Saturday, January 17, 2015

You know it’s the end days when…

                                          Good Day World!

Just how bad are things in our world today? Are we facing the end of civilization as we know it?

Since the discovery of deep time and the age of the Earth, scientific discourse about the end times has centered on the ultimate fate of the universe.

Theories have included the Big Rip, Big Crunch, Big Bounce, and Big Freeze.

Now it’s time to look for the signs (wink! wink!) that the end times are drawing near. The following list is loaded with random signs:

YOU KNOW IT’S THE END DAYS WHEN…

Mitt Romney announces he’s decided to run for president a third time 

Haiti gets $13 billion in aide from around the world after a terrible earthquake 5 years ago and the inhabitants still live in crude tent cities.

a man is charged with killing his neighbors over a parking space

despite being indicted on a corruption charge, Texas Gov. Rick Perry considers presidential bid.

the US and Cuba are talking about normalizing relations between each other

US gasoline Pump Prices continue to fall

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Friday, January 16, 2015

What was humanity’s first conversation about?

Good Day World!

Have you ever wondered what the first conversations among humans were about?

"You're doing it wrong," or a series of grunts to that effect, may have been among the first words used in human conversation, according to scientists studying the development of ancient tools.

In a recent study published by Nature Communications, researchers suggest that language co-evolved with toolmaking.

I believe there were other subjects that rated higher than toolmaking. Think about it.

Can’t you imagine men and women exchanging words of affection long before chipping away at rocks became trendy? They might have even had “pet names.”

“Come here, my little sabre-tooth…”

Oh Zorg! What a sweet-talker.”

Seems reasonable to me. How about arguments? I bet there was some really nasty name-calling going on long before mankind worried about doing something peaceful, like making tools.

“Oog is ugliest in jungle!” Followed up with a few well-placed rocks for emphasis.

What about basic functions? Don’t you think there were already long conversations about what to use for toilet paper, who to invite for dinner, and if meat should be cooked?

Seriously, the researchers who came up with the conclusion that mankind’s first rap sessions were about making tools, were just guessing.

Some would call it an educated guess (because the authors all have degrees), but until they can produce a recording proving differently, I’ll put my money on “pet names.”

Time for me to walk on down the road…  

 

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Romney Redue #3 for the Presidency: Why Mitt is Out of Touch with Reality

                                        Good Day World!

Someone ought to tell Mitt Romney that the third time is not always the charm.

After suffering a crushing defeat in his last effort, you’d think he would have got the idea; America doesn’t want him for president. But Romney apparently didn’t get the message, and is preparing for a third campaign.

Why? His supporters paint a picture of him being deeply concerned about the direction our country is heading in and he wants to save us (minus the 47% that doesn’t matter) from destruction.

Really? I see a man who is power-mad and is willing to spend every dime of his vast fortune (including the hidden accounts overseas) to rule the country. What does he have to offer? 

What does he plan to do if elected? I doubt if he even knows.

Quick; when was the last time you heard Romney’s vision/message for America? If you said his last effort at campaigning you’re wrong.

He never had a message.

The reason Romney is in the position he is -- nationally known, a massive fundraising network -- is because of his 2008 and 2012 campaigns.

If Romney thinks either his Republican opponents or, potentially Hillary Clinton in a general election, are going to just let the whole "47 percent" thing drop, he’s in for a surprise.

Or, that the car elevator, "severely conservative" and the picture of him with money coming out of his suit jacket are going to disappear?

Um, they won't.

Most people see him as an out-of-touch plutocrat, especially after the last election. Obama’s team effectively painted that picture, and no matter what Romney says or does as a candidate it’s there for all to see.

“The assumption that he can pluck the good things from his past candidacies while wiping away -- "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"-style -- all the bad stuff from voters' minds is a deeply flawed reading of how politics works.” (source)

In spite of that, Romney will probably run one more time. He can’t help himself. He sees himself as a savior...for the wealthy, and the country.

Time for me to walk on down the road… 

Related articles:

Clinton vs Bush in 2016? Oh, Hell no!

Good Day World!

I’m against family dynasties monopolizing politics.

A few select families have ruled America for decades.The Clinton, Bush and Kennedy clans turned running for president into a family business.

Here’s why I’m against the idea:

Five of the last seven elections included a member of one or both of the Clinton or Bush families as presidential nominees.

If the 2008 Democratic primaries had turned out a little differently, either a Bush or a Clinton would probably have been president without interruption since 1989.

If the worst happens and both dynasties take their parties’ nominations in 2016, the Obama presidency could end up being the only break that Americans have had in this cycle until 2024.

That is ridiculous, and it is significantly different from the role previous dynasties have had in our politics. It tells us a number of things about our political culture, and none of them is good.

The first thing is tells us is that a politician’s dynastic connections now matter far more than his or her qualifications.

If Jeb Bush weren’t the son and brother of former presidents, no one would seriously be talking him up as a plausible presidential candidate for an election ten years after he left elected office.

If Hillary Clinton weren’t the wife of a former president, it is extremely doubtful that an unremarkable former senator and former Secretary of State would ever have been considered a prohibitive favorite for the nomination.

For that matter, if not for their famous names and connections it is an open question whether either of them would have won statewide election in the first place.

The harmful effects of this are more apparent on the Democratic side, where Clinton faces at best token opposition to a nomination that will be handed over to her as long she wants to have it.

Even so, it is also quite harmful to the GOP, since the last thing the GOP needs is to relitigate and to defend George W. Bush’s disastrous tenure.

If the party made the mistake of nominating Bush’s brother, that is inevitably what it would have to do. On top of that, nominating Bush would represent a decision to shunt aside an entire class of new political talent that has appeared in the last decade.

Dynastic ties make it much easier for bad and mediocre candidates to compete for and even win nominations. That in turn produces worse general election choices and outcomes.

Dynastic ties also allow inexperienced and unqualified members of the family to ascend to higher office because of a misplaced faith in the influence of other members of the dynasty’s retinue.

Judged on his own merits, George W. Bush had no business being the presidential nominee, but because he was surrounded by his father’s allies and former officials it was assumed that the son would be so well-advised that his ignorance and inexperience would not matter.” Condensed article by DANIEL LARISON

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

It’s no longer a debate: Florida is the weirdest state!

Good Day World!

Florida is a state where people will stick just about anything in their pants — if they're even wearing them at all!

Eliot Kleinberg, a Palm Beach Post reporter who is the original weird Florida archivist in what now seems to be a popular trend, says he often issues the challenge to anyone to prove another state is weirder and he's never lost an argument.

"The world has come to acknowledge Florida's weirdness. It is no longer a debate," said Kleinberg, who published Weird Florida in 1998 and Weird Florida II — A State of Shock in 2006.

It's the state where the annual Chumuckla Redneck Christmas Parade was canceled because — big surprise — attendees kept drinking too much in previous years.

And it's the state where a woman wearing a Catholic Warrior shirt was charged with criminal mischief after damaging a Satanic Temple holiday display at the Capitol. A security camera picked up the offense.

Which is different than the tantrum picked up by a Tampa-area McDonald's security camera: a woman walking behind the counter wearing nothing but a thong overturning equipment, throwing food, and eating ice cream and French fries.

Three naked men were caught on a security camera breaking into a Bonita Springs restaurant and stealing 60 hamburgers, three pounds of bacon, three red peppers and a paddleboard.

Even when Floridians kept their pants on, they stuffed odd things in them, especially in DeLand, where a woman was charged with stealing seven frozen lobster tails she stuffed down her pants and a Wal-Mart security guard caught a man with two packages of cow tongue in his pants.

There was also a man in Port St. Lucie who stole a chain saw by sticking it in his pants.

That wasn't the only dangerous thing found in people's pants. A corrections officer reaching for cash at a Fort Lauderdale restaurant accidently fired his gun. The bullet shattered when it hit the floor and fragments hit a dozen people.

The restaurant's name? Shooters. (Source)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Can you break this code? FBI asks public for help in murder case

                                      Good Day World!

Ricky McCormick was found dead on June 30, 1999, near a cornfield off Highway 367 in St. Charles County. In his shirt pocket, investigators found two coded notes.

They were never able to crack the codes.

Today, nearly 14 years later, the FBI wants the public's help in a new attempt to break the codes and, maybe, help solve the mystery of how and why the 41-year-old St. Louis man died.

The FBI believes he was murdered, and so do the St. Charles County sheriff's detectives who originally worked the case. But evidence from the medical examiner's office only allowed them to classify it as a 'suspicious death," said Lt. Craig McGuire of the sheriff's office.

Investigators were intrigued by an apparent head injury, but McCormick's body had decomposed enough to stop short of making a clear ruling of homicide.

The case has been reviewed by detectives over the years but has essentially gone cold, McGuire said. The two notes — filled with a scribbled jumble of capital letters, numbers and parentheses — were discovered in the early stages of the investigation. McGuire does not know why they were not made public at the time.

According to the FBI, McCormick was a high school dropout who had experimented with codes and ciphers his whole life. Investigators believe he wrote the two notes within days of being killed.

"We asked the family, and they said he did it quite often," McGuire said. "Nobody really knows what it means. It's kind of like private diary writing."

The system McCormick devised was cryptic enough to stump multiple experts with the FBI's Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit. With no leads, and given the unique nature of the case, the agency on Tuesday posted McCormick's codes on its website — www.fbi.gov — to challenge the public to try solving the mystery.

Read the full story

Can you break the code?

On this wikipedia page, you will find the ciphers themselves.

The FBI has also set up a page with images of the notes, and a form you can use to send any helpful information.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Monday, January 12, 2015

Open Letter to Texas Gov Rick Perry About Running for President

Dear Rick “Oops” Perry,

I’ve been reading that you’re thinking about running for president again in 2016. Gotta hand it to you partner …you have gall.

No common sense whatsoever, but you don’t let that bother you.

It also doesn’t bother you that conservative activists complain about your "crony capitalism" way of politics.

Don’t be shy about your accomplishments. 

Even though you never talk about it, Texas leads the nation with about a quarter of residents lacking health insurance, and has the country's highest annual total of workplace fatalities nine times during your tenure.

Your administered incentive funds have been savaged by state auditors. They found that The Texas Enterprise Fund, was offering deal-closing money (it use to be called bribes) to top business and employers.

Fact: $222 million was awarded to 11 firms and universities that either didn't apply for the funding or weren't required to directly create jobs.

I mean, what’s this all about? Sounds kinda shady, don’t you think?

How about your famous "oops?"

In the midst of a 2011 presidential debate, you were unable to recall the third of three federal agencies you’d promised to shutter, finally muttering "oops."

There’s more reasons why you shouldn’t even consider running for president.

To refresh your memory: In August, an Austin grand jury indicted you for abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant. A felony indictment is not a calling card for being the next leader of the free world.

Your energies are better off spent defending yourself against this indictment, and the numerous accusations of crony capitalism coming from both parties.

PS – With Jeb Bush, and now Mitt Romney, throwing their toupees into the fray, you can forget about coming close to competing on the campaign trail.

                                                            ***

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Longer Lives: ‘Good living’ doesn’t always mean doing the right things!

Good Day World!

Do you ever get tired of viewing stories like Centenarians Reveal The Secrets To Living A Long Life, or 31 Superfood Secrets for a Long and Healthy Life ?

You know, the kind of articles that are packed with wisdom from near-saints who have survived the decades through “good living.”

I don’t know about you, but I’ve yet to meet anyone who is perfect.

Therefore be wary of advise from centenarians – their memories aren’t really all that sharp after 100 years - and health nuts because they’ll eat nearly anything –regardless of how icky - to live longer (or be skinny).

I like to point out people like George Burns. He smoked cigars like a chimney and lived to a 100. Now that’s my kind of guy.

You’ve heard stories about amazing centenarians who remain spry well beyond their years. What’s their secret? Their daily constitutionals? Their teetotaling disdain for a drink or a smoke?

Well, a recent study indicates, surprisingly, that people who live into their 90s and longer have habits just as lousy as the rest of us.

Nir Barzilai of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and colleagues interviewed 477 Ashkenazi Jews who were living independently even though they were at least 95 years old. Some were as old as 112.

They all joined the Longevity Genes Project, which is investigating why centenarians live so long.

The bottom line, I figure my chances of reaching an advanced age (I’m 64 now) are about as good as anyone’s. And I can tell you, without hesitation, that I haven’t been (nor will I ever be) a saint.

Time for me to walk on down the road… 

It's Time to Pay Up Donnie!

It's looks like there will be some prime real estate going on the market soon in New York City. Convicted rapist and former president ...