Mornin' Mail

The Mornin' Mail is published every weekday except major holidays
Thursday, August 8, 2002 Volume XI, Number 37

Did Ya Know?. . .The Carthage Masonic Lodge #197 will hold election of officers during the regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Thurs., Aug. 8th at the Masonic Hall in Carthage. All members are encouraged to participate.

Did Ya Know?. . .The Fair Acres Family YMCA is currently accepting registrations for Youth Flag Football (ages 5-12) and Youth Volleyball (5th-6th Grade). All games will be played on Saturdays. For more information contact Jarrod Newcomb or Alicia Smith at 358-1070. Financial assistance is available.

Did Ya Know?. . .The Carthage Girl Scouts will have an "Eco-Action Fair" from 1-4 p.m. on Sun., Aug. 11th at the Northeast Shelter of Municipal Park. Look for banners. For more information contact the Girl Scout Council at 417-623-8277.

today's laugh

There are two kinds of thinkers in the world. Those who think they can and those who think they can’t...and they’re both right.

Red: I’d give a thousand dollars to anyone who would do my worrying for me.
Ted: You’re on. Where’s the thousand.
Red: That’s your first worry.

Nothing is harder to do secretly than stub your toe.

1902
INTERESTING MELANGE.
A Chronological Record of Events as they have Transpired in the City and County since our last Issue.

WATER MADE TROUBLE.

"Water in the mines has probably given more trouble in this district in the last thirty days than ever known before," said an old prospector today. "This is not because the recent heavy rains have put more water in the ground than we have often had before, but the miners were less prepared to handle it. We had three very dry years preceding this and little effort was generally required to keep water properly pumped out of the shafts during that time. Indeed, some shafts had a deficiency of water supply.

"During this period many new shafts have been sunk. Naturally they were equipped sufficiently only to pump the minimum water seepage encountered at such a time. Naturally also they were swamped until they added more pumping capacity.

"Also many of the old plants found it unnecessary to immediately replace some one of their pumps that may have worn out during the dry period."

	Today's Feature Governor Holden's STATEMENT Concerning the Defeat of Proposition B "For ten years, there has been little progress on the transportation issue due in large part to the preoccupation with placing blame for prior mistakes and inaction. I find the comments of Senator Kinder and the Missouri Farm Bureau disappointing and disingenuous since they did absolutely nothing to promote Proposition B. More importantly, their comments are counterproductive because they continue to focus public attention on placing blame rather than finding a solution to Missouri’s transportation problems. This blame game must stop. Proposition B passed the General Assembly with my backing and broad bipartisan support in both chambers. I endorsed this proposal and did everything the Time for Missouri campaign asked me to do in support of the measure. I will continue to seek solutions to rebuild the infrastructure to support Missouri’s future." Governor Bob Holden August 7, 2002 NASCAR to the Max Though it was the young guns that dominated the top 10 finishers at Sundays Brickyard 400 from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it was a wily veteran that took home the winners trophy. Bill Elliott, one of the oldest drivers on the circuit at 46, won for the second week in a row and was followed to the stripe by another cagey veteran, Rusty Wallace who is 45. Wallace has now finished as the runner-up three times at the Brickyard. The average age of the next 7 finishers was 29 with Ryan Newman being the youngest at 24. Elliott, who is experiencing a renewal in his career, has won 3 of the last 23 races dating back to last season. Prior to his win last year, he had not won since 1994, a span of 266 races. Two years ago Elliott was considering retiring. This is not to say his recent victories have not been flukes. He dominated Sunday’s race leading 94 of the 160 laps. A wreck involving Kurt Busch and Jimmy Spencer relegated Busch to the "Did Not Finish" category. The two have had several run-ins in the past with the Sunday’s evolving into a series of insults. NASCAR has informed both drivers and their owners that their presence will be required in the NASCAR Trailer (NASCAR’s woodshed) before qualifying this Friday. The conference will likely include reprimands, potential probation and/or the threat of monetary or point penalties if their feud escalates. This weekend the series will race at the Watkins Glen International Raceway for the second of the season’s two road races. The layout for the NASCAR circuit is a nine-turn, 2.45-mile circuit. The road course races typically favor drivers who have raced there before and who have more road racing experience. Ricky Rudd won the season’s first road race with Jeff Gordon winning this race last season. Gordon could use this race to break out of his 29 race winless streak. Look for several road course specialists from other series’ to be used as fill-in drivers to help compose the 43-car field.
	Just Jake Talkin' Mornin', Heard of some interestin’ mergers that are bein’ proposed. 3M and Goodyear, if merged could become MMMGood. Zippo Mfg., Audi Motor Car, Dofasco and Dakota Mining would merge to become ZipAudiDoDa. Federal Express might join its major competitor, UPS, and consolidate as FedUP. Polygram Records, Warner Bros. and Zesta Crackers could join forces and become Polly, Warner, Cracker. Then there’s the possibility of Knotts Berry Farm and the National Organization of Women considering a merger to be come the famous KnottNOW. With the market settlin’ down, these combinations may be where the big money is. This is some fact, but mostly, Just Jake Talkin’.
Sponsored by Metcalf Auto Supply	Weekly Column Click & Clack TALK CARS By Tom & Ray Magliozzi Dear Tom & Ray: I’m planning to buy a new Toyota RAV4, and I know I want all-wheel drive and anti-lock braking system. We’ll mostly use it on-road, but sometimes we have to drive in snow and ice in the winter and up a steep, rocky, sometimes muddy driveway during the summer. One option Toyota offers is "limited slip differential." I haven’t been able to find out anything about what this thing does or whether I need it. Can you tell me? — David. TOM: The differential is a magic box containing six gears that sits in the middle of the axle, between two drive wheels. And its job is to allow those two wheels to turn at different speeds, while still delivering power. Wheels have to be able to turn at different speeds, because when you’re making a turn, the outside wheels always travel farther, and therefore, faster than the inside wheels. RAY: Why are we telling you all this nonsense? Well, stay with us, because here’s the evil, dark side of this miraculous differential: If one wheel in on ice or hung up in the air, the differential sends 100 percent of power to that spinning wheel. And if one wheel is getting 100 percent of the power from the differential, the other wheel must be getting what? 0 percent! TOM: So what a limited slip differential does is it fixes that differential oversight. When one wheel is spinning, a set of clutches inside a limited slip differential shift some of the power to the other wheel, so the wheel that’s NOT stuck has power, too. RAY: So the answer is yes, David, it is something you want. Even with all-wheel drive, you could get into a situation where both axles of your RAV4 had one wheel on ice. In that situation, without limited slip, you’d be stuck. With it, you’d be home free.