Popular Mechanics magazine cover for March 1996 - "The next Ford Taurus to get 80 miles per gallon." And this afternoon I filled the tank in my Honda CRV for $50.00 for slightly more than 12 gallons. I guess I should have bought a Ford Taurus.
Do the 'Alphabet Song' and 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' have the same tune? Why did you just hum both of those?
Some people are like a blister. They always show up after the work is done.
After I left the gas station I got hung up in slow traffic behind a woman holding her cigarette out the window of her car. The smoke drifted back and into my car. (I am extremely allergic to tobacco smoke) If she doesn't like the smell of cigarettes why does she smoke?
On the political side: President Bush is sure quiet and not helpful about the price of gas. I'm sure it has not the first thing to do with the fact that his buddies are in the oil business. But I'd only be suspicious if Col Sanders was the president and the price of chicken doubled.
John McCain promising to continue Bush's policies sounds more like a threat than a compaign.
"America is built on freedoms - of speech, religion, press, assembly, AK-47s and your face."---Mike Strobel
When all is said and done there is nothing left to say or do.
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.....................Today is as good as it gets, and our tomorrows won't be any better
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These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, EPA, FBI, DEA, CDC, or FDIC. These statements are not intended to diagnose, cause, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you feel you have been harmed/offended by, or, disagree with any of the above statements or images, please feel free to leave.
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"The trouble with Republicans is that when they get into trouble they start acting like cannibals"-Richard Nixon
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A cat, a car accident and a naked lady
A cat stuck in a fence, a naked lady and an auto accident. That was the bizarre scene in Sandy, Utah yesterday morning. Police were responding to a reported auto accident, but when officers got there they realized there was more going on.
The victim in the auto accident says he and his friend were driving around the neighbourhood, trying to find his cat, when a woman drove her car directly at them. She hit them head-on, twice.
“This lady was speeding directly toward us. I tried to warn my friend to get out of the way. It seemed like she was intent on hitting us, and she did. And as we backed out of the way, she came and hit us again!” Fred Rollins said.
Surveillance cameras from homes in the neighborhood caught the collisions and what happened next. When Rollins’ car came to a stop, he and his friend were able to get out and inspect the damage, but that’s when things got weird.
“She jumped out of the car and she was naked, stark naked, and tried to attack me or something; and then she tried to jump in my buddy’s truck and take off,” Rollins said.
In the video, you can vaguely see the woman push Rollins. He says after that, she tried getting into his car before she took off on foot. Police say she knocked on several doors and even tried getting inside one home before they arrived and took her into custody.
“Kind of different. You usually don’t get people driving around naked number one; and then, number two, acting the way that she did is very unusual,” said Sgt. Victor Quezada, spokesman for the Sandy Police Department.
The cat, almost forgotten in all the excitement, was found hiding behind a fence.
Or go to the video at the TV station that reported it. Video at the link below - (first a commercial runs the the item loads)
http://www.kalb.com/index.php/news/article/video-naked-road-rage/8242/
Blog to improve your health
I knew there was a reason I got involved in blogging a few years ago. What with so many people blogging these days the article below article explains why. There are soooooo many sick people in this world.
Self-medication may be the reason the blogosphere has taken off. Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing produces many physiological benefits. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery. A study in the February issue of the Oncologist reports that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not.
Scientists now hope to explore the neurological underpinnings at play, especially considering the explosion of blogs. According to Alice Flaherty, a neuroscientist at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, the placebo theory of suffering is one window through which to view blogging. As social creatures, humans have a range of pain-related behaviors, such as complaining, which acts as a “placebo for getting satisfied,” Flaherty says. Blogging about stressful experiences might work similarly.
Flaherty, who studies conditions such as hypergraphia (an uncontrollable urge to write) and writer’s block, also looks to disease models to explain the drive behind this mode of communication. For example, people with mania often talk too much. “We believe something in the brain’s limbic system is boosting their desire to communicate,” Flaherty explains. Located mainly in the midbrain, the limbic system controls our drives, whether they are related to food, sex, appetite, or problem solving. “You know that drives are involved [in blogging] because a lot of people do it compulsively,” Flaherty notes. Also, blogging might trigger dopamine release, similar to stimulants like music, running and looking at art.
---SNIP---
Whatever the underlying causes may be, people coping with cancer diagnoses and other serious conditions are increasingly seeking—and finding—solace in the blogosphere. “Blogging undoubtedly affords similar benefits” to expressive writing, says Morgan, who wants to incorporate writing programs into supportive care for cancer patients.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-healthy-type
Self-medication may be the reason the blogosphere has taken off. Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing produces many physiological benefits. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery. A study in the February issue of the Oncologist reports that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not.
Scientists now hope to explore the neurological underpinnings at play, especially considering the explosion of blogs. According to Alice Flaherty, a neuroscientist at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, the placebo theory of suffering is one window through which to view blogging. As social creatures, humans have a range of pain-related behaviors, such as complaining, which acts as a “placebo for getting satisfied,” Flaherty says. Blogging about stressful experiences might work similarly.
Flaherty, who studies conditions such as hypergraphia (an uncontrollable urge to write) and writer’s block, also looks to disease models to explain the drive behind this mode of communication. For example, people with mania often talk too much. “We believe something in the brain’s limbic system is boosting their desire to communicate,” Flaherty explains. Located mainly in the midbrain, the limbic system controls our drives, whether they are related to food, sex, appetite, or problem solving. “You know that drives are involved [in blogging] because a lot of people do it compulsively,” Flaherty notes. Also, blogging might trigger dopamine release, similar to stimulants like music, running and looking at art.
---SNIP---
Whatever the underlying causes may be, people coping with cancer diagnoses and other serious conditions are increasingly seeking—and finding—solace in the blogosphere. “Blogging undoubtedly affords similar benefits” to expressive writing, says Morgan, who wants to incorporate writing programs into supportive care for cancer patients.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-healthy-type
Bush Administration: Stop testing for "Mad Cow" disease
And just this morning I read where South Koreans were rioting because of importation of U.S. beef
The USDA has appealed a district court decision that would allow meatpackers to conduct their own tests for mad cow disease, alleging that such testing would only create "false assurances." The original plaintiff, Creekstone Farms, wants to test all of its cattle for mad cow but the USDA has prevented it from buying the testing kits.
A year ago, when the district court decision was handed down, the current USDA testing scheme for mad cow tests only the cattle that the USDA has dubbed "high risk," which ends up being less than one percent of America's beef. Creekstone Farms claimed that it has lost business in Japan and South Korea due to the mad cow scare in the U.S. a few years ago, and that it would like to reassure its domestic and international customers by testing all of its cattle. To that end, the company built its own testing center and was prepared to begin testing its beef, but the USDA, which regulates the sale of mad cow testing kits, blocked the sale. The lower court case turned on an interpretation of the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act, which regulates, among other things, products "intended for use in the treatment of domestic animals." The district court pointed out that there is no treatment or cure for mad cow disease, and the tests are only performed on dead animals, thus the tests should not be regulated by the USDA under this act.
For its part, the meatpacking lobby ("Big Meat") opposes Creekstone Farms, citing fears that if Creekstone tests all its beef, consumers will force other meatpackers to do so, leading to more expensive beef.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/05/09/mad.cow.testing.ap/index.html
Bottle cap collection
People collect all sort of things. I collected belt buckles for years. This person has 200 some photos of bottle tops or caps if you prefer. Here's a link to the Flicker slide show of the collection. Very interesting. I found a couple from my childhood there.
Are you better off today than in 2000?
Oil company profits for the first quarter of 2008:
---------------------Net profit---Increase over 2007
ExxonMobil--------$10.9 Billion ---------17%
Royal Dutch Shell---$9.08 Billion---------25%
British Petroleum---$7.6Billion-----------63%
Chevron------------$5.17 Billion----------10%
ConocoPhillips------$4.14 Billion----------17%
Alan Gaines, chairman of Houston based Dune Energy predicted in early 2007 that oil, then selling in the $50 range, would hit $100 a barel, and that gas prices would climb to $4. Now says the New York Sun, Gaines is predicting oil prices of $200 a barrel and gasoline at $8.
Washington lobbyists are on track to rake in $4 Billion this year, according to an analysis of lobbyist disclosures by Congression Quarterly. That is $1 Billion more than they reported in 2007 says the Congressional Quarterly.
P.S. My 401K keeps dropping and my medical costs keep rising.
Etch-A-Sketch troubleshooting guide V-1.1
Eleven solutions
A: Pick it up and shake it.
Q: My Etch-A-Sketch has these funny little lines all
over the screen.
over the screen.
A: Pick it up and shake it.
Q: How do I turn my Etch-A-Sketch off?
A: Pick it up and shake it. Set it down.
Q: My Etch-A-Sketch has lines that prevent me from doing my art project.
A: Pick it up and shake it.
Q: How do I delete a document from my Etch-A-Sketch?
A: Pick it up and shake it.
Q: What’s the shortcut for Undo?
A: Pick it up and shake it.
Q: How do I create a New Document window?
A: Pick it up and shake it.
Q: How do I set the background and foreground to the same color?
A: Pick it up and shake it.
Q: What is the proper procedure for rebooting my Etch-A-Sketch?
A: Pick it up and shake it.
Q: How do I delete a document on my Etch-A-Sketch?
A: Pick it up and shake it.
Q: How do I keep from losing my Etch-A-Sketch document?
A: Stop shaking it.
Where does your city stand in pollution index?
http://www.stateoftheair.org/ has an interactive map categorizing the health problems the types of pollution causes.
The American Lung Association’s State of The Air 2008 report ranked metropolitan areas according to their ozone, year round and short-term particle pollution Data in pdf formathttp://www.stateoftheair.org/2008/key-findings/SOTA08_Table2.pdf
The most polluted cities, according to the short-term particle pollution measure are:
1. Pittsburgh - New Castle, PA
2. Los Angeles - Long Beach - Riverside, CA
3. Fresno - Madera, CA
4. Bakersfield, CA
5. Birmingham - Hoover - Cullman, AL
6. Logan, UT - ID
7. Salt Lake City - Ogden - Clearfield, UT
8. Sacramento - Arden - Arcade - Yuba City, CA - NV
9. Detroit - Warren - Flint, MI
10. Washington - Baltimore - Northern Virginia, DC - MD - VA - WV
The most polluted cities, by year-round particle pollution:
1. Los Angeles - Long Beach - Riverside, CA
2. Pittsburgh - New Castle, PA
3. Bakersfield, CA
4. Birmingham - Hoover - Cullman, AL
5. Visalia - Porterville, CA
6. Atlanta - Sandy Springs - Gainesville, GA - AL
7. Cincinnati - Middletown - Wilmington, OH - KY - IN
Four tied for 8th:
8. Fresno - Madera, CA
8. Hanford - Corcoran, CA
8. Detroit - Warren - Flint, MI
8. Cleveland - Akron - Elyria, OH
The most polluted cities, by ozone pollution:
1. Los Angeles - Long Beach - Riverside, CA
2. Bakersfield, CA
3. Visalia - Porterville, CA
4. Houston - Baytown - Huntsville, TX
5. Fresno - Madera, CA
6. Sacramento - Arden - Arcade - Yuba City, CA - NV
7. Dallas - Fort Worth, TX
8. New York - Newark - Bridgeport, NY - NJ - CT - PA
9. Washington - Baltimore - Northern Virginia, DC - MD - VA - WV
10. Baton Rouge - Pierre Part, LA
California leads the nation in having the most polluted cities.
http://www.stateoftheair.org/ has an interactive map categorizing the health problems the types of pollution causes.
The American Lung Association’s State of The Air 2008 report ranked metropolitan areas according to their ozone, year round and short-term particle pollution Data in pdf formathttp://www.stateoftheair.org/2008/key-findings/SOTA08_Table2.pdf
The most polluted cities, according to the short-term particle pollution measure are:
1. Pittsburgh - New Castle, PA
2. Los Angeles - Long Beach - Riverside, CA
3. Fresno - Madera, CA
4. Bakersfield, CA
5. Birmingham - Hoover - Cullman, AL
6. Logan, UT - ID
7. Salt Lake City - Ogden - Clearfield, UT
8. Sacramento - Arden - Arcade - Yuba City, CA - NV
9. Detroit - Warren - Flint, MI
10. Washington - Baltimore - Northern Virginia, DC - MD - VA - WV
The most polluted cities, by year-round particle pollution:
1. Los Angeles - Long Beach - Riverside, CA
2. Pittsburgh - New Castle, PA
3. Bakersfield, CA
4. Birmingham - Hoover - Cullman, AL
5. Visalia - Porterville, CA
6. Atlanta - Sandy Springs - Gainesville, GA - AL
7. Cincinnati - Middletown - Wilmington, OH - KY - IN
Four tied for 8th:
8. Fresno - Madera, CA
8. Hanford - Corcoran, CA
8. Detroit - Warren - Flint, MI
8. Cleveland - Akron - Elyria, OH
The most polluted cities, by ozone pollution:
1. Los Angeles - Long Beach - Riverside, CA
2. Bakersfield, CA
3. Visalia - Porterville, CA
4. Houston - Baytown - Huntsville, TX
5. Fresno - Madera, CA
6. Sacramento - Arden - Arcade - Yuba City, CA - NV
7. Dallas - Fort Worth, TX
8. New York - Newark - Bridgeport, NY - NJ - CT - PA
9. Washington - Baltimore - Northern Virginia, DC - MD - VA - WV
10. Baton Rouge - Pierre Part, LA
California leads the nation in having the most polluted cities.
http://www.stateoftheair.org/ has an interactive map categorizing the health problems the types of pollution causes.
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