This is the 244th Aviation out of Hammond on their way to deployment in Iraq. On their way they saluted the National Champion LSU Tigers with a flyover Tiger Stadium. Check out the new logo on the field.

One thing that’s great about being a human is that we can train animals to do our bidding. But there are some animals . . . like goldfish . . . that we’ve never been able to train. Until now.

–That’s because there’s a 41-year-old guy named Dean Pomerleau from Los Angeles, California, who’s taught his goldfish, Comet, to play fetch, slalom around a series of poles, and even limbo under a bar. So how did he do it?

–Dean says he always knew fish were smarter than we gave them credit for . . . but he didn’t know how to prove it. So he started using positive reinforcement to teach Comet to do tricks.

–According to Dean, that means he used food to, quote, “reinforce successive, increasingly accurate approximations of a desired behavior.”

–So if Dean wanted to teach Comet to push a lever, he’d first reward the fish just for turning toward the lever. But through a system of repetition and rewards, Dean was eventually able to train Comet to push the lever . . . and to do all that other stuff too.

–Now Dean’s teamed up with a pet product firm called R2 Solutions to design a special kit so that people can train their goldfish to do tricks, too.

(Daily Mail)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buQKZOaB6cY

30-year-old Tiffany Shepherd is a seriously hot high school teacher at Port St. Lucie High School in Florida (–30 miles north of Palm Beach). Or I should say she WAS a high school teacher. She got fired last week.

–Tiffany says the school district canned her because they found out about her second job. See, she works for a company that provides fishing charters.

–But the best part of these fishing tours isn’t the fishing . . . it’s the unnaturally large-breasted hot chicks that accompany you while you fish.

–The ladies basically wait on you in their bikinis. They’ll get you food and drinks, bend over and pick up the fish hook you dropped, maybe even bait your line for you.

–Tiffany says she took the second job because two days of working there pays just as much as a whole week of teaching . . . and she’s a single mom who needs to take care of her three boys (–which almost ruins for it me. ALMOST).

–But that doesn’t matter to the school district according to Tiffany. She says they fired her because her other job is too risqué and makes the school look bad.

–For what it’s worth, the school district says they fired Tiffany because she missed more than 30 days of school and received two written reprimands for being absent. They also say they didn’t even know about Tiffany’s second job until after they fired her.

(Palm Beach Post)

Here is a picture of Kathy and Tom from their date last night!

Congratulations go out to three-year-old Brady Arneson of Red Wing, Minnesota (–which is just southeast of Minneapolis), for taking home first place in this year’s Minnesota Mullet Contest.

–The contest is held once a year, and it’s sponsored by “Hockey Moms” magazine . . . which is a Minnesota-based publication that’s distributed at hockey arenas.

–The pressure was really on for Brady and his mullet this year. That’s because Brady’s brother . . . five-year-old Blake . . . took home the Best Mullet Award three years ago in 2005.

–Unfortunately, Brady’s dad, Scott, says they’re probably going to cut off Brady’s mullet soon to help him keep cool this summer.

(Associated Press / Grand Forks Herald)

Kenny Chesney’s concert schedule will not be affected by his injury during Saturday night’s show. Kenny was aboard a hydraulic lift used during the opening of his concert in Columbia, S.C. He was being elevated onto a stage while the band provided the introduction to his opening song.

Chesney’s boot was lodged between the lift and the stage for nearly 40 seconds as the lift motor kept trying to push the platform up. Chesney managed to complete his performance that lasted almost two hours, but he was in considerable pain and received two shots of morphine after leaving the stage.

And while initial reports said he crushed bones in his foot, Chesney later consulted with the Tennessee Titans’ sports medicine and orthopedic specialist. The diagnosis is that Chesney sustained a hematoma from the ankle down — with most of the damage in his toes.

Chesney told his doctor that he wanted to avoid cancelling any concerts. So– his next show takes place Thursday in Austin, Texas.

KENNY’s VIDEO LINK

Click here.

Toby Keith was right in the middle of his USO performance in Afghanistan when a mortar fire on the base interrupted. He and his band hunkered down with the soldiers in a bunker for about an hour. They signed autographs and took photos to pass the time.

When the all-clear was sounded, Toby went back on stack and picked up exactly where he left off, finishing his song, and then the show.

(Toby’s 14-day USO tour – his sixth in as many years – continues through this week.)