Internet down at the hotel again so likely no posts today and tomorrow. Home Friday so it should pick up then.

September 13th: Today in 1814 a British fleet in the Chesapeake Bay began the bombardment of Ft. McHenry in Baltimore. For twenty-five hours British ships pounded the fort with everything they had, but at the end of the assault the United States flag was still flying in the fort and the British realised they were [...]

I am not sure how true the story is but I heard at one point Ft. Frederick State Park was being sued by somebody who got bit by a snake. He was complaining that the park lacked warning signs that dangerous animals like snakes might be in the woods. No idea how it turned out [...]

September 12th: Today in 490BC the armies of the Athenian City State clashed with the Persian Army in the Battle of Marathon. The battle was a hard one, but the Greeks won the day and famously sent a messenger back to the city to tell of the victory, he ran the whole way, over twenty-five [...]

September 11th: Today in 1973 General Augusto Pinochet leads a military coup which takes control of Chile. He then rules Chile until 1990, a remarkably successful coup by South American standards. A recent ruling has cleared the way for a possible trial for crimes committed while he ruled the country, and he has asked for [...]

September 10th: Today in 1897 a group of sixty sheriff’s deputies near Hazleton, Pennsylvania opened fire on an unarmed march of four hundred striking miners killing twenty and wounding many more in the Lattimer Massacre. The miners were mostly from Eastern Europe, fourteen of the dead were from Poland, and the massacre caused outrage in [...]

September 9th: Today in 1924 striking Filipino workers and policemen clashed on the island of Kauai in Hawaii leaving twenty dead in what is known as the Hanapepe Massacre. Sixteen of the dead were strikers and four were policemen. The killings resulted in the purchase of considerable arms by the anti-union forces and new laws [...]

Sorry about the lack of posts this week. In the early week I was in a hotel without an internet connection, then moved on to a hotel with one, only to find it didn’t work. I don’t post at work so this made the week difficult. The link at the hotel is back up now, [...]

For some true google humor search Confidential, Do Not Distribute. I have to wonder how many of these are real and how many are scams, but there are shed loads of them. If I were a stock scammer I would leave tons of these around the web with ‘confidential information’ on them.

The battle between man and beast continues unabated, but who can say which side this squirrel is on, is he attacking mankind or protecting us from opera?
Via Hjalti’s email