Useless Trivia Fact #10

Elvis Presley was nearsighted. At his death, he owned an estimated $60,000 dollars worth of prescription sunglasses.

"If I Did It": Admission, Comparison, Or Future Instruction?

The recent cancellation of the O.J. Simpson book and television special entitled "If I Did It." put a smile on my face, and restored a glimmer of hope in my opinion of the seemingly endless downhill spiral of this countries moral fabric. Finally ... as a country, we all said "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" No matter what your opinion of O.J., or his true roll in the murder case, I think we can all agree that the entire case made a mockery of our judicial system ... "If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit" comes to mind, or that fact that Mark Fuhrman found himself on trial rather than the defendant for using the "N word" too many times. Oh yeah ... that's right ... O.J. Simpson never took the stand in his own defense, but Lance Ito let him read a letter without cross examination. Anyway, my point is now our silent church mouse, after pleading innocence and losing millions in civil suits yielding guilty verdicts, has plenty to say about the murder of his wife and how he would have done it. Am I missing something here? Plead innocent yet hypothesize how he would have carried out the act if he had done it? That's like saying to your boss, "No Mr. Johnson, I didn't wreck the company car and have no idea how that fender got caved in ... but if I had done it, I would have done it like this because my way is much more to the point, incredibly more damaging, and offers more bang for your buck." I think you know where Mr. Johnson would stick your keys after a statement like that.

High = Dry

Local note: After six days of a majority of the area being completely without water (due to a severed 24" supply main during last weeks storm), the problem has finally been rectified. Here's the interesting part; This large water main that feeds the entire area in which I live is fed from a distribution center about 6 miles south of here. The only feasible way to run the pipe when it was installed was under a creek that passes between two large mountains ... that so far makes somewhat sense. Here's where it gets a little weird. Upstream of where the break happened to be, is a sewer treatment plant that in time of extreme rainfall dump their overflow ... you guessed it, down the creek. Now during normal circumstances, I would think that the positive pressure in the pipe would keep out any contaminants coming downstream in the event that the pipe was already leaking. So ... if the line was broke and consequently shut off ... where does the excess treatment plant "runoff" go now? Obviously, nobody has thought enough about it to raise a "stink" yet ... this is just my own observation. Yet another mechanical marvel from the lowest bidder.

Who Are The Ads REALLY Targeting?

While at the mall today, my ears were bombarded with Christmas music ... and we didn't even get through Thanksgiving yet. I guess that retailers, although they will never admit it, are trying to get consumers into the holiday spirit to ease their own economic crunch. But what really troubles me (particularly as a new parent) is the marketing approach many toy and electronic companies are taking in brainwashing parents into thinking their products will make kids smarter by incorporating learning tools with video games. The latest one is the v.smile ad that keeps popping up on just about every commercial break. I'm not doubting that stimulating a child's brain isn't a wonderful tool in raising a productive, smart and well rounded adult ... but I've got a better idea. Instead of curing your kid's craving for more toys than they'll ever need ... try actually spending time as a family with them. In the long, the lessons learned from parents and guardians will carry the next generation further than any electronic contraption ever will.

Useless Trivia Fact #9

Aspirin has never been approved by the FDA ... it has never been rejected either.

How Do These CEO's Sleep At Night?

I read an article that stated that the number of third world nation AIDS patients has swelled at such an increasing rate, that the lack of basic food supplies is becoming the number one killer because HIV related medicines are donated at an astounding rate from drug manufacturers. Funny ... I know people that live and work in this country (and because they have to pay for their own medications and don't have the luxury of pharmaceutical donations to less fortunate countries) can't afford either. It's not like people that acquire the AIDS virus suffer from the unfortunate chance of circumstance like contracting the flu or common cold, I have yet to meet or hear of anyone who came down with AIDS from being in the same elevator, car, room, bathroom, bunghole, or straw hut with someone who is already infected. It's also somewhat disconcerting to read that people living cardboard boxes in the backstreets of third world countries have easier and more plentiful access to life saving drugs than people that reside in first world countries (which coincidentally is the same country the drug manufacturing companies claim residency in) that have jobs and are productive human beings doing their part to be a small, yet very much important cog in the social ecosystem. Maybe it's time I move.

Power To The People

Whoo hoo!!! The November elections are finally over! I can resume my normal life again by engrossing myself in a good television show without being bombarded by an endless barrage of political mudslinging, and not be afraid of answering the door only to be greeted by some well dressed campaign promoter that "cares about my needs" ... and oh yeah, my car will no longer be littered with propaganda after a short 10 minute park at the grocery store. Now that my civic duty of voting has been exercised, all these suave professional double talkers will not even give me second thought until the next election. Although I must admit for the short couple weeks it lasts, it is empowering to know that for that short time we all had (past tense) the upper hand. On a personal note, after seeing the results I actually felt bad for the republican party. After dragging on a war that nobody but Bush wants to fight anymore, the entire party as a whole got their a**** handed to them ... particularly locally. Unfortunately, the team got booted but the coach is still there. Let's at least hope the new team captain has a little for fortitude than the last and isn't afraid to call his own plays.

Only Five More Days Until It's Over

Senator John Kerry's remark about being "stuck in Iraq" may actually go down in the history books as one the most insulting political public addresses ever made by a politician. Although he claims that the statement was a botched joke, the fact remains it was said and no amount of apologies will ever make it go away. Face it Mr. Kerry ... that's way it pays to stick to what the speech writers write for you, ad-libbing will only get you in trouble. What's more troubling is the real reason as to why it was said. With elections right around the corner, just about all the politicians are piling extra mud on their shovels to tilt the scales in their (or their party's) favor. John Kerry was doing nothing more than trying to rally an already war tired public against the Bush administration's war on terror machine, and strike a blow to the republican party. Boy, did he screw that one up! And the republicans really didn't do themselves any favors by returning an almost instantaneous firestorm of criticism back at Kerry ... it reminded me of two elementary school kids bickering over who broke the pencil sharpener. Napoleon Bonaparte said it best with "Never interrupt an enemy while they are making a mistake". The American public would have eaten Kerry alive for such a stupid comment, the GOP could have said so much more by saying nothing at all.