leroy Carr, who reported his lost cocaine to the feds? Seems he was trying to smuggle two backpacks worth of narcotics into Canada, but had to hide the packs overnight. And he hid them so well, he could not find them in the morning. So what does Mr. Carr do? Well, he calls Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, of course, and reports the missing backpacks -- including their illegal contents! You see, Mr. Carr was afraid his employers would accuse him of stealing the stash for himself. So he simply wanted the federal agents to issue a news release stating that they had seized the 31kg of missing cocaine. The Seattle-Post Intelligencer probably has the best headline for this story: Man asks feds: Have you seen my cocaine? Happy ending: Two weeks after the incident, a Boy Scout ranger found the abandoned backpacks near a campsite and reported the missing drugs to law enforcement. Now, can you imagine the fund raiser that the troop could have held with that much coke? Not that they would ever do such a thing, of course. The BSA teaches young men to be trustworthy, loyal, and such. My bet is that Leroy Carr was never a member of his local Boy Scouts organization. More links:

• Feds: Man filed report for his lost cocaine MSNBC
• Man arrested after calling border agents to say he lost backpacks ... KOMO

Recalling ancient tribal fires

Ritual Fire. Sacred Paths Community. September 13, 2007. A new journey.

Blogroll Updates

In broadcasting the format updates, I neglected to mention the updates to the blogroll. Please give a great Prophet or Madman welcome to Siegfried Goodfellow of Heathen Ranter and Mark Seydel's eponymous blog (Reverend Mark J. Seydel). Siegfried has something of a lyrical quality to his musings on Heathen practice. Mark is something of a universalist who is recovering from a Roman Catholic background. Yes, they are both listed under the FAITH category, but they are truly from different ends of the spectrum. Just the way I like it.

The Moon is Lovely, Dark and Deep

My previous post provided some news about one of Saturn's moons and new images that were acquired this month. I would be remiss, however, if I did not also point out a Space.com article from this week that talks about our own Moon, that mysterious mistress of the night and our planet's closest astronomical companion. Charles Q. Choi has penned a wonderful piece titled "The Enduring Mysteries of the Moon." He covers questions of how the moon was made, was there ever water on the moon, and did the moon ever host life, among other tids and bits. He also provides links to lunar images, news, and lore. Check it out:

The Enduring Mysteries of the Moon by Charles Q. Choi The moon--linked in myth with goddesses of witchcraft and the hunt, with gods of magic and wisdom--is nearly as old as Earth itself, with enigmas of its own. As close as the moon is to Earth, we are still far from solving all its mysteries--from how the moon was born to whether life on Earth has its past and future there... [ Full Story ]

Yin & Yang Moon

Did you know that Saturn has a two-toned moon named Iapetus? The Cassini mission to Saturn scored hundreds of images during a Sept. 10 flyby of Iapetus. These pictures "show the moon's yin and yang -- a white hemisphere resembling snow, and the other as black as tar" (Spaceflight Now).

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Download larger image version here

More information:

• Spaceflight Now
• Cassini-Huygens - Latest Images
• NASA: Cassini-Huygens
• Wikipedia entry
• David Darling's Encyclopedia

Rated Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Bob: Have you seen the new pirate movie? Doug: No. Bob: It's rated .... Arrrrrrrrrr!

That's right folks. Today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day! If you need help getting into the spirit, go visit the official site:

Little Moments (A Not-So-Long Distance Dedication)

I saw a link to this video on An Unfinished Soul, a blog that I frequent every now and then. I'm not the biggest country music fan, but I do like Brad Paisley's work. He brings an honesty and simplicity to his songs that are just hard for me to resist. Watching the video for "Little Moments" made me think about my wife and our relationship. I am definitely more to blame for any problems we have, but this little ditty reminded me that there is more joy to celebrate than I often pay credit. There are so many little wonderful things that far outweigh any seemingly large annoyances. I am reminded of why we got together, and why I stay with her. To my wife: If you read this, and I know there is a possibility of that, I dedicate this video to you. I love you, and I treasure our little moments.

More Mods: Three Columns!

On August 25, I unveiled an updated look for the blog. That was Stage I in the makeover. I have finally completed Stage II, which was my goal all along: Three Columns! Prophet or Madman is now organized just the way I want it. The left column contains the elements about me and mine, the central column contains the posts, and the right column contains off-site elements (the blogs I read, causes I support, and other resources). There may be other tweaks in the days or weeks to come, but this is pretty much the basic look and feel you can expect from here on out. Let me know if you have any comments or suggestions.

Drepung Gomang Monks coming to Philly Area

In the spirit of pluralism and activism, I am providing information about the monks from Drepung Gomang Monastery who will be in the Philadelphia area from September 26 through October 11. This all comes from Greg Schultz (gregschultz [at] pureinspiration [dot] org), the contact person for Pure Inspiration (www.pureinspiration.org):

The monks from Drepung Gomang monastery are returning to the Phila area. Please try to attend some of the events, listed below, and we need your help in spreading the word. Please go to the web site for event details in addition to the PDF file (see below). Please print and/or send to as many people as possible. We’re trying to raise $30,000 during the three week period that they’re here, which will feed the 2,200+ monks for at least three months. We look forward to seeing you at the events. Much Tashi Delek, Greg

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Events: see comments for Event dates/locations.

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Event Flyer (click to download larger version):

Quotable | Civilized

The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant. -- Henry Louis Mencken (1850 - 1956)

Friday Pet Blogging | Otis' Prepositional Trapezoid

Otis loves this trapezoid kind of thing we have. He sleeps IN it. He sleeps ON it. He plays IN it ... and even UNDER it. Today, for Friday Pet Blogging on Saturday, we present Otis' Sesame Street audition in which he demonstrates the prepositions IN and ON. Enjoy!

Otis is ... IN ... the trapezoid. (Looks sneaky, huh?)

Otis is .... ON ... the trapezoid. (He looks kind of bored up there, doesn't he?)

And one by one, the pet blogging posts steal my sanity ...

More Pet Blogging See the Friday Ark, featuring a compilation of today's pet blogging posts, over at The Modulator. Check the M&O Archives for some previous Milo & Otis appearances. Carnival of the Cats, coming at you every Sunday. And one of the funniest/cutest/obsessivest (OK, I know that's not a word!) sites for cat photos, StuffOnMyCat.com is a must see. Take it from them: Stuff + Cats = Awesome! And for a funny and saccharin sweet photo collection of cat, kitty, and other critters that have been tagged with LOL, go see I Can Has a Cheezeburger? Really, these are good.

Jackhammers in My Basement

No, the title of this post is not some clever analogy for my current mental state. There truly are jackhammers pounding away in my basement this morning. If I'm not too far off, they've been at it for half an hour now. It sounds like they are everywhere! Oh wait ... silence. Weird. Anyway, I'm sure you are wondering why there are (or were) jackhammers in my basement on a Wednesday morning. It's because we are having the basement waterproofed. The first part of this process it to hammer out a perimeter channel in the concrete floor. I would go down and get pics, but I don't want to get in the way. With a crew of 5-8 contractors, all wielding significant power tools, I'm sure the last thing they need is "Johnny Office-Boy" be-bopping around taking pictures as they work. Besides, I have work to do, too. And now that the pounding has stopped, perhaps I can think clearly enough to get back to it.

9-11: Remember When?

Hey, remember when the Bush administration hunted down Bin Laden and brought him to justice for the 9/11 attacks? Oh, wait ... that didn't happen! Partisan political grumbling aside, here is a candle in memory of the victims of that horrific attack. I think we can all agree on the need to come together as Americans and Global Citizens to combat religious intolerance and violent shortsightedness.