The Difference Between Barack Obama & Gordon Brown

Global “Warning”: Hybrids Vehicles Are Dangerous!

So, you bought a hybrid vehicle. Congratulations. You’re doing yourself a favor by paying less for gasoline, although you paid more for the car itself. You’re also doing the environment a favor by polluting less. Aside from those facts, you’ve got a car with lots of cool gadgets and visually pleasing instrumentation that show you how to modify your driving habits to use less fuel. You can also belong to a million hybrid-driving clubs that compete for highest miles per gallon trophies. Life is good. You’re quite proud of yourself. What could be better?

Well, there’s one segment of population that’s not benefiting from your choice of car purchase.  The blind! → source

The one feature that hybrid drivers absolutely love and tout as a badge of honor is the quietness of their vehicles at very low speeds when powered only electrically. This feature is proving dangerous to those who cannot see. As it turns out, the blind rely on the sound of engines to locate moving vehicles and to avoid getting hit. Gee, who would have thunk it?

As you read this, a new system is being tested in Japan that recreates the clip-clop of a horse, speeding up or slowing down to match the speed of the car. Wow. What a cruel joke technology plays on us!

Hold Escalator Handrail Or Get A Ticket

Bring back those freedom fries.

In the French Canadian Montreal, there are certain things the police will not tolerate. Not holding the handrail while going down the escalator at a subway station is one of them.

Recently, a 38-year-old student and mother of two was handcuffed, held and ticketed precisely because she did not obey a police officer’s instructions to hold on to the handrail.  → source

Hey, what kind of fascism is this? She doesn’t want to hold on to the handrail. So what? Maybe she is holding too many bags and doesn’t have a free hand. Maybe she’s a germaphobe. Maybe holding a handrail is against her religion. It doesn’t matter. Why is she required to hold the stupid handrail.

In the interest of full disclosure, 16 students were injured in 2004 when an escalator suddenly stopped in Montreal. That is partially why the police are requiring handrail holding. Moral of the story: don’t scratch your crotch or butt while riding the escalator.

Sand Art

Take a 4 minute break and enjoy watching this.

Most Shocking Healthy Foods – This Is Why We Are An Overweight Nation

Macaroni Grill’s Parmesan-Crusted Sole

Yahoo Health published an article yesterday titled ‘The Most Shocking “Healthy” Foods! (And What You Should Eat Instead!)‘. It’s totally worth a glance.

These are some signature dishes at famous restaurant chains. According to the article, the worst of them was Macaroni Grill’s Parmesan-Crusted Sole (see picture): 2,190 calories; 141 g fat (58 g saturated); 2,980 mg sodium; 145 g carbs.

That’s your entire day’s allowance for calories. Enjoy.

Honda Hybrid Reviews Are In. The Verdit Is … Confusing

This is why we can’t trust any so-called experts. Every bit of opinion and review is completely subjective. No wonder we are such confused consumers.

Case in point: The 2010 Honda Insight Hybrid was test driven recently by Car & Driver as well as by Jeremy Clarkson of BBC Top Gear writing for Times On Line. I present you with an excerpt of both reviews:

Car & Driver:

” …with tight suspension motions, a firm ride, well-connected steering, and a no-fat musculature. Interior sound levels are mild and well controlled, especially at freeway speeds. Cockpit space is generous for two in front, a bit tight on the knees in back if front occupants are unwilling to compromise on legroom. The rear bench is high, firm, and exceptionally well shaped for lumbar support.”

Times OnLine

“It’s terrible. Biblically terrible. Possibly the worst new car money can buy. It’s the first car I’ve ever considered crashing into a tree, on purpose, so I didn’t have to drive it any more.”

“So you’re sitting there with the engine screaming its head off, and your ears bleeding, and you’re doing only 23mph because that’s about the top speed, and you’re thinking things can’t get any worse …”

” … feels as if it’s been made from steel so thin, you could read through it. And the seats, finished in pleblon, are designed specifically, it seems, to ruin your skeleton. This is hairy-shirted eco-ism at its very worst.”

See what I mean?

Christian Hypocricy In Light Of Obama’s Notre Dame Commencement Address

Obama At Notre Dame

 

By now, we all know about President Obama’s visit to Notre Dame. It was filled with controversy for Christians and especially for Catholics. Please! Get real! I have 2 quick observations:

First, I find it fascinating that the Republican party – the party that prides itself on less regulation and more personal responsibility – is so determined to pursue Constitutional Amendments against gay marriage and abortion. Whatever happened to leaving regulations to the States? Whatever happened to leaving personal matters to individuals’ decisions? Clearly, all that big talk apply only if they agree with your religious views and political agendas.

Second, let’s assume abortion is killing a living baby. I can truly accept and, in a way, believe that. Now, some one tell me how abortion can be viewed as a much worse act than killing a living person. Remember the 10 Commandments? Remember the sixth one: thou shalt not murder? No where does it say thou shalt not murder only the unborn. 

I find it absolutely hypocritical that most Christians who are so against abortion are precisely the same individuals whose core ideology is the same as that of Rush Limbaugh’s and Dick Cheney’s. The same ideology that merits we (the U.S.) are the king of the world, we should govern the world and protect ourselves at any cost, and if some innocent lives are lost in the process, so be it. Every time we drop bombs and rockets to kill terrorists, we inevitably kill some innocent by-standards in the process. Some of those innocent souls are children, newborns and even unborn. Therefore, we are violating the sixth commandment. Where’s the outrage? Where are the protests? 

In no way am I suggesting that we should not fiercely protect ourselves or avoid pre-emptive strikes. And I’m not so naive to think that we can do all that with no non-military casualties. But then I don’t have an existential crisis, and I’m not hypocritically against abortion while practically supporting the deaths of unborn and pregnant women in war. That is not for me to resolve. Those of you Christians who are against abortion and thought Obama’s visit to Notre Dame was an abomination must work this out between yourselves and your God. And be careful what conclusion you reach. If you believe that God agrees with your views and supports your plan, you have reached the wrong conclusion. It should be exactly the opposite!

Eternal damnation is not just for those who support or perform abortion. It is also for those who violate the sixth commandment. That could be you. Think about it.

Bee Gees ‘Staying Alive’ Helps People Stay Alive

For years, we were told that resuscitating an individual through CPR meant performing a combination of chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth. The problem was that would-be-helpers who had no formal CPR training (and even the ones who did and had forgotten the technique) were afraid of administering CPR. It was too complicated to remember how many compressions to execute before administering breaths, the number of which was also too hard to remember.

Well, fear no more. A new guideline has made CPR much simpler. It has been discovered that compression-only CPR may work just as well as compression/breathing technique. → source

Dr. MIchael Sayre, an emergency medicine professor at Ohio State University who headed the committee that made the recommendation said it best:

“You only have to do two things. Call 911 and push hard and fast on the middle of the person’s chest”

The only other thing to remember is this. You should administer compressions at a rate of 100 per minute. Don’t bother getting your stop watch out, and don’t count. There’s an easier way.

Remember the Bee Gees’ Staying Alive song? It turns out that it has 103 beats per minute, which means it’s perfect for CPR. Just sing it to yourself as you’re doing chest compressions.

Saturday Night Fever and John Travolta save the day.

Financial Recession, Low Sun Activity, Global Cooling. What The Heck?

What else could go wrong? Even the Sun is not immune to the effects of global recession. It is reported that the sun is the least active it’s been in decades and the dimmest in a hundred years. This odd behavior is causing some scientists to recall the Little Ice Age. → source

You remember The Little Ice Age, don’t you? Of course you . . . don’t. It was the period of time between approximately the 16th century (1650 ish) to the mid 19th century (1850 ish). Glaciers advanced, Winters were horrible, and even Summers were cold. It is reported that Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein during a summer vacation when it was snowing in July.

It would be interesting if global warming turns into global cooling in 100 years. Does that mean we should start spewing more CO2 into the atmosphere just so that we can reverse the impact of global cooling? Will Al Gore make a new movie called “A Inconvenient Coincidence”?

Eating Bricks And Rocks For Breakfast. Yum, Yum

Parents, don’t let your kids grow up to eat anything they want. You should be firm: if you don’t eat your veggies, you can’t have any bricks for dessert.