How I watch TV – my laptop hooked up to the flatscreen There’s an article in today’s New York Times about how Conan O’Brien’s millions of young fans never really tuned in to his show. Conan’s ratings among 18-34-year-olds were higher than David Letterman’s, but lower than the Colbert Report’s and, amazingly, Jay Leno’s when [...]
Archive for January, 2010
The New TV
Posted in TV, tagged Conan O'Brien, The Tonight Show on January 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The U-Trou Bomber (Cont.)
Posted in America, World, tagged America, Intelligence Agencies, National Security, Obama Administration, terrorism, World on January 24, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Recent congressional testimony has shed some interesting light on the treatment of Omar Abdulmutallab, the U-Trou Bomber, after his failed attempt to blow up a Northwest flight to Detroit on Christmas Day. Various intelligence officials testified that they were not consulted on how best to deal with Abdulmutallab, who was promptly charged with a crime, [...]
A Hot Topic (Cont.)
Posted in Science, weather, World, tagged climate change, global warming, Science, weather, World on January 24, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Here’s the latest on the global warming science front. The most recent development involves errors and lack of substantiation in the 2007 report of the UN climate change panel, the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, and its headline-grabbing statement that it was very likely that the Himalayan glaciers would melt by 2035, if not sooner. [...]
Keep The Big Ten As It Is (Cont.)
Posted in sports, tagged Big Ten, Big Ten expansion, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, UConn, University of Connecticut on January 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Long-time Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Bill Livingston says he has reason to believe that the Big Ten conference is considering the University of Connecticut as a possible expansion candidate and argues in favor of that approach. Alternatively, he supports a “raid the Big 12″ scheme that would add Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska to the Big [...]
Pension Princes
Posted in America, Politics, tagged America, California, California budget deficit, Politics, Public Employee Pensions on January 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Here’s an article that provides a bit more detail on California’s budget woes and the extraordinarily generous pensions that State has provided to many public employees. This kind of article demonstrates why the federal government should not bail out California or, for that matter, any other state. There is no reason why taxpayers in Ohio, [...]
Gleeful About Glee
Posted in TV, tagged Glee on January 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
A couple of weeks ago we had a staff meeting at Nationwide and prior to our meeting almost everyone in the room was discussing a new show on Fox called Glee. Most of our staff are in their thirties, forties or fifties and it kinda surprised me that people of this age bracket would be watching what I thought [...]
Wall Street, Main Street, and 401(k) Plans
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged 401(k) Plans, America, Banks, Ben Bernanke, economy, Main Street, Politics, President Obama, United States Senate, Wall Street on January 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
In the wake of the Massachusetts special election loss, President Obama has struck a more populist tune. He and his supporters have been talking about “getting our money back” from “fat-cat bankers” on Wall Street who took TARP money. Siding with “Main Street” rather than “Wall Street” is a time-honored theme in American politics. I [...]
A Sleazebag And A Cad
Posted in America, Politics, tagged America, John Edwards, Politics on January 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Republicans and Democrats don’t seem to agree on much these days, but I think there is one thing every American can agree on: that the country can be grateful that John Edwards lost early in the 2008 presidential primaries and is out of elective politics. Edwards’ confession today that he fathered an out-of-wedlock child with [...]
It Takes Crust
Posted in America, Politics, tagged America, Congress, Cornhusker Kickback, Health Care Reform, Healthcare Reform, Politics, Senator Ben Nelson on January 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Gramma Webner hailed from Uhrichsville, Ohio. When someone said or did something that was really brazen, she would say: “That takes crust.” That was my reaction when I read this statement from Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson about yesterday’s election of Scott Brown to the Senate. The first paragraph of the statement takes the cake: “Clearly, [...]
The Latest From Adolf
Posted in Humor, Politics, tagged Adolf Hitler, Humor, Martha Coakley, Massachusetts Senate Race, Politics, Scott Brown on January 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I admit that I have enjoyed the Adolf Hitler youtube take-offs — all of which feature the same clip from a German language movie of the Nazi kingpin in the Fuhrerbunker with his remaining staff, getting bad news from the generals and then ranting as the Russians closed in. In each of the take-offs, the [...]
A Show-Stopper
Posted in America, Healthcare Reform, Politics, tagged America, Health Care Reform, Healthcare Reform, Martha Coakley, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Senate Race, Politics, Scott Brown on January 19, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Republican Scott Brown has been elected to the U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts. Democrat Martha Coakley has conceded, thereby confirming an upset that seemed unthinkable as recently as 10 days ago. Astonishingly, only one year after President Obama swept to victory on a wave of hope and promised change, voters in one of the bluest [...]
Vacation Time: The Western Swing (Part IV)
Posted in America, Family, Travel, tagged America, Cody Nite Rodeo, Devil's Tower, Family, Travel, vacation, Vacation Time on January 19, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The next morning we left Deadwood, drove west, and crossed the state line into Wyoming. Our initial goal was Devil’s Tower. It is another iconic location in the American West, made even more so by being featured so prominently in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It is also out in the middle of nowhere, [...]
Hanging Out At The Waldorf
Posted in Travel, tagged New York City, San Martin, Waldorf-Astoria on January 18, 2010 | 1 Comment »
When I travel, I’m a creature of habit. Kish reminds me of it, and I freely admit it. When I visit New York City and have business in midtown, I like to stay at the Waldorf-Astoria. Why not? It is a classic art deco icon, centrally and conveniently located on Park Avenue, beautifully appointed, with [...]
Casino Dreams
Posted in Columbus, tagged casinos, Columbus, Columbus Arena District, Ohio Issue 3, Penn National Gaming on January 18, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
There has been a lot of news coverage in Columbus lately about the location of the casino that will be built as a result of the passage of the constitutional amendment, Ohio Issue 3, in November. The casino developer, Penn National Gaming, has finalized its purchase of the property that the Ohio Constitution, thanks to [...]
Commentator, Spin Thyself
Posted in America, Politics, tagged America, Cable News, Commentators, Health Care Reform, Healthcare Reform, Massachusetts Senate Race, Political Spin, Politics on January 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Kish and I have watched a fair amount of cable TV news programs in the wake of the Massachusetts special election and I have been struck by the efforts to spin the election by at least some commentators. Spin, of course, almost always comes from the losing side. The winning side doesn’t really need to [...]
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