The Life and Times of Jim
Hi, there. I'm Jim. Welcome to my phlog!
This site was written for Las Vegas, then LouisVille. Now, it seems to be about anywhere. In these phlogs, you'll see a lot of my personal notes and pictures. I like to post my observations here to remember life and celebrate it. I'm not religious. I don't pray for good fortune. I'm ecstatically grateful for the gift of life and I think our time should be remembered and not taken for granted. I'm not a writer. I think pictures tell stories so much better than words. I love just about everything in this life, and, I guess that would have to include you. So, if you've seen me, don't be surprised if your picture is in here somewhere. Of all the critters, people are absolutely the most interesting. 
<< 10/2008 < 09/2009 Calendar 11/2009 > 10/2010 >>Sign InView Other Logs
Mon 
10/05/2009 22:16:37
 jim  Jimmy Leavelle has Left the Building
I know, he ain't much to look at, but he was a good friend.
Jimmy was always more than happy to tell you his Dad was the detective handcuffed to Lee Harvey Oswald when he was shot.
He was also more than happy to tell you when our team was suckin hind tit.
Jimmy Leavelle was a Texan to the end. 
From the sudsy sunrises to the jack sunsets, Jimmy always had some kind of interesting expression to fit any occasion.
His Dad found Jimmy in a never ending sleep after his last Saturday night in this world.
I knew Jimmy throughout the 80's and 90's and last saw him last at Ashley (Allred) Ellison's wedding. 
Jimmy was a computer programmer like me, and it was always pleasure working by his side. We did some pretty amazing things together.
So here's to you old pal.
Say a southern styled "Hello" to Chris Pajak, Rob Allred, Milly Gabriel and Bill Enyoue 
and tell them to click their glasses together and wait for me.
Dude, I don't know what anyone else might have thought about you, don't much care, but
Life was always better with you in it!
Mon 
10/05/2009 22:16:37
 jim   (Reply)..Jimmy Leavelle has Left the Building
Oops...that was dumb. I knew it was your wonderful wedding Ashley.
Sun 
10/04/2009 14:50:00
 Jim  NorthPark, PA - Close Ups
Sat 
10/03/2009 13:40:40
 jim  Franklin - Stuff
Sat 
10/03/2009 13:08:46
 jim  Franklin, PA - People
Sat 
10/03/2009 13:08:46
 jim   (Reply)Franklin, PA - Applefest
Sat 
10/03/2009 13:06:16
 jim  Franklin, PA-Buildings
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Sat 
10/03/2009 12:32:48
 jim  I80 Trees-20091003
Sat 
10/03/2009 11:29:50
 jim  PA - Fall
Sat 
10/03/2009 08:36:42
 jim  Flash Paper and Pop Rocks
Flash Paper
Mix 5 parts nitric acid, 4 parts sulfuric acid. Place a piece of toilet paper on a dish. Soak for 10 minutes. Allow to dry.
It is stronger than normal tissue, and has a gel-like texture.
When lit, it burns before hitting the ground.
Note:
You are making nitrocellulose, also known as "celluloid." Basically, sugars, such as the cellulose that makes up paper, are appended with hydroxyl (OH) groups. The nitric-sulfuric acid mixture is a nitrating agent, converting the hydroxyl groups to nitrate esters (ONO2). This nitrocellulose now basically contains its own oxidizing agent. The same reaction occurs to make nitroglycerine from glycerol.
What I'm not going to say is how or where to get nitric acid
Flash paper is used by magicians for their pyrotechnic effects and is very dangerous, If someone uses it to, say, shoot flames out his nose, well, he's just an idiot. Also, nitric acid is extremely toxic.
Flash paper is probably best purchased over the internet along with flash paper shooters.
You can make flash shooters with kitchen match heads too, and its much safer!
Pop Rocks
Mix iodine crystals in ammonia until the iodine crystals well. Drain. Wrap in cig papers.
Wed 
09/30/2009 05:53:11
 jim  Getting back into the Saddle Again
A week vacation can surely throw things out of wack. My sleep is all out of wack. I don't need to get dressed up to see the sunrise here (its on the otherside of the mountain). And my motor isn't reved up for another daily adventure to places unknown. Its back to work...and which is more like a comically dramatic TV show than it is work.
Lovin it All !
Sun 
09/27/2009 13:33:54
 jim  I70-Fall Colors
Sat 
09/26/2009 11:28:20
 jim  Annapolis, MD
Sat 
09/26/2009 11:28:02
 jim  Annapolis-People
Thu 
09/24/2009 06:56:45
 jim  Hover over these 1st Grade Questions
What Kids Say
Wed 
09/23/2009 21:45:54
 jim  Let me get this straight
Bassett al-Megrahi helps kill 270 people in the 1988 Lockerbie airline plane crash.
Scotland jails him on a life sentence, but being "sensitive" let him out early for terminal cancer.
Dictator Colonel Gaddafi throws a parade in Tripoli.
And Gaddafi cuts us down at the UN.
Did I miss something?
Wed 
09/23/2009 13:30:10
 jim  Atlantic City-Birds
Tue 
09/22/2009 10:43:11
 jim  Atlantic City-Ballys
Tue 
09/22/2009 07:21:56
 jim  Atlantic City-Celebrity Writing
Tue 
09/22/2009 07:02:56
 jim  Atlantic City-JellyFish
Tue 
09/22/2009 06:35:04
 jim  Atlantic City-Sunrise
Mon 
09/21/2009 19:50:46
 jim  Atlantic City-Boardwalk Casinos
Mon 
09/21/2009 16:34:12
 jim  AC-Misc
Mon 
09/21/2009 16:02:30
 jim  Atlantic City-Stitches
Mon 
09/21/2009 14:22:50
 jim  Atlantic City-Light House
Mon 
09/21/2009 09:39:13
 jim  .I will have a UFO, sunny side up
It was a Nasa rocket and the explanation is very clear. http://paontheweb.com/Pennsylvania_Blog/2009/09/20/light-in-the-sky-september-19-2009/
I gotta say, I'm really glad, because there were a lot of nutsy people commenting about the light, and I really wouldn't want to be associated with them.
Ahhhhhh.
Mon 
09/21/2009 09:39:13
 jim   (Reply)I will have a UFO, sunny side up
Becky and I were eating outside.
We were eating outside at a restaurant in Gettysburg, PA when I saw was a bright light with a glowing cone under it, like a light in the fog. I picked up my camera, other people noticed me doing that, and they saw it too. Now, normally I'd think it was just a helicopter with an unusual spot light on it, BUT, the light went out and the cone continued to glow.
All I could figure is the light was still on, but something on the craft blocked our view of it. I had to think about this, because I didn't understand how the cone shaped beam could continue to glow.
BTW - My camera was on auto focus. It didn't want to focus on the sky. Plus, the light was next to Venus, making any kind of light adjustment difficult.
I gotta say right now, I don't believe it was an extraterrestual vehicle...I'd think it was just another odd craft.
There's a lot of them around Gettysburg and I'd bet it was a demo from Eisenhower Weekend there.
On the other hand, after thinking about it some more, I think it was a phosphorus light suspended by a parachute (the kind they use in battle). It was a windless night.
The rest of this blog, I scraped off of the internet. I think its amazing how people describe this.
http://www.ufoworldnews.com/2009/09/19/bright-light-in-the-sky-emanating-an-intense-cone-shaped-light-and-trailing-smoke-or-fog/
1. I was standing in my yard with friends and looked up at the clear night sky. There were no clouds. I saw something and mentioned it. We all looked up.
Before us was an unexplainable sight. There was an intense bright light high in the sky. It was very high and very bright.
Beneath this light was a cone shape of light, as if it was a flashlight pointing from space.
There was a fog or a smoke being illuminated by this light. The bright light disappeared. Then the smoke slowly dissipated, leaving no trace.
Within 30 seconds all that was left was the clear night sky.
2. i went out to pick up a pizza last night at 750 pm
and when i got out of my truck i noticed a white light shining down from a cone shaped mist there didnt seem to be any movement i was looking south over the top of the building at about 30 to 35 degrees it was a perfectly clear sky i watched the light for about 30 seconds before it just faded out
at first i thought it looked like a spotlite shining down but then i realized there was no sound and that it looked as if shining thru a mist nearest i can compare it to is a rocket shooting up and the mist looked like the trail but the light was white not orange there was no sound and i couldnt see any movement so i assume the object was very distant then it just faded away no sign of anything not even the mist
3. Large bright white cone-shaped light shining downward over ocean south east of sea isle city
At approximately 8 PM on Saturday 9/19/09, my wife and I were on the front deck of our house in Sea Isle City, NJ when we both witnessed a bright white light in the southeast sky over the ocean approximatley 45 degrees off the horizon. The light appeared larger than any star visible in the clear sky, and was much larger than a light typically seen on an aircraft. At best, it might have been the size of a helicopter search light, but there was no sound to indicate that any such craft was in the vicinity. The light then reflected a cone-shaped aura, shining downward for approximately 10 seconds. A mist then developed first below, then surrounding the light source. The light then gradually dissipated (~5 seconds), disappearing while the mist remained visible for approximately 2 minutes. There were no clouds in the otherwise clear sky.
We both questioned whether/not we might have witnessed a UFO….not certain of what else it could have been….I later reasoned that it might have been a distress flair from a ship, but there were no such reports that we could find in that locale. We were surprised to find, however, a number of similar reports of sightings along the east coast and Middle Atlantic states around the same time.
4. I was standing on my porch looking into the sky as I usually do when I noticed a bright star with a cone shaped light illuminating the sky.
The foreign object, located in the southern sky, approximately 7-8″ inches south east of another star was relatively motionless. The duration of the sighting lasted maybe 10 seconds, although it may have been in the sky longer without my knowledge. As I began to examine the object closely with my naked eye, the cone shaped light beneath the star began to fade away. Almost simultaneously the bright star attached above it also disappeared. It seemed very peculiar how the object disappeared, given the fact that the sky was clear of any clouds. This is unlike anything I have ever seen before. At the time of the sighting, I felt a sense of composed excitement. A part of me felt honoured to have experienced the sighting, while another part of me felt the urge to share the expereince with others.
Sooo, what was this?
5. My boyfriend and I were on the access road at the bottom of Triangular Field in the Gettysburg National Park.
I am a paranormal investigator, we were doing some experiments and recordings, etc. I was taking radom photos of different areas. He told me to look over in his direction and up in the sky. The sky was very, very clear and stars visible. I noticed a black/gray cloudy area and suddenly, a cone-shaped beam of light came from this area in the sky shining on the ground. He saw a triangular shape in the sky where the beam of light was coming from. We did not hear a sound coming from this. The normal sounds of insects, etc. was not audible. This was not a normal beam of light that could be associated with a helicopter, airplane, etc. I wanted to take photos but, I couldn't move my arms. I was totally mesmerized by this beam of light. The beam of light suddenly retracted straight up towards this triangle shape in the sky and disappeared into this black/gray area. The sky cleared and it was gone. We are still scratching our heads over this one. My boyfriend was actually looking at what he thought was a very bright star when this appeared and he called my attention to it. The beam of light did not move either. It was focused on something on the ground.
Today, I was listening to my recordings and there seems to be about 3 mins. of recordings missing. I can't explain it, I just know they are gone for no reason. We are still talking about this incident. My friend called me this evening to tell me that her oldest daughter and nephew saw the same thing in West Baltimore.
The first photo was taken during the day when we were leaving Fairfield, Pa. heading back to Gettysburg. The second was the only photo I could get, it's not a good one. I will say this, I am a Paranormal Investigator and am an objective one at that. I scrutinize evidence over and over. I've seen and experienced many things but, nothing like this ever.
6. While at a friends house last night 4 of us wittnessed a bright light with a cone shaped discharge coming straight down
the gradully disapeared and discharge slowly diminished lasted aproximatly 20 seconds we were facing south Freeport long island
NOTE: These depictions are not necessarily what I saw.
I know exactly what I saw. The light lasted about 10 seconds. The spread of light was not focused, it did not hit the ground, it did not retract back up into the craft. The light cone seemed to be spread over an area maybe 300' above the ground. I don't know why it didn't fade out, but it seemed to stop on a level plane above the ground. The object above it may have been 50'...of course, this is a guess because I don't know how far away the object was.
What has surprised me was that this light was seen as far 75 miles away in Sea Isle PA. That would mean the light couldn't have hit the ground in Gettysbug (wouldn't it?).

Mon 
09/21/2009 05:13:58
 jim  My dream, my god, my religion
Perhaps I'm crazy. Maybe I'm just silly. I'm sure my perspective will be viewed as offensive by others. But I think all voices should be heard.
The dreams of flying started coming when I was 5.
I'd often laugh my self awake.
I had an angel. She was both fun and beautiful.
We'd fly in a bed with an open canopy. Silk sheets would float all around it.
We'd fly over cities, and watch people. My angel was my guide. She'd always fly somewhere above me.
Sometimes we'd go through the black pulsing tunnel with faint bands of rouge. I'd be alone, but she was never far. It felt wonderful.
My angel left some time after I started school, but I remember those dreams because they felt so real. These were just dreams though.
I think my angel will return to me in death and I have no fear of dying. I think the angel was me.
I feel strongly about god.
I don't know god though. My brain is just too tiny to say that. For me, it would be like claiming I know the whole universe, or that I know what's in an atom. All I can do is guess.
I think maybe the reason why I avoid preachings is because I grew up with it.
I listened to so many clueless people. They'd read, they'd quote, but that had no idea what they were saying.
I'd read, I'd listen, I'd learn and I'd comment, only to hear someday when I knew god, I'd understand.
I don't have a common basis for talking to other people about their concept of god.
Mine is my own perspective. I see what god wants me to see. I do what he tells me.
I'm received very well by the people I meet. My goal is to make them smile. I'm not supposed to advise them. I don't preach.
I don't have any close friends. I don't think I am supposed to.
I have been given a someone to love and share life with and I am very grateful to god for bringing her to me.
I'm grateful to her for being by my side through thick and thin, and for always loving me, even through my dark hours.
I think what I'm trying (or maybe supposed to say is), god shows us different things.
We see what we're supposed to see. My visions take me to a different dimensions.
I'm all alone because I have to be. I rarely share the god that I see with others. Others will see something different.
Like a vision of a pigeon on a window sill, we see different things.
Its the same bird, same god, but we have different perspectives. I always see a wonderful, loving creature.
Its for this reason that I think all visions should be respected.
Sun 
09/20/2009 13:54:52
 jim  Hershey, PA
Sun 
09/20/2009 11:36:12
 jim  Gettysburg-BattleFields
Sun 
09/20/2009 11:35:56
 jim  Gettysburg,PA-BattleFields
Sat 
09/19/2009 18:09:52
 jim  Gettysburg Fun
Sat 
09/19/2009 18:05:28
 jim  Gettysburg, PA-Shadows
Sat 
09/19/2009 17:49:54
 jim  Gettysburg-Around Town
Sat 
09/19/2009 17:28:24
 jim  Soldiers
Sat 
09/19/2009 13:30:44
 jim  Gettysburg Mums
Sat 
09/19/2009 12:07:26
 jim  I79 to Gettysburg
Sat 
09/19/2009 06:59:52
 jim  Lost between Moon PA and New York City?
We're off (if all goes well) to Gettysburg, Philadelphia, New York City, Ocean City, Annapolis, and Washington DC.
(Click here to see our route)
Pittsburgh is going to be a mess next week. I'm so glad we didn't move downtown.
Thu 
09/17/2009 07:08:00
 jim  Plato - The Republic
Plato wrote in his "The Republic"
Each member of a society ought to do what they are best at and be alleviated from responsibility of those things they are not good at, which can be done by others.
I often wonder what kind of world this philosphy would create.
How would it be, if Johnny started school in the fifth grade, past his olderer sister in the second?
I think right now, capitolism and free enterprise tries to allow us to find our own levels in society. And I wonder how well that is working.
To me, the levels we find still seem to be determined by wealth and locations that present opportunity; and not merit.
Brilliant minds are rarely discovered in Podunk and feeble minds often have highly financed degrees.
Tue 
09/15/2009 07:08:36
 jim  The Best Printer I have ever owned
I just bought a HP Photosmart Premium Fax C309a series from Best Buy. It was/is on sale for $199, and it is, by far, the best printer I've ever owned.
It has:
- Two sided scan and print
- Flat bed scanning
- Sheet fed scanning
- Great Photo printing
- Faxing
- It prints on CDs
- SD card slots
- A color LCD display with a very simple menu. 
No more seeing warning lights, and looking up error numbers.
I have a Okidata color laser printer,
but, any one of its 4 cartridges costs more than $70, and it sort of looks like Okidata might be losing business badly.
They used to be the best.
Mon 
09/14/2009 22:33:09
 jim  Patrick Swayze Dies at 57
He was really great, wasn't he?
I loved his acting in Road House, and he was fantastic in Dirty Dancing.
Now he is a "Ghost", trapped in the past...
or is he?
If you could recieve a transmission of Dirty Dancing from the constellation Pleiades (if there is still a Pleaides),
you would have to wait another 400 years to see Road House for the first time.
WE ALL SHINE ON, like the moon and the sun and the stars - From the late John Lennon
Mon 
09/14/2009 20:32:06
 jim  Existence
We are standing in a doorway. Behind us is the past where we are dust. Ahead is the future where we are ghosts. We can't go backwards or forwards. And it is only here, in this doorway, that consciousness exists - Jimism
Mon 
09/07/2009 18:18:10
 jim  Conshohockon, PA
Mon 
09/07/2009 18:02:10
 jim  Philadelphia, PA - Buildings
Mon 
09/07/2009 17:47:34
 jim  Philadelphia, PA
Mon 
09/07/2009 16:02:50
 jim  Atlantic City, NJ

<< 10/2008 < 09/2009 Calendar 11/2009 > 10/2010 >>Sign InView Other Logs