A warm -- okay, it was hot -- weekend around the South Sound. We tied a five-year-old record on Saturday topping out at 92 degrees here in Olympia. Yesterday we got to 94. Plenty hot but not a record. We fell one degree short of the record which was set in 1951. I actually got to use the phrase "cooler today with a high of 80" on the radio today. That's not something we get to do in these parts very often.

I tend to surf a number of websites and publications in the course of a typical day looking for noteworthy or interesting items. Stumbled across the picture to the right. It concerned a plane that slid off the runway in Burbank, California, eight years ago. Look at those gas prices!

We went a whole week without setting a new record for gas prices here in Olympia. That week ended Saturday with a new high mark. And with this morning's report from AAA, it's the third day in a row we've set a new record. A gallon of regular unleaded is averaging $4.397 here in the Capital City today.

Trivia Answer: The Corvette. Taking its name from the corvette -- a small, maneuverable fighting frigate -- the first Corvettes were virtually handbuilt in Flint, Michigan, in Chevrolet's Customer Delivery Center. The outer body was made out of then-revolutionary fiberglass, selected in part because of steel quotas left over from the war. Underneath the new body material were standard Chevrolet components, including the "Blue Flame" inline six-cylinder truck engine, two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission, and drum brakes from Chevrolet's regular car line. Though the engine's output was increased somewhat, thanks to a triple-carburetor intake exclusive to the Corvette, performance of the car was decidedly lackluster. Compared to the British and Italian sports cars of the day, the Corvette was underpowered, required a great deal of effort as well as clear roadway to bring to a stop, and even lacked a "proper" manual transmission. Up until that time, the Chevrolet division was GM's entry-level product line, known for excellent but no-nonsense cars. Nowhere was that more evident than in the Corvette. A Paxton supercharger became available in 1954 as a dealer-installed option, greatly improving the Corvette's straight-line performance, but sales continued to decline. GM was seriously considering shelving the project, leaving the Corvette to be little more than a footnote in automotive history, and would have done so if not for two important events. The first was the introduction in 1955 of Chevrolet's first V8 engine since 1919, and the second was the influence of a Soviet émigré in GM's engineering department, Zora Arkus-Duntov. Arkus-Duntov simply took the new V8 and backed it with a three-speed manual transmission. That modification, probably the single most important in the car's history, helped turn the Corvette from a two-seat curiosity into a genuine performer. Another key factor in the Corvette's survival was Ford's introduction, in 1955, of the two-seat Thunderbird, which was billed as a "personal luxury car", not a sports car. Even so, the Ford-Chevrolet rivalry in those days demanded that GM not appear to back down from the challenge. The "T-Bird" was changed to a four-seater in 1958. The oldest surviving production Corvette is serial number E53F001003. This historic, one-time GM "test mule" is the third 1953 Corvette to ever come off the Flint assembly line and is known as "double-o-three" to Corvette enthusiasts. It was sold at a Barrett-Jackson auction on January 21, 2006, in Scottsdale, AZ, for $1,000,000. However, the oldest Corvette in existence is believed to be the EX-122, a pre-production prototype that was hand built and first shown to the public at the 1953 GM Motorama at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. That car can now be seen at the Atlantic City Showroom and Museum of Kerbeck Corvette. Another noteworthy 1953 Corvette belonged to actor John Wayne. Vin #51 was delivered to Wayne on October 7, 1953. It's currently on display at the National Automobile Museum (formerly the Harrah's Collection) in Reno, Nevada. By the way, the original concept for the Corvette emblem incorporated an American flag into the design, but was changed well before production since associating the flag with a product was frowned upon. Also noteworthy is the fact that Automobile Magazine called the Corvette Sting Ray the "coolest car in history", and Sports Car International placed it at number five on their list of the Top Sports Cars of the 1960s. A Corvette has been selected as the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 ten times: 1978, 1986, 1995, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008.  

The responsibility of parents is to raise children who do not need parents.

Children don't drop out of high school when they are 16, they do so in the first grade and wait 10 years to make it official.

Who is he (name the man or his character)?

I hope you get a chance to stop by The Roxy Road Show this weekend. We're at Olsen Furniture between 4th and 5th on Franklin in Downtown Shelton tomorrow from 11 til 2, and then at the seventh annual Mason County Historical Society Car Show on Railroad Avenue in Downtown Shelton on Sunday from noon til 3. Be sure to bring your sunscreen.  Should have pictures up in the Roxy Photo Galleries the first part of next week.

In the sprit of "find good news where you can," it should be noted that we haven't set any new records for gas here in Olympia since last Saturday when the current record average of $4.392 a gallon was established. According to AAA, today's price was 3/10ths of a cent lower at $4.389. Oil prices surged today so look for more record gas prices soon.

Six days of legal wrangling over the Sonics' KeyArena lease ended yesterday with U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman asking pointed questions during closing arguments. Now it's up to Pechman to provide the one answer everyone is waiting for. The judge said she'll announce her ruling on the city of Seattle's lawsuit against the team's ownership group Wednesday afternoon at 4.

The campaign countdown continues. There are 132 days to go. Interesting to note that Senators Obama and McCain are running even nationally at 44 percent among registered voters, according to the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update.

Trivia Answer: Robert James Keeshan -- Bob Keeshan -- who was born on this date in 1927. He's most famous as Captain Kangaroo. He died in January of 2004 at the age of 76 of natural causes. He is survived by three children. His wife of 40 years, Anne Jeanne Laurie Keeshan, had died in 1990. Bob Keeshan's grandson, Britton Keeshan, became the youngest person at the time to climb the Seven Summits when he summited Mount Everest in May 2004. He did so carrying photos of his grandfather, and buried a photo of the two of them at the summit of Everest. 

NBC has announced that this weekend's Saturday Night Live is being hosted by George Carlin with musical guests Billy Preston and Janis Ian. This is the first episode of the program. It originally aired on October 11th of 1975.

The campaign countdown continues. Only 133 days to go. The 2008 presidential campaign has been widely touted as the first “YouTube" election, but a more apt characterization would be the first “Internet" election. Voters are turning to the Internet to get information about presidential candidates and political issues alike, but they are going well beyond video-sharing sites like YouTube and embracing everything from traditional news sites to a range of social media (including blogs, social networking sites like MySpace and Wikipedia-like online resources) to candidates’ own websites. The net result is that web-savvy politicians have an array of opportunities to get their message out. The number of potential voters turning to the Internet for election information has increased by 31 percent since the original How America Searches report was published in July of 2007. The Internet, previously tied with newspapers as the second most-popular channel, now leads newspapers 55 percent to 47 percent as an election information resource. Eighty-seven percent of potential voters search on an election issue, and finding more information about a candidate's position on a specific issue remains the leading reason they conduct candidate searches (85%). Will the public's search interest for a particular candidate give an early indication who might win the Presidential race? Candidate search volumes are up. Obama holds the lead nationally. Candidate search volumes have increased greatly since the original report, with Obama leading the number of voter searches by a wide margin. More women turn to the web to learn about candidates and issues. The original How America Searches report showed that men conducted election research online at much higher rates than women (47% vs. 38%). Currently, both genders rely on the Internet equally for election-related information; 56 percent of men and 54 percent of women.

Trivia Answer: Ich bin ein Berliner (I am a Berliner) 

The speech is considered one of Kennedy's best and a notable moment of the Cold War. It was a great morale boost for West Berliners, who lived in an enclave deep inside East Germany and feared a possible East German occupation. Speaking from the balcony of Rathaus Schöneberg, Kennedy said, "Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was civis romanus sum [I am a Roman citizen]. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is 'Ich bin ein Berliner'… All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words 'Ich bin ein Berliner!'" Kennedy came up with the phrase at the last moment, as well as the idea to say it in German. Kennedy asked his interpreter to translate "I am a Berliner" only as they walked up the stairs at the City Hall. Kennedy practiced the phrase in the office of then-Mayor Willy Brandt, and in his own hand made a cue card with phonetic spelling. According to an urban legend that is untrue and practically unknown in Germany, Kennedy made an embarrassing grammatical error by saying "Ich bin ein Berliner," referring to himself not as a citizen of Berlin, but as a common pastry. The story goes that Kennedy should have said "Ich bin Berliner" to mean "I am a person from Berlin." By adding the indefinite article ein, his statement implied he was a non-human Berliner, thus "I am a jelly doughnut." The legend stems from a play on words with Berliner, the name of a doughnut variant filled with jam or plum sauce that is thought to have originated in Berlin. In fact, Kennedy's statement is both grammatically correct and perfectly idiomatic, and cannot be misunderstood in context. The urban legend is prevalent only in English-speaking countries but largely unknown in Germany, where Kennedy's speech is considered a landmark in the country's postwar history. The indefinite article ein can be and often is omitted when speaking of an individual's profession or residence but is necessary when speaking in a figurative sense as Kennedy did. Since the president was not literally from Berlin but only declaring his solidarity with its citizens, "Ich bin Berliner" would not have been correct. The origins of the legend are obscure. One prominent instance of its re-telling was in 1988 when William J. Miller erroneously wrote in an April 30th New York Times article:  

What they did not know, but could easily have found out, was that such citizens never refer to themselves as "Berliners." They reserve that term for a favorite confection often munched at breakfast. So, while they understood and appreciated the sentiments behind the President's impassioned declaration, the residents tittered among themselves when he exclaimed, literally, "I am a jelly-filled doughnut."

In fact, the opposite is true: The citizens of Berlin do refer to themselves as Berliner; what they do not refer to as Berliner are jelly doughnuts. While these are known as "Berliner" in other areas of Germany, they are simply called Pfannkuchen (pancakes) in and around Berlin. Thus the merely theoretical ambiguity went unnoticed by Kennedy's audience, as it did in Germany at large. In sum, "Ich bin ein Berliner" was the appropriate way to express in German what Kennedy meant to say.

Some brain-teasers for you this morning. See how you do (the answers are listed toward the bottom of today's entry).

1. You have to choose between three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. In which room do you have the greatest chance for survival?
2. A woman shoots her husband. Then she holds him under water for over 5 minutes. Finally, she hangs him. But 5 minutes later they both go out and enjoy a wonderful dinner together. How can this be?
3. What is black when you buy it, red when you use it, and gray when you throw it away ?
4. Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Wednesday, Friday, or Sunday?

We hadn't checked in with AAA in a few days so we did this morning and, surprise, today's average price of a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline is not a record. Today's average is $4.386. Our current record in Olympia was set back on Saturday at $4.392. Meanwhile, there are these two sisters -- Sadie and Pyper Vance -- who have had just about enough of high gas prices. They're still years away from being old enough to drive, but that doesn't mean the $4-plus price per gallon isn't hitting them as hard as anyone else. Cable TV apparently was one of the family's budget-cutting casualties, leaving 9-year-old Sadie and her 7-year-old sister without their favorite cartoons and shows. Says Sadie, "Gas prices are too high. I just decided to come and protest so they'd go down." The girls marched through downtown Salt Lake City Monday chanting and carrying signs made from old campaign signs. Pyper's sign said "All of my mom's monny goes to the gas tank!" Sadie's sign asked drivers to honk to lower gas prices -- adding that her mom had to cut "cabel." The girls got some waves and a few thumbs-up to show support. One gentleman walking past on his lunch break said, "I think it's great. It's unfortunate that kids are doing it before we do."

The lady that's the topic of our trivia this morning is celebrating a birthday today. Additionally, Jimmie Walker (from the television series Good Times which ran from 1974 to 1979) turns 61 today. I had a chance to talk with Jimmie a few years back when he appeared here in Olympia. You can listen to the interview here: 

Here are the brain-teaser answers:

1. The third room. Lions that haven't eaten in three years are dead. That one was easy, right?
2. The woman was a photographer. She shot a picture of her husband, developed it, and hung it up to dry (shot, held under water, and hung).
3. Charcoal, as it's used in the barbecue.
4. Sure you can name three consecutive days: yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

How'd you do?

Trivia Answer: Carly Elisabeth Simon -- Carly Simon -- who turns 63 today. Her breakthrough top-ten hit was 1971's "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" -- which was followed quickly by a second album, Anticipation, the title cut from which became a ketchup commercial. Her breakthrough LP was 1972's No Secrets, which spawned the hugely successful single "You're So Vain."

As you can imagine, the tributes to George Carlin are rolling in. Ben Stiller told E! Online, "He was one of the greats." Jay Leno said that, "If there was ever a comedian who was a voice of their generation, it was George Carlin." Jerry Seinfeld appeared on Larry King Live last night to talk about Carlin. Jerry also penned a eulogy that ran today’s New York Times. The piece was titled, "Dying Is Hard. Comedy Is Harder."

The honest truth is, for a comedian, even death is just a premise to make jokes about. I know this because I was on the phone with George Carlin nine days ago and we were making some death jokes. We were talking about Tim Russert and Bo Diddley and George said: “I feel safe for a while. There will probably be a break before they come after the next one. I always like to fly on an airline right after they’ve had a crash. It improves your odds.” I called him to compliment him on his most recent special on HBO. Seventy years old and he cranks out another hour of great new stuff. He was in a hotel room in Las Vegas getting ready for his show. He was a monster. You could certainly say that George downright invented modern American stand-up comedy in many ways. Every comedian does a little George. I couldn’t even count the number of times I’ve been standing around with some comedians and someone talks about some idea for a joke and another comedian would say, "Carlin does it." I’ve heard it my whole career: "Carlin does it," "Carlin already did it," "Carlin did it eight years ago." And he didn’t just "do" it. He worked over an idea like a diamond cutter with facets and angles and refractions of light. He made you sorry you ever thought you wanted to be a comedian. He was like a train hobo with a chicken bone. When he was done there was nothing left for anybody. But his brilliance fathered dozens of great comedians. I personally never cared about "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television," or "FM & AM." To me, everything he did just had this gleaming wonderful precision and originality. I became obsessed with him in the ’60s. As a kid it seemed like the whole world was funny because of George Carlin. His performing voice, even laced with profanity, always sounded as if he were trying to amuse a child. It was like the naughtiest, most fun grown-up you ever met was reading you a bedtime story. I know George didn’t believe in heaven or hell. Like death, they were just more comedy premises. And it just makes me even sadder to think that when I reach my own end, whatever tumbling cataclysmic vortex of existence I’m spinning through, in that moment I will still have to think, "Carlin already did it."

Some George Carlin facts you may or may not know:

• Carlin hosted the first episode of Saturday Night Live on October 11th, 1975.
• In season two of Shining Time Station, Carlin took over as “Mr. Conductor” and stayed until the show's final run.
• In 2004, Comedy Central ranked Carlin number two on their list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comedians, just ahead of Lenny Bruce and only behind Richard Pryor.
• In the Disney/Pixar animated feature Cars, Carlin voiced "Fillmore," a VW Microbus with a psychedelic paint job, whose front license plate reads "51237" Carlin's birthday.
• Carlin appeared on The Tonight Show more than 130 times.
• He received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in January of 1987. It's located at the corner of Vine and Selma Streets, between Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards.
• George earned four Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Comedy Albums: FM & AM in 1972, Jammin' in New York in 1991, Brain Droppings in 2000 and Napalm & Silly Putty in 2001.

By the way, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts said yesterday that it's going ahead with plans to present its Mark Twain Prize for American Humor to Carlin, making him the first comedian so honored posthumously. The Kennedy Center had only announced late last week that Carlin was selected as the 11th recipient of its prestigious Mark Twain award, an honor bestowed annually at a black-tie gala televised on PBS. After consulting with Carlin's family and PBS, the Kennedy Center decided to go forward with the ceremony as scheduled on November 10th. The show is being taped at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and will air on PBS at a date to be announced. Last year's honoree was actor-comedian Billy Crystal. The first in 1998, was Richard Pryor, the only other recipient who is now deceased. Others have included Whoopi Goldberg, Lily Tomlin, Bob Newhart, Steve Martin, playwright Neil Simon and "Saturday Night Live" producer Lorne Michaels. For Carlin's ceremony, producers are sticking with the usual format described by the producer as "a funny celebration of a career," with friends and peers telling stories and anecdotes and introducing clips of his work."

Trivia Answer: Kenneth Arnold is best-known for making what is generally considered the first widely reported unidentified flying object sighting in the United States.  He claimed to see nine unusual objects flying in a chain near Mount Rainier here in Washington on June 24th of 1947. A few minutes before 3:00 that afternoon at about 9,200 feet in altitude and near Mineral, Washington, he gave up his search for the missing Marine Corps transport airplane and started heading east towards Yakima. He saw a bright flashing light, similar to sunlight reflecting from a mirror. Afraid he might be dangerously close to another aircraft, Arnold scanned the skies around him, but all he could see was a DC-4 to his left and back of him, about 15 miles away. About 30 seconds after seeing the first flash of light, Arnold saw a series of bright flashes in the distance off to his left, or north of Mt. Rainier, which was then 20 to 25 miles away. He thought they might be reflections on his airplane's windows, but a few quick tests (rocking his airplane from side to side, removing his eyeglasses, later rolling down his side window) ruled that out. He said the objects flew in a long chain, and for a moment he considered they might be a flock of geese, but ruled that out for a number of reasons, including the altitude, bright glint, and obviously very fast speed. He then thought they might be a new type of jet and started looking intently for a tail and was surprised that he couldn't find any. They quickly approached Rainier and then passed in front, usually appearing dark in profile against the bright white snowfield covering Rainier, but occasionally still giving off bright light flashes as they flipped around erratically.  Arnold landed in Yakima at about 4:00 that afternoon and quickly told friend and airport general manager Al Baxter his amazing story.  Before long, the entire airport staff knew of Arnold's claims.  Arnold then flew on to an air show Pendleton, Oregon, not knowing that somebody in Yakima had phoned ahead to say that Arnold had seen some strange new aircraft. It was at this time that Arnold studied his maps, determined the distance between Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams, and calculated the rather astonishing speed. He told a number of pilot friends, and wrote in his account to the Army Air Force intelligence that they did not scoff or laugh. Instead they suggested that maybe he had seen guided missiles or something new, though Arnold felt this explanation to be inadequate. He also wrote that some former Army pilots told him that they had been briefed before going into combat "that they might see objects of similar shape and design as I described and assured me that I wasn't dreaming or going crazy." Arnold wasn't interviewed by reporters until the next day when he went to the office of the East Oregonian in Pendleton. Any skepticism the reporters might have had evaporated when they interviewed Arnold at length. Arnold had the makings of a reliable witness. He was a respected businessman and experienced pilot and seemed to be neither exaggerating what he had seen, nor adding sensational details to his report. He also gave the impression of being a careful observer. These details impressed the newspapermen who interviewed him and lent credibility to his report. Arnold would soon complain about the effects of the publicity on his life. On June 28th, he was reported saying, "I haven't had a moment of peace since I first told the story." He then said a preacher had called and told him that the objects he saw were "harbingers of doomsday" and that the preacher was preparing his congregation "for the end of the world."  He added that, "This whole thing has gotten out of hand. I want to talk to the FBI or someone. Half the people look at me as a combination of Einstein, Flash Gordon and screwball." The press quickly coined the new terms "flying saucer" and "flying disc" to describe the objects. The government formally listed the Arnold case as a mirage. After the 1947 UFO sighting, Arnold became a minor celebrity.  For about a decade thereafter, he was somewhat involved in interviewing other UFO witnesses. Arnold wrote a book and several magazine articles about his UFO sighting and his subsequent research. By the 1960s, Arnold had little to do with UFOs. He ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor of Idaho in 1962. Arnold died on January 16th of 1984 in Bellevue, Washington.

I was very bummed today with word that George Carlin has died. The comedian had a history of heart problems. He went to a Santa Monica hospital yesterday afternoon complaining of chest pain. He died of heart failure yesterday afternoon at 5:55. Carlin was often quoted, his best lines traded like baseball cards. "Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?" began one famous routine. Another pointed out the differences between the pastoral game of baseball and the militaristic game of football: "Baseball is played on a diamond, in a park. The baseball park! Football is played on a gridiron, in a stadium, sometimes called Soldier Field or War Memorial Stadium." Carlin was probably best known for a routine that began, "I was thinking about the curse words and the swear words, the cuss words and the words that you can't say." It was a monologue, known as "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television," that got Carlin arrested and eventually led to the U.S. Supreme Court. The "Seven Dirty Words" bit prompted a landmark indecency case after New York's WBAI-FM radio aired it in 1973. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled 5-4 that the sketch was "indecent but not obscene," giving the Federal Communications Commission broad leeway to determine what constituted indecency on the airwaves. "So my name is a footnote in American legal history, which I'm perversely kind of proud of," Carlin said. "In the context of that era, it was daring. Carlin won four Grammys for some of the 23 comedy albums he produced, he starred 14 HBO specials and even appeared in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure back in 1989. In fact, for his efforts, it was just announced last week that Carlin would receive this year’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in November. Carlin just a week ago performed at the Orleans Casino in Las Vegas. He is survived by his wife and daughter. George Carlin was 71.

George Carlin on Merv Griffin in 1965

George Carlin from HBO in 2008 (Caution: Contains potentially offensive language.)

NBC News has announced that Tom Brokaw is going to moderate "Meet the Press" through the 2008 election season.  The 68-year-old Brokaw stepped down as anchor of the "NBC Nightly News" in 2004 after 21 years.  NBC News President Steve Capus in making the announcement said, "To have someone of Tom's stature step up and dedicate himself to ensuring its ("Meet the Press") ongoing success is not only a testament to his loyalty to Tim, but his enduring commitment to NBC News and our viewers."

The Mariners with their new skipper Jim Riggleman at the helm went one-for-three against the Atlanta Braves over the weekend.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.  No more firings over the last couple of days, though.

Trivia Answer: Randall Darius Jackson -- Randy Jackson -- who turns 52 today. He's now best known as a judge on "American Idol." Since 2002, Jackson has been one of the three panel judges, along with Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell, on the Fox Network's American Idol. In 2003, Jackson lost over 100 pounds following gastric bypass surgery. He stated in a February 2008 television commercial that he has Type 2 diabetes.

Fired Mariners manager John McLaren says "tension and jealousy" among players in the fractured clubhouse contributed to Seattle going from expecting to be in the playoffs to being the worst team in the major leagues in three months. From Arizona this morning, McLaren said things were "a little divided, pitchers against hitters." Mac's replacement, bench coach Jim Riggleman, has his debut tonight at Turner Field in Atlanta.

Art Thiel in the P.I. this morning:

After being called away from a trial Thursday for one pro sports franchise to attend the ordeal of another, I will suggest, aside from an absence of deaths, that this is probably the worst week ever for big-time sports around here. A race to the bottom of Puget Sound is a rare and unpleasant thing. The Sonics and Mariners could tie, which would be fitting: No winner. In the same year, Seattle might end up with the lamest teams in two sports. If bad seasons for Huskies football and basketball were included, well ... don't add it up. It would make for too much pressure on the Seahawks, one team that has a chance to avoid the Northwest whoopee cushion. The Mariners said the impetus for firing McLaren and the promotion to manager of bench coach Jim Riggleman was to provide a "different voice," but didn't specify the kind of voice they were looking for: James Earl Jones? Daffy Duck? Marge Simpson? One constant voice with the Mariners is Chuck Armstrong, the longtime president who raised that voice on June 4th, berating McLaren and the coaching staff before invoking not James Earl Jones but John Paul Jones, Revolutionary War hero whose famous quote, "I have not yet begun to fight," was reportedly relayed with much passion. The appeal to patriotism apparently was as effective as the psychological wizardry of McLaren and Bavasi. But Armstrong still has his job, despite the fact he was the one who signed off on the hiring of McLaren and Bavasi, as well as previous managers Mike Hargrove and Bob Melvin. Predictable and empty as were the firings of McLaren and Bavasi, the startling thing is Armstrong and Howard Lincoln expect to be trusted to continue to make the key decisions. Said Armstrong: "It's asking a lot for the fans to be patient, and they have been -- fifth-best attendance in the American League." Incredibly, it's true. Strictly from a business standpoint, they have invented the idiot-proof franchise. In the same town where bad Sonics management has bludgeoned much of the civic hoops spirit, the Mariners keep whapping fans upside the head, yet they get up and ask for more.

Gas prices just keep doing what they do. Today, a gallon of unleaded regular is averaging $4.391 here in Olympia.

Thanks to Gregg for sending this in: This guy was terribly overweight so he went to see his doctor. The doctor put him on diet and told him, "I want you to eat regularly for two days, then skip a day, and repeat this procedure for two weeks. The next time I see you, you should have lost at least 5 pounds." The guy leaves and when he returned to see the doctor, the doc was shocked to see that the fellow had lost nearly sixty pounds. "Why, that's amazing, " the doctor said. "Did you follow my instructions?" The gentleman nodded and said, "I'll tell you though, I thought I would just die on that third day." Asked the doctor, "From the hunger you mean?" "No," said the gentleman, "from all that #%%* skipping."

Trivia Answer: Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. -- Lionel Richie -- who turns 59 today. The group he headed in 1968 was The Commodores. His solo debut album was self-titled and produced the first solo chart-topper "Truly." The Grammy winner in 1984 was "Can't Slow Down" which spawned the #1 hit "All Night Long." The video for that song, by the way, was produced by former Monkee, Michael Nesmith.

Time marches on. Summer officially -- at least as far as the calendar is concerned -- begins tomorrow afternoon with the summer solstice at 4:59.

It seems we can add a "new record price for gas in Olympia" and "a Mariners' loss" to that list with "death" and "taxes."

AAA reports a gallon of unleaded regular is going on average for $4.388 today. Word from the Department of Transportation this morning that shows the upside of rising gas prices. We, as Americans, drove 1.4 billion fewer highway miles in April than we did in April a year ago. That marks the sixth consecutive monthly drop and coincides with those record gas prices and an increase in transit ridership according to Transportation Secretary Mary Peters. April's drop is more than three times larger than the drop from March 2007 to March of this year, which was 400 million fewer highway miles. Americans have driven nearly 20 billion fewer miles overall this year and nearly 30 billion fewer miles since November. However, in the "you can't win for losing" department, Peters expressed concern that the cutbacks have resulted in the collection of fewer taxes on gasoline. Today, by the way, is National Dump the Pump Day being promoted by Intercity Transit and other transit systems throughout the Northwest and across the country.

The Mariners. You can look at a lot of statistics to try to tell the tale of their lost season this year, but there's one that might tell it best. The Ms have been behind after three innings 34 times this season, and have come back to win twice. Yup, twice. Think about that. In 32 of their 47 losses, they were already dead men walking with two-thirds of the game left to play. So if you've been thinking that watching the Mariners this season feels like the movie "Groundhog Day," it's not just your imagination. They fall behind early and lack the offense to make up for it. 

Late word this morning that John McLaren has been fired as manager of the Mariners ... finally.  McLaren was an assistant for 21½ years in the majors before he took over as Seattle's manager last July when Mike Hargrove abruptly quit. This season, the revamped Mariners expected to reach their first postseason since 2001. Instead, they are on pace to become the first team to lose 100 games with a $100 million player payroll.

Trivia Answer: Paula Julie Abdul who turns 46 today. She was married to Emilio Estevez between 1992-1994 which makes her the former daughter-in-law of actor Martin Sheen. Of course, today she's a judge on the television series American Idol. She says she was inspired towards a show business career by Gene Kelly in the classic film Singin' in the Rain as well as Debbie Allen, Fred Astaire, and Bob Fosse. She began dance lessons around the age of eight and showed a natural talent. She attended Van Nuys High School where she was a cheerleader and an honor student. She studied broadcasting at California State University. During her first year, she was selected from a pool of 700 candidates for the cheerleading squad of the Los Angeles Lakers -- the famed Laker Girls. Within three months, she became head choreographer. Six months later, she left school to focus on her choreography career. She choreographed sequences for the giant keyboard scene involving Tom Hanks’s character in Big. Further credits include Coming to America, Jerry McGuire, The Running Man, American Beauty, and Oliver Stone's The Doors. Her television credits include The Tracey Ullman Show, American Music Awards, the Academy Awards, and several commercials, including The King's Touchdown Celebration as seen in a string of popular Burger King television commercials that aired during the 2005-2006 NFL season. In 1987, Paula used her savings to make a singing demo. Although her voice was relatively untrained, her exceptional dancing proved marketable to the visually-oriented, MTV-driven, pop music industry. The following year, she released her pop debut album, Forever Your Girl. The album took 62 weeks to hit #1 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart -- the longest an album has been on the market before hitting #1 -- and spent 10 weeks there. The album eventually became multi-platinum in the spring and summer of 1989, and it spawned five American Top Three singles, four of them #1s (three in 1989 and one in 1990): "Straight Up", "Forever Your Girl", "Cold Hearted", "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me", and "Opposites Attract."

Tim Russert is being buried today. The two men vying to become president, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain, along with congressional leaders, journalists and others paid tribute to the television journalist earlier today at a private funeral mass. Among the dignitaries in attendance were New York Governor David Paterson, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The honorary pallbearers included NBC News anchor Brian Williams, "Today" show host Matt Lauer, and Bryant Gumbel. Retired anchor Tom Brokaw greeted the guests. An invitation-only memorial service is being held at the Kennedy Center today. Below are clips of Tom Brokaw breaking the news of Russert's passing last Friday, and a tribute from Jay Leno.

Tom Brokaw with the news that Tim Russert had died 

 
Jay Leno's tribute to Tim Russert last Friday night

Trivia Answer: "Yesterday" originally recorded by The Beatles in 1965. It was the first official recording by The Beatles that relied upon a performance by a single member of the band. Paul McCartney was accompanied solely by a string quartet. The final recording differed so greatly from other works by The Beatles that the other three members of the band vetoed the release of the song as a single in the United Kingdom. Although credited to "Lennon/McCartney", the song was written solely by McCartney. Sir Paul, by the way, turns 66 today. According to biographers, Paul composed the entire melody in a dream one night in his room at the home of his then girlfriend Jane Asher and her family. Upon waking, he hurried to a piano, turned on a tape recorder, and played the tune to avoid letting it slip into the recesses of his mind. His initial concern was that he had subconsciously plagiarised someone else's work. As he put it, "For about a month I went round to people in the music business and asked them whether they had ever heard it before. Eventually it became like handing something in to the police. I thought if no-one claimed it after a few weeks then I could have it." Once he was convinced that he hadn't robbed anybody of his melody, McCartney began writing lyrics to suit it. As Lennon and McCartney were known to do at the time, a substitute working lyric, entitled "Scrambled Eggs", was used for the song until something more suitable was written. Says Paul, "I remember mulling over the tune 'Yesterday', and suddenly getting these little one-word openings to the verse. I started to develop the idea ... da-da da, yes-ter-day, sud-den-ly, fun-il-ly, mer-il-ly and Yes-ter-day, that's good. All my troubles seemed so far away. It's easy to rhyme those a's: say, nay, today, away, play, stay, there's a lot of rhymes and those fall in quite easily, so I gradually pieced it together from that journey. Sud-den-ly, and 'b' again, another easy rhyme: e, me, tree, flea, we, and I had the basis of it." The tune's entry in the Guinness Book suggests over 3,000 different cover versions to date, by an eclectic mix of artists including The Seekers, Joan Baez, Liberace, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Daffy Duck, Wet Wet Wet, Plácido Domingo, The Head Shop, David Essex, and Boyz II Men.

The Mariners' season-long belly flop claimed another victim yesterday morning when the team fired general manager Bill Bavasi. The Mariners were expected to compete for a spot in the American League playoffs but instead now have the worst record in the majors: 24-46 after last night's 6-1 loss to the Florida Marlins at Safeco Field. On consecutive Mondays now, the Mariners have axed their hitting instructor, Jeff Pentland, and now Bavasi. Bavasi was replaced on an interim basis by his assistant, Lee Pelekoudas. Future Mondays, or any other days, could yield more moves. While I don't wish ill will to anybody, I am certainly appreciative of the change -- and from the reactions posted on the blogs on ESPN and the Seattle PI, I have a whole bunch of company. Bavasi, for what it's worth, said he wasn't surprised by the move -- how could he be? (See the recap below on the 10th following Jeff Pentland's dismissal)

Gas prices continue doing what they do.  A new CNN/Opinion Research poll says we Americans aren't expecting any relief at the pump anytime soon.  Eighty-six percent of us expect gas prices to top $5 a gallon sometime this year.  One year ago, the same survey showed only 28% of us thought gas would ever get that high.  AAA reports the going rate here in Olympia this morning is averaging $4.362 a gallon.

Trivia Answer: Barry Alan Pincus (that was the name he was born with) but we know him as Barry Manilow. Today is his 65th birthday. He has sold more than 76 million records worldwide. In 1978, five of his albums were on the best-selling charts simultaneously -- a feat equalled only by Frank Sinatra and Johnny Mathis. Since February 2005, he has been the headliner at the Las Vegas Hilton, and has performed hundreds of shows since. In fact, he has a show there tonight.

Oil prices spiked more than $5 a barrel this morning to a new trading record of just under $140 a barrel before pulling back. A quick check with AAA shows a gallon of unleaded regular averaging $4.343 a gallon -- yet another record -- here in Olympia today. With those thoughts in mind, happy to see that Honda's new zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell car rolled off a Japanese production line today and us headed to southern California. The FCX Clarity runs on hyrdrogen and electricity and emits only water and none of the gasses believed to induce global warming. It's also, according to Honday, two times more energy efficient than a gas-electric hybrid and three times more than a standard gasoline-powered car. Honda expects to lease out "a few dozen" units this year. In California, a three-year lease is expected to run about $600 a month, which includes maintenance and collision coverage. The Japanese automaker will produce about 200 of them over the next three years. Honda wouldn't say how many will make it to the U.S., but those that do will be leased only in Southern California. Among the first customers are actress Jamie Lee Curtis and her filmmaker husband Christopher Guest. For the Clarity's release in California, Honda said it received 50,000 applications through its website but considered only buyers living near hydrogen fuel stations in Torrance, Santa Monica, and Irvine.

In the meantime, have you seen the Air Car? According to the email forwarded to me, an innovative new compressed air powered vehicle is currently being developed in India and should be available later in 2008. After a brief search online, it appears that such a car is indeed being produced by European company Motor Development International (MDI) in partnership with Indian company Tata Motors. MDI's founder, inventor, and entrepreneur, Guy Negre, is responsible for the development of the revolutionary new engine. A 2007 article about the air cars published in Popular Mechanics notes that the air car "uses compressed air, as opposed to the gas-and-oxygen explosions of internal-combustion models, to push its engine's pistons" (click here for the Popular Mechanics article). There are several models planned, including the CityCAT which will sell for around $12,700 and cruises along at a top speed of 68 mph. The CityCAT will be able to travel around 125 miles before it needs to be refuelled at a service station equipped with a custom air compressor unit at a cost of about $2. The car also has a built in compressor unit that uses a normal electricity outlet to refill the air tanks over about 4 hours. According to Popular Mechanics, around 6000 of the vehicles should be available in India by August, 2008. Only time will tell how successful the compressed air driven vehicles will be in the long term. The information currently available, however, suggests that the cars should provide a cheap, clean alternative to fossil fuel vehicles, at least for city driving.

Inventor Guy Negre and his Air Car

The first ever transformation on The Incredible Hulk TV Series

Trivia Answer: The Incredible Hulk created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. After physicist Dr. Robert Bruce Banner was caught in the blast of a gamma bomb he created, he was transformed into the Hulk, a giant, raging monster. The character -- both as Banner and the Hulk -- is frequently pursued by the police or the armed forces, often as a result of the destruction he causes. While the coloration of the character's skin varies during the course of its publication history, the Hulk is most often depicted as green. When he created the Hulk, Lee had wanted a color that didn't suggest any particular ethnic group. In first issue of the Marvel comic, the Hulk was grey. The colorist, however, had problems with the grey coloring, resulting in different shades of grey, and even green. From July 1962 on, the big brute's skin was green. The TV show starred Bill Bixby as Dr. Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk. The new movie stars Edward Norton as Banner and brought in the most green over the weekend making $54.5 million.

Today's Trivia: Although known by another name, this report's true title is "United States-Vietnam Relations, 1945-1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense." It was a 7,000-page top-secret government report about the history of the government's internal planning and policy concerning the Vietnam War. The documents became famous when a State Department officer gave them to the The New York Times to publish in early 1971. What is the popular name of the study? Bonus question: What was the name of the State Department official that turned it over to the New York Times?

Hopefully your Friday the 13th has been uneventful.

Another day and another record for gas here in Oly.  It's up to $4.295 a gallon according to AAA.

For the first time since 1999, our state is one of the 10 healthiest in the nation. We now rank at number 10 in an extensive new Healthiest State Report Card released yesterday by the Washington Health Foundation. The Evergreen State also meets or exceeds the national average in 13 of the 17 health measures and outcomes used as benchmarks in the report card. Among the state's strengths were smoking rates (No. 5), injury and violence prevention (No. 5), deaths before age 75 -- the idea is to not have many -- (No. 7), and physical activity (No. 9). On the downside, Washington failed to meet the national average in four areas, including high school graduation rates (No. 32) and medical care quality (No. 33). The campaign to make Washington healthier started in 2004 when the state dropped out of the top 10. Last year, Washington moved up three spots, from 15th to 12th and was singled out as one of the five "most improved" states overall. This year, Washington jumped from 12 to 10.

Here's the best and the worst:

For more information, go to www.whf.org.

Have you seen the video that shows how if you point a few cell phones at popcorn kernels and dial them all at once, the kernels will pop?  Turns out it's all a viral marketing stunt from Bluetooth headset maker Cardo.  Throughout the week, inboxes have been flooded with "You gotta see this!" messages from people who'd seen the YouTube sensation. The video shows a group of friends carefully pointing their cell phones at a quartet of popcorn kernels. When all the phones begin to ring simultaneously, the kernels explode into popped popcorn. While it says nothing about the issue, the video is supposed to get you thinking about radiation. If cell phones can do that to popcorn, imagine what they're doing pressed up against your face. Ideally, Cardo would like you to then start thinking about buying a Bluetooth headset -- ideally one of its models.  Cardo's coming clean, possibly a little worried about the panicked response some viewers have had to the video.  In a statement the company says, "The cell phone and popcorn popping campaign is completely untrue and a joke. It has been seen by over 4.1 million users already and has become a sort of global urban legend as it continues to be tried throughout the world."  Of course there's still the matter of: If it wasn't cell phones popping that corn, what did? Theories have ranged from hair driers to hot plates to police department microwave radar guns to CGI. There's clearly something under that table. Who puts a tablecloth on the coffee table, anyway?  You can check out the video below.

A couple of other calendar notes today. It was on this date in 1991 that Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won their first NBA Championship. This date in 1994 was the day that Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were murdered in Los Angeles. O.J. Simpson is later acquitted of the killings -- but held liable in a civil suit.

Came across a story this morning detailing how researchers here in the U.S. have uncovered a startling statistic about mothers of twins:  they seldom get a full night's sleep!  (Who's funding this stuff?)

One year ago today here in Olympia, a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was $3.25 a gallon. According to AAA, it's up over a dollar a gallon since then with this morning's average price at $4.282.

Trivia Answer: The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York. The word Cooperstown is often used as shorthand for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, just as the expression "Hall of Fame" is understood to mean the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The Hall's motto is "Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations." The museum is operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of baseball-related artifacts and exhibits, and the honoring of persons who have excelled in playing, managing, and serving the sport. Among baseball fans, "Hall of Fame" means not only the museum and facility in Cooperstown, but the pantheon of players, managers, umpires, executives, and pioneers who have been enshrined in the Hall. The first five men elected were Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson. As of January of this year, 286 individuals had been elected to the Hall of Fame, including 228 players, 19 managers (many of whom also played), eight umpires, and 31 builders, executives, and organizers. The only current Hall of Famers to have played for the Mariners are Gaylord Perry (pitcher, 1982-83) and Rich Gossage (pitcher, 1994). Dick Williams (1986-88) ended his managing career with the Ms. The voice of the Mariners Dave Niehaus becomes the first real Mariner-related inductee into the Hall when he gets recognized in the Hall's "Scribes & Mikemen" exhibit after winning this year's Ford C. Frick Award ... sort of. While they are often considered to be inducted into the "broadcasters' wing" of the Hall of Fame, Frick award winners are not officially considered members of the Hall. However, winners give a speech at the Hall of Fame during induction weekend, and their names are added to a plaque in the library of the Hall of Fame. by the way, the Ford C. Frick Award is an award bestowed annually by the Baseball Hall of Fame to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball." It's named for Ford Christopher Frick, former Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Before his career as an executive, Frick was a baseball writer and gained fame as the ghostwriter for Babe Ruth in the 1920s.

Had to get gas on my way home last night.  Words can't explain the frustration of watching the meters as you fill up.  The dollar meter sure goes a heckuva lot faster than the gallon meter.  Apparently now it'll be going a little faster.  After a day off on its march toward $5 a gallon, gas prices here in Olympia are back up this morning.  It's not a new record, though.  We simply tied the record -- which we set on Monday -- of 4.266 per gallon, according to AAA.

Scientists earlier this week unveiled what's being billed as the world'sfastest supercomputer.  It's capable of doing 1,000 trillion calculations per second.  I'm told it doesn't run Windows Vista.

Came across a quote this week regarding passwords.  Author and computer expert Clifford Stoll says, "Treat your password like your toothbrush.  Don't let anybody else use it, and get a new one every six months."

Good news/bad news for the triskaidekaphobiacs (those that fear the number 13) among us. Friday is Friday the 13th -- but it's the last Friday the 13th we'll have this year.  By the way, Friday is also Blame Someone Else Day, which occurs on the first Friday the 13th every year.  It was invented by Anne Moeller of Clio, Michigan back in 1982.  Apparently her alarm clock didn't go off at the appointed time, and, as a result, she overslept.  Since she was late for all of her scheduled appointments that Friday the 13th, she had to come up with reasonable explanations for her slowness. That "the alarm clock didn't go off" worked well in the morning but was a tired old song in the afternoon.  So she used  poetic license (a nice way of saying she played games with the truth) and came up with other alibis. She blamed traffic lights, flat tires, and a lot of other things.  Her excuses were all accepted.  She was well aware that she had stumbled upon a good idea so after celebrating the inaugural B.S.E.D. all alone, she designated the first Friday the 13th of the next year as America's second annual B.S.E.D.  And here we are.

Trivia Answer: They are the only prisoners to ever successfully escape from the prison on Alcatraz Island.  They escaped none of them was ever seen again. Frank Morris apparently began scheming his escape as soon as he arrived at Alcatraz. Originally there were three others: the Anglin brothers and a guy named Allen West. West was unable to join the escape when it was eventually made. The escape was long and complicated. Over a period of two years, Morris and the Anglins created a raft and lifelike dummies, and stole a number of tools to dig with. By May of 1962, they had already dug through the vents at the back of their cells working in shifts, with some keeping lookout while others dug. On the night of June 11th of 1962 the attempt went ahead. The group escaped out of the vents in the back of their cells and into the utility corridor. They proceeded onto the roof and down to the bay. There they boarded the raft they had been working on and disappeared into the night. The following morning, officers found the dummies lying in the beds and the prisoners missing. The FBI conducted one of the largest manhunts since the Lindbergh kidnapping to no avail. Bits of the raft and life preservers were later found in the bay along with a waterproof bag containing personal effects of the Anglins. Although the authorities never found any bodies, they were certain the men had drowned. The FBI officially closed the case on December 31st of 1979 concluding that "no credible evidence emerged to suggest the men were still alive."

However, the MythBusters program showed that in similar conditions a raft made of raincoats could be successfully paddled across to the Marin Headlands with three men aboard. The raft was piloted by the show's main cast members Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, together with another member of the show's cast to take the third place.

It was suggested on the Unsolved Mysteries program that Frank Morris and Clarence Anglin did not survive, but that John Anglin might have. It seems a day after the escape a man claiming to be John Anglin had called a lawyer in San Francisco and wanted the lawyer to arrange a meeting with the US Marshall's Office. When the lawyer refused, the caller hung up.

The 1979 film Escape from Alcatraz is based on the famous escape. Clint Eastwood starred as Frank Morris. John Anglin was played by Fred Ward. Clarence Anglin was portrayed by Jack Thibeau. Allen West was played by Larry Hankin, however, his character's name was changed to "Charley Butts" for an unknown reason.

Alcatraz Island -- sometimes informally referred to as simply Alcatraz or by its pop-culture name The Rock -- is a small island located in the middle of San Francisco Bay in California. It served as a lighthouse, then a military fortification, then a military prison followed by a federal prison until 1963. It became a national recreation area in 1972 and received landmarking designations in 1976 and 1986. Today, the island is operated by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is open for tours. Alcatraz even has its own website at nps.gov/alcatraz/.

Summer is only 11 days away and the National Weather Service has a snow warning in effect for the  Cascades.  Hunh?  Forecasters expected 5 to 10 inches of wet snow above the 3,500-foot level this morning in the Cascades and lesser amounts down to as low as 2,500 feet. It was snowing on Snoqualmie Pass early today with slush on the roadway. While we topped out at 59 degrees here in Olympia yesterday, the temperature only made it to 55 at Sea-Tac Airport which the National Weather Service says is a record low-maximum for the date. Other record low-maximums yesterday were 54 at Hoquiam and 54 at Bellingham.

Gas prices actually DROPPED overnight here in Oly. Granted the average was only down 1.2 cents but it was down.  AAA reports yesterday's average at $4.266 per gallon and this morning's at $4.254.

Perhaps the bloodletting has begun in Camp Mariner.  The Ms fired batting coach Jeff Pentland yesterday. He was replaced by former Mariner hitting coach Lee Elia. The Mariners are hitting .248 (13th) with an on-base percentage of .305 (14th) in the 14-team American League. Some of the blogs around the Northwest are calling for more firings including Howard Lincoln, Chuck Armstrong, Bill Bavasi, and John McClaren. Although one blogger did point out that Bavasi's ineptitude has helped -- perhaps even saved -- baseball in Seattle.  Bavasi was the GM of the Angels in 1995 when they performed one of the worst late-season collapses in major league history.  On August 10th of that year, the Angels had an 11-game lead in the AL West. A nine-game losing streak cut the lead to 5-and-a-half games. The lead stood at six on September 13th before a second nine-game losing streak knocked the Angels out of first place. If the Angels hadn't collapsed, Seattle couldn't have had the season they had in 1995 -- the season that saved baseball in the Northwest.

 
Edgar Martinez and The Double in 1995

By the way, Ken Griffey Jr. (featured in the above clip) joined a very exclusive club last night as he launched his 600th career homer. How exclusive is it?  Junior is only the sixth member. The former Mariner great joins Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Sammy Sosa.

Trivia Answer: James Earl Ray was convicted of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On April 4 of 1968, Dr. King was staying at a motel in Memphis. He was shot and killed while standing on the motel's second floor balcony. A little more than two months after King's death, Ray was captured at London's Heathrow Airport while trying to leave the United Kingdom on a false Canadian passport in the name of Ramon George Sneyd. Ray was quickly extradited to Tennessee and charged with murder. He confessed to the assassination on March 10, 1969. He was sentenced to 99 years in prison. On the advice of his attorney, Ray took a guilty plea to avoid a trial conviction and the possibility of receiving the death penalty. Ray later recanted his confession and fired his attorney. Ray also later claimed that a man he met in Montreal using the alias "Raoul" had been deeply involved in the shooting, as was his brother Johnny. However, he claimed he was not involved, further asserting that although he didn't "personally shoot Dr. King" he may have been "partially responsible without knowing it," hinting at a conspiracy. He spent the remainder of his life attempting (unsuccessfully) to withdraw his guilty plea and secure the trial he never had. In 1997, Martin Luther King's son Dexter King met with Ray, and publicly supported Ray's efforts to obtain a retrial. Loyd Jowers, a restaurant owner in Memphis, was brought to civil court and sued as being part of a conspiracy to murder Martin Luther King. Jowers was found liable, and the King family was awarded $100 in restitution to show that they were not pursuing the case for financial gain. The King family does not believe Ray had anything to do with the murder of Martin Luther King. The escape mentioned in the clue occured on June 10, 1977. Ray and six other convicts escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee. They were recaptured three days later and returned to prison. For the escape, Ray had one more year added to his previous sentence to bring the total to 100 years. Ray died in prison on April 23, 1998, at the age of 70 from complications related to kidney disease.

In a season of nasty, negative statistics for the Mariners, a new one cropped up Saturday. It was Seattle's 40th loss of the season ... and it came on June 7th, making this club the franchise's fastest to 40 losses. In the second year of the franchise, 1978, the Mariners reached 40 losses on June 10th. That team needed fewer games (59) to get there than the 2008 team (62), but the calendar doesn't lie. That 1978 team went on to lose 104 games. With losses both Saturday and Sunday this weekend, the Mariners are on pace for 105 losses, which would be the most in club history. One difference between the teams is that the 1978 team was supposed to be kicked around. The 2008 team was picked by some to win the AL West. Another difference is the payroll. The 1978 Mariners had a small payroll of $1,462,000. This season the club's payroll is $117 million.

Hillary Clinton suspended her campaign over the weekend and has thrown her support behind Barack Obama. According to her advisers, Hillary Clinton's campaign debt has swollen to more than $30 million, including $11 million she lent the effort.

If you're keeping track, we're down to 149 days left in campaign 2008.

John McCain and Barack Obama rejected an offer yesterday from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and ABC News to host the first proposed presidential town hall because they don't want it limited to one television network. The campaigns said the candidates want the meetings open for broadcast on all television networks and/or on the Internet.

Headlines on Sunday were making a big deal out of the fact that AAA was reporting the average price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline had crossed the $4 mark. Here in Washington -- and particularly here in Olympia -- that's old news.  Indeed AAA is reporting the price here in Oly today is $4.266.

Trivia Answer: The Triple Crown starts with The Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday of May. The Preakness follows two weeks later. The Belmont Stakes is three weeks after The Preakness in early June.  So, here in the United States, the Triple Crown of horse racing consists of the:

1. Kentucky Derby, run over 1.25 miles at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky
2. Preakness Stakes, run over 1.1875 miles at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland
3. Belmont Stakes, run over 1.50 miles at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York

Bonus question: What is Baseball's Triple Crown? It's a designation for a hitter who leads his league in home runs, batting average, and runs batted in at the end of a regular season. It's not been achieved since 1967 when Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox did it.  It was during the '67 season that the Red Sox shocked New England and the rest of the baseball world by winning the American League Championship and reaching the World Series for the first time since 1946. The season had one of the most memorable finishes in baseball history, as the AL pennant race went to the very last game, with Boston beating out the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins by a single game.  The Sox went on to lose the series in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals.

AAA says it's another record day for gas prices here in Olympia.  A gallon of regular unleaded is averaging $4.227.  Kind of a scary graph to the right isn't it?  It's the national and Washington averages for the last 12 months. Of course, gas prices are going up everywhere.  There's a couple in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, that was apparently trying to beat the high cost of gas by hoarding it.  The fire chief (you know this can't end well if the fire department's involved) says the couple had about 45 gallons of gas in nine plastic jugs stacked in a closet that also housed an air conditioning unit.  The fumes ignited and residents of eight units in the apartment complex were displaced.  Officials say the couple may face civil penalties for violating the fire code. 

In politics, four more superdelegates from our state came out in support of Barack Obama yesterday.  Those same individuals also placed bets that Big Brown will win the Kentucky Derby.

If you're into the numbers thing, make a note.  Tomorrow is 6/7/8 -- the sixth month, seventh day, eighth year.  Don't know that it means anything but it's kind of cool.  

Trivia Answer: The Ed Sullivan Show.  The show was originally titled Toast of the Town, but was widely referred to as The Ed Sullivan Show for years.  That became its official name in September of 1955.  The show was broadcast live from CBS-TV Studio 50 in New York City, which is now named The Ed Sullivan Theater and is the home of The Late Show with David Letterman.  The Ed Sullivan Show is especially known to today's generation for airing breakthrough performances by Elvis Presley and The Beatles. 

"I wouldn't have Presley on my show at any time." — Ed Sullivan, early 1956

"And now, here is Elvis Presley!" — Ed Sullivan, October 28, 1956

Ed Sullivan on What's My Line

Well, emotions boiled over as the Mariners circling of the drain continued with another loss.  Yesterday started with the team president Chuck Armstrong yelling at the coaches. Then, after the Mariners' 5-4 loss to the Angels at Safeco Field, manager John McLaren's cut loose as you can hear here:

Gas prices keep on climbing.  It seems we're good for about a penny a day.  According to AAA, today's average for a gallon of unleaded regular here in Oly is $4.219.

Ted Kennedy delivering the closing part of the eulogy at the funeral of his brother Bobby

Trivia Answer: Sirhan Sirhan shot Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Kennedy had defeated Eugene McCarthy in the critical California primary but was shot shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, dying the next day. On June 9th, President Johnson declared an official day of national mourning in response to the public grief following Kennedy's death. The next day, the Rolling Stones amended their then-new song "Sympathy for the Devil" to reference the event. David Crosby was also inspired to write "Long Time Gone" in memory of the senator. Speaking to The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, S.D., Hillary Clinton -- defending staying in the race for the democratic nomination -- said: “You know, my husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California.”

Today's Trivia: A patent was issued on this date in 1973 to Don Wetzel, Tom Barnes, and George Chastain for the modern networked version of this. It was invented five years earlier in Dallas, Texas, by Wetzel who was at the time a department head at an automated baggage-handling company called Docutel. In 1995 the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History recognized Docutel and Wetzel as the inventors of this. What is it?

Thanks to Scot Whitney from Harlequin Productions for stopping by the broadcast this morning to chat about the stage production of "The Rocky Horror Show" which is at the State Theater in Downtown Olympia starting tonight.  Scot pointed out that the audience will show up knowing their lines -- the lines from the movie -- and the cast will show up knowing their lines.  The interesting part is that the cast knows the audience's lines ... but the audience doesn't know the cast's lines.  You can listen to the interview with Scot in the Audio Area by clicking here.

Writing in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer this morning, Art Thiel says it's time to unload Richie Sexson:

"Listening to John McLaren dutifully protect Richie Sexson, I wished I had the Mariners manager on my side in the principal's office after I broke a school window. Not only would the episode shift from intentional to accidental, I'd be praised for picking the window that already had a chip in it.  McLaren has stood by his man so long, he may as well be Tammy Wynette. If the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge had this much support, we would never have heard of Galloping Gertie. McLaren doesn't want to say what the public can see with three layers of gauze over its many eyes: Sexson has been borderline helpless at the plate. For almost a year and a half. And it's dragging down the team. It's time for the Mariners to release him."

Gas prices just keep on climbing.  AAA reports it's up to $4.21 on average here in Olympia this morning.

Trivia Answer: The Automated Teller Machine, also known as the ATM.  The computerized telecommunications device that provides the customers of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public space without the need for a human clerk or bank teller.  Interesting to note that a mechanical cash dispenser was developed, built, and installed in 1939 in New York City by the City Bank of New York, but it was removed after six months because of a lack of customer acceptance.  ATMs first came into widespread use in 1973 in the United Kingdom. The IBM 2984 was designed at the request of Lloyds Bank. The 2984 CIT (Cash Issuing Terminal) was the first true machine similar in function to the machines we use today. They were online and issued a variable amount of money which was immediately deducted from the account.  

The campaign countdown continues.  Another 154 days to go.  One phase comes to a close today, though.  The primary season wraps up with the votes in South Dakota and Montana.  There are mixed messages coming from Camp Hillary this morning.  On the one hand there are reports from the Associated Press that Hillary Clinton will concede tonight that Barack Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination.  On the other hand, Ms. Clinton's campaign chairman told CNN that she is "absolutely not" prepared to admit Barack has beaten her in the race for the nomination.  Things may -- or may not -- be much clearer at this time tomorrow. 

Ahh, the Mariners. They've got Los Angeles right where they want them. With last night's loss to the Angels the Ms are now 13-and-a-half games out of first place in the American League West. They're just a half game worse than they were on August 2nd back in 1995. You'll recall -- and who could forget -- that team came back to win the AL West in the greatest two months of baseball the Northwest has ever seen. There are four months left in this season so there's plenty of time to duplicate 1995, right? What could be easier? Scaling Mt. Everest? Hitching a ride to the International Space Station? Not needing to wear fleece in June in the South Sound?

Reports are this morning that Senator Ted Kennedy's brain surgery went well.  Next up, Paula Abdul.

I've always heard that what goes up must come down.  Well, I'm waiting on gas prices to figure that out.  As of this morning, AAA reports the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular here in Olympia is now at a record $4.176.

If you're having a bad day, just be thankful the pictures below aren't pics from your life.