I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more often…

A man injured in a Downtown fire yesterday died this morning at UPMC Mercy Hospital.

The medical examiner’s office said Richard Piotrowski, 62, was pronounced dead at 5:17 a.m. at Mercy’s burn unit.

He was hurt when a blaze broke out about 7 a.m. yesterday at the Roosevelt Arms apartments on Penn Avenue. Police said he was smoking while using oxygen.

Oxygen is flammable.  Oxygen is what allows fire to burn - your charcoal grill wouldn’t work without it this summer - or in summer’s past as this isn’t a new revelation.

So, what dumbasses think it’s a good idea to smoke while hooked up to an oxygen tank.  It really is a catastrophe waiting to happen. Thankfully it didn’t happen on a street corner where it might have taken out parents who beat their crying kids while waiting for the bus. God forbid… actually wait, Einstein wrote in a letter (which is up for auction) that religion and people looking for a god-like figure is “childish”.

In the letter, he states: “The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.”

Einstein, who was Jewish and who declined an offer to be the state of Israel’s second president, also rejected the idea that the Jews are God’s favoured people.

“For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. As far as my experience goes, they are no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything ‘chosen’ about them.”

But this is not and has never been a secret…

It was hard to be an atheist before The Origin of Species. Einstein is the only member of your list who was born into the post-Darwinian world, and it is no accident that he was also the only one who didn’t believe in God. He declared: “It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. “

But to call it childish is just plain awesome. If only the head-technology of Futurama was around to reanimate Einstein and Carl Sagan… life might be a bit more interesting.

And since there is no god.  You should pray to Me.

Residents in Squirrel Hill call for an Entmoot in wake of Pittsburgh Public Works Director Guy “Saruman” Costa revelation that the trees pose a hazard and even brought in a consulting company to agree with him. The Ents are not pleased.

SQUIRREL HILL (KDKA) ― Thousands of shade trees in Pittsburgh neighborhoods are coming down as part of the city’s plan to remove old or dying trees.

But some residents in Squirrel Hill were caught off guard by the program and want it stopped until the matter can be discussed in a public forum.

Resident Terri Glueck calls the damage irreversible.

“It will denude this entire block of its green leafy canopy and make a dramatic and diminished impact on the neighborhood,” she said.

…the $8 million plan is still largely unfunded, currently lacking the money for the replacement trees. And the residents are tying green ribbons around many of the trees saying they’re still viable and should be spared.

In response, I encourage Everyone to tie a tree-hugger to one of the listed trees in peaceful protest. We will be responsible for their welfare during this critical time of deforestation. Schedules will be provided for feeding and watering. Additional tree-huggers will be imported from the West coast and held in reserve should the need arise. However, I would prefer not to have a repeat of the 1994 Massacre in the Amazon Rainforest, during which the tree-huggers became loose and killed seventy-seven deforestation workers, wounded another 217 before they could be tranquilized and shipped back to the U.S.

Twenty-three tree-huggers are still unaccounted for and have been written off for tax purposes.

Where was Conklin earlier in the season? And hopefully the Pens can start winning games in their division!

Astronomers have discovered the Double Einstein Ring. I would have preferred they not find it this soon as they cannot possibly fathom Its meaning. We will discuss Its meaning and message when We next Gather.

Another cosmological view We need to keep an eye on is the colliding of the planets. More research and observation are needed to know if this is collision for which We’re supposed to be on the lookout. I cannot reveal more about it here, but as with the above, will discuss at the Gather.

The object, 2M1207B, has puzzled astronomers because its existence seems to defy physical possibility. Its temperature, luminosity, age and location do not match any theory.

That is what distresses Us most. Some of Our initiatives may have to be accelerated and others put on hold. Everyone must be at the ready.