New 9/11 Footage From NYPD Helicopter Released (VIDEO) 03/07/2011

Newly released footage of the World Trade Center attacks shows an NYPD helicopter’s perspective of that fated day.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology obtained the footage under the Freedom of Information Act as a part of their investigation into 9/11. The original footage was then anonymously posted onto Cryptome, a site which, among other things, catalogued the civilian deaths in Iraq, and posted protest photos in Libya.

The grainy footage swoops through the burning towers and captures the resultant collapse. It’s an incredible new perspective of that day, but be warned: the footage is difficult to watch.

Here’s the link to the complete 17 minute video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w465MHsvYpg&feature=player_embedded#at=71

MOM of 7 Makes Her Kids Choose: Drinking Straws or College? 02/17/2011

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Dear Secret Diary:

Oh the STUPID things I say to my kids when I’ve HAD ENOUGH!

9pm last night….I had HAD ENOUGH!

Yesterday was busy—busy work day, busy evening.  Shoot, I even made dinner.  I tackled a LOT yesterday, including laundry AND PAYING BILLS (big medical bills for one of our daughters), so by 9pm I was DONE.

I was on the second floor…the bulk of the kids on the first floor. ( NOTE TO SELF:  That’s probably not a good thing.)   I can tell a few kids are having a little too much fun downstairs which always has me concerned.  So I walk down the hall and toward the back set of steps which leads you directly to the kitchen.

AND I SAW IT!

IT WAS HUGE!

IT WAS REALLY LONG!

BUT IT WASN’T MOVING!

There, on the kitchen island (and beyond) was what the kids’ claimed as THE LONGEST STRAW EVER!  They thought it was cool.  Me?  Not so much.

Apparently they had found a ziploc bag of about 100 + straws and decided NOW would be the perfect time to make the world’s biggest straw.

By the way I reacted you would have thought they had spilled spaghetti sauce everywhere.  My voice was firm and direct and I said….

“ok raise your hand if you were involved in this!”

The guilty quickly admitted their involvement—they know not to play around with me.

One by one I asked them the same question (and today realize how stupidly insane and ridiculous my line of questioning was).  I asked:

“Guys, this is ridiculous.  You’re wasting straws.  Stop wasting stuff in this house.  Look, you guys need to pick one….do you wanna play and waste straws or DO YOU WANT TO GO TO COLLEGE?”

Yeah…that’s what I asked them.  I asked them to pick straws or college.  Have I lost my brain?  Like straws are even comparable to the COST of college.

Thankfully, they all picked college and cleaned up the mess/longest straw in the world.  I’m sure as soon as I left they all looked at each other and thought….is she on some kind of drugs tonight?

So today, I hang my head in shame (a little) and I’m laughing the whole time thinking….next time, I gotta come up with a better line of questioning!!!!!

STRAWS versus COLLEGE….not the best comparison!