Top 10 Things to Let You Know the Economy is Bad

10. CEO's are now playing miniature golf.
9. I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.
8. I went to buy a toaster oven and they gave me a bank.
7. Hotwheels and Matchbox car companies are now trading higher than GM in the stock market.
6. McDonalds is selling the 1/4 ouncer.
5. People in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and are learning their children's names.

4. The most highly-paid job is now jury duty.

3. Motel Six won't leave the lights on.
2. The Mafia is laying off judges.
And my most favorite indicator of all.
1. If the bank returns your check marked as "insufficient funds," you have to call them and ask if they meant you or them.

Yet more proof, bigger is not better

As a child I never really wanted a pony. But if this little guy was an option, I would have been the first in line!

How darling in this tiny 14" pony (actually a mini horse)? At full size it is expected to grow to 24". Recently born in Victoria, Australia, Sam Leith

has already made a new friend!

Very Angry Turkeys

Turkeys on the rampage in Grand Haven, Michigan! As if mail carriers don't have enough to deal with, there are now a small group of turkeys that are attacking them when they try to deliver the mail.

Carrier Jeremy Bogerd says they are super aggressive. "As soon as they see us, they're after us," he told the Grand Haven Tribune. "They're not afraid of humans."

Bogerd watched this passel grow over the past decade but in the last month they have become aggressive.

"They'll chase you as soon as they see the truck," he said. "I would rather get attached by a dog sometimes than these turkeys." He added that workers carry a chemical repellent, but the turkey heads are too small to hit.

Could this be turkey revenge for humans breeding turkeys for large breasts at the expense of the comfort of the animal? I say, power to the turkey! I'd be angry too if I was breed so that I couldn't walk. Maybe it's a current modern day version of the Twilight Zone?

Is this for real?

Surgeons in Russia thought they were going to remove a cancerous tumor from a 28-year-old patient – but instead they found a 5-centimeter tree growing inside his lung.

Doctors were convinced he had cancer after he came to them complaining of agonising chest pains and coughing up blood.

An X-ray showed what was believed to be a tumour, and he was rushed to the operating theatre.

Surgeon Vladimir Kamashev from Izhevsk in the Urals was quoted as saying "We were 100% sure."

"We did X-rays and found what looked exactly like a tumour. I had seen hundreds before, so we decided on surgery."

Before removing the major part of the man's lung, the surgeon investigated the tissue taken in a biopsy.

"I thought I was hallucinating," said Dr Kamashev.

"I asked my assistant to have a look: 'Come and see this - we've got a fir tree here'."

"He nodded in shock. I blinked three times as I was sure I was seeing things."

The 2in (5cm) spruce, which was said to be touching the man's capillaries and causing severe pain, was removed.

Mr Sidorkin, now recovering after the op, said in reports: "To be honest I did not feel any foreign object inside me. But I'm just so relieved it's not cancer."

Biologists are sceptical about a plant growing inside human body.

"It is absolutely impossible for a green plant to grow from this small seed inside a man's body. In order for a plant to start growing from the seed, it needs a lot of conditions - light, then water and certain temperature," said Olga Baranova, a university professor.

So, is this for real? Or a hoax? You tell me.

April Fool's Joke?

This is tragic and a sad example of how technology has not necessarily been a benefit to all people all of the time.

New York University officials mistakenly sent out emails to 489 applicants notifying them of their acceptance to the Graduate School of Public Service. The problem was they were actually denied. They were notified by a second email about an hour later. And yes, this all transpired on April 1, April Fools Day. The school blamed the mix up on a clerical error. 

Wow. Imagine having that happen to you? And on April Fools Day to boot. Instant information has it's pluses and minuses. You have to be able to filter what you see and not believe everything you read. But who thought that your email acceptance was a piece you had to scrutinize. How sad. How do you adequately apologize for this kind of mistake?

To text or not to text?

In this case, not.

A woman who crashed into a line of stopped vehicles while text-messaging on her cell phone has been sentenced to six years in a California prison for killing a woman in one of the vehicles.

Investigators said Deborah Matis-Engle was speeding and text messaging when she slammed into the vehicles stopped at a construction zone in August 2007. She had paid several bills by cell phone moments before the crash.

She was in the middle of one of those transactions when she struck the vehicle that burst into flames, killing the occupant.

When are we going to come to our senses and restrict the use of cell phones while driving? How many more people have to die? How many more people are going to have to go to jail? It is crazy when we know they are distracting to not make and enforce a law prohibiting their use. But, then what would the lobbyists do?

Time change has a whole new meaning...

I visited my Dad during the daylight savings time change recently. Changing the time on clocks has a whole new meaning when you have more than a handful to do. 

My Dad loves clocks and in his spare time he refurbishes them. These pictures are just a sampling of the ones that he has. They are not all running, but he had 32 on just his first floor of his home. 

Springing forward is easier as you just move the hour arm ahead one hour. The real problem is falling back. On old clocks you can not just dial back as it will damage the instrumentation. This leaves two options. You can dial ahead eleven hours (to lose one). To do this you have to let the clock chime for each hour before moving to the next hour. As you can see this would be rather time consuming (pun intended). The other option is to stop the clock for an hour and then restart it. 

In any case, you get the gist. 

McGruff Attacked!

This just in from the Associated Press:

A bus driver thought it would be funny to take a bite out of McGruff the crime dog by punching the mascot, but police said the children who witnessed the stunt where horrified.

Metro bus driver Shawn Brim, 38, climbed off a bus, adjusted the side view mirrors and then punched officer Tyrone Hardy, who was handing fliers to children on a Washington street while dressed as the crime dog, police said. After the punch, Brim got back on the bus and drove away, but was quickly pulled over on Saturday March 7th.

Hardy had a swollen right cheek, but seemed more concerned that the attack upset the kids, police said. 

###

Yes, and shouldn't we all be horrified. What on earth possessed the man to do this? 

CRUD seeks new name

Yea. Ya think?

CRUD has come to it's senses and is seeking a new name as "the current one is too long, and the 'CRUD acronym is too negative" according to Amanda Naugle, a community organizer. 

Really? And how long did it take this organization to come to that realization?

CRUD, or the Dexter Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking services a group that you would think might have pointed this out from the beginning, but apparently not. Hence they are now asking for suggestions for new less negative names. 

To submit your suggestions, email them to nauglea@ewashtenaw.org by Friday January 16th. The cream of the crop will be compiled and submitted for your approval (vote) at their website.

Hmm. It will be interesting to see what comes forward. Could be worth checking back in.... 

The lazy rich....

A sailboat left too long in the water has become frozen in Marquette, Michigan's Lower Harbor. 

Marquette Parks and Recreation Department contacted the owner to have it removed from the pier before it became frozen in place. Instead of moving the boat, the owner asked for a bubbler system (which prevents the water from freezing) to be installed at the tax payers expense. 

Guess what happened? Yep, the boat froze in place and now the owner has had to hire a crane to remove the boat or face multiple fines. 

This is a perfect example of a lazy person with too much money. Rather insulting when people don't have enough to eat. The crane operator is probably grateful.

If you'd like to make your own frozen sailboat, try this popsicle maker!

It's a baby aardvark!

The Detroit zoo welcomed it's newest addition to the menagerie of critters that call it home. Amani, which is Swahili for peace was born on December 8th weighing 3 pounds. We are awaiting DNA testing to determine if it is a he or a she. Doesn't seem to matter too much right now. 

Cute little odd creature!

Tragedy in Mumbai (Bombay)

 
My younger sister leads such a different life than I. Tara lives in Mumbai, India with her husband Angad within walking distance of where much of where the melee occurred. Fortunately she was home when the chaos began, but she was near enough that she heard shots and blasts. 

My father and I had a somewhat harrowing Thanksgiving as information was limited. The only communication that we had was via email. (Thank goodness for the Internet.) All phone communication was nonexistent. 

These are photos that she took in the area where she lives, shops, and works in. If the attacks had happened one day earlier she could well have been a victim  in one of the restaurants that was targeted. As expected, reconciling what happened is difficult for everyone there and around the world. Here is a link to an essay that my very eloquent sister wrote about the aftermath. 

It still surprises me that we are such similar people with such different life styles. She is literally a world away. Thank goodness she is safe in hers.

Another reason not to shop at Walmart

I truly don't understand the appeal of standing in line for hours to be let into a store to shop the day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday. Well black Friday will have a whole new meaning for the family of the 32 year old man that was crushed to death as he opened the doors to a Walmart store to let shoppers in. The crowd surged forward and did nothing to help this poor underpaid man as he lay on the floor being trampled. Even co-workers who tried to come to his aid where unable to get to him and help. He died at 6 AM at the hospital that day. 

But here is the kicker. When the store announced that they were closing because of the death, shoppers protested that they had been in line since Thanksgiving evening. They cursed staff as they were asked to leave. The Christmas spirit at its best, eh?

Wow. What is wrong with people. Someone dies and you are only concerned that you couldn't finish your shopping. Perhaps this explains the 47% that voted for McCain/Palin. I didn't understand that either. The callous me first always, at the lowest possible price always, under every circumstance is frightening. 

"Walmart. Low prices. Live better." Their slogan only applies if you get to live it looks like. Well, not really. 

Alas, I hardly knew yee....

I guess I just didn't care too much about the Olympics this time around. I watched it sporadically, but never caught the things that I cared about. 

I love crew. Never saw an ore.

Tried watching beach volleyball, but couldn't stand the loud music that was constantly blaring in the background. I just don't get the current generations need for constant loud stimuli. It makes we worry for the future. But that's another story. Don't get me started. Oye vay!

Anyway, I just wasn't that into the Olympics, except for Michael Phelps. Eight gold medals. Now that is cool. But please, please, please don't ever talk to me about what he eats every day.... That is unless, you eat like below.

If this doesn't warm your heart...

...then you must be dead.

This young man is from Khabul, Afghanistan and is the first athlete to win a medal for his country ever. He took the bronze in Taekwondo. 

Fabulous!

What a wonderful feat for a country that can desperately use a hero right now. Congratulations to Rohullah Nikpai!

Desperation

How much is a house worth to you? Well, to one woman, it was worth her life. 

Charlene Balderama faxed a letter to the mortgage company that was foreclosing on her home that afternoon stating that by the time they had received this letter, she would be dead.

The mortgage company called police who found her dead from a self inflicted gunshot wound from her husband's high power rifle. Next to her body was a note telling her family to "take the (life) insurance money and pay for the house." 

This horrible situation with bad lending practices is taking it's toll in so many ways. I equate this mess to the Enron scandal. Not much is being done to hold those that got rich from this scam accountable, while others are paying the ultimate price. Shame on Countrywide, Citibank  and the other banks that took advantage of those most vulnerable. All in the name of the almighty buck.

Here is some competition for Google!

There is a new search engine on the web! www.cuil.com (pronounced cool) was designed by x Google employees who are ready to take on the big one! They claim to have the ability to search 121,617,892,992 web pages to find what you are looking for, which is far greater than Google. They also have a great privacy policy that states they do not collect data while you use their search engine. This is in direct opposition to Google which collects and analyzes how you use the web. Privacy advocates are applauding this new search engine. 

I tried to use it several times tonight, as was apparently, everyone else, as I sometimes was told to try again. However the times I did get useful information it was displayed in an easy to read and decipherable manner. I've already added it to my bookmarks. You might want to consider trying it too!

Of course the down side for me is the graphics that Google does with their name. Part of the fun is seeing what they have done from day to day which varies. It doesn't look like Cuil will be doing that.

Update on past shame

Prostitute takes trespassing plea

A woman accused of having paid sex with the husband of Michigan U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of trespassing.

Prosecutors dropped a prostitution charge against 21-year old Alycia Martin in exchange for Thursday's plea.

Investigators conducting surveillance Feb. 26 at a Troy hotel stopped 46-year old Thomas Athans. They say Stabenow's husband acknowledged meeting Martin through the Internet and paying her $150 for sex.

Authorities didn't bring charges against Athans.

Troy District Judge William Bolle sentences Martin on August 12. The Westland woman faces up to 90 days in jail but could avoid jail and a record under s state law for young defendants.

From the Associated Press

Don't send your kids to Oceanside California school system

This photo shows one kid bullying another kid. Now replace the bullier with an adult and you have the premise for the following:

On a Monday morning in May 2008 highway officials from California visited an Oceanside school to deliver a talk to the students. They reported that several of the students class mates had been killed in car accidents involving alcohol. The students where understandably upset; some became close to hysterical. 

What the students didn't know was that this was a tactic to "scare them straight". School officials had enlisted the help of the officers to play out this scenario for part of the day until the school was holding an assembly when they would be told it was not real. 

This plan backfired when students became so distraught that teachers spilled the beans and fessed up that it was all a lie. This triggered rumors throughout the school as some kids knew the truth and others didn't. Imagine the chaos and distrust this must has brought to the environment. 

School officials at the 3,100-student school defended the program. "They were traumatized, but we wanted them to be traumatized," said guidance counselor Lori Taube. "That's how they get the message."

I'm glad I'm not a student, parent or teacher at this school. What were they thinking? Clearly they weren't. Didn't these "educators" remember the lessons from the boy who cried wolf? Let's hope we hear more about this and that there are some consequences for the actions of a few who made some very poor judgement calls.

RIP Tim Russert

Tim passed away of an apparent heart attack at age 58 today, Friday June 13th. Maybe there is some truth to the mythological date afterall.

I respected and liked him. Who is going to guide us through the next few months of this election? Who will take on the role of moderator of "Meet The Press"? I feel similar to the way I did when Walter Cronkite retired, only the loss is greater as we will not have guest appearances. 

RIP Tim Russert. More people will miss you than you know.