Sentor Schilling a possibility, the Green Ranger looks to become an MMAer, robotic fish and the chupacabra

- I’m not sure whether Curt Schilling as a United States senator is the scariest or most appropriate thing ever. On one hand, no one likes hearing himself talk and has an opinion on EVERYTHING quite as much as Schill does and both of those are essential qualities of your top legislators. These guys are arrogant blowhards to the core and Schilling appears to be cut from the same cloth. On the other hand, the guy has no political experience that we know of and a wealth of political opinions, a dangerous combination to be sure. So when he said Wednesday that he has "some interest" in running for the seat held for nearly 50 years by Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, I had to take a moment or two to compose the appropriate reaction. Should a guy whose chief accomplishment was leading the Red Sox to the 2004 World Series title while pitching with a bum ankle and a bloody sock that may or may not have been doctored with red paint be entrusted with the power to help steer our country’s future as a member of the U.S. Senate? After all, former sports greats like Steve Largent, J.C. Watts and Bill Bradley have made it to the Senate, so could Curt Schilling do the same. And honestly….I’m still not sure where I come out. Thankfully, at this point he’s merely ruminating on the possibility and not preparing to launch his campaign. Schilling, a registered independent and longtime Republican supporter, wrote on his blog that his family and video game company are his top priorities, but, "I do have some interest in the possibility. "That being said, to get to there, from where I am today, many, many things would have to align themselves for that to truly happen.” Up to now, his most notable foray into politics came when Schilling campaigned for W. in 2004 and Sen. John McCain in 2008. Not exactly backing two political success stories, but let’s not hold that against the guy. At this point, the race for the vacant Senate seat is wide open on the Republican side. No major Republicans have taken out nomination papers to be a candidate in the Jan. 19 special election, although former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey and state Sen. Scott Brown are considering campaigns. The only Democrat who has taken out papers for a campaign is state Attorney General Martha Coakley, so the door is wide open for any interested parties to step in. In between now and Jan. 19, the fate of that Senate seat is up in the air. There is currently a bill before the Massachusetts Legislature that would allow Gov. Deval Patrick to appoint someone to the seat on an interim basis during the campaign. Also between now and Jan. 19, I need to figure out whether to get behind a possible Curt Schilling for Senate campaign or oppose it with everything I’ve got………

- Do you ever find yourself wondering what those brainiacs up at MIT are up to? Are they solving the energy crisis? Maybe they’re finding a way to create more affordable alternative-fuel vehicles. Or…..they’re creating latest generation of so-called robofish 15 years after they built the first one. That fish, "Robotuna," was created by an intrepid group of MIT researchers in 1994. As with all useful technology, robotic fish have evolved and become substantially better over the years and the newest incarnation of the robotic fish costs only a few hundred dollars and contains only 10 parts instead of the thousands used in Robotuna. The “fish” can range in length anywhere between five and 18 inches and can actually be released in open water. Pablo Valdivia Alvarado, a mechanical engineer at the school, believes that the robotic fish could one day map the ocean floor, detect pollution or inspect and survey submerged boats or oil and gas pipelines. "Some of our sponsors were thinking of using them for inspection and surveillance," Alvarado said. "Since these prototypes are very cheap, the idea was to build hundreds -- 200, 500 -- and then just release them in a bay or at a port, and they would be roaming around taking measurements.” The robotic fish are modeled after tuna and bass and are built from a single, soft polymer. Electric “brains” are built into the design and the fish are powered either by internal batteries or they are tethered to a cable that runs out from the body and connects to a power supply. The researchers have put their new creation through rigorous lab testing, including two years of testing inside tanks filled with tap water, which is corrosive to standard robots. Oil exploration company Schlumberger somehow managed to scrounge up enough spare cash to help fund the research, but they’re not the only ones interested in the robofish. The U.S. Navy has also expressed interest in MIT's robofish, but the researchers aren’t wasting time patting themselves on the back. No, they’re moving on to their next set of challenges: A robotic manta ray and a terrestrial robot in the form of a salamander. Not sure what a robotic ray or salamander would be useful for, but I’ll leave that up to the MIT brainiacs to figure out……..

- I know what I should say about Roger Stephens of Stone Mountain, Georgia. Stephens was shopping at the place where all good rural-dwelling, blue-collar Americans shop, Wal-Mart, when he encountered a problem I feel confident in saying that we’ve all faced at one time or another: a loud, crying child. Whether it’s in a store, a restaurant or on a plane, everyone has at one time or another been around that kid who is upset, throwing a temper tantrum and just won't shut up. Sometimes, the parent actually puts forth the effort to calm their child down and if that’s the case, you can’t do or say much aside from glaring in their direction. However, too often the parent of the noisy child is either too lazy or too beaten down by their kid’s act to put up much of a fight. The brat rages on, screaming at the top of their lungs, swinging their arms wildly, stomping and generally annoying the crap out of everyone in their immediate vicinity. At that point, we’d all love to go over and do to that child what their parent is either too lazy or too inept to do: shut them up. We all want to do it, but none of us actually follow through, choosing things like common decency and decorum over our own peace and happiness. But not so for Roger Stephens, who marched over to the crying child’s mother, Sonya Mathews, and informed her that if she didn’t quiet down the child, he would do it for her. This was no idle threat, either; Stephens waited for Mathews to quiet her child down and when she didn’t, he approached mother and child again and slapped the child several times in the face. Point made. Stephens then reportedly added, “See, I told you I would shut her up.” For some odd reason, Mathews didn’t thank Stephens for parenting her daughter, 2-year-old Paige Mathews, for her. Instead, she overreacted and called for security. Another shopper stuck his or her nose where it didn’t belong, stopping Stephens before he could leave. Police were called to the Stone Mountain store, witnesses and participants gave statements and Stephens was charged with cruelty with children in the first degree, which is a felony. Worse still, he’s being held in the Gwinnett County Detention Center without bond. Why? Just because he smacked a 2-year-old who wouldn’t shut up? Heck, the kid wasn’t even injured and her worst “injury” was some redness in the face. Just goes to show that this country is even closer to hell in a hand basket than you thought. People can’t even administer some unsolicited, borderline-criminal corporal punishment to someone else’s kid in a public place without being arrested for it……….

- Among life’s truly worthwhile debates are a few no-doubt-about-it issues that you can always justify investing a few more minutes of conversation in. Regardless of who you are, what your socioeconomic background is and your personal religious beliefs, one of those issues was, is and always will be: Does the mythical creature known as the chupacabra really exist? Just to review, the chupacabra is a heavy creature, the size of a small bear, with a row of spines reaching from the neck to the base of the tail, that drinks the blood of livestock. For years, the debate over whether this mythical beast exists have raged on. The first sightings were reported in Mexico in 1995 and since then, spottings have been reported in the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Brazil and even the United States. Now, the student of a taxidermy school in the town of Blanco, Texas has allegedly caught a chupacabra by “placing poison...to catch an unidentified animal that had gotten into a family member's barn.” The poison did its job and this person was able to kill the creature and turn its body over to Jerry Ayer, owner of Blanco Taxidermy School. Ayers has been busy showing off his new toy, resplendent with its abnormally long legs and teeth. The creature basically resembles a large, butt-ugly dog, but so far no one has been able to confirm whether it is, in fact, a chupacabra. Heck, I’m not even sure who you’d call in for that sort of confirmation - Jim Fowler? One major problem is that of all the kooks, er, curious citizens who claim to have spotted a chupacabra over the past 15 years or so, none of them have thought to snap a picture of the animal. Maybe this time will be different, I don’t know. Ayers plans to preserve the animal and then donate it to a local museum, sharing what he calls "a tremendous conversation piece" with the masses. So is this the real deal? Tell you what, I’m choosing to side with the freaks on this one and say that yes, we finally have confirmation that the chupacabra exists, hooray……….

- Go, go….go get your ass kicked, former Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger! Jason David Frank, who you may remember as the Green Ranger from the oh, so legendary hit series "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," is now trying to go where luminaries like Jose Canseco and Kimbo Slice have tried and failed: a career as a mixed martial artist. Frank has been training with UFC lightweight Melvin Guillard and looking to prepare for a fight as soon as possible. He has no opponent at this point, but given the brutality and demanding nature of MMA, I’d say that honing his skills and figuring out how not to get your skull caved in would be a good first move before scheduling a bout. “I was supposed to fight in 2007, but it fell through. In truth, I've wanted to put the work in until I'm ready," Frank said. "I know I have a target on my back. Everyone is going to want to beat up the Green Ranger.” Based on what I can gather from Frank, that wish could come true for a lot of people - pretty much anyone who steps into the ring with the Green Ranger. After all, dude is just now making his first foray into MMA and he’s 35. There are plenty of competitors who are successful in MMA at the same age, but those guys have almost invariably been in the sport for at least a few years and have bouts under their belts. However, Frank can’t exactly be choosy with his career given that his last acting gig was a 2007 direct-to-video film called, "The Junior Defenders.” If acting is going that poorly, perhaps getting your head beat in or being choked out by some crazed, mohawk-wearing MMAer inside the cage seems like an upward move. But if dude is willing to put in the time and effort and he can find someone willing to kick his ass, er, fight him, then so be it……..