Thames Blog

New Action Figures for Every Day People! There just like you, only smaller and more plasticky!

I just saw these on ThinkGeek.com (yes, I'm a nerd!) and had to share! Which one are you?

Hello, World. Now, say hello to GeekMan, Bossman, and MoneyMan.

GEEKMAN
In the electrical rumblings and hypnotic winking lights of the early computing machines, the seeds of this creature began to germinate. Carefully nurtured through punch cards and vacuum tubes, the computer geek took hold of the business world, fighting paper files and data inefficiency. Fueled by sugar and caffeine their ranks grew rapidly. First local domination was achieved through computer clubs and gaming parties. Then they began to recruit more to their cause, spreading the word of 1’s and 0’s through phone and data lines, via BBS posts and by electronic mail. They rose to a height in the late 1990's, when their kind ruled the world like the carnivorous bird-reptiles of old. Tough and wily, they survived the subsequent digital ice age and dot com destruction that rained down, showering the planet with discarded stock options and unwanted AOL cds. Now they lead the fight to tame and build our digital world. Each of these code warriors carries the codename… GeekMan.

MONEYMAN
In the mysterious towers of business and commerce lives this dark hero. Intensely focused on ROI and the bottom line, fighting for free enterprise he keeps working capital at work. Mighty with the ledger or balance sheet, he can approve or deny a disbursement in an instant. If displeased, premiums increase, debt instruments become instruments of torture, and field audits rain down like order tickets on the stock exchange floor.

BOSSMAN
Commander of the corridor, bigwig of the boardroom, the manager wields his power through meetings and memos. Leading a brave crusade to reach objectives, through an open door he empowers, incentivizes, implements change and captures mindshare. Yet, this hero has a dark side. In worship of mysterious core competencies he rightsizes, conducts blamestorming, and turns boardrooms into bored rooms.

Each Everyday Superhero is 6 inches tall, made from plastic, and comes with accessories (see additional images for visuals):

Geekman comes with Geeky Glasses, Handheld Computer/PDA, Notebook Computer, Coffee Mug, Wristwatch
Moneyman comes with Spectacles, Calculator, Bundle Of Cash, Briefcase, Piggy Bank, Paper Shredder
Bossman comes with Happy/Serious/Angry Face Masks, Megaphone, Cigar, Annual Report, Stock Option Certificate, Cellphone

Batteries not included because Everyday Superheros don't need batteries!

20-pound rodent may soon call SC home

This just in from my official news source in Columbia, S.C. WISTV, the local NBC affiliate.

(Columbia-AP) Jan. 23, 2005 - South Carolina wildlife officials are concerned that a large, rat-like rodent called the nutria may soon be showing up in the Savannah and Pee Dee River basins.

The furry, bucktoothed rodent looks like a mix between a beaver and a rat and can weigh up to 20 pounds.

They have become a nuisance in other southern states, because they eat marsh plants and dig through dams.

Nutrias were brought to Louisiana as a source of fur, but they've gotten to be so much of a problem in that state's wetlands that hunters and trappers get a $4 bounty for each tail they produce, and residents are encouraged to eat them.

A government Web site's recipes include stuffed nutria hindquarters and nutria chili.

The rodents already are making themselves at home in Georgia and North Carolina.

Note from Editor: My gosh, please don't let the State of South Carolina start publishing recipes on how to cook 20 lb rats! I have enough to live down already!

Bandit

Spurrier Recruits one from Phils back yard!

Well so much for Phil Fulmer lurking in the pines of SC looking for talent. Maybe he needs to keep a sharp eye on his back door! Well that may not be true due to the strong standing Tennessee has at QB right now, but the times they are a changin'. The 'ole ball coach has recruited a very talented quarterback named Cade Thompson from a little town called Maryville Tennessee this week. Now for all of you SC bloggers, Maryville (pronounced mur-vul) is located 20 minutes from the Volunteers beloved Neyland Stadium. Maryville is a 4A school with a very impressive football program. Reminds me of Irmo in the old days. You have to see the school on game night to know what I mean. Maryville was 15-0 and was in some way involved in post season play. Unfortunately I was wrapped up in more serious things such as fantasy football statistics and video card driver updates to know exactly how far they went. Oh well, it's just refreshing to see SC recruiting in TN for a change. I know we probably still get our butts kicked next year. But hey, we took their favorite son out of their back yard and he didn't want to play in the biggest loudest orange sand box. He wants to play for the best! Go cocks!

Tsunami receding waters

I just received an email about the devastation left in the wake of the recent tsunami. The images at this web site were so strong I had to pass them along. Please continue to keep these people in your prayers!

Click the link below and follow the instruction at the top of the page to see the devastation that followed the wave.
http://homepage.mac.com/demark/tsunami/9.html

Archaeological Dig Uncovers Ancient Race Of Skeleton People

AL JIZAH, EGYPT—A team of British and Egyptian archaeologists made a stunning discovery Monday, unearthing several intact specimens of "skeleton people"—skinless, organless humans who populated the Nile delta region an estimated 6,000 years ago.

Above: An archaeologist examines the intact remains of a spooky "skeleton person."

"This is an incredible find," said Dr. Christian Hutchins, Oxford University archaeologist and head of the dig team. "Imagine: At one time, this entire area was filled with spooky, bony, walking skeletons."

"The implications are staggering," Hutchins continued. "We now know that the skeletons we see in horror films and on Halloween are not mere products of the imagination, but actually lived on Earth."

Standing at the excavation site, a 20-by-20-foot square pit along the Nile River, Hutchins noted key elements of the find. "The skeletons lived in this mud-brick structure, which, based on what we know of these people, was probably haunted," he said. "Although we found crude cooking utensils in the area, as well as evidence of crafts like pottery and weaving, we are inclined to believe that the skeletons' chief activity was jumping out at nearby humans and scaring them. And though we know little of their language and means of communication, it is likely that they said 'boogedy-boogedy' a lot."

Approximately 200 yards west of the excavation site, the archaeologists also found evidence of farming.

"What's puzzling about this," Cambridge University archaeologist Sir Ian Edmund-White said, "is that skeletons would not benefit from harvested crops, as any food taken orally would immediately fall through the hole behind the jaw and down through the rib cage, eventually hitting the ground. Our best guess is that they scared away a group of human farmers, then remained behind to haunt the dwelling. Or perhaps they bartered goods in a nearby city to acquire skeleton accessories, such as chains, coffins and tattered, dirty clothing."

Above: An artist's rendering of what a warrior-skeleton may have looked like.

Continued Edmund-White: "The hole in that theory, however, is that a 1997 excavation of this area which yielded extensive records of local clans and merchants made no mention of even one animated mass of bones coming to town for the purpose of trade. But we are taking great pains to recover as much of the site as possible, while also being extremely careful not to fall victim to some kind of spooky skeleton curse."

As for what led to the extinction of the skeletons, Edmund-White offered a theory.

"Perhaps an Egyptian priest or king broke the curse of the skeletons, either by defeating the head skeleton in combat or by discovering the magic words needed to send their spirits back to Hell," Edmund-White said. "In any case, there is strong evidence that the Power of Greyskull played a significant role in the defeat of the skeleton people."

According to Hutchins, the skeletons bear numerous similarities to humans, leading him to suspect that there may be an evolutionary link between the two species.

"Like humans, these creatures walked upright on two legs and possessed highly developed opposable thumbs," Edmund-White said. "These and many other similarities lend credence to the theory that hundreds of thousands of years ago, human development passed through a skeletal stage. These skeletons may, in fact, be ancestors of us all."

"Any of us could be part skeleton," he added.

Other experts disagreed.

"The evidence of an evolutionary link between humans and skeletons is sparse at best," said Dr. Terrance Schneider of the University of Chicago. "Furthermore, it is downright unscientific to theorize that skeleton life originated in Egypt merely because mummies, another species of monster, are indigenous to the area. Spooky creatures are found all over the world, from the vampires of Transylvania to the headless horsemen of Sleepy Hollow."

This was originally written on The Onion but I had to use it!