July, 2009 archive
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
First time initial claims for unemployment have dropped under 600,000 in quite a while. MarketWatch:
(snip)
The four-week average of initial claims fell 10,000 to 606,000. The four-week average smoothes out distortions in the week-to-week data.
(snip)
Last week the government reported that the U.S. economy shed jobs at a faster pace in June than in May, suggesting that the turnaround in the economy may take longer than expected. Nonfarm payrolls shrank by 467,000 in June, higher than the 325,000 decline expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch and the 322,000 jobs lost in May. The unemployment rate ticked higher to 9.5% in June from 9.4%. Since the recession began in December 2007, payroll employment has dropped by 6.5 million
Still doesn’t get my next door neighbor a job.
Return of Beyond the Palin Meets the Froot Loops 0
Almost everywhere I click on this here box, someone is speculating about the reason Sarah Palin threw in her frozen Alaskan towel.
Here are some examples (the last one is most intriguing): Link. Link. Linkety–link.
There is a fallacy that informs this speculation:
The touching faith that reason was in any way involved.
Foxes against Henhouse Regulation 0
Because foxes have only the well-being of the hens in mind.
Oh, yeah. And pigs have wings. After all, swine flu.
Almost at Sea 0
Some pictures taken from the South Island of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. The South Island has parking, a fishing pier, and a diner with surprisingly reasonable prices.
A freighter entering the bay from the ocean. The picture is facing north; the vessel is moving from east to west:
Fair and Balanced Oops.
0
From the Guardian:
The payments secured secrecy over out-of-court settlements in three cases that threatened to expose evidence of Murdoch journalists using private investigators who illegally hacked into the mobile phone messages of numerous public figures and to gain unlawful access to confidential personal data including tax records, social security files, bank statements and itemised phone bills. Cabinet ministers, MPs, actors and sports stars were all targets of the private investigators.
Cooking Shows 3
I am not a big fan of cooking shows.
I haven’t watched one since Justin Wilson passed on (and the true joy of his show was his humor).
After reading this, I don’t think I can ever watch one again (warning: mild language).
Greater Wingnuttery XXXIII 0
No, it will never end, not so long as Pinocchio’s nose can grow.
Twits on Twitter 0
Twit ain’t necessarily so.
The things you are liable to read on the Twible,
Twit ain’t necessarily so.
Philadelphia Shrinquirer Internet FAIL 2
For the third time in a row, I used their “Subscriber Services” link to schedule a “vacation stop.”
For the third time in a row, I got a confirmation email citing dates, address, and account number.
For the second time, not in a row, I came home to find a weekend’s worth of newspapers.
Now, I do still enjoy reading a paper newspaper, even though this one is full of right-wing idiots on the op-ed page. A paper can be taken to places that a laptop cannot.
But my patience is wearing thin. The only thing that is keeping me out of the clutches of the New York Times is that the Times, having no sense of humor, has no comics.
Oh, well, it won’t be long till I’m reading the Pilot. The comics aren’t as good, but, well, you know . . . .
Yes, I Do Take It Personally 0
Despite almost 400 years of family history on this side of the Big Pond (since 1613, if you must ask, or even if you mustn’t), with veterans, doctors, yeoman farmers in the family history, with never missing a state or federal election since I was old enough to vote, with ancestors who probably met the boats their ancestors arrived on, with having a son who’s getting ready for his third tour in the Middle East, I am apparently still not a real American because I don’t agree with them.
Awfully Drafty 0
’nuff said.
A spokesman for the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office says 41-year-old Jonathan Schultz “was driving commando.”
Drinking Liberally 0
I’ll be on the road. You can be there.
Tuesday, Triumph Brewing Company, 2nd and Chestnut, Philadelphia, 6 p.