Pawlenty!

I guess Michael Bay is now directing presidential candidate videos...

Great Ad Campaign

A friend sent me this ad campaign titled "life's too short for the wrong job." Follow the link to see a few that are even better than the one below, but that were all attached in one file (and I was unwilling to go the extra mile for you all).

Blogger Recommendation

Just wanted to take a moment to recommend the blog of a good friend and writer who has returned to regular blogging recently. His most recent post is a rumination on the subject of fouls called late in basketball games.

Fouls are not like human beings. They are not all created equal. Sometimes an official can, and will, allow certain things to go at Point A in a game, but call it at Point B. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If a referee is going to send a player to the free throw line, or wipe a basket off the board, and that’s possibly going to be a major deciding factor in a game, he’d better make darn sure it’s a blatant violation.

If you don't care about basketball, don't worry. He covers other topics as well. Check him out.

NFL Fashion

These are supposedly the prototypes for the Chiefs version of Nike's ProCombat Uniforms that would be for the 2012 season.




I don't think I like either, mostly for the lack of red on the uniforms. But I especially don't like the second one,as it would generally result in the chiefs all looking like the bird from the movie Up.



But what do you think?

poll by twiigs.com

Why People Don't Trust the Government

People don't trust the government because the new controlling party of the House is always running around telling you not to trust the government. The newest target is the CBO, who everyone has long agreed are the best option for non-partisan scoring of budget items. Well, not now that they have given the healthcare law a good review.

They have claimed, as Doug Holtz-Eakin, Joseph Antos and James Capretta do in today's Wall Street Journal, that the CBO's work is now the product of "budget gimmicks, deceptive accounting, and implausible assumptions used to create the false impression of fiscal discipline." They have created a separate world for themselves when it comes to this bill, a world where there are no accepted estimates except the ones they choose to accept (notably, they regularly mention the CBO results that they think help their case), where there is no neutral arbiter who can be relied on to set the premises of the debate, and thus, where policy debate is not really possible.

Ezra Klein takes down most of their claims at the previous link, and here. And this is why people don't trust the government.

Craliorse

So, it seems that I may be a crab now. I'm not sure. I think I would rather stick with being a lion. But the menu at my favorite Chinese restaurant tells me I'm really a horse.

I think from here forward I shall be a horse with a lion head and crab claws. You better watch out.

JFK - Mr. Honesty?

If you write on your Harvard application that you want to go there because it will "give you a better background," you either have an honest streak that trumps your desire for sefl-preservation... or you knew you were getting in anyway.

Either way, it's a funny thing to write.

Another Reminder About the NBA

It isn't coming to KC. Here is the latest reason to think so from David Stern:

The issue where contraction has been raised in the past and might be raised again is when you watch teams struggle in the economic sense and they are partners of and they’re included in what I would call shared revenues, where in a couple of years we will have developed in the near future, where between licensing revenues, network television revenues and revenue sharing, where certain teams at the bottom end were getting $50 million a year from their partners from the group effort whether or not they sell a piece of merchandise or whether or not they appear on network television, then the issue gets raised among owners would it be economically sound for us to consider contraction. That’s a subject that will be fully aired after the season is over.

So even if there are teams who might move, and even if they decided Kansas City was the place for them, they still might end up on the chopping block if the league decides to contract. Depressing but true.

Meanwhile in the Real World

And while our House of Representatives completes the all-important task of reading the edited Constitution, the economy continues to suck for most Americans. That trend is likely to continue...

Among the top ten occupations projected to have the largest numerical growth in the next decade, seven pay median wages under $30,000 a year, including food preparers and servers earning $16,000, and retail and home care workers who make $20,000. Home aides and retail workers are expected to add about 1.4 million positions this decade while middle-class manufacturing jobs are projected to lose more than a million jobs.

Fortunately for Missourians, our state Senate is promoting "right to work" legislation that will help companies crack down on the unions that provide many of remaining decent working class jobs available.

But nevermind that, let's see Obama's birth certificate dammit!

Read It... And Weep.

Just in case you hadn't heard, Republicans chose to open this session of Congress by reading the Constitution out loud. This was apparently to remind them all that it is infallible and should be the unquestioned basis for everything they do... except the part about slavery, which they edited out.

Also, as one Republican Rep read the part about the president being a natural born citizen some woman in the crowd shouted, "Except Obama! Except Obama! Help us Jesus!"

Help us Jesus indeed.

Being Healthy Is Not Easy

Slate has an interesting series about healthy eating called Clean Plate running right now. It is interesting to me because I have decided that the upward creep in my weight over the last 2 years needs to be reversed now - before it is too late (and before Ancillary Fiancee and I hit some tropical locale in our swimsuits this summer). Anyway, the piece today is about how confusing the food pyramid charts are.

Fortunately, we are no longer limited to just the USDA food pyramid. The Nutrition Department at the Harvard School of Public Health criticizes the USDA pyramid and offers its own Healthy Eating Pyramid. And that's not all. The Mayo Clinic and Oldways.com offer Asian, Latin-American, Mediterranean, and vegetarian pyramids. So pick your pyramid, and start eating it. (Note: I went to my doctor this morning to discuss this plan and get blood tests so I can see if anything changes in the next few weeks. And you should consult with yours before embarking on any eating plan.) (Also of note: The USDA updates its Dietary Guidelines for Americans every five years, meaning there is one due any moment. It's almost as exciting as waiting for a new baby!)

I think I'd take that a step further and say that almost all nutrition related info is confusing. Depending upon who I consult, my needed daily calorie intake to shed my undesired pounds needs to be anywhere from 1600-2400 calories. This is impossible. If the 1600 estimate is correct, I would likely actually gain more weight by using the 2400 number. If the 2400 estimate is correct, 1600 might damn near kill me. Anyway, if anyone has a trusted source for this sort of thing, I'd be happy to hear about it.

I have soup and fruit to eat.