2011 archive
Stray Question 0
Am I the only person who finds the phrase “smart TV” to be an oxymoron?
QOTD 0
Anatole France, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
Of all the ways of defining man, the worst is the one which makes him out to be a rational animal.
Seen on the Street 0
Apparently, someone owes his or her ex one something:
Spill Here, Spill Now 0
Facing South investigates the aftermath of Buccaneer Petroleum’s wild well. A nugget:
Marylee Orr, executive director of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, says she fields a couple of calls a day from people who say they were exposed to BP oil and/or chemical dispersants and who now report an array of health problems, including respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders, blurred vision, rashes and other skin conditions, bleeding from the rectum and ears, and bloody urine.
We Need Single Payer 0
Also, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a long story about hospital markups, that is, what persons with no insurance have to pay. A nugget:
That’s largely because people don’t shop for medical care and hospitals don’t provide cost estimates, Anderson said.
“There is nobody saying to [the hospitals] on behalf of the uninsured and a few other groups that they can’t do it,” Anderson said.
“You just had a heart attack or your appendix burst, so you can’t negotiate a price and you wouldn’t know how much it cost even if you could,” he said.
Via Balloon Juice.
Stupid Car Names: The Camaro’s Legacy 1
When Chevrolet came out with the Camaro to compete with the Mustang, it claimed that “camaro” was a French or Spanish (depending on which source you use) word meaning “friend” or “chum.”
It wasn’t. It was made up by some Mad Men admen after a three martini lunch and best translates as “hunk o’ junk.” This started a trend of made-up car names. For grins and giggles, string them together to make soap opera characters. (“Alero Lexus, may I introduce Rav Acura?”)
Anyhoo, now in the history of unfortunate made-up car names comes the Prosche Panamera, which was apparently named after lunch.
Facebook Frolics 0
Is social networking killing soap operas?
Mike Gruss, writing in my local rag, thinks so:
Even so, Victor is still my hero.
QOTD 0
Thomas Szasz, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
When a person can no longer laugh at himself, it is time for others to laugh at him.
Ebb Tide 0
That giant sucking sound you hear . . .
This is a stark turnaround from the 1990s, when 2.7 million jobs were created in multinational units abroad while 4.4 million were added at home. All told, these major companies employ one-fifth of all working Americans, 21.1 million in 2009. The story was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Discussion at the link.
Runaway Groom 0
In his case, the expression “ball and chain” has become literal.
How To Spot a Racist 0
Sentences starting with “I am not a racist” are usually a pretty sure fire indication.
Watch the video at the link, if you can.
I lasted about two and half minutes before I couldn’t take it any more.
Via Balloon Juice.
Facebook Frolics 0
This is just creepy.
But the eight identified online call girls and prostitutes whose bodies were found in Atlantic City and Long Island – their murders remain unsolved – share another bizarre connection: They have all been reborn on Facebook.
(snip)
Authorities last week discounted links between the two high-profile investigations, but in someone’s twisted mind, the killing sprees have become intimately related. Facebook pages have been created for all eight women, along with missing New Jersey native Shannan Gilbert.
When the Dollar Is the Only Value . . . 0
. . . you hear things like this.
Let’s look at the assumption in it:
- The investigation, not the evidence of misconduct which led to the investigation, is held responsible for the bank’s troubles.
There’s something upside down and backwards about that kind of reasoning.
QOTD 0
Thomas Jefferson, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
Whenever a man has cast a longing eye on offices, a rottenness begins in his conduct.