Slow News Day?

[Fazor]

According to the AAA, speeding, running red lights or stop signs, cutting people off, tailgating, crossing the center line and going off the road are a leading cause of accidents.

Ah, shifting the paradigm and defining new boundaries in human thought!

Speaking of which, I had a woman narrowly miss hitting me head on last night because she decided to pass the person ahead of her, but apparently thought that dashed lines mean you have the right to pass someone regardless of on-coming traffic. With me hitting my brakes and getting as far over as I could without leaving the roadway, and the guy she was passing doing the same, she was able to successfully overtake him with at least three inches (And at most three and a half inches) to spare.

Did I mention that it makes me a little grumpy when someone gambles with my life because they're impatient?

[NEOWatcher]

Stress From Snowy Mess Is Normal
Ok; maybe it's a little more relevant to areas that don't see a lot of snow... but a Cleveland station?

But if it's any comfort, that's a perfectly normal reaction to such perfectly abnormal weather

Uhm, since when is cold and snow in January and February considered abnormal?

But, she said, "this can be a horribly stressful time" for people without electricity or are snowbound

Who would've thought?

"One thing we can try to do is to maintain normal routines as much as possible -- get up at the normal wake time, go to bed at the regular time, eat meals at regular mealtimes. This may help more than people would think."

Try, but not a good idea.
Wake up early because of traffic.
Eat dinner when, and if, you get home at a reasonable time.
And; when do you work snow removal into your regular routine? That might just mess with the bedtime.

If dealing with the weather seems overwhelming, it would be a good time to let other people help with such tasks as snow removal or trips to the store, Roecklein said.

Sure; give them the stress.

[Fazor]

My back pain is stressful, I guess. But snow removal has actually been a welcome chance to get out and be at least somewhat active.

Personally, I find the snowy weather much less stressful than our regular rainy-muddy weather we have this time of year. But we didn't get 30 inches or more of snow here either, and the storm was much less than crippling.

[NEOWatcher]

This one sounds even worse than the teletubby controversy.

Is Dora the Explorer an illegal immigrant?

The show has never specified where Dora is from.
Dora is a Latina, but elements on the show suggest she may be Mexican, central American or even a U.S. Midwesterner.

So; can anyone tell me the basis for the suspicion?

[Gillianren]

A US Midwesterner? Noooooooooo!

[Fazor]

So; can anyone tell me the basis for the suspicion?

Where she's from? You can tell a lot about where a Spanish-speaker is from by various means; certain vocabulary differences, dialect, etc. Just like you can (usually) tell someone from, say, Georgia as opposed to someone from New York.

My guess is that Dora is from Nickelodean Studios, and that she is not, in fact, a real person from a real place.

As for the "Is she an illegal immigrant!?!!" nonsense apparently going around in e-mails, I'd guess that no she's not an illegal immigrant, rather she's a fictional cartoon character. Again, that's just *my* guess.

Slow news day? Yeah I'd say so.

[NEOWatcher]

Again, that's just *my* guess.

Just a guess? What was your clue?

Anyway; it doesn't seem to be an isolated story (ok, Fox will print anything it seems).
From a Fox station

Representatives from Nickelodeon declined to comment on Dora's background, and her place of birth or citizenship have never been clear.

Declined to comment? I'm not surprised. My question is did they comment (or just groan) on the question in the first place?

A US Midwesterner? Noooooooooo!

Sure; that's the only place with oak trees, isn't it?

Dora lives in an unidentified location with pyramids that suggest Mexico, but also tropical elements such as palm trees and her friends, Isa the iguana and Boots the monkey. Does that mean she's from South America or Florida?
Then there's oak trees and her fox nemesis Swiper, which are more common to the American Midwest.
The show often plays Salsa-like music, which has some roots in Cuba and is popular across Latin America.

[HenrikOlsen]

Is the Teletubby controversy the one about Tinky Winky being gay?

[NEOWatcher]

Is the Teletubby controversy the one about Tinky Winky being gay?

Is there another Teletubby controversy?

My second linked article mentions that, and Bert and Ernie. But; at least those had some visuals or situational situations to go by, even if they were misinterpreted.

I see nothing in this one.

[Gillianren]

I see a cheap, probably failed, publicity stunt.

[NEOWatcher]

I see a cheap, probably failed, publicity stunt.

In a lot of these kinds of things, I would agree.

But; in this situation, I think it's just the press making a big deal out of some idiots making a bad joke in bad taste to an already heated political situation.

[Fazor]

In a lot of these kinds of things, I would agree.

But; in this situation, I think it's just the press making a big deal out of some idiots making a bad joke in bad taste to an already heated political situation.

I concur. I can't help but picture some sarcastic college student sitting in his bedroom typing up a "Dora is an illegal! L@wlz!!!" e-mail. And somehow that's national news. I cannot believe they even attempted to "contact Nickelodeon for comment."

[NEOWatcher]

In Philly, it's 2 cheesesteaks to go for Obama
The Prez orders 2 cheesesteaks with the usual Cheez Whiz topping and a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone.
In 2004 John Kerry ordered one with swiss. "Critics used that to portray the wealthy Kerry as out of touch."

One comment: SO?

[Fazor]

I prefer swiss on my Phillies. I had no idea that was a product of me being wealthy. Now if only I knew where all my money was . . .

[NEOWatcher]

Have you seen the price of Swiss cheese lately? About 3 to 4 times the price of the "cheese wiz quality" chedder.

[Fazor]

Have you seen the price of Swiss cheese lately? About 3 to 4 times the price of the "cheese wiz quality" chedder.

So? I'm wealthy. Remember? (Plus Kerry ordered it in 2004; I don't remember it being outlandishly expensive then.)

[Gillianren]

It's more expensive, but that's only because it's actually edible. I'm pretty sure it's more expensive than Silly String, too.

[NEOWatcher]

Hey; they admit it....
Subway rat crawls across sleeping rider (cnn video)

A rat crawls on a man's face, and a cross-eyed opossum delights. CNN's Jeanne Moos reports on beauty and the beast.

At 0:55 she actually says (paraphrased) "but it's a slow news day when you can..."

Unfortunately, she also says "rare", which I don't think is the case.

I have a feeling that one of these days, reporters will just be checking youtubes for who has the most hits and nothing else. iReports are evidence of this trend.

[NEOWatcher]

Clean up your grocery budget & shop elsewhere for house supplies

Consumer Reports recently recommended shopping for non-food items somewhere other than the grocery store because prices are lower at discount chains.

Amazing!!!! I would have never guessed.

But; what do I know, I usually do my produce shopping at Sears...

[Gillianren]

I'm willing to bet most people buy at least some non-food items at grocery stores. Like, say, aluminum foil. Toilet paper. Things like that. There are generally several whole aisles of non-food items in any grocery store.

[danscope]

My Father-in-law gave me some general advice when I was building my house: " NEVER buy ANYTHING in a hardware store"!!!
He pointed his bony finger at me to express his point. I thought about this long and hard for a week. After the project was
well on it's way, I came to the conclusion that, if the quality was sufficient to the required performance of function, than
a discount source made good sense. Along with this is sufficient planning ahead, reducing repeated trips (time, gasoline) by listing in advance what will be needed in the next few weeks, and getting extra. So.... when you know what you will need, when you will need it and get it ahead in one shot, you save plenty. The savings paid for the beer I invested in him and my Father while they helped me. Good investment.
By the way: Big Box discount warehouse clubs serve me well for tissues,paper stuff, detergent, flour etc.
Basic staples in quantity pay well. I probably save $50 a month . Just don't get sucked into buying processed stuff.
I saved $100 just on the tires.
Planning ahead, planning ahead---------Jim Crocket from 'The Victory Garden'

The money you save might be your own
Dan

[NEOWatcher]

I'm willing to bet most people buy at least some non-food items at grocery stores.

I don't doubt it... but the reason matters. I'm sure it's more out of convenience rather than cost.

Besides, it seems like the discount stores have a better selection than the grocery store (at least from the stores I go to). That tells me it's intended to be more out of convenience.

[Tobin Dax]

So to prove their point, they compare a store brand 6-pack of paper towels at a discount store to a brand-name 2-pack at the grocery store? The paper towels I buy at the grocery store are usually store brand and cost about $1.00 a roll. And I don't have to travel to another store to get them.

Slow news day, indeed.

[NEOWatcher]

This one just popped up as a top story...
With all the bigger air flight stories in the news, this entire article reads like an Onion article to me.

Captains without the cap: More airline pilots ditch the hat

Pilots have a range of opinions about hats, with some saying it makes them look more professional and others saying that they are frequently mistaken for skycaps.

“I’m against hats. They mess up your hair, promote baldness and it looks really stupid to be walking around with a hat on,” said Cingari. “Plus you have to remember it.”

“It’s like the white coat on the doctor,” said Janet Bednarek, a history professor specializing in aviation history at the University of Dayton in Ohio.

I disagree... the coat is more than just looks.

In the 1960s, Abagnale gained notoriety for forging more than $2 million in bad checks and for adopting a variety of fake identities, including a doctor, a lawyer and, most famously, a Pan American World Airways pilot. [...]
“The emblems on their hats, as well as their wings, are actually two of the most difficult things for someone to obtain ... removing the requirement of the hat makes it one step easier to assume the role of a pilot.”

Security is a bit different now than when he tried in the 60s. They should probably interview TSA instead.

[NEOWatcher]

Boat named 'Titanic II' sinks near England

A 16-foot boat named bearing the Titanic name suffered a similar fate as its much larger and more famous predecessor nearly 100 years ago.

16 Foot? I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't thousands of 16 foot boats with that name. I wonder how many 16 foot boats sink per year. I would guess it's a rather large number.

[HenrikOlsen]

Similar fate? He says that he's already fed up with people asking if he hit an iceberg, and then the journalist still claims it was similar.

[NEOWatcher]

Similar fate? He says that he's already fed up with people asking if he hit an iceberg, and then the journalist still claims it was similar.

I was going to comment on that too. But; I just kept hearing the naysayers in the back of my mind saying that there's going to be members getting on my case with "but, but, but.. the fate is that it sank".

[Tobin Dax]

Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but naming a ship “Titanic” might be a risky move.

[NEOWatcher]

Similar fate? He says that he's already fed up with people asking if he hit an iceberg, and then the journalist still claims it was similar.

Now that I think about it... How many watertight compartments have to fail in a 16 foot fishing boat?

[Fazor]

Fishermen annoyed by new hair style

I'm annoyed by a lot of things; you don't see me getting a news article about it! Basically, it's apparently now "in fashion" to use long rooster feathers as hair accessories/extension. Problem is, these are traditionally used to tie flies (lures) for fishing. Increased demand = sold out stock = inflated prices, which fishermen don't want to pay. So annoying? Sure. News worthy? No.

They say rooster-raisers can't keep up with demand, but I never had problems finding artificial feathers at hobby stores. I'm sure there's fly-tiers that prefer natural to artificial for various reasons (I never cared which I used), but in hairstyling applications, I think I'd prefer to put a fake feather in my hair. A real feather just seems gross, even if it has been sterilized.