What Would I Experience if I Were To Go To Studio 54 During The Disco Craze?

From about age 5 to age 9 (this was from 1976 to 1980),

I missed disco, and its correlated discotheques. This was because I was

too young to go to such disco clubs at that time.


So I had to imagine being in the heart of this craze. After

researching on the hottest disco nightclub in the United States,

Studio 54, I was imagining myself waiting in line to get into the

club. Learned that the owner (who was also the doorman at that time)

made up his own rules on who can get in…and who cannot. I think that

the doorman will at first say that I will not be allowed in because of

my African-American race, but my very curly hair—although I was not in

a full-fledged Afro hairdo—would make the owner reconsider his

rejection, and I would be let in.


What would I see? A sea of colored moving lights, and a sea of colors

in the club patrons wearing platform shoes, three-piece suits, and

a lot of casual garb. Learning from what Steve Dahl mentioned when

he hated disco, I would also have seen ladies don plenty and plenty

of jewelry—the garb that Steve Dahl did not like in the disco craze.

I would have mind the jewelry. I was not into the drugs they had in

the place so I would stay away from that…I would instead focus on

hitting on the right woman or women to dance with, and eventually I

would imagine finding a lady to dance to that is almost like Karen

Lynn Gorney in the movie “Saturday Night Fever”, even if the real

Karen was not there.  I would see a very loose but controlled chaos of

dancers either dancing the line hustle, or doing freestyle disco

dancing (letting it all out), or of course, do one of the popular

partner disco dances at that time

made famous by the band Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony…yes, the

hustle.

Six Flags Great America Memories---The Rides I Have Ridden On in the 1980s

I was in Great America several times in the 1980s, so as I try to remember the times I rode the rides, I can think of memories of some of them….

WHITEWATER RAMPAGE

Well, it is supposed to be the water ride at that theme park that would bring us more thrills than the already-installed Log Flume that I rode before in Six Flags. It was announced on TV that a ride called the Whitewater Rampage was going to be on, and even with a slight fear of water, I decided to take on the Rampage. After I got through a rather long line, I see a warning message that said “You are going to get wet…probably soaked…after riding this ride.” I knew I was going to get wet, but I don’t know at that point how much. I was sitting with about 6-7 people in a sort of saucer module with an outer skin of yellow and seats with seat beat restraints in black. The ride is innocent enough in the begging with the gentle whitewater bumps, but then, the saucer picks up speed gradually in the middle of the ride. I got lashed in the back at least once with a bit of water. Then, the surprise comes after I got through halfway through the ride, after going through a rather long tunne….exploding geysers fire in the air up to 40 feet high, and I was about 25 feet away from it when it fired. They released about ½ to ¾ gallons of water and when they dropped all of that water on me, I got a partial brunt—ending up being wet with about 1/3 gallons of water. Then the grand finale of the ride was the climax, the module goes down into more whitewater bumps that were larger and bigger, and I got lashed 2 more times with water, and on the last bump, I think I got a direct hit from behind by the water….and then, it was all over. I had an extra set of clothes to change after I got off the ride. THE

LOG FLUME 
The ride seems to be in 4 phases. I had been on the Flume twice, so I can remember:

Phase 1
You go across the first sinuous curve and you are taken up with the first ascent of about 75 feet, feeling a shaky wooden-like feel even though this is not a wooden rollercoaster. Must be steel cables doing the work.

Phase 2
Then, I feel the light drop and then it is a sinuous ride with left banks, right banks, and then left banks again, and then, a slight drop of 15 feet gets you a bit wet (a prelude to the grand finale of the ride), and then, you end up in a new straightaway.

Phase 3
Another slight drop of about 10 feet gets you down and gets you slightly more wet again, and then a few more short straightaways and a few more banks. At that point, I feel like a log but I know that there is another final big climb to come.

Phase 4 – The Grand Finale
This challenged me a little bit—because I was a bit afraid of heights but I was able to deal with it---the final ascent, the second of the ascents, as big as the first, gets you as high as about 85 feet, then you go straight for about 15 more feet. Then I see what is coming below—the big drop with the great pool of water below to splash me at, and then I braced myself for the drop that would happen at speeds as high as 50 mph, I placed my head down forward as the drop happened, punctuated by a mule bump in the middle (about 40 feet), and then, I can hear the great splash, and I got sideswiped with a splash of water. Then I raised my head and I found out that part of my legs and my back of the shirt got wet, but I knew that the ride was over.

1995 Lecture Notes from English 260 - The Black Arts Movement

LIMITATIONS TO THE BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT Christianity--is considered a religion to keep Blacks in their place because of.... * worldly emphasis (not direct)--not action * Eurocentric bias (the casting of God as a white man * representation of the Black church as inwardly focused on self-perpetuation * representing the Black church for only its own perpetuation (lack of environment) The blues was rejected for advocating a resolution and accepting it. The Nation of Islam (NOI) countervail any Christian influence because..... * Islam was a religion native to Africa for Christianity was foreign and Europeanized * Islam was never connected to slavery or slave trade * Islamic minds would have minds in orderly structure * Islam ministered Africans who were not of the Christian faith who were criminals * The N.O.I. had an economic program that led to empowerment. * Islam helps Muslims underpin the Islamic conversion from other religions. The Black Power Movement died because...... * intervention and disruptive tendencies of the American Government to stop Black political groups such as the BPP (Black Panther Party) * the arrest(s) and scare tactics (e.g., Cointelpro and other counter-insurgency tactics) that drove away Black leaders from the country or from freedom to jail. * the war in Vietnam--black males were drafted to the highest because of their severe belligerency-- and it led to political impotence. Blacks died more than Whites in the war in Vietnam. * Riots in Kent State and Jackson State universities were also caught in the middle. There was no sustain political or artistic Black movement after 1973, even after the Vietnam ended. Reasons... * Integration helped--discrimination laws were enforced * Sharing of space--now allowed a certain aspect of Blacks to integrate with whites. They could also live in various integrated committees in a different model or perspective of African-Americans who witnesses to leadership points. If blacks come through in white places with more resources then it will be a leadership that would be much more stable.

New Classic Rock Songs That I am Starting to Love

The list will be updated when I add more of my newest favorite songs........

"Child In Time" (Deep Purple)

"Foreplay/It's Been a Long Time" (Boston)

"Lazy" (Deep Purple)

"Life During Wartime" (The Talking Heads)

"Mona Lisa" (Sheila E.)

"Money For Nothing" (Dire Straits)

"Smokin'" (Boston)

"The Sultans of Swing" (Dire Straits)

"Welcome Back My Friends" (Emerson, Lake and Palmer)

My Notes from "A Solo Song For Doc" (by James Alan McPhearson)

PART A

He's 63, and in the Union; he knows the business well. The railroad business seems to be on its demise.

He build the railroad, as well as Sheik Beasley, Uncle T. Boone, and Danny Jacson.

The old school died with Doc Jer (Jerry Ewald was "the unexpected inspector"). He knows how to get people.

Doc was already a man. He had no skills and was Black. He wondered on December 25, 1916 into a dining car in Chicago to get to San Francisco.

Chips Magnusson on leads Doc into the waiter business. His real name (Doc) was Leroy Jackson.

The Sheik was impressed, but Doc is scorned by him for failing to pay tips for him.

PART B

He came from the war, but this was 1941. He says that being on the road is safer. He knows that the Polacks and redneck boys have gone to war.

The Depression still lingers, so everyone tries to rob someone. There were no company or work rules, so lots of stealing in the waiter's business.

Doc used the drink-bootlegged booze to the soldiers, and Casper and him were the best moneymakers.

The farm people in their towns hated Blacks.

No one wanted a stiff, swelty farm girl.

He remembers being in a bar in one racial town, and while he was getting a joint, he tried to get a team job. But he was spat upon and was refused.

Willie Joe is most feared by him for he started something bad with her girl.

He liked getting drunk with the boys at Andy's (bar) and not being married to some bad girl. But Doc knew how to handle women.

The war ended (1945), and the farm boys coming home did not want to spend money on the way.

Things turn different. Casper gets caught for a bad shock; new rules are now written.

They (the trains) are losing passengers due to the airplanes.

After the General J. Freed case, he starts a KKK group.

The Sheik was pulled off the train for stealing.

The union was established and the stealers stopped their acts.

They are warned about the rules, but they got seniority in return for rule following.

Doc turns 65 years old and drunk hard. He has now wife, relatives or even a hobby.

He warns Doc that there is a downsizing of employees on trains.

Freight trains are much more in demand. He warns Doc to get another job but the Doc refuses.

Doc might have been crippled by arthritis and a bad heart.

Trisdale was now the general superintendent.

It was determined that bad service will cause Doc to suffer the demise of his job.

The Commissary went out and sent spotters to detect Doc's bad service.

Boone tried to attack Doc for his good manners.

Boone said that Doc and such blacks like him lack humility for such jobs like these.

Then, the author tells to ignore Boone's harrassment.

PART C

Jerry Ewald got on in the next day after lunch, and Crusoe looks at Doc.

Doc handles the silver soup to Jerry as if a Jew talks handles a needle.

Jerry is impressed with Doc's good service.

Doc is warned about the new rule for proper iced tea services (on July 9, 1965)

Jerry warned Doc that he broke two rules already.

Doc refuses to give in to Jerry's request.

Jerry warns Doc that waiter work on trains will all be over.

No one said anything to Doc.

PART 4

Doc was forced to retire because of the rule book.

Doc got a good pension and took it to Andy's.

Doc died about 5 months later at 73, of severe frostbite and excessive drinking.

The Decapitation of James Foley: What Can We Do Next in Regards to Iraq?

The best way to deal with this shocking death of Mr. Foley is for President Obama to back down on any further bombing action against ISIS militants in Iraq indefinitely. This is probably the only way that we can save face from this pretty awful news of the beheading of James Foley now, because I found out that ISIS captured another American and threatened to decapitate that American unless America stops bombing operations against ISIS militants.

I myself did not want to see the decapitation video myself because it was too scary. Youtube took that execution video down very quickly. Too scary for virtually anyone to see.

Most news companies regard the execution as extremely graphic and hence won't show it.

I did see something similar to the taken-down video in the movie "Fahrenheit 9-11", directed by Michael Moore, where in the middle of the movie, there is a scene where a condemned man is fatally butchered by a beheading in public in the town of Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia. The one executed was not James Foley, but a Saudi. But I was imagining being in James Foley shoes as I saw the executioner in the movie raise his long sword high over the victim's head, and then slash through the victim's head twice--the second attempt successfully slicing his head off. The results would not be pleasing for me. Nothing funny at all about it!!!

But what can we do? What can we do about what happened to James Foley?

It is so hard for me to figure out what would happen in this new Iraq that we are hearing about.

Before the first Iraq invasion, I thought things would be hunky-dory when Saddam Hussein was in power in Iraq. Then we hear about what he did to the Kurds in Iraq, and then, about 1992, the First Gulf War came. The war was successful and I thought everything in Iraq would be better again.

Then, in 2001, the 9-11 attacks happened to our country! President Bush orders another Second Gulf War because there were educated guesses that Al-Qaeda--the ruthless terrorist group led by Osama Bin Laden--may have been behind the attacks and probably such terrorists may have been in Iraq. Saddam was captured, convicted, and hanged after the war but America's eyes was on Public Enemy no. 1--Osama bin Laden.

Then, as the war ended, the price we paid was very heavy even after the official war was over. Iraqi insurgents got very mad and decided to do guerilla warfare on us!! The tricks were scary and this definitely smacks to what the Vietnam War was with guerilla warfare. Mechanical bobby traps and land mines were the guerrilla tactics in the Vietnam War--but in post-war Iraq, it is modernized through a new type of land mine---roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices. So with these scare tactics, America finally pulled its troops out of Iraq recently. But before the American troops were pulling out of Iraq, America got its most ruthless terrorist--Bin Laden--in a commando raid in his home in Pakistan by special forces--and then the special forces killed Bin Laden. I was thinking to myself, "Why did the special forces decide to not capture him, but kill him?" Well, that question is likely going to be unanswered for a very long time, because the exact names of the special forces soldiers in that mission to kill Bin Laden still generally remain top-secret.

Then, for reasons I still do not know about, a new terrorist group called ISIS made its presence in Iraq. Their tactics are almost like the Taliban--but because of the James Foley beheading, most likely they are a bit worse than the Taliban. All of the "shariat" laws that educated Islam people know are completely thrown out, and humanity is dropped to the lowest abyss, causing things like hostage-taking and post-kidnapping beheadings.

With that, James Foley will be missed, surely. There needs to be profound amends for this senseless execution, but retaliatory military action is not the answer at this time.

My Favorite Six Movie Quotes from Hollywood Movies and How Each of Them Can Relate To My Life

INTRODUCTION

"Do it if you're lucky....[or] would'ya punk?", said by Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry,
reminds me of the idiom called Hobson's choice. The quote is not just related to the bad guy who gets terrified seeing the barrel of Dirty Harry's .44 magnum gun. It also reminds people that in life, you make choices that can hurt you or help you. And some choices are not easy to make. For instance, during a period of high inflation, you have a choice of either paying the gas bill or paying the health insurance premium. Another instance is when a recession occurs, and you have the tough choice of trying to find a job in your home country--or go overseas.

THE SIX FAVORITE MOVIE QUOTES

My first favorite movie quote is "I'm gettin' too old for this", said by Danny Glover in most of the Lethal Weapon movies, is a little bit scary to me as I go into what I call the midlife. Of course, I hear things like "midlife crisis" so much  that it seems like that phrase is less important. Moreover, the way Danny Glover said this quote makes one go through another Ash Wednesday, which in religion depicts that the human flesh will eventually go to futility.

My second favorite movie quote is "This is my jail! And I'm the law! That is why I get to violate your constitutional rights!" said by Ed Lauter in Death Wish III, is a powerful quote. This reminds me about the Rodney King beating by Los Angeles police officers and the riots that followed in South central Los Angeles when the officers were exonerated from the beating charges in a criminal court. It also reminds me of the Patriot Act, that was meant to take away civil liberties in the name of fighting terrorism, and also smacks of McCarthyism in the 1950s.

My third favorite movie quote is "Well, I wouldn't talk to professionals about it,", said by Vanessa Williams in the movie Dance With Me, reminds me about people keeping secrets. Some secrets, of course, are needed to protect national security. That is why most of the CIA agents in the United States do their work almost always incognito. Other secrets are necessary to prevent gossip that can turn an innocent-looking blunder into a major disaster. Still other secrets are necessary to keep relationships from falling apart, so, for instance, married men who fall in love with an additional woman will try anything to avoid being caught as a cheater.

My fourth favorite movie quote is "Chief of the boat.....Captain Ramsey's under arrest! Take him to his state room!" This was said by Denzel Washington in the movie Crimson Tide. All of this reminds me of house arrest, which I hear about these days as an alternative to prison. House arrest is supposed to relieve the strain on America's prison population, but even this is not enough to relieve prison overcrowding.

My fifth favorite movie quote is "I say, you do, no questions!", said by Pat "Noriyuki" Morita from the first of the Karate Kid movies. All of this reminds me of slavery. Not just antebellum slavery that a lot of Americans know about through history classes. There is also a new type of slavery I hear often--sex slavery that mainly involve young girls. It also reminds me of the Mildred Experiment, where one authority threatens you with electric shocks on your wrist if you don't correctly answer an analogy question...even though the shocks are just pretend.

My sixth favorite quote is "The gentleman will suspend", said by Al Gore in the movie
Fahrenheit 9-11. In context, the quote is an allusion to fighting for whatever you want in life....even when the odds are astronomical. But even more than that...the quote also reminds all people that losing big opportunities can cause bad events that can last for months or even years.

Some 4th of July Fireworks Types

Some of these are legal in some states, some others illegal, and there are a few fireworks that are illegal in all states as "explosives".

And regrettably some recreational fireworks enthusiasts on the 4th of July try so hard still to get around the strict fireworks laws in their jurisdictions especially when it comes to the much louder fireworks, because they like the loud explosions anyway.

BOOBY-TRAPS
This is a variant of the "snappers", with a small charge (with a size something to a ladyfinger firecracker) attached to two strings to either side. To set off the charge, the two strings need to be strongly pulled away each other taut for about 2 seconds - and within about 1/2 to 1 second after you pull it, a loud pop results. They are considered "novelty fireworks" and most states including Illinois allow them for consumer use.

BOTTLE ROCKET
There are two types of them, and some states (especially Illinois) outlaw this because simply these are fireworks that go up in the air and explode. Typically they are small-scale single-shot aerial fireworks which start with a whistle and then a report (pop or bang) following it. They have a red stabilizer with a cylinder attached to it
with the black powder charge inside it an a fuse sticking out. To fire it, the device is put straight up with the stabilizer end downward and the cylinder charge on top of it. Sometimes it is fired from a glass bottle (and that is why they are called bottle rockets). Note

Type 1 - Traditional - fires off with a downward glissando and then a report follows.

Type 2 - Whistling Moon Traveller - probably one of the more famous of the bottle rockets - same fireworks result (whistle and the report), but this time, the whistle has an upward glissando instead of the downward.

M-80
A ground firecracker that sets off a loud bang. Often they were used in military boot camp to simulate the sound of gunfire. They are cylinders with a fuse from the side, with the cylinder skin with a brownish-tan color. The loud sound of it is why some states outlaw it in some of its fireworks laws.

CHERRY BOMB
Usually outlawed in all states as "explosives", this is a variant of the M-80 but it has a circle cylinder in the form of a red (or other colored) cherry with a hollow fuse in it. An example of the use of a cherry bomb before fireworks laws became stricter happened during Disco Demolition Night at White Sox Park on July 12, 1979.

QUARTERSTICK
All states outlaw this as an "explosive device", and possession of a quarterstick can be a felony offense. Often called an M-250, is usually bigger than the M-80, and also with a hollow fuse. Extremely unstable and it can explode at any time. Static electricity can also set it off too.

ROMAN CANDLE
It is almost like a large firecracker in some ways, but it is actually a portable mortar tube with multiple shots of flaming balls that can be treated almost like the multiple-shots in an mortar tube but less dangerous than the former.

Type 1 - Traditional - fires flaming balls usually with colors and with some varieties.

Type 2 - California - you light the fuse and it is like a sparkler in some ways as you hold it in your hand, being careful not to touch the sparkling end. The cylinder is designed to eat away as the sparkling part burns more and more of the cylinder. When the cylinder is about to go away, you drop the cylinder and leave it alone for the rest of the cylinder to be eaten away by the sparkles - and eventually the charge will run out on its own.

Especially for type 1, since it is a firework that shoots, it is illegal in some states (like Illinois). Type 2 is the one that does not shoot at a longer distance and is legal in more states (but not Illinois).

SALUTE
They can be ground or aerial. Ground salutes have a booming report from the mortar shell without being fired in the air. Aerial salutes (most common in professional fireworks displays) are rockets fired from a mortar tube and then burst with a white flash and a loud concussive bang or boom....and the term "salute" was derived likely from the type of blasts common from cannons. This firework gives some strong punch and that is why some states outlaw it.

SATURN MISSILE BATTERY
Basically, this is a type of fireworks cake where there will be streaming shots in the air with lots of glissando whistles. Usually 100 shots to up to 500 shots. The shots that are fired into the air are a bit like the traditional bottle rockets but are inspired likely from the rocket emplacements that are fired in war. Because these are fireworks that are shot in the air and sometimes explode (even with the strong emphasis on the whistle sounds), some states outlaw them (especially Illinois).

SMOKE BOMBS/SMOKE DEVICES
Generally, these are devices that emit smoke without setting off any explosive charge. They are not the traditional smoke grenades like often seen in the military or by riot police departments, so most states allow these devices for consumer use as "novelty fireworks".

The most common smoke device is the stink bomb. Looks like a firecracker in some way, and you place it on the ground and you light the fuse as usual like a traditional firecracker, but when the fuse goes down, you see smoke for 1 to about 3 minutes. Sometimes the smoke will be a single color or a changing series of colors, until it finally goes out. No explosions whatsoever.

SNAPPERS
Also call "snap-its", this is a type of firework that you do not need a fuse with. It is in a shape of something like a piece of white tissue with a long slender handle that you use, to throw it on a hard surface. When it hits the hard surface, detonation happens and you hear a "pop" and that's it. They are considered "novelty fireworks" and most states including Illinois allow them for consumer use.

SPARKLERS
Basically, this emits a spark flourish (usually white-colored)on a long red stick and is legal in most states, including Illinois, because they don't generally shoot or explode and the fireworks stuff remains usually stationary. The main danger of any sparkler is the high heat it gives off. Sparklers can reach up to 1,000 degrees F at the burning end. This is good enough for 2nd or 3rd degree burns if the skin is exposed. If the stuff goes directly into your eyes, this can lead to blindness. So be very, very careful with them. A variant of it appears in novelty firework devices known as trick candles (where, when you blow out a flame on a candle, the flame re-appears like magic). Sparklers had even been used on non-4th-of-July events, especially on certain birthdays.

Baseball Scorekeeper Particulars - How To Record Ejections

I am thinking that the symbol should be EJ for "ejection" or "ejected" - this means an ejection from the ballgame (someone has been ejected).

We know that umpires eject ballplayer personnel for a number of infractions in some games (whether it is Little League baseball, high school baseball, college baseball, Major League Baseball, or whatever), and I am thinking of details on how a baseball scorer can record not only the ejection - but also the reason why the ejection happened. Most baseball ejections mainly fall on managers and coaches but mainly it is the players that are ejected more often than managers and coaches. So with this, the suggestions I have are as follows.......(there are other infractions that are worthy of ejection, but these are the common detailed infractions):

EJ/ABS - ejected for arguing balls and strikes (the most common ejections right now)
EJ/AAW - ejected for arguing after a umpire warning
EJ/KDAU - ejected for kicking dirt at the umpire
EJ/OBS - ejected for bad-mouthing or trash-talking at the umpire (usually with obscenities)
EJ/SBAU - ejected for slinging the bat at the umpire
EJ/SHD - ejected for slamming the helmet down
EJ/SHDAU - ejected for slamming the helmet down at the direction of the umpire
EJ/SBD - ejected for slamming the bat down
EJ/SBDAU - ejected for slamming the bad down at the direction of the umpire
EJ/PSH - ejected for pushing the umpire
EJ/TG - ejected for making a non-verbal threatening gesture at an umpire
(things like "pointing-the-gun" sign, pointing at him, making a pretend punch, or a decapitation gesture, etc.) EJ/OWE - ejected for ranting obscenities within earshot of the umpire
EJ/PT - ejected for illegal pine tar on the bat
EJ/IE - ejected for improper equipment
EJ/CTAD - ejected for creating a tantrum in the dugout (within line of sight for the umpire to see)
EJ/CAU - ejected for purposely colliding into (or at) the umpire (or bumping into an umpire)

Sometimes, there are other lesser-known infractions that may lead to ejections.....here is one of them:

EJ/DOG - ejected for delay of game (usually this happens to a catcher who goes onto the field to talk to the
pitcher and continues to talk after the umpire asks the party to stop the conversation and get the game going again. If the catcher continues talking and fails to disperse after given a warning to stop, the catcher could be thrown out.)

If the manager is ejected for a DOG, it would be EJ-M/DOG.

Pitchers are generally ejected for throwing a spitball, using spit on a ball before throwing (except in very cool weather where pitchers are allowed generally by the umpires to blow their own air on a baseball before delivering a pitch), or bean-balling (intentionally trying to hit a batter where in the meaning of the umpire is not a traditionally accidental hit-by-pitch ball).

Special ejection shorthand especially for pitchers who are tossed would be:

EJ/SPB - ejection for throwing a spitball
EJ/SPB-BP - ejection for putting spit on a ball in the umpire's line of sight before delivering the pitch
EJ/BEAN - ejection for bean-balling (usually on the 2nd infraction of such; usually there are ejections for the first infraction without an umpire warning)

Now consider that the coach, player, assistant manager, or coach can be ejected. Take the following list:
EJ - coach
EJ - player
EJ - assistant manager
EJ - manager

This could be shortened as:
EJ-C
EJ-PLYR
EJ-AM
EJ-M

Or even this:
EJ/C
EJ/PLYR
EJ/AM
EJ/M

When a player is ejected, you should blank out the remaining innings for the player that he/she would be in but cannot be because of the ejection penalty.

The Big Problem Every Summer at the University of Illinois Campus - The Foraging Yellow Jacket

Well, late summer in my years as a student of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus was exciting to meet people of different kinds and different cultures.

But within all of the midst of people, one insect I witnessed as a very annonying pest was attempting to ruin it for me as well as everybody else....I am talking about the foraging yellow jacket.

And they were plentiful. I had never been a beekeeper, but I have researched and found that when queen yellow jackets lay a lot of eggs for their offspring to hatch in mid-summer, the result can be millions of yellow jackets in late summer. As spring comes, these stinging critters first stalk their prey--grass--to find dead insectes to eat, and of course, they target most flowers for their nectar and pollen.

However, when the food supply for them runs out in the late summer, they get even more voracious. The workers are kicked out of their original hives and as a result, they have no choice but to "forage" for food. I saw plenty of foraging yellow jackets (workers) outside near the Illini Union, most of them hovering over open garbage cans that had exposed waste and food. Why? They are honing for discarded food to eat - and to make it worse, the foul odors in the cans also attract these black-and-yellow flyers.

I had witnessed a lot of college students who got near those garbage cans being targets for these jackets. Just like mosquitos will target people for their blood, yellow jackets target people who have virtually any type of exposed food. People holding Coca-cola or other caramel-laden sugary pop drinks are especially affected, and I saw some students jump crazily as the jackets harrssed them.

The Washer Can Be Your Friend - Or It Can Be Your Enemy Through a Faulty Inlet Hot-Water Valve

Here is something that can save your basement from flooding caused by scalding hot water from your washing machine.

When your washer continues to stream out hot water inside even though the cycle ended and the washer point indicator (usually red) in the cycle knob is set to "off", and you try to pull the plug to stop this unnecessary water flow only to have it still continue, especially if it is hot water - you have a faulty inlet water valve leading to the washer, and it needs to be replaced. Otherwise, the unstoppable water will overflow the wash tub (usually after 1 1/2 hours) and will spill over to the basement, creating flood damage close to what you get when a sewer backup happens after an extremely heavy rainstorm. Even worse, touching that hot water - depending on hot the water is - can lead to serious scalding or burning.

Sometimes, you can stop the bleeding temporarily by moving the knob on the washer to any of the "spin" cycles - this usually stops the unwanted water flow temporarily, but after the spin cycle is over and it is set to off, regrettably, the water flows again without stopping.

You can stop the whole process altogether by going to the main water shutoff valve and set it to off. It will stop the water but you probably know that this means....you will have no water flow to the whole area at all. You cannot flush the toilet, do the dishes, take a shower or bath or even water your plants outside. So the only option is to, if you know how to replace the valve, do it yourself.

However, if you do not know how to fix this type of washer problem, let a professional repairman do the job before things go from bad to worse.

Hope all of this helps. Thanks.