Category Archives: Uncategorized

May 19, 2011 · 9:29 am

Nation Down To Last Hundred Grown-Ups | The Onion

Great satirical article from “The Onion”, of course….

Please click the link at the bottom to read the entire article.

It’s worth it….

SUITLAND, MD—According to alarming new figures released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau, the nation’s population of mature adults has been pushed to the brink of extinction, with only 104 grown-ups remaining in the country today.

The endangered demographic, which is projected to die out completely by 2060, is reportedly distinguished from other groups by numerous unique traits, including foresight, rationality, understanding of how to obtain and pay for a mortgage, personal responsibility, and the ability to enter a store without immediately purchasing whatever items they see and desire.

“Our grown-ups are disappearing at a much faster rate than we previously believed,” said Census Bureau chief Robert M. Groves, who believes the decline in responsible adults may now be irreversible. “Unfortunately, we’ve only recently noticed this terrible trend, perhaps because of this group’s unusual capacity to endure hardships with quiet dignity instead of whining loudly to draw attention to themselves.”

“If nothing is done, these wondrous individuals, with their special ability to consider the long-term consequences of their own behavior and act accordingly, will be wiped-out completely,” Groves added.

According to recent data, the grown-up population has plummeted dramatically since 1950, when a Census count found that more than 24 million Americans could both admit when they were wrong and respect a viewpoint other than their own. Today, only one in three million citizens can provide thoughtful advice to a fellow human being instead of immediately shifting the topic to their own personal issues or what they had for lunch.

Experts confirmed the mass extinction of grown-ups has coincided with the rapid expansion of other demographic groups, including people who seek medication for every problem they encounter, 33-year-olds who participate in organized kickball leagues, personal injury litigants, and parents who try to become friends with their own children.

MORE:   Nation Down To Last Hundred Grown-Ups | The Onion – America’s Finest News Source.

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May 18, 2011 · 5:02 pm

Ocracoke Island Vacation Journal: Part 2

We are a little more than halfway through our vacation on Ocracoke and I can already tell it’s going to be too short.

I’m not blogging much due to a dicey internet connection.  That also means I’m not really following the news….

It’s nice to take a bit of a break from it all and focus on simpler things that are more immediate and real…

We went for a walk on the beach yesterday.  The beaches here are amazing.  They are all protected National Seashore….No houses, condo’s, hotels, restaurants or bars are allowed.  They are natural- just as they have always been.

I’m not much for actually sitting on the beach.  That concept is, to me, much better than the reality.  I hate sand getting into everything.  I don’t like sticky smelly seawater and oily sunscreen makes my face break out…

When I first saw “From Here to Eternity” and the famous scene of Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr kissing and embracing in the surf as the waves crashed over them, all I could think of was that they had to be getting sand all up their bathing suits and that they couldn’t possibly be comfortable.  It seemed to me that they should have just checked into the Hilton like normal people in their, uh, situation…

But, still, I do love Ocracoke.   I do enjoy these walks and being around such beautiful isolation.

It’s nice to be away from it all and I could definitely use another week.  It’s been a stressful year and Ocracoke is the perfect place to de-stress and focus on the simple things in life.  Like reading and deciding where to have dinner.

There are really some excellent restaurants on this island.

Our favorite restaurant is easily “The Flying Melon”.  Imagine country French food made with local seafood only hours out of the water.  And fabulous deserts.  We eat there several times when we are here…

“Jason’s” is also a favorite.  In this case, imagine a New York Italian Restaurant that does seafood.  Great pizza’s and sandwiches and the best Pesto Pasta- with fresh shrimp or scallops- that I’ve ever had.
“The Back Porch is probably the most famous restaurant on the Island.  We ate there last night.  They are coasting on their reputation.  We only go every few years to check it out and see if it’s improved.  It hasn’t.  It’s just okay.  “The Flying Melon” has them beat in every conceivable way…

Tonight, it’s off to “Dajios.”  This is a new restaurant in a very nice space that use to be
“The Pelican”.  The food is much better than the former incarnation.  It’s great place with an outdoor patio and live music.  Tonight we are going to hear Katy Mitchell, a local artist who’s CD we bought a few years ago and greatly enjoyed.  There are a lot of talented musicians on Ocracoke and good live music is often available here…

Tomorrow night is a wine tasting at “Zillies”.  We always enjoy that, but usually end up too drunk to do anything but order pizza afterwards…

Our friend Michael, now from Portland, and his- now our-friend Jim were on Island Monday night.  We celebrated Michael’s birthday with a very nice meal at “Cafe Atlantic” and stayed up til midnight having entirely too much wine.

Tonight and tomorrow, we’ll be enjoying the company of our friends Lee and  Michael- fellow Greensboro residents and Ocracoke devotees who usually come the same week we do.  It will be great, as always, to spend time with them here on the island.

The weather has been good, but questionable.  Always seeming to be on the verge of rain…

As I said, it’s a great place to get away– but not from too much!

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May 18, 2011 · 2:39 pm

21 Reasons Why May 21 Is NOT The End Of The World

I hate to miss this, but we’ll be on our way home from Ocracoke….

Still, here is someone explaining why we don’t have to worry anyway….

For the Huffington Post:

Those who claim to have knowledge of the situation say “Judgment Day” will take place May 21. A Christian radio network has gone so far to “guarantee” this will happen.

As the date gets closer, the panic has spread. Billboards are being put up and people are walking with signs on the streets. There are even Craigslist ads seeking to make out on the pending fire sale.

But is May 21 really the end? Nope. And we have the top 21 reasons why.

via 21 Reasons Why May 21 Is NOT The End Of The World.

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May 14, 2011 · 11:49 pm

On Ocracoke….

I just warned to let you know postings will be few and far between until around May 22.

I’m on vacation on Ocracoke Island on the North Carolina Outer Banks with limited Internet access.

I’ll catch up with you when I can– and have much to say when I get back…

Time is a different concept on Ocracoke….

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May 13, 2011 · 5:33 pm

Chris Matthews: Bush Was ‘Wise Ass Rich Kid’ About bin Laden

And as a follow-up to my previous post…

Another perspective:

MSNBC host Chris Matthews said Tuesday that former President George W. Bush had a “wise ass” attitude about terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

“I’m not a Bush hater, but that was wise-ass behavior there,” he said. “Just wise-ass. I mean this is the rich kid acting like I don’t care about that old girlfriend that dumped me. That was behavioral weirdness right there.”

Matthews’ guest Joan Walsh suggested Bush tried to downplay the importance of capturing or killing Osama bin Laden so that Americans would focus on Saddam Hussein and Iraq.

via Chris Matthews: Bush was ‘wise ass rich kid’ about bin Laden | Raw Replay.

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May 12, 2011 · 2:40 pm

McDonald’s Revamps Stores to Look Like Starbucks

I’m glad they are so focused on the aesthetics, but what about the food?

Remember that Happy Meal Test?

They are still serving those hamburgers that never decompose when left outside for months….

McDonald’s is looking less like McDonald’s and more like Starbucks.

By Brian Blanco, for USA TODAY

At a time when most of McDonald’s competitors are still shell-shocked from the recent recession, the fast-food giant is undertaking its biggest store-by-store makeover in the chain’s 56-year history: The 500-pound clown of fast food is trying to look more like a grown-up.

It’s a $1 billion-plus undertaking that McDonald’s and its franchisees hope, by 2015, will have the vast majority of America’s 14,000 McDonald’s looking comfortable enough to hang out in long after you’ve gobbled down your burger, fries — and smoothie.

For the next generation of McDonald’s customers, the notion of what a McDonald’s restaurant looks like inside and out could be turned on its head. Goodbye, fiberglass tables and industrial steel chairs. Adios, neon-yellow, bright-red interiors. Hello, wooden tables, comfortable faux leather chairs and interiors newly painted in muted oranges, yellows and even subtle greens.

Take away all the McDonald’s signage — and the familiar front counter area — and customers who were to drive by or step inside wouldn’t likely know they were face-to-face with a McDonald’s. Even from the street, many of the changes are immediately apparent. No more clown-red roofs. No more confusion about what door to use. And that all-too-familiar white facade has been replaced with more inviting earth tones and glass.

More:  McDonald’s revamps stores to look more upscale – USATODAY.com.

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May 12, 2011 · 8:00 am

Liberals in Southern Arizona Seek to Form New State

From a political standpoint, I find Arizona a very scary place….

That’s one of the many reasons I could never live there….

I can understand where these folks in Tucson are coming from….

TUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) – A long-simmering movement by liberal stalwarts in southern Arizona to break away from the rest of the largely conservative state is at a boiling point as secession backers press to bring their longshot ambition to the forefront of Arizona politics.

A group of lawyers from the Democratic stronghold of Tucson and surrounding Pima County have launched a petition drive seeking support for a November 2012 ballot question on whether the 48th state should be divided in two.

The ultimate goal of the newly formed political action committee Start our State is to split Pima County off into what would become the nation’s 51st state, tentatively dubbed Baja Arizona.

via Liberals in southern Arizona seek to form new state | TPM News Pages.

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May 12, 2011 · 5:30 am

Koch Fueling Far Right Academic Centers At Universities Across The Country

Lot’s of interesting information at ThinkProgress.org today…

Seems the Koch Brothers Campaign to buy America has gone beyond buying the Government to trying to buy the Higher Educational system as well.

These are some seriously scary people….

Yesterday, ThinkProgress highlighted reports from the St. Petersburg Times and the Tallahassee Democrat regarding a Koch-funded economics department at Florida State University (FSU). FSU had accepted a $1.5 million grant from a foundation controlled by petrochemical billionaire Charles Koch on the condition that Koch’s operatives would have a free hand in selecting professors and approving publications. The simmering controversy sheds light on the vast influence of the Koch political machine, which spans from the top conservative think tanks, Republican politicians, a small army of contracted lobbyists, and Tea Party front groups in nearly every state.

As reporter Kris Hundley notes, Koch virtually owns much of George Mason University, another public university, through grants and direct control over think tanks within the school. For instance, Koch controls the Mercatus Center of George Mason University, an institute that set much of the Bush administration’s environmental deregulation policy. And similar conditional agreements have been made with schools like Clemson and West Virginia University. ThinkProgress has analyzed data from the Charles Koch Foundation, and found that this trend is actually much larger than previous known. Many of the Koch university grants finance far right, pro-polluter professors, and dictate that students read Charles Koch’s book as part of their academic study:

MORE:   ThinkProgress » REPORT: Koch Fueling Far Right Academic Centers At Universities Across The Country.

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May 11, 2011 · 10:49 pm

Florida’s Bestiality Law May Have Accidentally Outlawed Sex Entirely

Posted without comment…..

Via The Huffington Post:

There may be some terrible news to report out of Florida today, depending on how the state’s residents have collectively decided to apply the basic science of biological classification to their lives. Last week, we noted some good news: The Florida legislature had finally passed a law that would outlaw bestiality and preserve the innocence of Florida’s native fauna.

At the time, I posited that only shiny-pated grifter-Governor Rick Scott could possibly foul up the effort. But over at Southern Fried Science, blogger “Andrew” points out that the law’s wording has basically outlawed sex entirely:

An act relating to sexual activities involving animals; creating s. 828.126, F.S.; providing definitions; prohibiting knowing sexual conduct or sexual contact with an animal; prohibiting specified related activities; providing penalties; providing that the act does not apply to certain husbandry, conformation judging, and veterinary practices; providing an effective date.

Click here for a handy visual provided by Southern Fried Science that elucidates the fact that human beings are smack dab in the middle of the animal kingdom — by which he means the “group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia” and not the horse that won the 2011 Kentucky Derby (being “smack dab in the middle” of a thoroughbred horse is a situation the law originally intended to prevent).

Andrew ends with a quip:

So if you’re living in Florida on October 1, 2011 and would like to have sexual intercourse with a consenting adult, please check with your veterinarian or local livestock breeder first to make sure you abide by “accepted animal husbandry practices, conformation judging practices, or accepted veterinary medical practices.”

via Florida’s Bestiality Law May Have Accidentally Outlawed Sex Entirely.

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May 11, 2011 · 10:30 pm

An Average American Pays A Higher Income Tax Rate Than ExxonMobil

An interesting fact that I’ve pointed out before…

Bears repeating…

All around the country, Americans are feeling the pinch of high gas prices. Yet one group that is not only not feeling the pain of these prices but is profiting off of them are the big oil companies.

In fact, ExxonMobil, “the largest American oil company,” raked in $30.5 billion in profit in 2010, “making it the most profitable Fortune 500 company for the eighth year in a row.”

The Center for American Progress’s Valeri Vasquez has put out a new report titled “Exxon Mobil Dodges the Tax Man,” which finds that the effective income tax rate for the average American is higher than the effective rate for the oil giant over the past few years. The effective tax rate for the average American in 2007, the last year for which data is available, was 20.4 percent. The annual Exxon federal effective rate between 2008 and 2010, meanwhile, was 17.6 percent:

via ThinkProgress » GRAPH: An Average American Pays A Higher Income Tax Rate Than ExxonMobil.

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