Starting a new week with a 2013 JMMB Posting

We recently recalled the passing of The Pocomoke Public Eye's Brenda Wise (posting as "jmmb") on June 11, 2014. I came across the item below that Brenda posted here some eight months earlier (perhaps on her mind was the serious health situation she was confronting). I'm certain if Brenda was with us today, especially in these challenging times, she would still be sharing thoughts of encouragement with us all. -tk 

Coin Turns Red Kettle Into Pot of Gold

It wasn't what suburban Chicago Salvation Army workers sorting through loose change expected to find at the bottom of a kettle.

But last week employees uncovered a rare treasure wrapped inside a $2 bill: a 1 ounce gold South African Krugerrand coin worth about $1,200, reported The Beacon-News.

"It was like carrying the Super Bowl trophy of donations," Maj. Robert Hall told the newspaper.

This isn't the first time an anonymous benefactor dropped a gold coin in the red tin kettles.

Just last year, the same Chicago Salvation Army found four smaller gold coins in its buckets.

Th new donation will go toward the chapter's goal of $211,000 in kettle collections.

"We are already $1,000 ahead with just this coin," Lt. Rick Garcia told the newspaper. "It's a relief and a blessing. We're glad someone is listening to our bells."

Go to The Beacon-News for the full story.

Flight 1549 3D Reconstruction, Hudson River Ditching

The NTSB released the public docket for Flight 1549 on June 9, 2009. The docket contains a wealth of information that can be utilized in a full 3D reconstruction of the accident. Our work goes deep into the underlying framework of information and encompasses the entire spectrum of accident information.

Integrating all spatial and temporal data allows us to approach this accident from a never-before-seen perspective. The ability to flexibly combine data, camera views and other visual elements is a key advantage in presenting an engaging real-time presentation of the accident sequence.

All work you see on this page would withstand the rigors of qualification for presentation either as demonstrative evidence or, if sufficient witness testimony is available, real evidence. We have the capability to blend all of the information you see into any perceivable final product, depending on your specific visualization needs. The video below is best viewed full screen with HD enabled.



Most people don't realize this, but the birds were visible on radar, before the event occured. After integrating the raw radar data into our 3D environment and creating motion targets representing those radar returns associated with the flock of birds, our timeline clearly depicts the intersection of Flight 1549 with birds at a time of around 1527:10 (HHMM:SS).

This coincides well with the CVR transcript which indicates loud "thumps" at 1527:11.4 (HHMM:SS.0). The NTSB Wildlife Factors Report has identified the feathers in the aircraft as Branta Canadensis (Canada Goose) by means of visual, microscopic and DNA analysis. Identification of the feathers was conducted by the Smithsonian Institute Feather Identification Laboratory.

Though the errors may be intolerable, it is possible to pursue an altitude calculation for the birds by triangulation, this due to the fact that there are two separate radar facilities that reported data. We know the altitude of the birds at the time of impact, but it may also be helpful to determine their flight profile to understand where they were going or where they departed.. We will attempt this analysis as our work continues on the accident.

The timelapse (10x) animation below presents a detailed view in the area of the bird strike and clearly shows motion, disorganization of the flock following the bird strike, and the subsequent re-organization of the flock(s) following the passage of a second aircraft, Eagle Flight 4718. Aircraft altitude is in 100's of feet. Eagle Flight 4718 actually came quite close to birds but luckily was not on an intersecting flightpath.

More HERE

Woman Walks 10,000 Miles for Husband

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 25) — An 88-year-old woman in Colorado Springs who walked laps around a nursing home in memory of her deceased husband has hit a major milestone: 10,000 miles.

Martha Michel walks laps daily around the lake at Namaste Alzheimer Center. Michel started walking the lake with her husband, former Colorado College Professor Dr. Lester Michel, who was a patient at the center. After Lester Michel's death in 1998, Martha Michel kept up the walking in his memory.

VIDEO HERE

She told The Gazette that the last time her husband spoke to her was by the lake.

"He was pretty far along with the Alzheimer’s," Michel said. "His arms just hung down and his face was just expressionless. We stopped over on the other side and he said to me, 'I want to hold you.' And I picked up his arms and put them around me."

More HERE

EXPLANATION OF GOD: by an 8-year-old

**It was written by an 8-year-old named Danny Dutton, who lives in Chula Vista, CA. He wrote it for his third grade homework assignment, to 'explain God.' I wonder if any of us could have done as well**?*



*[ .... and he had such an assignment, in California, and someone published it, I guess miracles do happen ! ... ]**

EXPLANATION OF GOD:

'One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make grownups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up his valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.'

'God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this. Because he hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to turn it off.'

'God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting his time by going over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.'


'Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who come to our church.'


'Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work, like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of him preaching to them and they crucified him But he was good and kind, like his father, and he told his father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K.'


'His dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all his hard work on earth so he told him he didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So he did. And now he helps his dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones he can take care of himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important.'

'You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.'

'You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God!

Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway.'

'If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared, in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.'


'But...you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases

And...that's why I believe in God.

Hat tip; Kack

Dude Perfect

These young men (Dudes) do this completely for charity...



and this is The World's Longest Basketball Shot by Dude Perfect.

'Wheelchair Recycler' Gives Back Freedom

The man best known as the "Wheelchair Recycler" has spent the past 11 years building and fixing power chairs for the people with the greatest need, but who often could not otherwise afford one.

Permanently paralyzed in a car accident in 1995, David Heim, 47, of Marlborough, Mass., knows what a wheelchair means for a disabled person: "Independence. That's the greatest thing."

"You can't be without your chair for a week, let alone a day," he told NBC Nightly News.

His nonprofit organization takes used wheelchairs and refurbishes them with other donated parts. The work ranges from quick repairs to custom-made jobs, but each one is personalized to address the client's individual needs.

Heim has helped over 500 people across the country, and even internationally, since he first started his company.

"When I go into any rehab, or see anybody, I don't see their face first. I look at their chair -- what's wrong with it, are they comfortable, how are they positioned," Heim told NBC News.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Heim's chairs typically sell for $800-$1,000, a fraction of what a chair would typically run. Though Heim's shop is struggling itself to break even, he often gives away chairs or services to people who can't pay.

When The Christopher Reeve Foundation learned of Heim's charitable works, it donated the late actor's chair. Its parts were used to fix six other people's power chairs. The foundation also provided two grants that allowed the Wheelchair Recycler to buy vans to pick up donations.

Heim envisions operations like his existing in every state, and is now working to make that happen: "It can't stop with just this one shop."

For more details, visit NBC Nightly News and USA Today.

To find out more about Heim's operation, visit wheelchairrecycler.org.

Boy Hits Hole-in-One Days After Surgery

An eight-year-old Virginia boy is celebrating a huge accomplishment. Just six days after brain surgery, he hit a hole-in-one.

Jonathan Brittain was born premature with a condition called Hydrocephalus -- bleeding of the brain -- and has since endured eight brain operations. The latest came last month, reported WTKR.

Less than a week later, the young boy recovered well enough to join his father, Jeff, and his two brothers on their local golf course. Playing his favorite hole -- the 9th, a part 3 over water -- Jonathan was perfect.

"I didn't think I was going to get a hole in one," he recalled.

"It's hard to believe six days before he was having brain surgery and six days later he's out playing golf," Jeff Brittain told WTKR. "The lord's blessed us and has taken care of Jonathan and got him back to where he could even be playing golf."

For more details on this story, visit WTKR.