While washing my hands in a McDonald’s restroom the other day, it dawned on me why so many places are switching to foamy hand soap. I reckoned it isn’t happening because the foamy soap is generally nicer, it’s that it induces people to use less soap and thus saves companies [...]
Today I saw the cover of their new cover with the big headline, “The Decade From Hell.” After wretching a bit, I wondered that the fuck was wrong with them. Seriously, maybe — just maybe — the 1930s, or maybe even the 1940s were just a little bit worse. Do [...]
From Bloomberg:
President Barack Obama said the private sector must take the lead in creating jobs as the U.S. economy recovers
So what ideas emerged from his little jobs summit?
Provide more federal funding for home efficiency incentives. Provide more federal funding for infrastructure improvements. Cutting the corporate tax rate. Pushing creditors to lend [...]I’ve been on the road for the last 9 days, having combined two longish trips into one long trip. I left work Friday and went to Charlottesville and then onto Clemson for the Virginia game. Clemson won but didn’t look great (sadly I had convinced myself that they were just [...]
Dell is selling a 42″ Sharp LCD for $599 on Black Friday only. I’m tempted to buy one, but I’m having a hard time justifying it.
And let me add, Dell has some of the best discounts on Sharp LCDs that I’ve seen anywhere. Their current promotions appear to go [...]
Dear Coach Groh,
Please don’t screw this up for me.
- Nobrainer
PS:
I’m looking forward to being at the Clemson-UVA game, the first home game I will have attended this season. A dinner last night at the highly regarded Restaurant Eve confirmed that I can glean every bit as much satisfaction from [...]From NYT:
If large majorities of Americans favor increased government support for clean energy, as polls suggest, why are so many people reluctant to back such programs when it comes to paying extra themselves?
I won’t call that a stupid question. But I will call supremely ignorant any adult who [...]
Obamacare could have the unintended consequence of raising health insurance premiums and causing a decline in the number of people with insurance….
In short, for those who are now privately insured through employers or by direct purchase, there would be substantial incentives to become uninsured until they become sick. The resulting [...]
Reading about a small hydro power plant today I ran across this interesting sentence.
In accordance with the 2004 Offer of Settlement, a seasonal upstream eel conveyance system will be installed at the Minetto Development by the end of 2008.
Seasonal upstream eel conveyance system?
[...]So my boss finally took delivery of his Tesla Roadster. I don’t have a clue how it drives. But that car is fugly.
PS - If you’re my boss and you’re reading this, I’m sorry.
[...]Another thing that always bothers me is people who refer to their SUVs as trucks. In some instances, there is some gray area and I try not to get mad at that. But, based on some of the webstats for this blog, someone come here through the Google query, “is [...]
The crime:
The outcome:
The owner of the one of the cars that was hit is a staff member at Extreme. On Wednesday, he saw a car in the fitness club’s parking lot that matched the description of the one seen in the surveillance video and called police.
Investigators arrived at [...]
Chevy is now running commercials with the slogan “may the best car win.” I like that idea. But where the hell was it when GM got its ass kicked all the way to bankruptcy when it had to beg the government for protection because of all its, uh, unwinningness?
At least [...]
I just saw a commercial that said something like “if you walk 30 minutes a day, you’ll live a year longer!” Or, if you do the math, if you walk 30 minutes a day, every day, for about 50 years, you’ll extend your life by the same amount you spent [...]
From Michael Tanner of Cato via CoyoteBlog:
When the Senate Finance Committee released CBO scoring of its health care reform proposal last week, we warned that its claim of reducing future budget deficits was achieved only through dishonestly assuming that Congress will implement a 21% reduction in Medicare payments [...]
I’m getting sick of his “everything is on the table [except for all the things that aren't].” Of course what he actually said, this time, was [emphasis mine]:
“We’re going to continue to explore each and every avenue that I can think of that will lead to job creation and' [...]
The more entertained I am by Monday Night Football.
PS: Arguably this is due to the sad state of affairs that is Clemson football.
[...]Sorry about the lack of posts. Also sorry to say that you shouldn’t necessarily expect to see much in the next couple weeks (although it seems like I usually post a lot whenever I say not to expect anything).
Anyway, I wanted this opportunity to repeat some words from [...]
Last week: “Obama has no plans to insist on [the public option] himself.”
Now: The President’s plan, according to barackobama.com, “[o]ffers a public health insurance option to provide the uninsured and those who can’t find affordable coverage with a real choice.”
[...]Says Drudge: IT’S OFFICIAL: NO PUBLIC OPTION FROM OBAMA
Says the article: “And although House leaders have said their members will demand the inclusion of a public insurance option, Obama has no plans to insist on it himself, the officials said.”
He won’t “insist on it?” Pardon me for trying to [...]
This happened about a block up the street from my office. The local radio stations were buzzing about it. However I did not see it in person.
This was his wifes way of getting back at him. By getting him out of the house so she could cheat [...]
The whole thing is a moving target. Provisions are constantly being added, removed (not enough removal though) and amended… to the handful of different and all lengthy bills. But even what is and isn’t can lead to more confusion. For example, what about illegal aliens? They’re included in the [...]
Earlier in the week I was listening to a budget priorities conference call. The budget in question wasn’t that of my company, rather it was for the organization we work with. The people for this organization are prone to doing silly and non-transparent things. This week, for this presentation, they [...]
It’s restaurant week here in the DC area. One of my co-workers made reservations at the new restaurant nearby, Chef Geoff’s Tyson’s to take advantage of the deals available during restaurant week. For $21 each person got an appetizer of their choice, entree of their choice, and dessert of their [...]
It has often seemed to me that the wait times in checkout lines at the supermarket in Northern Virginia were unusually and unnecessarily long. Now comes some confirmation on that first part:
The linked article goes on about the details of wait times. Unfortunately they [...]
Dear readers,
I’m searching for some information, but I can only vaguely describe it. If you can help me out, I would be most appreciative.
Many of you have probably heard of studies that examine the IQ difference between the genders. The studies found that the mean is about the same and [...]
If I saw this being executed I would want to grab onto to the back of the boat to see if I could get the Taurus’s drive wheels off the ground… That would probably surprise the hell out of the driver.
see more [...]
Interesting
More than half of patients on Benlysta in the double-blind randomized trials showed significant improvement in symptoms in a year, compared with 44 percent of those on a placebo, according to the company that developed the drug, Human Genome Sciences. HGS is sharing development and marketing rights to the drug [...]
Sucks for Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough President [My comments in italics]:
The “Cash for Clunker” program… has boosted month-to-month auto sales nationally by 2.4%, emptying lots at Dallas car dealerships [Two percent. Really? REALLY? All this hoopla over a 2% increase?], and prompting Ford factories in Detroit to do something [...]
I’d like to thank my GM dealer, Alexandria Buick Pontiac GMC for the following:
A “schedule appointment” feature on their website that doesn’t do anything. Changing my oil and failing to notice and reset the “you need an oil change” indicator Adding the sticker to the inside of my windshield that reminds [...]My first thought is whether it might be fair to compare some of the proposed reforms to the No Child Left Behind Program. I’m not expert in the ways of NCLB, and I’m not bothering to look things up here, I’m just thinking out loud, but the summary is that [...]
Since my move, I’ve effectively been without television (I’m waiting for the owner to approve the installation of lines in rooms where I actually want to and have put my TV). This is actually not too big of a deal since I haven’t been home much, since there aren’t any [...]
I got my old lawnmower to run.
The mower has only been used sparingly since I bought it about six or seven years ago. I haven’t used it since at least 2003, back when I lived at 300 Woodland Circle. My dad had used it some in the mean [...]
Miller/Coors is debuting a 1.5 gallon box of beer that costs more than the regular product.
I just don’t get it.
[...]Having recently moved, I am reminded of George Carlin and how much stuff — but most definitely not shit — I have.
This is also a good Carlin clip, but it has nothing to do with moving.
That appears to be the goal of all the newly proposed health care legislation coming from the Democrats. Rather than ask why it is we are where we are, they’re just putting pen to paper to ensure that in the future we end up somewhere — anywhere — else. For [...]
The Wall Street Journal today has an interesting article on the increasing availability of prime beef. I haven’t actually seen any of it yet, but Mr. Bingley had scoop two weeks ago.
[...]A recent Southwest flight experienced some damage and had to make an emergency landing.
Fortunately a keen passenger was able to speak to the press.
John Benson of Knoxville was on Flight 2294 with his two sons. Benson was planning on taking his sons to New York by way of Baltimore. [...]
How to Use an LCD Monitor as a TV Without a Computer.
That sounds like a potentially good idea, although one drawback might be the refresh rates of cheaper LCD monitors.
[...]If everything goes well, I’ll know about my new living situation first thing Monday morning. Then I’ll have to shift into high gear to get all the utilities turned on. While I don’t have any choice in most matters, I do have a choice in cable/internet provider. Cox is pretty [...]
Don’t worry, the same company that just months ago said that bankruptcy was not an option, has now emerged from bankruptcy. Of course now we’re being told that all the government loans will be paid back in full and ahead of schedule. In addition, “[The new CEO] said the [...]
Sometime, maybe a year ago, I heard Lenny Dykstra on a local radio station talking the local radio station talking about Lenny Dykstra’s transformation into an uber-successful stock picking/investing guru. He apparently appears on TV regularly, has until recently been making picks for thestreet.com, and maybe even publishing other newsletters. [...]
SmartMoney has a list of 10 Things Your Real Estate Broker Won’t Say. As I’ve been house hunting recently (just for a rental), I can particularly relate to #9, “My website is a dead end.”
In the case of the house I’m hoping to get, I:
- On [...]
Here’s a clip of George Foreman beating Joe Frazier in 1973. Aside from the beatdown from Foreman, 2 things stand out to me. First, there’s no way today that the fight would have been allowed to continue for so long. That’s a change that I’m fine with. Second, Foreman and [...]
Sometimes people take percentages too seriously.
Case 1: Statins, a class of drugs that lower cholesterol levels in people with or at risk of cardiovascular disease, seem to be emerging as the next wonder drug that everyone should be taking. Unfortunately, the improvement seems to be an improvement [...]
When asked, every one of the 164 hand-picked audience members said they felt that health care needed to be changed.
Of course, everybody wants change. That’s what people do. They want change.
But to encourage change for change sake, or to only ask about who’s interested in change without finding out [...]
I’ve been keeping up with Tucker Max’s I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell blog, which has served to make me very excited about the movie. Lately two things have been worrying me: 1) is it going to be just like the Hangover? and 2) I’m really expecting good [...]
I applaud Greg Mankiw for making some very good points about the health care debate. Today, for example, he notes that there is more than one way to measure the quality of health care received and that life expectancy doesn’t the whole story. Considering that Americans are considered to [...]
Coalition of the Swilling notes that, in another sign of some being more equal than others, newly revealed health care proposals will change the taxability of government provided health care (which is not new and which I support) except for people in unions.
Yes. They seem to be proposing special [...]
Protesters in New York were angry at plans to kill 2000 geese. “Gassing 2000 geese is not a long-term solution,” their signs say. And they’re right. We need to gas all the geese. That is a long term solution we can believe in.
[...]Despite hearing bad reviews for The Terminal, I obtained a copy anyway. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised.
The common complaints I heard were that it wasn’t that funny and that it was too long. I agree that it wasn’t hilarious, which is probably what some were expecting [...]
Congress today begins crafting legislation that Democratic leaders plan to push through both chambers by their August recess. The measure may require all Americans to get medical insurance…
The problem, or “moral imperative if you prefer”, allegedly, is that there are too many people without medical insurance… So part [...]
Yesterday I watched the 2001 film, Double Whammy, which stars Denis Leary, Elizabeth Hurley, and Steve Buscemi. There’s no doubt in my mind (but apparently there is in the minds of others who have rated this a 5.7 at IMDB) that this is a bad movie. The debate is [...]
On Friday I received notice that I had a certified letter waiting for me from a county in Maryland. I thought I had won the speeding lottery and was eagerly awaiting my prize.
Well. I was wrong. Instead I found out that my old car — the one I don’t [...]
I’m definitely in glass-half-empty-mode when it comes to the stock market. It’s certainly feels good to see my investments recovering from the lows of early March, but I’m thinking this recovery will more closely resemble a W than a V. Therefore, what we have here looks like an opportunity. So, [...]
The Federal Reserve announced a $1.2 trillion plan three months ago designed to push down mortgage rates and breathe life into the housing market.
But this and other big government spending programs are turning out to have the opposite effect. Rates for mortgages and U.S. Treasury debt are now marching [...]
From an informal industry newsletter about California’s proposed 33% renewable portfolio standards:
Hence, the Nexant study is an interesting counterpoint to the CPUC analysis in the following
way: Nexant doesn’t forecast future rate impacts of higher RPS targets, but does bring up a host of costly items that need to be [...]
A really cool photo gallery titled “A Walk Through Time“.
The talk of Chevy Chase recently made me think of an old Rolling Stone interview with Johnny Carson:
I did throw a line against Chevy Chase once. Somebody talked about ad-libbing, and I said that I didn’t think Chevy Chase [...]
The treatment of IRAs is changing in 2010, and from what I’ve read, the new rules could be a boon for those who like the Roth IRA but find themselves locked out by income limits.
Right now, you’re only able to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth if your [...]
From the paper, 7 Myths About Green Jobs:
The green jobs literature exhibits selective technological optimism.
That seems to go hand-in-hand with comments like “solar power has been 10 years away from economic viability for the last 30 years”.
Not sure why that quote is amusing me so much, maybe it just [...]
Yesterday I happened across an editorial from a socialist. The argument was that Con Edison, a privately owned company was failing the electricity users of New York City and that there is a clear solution. That Con Ed is a joke is not a new argument, and I try not [...]
The news says that New Belgium Breweries will be making their Fat Tire, and some other assorted beers, available to South Carolinians as of June 1, 2009. That sounds like good news for beer consuming South Carolinians and New Belgium.
The bad news for New Belgium is that their [...]
I’ll be very honest with King Abdullah, with whom I’ve developed a good relationship, indicating to him that we’re not going to be eliminating our need for oil imports in the immediate future; that’s not our goal.
Instead the goal is to spend money. At least that’s how [...]
Not that I’ve necessarily said it here, but elsewhere at least, I have said that our efforts to lower oil prices by cutting demand are potentially foolhardy. It sounds good in theory, but OPEC can pretty much offset whatever we do. If they match consumption cuts with output cuts then [...]
Those are not the words the Washington Post used to describe the sad goings on between GM and the government, but the WaPo is leaning in that direction.
[I]n its aggressive dealings with U.S. automakers, most recently General Motors, the Obama administration is coming dangerously close to engaging in financial [...]
Here’s a few doses of “what the hell is wrong with the government“?
The [fuck you and your good habits] credit card bill heading to the House of Representatives includes a rider that could help settle whether concealed weapons will be permitted in national parks
What? Guns, credit cards, and [...]
Despite my declarations in the past of how much I hate Sprint (I sometimes do), how incompetent their customer service people are (they are), how crappy their website is (it’s pretty bad, and how I’d be moving to another carrier, I’m still with Sprint and have been for what is [...]
Not surprisingly the dolts in Washington have found another new way to make me worse off without having to use the T-word.
Credit cards have long been a very good deal for people who pay their bills on time and in full. Even as card companies imposed punitive fees and [...]
At work today we received a brief summary of a talk from someone who is high up at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Here’s the gist:
There are something like 13(?) energy bills circulating through the federal legislative branch right now. About 6 are “serious.” The bills are up to 1000 [...]This was worth to me today:
Project construction and labor relations during construction were relatively uneventful. However, there were some issues with IBEW Local 3 which required that prefab electrical console terminations (part of the Swiftpac package that had been wired in Pratt & Whitney’s non-union fabrication shops) be un-terminated when [...]
So I’m watching lecture by an urban planner. Here’s what you need to know.
Now: “Trust us.”
My prediction for the future: “You fucked up - you trusted us!”
[...]It appears that NBC has put together a sitcom about community college starring Joel McHale and Chevy Chase, who isn’t dead yet, surprisingly.
It looks like it may have potential. Although I find it somewhat sad that Chevy is still doing basically the same thing he did 30 years ago… [...]
Mr. Obama has said repeatedly that he is not an automotive engineer and has no desire to pick models, engines, factories or corporate governance structures.
Or his head of the EPA:
The President has said—and I couldn’t agree more—that what this country needs is one single national road map [...]
Justice David Souter can’t be all bad.
The timing [of his retirement] may have been unexpected, but Souter has long yearned for a life outside Washington.
He has never made any secret of his dislike for the capital, once telling acquaintances he had “the world’s best job in the world’s worst [...]
I still won’t be staying away from the good stuff.
And I’ll continue to not worry about H1N1.
In fact, the current outbreak of the H1N1 virus, which emerged in San Diego and southern Mexico late last month, may not even do as much damage as the run-of-the-mill flu outbreaks that [...]
… Then maybe I can load up on a whole lotta pork shoulder for cheap.
U.S. pork producers are finding that the name of the virus spreading from Mexico is affecting their business, prompting U.S. officials to argue for changing the name from swine flu.
At a news briefing, Homeland Security [...]
Not surprisingly, the current folks in charge in Washington willing to throw good money at anything that might have some good regardless of how bad an idea it might be in its entirety. Among those things is high speed rail. To be fair, I think high speed rail is extremely [...]
From what I’ve read, the GM restructuring “plan” is to screw-over their bondholders and give themselves to the federal government. Double-U Tee Eff?
I hate GM more and more with every passing day.
[...]Proving once again that language is no barrier, Congress (both sides of the aisle) and Obama are committed to increasing pay for volunteers.
Fortunately Obama has tasked his cabinet with finding $0.1 Billion, which will help to fund the “$5.7 billion national service bill”.
[...]I guess I can’t be surprised that borrow and spend Americans would elect presidents… that do the same stupid things.
“[Obama] will challenge his Cabinet to cut a collective $100 million in the next 90 days,” said a White House news release. “Agencies will be required to report back with [...]
I think my high school class is set to have a 10 year reunion this year, probably in the fall. I’m considering going back, but compared to many of the other things I can do on weekends in the fall it doesn’t seem like much of a priority. Maybe I’ll [...]
