The Great Separation

Two Incongruous News Headlines.

Something just ain't right. - Okay. I was checking the news headlines and two things jumped out at me.

Here are the two headlines:

• Poor Haitians Resort to Eating Dirt
• Cruise First to Get New Ducati Superbike

Here's a snippet from article one:

Charlene, 16 with a 1-month-old son, has come to rely on a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs: cookies made of dried yellow dirt from the country's central plateau.

Here's a snippet from article two:

Tom Cruise is the first on the list to get Ducati's newest motorcycle—a $72,500 superbike bristling with titanium, magnesium and carbon fiber technology that can scoot up to 200 mph.

So there's starving people resorting to making dirt cookies in one section of the world and then there's Tom Cruise (someone I fear is short a few cookies), spending $73 thousand dollars on a motorcycle.

And I have nothing against Cruise using his money like that to buy a motorcycle. Don't get me wrong. It's his money.

I just find it depressing that the first situation exists in a world with the second.

Video of The World's Largest Swimming Pool. Why?

Don't forget your water wings. - This really is amazing. Terribly strange too. Living in Florida on the coast I've never really understood why hotels and houses have swimming pools next to the ocean. Seems silly to me. And a waste of greenbacks.

However this resort in Chile seems to think it a great idea and has created one giganto swimming pool that is sure to be one of the world's wonders. One reason they give is that the beach is terribly dangerous for swimmers, so I guess that's a good reason for a pool.

Next thing you'll see is some Hollywood type making a horror film in it where some shark makes it into the pool.

Genetically Engineered Crops Killing Bees?

Buzz kill - It's been a while since I posted anything on the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) affecting many American bee colonies. That is in part to a lack of headway in understanding what is causing the disorder.

Today I looked and found this news article from the Star-Gazette by Olivia Johnson.

Scientists around the world have been hunting for the source of this bee decline, and according to studies conducted by the Organic Consumers Association, genetically engineered crops may be to blame. Many genetically adapted plants have been modified to contain b.t., or Bacillus thuringiensis -- a naturally occurring bacterium that produces crystal proteins that are lethal to insect larvae.

When a honeybee interacts with pollen treated with b.t., the immune system of the insect is shut down and the bee is then much more susceptible to bacteria and viruses. In addition, b.t. has proved to affect the bee's fertility, resulting in fewer offspring. In some parts of the country, the bee population has decreased as much as 35 percent within the last year, and almost 50 percent in the last 10 years, according to the USDA.

Something to think about. If it's killing insects I wonder if it affects humans over large periods of time?

Cracked Fortune Cookie, v8.1.

You'll need good luck after that meal. - One of my great small pleasures (yes, I know that's an oxymoron) is that sometimes stale cookie that comes at the end of a Chinese meal. Or rather it isn't so much the cookie as it is the little writing in its pinched center.

Here's one that makes me snicker.

That's not necessarily a positive cookie fortune, now is it? ;-)

A Fabulous Blog Post Title.

Now that's a tease. - Today's Cold. But I'm Okay, 'Cause I'm Wearing Several Animals. That blog post title from Lisa D at three first names just makes me laugh.

Name Him.

Do you recognize this man? - Ok. I know my cousin Job often does this kind of post, but I just had to do one too this morning.

I am working on an opening chapter to a non-fiction book idea. There was this television show that I watched religiously in the 1970's on Saturday mornings as a kid that I wanted to make mention of in the opening chapter.

Anyway I just spent half an hour or more trying to find his name and the name of the show so that I could use it in what I'm writing.

I did. Can you?

Suicide Cult in South Wales?

Disheartening - I just saw this news item headlined on Drudge.

There's been an epidemic of suicide hangings in Bridgend, South Wales.

Here's ThisIsLondon's headline: Number of young people found hanged in 'suicide cult town' rises to 13.

Most appear to be connected to each other through links such as online social networks. All apparently have hung themselves.

"I am very concerned," he said [coroner Philip Walters]. "It is very important that we get to grips with the situation.

Victim: Natasha Randall was found hanged last week. At least 12 others youngsters from Bridgend have died in the same way within the past year

"There are 12 young men and one young woman involved and all were found hanged in the area in the last year."

It's terribly sad. From what I can read these young people had a lot to live for. It's obvious that friends and family who loved them are distraught and confused as to why they would do such a thing.

It's just mind blowing.

When I see things like this becoming more and more frequent I can't help but wonder if it isn't a sign that the days are growing shorter till the Second Coming of Christ.

Picture Perfect Friday: Disc Golf's Music Instrument.

Snap - (click image to enlarge) The music is the sound those chains make when the disc flies into them. If you've played than you know what I mean.

This is a shot of hole number ten at Taylor Park in Largo, FL. It's with the cell phone so it's not the best quality. If memory serves, it's something like 405 or 410 feet from tee pad to hole. If memory serves again, I think I was two over par on it. It's a par three hole. I encountered a tree limb about 100 feet of the tee pad. It was a particularly windy day.

Unfortunately on the next hole I put the disc in the water. Thankfully my two buddies (who I often play with) and I were able to retrieve it without becoming gator bait.

Quick Link: Banking Collapse?

Is the sky falling? - I've been reading, T. Davis Bunn's two book series, The Warning/The Ultimatum (Reluctant Prophet Series 1-2).

I highly recommend the series. But seeing the stock market woes of late and then this headline really made me stop and think just how scary things could be:

Jerome Kerviel named in €5bn bank trading fraud.

This Jerome fellow apparently did some major fraud stuff and cost the French bank Société Générale around 5 billion Euros because of playing the stock market options. That's the sort of thing that can sink a bank and cause world wide panic with how so many funds are entwined.

May the Lord protect His faithful children in these times and meet all our needs.

Odd: Sweaty Feet Turned Minty Fresh.

What did you step in? - I had to publish this because it tickles my funny bone. At first I thought of the movie Holes and then I thought about running through a field of mint.

I know. Weird. But it's the way oddities make my mind work. Of course you may be thinking, "I know just who needs this!"