Saturday, December 5, 2009

Amateur Comedians Have Field Day With Tiger Woods

Did you hear the one about how Tiger Woods has a lot of expensive cars, but now he has a hole in one?

Did you hear Tiger changed his name to Cheetah? In this age of Twitter and time stamps, it's possible to trace the jokes around Woods' debacle down to their inception. And the early public domain jokes have something in common — they're puns.”

On All Things Considered

A matter of perspective…

Via jesusandmo.net

Friday, December 4, 2009

Build it and they will come: see the world’s largest swimming pool

At first,I thought the pool was going to be owned by a private party who went off the deep-end to show off.

But No! It’s a little South American country that knows how to draw the tourists.

From Oddity Central:

“This man-made wonder is 1013 meters long covers 80 acres, its deepest end reaches 115ft and it holds 66 million gallons of water. If you want to take a dip in the world’s largest swimming pool you’ll have to travel to San Alfonso del Mar in Algarrobo,Chile, where a computer-controlled suction and filtration system continuously pumps water from the ocean, keeping crystal clear.”

See more views here.

A cheerful bit of news for Friday

Holiday spirit?

A convenience store owner who showed mercy to a would-be robber says he's received an apology note and $50 in the mail.

The unsigned note said it was from the man who tried to rob Mohammad Sohail, who has a store on Long Island, near New York City. The note said the would-be robber has a new job, a new child, and is staying out of trouble.

Sohail told the newspaper Newsday that he is saving the $50 for charity.

The bat-wielding man tearfully told Sohail in May that he was trying to feed his family. The rifle-toting businessman gave him $40 and bread, and made him promise never to rob again.

Rubbed The Wrong Way

After my first cup of Joe this morning I ran across this little news item that I’ve decided to file under “Gullible People.”

 Seriously, who in their right mind would let a total stranger enter their house to give them a massage?

There was a guy in Florida last year claiming to be a doctor as he went door-to-door offering free breast exams. He was caught and convicted. Apparently the cops are still looking for the joker in this story.

From The Smoking Gun:

Cops: Woman had session with fake door-to-door "massage student"

 Read the story here.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Time to bail out the newspaper industry?

What a slippery slope!

Can you say BIG BROTHER? Only allowing “serious” journalism…hmmmmm…what might that constitute?

The government in any kind of association with newspapers is a recipe for pure propaganda. That’s not to say we don’t get plenty of propaganda now, but we can still pick and chose among sources offered.

There are some news agencies (NPR) that actually try to stick to the facts, but even they have an agenda – who doesn’t?

If newspapers can’t figure out a business model to survive and adapt to the times, they don’t deserve to be in business anyway. News is a business, just like all the other ones struggling in this recession/depression (depends on who you talk too).

Photo: US Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA).

From Breitbart this morning:

Struggling media will need government help: US congressman

“The newspaper industry is suffering "market failure" and the government will need to help preserve serious journalism essential to democracy, an influential US congressman said Wednesday.”

 

GM's Lutz sees limited share for electric cars

 I wrote a column about cars that run on air last year;

As It Stands: Vehicles that run on air are ready

 It’s nice to see all of this talk about electric cars, but an air-powered car holds more fascination for me.

The technology is there. Perhaps we’ll hear more about it in the coming years.

Meanwhile this from Reuters:

“GM unveiled the production version of the Chevy Volt at the show, a battery-powered car set to launch at the end of 2010 that has become a symbol for the automaker's effort to reinvent itself over the past four years.”

Go here to read this story.

Also, go to High Battery Powered Electric Cars For 2010 for a related story.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

A summary of religions …

Via incredimazing

French hamster hotel lets guests live like rodents

During my caffeine infusion this morning I ran across this wacky story and decided it would be a good way to start a day…with a chuckle!

It's a unique concept according to its creators. A hotel in the French city of Nantes is offering the chance for people to become a hamster.” Go here for the story.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Segway Inventor’s New Device Turns Sewage into Clean Water

The inventor of the Segway has come up with a revolutionary invention that could provide access to clean water for millions of people.

 Go to Gimundo News & Features for the story.

 Image via Gimundo

These babies are chilling out…

While slurping my first cup of coffee this morning I couldn’t help noticing all the news (NBC) was negative. There’s so much going on in our stressed-out world that I felt an image like this might make you smile!

RNPS IMAGES OF THE YEAR 2009 - Seven babies sit in tummy tubs filled with water to cool down after a baby massage class held for young mothers in IJmuiden March 24, 2009. The "cooling down" segment is to simulate a womb-like environment for the infants to experience the warmth and comfort.”

REUTERS/United Photos (NE RLANDS SOCIETY HEALTH IMAGE OF THE DAY TOP PICTURE)

Monday, November 30, 2009

Who you know, and wealth, pave the way to elitism in the USA

It’s time for a look at our red, white, and blue class caste system.

  Earlier this year a hoax was perpetrated on the media by a middle-class family. Richard and his wife Mayumi, Heene faked out the world for a day claiming their son flew away...in a home-made flying saucer!
  When the “balloon boy” six-year-old Falcon slipped-up during a national TV interview, the Heene’s attempt to launch a reality show ended up in court where they both pleaded guilty to lying to the authorities.
   They’re getting two-years probation for part of their prank, but a hefty fine is hovering in the future after the FAA finish their report and turn the bean-counters loose after them.
    I think their also paying some other fines in relation to the search effort that was launched.
   Mr. Heene wanted to make a buck on the reality TV craze, but underestimated the consequences of his efforts. Someday the Heene’s may return with a TV show of their own investigating hoaxes or something, but they better get slicker in their efforts.
   Then we have the case of the “blue bloods” crashing the President’s party. Like the Heene’s, Michaele and Tareq Salahis, wanted to be in a reality show. In this case, “The Real Housewives of DC.” The wealthy socialite couple managed to get past secret service security and to shake hands with President Obama.
  Wow huh? Needless to say the Secret Service is not pleased that everyone is snickering at them. What a screw-up eh? Just think if the Salahis had been extremist Muslim moles? Serious stuff. Someone has to pay for this hoax.They were uninvited guests that just turned out to be a wealthy Washington socialite couple that liked to have attention focused on them. Kinda like the Heene’s.
    Do you think the justice department will go after them? I heard some vague muttering about getting them for lying about having an invitation. Actually they were more like grunts coming from embarrassed law enforcement officials.
    If you’re like me, you suspect the most the Salahis will ever have happen to them is they’ll get their own reality TV show. “Money makes money,” I heard someone once say. The Heene family could have used some more money to raise their kids. The Salahis (by all reports) see this kind of exposure as power. Their Face Book page is littered with gripe-and-grins with the nation’s power elite, and now they have the biggest coup of all...President Obama.
      Can you imagine if the Heene’s had tried a stunt like the Salahis’s pulled off? Richard Heene would still be in a dark cell being “water-boarded” until he confessed to being a Muslim terrorist. And just imagine if his name was Tareq Salahis! His muffled screams would ring throughout the holidays.
      CNN would be airing stories of terrorist suicide families that were willing to do anything to kill infidel Americans. Legislators would sacrifice little Falcon Heene on the White House steps during a solemn patriotic ceremony. His entrails would be scattered to the on-looking Senators who would take them back to their constituents.
     As It Stands, instead of dots on the forehead like India’s caste system, elite Americans have dollar signs tattooed over their hearts!  

America: an Empire at Risk

Is the sun setting upon the American Empire? We show a lot of the classic signs of a degenerating superpower, from crumbling infrastructure to our economic influence worldwide.

We won the cold war and weathered 9/11. But now economic weakness is endangering our global power.

“But if the United States succumbs to a fiscal crisis, as an increasing number of economic experts fear it may, then the entire balance of global economic power could shift. Military experts talk as if the president's decision about whether to send an additional 40,000 troops to Afghanistan is a make-or-break moment. In reality, his indecision about the deficit could matter much more for the country's long-term national security. Call the United States what you like—superpower, hegemon, or empire—but its ability to manage its finances is closely tied to its ability to remain the predominant global military power. Here's why:” Go to NewsWeek to read the rest.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

AOA study says Americans practice poor eye care

By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 11/29/2009 01:27:19 AM PST

”The eye is the jewel

of the body.”

-- Henry David Thoreau

My first clue that my vision was going came when I bought a new television set in 1985 and couldn't get the picture to come in clearly. My wife and three children assured me there was nothing wrong with the set and I should see an optometrist.

Go to the Times-Standard to read the whole column.

Blog Break Until Presidential Election is Over

I finally hit the wall today. I can't think of what to say about all of the madness going on in this country right now. I'm a writer...