Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween, boys & girls!
At The Monster Club, you will find more than a hundred old radio plays to help you through the long, dark, and spooky night. Listen if you dare! Beware!--your sweetie may need some comforting if you do not listen alone....
John

Curt on the Ecosystem

Steve Abram just sent me an article in a Seattle newspaper (that some friends in Washington sent to him) about Curt Ebbesmeyer's work on the ecosystem. We are all proud of him and admire his dedication to understanding the threats to our oceans and to our ecosystem and to finding solutions to them. Lisa Stiffler wrote the article on Curt, "The message in the (plastic) bottle in dire" and it appears at http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/specials/brokenpromises/288097_plastic10.asp
on the web.
Curt's own website, Beachcomers' Alert!, is at
http://www.beachcombers.org/

Humor Here & There

Lots of humor flows through our email, some of which may be worthy of noting on the Pi Kap Forum. I have a few examples--perhaps you have found (or will find) others and can add them.
First, this picture is worth a thousand words, if not drinks.
Second, Conrad sent me an excellent beer troubleshooting tool, although it is not clear to me that some will be sober enough to use it when it is really necessary.
Third, some good medical advice is offered in sound at http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~johnca/MXTequilla_MMH.mp3.

The Sad Poker Game

Here is a sad story of six brothers playing poker at one of the Pismo Reunions. True, we dunna like to talk about this story, but time and again we need to be reminded. Only a few names will be mentioned in order to tell the tale.
Brother Paddy Murphy loses $500 on a single hand, clutches his chest, and drops dead on the table. Brothers Adams, Sparks, Costanzo, Hayes, and Wenguer are shocked.
Brother Turton, who has been watching, says, "Oh, bro's, someone has got to tell Paddy's wife. It is the only thing to do. Who will it be?"
Unable to decide, Brother Roberts suggests that they draw straws. Brother Hayes picks the short one.
As Brother Hayes prepares to drive to Paddy Murphy's house, the other brothers tell him to be discreet, be gentle, and not to make a bad situation worse.
"Discreet? I'm the most discreet brother you'll ever meet. Discretion is my middle name. Leave it to me, and don't give away my chair at the table while I am gone."
So it is that Brother Hayes goes to Paddy Murphy's house and knocks on the door. Mrs. Murphy answers--it being late at night, she is dressed in a robe with curlers and cold cream all over her face--and asks Brother Hayes what he wants.
Brother Hayes declares: "Your husband just lost $500 and is afraid to come home."
"Tell him to drop dead," says Mrs. Murphy.
"I'll go tell him," says Brother Hayes.
And that is the true tale of how Brother Hayes returned to the poker game that fateful night. The guilt Mrs. Murphy bears to this day is a lesson to us all.