Letters to the editor with pictures since 2002. Published on Big Pine Key’s garbage days, Tuesdays and Fridays.
 [Apollo 11] We usually see the liftoff in slow motion, but in actuality Apollo 11 was traveling a hundred miles an hour when it cleared the launch tower, and at the speed of sound in 45 seconds. Now, that’s a rocket!
Last year I was riding my bicycle in L.A. through the Rocketdyne factory parking lot in order to take a picture of the rocket engine on display there. It was real early, just after sunrise, and no one was around. A man parked his car and then as he walked by me I said hello and asked him what that engine was for. Lo and behold, he was the head of Rocketdyne and a noted rocket scientist! Talk about being in the right place at the right time! He said the engine was from Apollo 11 and the most powerful engine ever built. Too powerful and expensive to use again. He said that today they have far better engines with greater efficiency. Rocketdyne is the company that gave Apollo 11 liftoff. Link |
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| [Day of Rest] Does anyone know why the bagel shop near Winn Dixie closes Sunday morning, the busiest time of the week for a bagel shop? |
How to avoid contracting flesh eating bacteria. I did not know that it is present in other states, in rivers, lakes, as well. I thought it was an ocean occurrence. Knowledge is power. Video |
| [Watch Your Discount] Kiki’s Sandbar has great chefs and good specials. And the 10% discount for owning a Kiki’s card makes it way better. But pay attention when you get your tab. The big number is your total before the discount. Some clever servers will pocket your discount and give you change from the big number (pre-discount). You need to do the math to see if you are being conned. If so, if you wanted to give a 20% discount, leave 10% of that big number. If you wanted to leave 10%, leave nothing. If you wanted to leave 15%, you could leave half of the 10% or just use your phone’s calculator app. |
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| [Parts Supply] Cooler filled with male genitalia’ found in raid of Phoenix body-donation company. Link |
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| [Interesting Deer Fact] Front leg injuries coincide with antler deformation on the same side as the injury. A left front leg injury will affect the left antler. Rear leg injuries coincide with antler deformation on the opposite side. A left rear leg injury will affect the right antler.  What causes weird looking antlers? Have you seen Key Deer or mainland bucks with asymmetrical, weirdly shaped antlers? If you wondered why, we have some interesting info for you: After a buck’s antler starts to grow, it remains very sensitive tissue for a long time during which accidents by the deer can alter its growth pattern. Banging into a tree or a “play fight” with another Key buck can seriously damage the growing tissue and alter the subsequent antler development, as can infection of the antler pedicle. Most bucks end-up fine, but just may not qualify for the “Hartford Insurance ad model call”…like one of our Key Deer buck model rejects in photo A.There is one other recognized reason, and much more mysterious, for deer buck’s growing weird antlers: leg injury – most often caused by deer-vehicle accidents. Front leg injuries coincide with antler deformation on the same side as the injury — a front left leg injury will affect the left antler. Rear leg injuries coincide with antler deformation on the opposite side – a rear left leg injury will affect the right antler. The biological mechanism controlling this relationship is not fully understood but is thought to be associated with reallocating nutrients toward healing the leg injury, instead of antler growth. A Key deer example is “Sideways” as BPK neighbors had named this buck (photo B), who likely got hit by a car some years ago but survived and, without vet interjection, his right back leg set at a mostly unusable angle. “Sideways” lived with his disability for at least 3-4 years, growing a “weird” antler on the opposite side of his head each year. He hobbled around, but actually did quite well–until Irma ended his life. He was loved by his small herd and all humans that lived on his land. Link |
Is Bicycle Joanie Nelson still alive? I have seen this question posed several times throughout the years on BPK.com, but have never seen an answer. |
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Shipping containers used for ‘pop-up’ business, a business opened temporarily for seasonal sales, are up and coming and have proven to be a great option. What else could Marathon offer other than bars, coffee shops, boutiques or small start-up businesses ready to expand are all examples of shipping containers being used for retail, food service and small business companies today. |
| I still miss George Carlin. Video |
[Ridiculous Sales Receipts] I’ll see your Kmart receipt, and raise you a CVS receipt. My 4 year old granddaughter. |
| [Flunked Chemistry] “Does water lose something when you leave it sitting out? Does it lose oxygen or hydrogen molecules making it lest beneficial to our bodies? If so, what’s left?” You’re pulling our leg, right? Either that or you’re recovering from a night at the Nut. When the ambient temperature is above freezing, water left out in nature unprotected, evaporates. That process separates the hydrogen from the oxygen, both of which are in the air we breathe. What’s left? Nothing! |
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| [“Hunting birds with salt”] Some birds are attracted to salt. Here’s the skinny. Link |
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| [Shipping Containers] Why do it yourself when there are companies who do it professionally? Why Keys residents haven’t formed a company and do this professionally is beyond me. Link |
Well I tried the new face aging app based on my lifestyle, and this is what I got. |
| [Mosquito Election] Looks like the 2020 “silly” season is off to an early start even in the Keys and even with the local elections. One Key West wannabe politico seems to have set his sights on a seat on the Bug Board. He’s a medicine man whose wife had previously tried for a seat on the Board and failed. She’s a D and, hedging his bet, he claims to be an R.
In any event, it’s reported that he just recently fired yet another shot in his war with the Bug Board. It’s reported that on his Facebook page that he suggested that the Keys were in the throes of attack by West Nile Virus. As evidence for his claim, it’s reported that he cited clinical evidence that purported to show that a percentage of locals had antibodies in their blood that showed the presence of West Nile virus. Pretty scary, it’s nasty stuff! But he neglected to tell you that when the test for the antibody for West Nile shows positive it will also show positive if the person being tested had had Dengue Fever. Different diseases, but the same antibody tests results. And remember that there are scores of locals who were infected with Dengue years and years ago under earlier administrations of the Monroe County Mosquito Control Board. Administrations that were riddled with corruption and waste. It’s wildly ironic that this sawbones would now be trying to convince Monroe residents that Monroe county was infected with West Nile Virus when he was one the leaders of the pack who has been doing their damnedest to keep the Bug Board from using the latest and safest methods of killing skeeters. Ooops, I forgot to mention that the Monroe County Health Department, on July 16 released a statement that reads as follows: “The department actively monitors submitted cases and at this time, there is no epidemiological nor scientific evidence of the presence of mosquito-borne disease in Monroe County this year. Kudos to all existing member of Monroe’s Mosquito Control Board! |
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| The past is always a word of caution to the present. |
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| [Live Together] Some people want all people to live together like ants, but not in their house. Too many sissies on this rock. We’d be better off with a military or a pirate state of living than the political correctness now going on. |
[Dean Parks R.I.P.] Jeff. Sorry that a female shew betrayed you on No Name Key. |
| Video about out voting system and the power of Google and social media. Video |
 [Triclosan] A new study looked at women who had sickly, thinning bones. And it turns out their urine was chock full of a dangerous chemical called triclosan. Scientists are pretty sure this stuff is rotting our bones. And that’s a big problem because there’s a good chance that triclosan is in your favorite toothpaste. This stuff isn’t just rotting your teeth, which is ironic enough, it could also be targeting your arms, legs, hips, and everything else. You’ve probably heard about triclosan before. It’s even been banned in many antibacterial soaps, but it’s still in plenty of personal care products, including toothpaste and mouthwashes. Triclosan has been found in roughly 75 percent of the population, meaning that this chemical is an epidemic. |
| Will the Federal decriminalization of marijuana be an issue that decides our next President? A few candidates are suggesting its final overturn. Or will it be abortion rights that decides? Video |
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