Marathon -> Snickers With a Large Price Tag and Small Nutrition

I think that pretty much says it all. Show me the nutrition info, and maybe I'll buy one. After all, who doesn't like chocolate, peanuts, and caramel?

Here's the link, courtesy of my friendly hometown newspaper.

hln

Posted by: hln at 08:56 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 59 words, total size 1 kb.

Linking to Others to Avoid Writing Contest

Here's what I read worthy of note today:

The Great Debate by BigArmWoman

If they can be stupid... - phobia.com and its addendum by my esteemed spouse.

Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota lyrics - just because it came on the MP3 player.

A helpful guide to the Democratic presidential hopefuls.

Change Vending - I don't even remember my high school sporting vending machines with junk.

hln

Posted by: hln at 10:41 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 81 words, total size 1 kb.

A Challenge from The Master

I'm too brain drained to tackle these this evening, but I thought perhaps some of you might wish to do so.

hln

Posted by: hln at 08:27 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 32 words, total size 1 kb.

PETA - People for Evil Taping of Animals

Wow, this is the top story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch today. I guess news is a bit thin around here (for which we should not complain). I read the whole thing (in paper form), and I shook my head.

I consider myself an animal activist (low level). I do what I can, typically volunteer time to raise money to help with controlling the feral cat population. PETA makes animal activists look like left-wing insano nut jobs. It saddens me.

The "spy," in my opinion, didn't find much. I felt a twinge in my heart for the dog with the hurt paw, but the other bullet-point facts in this article caused me to utter a few audible "so?"s.

Gotta fisk it!

The videotape — mostly of Iams, Menu Foods and Isto study-related animals — was whittled down to snippets of riveting scenes:


• A beagle clawing maniacally at the metal bars of its cage; a dog circling wildly in its cage, another cowering quietly in back; and a meowing cat pacing back and forth inside its cage. PETA claims these are signs of distressed and bored animals.

Animals get restless, you know? Ever seen a restless human? Sometimes those are put on Ritalin. But, this is similar behavior to the animals I have seen in the Humane Society. Why isn't PETA banging down their doors and demanding that the animals be let free? I mean, really. I have skittish cats. You should see their behavior when it's vet time...

• A group of at least 10 beagles, slowly awakening from anesthesia, lined up on the floor of an exam room after having their bone density measured by an X-ray densitometer. PETA claims such unsterile conditions are unsafe. Bouchard said that the floor was clean and that beagles were placed close together to conserve body heat.

I have no authority by which to comment on this one. But, have you ever laid on the floor? I laid down on the grass to stretch after the Watermelon Ride today. I must be unsterile. I have to stop here, though - not sure what the test does or if it's invasive.

• A dog, asleep from anesthesia, strapped on its back during an X-ray. "When the dog is done, make sure they're breathing," an off-camera worker says, moving his hand over the prone animal's stomach. "When you see they've stopped breathing, give them (this)," the worker says, pantomiming a slap at the dog.

So, tell me, can you tell the difference between a slap and a tap by reading about it? Hmm, I sure can't. What would PETA have said if the advice is to laugh maniacally at and insult the mother of the the not-breathing dog? Pleh.

• A pig in distress, convulsing on its side in a cage. A worker tells the spy that the pig almost died, perhaps from the position of a heart catheter, but they managed to resuscitate the animal.

Wow - this stuff never happens, does it? Some unknown condition surfaces during some medical procedure, and the doctors (or veterinarians) have to take drastic measures to safe the life of the person/animal? Sorry, not enough info. No substance; only sand.

• Employees discussing their work with sheep, saying that surgeries were rushed and that there were problems with the medical equipment.

Again, problems arise, even in the medical field. (I think I covered this point quite adequately in the message above.

• Dogs walking gingerly on metal-slotted cage floors, the bars too narrow for their paws. In one scene, a beagle has its leg stuck in the slotted bottom. The dog is obviously in pain and can't move. Another dog is later shown after being rescued from having its leg caught. As the animal holds its left hind leg off the ground because of the pain, the camera zooms in on a severe red and green wound.

Okay, this one got me. I was upset. Score one for PETA.

But that's as good as it gets, baby. Riveting? Hardly. I was more offended by the fact that a cat yesterday that was hit (and killed) by a car remained in the road (and was likely hit by many other cars post mortem) was not removed by my municipality or a kind citizen.

The article was worth reading, and it carried the story around the allegations, so it held my interest, but, in the end, in all good conscience, I really have to stop using those PETA address labels they send while soliciting (ignored) donations.

Sigh, driven to that.

hln

Posted by: hln at 08:23 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 772 words, total size 5 kb.

Why No New Posts Since Thursday (Blame Super Metroid)

It's been a busy weekend in the Noggle household. Friday, I was faced with the I-have-time-off-but-not-much funk, which, for some reason, is sometimes more difficult to parse into something productive than a workday.

I solved this by digging out my Super Nintendo and casting myself in Samus Aran's shoes in Super Metroid. Ooh, ahh - Brinstar, Norfair, Maradia! The Wrecked Ship. Yes, good idea indeed. But it spelled no blog for Friday. (Wouldja look at the shoulders on that chick???)

Saturday was chore day, with anticipation of Sunday being a shot day with my plans to do the short route on the Watermelon Ride. Also, we had some social time with some friends - lunch at South City Diner. I spent a couple of hours digging in the dirt and placing about 60 flowering plants. And then, of course, I finished the chore list at about 8 p.m., and Super Metroid called my name louder than the blog, so, well, you can guess the outcome of that.

And today until now? More chores, more, ahem, Super Metroid, and that little Watermelon Ride thingee, that actually took 2/3 of my day. It's somewhat strange to drive 37.2 miles to ride 22.6 and the 37.2 miles back again. Guess I'll have to ride more to justify it.

That being said, the Watermelon Ride was my first organized ride, and I am pleased to report that I seem to be getting the hang of this bike thing, but I'm still behind where I want to be. About 8 miles of this ride was against some ugly wind (though, thankfully, no hills on this point), so my average speed for the whole ride was probably only about 10 mph. Ugh - that must improve. I'm doing Tour de Cure next Sunday. (No, this isn't a shameless attempt to raise more money - really, um, no, really, um, okay), just the 25 mile, and then I have to start seriously increasing the mileage in preparation for the MS150, held in Columbia, MO in early September.

So, am I forgiven? I got all personal - it ought to be worth something.

Oh, and I have about 10 things in my inbox with a subject of "Blog", so there'll be more...

hln

Posted by: hln at 07:37 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 393 words, total size 3 kb.

Be Wary, Potential Time Travellers!

It's always good to be wary of spam. It's even better to have twisted fun with it.

hln

Posted by: hln at 01:11 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 28 words, total size 1 kb.

Ask and ye shall receive

I feel safe again thanks to Frank J's post about monkey pox.

hln

Posted by: hln at 10:04 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 23 words, total size 1 kb.

Benton Harbor, MI

Benton Harbor is a mostly black American city located in Michigan. It's not an especially large city, possessing a population of 11,182. Situated very near is St. Joseph, a predominantly white (and affluent) community of 22,984. Race issues have raged between the two for longer than I have been alive.

My father was born and raised in Benton Harbor. My grandfather worked his career for Whirlpool, which maintained headquarters there. My grandmother spent her days at Bendix. My mother relocated to Benton Harbor in the late 60's to teach at Hull School, an educational facility already sporting metal detectors in attempts to curb violent school-based acts committed with metal objects.

So, when I read this post on CNN, (how does Benton Harbor grab CNN's news attention in 2003?) I had to stop and sigh and get more of the story.

Here is Benton Harbor's Herald-Palladium with its take on the events.

The riots. We are a violent nation. Sometimes the microcosm - this community as a good example - serves as a good reminder of unchecked, uncivilized human nature. Though race appears to not be at the forefront of these riots, you can rest assured it resides sure and true somewhere as a supporting cast. In 30 plus years, this event in this area serves as a throwback, at least I hope, to the ailments of bigotry and lawlessness. Obviously, I'm not talking about Los Angeles. How does a community of 11,000 people chronicle such a storied history of violence and hate?

I leave you with these documented acts of violence and woe for the community of Benton Harbor.

1. A book, The Other Side of the River: A Story of Two Towns, a Death, and America's Dilemma, written by Alex Kotlowitz in 1999.

2. "The war I didn't worry about" - an account by William Newmiller.

3. A look at Benton Harbor and St. Joseph (and their disparities).

hln

Posted by: hln at 08:53 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 326 words, total size 3 kb.

Intelligent Seats

Lazy me, I didn't blog this yesterday when it was fresh news, but...here we have the CNN article about Intelligent Seats in passenger airplanes.

Since it's not wise to take things at face value, here's how I see the things really being used in 10 years.

1) You're a nervous flyer, so that auto injection of liquid Valium dispensed to only medicate you through the remainder of the flight - godsend.

2) Person in seat 14A forgot his deodorant. Oh, no hassle for the Smart Seat. Genitalia sensor will ensure the stinky ladies are dispensed a feminine scent and the men receive a masculine version to mask the offense.

3) Flight crews dispense electric shocks for malicious entertainment on long flights and create "personal turbulence."

4) The top two sensors, at brain level, read your every thought and record it on a CD for your personal flight memoir (and sell it to you for $19.99).

5) Real terrorist threats and immediately isolated by bulletproof glass. The rest of the cabin is properly pressurized, and purported threat is ejected through the bottom of the plane. If it's a domestic flight, the seat is equipped with a parachute. International, well...

Careful of those blood clots, too. Don't sit too long.

hln

Posted by: hln at 07:46 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 213 words, total size 1 kb.

Fat: A New Vice

Hey, check out these silly Brits.

Hamburgers, soft drinks and cakes could be hit with a "fat-tax" in a bid to combat Britain's growing levels of obesity, doctors said Monday.

Hmm, first, soft drinks are full of sugar, not fat. This is important because of a later quote.

But Breach said the tax would hit food manufacturers hard and have little effect on the poor.

"A fat-tax will remove food manufacturers' incentive to pump food full of fat. Instead they will fill processed foods with healthier ingredients and better selections of meat," he said.

"Fat is a cheap by-product of the meat processing industry -- they have mountains of the stuff and are desperate to use it, so they use it as cheap padding in foodstuffs," he added.

Fat's cheap? You betcha. Try comparing potato chips to Soy Crisps (Genisoy), candy bars to fresh fruit. You bet it's cheap. But what's the goal here (and forgive me, I know I have little room to criticise (proper spelling for the argument) the British government, not being a Brit and all)? It sounds like a nice, happy American scheme we all know as the vice tax.

Problem is: we all have to eat. We don't all have to drink, and we certainly don't have to smoke.

So, British government, perhaps I should send you a nice big package of Oreos. Your people still have free will, and if they, like many Americans, want to eat their way into larger sizes, there really is precious little you can (read: should) do. Oh, you could borrow a page from tobacco control and refuse to sell food to minors.

Perhaps you should move all your citizens to Colorado? Knock 'em down (er, or, up) to the rest of the states' level.

hln

Posted by: hln at 05:52 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 305 words, total size 2 kb.

Drooling Fools, Indeeed, Muhahahah Stay

Stay out of it, Hans!

Men.

hln

Posted by: hln at 06:43 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 17 words, total size 1 kb.