According to the Census Bureau:
- Somewhere in America, every eight seconds on average, a new baby is born.
- Somewhere else, someone dies every 12 seconds.
- And every 31 seconds
Here we come China!
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Author Archives: james
Are we fat enough to need these big houses?
Sometimes it just takes an open mind
Alpha, Bravo, Charlie
Making connections are just a part of traveling the friendly skies, and although the gates are wrong as often as they are right, it is still appreciated when the flight attendants announce the gate to which you must make your mad dash. Yet for DFW, many of the first five letters of the alphabet which correspond to terminals sound very similar, leading the voice over the loudspeaker to resort to the phonetic alphabet.
Now, I don’t know about you, but if I were American Airline’s marketing team, I wouldn’t want every mention of the quaternary letter of the alphabet to be an advertisment for a competing airline.
And since we’re on the subject why isn’t phonetic spelled fe-net-ik-lee?
Things I've learned during my last 24 hours in Costa Rica
- The power plugs are identical to the US, except with wider mood (read “voltage”) swings
- The water’s OK to drink, mostly.
- America has already settled in….I can see an Office Depot out my window as I type.
- I can pick up Hooters Costa Rica shirts for my souvenirs.
- McDonalds, among many others, provides servicio express. That’s delivery to you and I.
- Parking attendants are really extortionists who stand in parking lots and scratch your car if you don’t tip them.
- You won’t get a ticket for driving while intoxicated, but you will for talking on your cell phone.
- Red lights also seem optional.
- Prostitution is legal. And I read that in a book, reallly.
- One day is not enough time to be a tourist if you have to work half of the day.
One less tax
In a rare move, it appears that the courts and national representatives might actually do something helpful for consumers. Since 1898, a 3% tax has been added to all phone bills to help (get this) “pay for the Spanish American War.” Americans have overfunded the 6 month war by about 50 times, adjusted for inflation. And to add shock to awe, the telephone companies actually agree. AT&T’s general counsel even states that “it makes no sense, and it ought to be repealed.” Rejoice for rational and logical thought from corporations, the legal system, and the house of representatives!
And we're just getting started….
From a brief in CNNMoney
The Treasury Department says that cyber crime has now outgrown illegal drug sales in annual proceeds, netting an estimated $105 billion in 2004, the report said.
Didn't know perk was short for something
perquisite \PUR-kwuh-zit\, noun:
1. A profit or benefit in addition to a salary or wages.
2. Broadly: The benefits of a position or office.
3. A gratuity or tip for services performed.
4. Anything to which someone has or claims the sole right.
Bigger than a breabox?
NASA has cool article about a meteor strike on the surface of the moon equivalent to 70kg of TNT. However, reading through the article I noticed something curious:
Cooke estimates that the impact gouged a crater in the moon’s surface “about 3 meters wide and 0.4 meters deep.” As moon craters go, that’s small. “Even the Hubble Space Telescope couldn’t see it,” notes Cooke. The moon is 384,400 km away. At that distance, the smallest things Hubble can distinguish are about 60 meters wide.
Interesting that one of the largest and best placed telescopes in the universe, one that can see into the farthest reaches of space and explore the beginnings of time, doesn’t have enough resolution to see anything smaller than this giant pink bunny on our own moon.