Why drink coffee for caffeine when you can inhale it instead?

I just got off the phone with ex president Bill Clinton and told him it’s okay to inhale now. I want to share this interesting new product with you too:

“U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials plan to investigate whether inhalable caffeine sold in lipstick-sized canisters is safe for consumers and if its manufacturer was right to brand it as a dietary supplement.

AeroShot went on the market late last month in Massachusetts and New York, and it's also available in France. Consumers put one end of the canister in their mouths and breathe in, releasing a fine powder that dissolves almost instantly. Each grey-and-yellow plastic canister contains B vitamins, plus 100 milligrams of caffeine powder, about the equivalent of the caffeine in a large cup of coffee.” (Source)

Watch out McDonalds: Culture Burgers are on the horizon…

            Good Day Humboldt County!

 Are you ready to walk down a trail that promises to lead you into the future of food in America? Fair warning: It might not be pretty.

Don’t like the idea of killing animals, but have a soft spot for a good beef hamburger? I’ve got news for you, and for vegetarians: the first-ever Culture Dish Hamburger is going to be taste-tested by a world celebrity taster.

If you want to be crass about about it, this unique hamburger cost $330,000 to make. It’s funded by an anonymous investor reportedly interested in “life-transforming technologies." Someone out there is rubbing his hands together in anticipation of revolutionizing the food industry.

According to this news source:

“The patty will be much like a regular quarter-pounder — but with one big difference: This one will be created by growing bovine stem cells in a vat, transforming them into thousands of thin layers of beef muscle cells, mincing them into tiny pieces, then combining the bits with lab-grown animal fat to form a lump of meat the size of a golf ball.”

Yum Yum… doesn’t that sound tasty? (As I try to keep from gagging) Culture Burgers. Somehow they lack the pizazz of cheeseburgers, don’t you think?

More about the future of food:

• Scientists turn stem cells into pork
  
• Beef producers see America losing its appetite
• The skinny on milk nutrition: Cow, goat, rice or soy?
• Future of food: Drinkable bagels and beyond

Time for me to walk on down the road…

As It Stands: Why a school board bowed to a double entendre

 By Dave Stancliff/for the Times-Standard

 Please try to keep a straight face. What I’m about to share is true, so go easy on the folks involved, okay? 
  Quick history note: Utah has Cougars, snakes (Diamond Backs), Falcons, and other creatures, and it’s not uncommon to see them as school mascots. If you were to check, you’d see that Cougars are a common name for mascots in the state. Fair enough?
  Not for the school board members of a new school slated to open in 2013. Recently named Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah (photo), it already faces a controversy.

  The school board members polled students on what they’d like for a team name. They voted in favor of the Cougars. Cougars inhabit territory all across Utah. According to the Division of Wildlife Resources, the only place in Utah they're not found is in the salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake.
  Cougar was a natural choice. The students didn’t foresee any problem with having a Cougar for a team mascot. Why should they? They had heard of schools with Cougars as mascots at different grade levels throughout their lives. 
   Superintendent of Canyons School District, David S. Doty (I’m not making up that last name), made a surprise announcement; Cougars was not an acceptable team mascot name! How could that be? Why did everyone say the name was okay when it was voted on?
  Now here’s the part where I ask your indulgence. Try not to laugh too hard at the reason why Cougar suddenly became banned as school mascots. One more thing, I’m not making this up.
  Doty said Cougars was unacceptable because it “has a negative double entendre,” as in older women who date younger men. No, really. I guess we can thank the television show, "Cougar Town," starring Courteney Cox, for those votes overturned. Apparently their Moms and Dads watch the show.
  When some parents (the story doesn’t say how many) called the school board and complained, saying Cougars was a negative term, the board dissolved into Cougar scat.
  I can’t help wondering about schools like USC who use “Trojans” as a team name. Is it time something was done about that obvious double entendre? Are TV shows the next barometer for a school’s team name?
  Back to the Draper school board. They also felt the school’s blue/white/silver color scheme looked too much like Brigham Young University team colors. I don’t know what they said behind closed doors about the longtime university team name, the Cougars. One can only imagine.
  This really isn’t the end of the story. The school board, in it’s infinite wisdom, voted unanimously to select Charger as the mascot, noting no other high school in the state had used it. A curious fact.
   Cool. But what happened to the student input? Am I missing something here? The school board happily noted the alliteration of Corner Canyon Chargers, and said a Charger, a war horse, was selected because it is “a prominent animal in Draper and an image of strength that could unify the community," according to the Board of Education summary.

 There’s no word on how the students felt about the new team name. I wouldn’t be surprised if some conjure up the image of the NFL’s San Diego Chargers. That might be acceptable because it’s on the beach in California, where I suspect the students would rather live!
  Still, it’s just not right. Kearns High School football coach and athletic director Bill Cosper recently told The Salt Lake Tribune,  "To me, a mascot is usually an animal - I mean, I don't know how to even respond to Chargers.”
  Perhaps reflecting what a lot of people think, Cosper said, "In all my years here, or in all of sports, that's never been brought up before.” I’m not sure he’s right, but I can’t readily recall any other case about animals becoming a problem as a team symbol.
  The whole thing is laughable, but sad too. People are so easily swayed by what they see or hear in the media. Common sense is often suspended in the name of political correctness.
  As It Stands, if you still feel like laughing, I don’t blame you.

Guest Corner: Sports Illustrated bikini model sparks a debate

I’m an unabashed fan of David Horsey. He’s the kind of witty writer/artist I can only aspire to be in my dreams.

Enjoy: 

By David Horsey

“Kate Upton, the model splashed across the cover of this year’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, is at the center of a hot debate that has nothing to do with birth control, Mitt Romney’s tax returns or how the heck Newt Gingrich persuaded three women to marry him.
Some among the sleek set in the fashion industry think the 19-year-old, self-promoting model is too chubby to be chic -- their definition of hefty encompassing 99% of the nation’s females. The fashion mavens denigrate Upton’s whole look – her too-blond hair, her generic, pouty cheerleader face and her long legs that one critic described as looking as if they belong to a player for the WNBA. The casting director for Victoria’s Secret fashion shows said she’d never allow such a skank to darken her runway. (We all know how Victoria’s Secret is the epitome of haute couture.)”

(Read the rest here) art by David Horsey/Los Angeles Times

Keeping up in the New Millennium: More than half the births in America occur outside of marriage

For better, or worse, I’ve watched six decades fly by with new cultural twists and mores. What was once controversial and scandalous, is now commonplace. The lines of morality have been blurred in the national eye. New attitudes have emerged that speak well for the changes, however. You might even say the public has become more tolerant of human rights and differences. Gays and Lesbians have been able to come out of the closet nationally and take their place in society. Woman aren’t judged as harshly for having babies out of wedlock. 

“The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.”
( Lyrics from: Bob Dylan’s - The Times They Are A-Changin' )

Yes, “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” and it’s a whole new world now.

It’s certainly not the world I grew up in during the fifties and sixties. Back then, if you had a baby out of wedlock it was the most scandalous thing that could happen to a woman. Society isn’t as judgmental now.

News Snippet:

“It used to be called illegitimacy. Now it is the new normal. After steadily rising for five decades, the share of children born to unmarried women has crossed a threshold: more than half of births to American women under 30 occur outside marriage.”

Exposed: PAHs in pavement poise significant health risk to public

            Good Day Humboldt County!

  Our travels today, are taking us down a polluted path that we all unknowingly walk on every day. Beware when you get out of your car in a store parking lot, or your own driveway. It was probably sprayed with a common deadly sealant still available in many stores!

It’s waste from steel mills that should have been safely incinerated instead of spread on the ground we all walk on. It’s another tale of collusion between government and corporate interests to the determent of the American public.

The stuff that’s been spread on our parking lots, and other surfaces, has the known cancer-causing  agent “polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,” or PAHs in it.

The thing that bothers me, is that this is not breaking news. People have known about problems that go with the use of these sealants containing PAHs for years. That means you, and I, and the rest of the population, have been blissfully exposing ourselves to bad things. Worse, these toxic sealants are still legal in most states.

Now, after four new major studies, people are getting concerned. Warning: the more you read the more angry you’re going to get. Informational links are provided after the following news snippet:   

“When you think of pollution, you might picture an industrial center like Camden, N.J., or Jersey City. But new research shows that when it comes to a potent class of cancer-causing toxic chemicals, many American parking lots are a lot worse.

New studies paint an increasingly alarming picture – particularly for young children – about how these chemicals are being spread across big swaths of American cities and suburbs by what may seem an unlikely source – a type of asphalt sealer. These sealants are derived from an industrial waste, coal tar.

Four new studies announced this week further implicate coal tar-based asphalt sealants as likely health risks.  The creosote-like material typically is sprayed onto parking lots and driveways in an effort to preserve the asphalt. It also gives the pavement a dark black coloring that many people find attractive.

Coal tar is a byproduct of the steelmaking industry. In 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency declared that it would not be classified as a hazardous waste, even though it met the characteristics of one, because it could be recycled for uses that include coating asphalt. That meant steel mills didn’t have to pay for costly landfilling or incineration of the waste.

The new research, published in peer-reviewed science journals, focuses on a class of chemicals found in coal tar and known as “polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,” or PAHs. Previously, researchers believed that people’s exposure to PAHs came primarily through food, which contains trace amounts produced primarily from smoking food or cooking it at high temperatures in practices such as grilling, roasting, and frying. PAHS are produced when any organic matter burns.” (Read whole story here)

Here’s Some More related Links

Study sees parking lot dust as a cancer risk

State bans coal tar sealants in big win for foes

The four studies announced this week appeared in the science journals Environmental Science and Technology, Chemosphere, Atmospheric Environment,  and  Environmental Pollution.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Here’s one animated reason not to trust your eyes…

                                                By Arjen Goldschmidt color optical illusion 

Below - example showcases embedded lines of seemingly different colors. The reason they look different is because our brain judges the color of an object by comparing it to surrounding colors. So without us even knowing it our brains compare the flowing red stripes to the yellow stripes, forcing us to think they are orange. The blue stripes make the red ones appear much darker -almost purple, even though they are exactly the same color!

This is just one example why you cannot trust what you see even with your own eyes. Next time someone swears they saw Jesus, UFO, or a ghost, show them this animation…

‘Not in my State’ : Pig Eyes Christie vetos same-sex marriage in NJ

Take a look at the face of intolerance. Not very pretty.

He’s, New Jersey Gov. “Pig Eyes” Christie who vetoed the same-sex marriage bill and upheld the Republican’s righteous religious agenda.

Pig Eyes gets his way this time and tells the majority it doesn’t matter what they want. Once again, he prevents marriage equality for gays and lesbians in the state of New Jersey.

I know his intolerance gives him major points with some Tea Party groups and right wing extremists, but in the end…this is America and there’s no place for marginalizing people because of their sexual orientation. It’s just a matter of time before same-sex marriage is legal there.

Oops! Teen swipes tomato plant he thought was marijuana

The first rule of stealing someone’s marijuana plant is “Don’t run past their house yelling ‘I have your pot plant.’”

The second rule is “make sure you didn’t swipe a tomato plant instead.”

Call it a case of mistaken plant identity.

A 15-year-old Florida boy climbed into Angela Cartwright's kitchen window thinking to make off with a marijuana plant, but instead the young thief was actually stealing a potted tomato plant, a sheriff's arrest report shows. The unnamed teen was charged with unarmed burglary of an occupied dwelling, his first offense, the report states.

I don’t know…maybe it’s just me, but it’s hard to believe a 15-year old would mistake a tomato plant for a pot plant. There’s ton’s of images of marijuana around us at all times. You see the weed in the news, and there are countless items of clothing with marijuana plants cleverly displayed on them. You see pot plants on CD discs, calendars, magazines, cups, shot glasses, posters, video games, books, movies, comics, etc.

I’d hazard to say it’s a pretty well exposed plant in our society. Apparently this 15-year old leads a cloistered life with no images of pot plants in it. Which leads me to wonder why the heck he wanted it in the first place????

I’m just saying….

A Buddhist monk invented the popular 5-Hour Energy drink

               Good Day Humboldt County!

Today’s road leads us past the path to enlightenment, and turns off into a less heavenly highway lined with greenbacks.   

Since those wild sixties, when I experimented with every popular drug out there, I’ve been fascinated with oriental religions. In particular, I thought Buddhist monks were totally cool back in the day.  

  During the seventies, I was a die-hard “Kung Fu” fan (the series ran from 1972-75) and loved watching David Carradine play the wise Shaolin monk, Kwai Chang Caine.

Caine/Carradine traveled through the American Old West armed only with his spiritual training and his skill in martial arts, as he sought his half-brother, Danny Caine. Along the way, he kicks numerous asses and imparts his unique wisdom in less violent moments.

Which leads me to another Buddhist monk today. You might say, a guy for our times. Michigan resident Manoj Bhargava, 58,  a former member of the Hanslok Ashram order and who lived the lifestyle of a Buddhist monk for 12 years, invented the 5-Hour Energy drink!

No kidding.Forbes reporter Clare O'Conner discovered that's exactly who is behind the phenomenon that has a 90%-near monopoly of the energy shot market.

I have to admit that I’m puzzled. Guess I’m not sure how Bhargava's billion-dollar energy drink invention ties in with the teachings of Confucius. In a recent interview he said that his “5-Hour Energy” is not a energy drink… it’s a focus drink.

Now that sounds Buddhist-like and mysterious to me. Apparently the FDA doesn’t like him using the word “focus” and he lamented that fact. “I have no idea why,” he told the Forbes reporter.

Bhargava is no Kwai Chang Caine. This guy pops up in the morning takes a pull of his 5-Hour Energy beverage and spends the rest of the time comparing himself to Matt Damon's character in Good Will Hunting. He refers to himself as "the richest Indian in America," and hasn't been shy about taking out the competition, filing 91 lawsuits.

A case of capitalism overcoming religion? Perhaps a case of a new religion? What do you think?

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Treat Feature: Wonderful 3-D Chalk Art by Kurt Wenner

 

(Photo left) Take this installation at the Waterloo Station in London, for example. Sure the man on his couch watching television has a lot of depth, but by adding a truck full of 3D animals crashing through the wall, it’s easy to feel just as shocked as the man in the artwork.

(Photo right) Zip-lining across a city street can be fun, but it’s nothing compared to flying across wild terrain. For those that don’t have the time or money to get away from it all though, Wenner offers a grand compromise with this gorgeous canyon advertising the beauty of wild British Columbia.

For more great works by Kurt Wenner visit his website.

 

Gas prices on rampage: at least smile while you’re getting robbed

 

 

I checked today in downtown McKinleyville and gas was $4.15 a gallon. Can anyone in another city, anywhere in the entire country beat these gas prices? I’m waiting….

 

One small handshake…as robot greets human commander in space

      Good Day Humboldt County!

Our path leads to the stars today, as another piece of space history is enshrined in the halls of science.

I’ve wondered for a long time when this day would arrive, and we’d see robots becoming crew members on space missions.

This kind of thing was science fiction when I was growing up. It seemed like all the comics I read treated robots as threats to mankind. Flash Gordon (who fought his fair share of robots) must be turning over in his grave to see robots helping mankind now! I think the great thing about having them aboard is that they’ll do most of the work while the humans sit around telling jokes and discovering stuff. Hey! I’m just saying…   

“A NASA robot built to ease the daily lives of astronaut in space greeted its human commander with a hearty handshake Wednesday, along with a silent message: "Hello, world."

The historic handshake between man and machine —a first in space —was shared between NASA's humanoid robot, named Robonaut 2, and American astronaut Daniel Burbank on the International Space Station. NASA delivered Robonaut 2 to the space station in February 2011 during the last flight of the space shuttle Discovery. The robot consists of a torso, arms and camera-equipped head. It is 3 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs about 330 pounds. Station astronauts powered up Robonaut 2 in August and have been testing it ever since. NASA also has a twin of the robot on Earth for use in field trials of a wheeled mobile base that allows the automaton to drive around different terrains.” Rest of the story here.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Deep in the forest….

 

Can you see the illusion?

It’s really quit simple when you squint your eyes.

Karl Kwasny is an Australian illustrator, currently based in Manhattan, New York

“Deep in the forest where heavy feet sink

You mightn’t be alone as you think!”

A cautionary tale for lovers: roll playing in public may land you in jail

I’m filing this little Valentine’s Day tale under “How embarrassing!”

“At least nine police cars responded Tuesday to reports of a woman bound in duct tape and naked in a man's car, but the incident turned out to be a Valentine's role-play.

Shortly after noon, police converged on the New Seasons Market on North Interstate Avenue after receiving a report of a vehicle seen leaving the parking lot with a naked female tied up in the back with duct tape over her mouth.

According to police, a witness told officers that the driver of the car was a white male in his 20s, with a goatee and sunglasses and that the female "seemed hazy." The witness told police that the male stated they "were just having some fun."  Read the rest of the story here.

Anything but the Truth: Corporations plan climate change skepticism agenda in schools

Once again, American corporations are following an agenda contrary to the good of the American public. In this case, they’re trying to brainwash our children with lies about global warming. The corporation’s will do, or say anything, to keep the topic away from the harm they’re causing to our planet’s environment.

According to Bill Dedman Investigative Reporter, msnbc.com:

“Internal documents have been leaked from the Heartland Institute, a Chicago nonprofit think tank, showing its funding of leading skeptics of global warming and a plan to teach climate change skepticism in schools. An anonymous person leaked the documents to several publications and activists supporting the science of climate change.

"The heart of the climate denial machine relies on huge corporate and foundation funding from U.S. businesses, including Microsoft, Koch Industries, Altria (parent company of Philip Morris) RJR Tobacco and more," reports the DeSmogBlog, which published the documents on Tuesday. The blog opposes what it calls the "climate denial machine."

Read the following links for the corporation’s complete agenda and how they plan to go about it.

The first batch of documents is here on the DeSmogBlog, and a second batch dealing with fundraising.

Here's a copy of the group's fundraising plan, with a list of donors.

What do you think would be a good use for a Boeing 727 that didn’t fly?

                              Good Day Humboldt County!

   Let’s get off the beaten track today and check out what some people think Boeing 727 Jetliners should be used for beside flying. It’s unique people like this that make these detours so rewarding.

BAKERSFIELD, California (AP) – “A Swiss artist plans to bury an intact Boeing 727 jetliner in California's Mojave Desert and build a tunnel to give visitors a chance to see it.

Christoph Buchel has applied for a permit that will allow him to bury the 153-foot-long decommissioned airliner.The Bakersfield Californian newspaper reports the project, called "Terminal," already has approval from the local planning department staff.

The jetliner would be buried 38 feet below the surface. Visitors will be able to experience the subterranean art project via a tunnel connecting the plane to a parking area. And they'll be able to use the plane's restrooms, which will be connected to a septic system.”

Here’s a street legal Boeing 727 (photo right) or in other words, a converted Mercedes bus that seats up to 50 persons. At 24,000-pounds, it features a big screen TV, full bar, fog machine, tons of lighting (laser / strobe / etc.), ceiling mirrors, and "aerodynamic" seats. Click here for more pictures.

  For $500 a night you can stay in a fully outfitted, meticulously detailed, two bedroom, Boeing 727 fuselage hotel suite. (Photo left)

  The owners salvaged the airframe, piece by piece, from its San Jose airport resting place, carefully transporting the pieces on five, big-rig trucks to the jungles of Manuel Antonio where they were re-imagined as a unique hotel suite. The classic airplane, nestled is perched on a 50-foot pedestal, on the edge of the Costa Verde National Park. From this vantage point, visitors can enjoy stunning ocean and jungle views.

I’m sure there’s more examples around the world of recycled Boeing 727s. It’s just weird enough, that I think it’s cool.

What do you think? What would you do with a Boeing 727 if someone outright gave it to you?

Time for me to walk on down the road..  

 

Optical Illusion: Fantastic flooring finds way to museum

Imagine stepping into a room in the local art museum and suddenly not knowing where to step because the ground appears to be completely uneven. But that’s exactly what would happen if you  happen to visit Kunstraum München in Munich, Germany. At least, if you happened to visit after Heikie Weber finished putting her installations up at the gallery.

That’s because the artist’s surreal creations convert ordinary rooms into mind-melding creations that seem impossible to walk on…of course, with art this fantastic, it seems a shame to trod on it anyway! But the most impressive part is how Heike does it… Go here to see more.

NYPD Suicides: 4 officers take their own lives in last month

What’s going on? Why are cops killing themselves? On the surface, there’s no relationship between four recent suicides. Each had a different story, but with the same sad ending. The only commonality I can see is that they were all from the same police department.

Perhaps that’s the one clue to solving these suicides: is something wrong within the force itself? Are cops who admit to having depression summarily canned? Despite what the NYPD website says about the counseling all officers have available to them, there’s a reason why very few take advantage it. That reason is fear. Fear that word will get out to their superiors they can’t handle their jobs. So, they remain silent.

One of the four deaths fits the scenario I’m suggesting. That’s Officer Terrence Dean. The 29-year old killed himself while on duty after receiving a call from his fiancée, who reportedly told him she called his precinct about the depression he was struggling with.

One last observation on the subject of law enforcement officers killing themselves: NYPD is not alone when it comes to officers having to hide their depression to protect their jobs. It’s happening nationwide. I can give examples from all over the country. The point is, something has to change in the crime-fighting culture or these senseless deaths will continue.

Valentine’s Day: Kiss your honey and go on a special date

             Good Day Humboldt County!

We’re going down Lover’s Lane today. A road that stretches back to antiquity. A road traveled by lovers worldwide. So what do to for Valentine’s Day? 

“On this Valentine’s Day, one of the more unorthodox activities available to lovebirds is the ability to take that special someone for a tour of the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn.

“New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection is offering a tour of the sewage treatment facility that lasts just under two hours and culminates in an expansive view of the Manhattan skyline and the 53-acre Newtown plant from 130 feet up.

“To celebrate the occasion, guests will each be given a Hershey kiss candy while they tour a plant that is responsible for breaking down toxic waste into harmless sludge. They also get a Valentine’s Day story that will almost certainly be unique among their friends.” via Today

Pizza Hut also has you covered for Valentine’s Day, especially if you plan on making a marriage proposal to your date and want to do it over a medium one-topping pizza with some breadsticks and cinnamon sticks. The pizza chain has 10 packages available to ‘tie the knot” in which it offers a $10 dinner box, a red ruby and diamond engagement ring, limo service, flowers, a fireworks show, a videographer and a photographer for a mere $10,010 plus tax.

For those who just want to go right to dessert, Cupcakes Gourmet in Philadelphia has a $55,000 cupcake featuring an eight-carat diamond ring perched on top of the frosting.

My honey will have to settle for a kiss, a nice dinner, and my company today, unless the MCKinleyville Water District is offering a Valentine Day tour of their wastewater treatment plant!

Time for me to walk on down the road…