The Most Interesting Thing I Learned This Week, World Series Edition: Jumping on the Bandwagon

Well, my Texas Rangers didn't quite get it done this year, but it was sure one heck of a ride. I had a lot of fun watching them play baseball this year, and they did not disappoint this fan. I didn't know if I'd ever see them in the World Series, but there they were, representing as the American League Champions, playing the San Francisco Giants.

All you can do is tip your hat to the Giants. They had some outstanding pitching performances. I do think with a couple of different decisions the Rangers could have stretched the series out another game or two and possibly even won it. But there's no doubt that the Giants were the better club in the World Series once the dust settled. So, congrats to them.

Through all of this I've experienced a phenomenon that was completely new to me. Bandwagon fans. I've never been a fan of team that was good enough to warrant any of these fans. I'm a die-hard fan and so are several of my good friends from Texas, but I know that there were a lot of people that jumped on the Rangers bandwagon. The normal reaction to bandwagon fans from die-hard fans is that of arrogant disdain.

I wouldn't be completely honest if I told you I felt none of that. I felt some, but, as I generally do, I stopped to analyze what was going on. First, why the heck are they called bandwagon fans? I assumed that the origination of the term had to do with literally getting on a wagon of some sort, and I was right. You see, the bandwagon was a wagon that would carry the band and go about the town and the countryside announcing to the people of a region that the circus was in town. Basic advertising, of course. But I don't believe anybody actually climbed onto one at this point.

In 1848, though, Dan Rice, a popular circus clown at that time (how, I don't know; clowns are creepy) used his bandwagon and popularity to announce where he would make political campaign appearances. That's right - he may have been the first clown to run for office! Probably not the last, though. Dan Rice ran for several offices including President of the United States in 1868. As his campaigns gained steam, other politicians vied for a seat on his bandwagon in an attempt to get noticed through his success. By the time, William Jennings Bryan ran for President in 1900, bandwagons were commonplace in campaigns. Unfortunately, "jumping on the bandwagon" had also become a derogatory term and referred to those who just associated themselves with success regardless of what the association meant.

When it comes to fans of a sports team the derogatory nature implies that the fan wasn't around for the tough times, but now they're showing up to latch on to the good times. Essentially, they are being called "fair-weather fans" which I think is a more fitting term. Why do die-hard fans dislike these fans so much? I asked one of our pastors that and he gave a great answer. He said it's the same reason his 3-year old son says, "Mine!" all the time. At our basic core we want to possess the success. I cheered for this team when they were awful. I took the ridicule for being a fan of a bad team. I got frustrated at the losses at the hands of the Yankees. Not you - now you want some of this success? No way, son. Step aside. It's mine.

How ridiculous is that? But it's true. Our selfish nature wants to possess that which is essentially not even possess-able.

Can you spot the bandwagon fans? Of course not, they look just like us - now if they start to talk about the team, you might get a clue.

To make it even more ridiculous, these bandwagon fans are in reality great for the team. As ratings rise, TV contracts go up so the team makes more money. As sales of team merchandise goes up, the team makes more money. As the stadium has more sellouts, the team makes more money - and the atmosphere is more electric.

All of these things will contribute to the future success of the team. The team that you will care about long after the fair-weather bandwagon-ers fade away. So, no matter what team you root for, extend an olive branch to the late-comers. Welcome them with open arms and an open mind for they will be paying for your team's success long after they get bored with sports and go back to what occupied their time before.

Come and Take It - Texas Rangers Style

The name of this blog has always been a tribute to the Texas spirit. Well, as of late, there has been a lot of Texas spirit - even up here in Chicago. I can't go anywhere without the good people of this town telling me how happy they are that the Rangers beat the Yankees, and how they're pulling for them to win the World Series.

That makes this Texas boy feel pretty good.

So, now, in honor of the Texas Rangers and in honor of the Texas spirit that says, "It's Time. If you want this thing, you're going to have to come and take it, and it ain't gonna be easy," I present a new version of the "Come and Take It" symbol.


Let's go Rangers! Claws, Antlers, World Series Trophies.

A special thanks to Stacie for the execution of my idea.

If you'd like to purchase a t-shirt with this on it like I did, well, you're in luck. Just click here.

The Most Interesting Thing I Learned This Week: huddle. Huddle! HUDDLE!! Can't anybody hear me...?

When I first began playing full-pad tackle football, I was placed at the position of center. Why on earth they placed a 5'2" 100lb kid at center, I'll never know. Maybe they anticipated that I'd be bigger. Maybe I seemed athletic enough to play center but maybe not athletic enough to be any other offensive position.

Whatever the reason, I was there. Being the center, one of my jobs was to call the huddle. There are many different ways to huddle in football. All of the players can get in a circle. All of the players can circle around the quarterback who is kneeling down in the midst of them all. Then there was our method. We lined up in two rows of five facing the line of scrimmage. As the center I was in the middle of the front line and the huddle set on me. I would hold my hands in the air and yell, "HUDDLE!!!!" at the top of my 12-year old lungs.

Often times, since I was 12, this came out sounding like one long, embarrasing screech. "HU-uh-Uh-uh-UH-d-ul-UHL!!" It would vary between the deep voice of a young man and the squeaky voice of a pre-teen.

My teammates would laugh. I would turn red. It was a pretty regular occurence. If you know me, you're aware that I still haven't completely ridded this squeak from my voice box.

I tell you this story because the most interesting thing I learned this week is the origin of the huddle.

The earliest known use of a huddle in football was initiated by a young quarterback named Paul Hubbard around 1892. Paul Hubbard was the leader of Galludet University's first ever football team. Why did he need a huddle, though? Well, Galludet University is a school for the deaf, and Hubbard was nervous that their opponents may be able to understand sign language and would be able to steal their plays. So, his solution was to get everyone to circle around him while he signed the play.

As I was researching this for verification I learned something else about this unique school. In the 1970s they were having a lot of trouble scoring on offense. Part of the issue was that the defense knew to just watch the football and wait for it to be snapped because that is what the Galludet players were doing. Without the advantage of getting off the ball quicker than the defense, it was difficult to put up points. Coaches thought of several methods to develop a new way to send a snap count to their players including a buzzer in the hip of the football pants that would be activated by the quarterback just before the snap. Instead, one of the coaches remembered the vibration he felt at a University of Texas football game when a huge bass drum was played.

So, they started using a big drum. And to this day, the Galludet coaches wheel a drum up the sideline and bang it for the snap. When players feel the vibration, they know to go. Most of the time they go on one bang, but sometimes to fool the defense they'll go on two.

Galludet sounds like a nice place to play. At least their no one could have heard my awful squeaking.

The Saga of the Shirtless Dishwasher

When I was a young man, say about twelve years old, I was pretty scrawny. I always wanted to be taller and bigger, but I just wasn't. I started playing football around that time, and I also began to lift some weights.

It took a while for the workouts to begin to show results, but my friends and I would nonetheless do a "flex check" everyday in the mirror of the locker room to note our progress. This involved several shirtless, scrawny twelve years old straining, while begging and pleading for any ounce of muscle whatsoever to make an appearance.

As it turns out, it didn't take very long before a few muscles started to peek through. By the time I was a sophomore in high school, I wasn't so scrawny any more. I was about 6'-6'1" weighing in at a respectable 175-180 lbs. I managed to bench press about 225-230 lbs and squat 375-400 lbs. And the muscles were beginning to show.

And I liked that.

As we were growing up, my mom had also made sure we knew how to pitch in around the house. Often I would be responsible for cleaning up the kitchen after a meal. At some point in this scrawny to not-so-scrawny transition, I decided to start taking my shirt off to wash the dishes.

If ever pressed about this, it was simply to keep from getting the bottom area of my t-shirt soaked with water - which was true. But I also had another top-secret agenda in mind.

You see, I was beginning to realize that the ladies liked the muscles that were appearing, so my 15-year old brain thought, wouldn't it be awesome one day to be cooking dinner for a lady that I really liked, and then when it's time to clean up, I just rip my shirt off and exclaim, "I got this!"

Then I would proceed to wash the dishes and she would think, "Oh, man - look at those muscles washing my dishes!" There's no way that she wouldn't continue to date me - she would be helpless, you see, because not only was I washing dishes, but I was doing it as hotly as possible.

But then I could play all coy, and say, "Oh, I wasn't putting on a show or anything. That's how I've always washed dishes. Just ask anyone in my family. I first rip off the shirt and, then secondly, I wash the dishes real good."

I figured this could be my secret weapon to keep a lady I really liked around.

As it turns out, I never did get to have this moment.

However, I did meet my wife while taking out the trash with no shirt on. It just goes to show you young fellas out there - get ripped and practice your household chores. For the record, I keep my shirt on as much as possible now - perhaps I should lift some weights again and bring back the shirtless dishwasher. He was a fun guy to have around.

The Most Interesting Thing I Learned This Week - Roulette

At the beginning of this week, I certainly did not intend to have back-to-back posts in which I referred to France. My friend Zach would be ashamed, but thankfully, he's immersed in football season, so most likely this will go unnoticed by him.

This weekend Stacie and I loaded the dogs into the car and made a trip down to Tulsa to see my bro Trait, our sis-in-law Sara and our nephew. Though most of the weekend was filled with the sound of our nephew's glee about having puppies, him wanting Uncle Ty to go outside or other silly moments that need not be discussed here, we took a little time out on Saturday night to visit a casino. We were in Indian Territory after all.

Stacie and I had never been to a casino together and only separately for work. Neither one of us have done much gambling and wanted to wait to gamble at a casino together - you know, good family time - so we were pretty giddy heading out the door.

After Stacie had some trouble with the Wheel of Fortune slots and a black jack dealer made mincemeat of me, Stacie found a game that we both could enjoy: roulette.

I didn't win anything at roulette, but I definitely was able to sit there longer than I was during my short stay at the black jack table. Stacie on the other hand, was doing pretty well. In fact, after a few rounds she pointed to the 0/00 space on the board and asked what that was. Our pit boss, Shane, explained that along with all the red and black numbers there is also a green 0 and a green 00 that can hit.

Immediately Stacie put $5 on the line between the two, betting both and declared that they should hit now.

Sure enough, double zero hit. $85 was shoveled to my baby. She ended up walking away with a brand new $100 bill. She's still grinning about it.

I decided to do some research about this newfound game we played, and it led to interesting things.

Roulette Facts:

• Roulette is French and means "little wheel"


• Roulette has been played in its present form since 1796 in Paris


• In our hemisphere there is a zero and a double zero on the wheel, but most of the rest of the world has just a single zero space.


• To "break the bank" actually refers to winning all of the money available at a roulette table. All the money at the table is taken and a black cloth covers the table until the bank is replenished. Many people, including myself until recently, think that this saying refers to taking all of the money in a bank or casino (figuratively or literally), but that's not so.


• The most well known bank breaker was Charles Wells, who broke the bank 12 times in 11 hours in Monte Carlo in 1891. At one point he hit the correct number 23 out of 30 spins. He was not cheating, he admitted later he was just a lucky scoundrel - literally. He was playing with 4,000 Pounds that he swindled from people who had invested in his bogus invention - the musical jump rope.


• Others have cheated though. While Stacie and I were at the table a man was texting on his phone and the pit boss told him that phones were not allowed at the table. I wondered how a phone could give him an advantage. As it turns out, in 2004 three men put a laser scanner and a computer program in a phone. The laser would scan the wheel as it was spinning and predict what quadrant the ball would settle into. The men would then place bets in that quadrant and did quite nicely for themselves. Now, betting is closed at most tables before the wheel begins to slow down.

There are a lot of interesting little tidbits out there about this game - betting strategies, mathematical formulas, famous cheaters, etc. It's amazing what you can learn with a little digging, and it's always nice to have a winning experience. Especially consdering that for every $1 you bet your expected winnings are negative 5.3 cents. That is, unless, of course, you are my wife.

The Most Interesting Thing I Learned This Week: Bikinis are the Bomb - Literally

Let me start by saying two things:

1) I did not post on Monday per my usual weekly TMITILTW programming because it was a holiday and it kind of didn't feel like Monday and I had a fantasy football draft and Stacie & I completely demolished our closet and put it back together again. But, fear not! I have not forgotten to come bring you completely random, mostly useless information. How else will you wow your friends this week?

AND

2) I learned several things interesting this week - wholesome things such as the lyric in America the Beautiful that says "thine alabaster cities gleam" was written because Katherine Lee Bates had just visited the great White City that was the 1893 World's Exposition here in Chicago. But in researching for confirmation of this I stumbled upon something that I felt was took the cake for this coveted weekly installment.

The Bikini. Capitalized. That's correct - when it was first called the bikini it was capitalized because it was named for the Bikini Atoll. The Bikini Atoll consists of 23 islands as part of the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean.

Believe it or not, the islands were not named as such because the natives pranced around in the latest two-piece swimwear. No, rather the controversial two-piece swimwear was introduced and named for these islands. I'm sure you've heard that before, but why were these islands deemed worthy of having a fancy new swimsuit named for them?

The reason? These Bikini Islands were the site of several nuclear device tests by the United States, the first of which was on July 1st, 1946. Bob Hope said of the Bikini Island nuclear tests:

"As soon as the war ended, we located the one spot on earth that hadn't been touched by the war and blew it to hell."

Operation Crossroads Explosion at Bikini

Just shortly after the first nuclear test, Louis Reard's self-proclaimed "world's smallest swimsuit" debuted in Paris. He called it the Bikini because he anticipated that the reaction upon seeing one would be the same as if one saw a nuclear explosion. His design was not worn quite as frequently as other competing models due to the lack of modesty in design (he insisted that to truly be a Bikini, it must be able to be pulled through a wedding ring.) Nevertheless, the name stuck - even for slightly more modest attire.

PS - I have no idea how I got from America the Beautiful to the bikini, but my weird journey is your crazy gain.

Come and Blog It Annual Prediction of How the NFL Season Will Play Out

I stepped outside today and was immediately struck by two things - one was little Reesie Bear scampering out the door and hitting me in the leg on her way to the bathroom and the second was that I was saying "holy smoke it's chilly out here!" Of course, just as Reese dawdled about with no intentions of peeing until the last minute, as she always does, the cold air is merely a reminder to me that summer will slowly take it's time before giving way to the next season: football season.

It will be in the 90s again next week, but nevertheless, with most of the preseason games completed and a cool blast of air to my face, I feel that it is time to once again present you with:

The Come and Blog It Annual Prediction of How the NFL Season Will Play Out*

*brought to you by Carl's Jr.**

**not actually brought to you by Carl's Jr. - I just saw Idiocracy on TV, so it felt right to say that

Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that I did pretty well last year. That only led to a rather dull critique of my work. So, in an effort to keep my posts lively, I'll try not to be so accurate this year. In fact, we may go about this a little differently this year, so hold on tight. And now for the predictions:

AFC:


BAM! See what I did there. I just hit you with a bolt of lightning to your face that says the San Diego Chargers will win the AFC Championship this year. I started you right at the top. But why the Chargers. Well, I went to San Diego last year and had a really good time, but couldn't help but feel a little melancholy because ol' Ladanian Tomlinson was really struggling and getting old. I'm sure the whole town felt that way and those bad vibes held the Chargers back from their full potential. Now, the Chargers are free to embrace their destiny and once again compete for El Trophy de Lombardi.

In a little ironic twist LT, now with the Jets, will have a mini-resurrection only to see the Jets fail to qualify for post season play. WHAT!?!?!?!?

Did I just say that? The hot pick for all the "experts" this year and the man-crush of the moment Rex Ryan will miss the playoffs? Yep. So, just who do the Chargers vanquish to reach the ultimate reality show, then, if not the Jets?

From the AFC EAST:

Those pesky New England Patriots! The team that, much like the Black Knight, just won't go away, refuses to go away once more. Their defense will be a little shaky, but they'll just outscore everybody with their man-model-myth quarterback, Mr. Brady. And you know what else...the Dolphins will even finish ahead of the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets this year. You know why? Me neither, but I just don't trust the Jets - they have a sophomore QB, an angry star CB, and a whole lot of folks telling them how good they are. To me, that's a bad combination. As far as the other team in this division goes, I think the Bills will be better but they still have a ways to go before they are a playoff team. They're on the right track with that CJ Spiller kid though.

From the AFC SOUTH:

Another pesky team that won't go away, the Indianapolis Colts. Notice what this team and the Pats have in common. Very, very good quarterback play. Peyton Manning only does two things: plays QB and films commercials. That's it. And he's very good at both of them. Sometimes I think about specializing like that, but then I get distracted by a funny blog. Some people out there think the Texans are finally going to turn the corner this year and make the playoffs, but I just don't know. I really want them to for all of my Houston friends and for my home state, but I still don't trust them to finish the job. They do have a fantastic QB though, so maybe they'll get it done. But not in this prediction list.

From the AFC NORTH:

I don't want to put this team here - I really, really don't. But even I, the biggest of Bengals homers, cannot deny how good the Baltimore Ravens may be this year. Good QB, good WRs, decent defense though it doesn't quite live up to "experts" descriptions in my opinion, and then there's that Ray Rice fella. Man, is he good or what?

But wait, there's more from here! That's right! My Cincinnati Bengals make the playoffs in back to back seasons for the first time since E.T. phoned home. I'm not just going to blow smoke up your skirt here, let's talk facts: 4th ranked defense last year that is returning pretty much everybody, offensive additions of Jermaine Gresham, Jordan Shipley and the T.O. fella. Here's what needs to happen - protect the QB, reduce penalties and keep two diva receivers very happy. If the Bungles can manage those three simple things I see another playoff berth in their future.

From the AFC WEST:

We already have the Chargers in from the West, but we obviously need one more team to round out our predictions. That team must come from the West since we've been through all the other divisions...who might it be?

BOOM! You did not see that coming did you!?!?!? The Raiders of Oakland in the playoffs by the slimmest of margins. Why the Raiders you ask? Defense, defense, defense. Also finally some stability at coach and a QB that isn't literally the worst QB since Babe Laufenberg. But let's get serious. The real reason I pick the Raiders is because I recently learned that for a few days before they began their first season ever they were the Oakland Senors. Oh, man, that's amazing - and apparently their logo had a sweet mustache, but I can't find any verification of that despite my desperation for it to be so. Oh and the Chiefs stink and the Broncos will look good for about 7 weeks and tank down the stretch.

NFC:
bam.

Okay, so I'm not super excited about this pick. I don't trust the Dallas Cowboys at all, but as I looked at the other teams in the NFC everyone seemed to have a glaring weakness. The 'Boys have a weakness, it's just not glaring. Oh well, let's just say this years big game will be what Super Bowl XXIX should have been had the Cowboys not had five turnovers in the NFC Championship Game loss to the 49ers. And this just got juicier since I have breaking news that Patrick Crayton has been traded to....the CHARGERS! A Super Bowl revenge game for him. Interesting.

I also realize I just picked the Cowboys to play the first "home field" Super Bowl. That's pretty hard to do, but it's just the type of thing that will infuriate the Cowboys-haters to the max pissivity. It's a word. Ask Ochocinco.

So, who might the Cowboys have to go through in the post-season tournament?

From the NFC NORTH:

These guys. That's who. If I could trust the Green Bay Packer defense even just a little bit, I'd probably have them in the Super Bowl instead of the Cowboys. But if ifs and buts were candy and nuts we'd all have a merry Christmas, too. So instead I say the Pack short losing to the Cowboys in a shoot out, final score 73-42.

Then there's these Minnesota Vikings. Now that Brett "will he, won't he" Favre has decided he will, this team is legit again. No matter what receivers are out there if you've got that line, AP and Favre on your team you should make the playoffs. Plus their defense is pretty good, too. I see an early exit this time as Favre's magic genie dies of old age and is no longer able to create his secret youth potion - the secret is you still look old, but you play like a teenager and never get hurt. In a twist of irony Favre throws one last deal-sealing interception in the playoffs and blows out his shoulder punching the ground. He's then forced to retire on the PUP list after 285 consecutive starts.

From the NFC EAST:

Nobody else. That's right - none. No Eagles. No Giants. No Redskins. Not because they aren't good teams, though. No. I just think this division will beat itself senseless. Only one can emerge from this type of throw-down. The Eagles will be alright. The Giants will be right with them. The Redskins will be bad, but tough. The end.

From the NFC WEST:

The mean little birds rise again! I know everyone is picking the 49ers. They're the hot girl that everyone wants to go to the dance with, but you know what? She ain't going to the dance - certainly not with you. Nope, she's going to some college party with some college guy. She's not showing up at your little high school party - lame-o!. And everyone's going to be sad that she's not there, even her. Because she's not going to have any fun with the college guy once her friends go to the Attic with fake i.d.s and find out the college guy is cheating on her with some blond. Then she'll realize she never should've ditched Zack Morris and should've just stayed with the high school crowd.

I'm sorry. I've lost my train of thought.

football.

right.

Okay, so the Arizona Cardinals. So, they may have lost Kurt Warner, but they still have Ken Wisenhunt. They still have Larry Fitzgerald. They have Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower. They have a pretty okay kind of defense. And really all they have to do is find a way to win nine games and that should do it in the NFC West. Just like the Cardinals burned me for years before finally winning this division, I will not pick the Niners prematurely. They are not ready. Yet.

The Rams have a good kid at QB, but they still have some big steps to take and I think the Seahawks under Pete Carroll will be a disaster.

From the NFC SOUTH:

Mr. Brees and his New Orleans Saints. This is a solid football team with a solid coach and a solid QB. I can't pick them to go to the Super Bowl again because I just don't think they have repeat talent defensively. But I was this close to picking them to go again. I just held my fingers really close together when I typed that.

I also think the Atlanta Falcons will bounce back from last year's tough season. Michael Turner will be healthy and that will help the passing game. Plus I think the Panthers won't win too many games and neither will the Bucs, so while the NFC East beats up on itself, I think the South will be just the opposite. And I need Michael Turner to have a good year if my fantasy team is going anywhere. C'mon, Falcons!

So there you have it. The 2010 NFL Season the way I see it. You should take these picks to Vegas based on how it worked out for me last year.*

*please don't take these picks to Vegas. It will most likely be one of the worst decisions you make.

Bonjour et Bonsoir

On day two in Paris, Stacie and I slept in a bit. We did stay up until after midnight despite getting up around 3AM the day before. So we hit the streets at about 11AM. The first thing we did was grab some coffee. The second thing we did was grab another crepe from our new favorite place.

Hello, new friend.

After that our goal for the day was to go see the famous Pere Lachaise cemetery where the likes of Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison and Frederic Chopin are buried, among others. It was a nice little train ride to get there, and it turned out to be a huge, amazingly beautiful place.

Random Graves

Stacie checking out Oscar Wilde's grave

Up-close of Wilde's grave - a lotta post life kisses for that man

Jim Morrison's grave

Ferederic Chopin's grave

After visting Pere Lachaise, we decided to make our way by train to la Basilique du Sacre Coeur, another famous cathedral in Paris. We were told from Pere Lachaise to take the blue line to the Blanche stop because that would put you out right by the Moulin Rouge. And it literally did. This is the first thing you see when you pop out from the subway:

Right around the corner from here is a place called Cafe le deux Moulins where it was recommended that we grab a bite to eat. So, we went inside and quickly realized that we were in an over priced touristy joint. Our desire to get up and leave gave way to our hunger and it's desire to sit for a bit, though so we stayed. But I'd recommend going somewhere else.

Next we had to walk up a massive hill to get to the Sacre Coeur. I did not realize this was the case until about half way up the hill at which point I had removed my jacket and was half way to just getting completely naked to cool off. It was a hike.

This really doesn't do the walk justice but it was really steep. I promise. I am not a wuss. You shut up.

There are actually two windmills at the top of this hill. Thus all the deux moulins stuff. Here is one of them.

Le Can Can at the top of Le Hill Hill

Our first glimpse of the great cathedral.

La Basilique du Sacre Coeur

The view back towards downtown Paris. Once again, this doesn't do the view justice.

Tons of people around, but we were still nervous about attempting too much French, so we took a pic of ourselves. :)

After visiting the Sacre Coeur, we decided our next stop would be the Eiffel Tower. We wanted to sit at her feet and watch the sun set while her lights came on. So, we trained back as close as we could get and began to walk.

This is really the only picture from the walk, but it's very French as you can see.

Along the way to the tower, we stopped into a wine shop and purchased a bottle of wine. Having no glasses, we asked if we might buy a couple of those off of the gentleman as well, and he obliged. Starting to feel hungry once again from all of the walking, we also stopped into a bread shop and got a delicious little loaf of bread and then in a little grocery store for some fruit. Then it was just a bit farther, and we found the perfect little spot to watch the sun go down and enjoy our feast.

Bonsoir

The Setting Sun of Paris

Stacie wanting to wear the Eiffel Tower like a hat.

We found some American's who were kind enough to take several pictures of us until we got the lighting right.

Not one to make the evening simply about relaxing, Stacie hustled this man for two of his mini Eiffel Towers for less than the price of one and then took his picture against his will. It was fun to watch.

We began to get pretty cold after the sun went down, so we packed up and started walking for the nearest train - which as it turns out wasn't that near. Along the way, Stacie got some great pictures of the Eiffel Tower.

I love the detail on this one. It's like you can see every piece of metal.

This was a bridge over the Seine as we walked to the train.

Finally! The warmth of a train station!

See how happy and content I am now. Stacie was, too.

Another great day in Paris. I was really starting to like this little town.

The Most Interesting Thing I Learned This Week: Expounding on Nikola Tesla

The two or three of you that have been visiting Come and Blog It for some time now may know that I have always had a fascination with Nikola Tesla and his amazing inventions. Not only was he creating things that we still use today, but he was way ahead of his time doing most of his work in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Nikola Tesla at about age 40

Most of the time the most interesting thing I learn in a week I just come across by chance, but part of writing about something interesting on a weekly basis may mean you have to go digging for just the right piece of info. I don't want to pull from things I've learned in the past - to me that would be cheating. I want to learn at least one new interesting thing every week. This week was a pretty busy work week that seemed to gobble up all of my attention and not produce anything to interesting, so I decided to think about what I found interesting. That led me to do a little digging on Tesla. There is way too much information on this man to list it all so if you want a quick overview of his life, check the video at the bottom of this post.

So, what fancy new info did I learn about Tesla this week? Glad you asked.

First, Tesla theorized in the late 1800s that he could send sound AND images from one place to another without wires. Think about that - he was theorizing that he could essentially send a Youtube video from one place to another without wires. Before 1900. It was in 1900 in Paris when the first public exhibition of a movie with sound took place. Now I'm sort of kidding when I say he was thinking about movies - but essentially he was saying he could transmit more than just sound, such as with radio, over the airwaves. This blew people's minds (since transmitting sound was still extremely new) and is about when people started calling him insane. Yet here I am sending images and sound to you without wires.

And secondly, I knew that he was building a tower on Long Island that would test his theories of transmitting over long distances, but I always thought he just ran out of money. What actually happened is that he had a silent partner financing the project - J.P. Morgan. He also had a secret plan. He believed that his tower at some point would be able to send wireless electricity to the world for free. Upon discovery of the secret plan, Morgan pulled the plug and kept Tesla from getting any other investors. Morgan was not about to give out electricity unless he could charge for it. The tower was never built and was dismantled for scrap in World War I.Tesla did some truly amazing things - and his mind was strange and worked in ways we don't understand. Yet, for all he did, most of us think of Ben Franklin or Thomas Edison when we think of electricity. The truth is that Tesla is the reason we have a world that is lit up as it is today.

For more info on an interesting man check out this video:

The Most Interesting Thing I Learned This Week: My Grandmother Wore Combat Boots

This week started out pretty slowly as far as interesting things go, but towards the end of the week things really picked up. I learned some interesting facts about Chicago while watching a video at Navy Pier - yes I was at Navy Pier this week. Why was I at Navy Pier you ask? Good question. My mom and her sister, my Aunt Molly, came to visit Stacie and I towards the end of the week. Navy Pier was one of the destinations they wanted to check out, so we made it happen.

I also learned - from my aunt - that kids are using ring tones in classrooms that teachers can't hear. They're called mosquito ring tones. Click on the link and try it out. I could hear it to a certain point, but not all of them. I know they were producing a sound, though, because my cute black lab, Bradie, was trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. As it says in the article, the sound was originally developed to repel teens. Shopkeepers would pump the tones in front of their stores to prevent loitering while leaving adult patrons none the worse for wear.

But the most interesting thing that I learned this week has to be that my grandmother, Loais Williams (Loais Ball at the time), worked at a Consolidated Aircraft Company plant outside of Fort Worth, TX, wiring B-24 Liberators for our involvement in World War II. I always knew she studied to become a nurse with the Navy, but as it turns out prior to that she was wiring B-24's to make money to go to nursing school. She was able to get into a nursing program that was paid for due to a nurses shortage as it turns out, but the fact that she was doing that to make money is pretty awesome.

I can't even wire a toaster, and there she was wiring up a bomber.

I found the picture below on a Navy archive site. This is the facility in Ft. Worth that my grandmother worked at, so it's very possible she worked in this very building getting these babies ready to go.

The WWII generation was just in a class all by themselves. They got their hands dirty, and they got stuff done to keep their country safe and hopefully make a better life for their children and grandchildren. And for that I say thank you - particularly to my grandmother. Who probably didn't wear combat boots, but it would have been super cool if she had.

A Future Where I Could See Paris in the Spring

We grabbed the train from London to Paris bright and early on Monday morning. Well, it was early. Not so bright. We took the 5.30AM train. I tried my best to stay awake for the entire trip, and I was doing well until we went into the Chunnel. It was dark. I had my iPod on. And I woke up in Paris.

Our first stop in Paris

Me struggling to get bags off the train - I was still sleepy I think.

The first stop was our hotel, but that wasn't very far from our second stop - Notre Dame.

We really just stumbled upon Notre Dame - I mean we knew it was there, but we didn't really plan on going here right off the bat. We were headed somewhere, just not here. But we figured since we practically tripped over it, we should at least go inside and take a look around.

Inside Notre Dame - a forbidden picture - except everyone was taking pictures.

Cool picture from outside Notre Dame

After a visit to the cathedral, we continued on our way to what was our true destination for this, our first day in Paris.

Crossing the Seine.

Now, we've found ourselves at the Louvre. We knew the Louvre was close to where we were headed, but once again it was not our final destination. In fact, we didn't even go inside of the museum on this, our first day in Paris, but we had to take some pictures.

Courtyard of The Louvre

Hanging out by The Louvre

Stacie at The Louvre

Now we've finally reached our original destination! On our first day in Paris.

That's right! There's an Apple Store beneath the Louvre! Why are we at the Apple Store you ask...? Well, we may or may not have had a little mishap with the foreign electricity and may or may not have fried Stacie's power cord for her computer. So, for the next 3 hours, we waited for someone to confirm what we already new and get us a new power cord - a more Euro-friendly version this time.

After our time in the Apple Store, we headed back to the river. We had heard that a great thing to do right when you get to Paris (after you purchase a new power cord, of course) is to take a river boat tour through the city.

Our boating company of choice.

We didn't really have any info on particular boat tours so we just headed to Pont Neuf and got in line for one. We were not disappointed. It was a beautiful day and the ride through the city really helped us to get our bearings.

Cool bridge

My first brush with Tour Eiffel

I liked to take pictures of the French flag waving when we came across them. This was the first one we saw.

Lots of barely dressed men sunbathing. This seemed pretty European to me.

After our boat trip, we headed back towards our hotel as we were pretty exhausted for the day. On our way we stopped in what we thought was a little garden in the 6th Arr. As we would later discover Jardin du Luxembourg is pretty large actually. We strolled in here, sat down and began to people watch. I pulled out our book on how to speak French in hopes to try and gain some bit of confidence in my ability to tell someone that I had no idea how to speak French. As I read, Stacie napped and soaked up some sun. It was a really nice afternoon.

Jardin du Luxembourg

After relaxing in the garden for a bit, we headed back to the hotel for a little nap before dinner. Dinner time happens pretty late in Paris which actually worked well for us because we eat pretty late at home a lot of the time. After watching Le Juste Prix, and immediately becoming hooked on the show, we eventually pried ourselves off the bed and headed out for dinner. We really just wandered until we found something interesting. We came across this great little outdoor cafe where we had a waiter named Jean-Pierre. How perfect is that for the first French person we actually met?

We had a nice time dining there and talking to Jean-Pierre. He praised Stacie for her wonderful French and insisted that I should keep practicing. However by the end of the evening I did manage to squeeze out, "Vous etes tres gentil." That means "you are very nice."

After a long, relaxing dinner we decided to just wander the streets of Paris. After a bit we came upon this fantastic creperie which would pretty much become our home base for breakfast.

Around the corner from the creperie, we stumbled upon a movie theater. It was 11PM, and a show was just beginning. So, we bought a ticket and sat down to watch Alice and hoped our French would be good enough to get us through.

As it turned out, the entire thing was in English with French subtitles. I still give us an A+ for going out on a limb and trying to watch a movie in a foreign country.

After the movie, these two weary travelers made our way back to our hotel and fell fast asleep until about 10 the next morning. What a great first day in The City of Lights!