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Day: April 23, 2008

Twitter Updates for 2008-04-23

  • Good Morning; Now I have FB Chat too. I’m the only one of my contacts online… it IS 7:36AM though. #
  • @Bill It looks fairly on/off to me (all can chat or none) I just set myself as offline and decided that IM (MSN/YiM) is a better bet for me #
  • My computer just beeped, It was a sort of a muted "I’m here" beep and accompanied no errors or on-screen messages. What beeped? #
  • More Rice Shortage news: http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2323679120080423 #

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The Anti-Midas touch

Low ratings for Bush visit on ‘No Deal’

The NBC game show matched its lowest Monday rating ever despite the much-publicized visit by the commander-in-chief. The two-hour “Deal” was seen by 10 million viewers and earned a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49 and a 7 share, down 27% from its prior season average.

Wow, too bad. I guess Glorified Guessing Games Grandiose Great-Apes and Great ratings don’t go together.

I am at a loss as to how that damn show stays on the air, then I remember that America voted for George Bush twice and all the pieces fall into place and I just laugh and laugh.

It’s better than just whining about it, right?

Exterminate!

Dalek Voice Changer Helmet – Doctor Who Novelties & Electronics at BigBadToyStore

The Dalek Voice Changer Helmet is a tiered, circumferential cranial housing, joined with a glowing blue eye stalk. By donning the Dalek Helmet, you gain the ability to speak in the Daleks bloodless tone, play back pre-record Dalek phrases, or activate the Exterminator sound. Should the Daleks ever stage a full scale invasion, battering past the pitiable defenses of mankind, the Dalek Voice Changer Helmet might make the difference between survival and hideous annihilation.

Wow, I want to see this in action before I buy it, but wow!

More Food Shortage news?

Bloomberg.com: Exclusive

The World Food Program cut off rice deliveries to 1,344 Cambodian schools last month after prices doubled and suppliers defaulted on contracts. Schools will run out of food by May 1, depriving about 450,000 children of meals, the WFP estimates.

After the article yesterday from the Sun:

Many parts of America,
long considered the breadbasket of the world, are now confronting a
once unthinkable phenomenon: food rationing. Major retailers in New
York, in areas of New England,
and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and
cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal
reports that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks.

This is troubling news….

Our Horrible World


Okay, it’s not “our horrible world” but if you’ve never seen an Animal Murder a series of small fluffy animals, this video is for you.

You're never too far from..

First Spider in new house, originally uploaded by NiteMayr.

A SPIDER!!! ARRRRRGH!

I’m not afraid of spiders, I like them fine (as they kill other more pernicious beasties).

Wikipedia has this to say about spiders:

“Spiders are predatory invertebrate animals that have two body segments, eight legs, no chewing mouth parts and no wings. They are classified in the order Araneae, one of several orders within the larger class of arachnids, a group which also contains scorpions, whip scorpions, mites, ticks, and opiliones (harvestmen). The study of spiders is known as araneology.

All spiders produce silk, a thin, strong protein strand extruded by the spider from spinnerets most commonly found on the end of the abdomen. Many species use it to trap insects in webs, although there are also many species that hunt freely. Silk can be used to aid in climbing, form smooth walls for burrows, build egg sacs, wrap prey, and temporarily hold sperm, among other applications.

All spiders except those in the families Uloboridae and Holarchaeidae, and in the suborder Mesothelae (together about 350 species) can inject venom to protect themselves or to kill prey. Only about 200 species, however, have bites that can pose health problems to humans.[1] Many larger species’ bites may be quite painful, but will not produce lasting health concerns.

Spiders are found all over the world, from the tropics to the Arctic, living underwater in silken domes they supply with air, and on the tops of mountains. In 1973 Skylab 3 took two spiders into space to test their web-spinning capability in free-fall.”

My wife has this to say about them:

“AAaaahhh! Kevin! A Spider, get it away. Don’t you dare put that on me! Keep it away, you bastard!”

Hijinx ensue.

Smokers and Jokers

Whirlpool suspends 39 workers, says they lied about smoking – Yahoo! News

A Whirlpool Corp. factory in Evansville, Ind., has suspended 39 workers who signed insurance paperwork claiming they don’t use tobacco and then were seen smoking or chewing tobacco on company property. Now, some could be fired for lying, company spokeswoman Debby Castrale said.

Whenever something like this happens I wonder where it’ll all end. I actually applaud the company for their intestinal fortitude, I’d bet that the magic number for regulations on matters like this is 40 though. As in, if 40 people are let go there needs to be prior notice. Interesting, no?

Now I could go on an on about how heavy smokers make for a poor work environment (mostly due to the smell) but alot of people have bad BO or use heavy perfumes. This looks like (on it’s face) a sneaky way to dismiss employees who could well be a drain on the company health plan. That being said, I’m seriously obese and could be looked upon in the same way.

The important question here is where these people given some form of warning or is this a surprise enforcement move?

Lewis Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute, which
advocates for employee privacy, sees no problem with employers trying
to curb smoking. But he worries that the trend of cracking down on
employees’ unhealthy behavior is extending beyond tobacco use.

“We shouldn’t have to give employers complete control over our
private life so they can save a few dollars on medical care,” he said.

This I agree upon, I have been compelled to sign agreements that affected my private life in the past and have declined to do so, as I could not be effective in my job at the time if I was forced to comply with the spirit and letter of these agreements. So I commiserate with the persons affected, up until they lie on their health insurance forms. In the States, you pay for health care, someone lying on those forms and hurting the premiums of their coworkers is not the way things should be.

This is one of those wedge issues where Universal Health Care removes the impetus on the company to enforce health mandates. Don’t you think?