SIDEBAR #59 - Travis Alexander forum

[YESorNO]

The FBI and the Internet can’t crack this dead man’s code

"or three hot June days in 1999, no one cared about Ricky McCormick. There were no frantic calls to the police, no missing person reports, no mothers or widows appealing to the local news for information. No one seemed to care that the 41-year-old was missing, let alone worried that he might be dead. He was missing and no one noticed—and then he was found in an abandoned cornfield in St. Charles County, Missouri. By the time police found him, his body was so badly decomposed that his fingertips had fallen off...

The sheriff classified McCormick’s death as “suspicious.” But with no leads and, really, no clear evidence of a crime, there wasn’t much for investigators to do. To this day, the case remains open.

Over the next 12 years, Ricky McCormick’s case grew colder. Then, in March of 2011, the FBI’s Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit (CRRU) shared two notes that had been found crumpled in the pocket of McCormick’s grubby Lee jeans. The notes look like gibberish. But the FBI believes that the seemingly random letters, numbers, and parentheses scrawled on plain white paper may hold the answer to McCormick’s mysterious death...

McCormick’s notes offer only the possibility of better understanding the virtually anonymous life and death of a man who died largely unmourned, his body dumped in an abandoned field in middle America. The Internet rarely agrees on much, but it seems to have agreed that if Ricky McCormick, a poor, semiliterate black man, was sending a message from beyond the grave, then the message wasn’t worth reading..."

http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue...pted-notes-ciphers/?ncid=newsltushpmg00000003
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[YESorNO]

A Prison Bookie Explains How Inmates Gamble on the Super Bowl (some foul language)

"...Just like on the street, sports betting is big business in prisons, and it follows the same format—Eddie had given the inmates who wanted to bet on the game the most recent Vegas line,...

There aren't statistics on the subject, of course, since inmates are technically prohibited from gambling, but some bookies in my facility claim to make upward of $30,000 a year...

The name of Eddie's ticket is "Bet & Sweat," and the inmate said he has runners, or people who collect bets (and later debts), in every block on the prison's nine-block compound. Each runner makes 10 percent of each losing bet that they bring in, and Eddies gives his betting clients a free $2 play every night to entice more action.
Some prisons might use cans of tuna or mackerel for money, but you're just as often to find stamps being exchanged. In this prison, the powers that decide such things determined that each 49-cent stamp used on the black market is worth 40 cents in the prison; a $1 stamp is worth 80 cents. To keep the underground economy afloat, inmates purchase stamps at full price from the commissary, so a "book" of ten stamps is worth about $4. During Super Bowl weekend, a bookie could easily make several grand. The Panthers are considered such a sure thing that Eddie decided to require gamblers to bet on three other games this weekend, mostly basketball, in order to play his ticket...."

http://www.vice.com/read/how-prison-inmates-gamble-on-the-super-bowl?ncid=newsltushpmg00000003
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Decades-Long Search for "Mr. Wonder" Ends With Arrest

"Neighbors in a well-to-do section of this San Diego suburb knew him as Frank Szeles, a friendly Cub Scouts leader who frequently gave swimming lessons to young children in his backyard pool.

The federal agents who arrested him last week knew him by a different name: "Mr. Wonder," the host of a popular children's television show who vanished decades ago amid allegations that he sexually abused several kids during a camping retreat in central Louisiana.

The man who faced a San Diego judge Wednesday denied he is the 76-year-old fugitive named Frank John Selas III who allegedly fled to Brazil in 1979 after Louisiana authorities secured a warrant for his arrest.

Back in Louisiana, Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office investigators are convinced the right man is in custody. Meanwhile, officials in California are suddenly facing fears that Selas could have preyed on other children during the 37 years that he eluded capture.

"It's absolutely shocking the level of access that this guy had to children, even now," said Steve Jurman, supervisory deputy U.S. marshal in San Diego. "If there's a playbook for pedophiles, he checked off every single box."...

The man believed to be Selas remains in jail without bail in San Diego. He is due in court Feb. 11 for a hearing to establish his identity. In the meantime, Louisiana authorities are reviving a long-dormant investigation.

The Rapides Parish sheriff said his detectives have spoken to some of Selas' alleged victims from the 1979 camping trip and they are willing to testify.
"It's been a long road and it's not nearly over," Hilton said."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/decades-long-search-mr-ends-arrest-36627137
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The Irrationality of Natural Life Sentences

"...Just about all of my students at Stateville have been convicted of at least one murder; some have assaulted staff members, and others have spent over a decade in solitary confinement. Some are former gang members, and others were on death row — neighbors with John Wayne Gacy — for almost half of their lives.

The most obvious is that some end up at Stateville for reasons that are disconnected from culpability — coerced confessions, poor counsel, a racist jury, and so on. But even where these external forces are largely absent, the fact that my classroom seems indistinguishable from those at an elite university turns out not to be that shocking. And here’s the simple, yet crucially important reason: People can change, often in profoundly transformative ways....

... only 1 percent of serious crime is committed by people over the age of 60. According to Jonathan Turley, a professor of public interest law at George Washington University: “Everyone agrees on what is the most reliable predictor of recidivism: age. As people get older, they statistically become less dangerous.” Turley refers to this period as “criminal menopause,” a phenomenon that raises serious questions about the rationale for incarcerating the elderly. Still, researchers project that the elderly prison population in the United States will be over 400,000 in 2030, compared with 8,853 in 1981...

At the early end of the spectrum of life, then, there is the possibility that prisoners might change; at the later end, there is the reality that they have changed. Both facts bump up against natural life sentences. A sentence of “natural life” means that there are no parole hearings, no credit for time served, no possibility of release. Short of a successful appeal or an executive pardon, such a sentence means that the convicted will, in no uncertain terms, die behind bars..."

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.co...emc=edit_ty_20160201&nl=opinion&nlid=73927810
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[YESorNO]

Public Housing Nationwide May Be Subject to Smoking Ban

"Smoking would be prohibited in public housing homes nationwide under a proposed federal rule announced on Thursday, a move that would affect nearly one million households and open the latest front in the long-running campaign to curb unwanted exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke.

The ban, by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, would also require that common areas and administrative offices on public housing property be smoke-free..."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/12/n...oking-ban.html?_r=1&ncid=newsltushpmg00000003
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13 Million People In China Don’t Have The Document That Would Guarantee Them Rights

"The government treats these residents as second-class citizens, but this family is fighting back...."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...ddf570d99?09o4j9k9=&ncid=newsltushpmg00000003
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Man Who Survived Suicide Attempt Off Golden Gate Bridge Shares His Story

“The millisecond my hands left the rail, it was an instant regret.”

"...Hines, now a mental health advocate and suicide prevention activist, said a friendly sea lion saved his life, swimming around him until he was rescued by the Coast Guard.
“It just kept circling beneath me. I remember floating atop the water and this thing just bumping me, bumping me up,” he told AFP earlier this year....

“It’s okay not to be okay. It’s not okay not to ask someone to back you up,” he said. “Recovery happens. I’m living proof.” .."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...3e4b080eddf570a5b?ncid=txtlnkusaol p00000592

[video=youtube;WcSUs9iZv-g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcSUs9iZv-g[/video]
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[YESorNO]

Scientists Are Developing A Way To Warn You An Earthquake Is Starting

"One of the most frightening things about earthquakes is that we never know when the next big one is going to hit.

Largely because of this uncertainly, an average of 10,000 people die in earthquakes each year. However, a team of scientists from the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Oregon, and the University of Washington hopes to decrease that number significantly.

They have developed a high-tech prototype of an earthquake early-warning system. It uses seismic data to detect the beginning of an earthquake and then sends an alert seconds before devastating ground-shaking begins, said Dr. Richard Allen, director of the Seismological Laboratory at UC Berkeley and member of the research team.

"The amount of warning time you get depends on where you are located compared to where the epicenter of the earthquake is," he told The Huffington Post. "We would want to push the warning out on your cell phone, your computer, over TV and radio and even push it through your home security system. … We would push it out over as many channels as possible."..."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/new-earthquake-warning-system_us_56afa112e4b057d7d7c79f68?
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Scientists create a map showing where the bubonic plague is most likely to fester as its revealed there were 16 American cases this year

"Those that live in northeastern and southwestern California, central Colorado and north central New Mexico may see future cases of the plague

This year there were 16 American cases of plague which is far more than the median of three annual cases that occurred between 2001 and 2012..."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...y-fester-revealed-16-American-cases-year.html

(Residents beware: Those that live in northeastern and southwestern California, central Colorado and north central New Mexico may see future cases of the fatal illness that causes buboes on the skin to ooze, pus, and bleed)
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Ingredients of Plague Risk in Western US Identified

http://www.livescience.com/53224-plague-risk-factors.html
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[YESorNO]

Dan Hicks, Hot Licks Singer, Dead at 74

"Dan Hicks, a longtime Bay Area music figure and the lead singer of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, passed away Saturday following a two-year battle with cancer. He was 74. Hicks' wife CT confirmed the singer-songwriter's death on his official website..."

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/dan-hicks-hot-licks-singer-dead-at-74-20160207

Link: http://seattletwist.com/wp-content/uploads/dan-hicks.jpg

[video=youtube;GQhPyEmUXcc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQhPyEmUXcc[/video]

RIP :candle:

 

[YESorNO]

Reading Rock Star Obituaries

"They pass away with regularity now, frozen in provocative poses of youthful eternity. Gone in the last month are David Bowie, age 69, Glenn Frey, 67, and Paul Kantner, 74, musicians who lifted hearts, pushed boundaries, had it all and then had nothing that could hold off the inevitable.

You parse the cause of death, as if that explains something. You look for a pattern — years of debauchery finally catching up with them? — and realize simply that a rock star can have a very ordinary ending. Bowie, the Man Who Fell to Earth, suffered from cancer. Complications of rheumatoid arthritis and pneumonia stilled Frey, whose voice haunts a million sunsets from the Hotel California. And Kantner was felled by multiple organ failure brought on by septic shock. These are things that kill old people, not demigods with electric guitars...

A rock star’s death is at once shocking, because rock stars aren’t supposed to die, and no surprise, because many of them should have been dead a long time ago..."

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/05/o...emc=edit_ty_20160205&nl=opinion&nlid=73927810
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What the government is still hiding about the JFK assassination
The National Archives, for the first time ever, released a list of documents related to the assassination that are still shielded from public view.

"More than five decades after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, thousands of government files detailing the activities and testimony of shadowy spies, long-deceased witnesses and others with possible knowledge of the events remain shielded from public view.

The government gave a first-ever peek at what's still out there Thursday, as the National Archives released a list of the 3,063 documents that have been "fully withheld" since JFK's murder in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.

Story Continued Below

The documents listed — released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from POLITICO, other news organizations and researchers — were collected by the Assassination Records Review Board, an independent panel created by the 1992 JFK Records Act.

That same act requires that all the documents on the list be released by October 2017 unless the next president decides to keep them classified....

Here is a snapshot of what is still being hidden from the public about key figures, probes and other events that the Archives has deemed relevant to the JFK investigation..."

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/kennedy-assassination-jfk-national-archives-documents-218775
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[YESorNO]

This is a shout out to anyone from the Greenville area: Is there any info yet on whether Autumn's new baby is a boy or a girl?

Cute as can be, either way!!! and happy to see that that this time there were no problems.

Greenville Zoo welcomes new baby giraffe

"Autumn, the Greenville Zoo's 9-year-old Masai giraffe, gave birth to a healthy calf early Tuesday, zoo officials said.

The calf's first hesitant steps and more were captured in a live video stream after Autumn went into labor sometime before 6 a.m....

Zoo officials have decided to allow the public to continue suggesting male and female names until noon Feb. 11. Click here to submit names online and go to the green GET TICKETS link to start the submission. Once the contest closes, zookeepers will select a favorite name that will be announced at a press conference the following day.

The zoo will remain closed for annual maintenance until Feb. 12. Until then, the public can follow Autumn and her calf’s progress via the Giraffe Cam at

greenvillezoofoundation.org/giraffecam...."

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2016/02/02/giraffe-born-greenville-zoo/79684346/
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Name the New Giraffe!

"Have you been watching Giraffe Cam? If so, you already know that Autumn and Walter have a new baby! We need your help to name the baby giraffe!

Because we don't know the gender until an exam is complete, we are requesting both boy and girl names. ..

The zookeepers will select a favorite from the submitted names and an announcement will be made to the public when the Zoo re-opens..."

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/name-t...034132657?mc_cid=96d37351e1&mc_eid=1e90faf456
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Link: http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/4cc...reenville/635900366111628250-baby-giraffe.jpg
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[Zuri]

I have been looking for a new book to read. I will order this today. Thank you for recommendation and it would be an honor to read anything written by a loved one of KCL. I swear to god if there was a KCL fan club I would totally be a "fan girl" because she represents and stands for everything that is good in this world and in humanity.

Also, Zuri I just read this book called "Luckiest Girl Alive." Not sure if you have heard about it but it's been pretty popular. Its written by a girl my age who went to Shipley. It's a dark book about a private school on the main line (supposed to be Shipley). It was good and quick read, not the best book ever but worth the read especially with all the main line references which I found hilarious and mostly accurate. It's a crime thriller, so check it out if you get a chance.

Thanks for the recommendation. I will order it today. I know people who went to Shipley, including one of the prior admin people. Ought to be an interesting read!

 

[Zuri]

It is going to snow here again and I am not happy lol. Only 2-4", but still a pain. This weekend is going to be 25 degrees for the high and I am moving my rescued, crippled thoroughbred mare to a retirement farm to live out the rest of her days.

Where she is now in PA, no one bothered to look under her blankets to see that she is a sack of bones and had lost weight. She is not what we call an easy keeper and I am paying a premium for someone to be checking her and making sure she is ok. Not happy at all. She is now in a stall and getting fed 4-5 times a day thanks to my vet.

Where she is going to in MD, she will have a stall and when the weather is bad, she will stay in. There are only 5 horses on the property so the herd dynamics might suit her better. Oh the worry. Just like one of your kids I swear.

 

[Zuri]

Looks like FCA is setting up a photography business in West Palm Beach, FL. I hope to goodness I don't see her at the Winter Equestrian Festival when Susza and I go. I will lose what is left of my mind.

 

[krkrjx]

"Autumn, the Greenville Zoo's 9-year-old Masai giraffe, gave birth to a healthy calf early Tuesday, zoo officials said.


The zoo will remain closed for annual maintenance until Feb. 12. Until then, the public can follow Autumn and her calf’s progress via the Giraffe Cam at

greenvillezoofoundation.org/giraffecam...."

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2016/02/02/giraffe-born-greenville-zoo/79684346/
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Name the New Giraffe!

"Have you been watching Giraffe Cam? If so, you already know that Autumn and Walter have a new baby! We need your help to name the baby giraffe!

Because we don't know the gender until an exam is complete, we are requesting both boy and girl names. ..

The zookeepers will select a favorite from the submitted names and an announcement will be made to the public when the Zoo re-opens..."

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I believe Mom gets at least a little outdoor time every day but I wonder if Baby gets outside at all. I am thinking not but today I say Baby galloping back and forth through the stalls and I wonder if some outdoor time might be beneficial. Those stalls are not very roomy and they both spend a lot of time cooped up.

I know little about giraffes and certainly not as much as zookeepers but it is obvious giraffes like to stretch their legs just like anyone else. However, to do so they need more room than everyone else, LOL.

 

[GigiG]

Dan Hicks, Hot Licks Singer, Dead at 74

"Dan Hicks, a longtime Bay Area music figure and the lead singer of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, passed away Saturday following a two-year battle with cancer. He was 74. Hicks' wife CT confirmed the singer-songwriter's death on his official website..."

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/dan-hicks-hot-licks-singer-dead-at-74-20160207

Link: http://seattletwist.com/wp-content/uploads/dan-hicks.jpg

[video=youtube;GQhPyEmUXcc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQhPyEmUXcc[/video]

RIP :candle:

I loved him! Back in the day, I had a boyfriend who worked at a bar in Georgetown. Dan Hicks came in and after chatting a bit, asked him if he knew where he could find a lime green polyester leisure suit. We thought that was hilarious (and sooo fitting with his character). My BF directed him to an older retail area around 8th and F Streets, which at the time was very good advice. Now, however, it's quite upscale. Oh for the good old days...

 

[Dmacky]

I'm confused. This is the year of the Monkey.
But according to this chart with birth years, (54) I should be "Horse." This chart must not be correct? I don't want to be a damn monkey! LOL

 

[Hatfield]

View attachment 88820

I'm confused. This is the year of the Monkey.
But according to this chart with birth years, (54) I should be "Horse." This chart must not be correct? I don't want to be a damn monkey! LOL

Which brings up a really good question.

If reincarnation exists and you had a choice to come back but it had to be an animal then what animal would you choose to come back as?

You can pick up to 2 choices.

For me I think I would like to be either a Squirrel or an Eagle.

Both seem very independent and both seem to be able to keep away from being a meal for another animal. The soaring like an eagle sounds like it would be a good life and the squirrels I see in my yard seem to be having a good time.

So either of those would be OK for me. LOL

 

[Hatfield]

View attachment 88820

I'm confused. This is the year of the Monkey.
But according to this chart with birth years, (54) I should be "Horse." This chart must not be correct? I don't want to be a damn monkey! LOL

I think you are ok and still a "horse" LOL I think the calendar just has the birth year like you stated so if you were born in 1954 then a horse is it. I think people born in 2016 would be a Monkey. I think that is why they say this is the year of the Monkey.

But it gets tricky if you were born in January or February. I found a link where you can put in your entire birthdate to find out if Horse still comes up.

http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-zodiac/

 

[Dmacky]

I think you are ok and still a "horse" LOL I think the calendar just has the birth year like you stated so if you were born in 1954 then a horse is it. I think people born in 2016 would be a Monkey. I think that is why they say this is the year of the Monkey.

But it gets tricky if you were born in January or February. I found a link where you can put in your entire birthdate to find out if Horse still comes up.

http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-zodiac/

Thanks so much Hatfield. Guess what? The Year of the Monkey in the Chinese Zodiac begins on February 8, 2016 and lasts until Jan 27th, 2017.
It started TODAY of course which is my B-day :gaah:

The personality of the Monkey
People born in the Year of the Monkey are characterized as lively, quick-witted, curious, innovative and mischievous, but it is also believed to be one of the most unlucky years in the Chinese calendar.
^^^^^^^^^^^
Seriously?? And after last year I was hoping/praying this year would be kind to me.

To answer your question above, I would want to come back as
1. Zuri's or Oprah's DOG
2. Zuri's horse


ETA ~ I still might be a horse, I'm confused LOL

 

[YESorNO]

Looks like FCA is setting up a photography business in West Palm Beach, FL. I hope to goodness I don't see her at the Winter Equestrian Festival when Susza and I go. I will lose what is left of my mind.

EXCLUSIVE: Oh snap! America's 'most hated mom' Casey Anthony, 29, launches photography business - with help from renowned PI, 67, who helped clear her of daughter's murder


"Pariah mom Casey Anthony has filed papers with the Florida Department of State to register a new business, Case Photography, LLC
Daily Mail Online found Casey snapping away with her Canon EOS camera, as veteran private detective Patrick J. McKenna showed her the ropes
Anthony has been staying with McKenna, who was the lead investigator on her defense team
Anthony has set up blogs, online slideshows and a Facebook page to showcase her work - but is yet to post a single image
Daily Mail Online can reveal the papers have been copied to Facebook page where users have posted threats and abuse
In 2014 Anthony was living as virtual recluse and working as a housekeeper, clerk and secretary...

Our exclusive images show the amateur shutterbug taking pictures of buildings and street scenes with her Canon digital SLR camera.

Despite having lived as a virtual recluse since she was sensationally cleared of murdering daughter Caylee in 2011, Anthony seemed remarkably relaxed to be spotted out and about.

'Make sure you get my good side. I'm working here,' she joked, before trying to turn the tables on our photographer by taking pictures of him from her car..." PFTTTT

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ned-PI-67-helped-clear-daughter-s-murder.html

Wonder who is going to buy her photos? :stormingmad:

 

[YESorNO]

View attachment 88820

I'm confused. This is the year of the Monkey.
But according to this chart with birth years, (54) I should be "Horse." This chart must not be correct? I don't want to be a damn monkey! LOL

You are a horse because you were born in 1954! The chart is correct. :slap:

Anyone born this year, 2016,, will be a monkey. It has nothing to do with the day you were born, but the year you were born. In 1954, any day you were born, you would be a horse.

:bdsong: my dear Dmacky (is today really your birthday??? seems you have had so many this year. :facepalm

Link: http://quotesideas.com/wp-content/u...day-Portia-luvmusicsmile-33371646-400-200.gif

Link: http://www.childcare-guide.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Great-Birthday-Cake-Ideas.jpg

arty:

:confetti:

 

[YESorNO]

Which brings up a really good question.

If reincarnation exists and you had a choice to come back but it had to be an animal then what animal would you choose to come back as?

You can pick up to 2 choices.

For me I think I would like to be either a Squirrel or an Eagle.

Both seem very independent and both seem to be able to keep away from being a meal for another animal. The soaring like an eagle sounds like it would be a good life and the squirrels I see in my yard seem to be having a good time.

So either of those would be OK for me. LOL

I would be an elephant- big, strong, intelligent, not many predators (except men), empathetic, have strong social bonds- family oriented

or a giraffe- no predators (when full grown), graceful, beautiful

Or maybe, my cat! king of the house (The Queen is the queen of the house)- I am their servant). :facepalm:

 

[Spellbound]

I better have the right day this time! :loveyou: Happy Birthday, Dmacky!!!!!!