Keepers of the Lost Ark?

It was sometime back in the early 80’s when I first heard the claims that the Ark of the Covenant was somewhere in Ethiopia. It was shortly after Raiders of the Lost Ark first came out, and the possible location of the Ark was a topic of speculation all over the place.

Well, last week, an Italian paper said that the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Abuna Pauolos, met with Pope Benedict XVI last week to discuss the Ark. The Patriarch reportedly said, “Soon the world will be able to admire the Ark of the Covenant described in the Bible as the container of the tablets of the law that God delivered to Moses . . . . The Ark of the Covenant is in Ethiopia for many centuries. As a patriarch I have seen it with my own eyes and only few highly qualified persons could do the same, until now.” The Ark was supposed to be unveiled at a press conference on Friday. It’s Sunday evening as I type this, still nothing.

So, where is the Ark? Is it in Ethiopia? Is it in Egypt, or in hidden in some vast secret government warehouse, along with debris from crashed UFO’s and file cabinets containing the truth about the Kennedy assassination?

The Ark is last mentioned in the histories contained in the Scripture in 2 Chronicles 35:3, when, in about 621 BC, King Josiah ordered the Ark returned to the temple during one of the southern kingdom of Judah’s few revivals. It seems that the Ark had been removed and pagan idols set up in the Temple in Jerusalem by Josiah’s grandfather, Manasseh.

621 BC is the last time that we know exactly where the Ark of the Covenant was; in the Temple in Jerusalem. Josiah’s revival period didn’t last long. In 609 BC, just 12 years later, Josiah died in battle against Egypt, and Pharaoh Neco of Egypt assumed control of Judah, replacing Josiah’s oldest son, Joahaz, with his younger brother, Jehoiakim (see 2 Chronicles 36:1-4 and 2 Kings 23:29-36.) 2 Kings 23:35 says that Neco took gold and silver back to Egypt, but the Bible also says that this gold and silver was from a special tax levied on the people of Judah. There is absolutely no mention of the Ark at all.

In 605 BC, just four years later, King Nebuchdnezzaar of Babylon defeated Egypt at the Battle of Carchemish, and took control of Judah. 2 Chronicles 36:7 tells us that, at that time, “Nebuchadnezzar also brought some of the articles of the house of the LORD to Babylon and put them in his temple at Babylon.” 2 Kings 24:13-14 gives us a bit more detail; “He carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, just as the LORD had said. Then he led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land.”

Again, we notice that there is no specific mention of the Ark.

Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest in 605 BC marked the beginning of a very unstable period in Judah’s history, as each king that Nebuchadnezzar place on the throne rebelled as soon as Nebuchadnezzar (and his army) returned to Babylon. Finally, in 586 BC, Nebuchadnezzar had had enough, and he destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. 2 Kings 25:13-17 mentions all the bronze, gold and silver things carried from the Temple back to Babylon: shovels and pans and fireboxes, and even the great bronze pillars that stood in front of the Temple. But there is no mention of the Ark at all.

So, what happened to the Ark?



There are only a few real possibilities:

1. It was carried off to Egypt by Pharaoh Neco in 609 BC (This is not the Indiana Jones story. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, they say that the Ark was taken to Egypt by the Pharaoh Shishak when he sacked Jerusalem in 980 BC. But we have Biblical evidence that places the Ark still in Jerusalem as late as 621 BC, some 340 (+/-) years later.)
2. The Ark was carried off to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, sometime between 605 BC and 586 BC
3. The Ark was destroyed during the burning of the Temple in 586 BC
4. The Ark was hidden by the Israelites to keep it from being captured
5. The Ark was smuggled out of Judah by the Israelites to keep it from being captured (This is the story told by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church to explain how the Ark could have ended up in Ethiopia.)

So, which one is true? Let’s hear you best guess! The comment thread is now open!

A Saturday Nut Special - 6/27/09

This Saturday Nut special is an update from the Nut Cache from Friday, 6/18/09, and is an update of this story. I intended to include it on Thursday, but I misplaced it, and forgot about it. Well, I just found it, so here you go, a Special!

Let's be honest. None of us believed her when she said that she fell asleep, and didn't really ask for those 56 stars tattooed on her face. Well, guess what? Golly gee-willikers, it seems that 18-year-old Kimberley Vlaeminck now admits that she made up the whole story because her father became angry after he saw all those star tattoos. I've got to say, that's really what I believed happened all along. As I said on Thursday, June 18th, " I believe him (Rouslan Toumaniantz, the tattoo artist) when he says that she was all happy about the tattooing until her dad saw it." You probably did, also.

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Squirrel and I are doing yard work today.

UPDATE: According to Ananova, "Kimberley only made her admission after being caught on a hidden camera by Belgium TV show De Jakhalzen saying the only thing she hadn't been sure of were the stars on her nose." That TV show just saved that tattoo artist a bunch of money, as well as the hassle of a lawsuit!

The Squirrel Can Cook - Chili-Cheese Omelette

Last week, I introduced you to the Montana Pie Company, which, until it closed, was my favorite place to eat breakfast. One of my favorites from their menu was the Chili-cheese omelette.

I was an adult before I'd ever heard of this Western favorite, and, truly, it didn't sound appetizing to me at all! Not that I didn't like chili, but I'd certainly never considered chili to be breakfast food in any way. But, with the urging of some friends, I tried a chili-cheese omelette one day, and I was sold. Just a great combination of flavors!

While I will eat a chili-cheese omelette for breakfast, I admit that I fix this more often at the end of the day, rather then the beginning. It makes a great dinner. And I usually make one big omelette for Mrs. Squirrel and I to share.

This will take a largest (10-12 inch) non-stick skillet & a microwavable dish to heat the chili in.

Our ingredients:

6 eggs
1/2 cup of cold water
4-5 oz of cheddar cheese, sliced thin, or grated
1 16oz can of chili with beans, or 1 pint of leftover homemade chili
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
1 pat of butter

Heat the chili through in a sauce pan or in the microwave.

Over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil in the skillet. Whisk the eggs and the water together until slightly frothy. (Don't forget to remove the eggs from the shells, this is very important.) Use water instead of milk, as it is the bubbles formed as the water boils during cooking that will make your omelette light and fluffy.

As soon as the pan is hot, add the butter to the oil. when the butter is melted and starting to brown a little, add the eggs and reduce heat to medium. Lift the edges of omelet and let uncooked eggs run under cooked edges. When the omelet is almost set, place the cheese on the half of the omelette opposite from the handle of the pan. Spoon the chili on top of the cheese, keeping everything on the one side. Add a little more cheese on top of the chili.



There is no need to fold the omelette in the pan, because then you'd have to flip the omelette over, so it would cook evenly. We'll fold it as we plate.

When the eggs are set and the edges of your omelette have become a light brown, it's ready to plate. Hold the pan over the plate, and tilt it so that the omelette begins to slide off, loaded half first. Slide it onto your plate, lifting the pan, and folding the omelette as it slides off. Once you get the hang of this, it's the easiest thing in the world to do.



I like to save a little chili, just a couple of spoonfuls, to top the omelette with after plating. Serve with hash browns and toast. Enjoy!

The Squirrel shall not live by bread alone!

The Squirrel's Nut Cache - 6/25/09

The Nut Cache - a collection of recent things I found interesting, or amusing, or nutworthy.

Marmots are squirrels. They're ground squirrels, and they don't have much in the way of tails. but, still, they're squirrels. So I've got to stick up for this guy! Did anybody consider that he just wanted to order some breakfast? I mean, I'm a foodie, why not him? Poor guy, if they'd have just handed him a menu, instead of running him out the door, everything would have been fine.

Staying with rodents, but Going from the desirable to the undesirable, I now take you to Rat Island, Alaska. It seems that a Japanese shipwreck 229 years ago dumped rats onto the island, and that they've pretty much run things there ever since. But it seems that a rat eradication program is working. If it works, maybe they could try Manhattan next... or, better yet, Congress.

Quite often, we read stories that tell us of terrible abuses by child protection services, where government employees step all over the rights of parents. This is not one of those cases. In fact, to the Human Services workers in Fort Smith, Arkansas, I'd like to say, "Good call."

In an animal-dominated Nut Cache, here's another. We've all wondered about crop circles. UFO nuts have always blamed ET, while skeptics have pointed to hoaxes. But nobody ever suspected the truth! Yep, it's drugged-up wallabies! Of course, a lot of crop circles show up in the UK, and wallabies are in Australia... Maybe aliens take them to England?

This ones a heart-warmer/tear-jerker... I'll wait for you to get your tissues. Ready? OK. Vince Werner flew 42 missions on B-17's during World War II. Last Saturday was Vince's 65th wedding anniversary, then, on Monday, he got to fly around Missoula in a restored B-17. The restored bomber is named “Sentimental Journey,” but I noticed that the article didn't give Mrs. Werner's name...

UPDATE: Mrs. Werner's name is June. She and Vince were married in August of 1944. Their son, Greg, posted a comment in the meta here (with pictures!) Here are the pictures:

Then

Now

Very Squirrely congratulations to Vince and June! And a heartfelt, but wholly inadequate, "Thank You" to Vince Werner, and all of his brothers- and sisters-in-arms, for their service in defense of our nation.

Slick New Ads - Same Old Loons

Just last week, I noticed that the "Church" of Scientology has new television adds. These adds are professionally produced, well written, and beautifully shot. The new adds are definitely a huge step up from the cartoon volcano I remember from the Dianetics (I'm pleased to see that "Dianetics" is not included in my spell-check dictionary) adds of the 80's.



I'm not going to embed the adds. If you haven't seen them, they can be found here.

Scientology was started back in the 1950's by hack science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. In my opinion, Hubbard never could write his way out of a wet paper bag. I read Battlefield Earth when I was in high school, and I'd love to have those hours back. It was painful. And the doctrines and beliefs of Scientology also read like painfully bad science fiction.

For instance, Earth, which is actually the planet Teegeeack, was set up some 75 million years ago as an interstellar prison by Xenu, the Evil Galactic Overlord (not to be confused with Xena, Warrior Princess.) (Want to do something fun? Google "evil galactic overlord" and count how many hits are related to Scientology!) According to Scientology, we are all still prisoners of Xenu, doomed to endless reincarnation, until we realize that we are really god-like galactic beings, called "Thetans." Sad that people buy into this stuff.

It is well known that Scientology deliberately targets prominent people, such as actors like John Travolta and Tom Cruise. Founder Hubbard desired to use such "Opinion Leaders" as "Social Proof" for Scientology. (Read an ex-Scientologist's description of the recruitment process here.) These prominent people become the celebrity spokesmen of the cult.

Scientology is also very harsh against critics. In 1994, The Washington Post published this article, detailing many of Scientology's tactics for silencing opposition. This is a long expose, but well worth the reading.

This is a scary group, secretive and with their own quasi-military arm, the Sea Organization. Scientology has been repeatedly exposed as an abusive, manipulative group. Their website (follow link at your own risk) claims that they are undergoing huge growth, but their innate secrecy makes that hard to confirm.

In addition to their new ad campaign, Scientology has been very much in the news lately, with an expose series in the St. Petersburg Times, and fraud charges against the "church" in France. There have long been efforts to ban Scientology in Germany, where it is not recognized as a religion, but as a "commercial entity."

Scientology is just more evidence that, once someone rejects the truth of God and the Bible (see Romans 1:28), the only question left is, "Which lie will they believe?"

The Squirrel Can Cook - Eggs Colonial

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals. It’s right up there in the top 3, alongside lunch and dinner. And there’s no doubt that breakfast is my favorite meal to eat out.

If you find a favorite breakfast place, enjoy it, savor it, treasure it. You don’t know how long you’ll have it. I had a favorite breakfast place, The Montana Pie Company. It’s an office building now; really, really sad.

The Montana Pie Company sold pies, of course, but they were also a full restaurant, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Their meatloaf was great, and their burgers were wonderful, but what they did best was breakfast. I wonder how many Saturday mornings I spent in one of their booths?

One of the best things they served for breakfast was called Eggs Colonial. Now, I don’t know if anybody ate Eggs Colonial back in colonial times in the United States, or any other countries’ colonies, either. Eggs Colonial isn’t fancy, it’s just tasty. And it’s quick and easy, too.

Our ingredients:

Eggs, 2 per person
Sliced ham
Bread of your choice
Cheese of your choice

The Montana Pie Company’s Eggs Colonial was a toasted English muffin, topped with shaved ham, scrambled eggs, and cheese sauce. That’s it. How simple can that be, huh? It’s an open-faced Egg McMuffin!



Pictured here is a recent breakfast I fixed for Mrs. Squirrel and myself one Saturday morning. I lightly fried the ham and placed it on thick slices of toasted French bread, topped it with scrambled eggs, and American cheese. Just pop it in a 300 degree oven for a couple of minutes to melt the cheese and enjoy!

You can really play with this one, the variations are almost endless.

The Squirrel shall not live by bread alone!

The Squirrel's Nut Cache - 6/18/09

The Nut Cache - a collection of recent things I found interesting, or amusing, or nutworthy.

I do not have any tattoos. I know people with tattoos, some with a lot of tattoos. I've never understood tattoos. I've never heard anyone middle-aged or older who did not have any tattoos talk about how much they wished that they had gotten tattoos, but I have heard several people who wished that they hadn't gotten the tattoos that they did have. Here's a story about an 18-year-old girl in Belgium who got tattooed. First, check out the tattoo artist, wow. Then, read the story. I believe him when he says that she was all happy about the tattooing until her dad saw it.

OK, this one puzzles me. On two levels. First, I'm all for cute & cuddly critters, really, but 250 bunnies is on the extreme end of things. Weird, yes, but is it criminal? Which is my second level of puzzlement; why is keeping a bunch of bunnies illegal? The story never explains that aspect.

This story actually kinda goes with the bunny lady story above. Have you ever spent any amount of time wondering what you'd do with any money that you might ever win in the lottery? World tours? Fancy cars? A new house? I'll bet that this was never on your list! I wish Mr. & Mrs. Caswell all the best!

Sir Isaak Newton was right, gravity works. Gravity works every time it's tried. Here are a couple of guys who found out just how well gravity works. The first used to be a wiNdow washer in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the second was a kid trying to get a high-angle photograph of his family. Neither one suffered any serious injury, in fact, both individuals lived to benefit from their new understanding of gravity.

It's a fact of life; don't mess with a momma's baby; no way, no how! This cat learned that lesson! Reportedly, the 3-year-old little girl who was attacked by the cougar said, "Why didn't the kitty play nice?" As a side note, I must say that I'm looking forward to life in the Millennial Kingdom, when all the kitties will play nice!

That's the Nut Cache for this week!

Interesting Times

I’ve heard that “May you live in interesting times,” is an ancient Chinese curse. Whatever the true origin of the phrase, we are living in interesting times, to be sure.



The “elections” in Iran last week resulted in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and his radical anti-Israel views and his quest for atomic weaponry, retaining power. It seems fairly obvious that the election’s outcome was controlled by the real power in Iran, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini, who shares Ahmadinejad’s radical views.

Joel Rosenberg, who watches these things very carefully, says that the result of the Iranian elections “means a major, cataclysmic war is the most likely outcome…” (Read his views here.)

Is Rosenberg right? Let’s see: 1) Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called for Israel’s destruction; 2) Ahmadinejad is seeking to make Iran a nuclear power, and the only response likely from “the International Community” are yet more “harshly worded letters”; 3) The United States, under our current leadership, is likely to just leave Israel out there alone, twisting in the wind. Hmm, it doesn’t look very good, does it? Interesting times, indeed.

And, if Iran does go after Israel, there are all those American troops, in Iraq, right between the two. If the balloon goes up, we won’t be able to stay out of this one, no matter what our president and his party may desire.

I, for one, will be watching developments very closely indeed.

The Squirrel Can Cook – Teriyaki Beef & Rice

Growing up, Mom always worked outside the home (as a 1st grade teacher, and later as an executive assistant.) As a result, she did a lot of quick and easy meals. She used to make a tuna fish casserole with boxed mac-&-cheese and canned tuna. I’ve got to admit (and it’s no secret to my mom) that I’m really not a fan of tuna fish (especially canned,) but I am a fan of quick and easy meals.

There are lots of tasty packaged noodle or rice side dishes which make great bases upon which to build a simple casserole; all we need to do is add meat and veggies.

Our ingredients:



2 packages of Knorr AsianSides Teriyaki Rice
1 pound of shredded beef
1 large can of LaChoy chop suey vegetables
(NOTE: Neither LaChoy nor Knorr sponsor The Squirrel Can Cook, nor are they responsible for what I do with their products. If you work for either company, I'd be glad to accept sponsorship. My e-mail is posted on my profile page. Drop me a line, we'll talk.)



If you’ll recall, last week we made two pounds of shredded beef for our Meat Rolls, but we only used one. Here’s where we’re using that other pound! If you already used it for something else; that’s no problem, just brown and drain a pound of burger. Or grill a steak, and slice it thin.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare the two packages of rice according to the directions. I usually add just a little bit extra water to keep it from drying out in the oven.

Drain the can of veggies, stir the beef and veggies into the rice, and place into a casserole dish. Bake, covered, for 40-45 minutes. Top with some crunch chow mein noodles, or some chopped green onion (or both.)



That’s it! Quick, easy, and on the table in about an hour.

If you don’t already do something like this, you’re thinking, “Gosh, that’s so easy!” And that’s the idea. Sure, you can do this all from scratch. And, yes, it would taste better and probably be healthier. But that takes time, and sometimes time is what you’re running short of.

Mrs. Squirrel likes these casseroles, because the leftovers make great lunches for her to throw into the microwave at work.

Enjoy!

The Squirrel shall not live by bread alone!

The Squirrel's Nut Cache - 6/11/09

The Nut Cache - a collection of recent things I found interesting, or amusing, or nutworthy.

As a Science Fiction fan, I'm interested in stories like this one. When I first saw the headline, I thought of the wealthy folks who paid to visit the International Space Station (and I wondered if they'd lined up a minister, yet...), but it turns out that they're just getting married on an airplane. Not exactly a first, but still kinda neat.

I had always thought that San Diego was a rather conservative town, at least by Southern California standards. Well, after reading this article by Chuck Norris, I'm not so sure anymore. Considering the video that DJP posted on Tuesday, maybe we're not as far behind Britain as I had thought.

It's always nice to see a court make a reasonable and rational decision for a change. Well, Niagara County, New York Judge Sara Sheldon Sperrazza has made such a decision. This should make punks and thugs think twice about saying, "No," when the crime lab tech pulls out the DNA swab!

“I don’t know anything about cars,” is what the new head of Government Motors (GM) said, according to this post at Bloomberg.com. At first glace, my reaction was, "Oh, great..." but, after further thought, it might not be such a bad idea to have someone from the outside come in a fix things. After all, look at how well those from inside the industry have done... And Whitacre, as a former AT&T executive, should definitely understand how Government involvement can screw up an industry!

Please tell me this isn't the apartment of the future? I'm all in favor of the efficient use of space, but... Of course, in the Obamaconomy, this may be all any of us can afford in a few years.

A good practical joke should be funny, but not destructive. This fails on both counts. Although it does point out the errors in critical thinking skills among many Americans these days.

That's all for this week!

"The Truth Is What We Should Be Seeking"

Actor Jon Voight has recently had some harsh things to say about President Obama and the direction in which he is leading this nation. Just this morning, I was reading this article in The Washington Times, in which Voight says, "Obama is a very good actor. He knows how to play it. And he is very adept at creating this 'Obama' - this character who is there whenever the world needs something"

Monday night, the 70 year old actor spoke at a Republican fundraiser. Here are Mr. Voight's remarks (Note that he does not use a teleprompter.)



As you can imagine, this speech invokes strong reactions [1][2]. This morning, Mr. Voight appeared on Fox&Friends to talk about it.



In an evening when Newt Gingrich said nothing for an hour and Sarah Palin wasn't even allowed to speak (but stole the show anyway, just by being there,) Jon Voight said what he thought. It's refreshing. Now, if we could only get conservative candidates to do the same...

You Know You Have A Problem When...

Even your allies are mocking your use of a teleprompter...

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

I'm Glad Somebody's Saying It

From the first time I heard him on the radio back in 1988, I've been a fan of Rush Limbaugh. In addition to being an extremely funny man, I believe that he is on of the most astute political analysts around. He is certainly a consistent voice for conservative political ideals and principles.

If you missed it last week on TV, take a few minutes to watch Sean Hannity's interview with Rush Limbaugh.











(I think that's all of it, as FoxNews' labeling and organization of video clips leaves something to be desired.)

Now, if we could only get conservative politicians and elected officials to say these things...

Way To Go, Joshua!

Joshua Cookingham writes:

"I have graduated from Dutchess Community College. I now have a Associates in Communications and Media Arts."

And you can see that he's happy...



Here's hoping, Joshua, that you get over that cold quickly and enjoy the summer!

The Squirrel Can Cook - Meat Rolls!

My high school had the best cook! While so many other kids were complaining about the food at their schools, we were all looking forward to lunch at ours. Shortly after I graduated, she left the school and opened a restaurant. Now it’s a burger place, and she’s retired. Oh, well.

Anyway, one of my favorite things that used to turn up on the lunch menu was meat rolls. When I started writing the Squirrel Can Cook features, I knew I had to do those meat rolls. It took a few tries to get it right, as I’m not really a baker, but I think I’ve got ‘em down.

As I said, I’m not a baker, so I used frozen bread dough. Let it thaw and rise per the package directions. (8 hours, for the brand I used.)

Our other ingredients are:

A small roast (see below)
Powdered brown gravy mix – 2 envelopes, if you don’t buy it in bulk jars, like I do
A medium onion

Meanwhile, let’s get that meat filling ready. Get yourself a small roast, just a couple of pounds, and not a real expensive cut. There are a couple of ways that you could cook your meat. For example, you could braise it. This would result in excellent flavor. It’s time consuming, but, since you’ve got to wait for the bread dough to rise, you’ve got the time.



Or, you could do what I did, and put that puppy in your pressure cooker. 20 minutes, and it was falling apart, which is just how we want it, because we’re going to shred that meat up. Put the cooked roast on a cutting board, and go to work with a pair of forks. (You’ll need to do this while it’s still hot. If it cools, the gelatin will stiffen up, and that’s not what we’re looking for.)

We only need about a pound (pre-cooked weight) of meat, but our roast is about 2 pounds, so after you’ve got it all shredded up, stick half in a baggy in the fridge. It’s great for taco meat, or sloppy Joes, or just about anywhere else where you’d otherwise use a pound of browned burger.



Chop the medium onion really fine, toss it in a sauté pan with a tablespoon of olive oil and a little salt, and sweat it until it’s translucent in color. Remember, you’re sweating it, not sautéing, so if it begins to brown, your pan is too hot.

Prepare 1/2 of 1 of your envelopes of brown gravy per directions. (1/2 envelope & 1/2 the water. Save the other half of the envelope for later.)



(If you’ve ever made cinnamon rolls, you know this technique.) Take your bread dough, which is now all nice and puffy (or should be) and roll it out until it is an even rectangle about ¼ to ½ inch thick. Mix the shredded beef, the onion, and the ½ recipe of brown gravy together, and spread evenly over the bread, leaving about an inch at the far side free of filling. Then roll it up, with the meat mixture inside. Wet the edge that you left free of filling, and seal it really well. You now should have a meat filled bread log.



Now, take a piece of string and begin cutting the rolls off of the log. Cut the log into about 2 inch segments. Lay the segments down, about an inch apart, on a lightly greased jelly roll pan. Cover the pan with a tea towel, and allow the rolls to rise for an hour. They should about double in size.





Bake your pan of rolls, per the directions for your bread dough, until they're a nice golden brown. Prepare the rest of your brown gravy (your 1 ½ envelopes). Top rolls with gravy, and enjoy! Serve with the veggie of your choice. Feeds 4-6.



The Squirrel shall not live by bread alone!

The Squirrel's Nut Cache - 6/4/09

The Nut Cache - a collection of recent things I found interesting, or amusing, or nutworthy.

Note: Today's Nut Cache will be slightly larger than usual, since we missed last week.

(Fred mentioned this on his blog last week) Lady Thatcher once said that Socialism’s biggest problem was that, sooner or later, you run out of other people’s money. There’s no doubt that, given the opportunity, the people with the money will also take steps to hold on to it. Looks like Maryland's millionaires are moving away to flee from higher taxes. Socialists are silly to resent rich people. I've never gotten a job from a business owned by a poor person.

Here's an update on this story from the April 9 Nut Cache. It seems that the funeral home in question has lost their license. Well, Duh! I gotta admit that I'm sort of ambivalent regarding the whole funeral home business. It's way too expensive. Stories like this don't improve my opinion any.

This is a great story; touching, nostalgic, heart warming. Now, my first car was a 1974 Ford Pinto wagon. Mom and Dad gave it to me for my 16th birthday... the engine caught fire as I was driving it home from the dealership. DO NOT try to track it down for my 50th birthday! OK? Everybody got that? Good!

Y'all knew I couldn't ignore this one! Squirrels are natural patriots. They know that flags make great decorations, and the 4th of July is coming up quickly. The only reason they steal the flags is that nobody sells to arboreal rodents. You walk into a store to buy something, next thing you know, the shopkeeper is chasing you with a broom; makes it hard to complete a transaction.

Another update, kinda. Good news, curry lovers! Seems it's good, and good for you. Maybe now, you'll visit the McCurry near you more often, huh? No McCurry nearby? Fear not, I'll post a curry recipe soon.

Staying with food, seems Aussies are sissies when it comes to food. "He ate what was set before him," used to be a sort of unofficial soldierly motto, but not for the Australian armed forces, it seems. Note to moms: make the little crumb-crunchers eat what they get with thanks, or go hungry. Then, one day, when there all grown up, they won't be embarrassing their nation by turning up their noses at someone else's cooking!

Final food story today. This isn't quite enough for a Squirrel Can Cook segment, but it is worth bringing to your attention. Yeah, it's a squirrel thing, and, since y'all are all hanging with me, I figure you should know these things.

When Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians 5:15, he was talking about people NOT snakes. Just so you know. Another problem with paganism.

That's the Nut Cache for this week. It looks to be a beautiful day here in Western Montana, and I hope it's just as nice where ever you are.