Collect Experiences. Not Things. :')

August 28, 2010

US police find kilo of cocaine hidden inside ...


In this Aug. 26, 2010 photo released by the Holyoke, Mass., police, an official reveals a package containing a kilogram of cocaine hidden inside a hollowed out chunk of bologna. Police arrested Juan Rodriguez Thursday when he received a package shipped from Puerto Rico to his Holyoke home that contained the cocaine and bologna.
One hell of a sandwich.

August 25, 2010

Food

@ Soul Food Restaurant, NYC
Waiter: What would you like?
Me: ummm…. can…I….get...the salad with smoked tofu.
Waiter: Sorry, but we don't have that tonight.
Me: How about the pulled pork, then?
Brief Pause
Waiter: How did you get go from the tofu salad to pulled pork?

@ West African Restaurant, Newark, NJ
Me: Can I get of order of okra with baku.
Lady behind counter: You like African food?
Me: Yes
Lady behind counter: You look like an African.

Near my apartment in CT, there are also a bunch of great hole-in-the-wall restaurants/take-away joints. Within a 15 minute walk, I can get Mediterranean, Dominican, European or Peruvian food ... Cuban Sandwiches with Yucca on the side, Falafel and Hummus wraps, Seafood Ceviche . Yum.

This Sounds Like Me

Except it's referencing 20 somethings...
The traditional cycle seems to have gone off course, as young people remain un­tethered to romantic partners or to permanent homes, going back to school for lack of better options, traveling, avoiding commitments, competing ferociously for unpaid internships or temporary jobs, forestalling the beginning of adult life.
Just as adolescence has its particular psychological profile, Arnett says, so does emerging adulthood: identity exploration, instability, self-focus, feeling in-between and a rather poetic characteristic he calls “a sense of possibilities.” A few of these, especially identity exploration, are part of adolescence too, but they take on new depth and urgency in the 20s. The stakes are higher when people are approaching the age when options tend to close off and lifelong commitments must be made. Arnett calls it “the age 30 deadline.
As published in the NY Times . The "sense of possibility" how long can one keep it alive? How long can one forestall adulthood?

August 15, 2010

Beginning to End

Honestly, I've never watched an Oprah Winfrey show, but the woman is impressive. From where she started to where she is today, in spite of all the racism this country harbors under the surface.

Fox and Friends Supports Obama's Mosque Comments


Even on Fox News this morning, the Fox & Friends weekend hosts all agreed that Obama is performing the job that’s required of him. “Obama has to stand up for religious freedom,” said co-host Alisyn Camerota. “He has to stand up for our Constitution,” co-host Dave Briggs offered, to which co-host Clayton Morris added, “That’s the job he gets…defend the Constitution.”

Former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson said Obama’s comments were “ultimately the right thing to do,” adding, “Obama is correct that the way to marginalize radicalism is to respect the best traditions of Islam and protect the religious liberty of Muslim Americans.”
It is the President responsibility to up hold the Constitution for everybody! Not only for people who have the same beliefs. I can't believe the idiot Sarah Palin is trying to make it an issue. I'm sure if she had it her way all Muslims would be deported. The GOP's ravenous desire to instill fear in the U.S. public couldn't be so blatant. The same type of fear mongering got us head first into the Iraq War. Don't believe everything the GOP tells you about people living overseas. Most of the people in the GOP have never spent time overseas themselves.

Will Same Sex Marriage Pass or Not?

Think of it this way: there was never an out gay person on TV until 1997, that's only thirteen years ago. The times are a changing.

Fairly Sure The Democrats Loose House Seats in the Fall Elections


Since 1946, presidents with job approval ratings below 50% at the time of midterm elections have seen their parties lose an average of 36 U.S. House seats, compared with an average loss of 14 seats for presidents with approval ratings above 50%. – Gallup.

With Obama's current approval rating at 45 and the U.S.'s already sluggish economy slowing, it doesn't look good. The GOP requires an increase of 40 seats to take the majority in the House. Reagan and Clinton both had approval rating below 50 entering during their first-term upon entering into the mid-term elections. They lost 28 and 53 seats, respectively. Without a doubt, Democrats will loose seats in the House this mid-term election. But how many?

But even with that said, we all know Obama won't stand by idling. Come mid-October he's start his politicking, blaming the entire mortgage market meltdown and financial crisis on the Bush Administration. And bets? His last minute politicking during the Health Care Reform was instrumental in tipping the votes.

As for the Senate, it appears the Democrats will hold on to the upper house, but only by a slim margin of two or three (counting Lieberman and Sanders), unless of course something drastic occurs.

Looking even further in the the future, Obama's own fate will almost solely be decided by the state of the economy in two years leading up to 2012.

August 14, 2010

Cycled Through Frecnhtown Today

I've been running five miles - four days a week - in the morning before work, so when I got on my bike after a month and a half of not riding my leg muscles struggled. But I made it the entire 50 miles, albeit a bit slower than usual.

While cycling through Frenchtown, I noticed it was crowded. Not sure why? Might be because of its new celebrity and the opening weekend of her movie based on her best selling novel or people using the town as a jump-off point for floating/tubers down the Delaware. Lots of tubers on the rivers. Such a beautiful day.

NY Times
Ms. Gilbert, the author of the 2006 memoir “Eat, Pray, Love,” owns the shop in Frenchtown, N.J., with her husband, José Nunes.

"Smells Like Rockin' Robin"

August 11, 2010

If U Can't Get Drunk When U're O'd, Why Get Old?

NY Times Why Getting Old Means Drinking Less

If you feel like you can’t drink the way you used to, you’re not alone. An aging body is more sensitive to alcohol than a younger one.
No way.

The National Institutes of Health’s Senior Health Web site today issued new warnings about alcohol and aging, reminding people 65 and older that even a few drinks can hit them harder than in their youth.
What? They're communists.

The reason is that older people metabolize alcohol more slowly, and they also have less water in their bodies.
I have lots of water. Thank you.

For instance, drinking alcohol while taking medications for high blood pressure, diabetes, gout or heart failure can make those conditions worse.
I drink alcohol for the exact same reasons!

Even over-the-counter pain relievers can pose a risk.
Give me some, and I'll tell you if it's true.

Alcohol can also lead to balance problems.
I can balance. Don't worry.

The true message: drink MORE and FASTER while you're young.

August 05, 2010

Ted Olson Comments on Prop 8 Being Ruled Unconstitutional

Ted Olson (the guy speaking) is a hard core Republican. He was Bush's attorney during the 2000 election that won Bush the Presidency.
Conclusion: Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbian for denial of marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples.
Christian haters loose again. Christian haters tried to block the freedom of slaves in the 1860's and equal voting rights for women in the early 1900's, but in both cased the court overruled them. Once again the courts have overruled the haters. Next the Supreme Court 5-4?

August 01, 2010

Seven Best Reef for Scuba Diving


Seven Best Reefs for Scuba Diving

World's 10 Best Scuba Spots

Top Ten Dive Sites in the World

And the next vacation.... I'm thinking Belize.

Housing's Negative Equity

The housing market is still a mess. I'm sure the Fed will do everything in it's power to avoid deflation, but the housing market still has to clear. There are too still to many houses on the market.

Negative Equity Breakdown . The authors estimate there are 4.1 million homeowners with more than 50% negative equity, and another 5 million with 20% to 50% negative equity.

BED INTRUDER SONG!!!