Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Show me the money!
The Fed is up and talking again. Surprise surprise. Though meetings of the Federal Reserve have become more and more open to the public eye in the last decade, there are few signs that changes in fiscal policy (government money management) are going to have any immediate--or even particularly soon--effects on this nation's economic state. All views aside, though, one thing is certain; the economy is improving, slowly and surely, improving. Higher prices can be healthy, such as those of gas; the most effective price for gas, with pollution and excessive transportation accounted for, is close to six dollars a gallon, which is far from what we're facing right now, though the public would never stand for six bucks for eight miles out of an SUV. All in all, I think people need to learn why economics is a study of the efficient allocation of goods in conditions of scarcity, and not the excessive use of goods in times of instability. Here are two articles that relate to the contents of this post, first on the Fed, and second--a Freakonomics article on gas.
Facebook and Faces
So apparently Facebook tells you who is in your pictures based on facial recognition now. I was unaware. That is terrifying. I find the technological advances fascinating and fantastic, and I really don't think this as much of a privacy issue as some are making it out to be, as any user can disable the feature, which only recommends those who are already friends with whoever uploads a given picture, at that. Creepability is fairly low with this little detail, and I feel that it's very important for people to realize that if they don't do stupid things (such as bring a camera while doing stupid things) then there should be next to no reason to worry about such a matter. This new little tidbit from Zuckerburg is featured here.
Pick a web, any web.
This makes me very happy, and not just because I'm a huge nerd...if this show even opens, as this article indicates it finally will be, then it will be one of the most impossible Broadway undertakings ever becoming a relative success. So maybe it is just that I'm a huge nerd. Oh well. After 175+ previews, this show is finally almost starting. Injuries, quitting cast members and production crew and brutal reviews from critics just can't keep this superhero down. Read more here.
Politics and Sex...again...
Well. As if people never will learn. Here we have a politician doing some silly, foolish little things. Though they're not illegal, I certainly think these engagements should be avoided by most anyone, and especially those in the spotlight of the world. I hope this guy learns from his mistakes, and I don't feel he needs to step down, though I hope he faces some level of shame from this that others may learn from. The article!
Broad Street Run
On May 1, 2011 thousands and thousands of people supported one of Philly’s most popular events, The Blue Cross Broad Street Run. That’s right, 30,000 people marched 10 miles down Broad Street in fair weather conditions. All the participants were thankful for a forecast that was so cooperative, considering last year’s unbearable heat and humidity. Runners started in front of Central High and continued towards the Navy Yard. Some serious athletes finished the race in less than an hour. Ketema Migusse, the men’s winner, came in with a time of 46 minutes and 30 seconds while Lauren Laielli, the women’s winner, came in with a time of 54 minutes and 27 seconds. Others were a little less intense and were just happy to cross the finish line, like Brain who commented “I'd never run this distance in my entire live. I cant believe I finished!"
Date Reported: May 1, 2011
Reported By: Amy Buckman
Monday, June 6, 2011
Sextuplets Arrive at Abington
Do we have a mimic of reality show Jon and Kate Plus 8 coming soon? I think so. Stacey and Brendan Carey have recently brought six beautiful babies into this world, just as Jon and Kate did a few years ago. I imagine being pregnant with sextuplets is not easy, nor is the delivery process. They had 60 doctors along with fertility specialists assist Stacey in her Cesarean section at Abington Memorial Hospital. Stacey was only 7 months pregnant when she delivered. Normally, at 7 months pregnant the baby is only 3 pounds and still has to develop/strengthen certain features. With this is mind, all six of the brothers and sisters remain in critical condition and are receiving special support. Parents are very optimistic for Emma, Samantha, Olivia, John, Patrick and Connor since these children complete their family and will accompany their 16 month old daughter.
My mom had six children, I mean not all at once. As soon as she heard about this story she recognized this woman’s courage. She remembered the painful experiences and trials faced with every one of her pregnancies. And as my mom began to picture herself in Stacey’s shoes she remarked “I couldn’t even fathom going through multiple pregnancies at one time.” Stacey, my mom, and all the other mothers out there are truly amazing for their dedication to complete every mini miracle until the end.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/06/pennsylvania.sextuplets/index.html?npt=NP1
Date Reported: June 6, 2011
Reported By: CNN Wire Staff
Date Reported: June 6, 2011
Reported By: CNN Wire Staff
Friday, May 20, 2011
Future of Willow Grove Air Base
The Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base has stopped all military aircraft and is expected to close September 15, 2011. The air base occupies a vast amount of land in Horsham, nearly 892 acres which is 7 percent of our township’s total acreage. It’s no surprise there will be debates and various interests on what to develop the land into. The Horsham Land Reuse Authority (HLRA) currently holds meetings open to the community and has hired a consulting firm, RKG Associates. RKG has a background with redevelopment of military bases and is going to work with the residents in Montgomery and Bucks County. Craig Seymour, the president of RKG Associates, Weston Solutions, and Urban Engineers along with the input from the locals are all involved in the redevelopment process. They started with studies that would predict what is best financially and economically for the surrounding area. Then RKG allowed the public to participate in a survey listing options of possible property use. Some of the options were shopping centers, educational facilities, new employment center, a residential neighborhood, developing a Horsham town center, establishing a civilian airport, and leaving the space vacant. Personally, I would rather not see more shopping centers built simply because they’re not needed. We already have tons of local businesses and malls available to us minutes away from our homes. It is still a matter of time until the final decision is made, meanwhile project directors maintain high hopes despite the challenging obstacles they will face.
http://www.montgomerynews.com/articles/2011/02/08/public_spirit_willow_grove_guide/news/doc4d51a7881e249797070387.txt?viewmode=fullstory
Date Reported: February 8, 2011
Reported By: Thomas Celona
Date Reported: February 8, 2011
Reported By: Thomas Celona
Titanic 3D!!
http://perezhilton.com/2011-05-20-titanic-3d-gets-a-release-date
The very well respected journalist, Perez Hilton, is reporting that Titanic, the Academy Award winning, second highest-grossing film of all time is being re-released...in 3D.
James Cameron, the movie's director has been planning on re-releasing the movie for a while now and finally decided on April 6th 2012 so the release date can coincide with the 100 year anniversary of the Titanic setting sail and sinking.
I for one am excited to see Leonardo DiCaprio in 3 dimensions.
The very well respected journalist, Perez Hilton, is reporting that Titanic, the Academy Award winning, second highest-grossing film of all time is being re-released...in 3D.
James Cameron, the movie's director has been planning on re-releasing the movie for a while now and finally decided on April 6th 2012 so the release date can coincide with the 100 year anniversary of the Titanic setting sail and sinking.
I for one am excited to see Leonardo DiCaprio in 3 dimensions.
4 South Jersey Schools Close After Buses Burn
Four schools were closed in Burlington County because a fire had destroyed many school buses.
The firefighters came to the scene around 3 a.m., and many school buses were already burnt.
Eleven school buses were burnt, which includes three full- size and eight van-size buses. Four schools were closed, and one school had two hours delay.
Investigators were examining the buses, tried to determine the cause of the fire.
'Roids 7 - Phils 1
'Roids 7 - Phils 1
Last night, I witnessed someone thing that doesn't happen very often in baseball. I got to see a man hit three home runs in one game. A baseball hatrick, if you will. Funny enough, the Phils had a giveaway which was, yep you guessed it, a hat. I was so close to throwing my hat down and to see if anyone would join me, but I held onto it.
40 year old, Jason Giambi was the murderer of baseballs on Thursday night. He was 3-26 this season, batting .115 before he destroyed at the plate. He had two chances to get to four, which is the major league record for home runs in a game by a player, he struck out twice in his final at bats.
What really gets me mad is that Giambi has admitted to using steroids in his playing career. I believe he disgraced the game by doing this. And my opinion on them now is that everyone should do them or no one should do them. In my second theory, if someone were to do them, they should get banned for life. Just my two cents..
Last night, I witnessed someone thing that doesn't happen very often in baseball. I got to see a man hit three home runs in one game. A baseball hatrick, if you will. Funny enough, the Phils had a giveaway which was, yep you guessed it, a hat. I was so close to throwing my hat down and to see if anyone would join me, but I held onto it.
40 year old, Jason Giambi was the murderer of baseballs on Thursday night. He was 3-26 this season, batting .115 before he destroyed at the plate. He had two chances to get to four, which is the major league record for home runs in a game by a player, he struck out twice in his final at bats.
What really gets me mad is that Giambi has admitted to using steroids in his playing career. I believe he disgraced the game by doing this. And my opinion on them now is that everyone should do them or no one should do them. In my second theory, if someone were to do them, they should get banned for life. Just my two cents..
In Soviet Russia.. Car Beats You!
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/05/19/nhl-notes-zherdev-allegedly-beats-on-wifes-car
After getting into an argument with his wife, Flyer foward, Nikolay Zherdev allegedly attacked his wife's car after yelling curses and death threats. And what did Mr. Zherdev chose to attack his wife's car with? A metal pole he found on the ground.
This dude needs to get his head straight. Hopefully, he will do that somewhere other than Philly. I was a fan of his and was really excited to hear the Flyers signed him this offseason and I enjoyed watching him play throughout most of the regular season. But, his lazy play started to make me have second thoughts on him. He doesn't care about anyone else but himself and his stats and he doesn't even attempt to play defense. I'm all for having goal scorers and guys who don't try as hard on defense, but thats ONLY if they can register at least 30 goals a year. This guy netted 16 and was benched a bunch of games for his lack of ability to play both ways.
After getting into an argument with his wife, Flyer foward, Nikolay Zherdev allegedly attacked his wife's car after yelling curses and death threats. And what did Mr. Zherdev chose to attack his wife's car with? A metal pole he found on the ground.
This dude needs to get his head straight. Hopefully, he will do that somewhere other than Philly. I was a fan of his and was really excited to hear the Flyers signed him this offseason and I enjoyed watching him play throughout most of the regular season. But, his lazy play started to make me have second thoughts on him. He doesn't care about anyone else but himself and his stats and he doesn't even attempt to play defense. I'm all for having goal scorers and guys who don't try as hard on defense, but thats ONLY if they can register at least 30 goals a year. This guy netted 16 and was benched a bunch of games for his lack of ability to play both ways.
The Rise of E-Books...
Wowee. Though they haven't even been around for four years, Kindle book sales have begun outselling print book sales on Amazon. It's amazing how fast technological advances can spread in popularity and prevalence. While I personally prefer a hard copy of a book for reading, I can appreciate the incredible convenience that Kindles and the like offer. As textbooks are starting to become available in e-book format, as well, I won't be surprised if we start seeing e-readers all over colleges, in little time. More efficient in price, size and weight, these little puppies are bound for successful sales in this information-hungry society.
Chinese student throws shoe at firewall creator. Lolz ensued.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/world/asia/20china.html?_r=1&ref=world
To make a long story short, on Thursday, a Chinese student sneaked into a lecture hall and threw eggs and shoes at Fang Binxing, the man who is responsible for China's strict internet rules and firewall that blocks many internet sites. The student is now a hero to many Chinese people.
I think this is pretty cool. The article says that the Chinese firewall blocks a lot of potentially harmful sites, which is fine, but it also blocks sites like YouTube and Facebook. Fang claims that these sites could bring chaos to China, which is pretty ridiculous if you ask me. Of all the problems in China, it'll be popular internet sites that will bring chaos? Come on.
I also think this is pretty funny. The shoe thrower soon became a trending topic on Twitter in China. Although most of the posts about him were removed by the Chinese government, many of them were praising his actions. One person said “If you, the shoe thrower, get kicked out of school for this, my company will hire you in a minute." That made me lol.
To make a long story short, on Thursday, a Chinese student sneaked into a lecture hall and threw eggs and shoes at Fang Binxing, the man who is responsible for China's strict internet rules and firewall that blocks many internet sites. The student is now a hero to many Chinese people.
I think this is pretty cool. The article says that the Chinese firewall blocks a lot of potentially harmful sites, which is fine, but it also blocks sites like YouTube and Facebook. Fang claims that these sites could bring chaos to China, which is pretty ridiculous if you ask me. Of all the problems in China, it'll be popular internet sites that will bring chaos? Come on.
I also think this is pretty funny. The shoe thrower soon became a trending topic on Twitter in China. Although most of the posts about him were removed by the Chinese government, many of them were praising his actions. One person said “If you, the shoe thrower, get kicked out of school for this, my company will hire you in a minute." That made me lol.
Pageantry Includes Botox?
http://abcnews.go.com/US/california-daughter-injected-botox-longer-custody-mom/story?id=13611279
Date Reported: May 16, 2011
Reported By: Laura Spencer, Kelly Hagan, Sabina Ghebremedhin, and Jessica Hopper
Hoe-l Lotta Sales!
One of the biggest insurance companies in the world, Munich Re, rewarded their workers with Prostitutes. The party took place at a thermal baths in Budapest. This was all planned in 2007. The prostitutes wore arm bands to show what their services were. Red meant they would do "anything", and yellow were hostesses. White armbands were saved for the higher ups. This sounds like an amazing way to reward salesmen. There is a lot of ethical problems with it though. Although, they are one of the top insurance insurance companies, so it could definitely be working.
Eager to Show
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Over+Eager+Canucks+bares+breasts+live+hockey+broadcast/4810741/story.html
In the third period of Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, a Vancouver Canuck fan, decided to put on another show for the fans. She lifted up her jersey and placed her bare breasts on the penalty box glass. The man who this was all for was, Ben Eager, a forward for the San Jose Sharks. All of this was displayed uncensored on live TV. Vancouver is known for having "The Green Men," sit where the female was sitting. They usually do crazy things for the opposing team while they sit in the penalty box. Earlier in the day, they tweeted that they would not be at the game. So, of course someone had to do something outrageous!
I can't believe someone did this! As hilarious and awesome as I think this is, you just can't be doing that out in public, especially for something that is being covered by hundreds of cameras. Playoff hockey is the greatest thing ever invented and this has to be one of the craziest things a fan has done.
The only crazier penalty box moment I can think of is when a fan in Philadelphia tried to jump the penalty box glass and hit Tie Domi. That had to be one of the funniest thing I have seen too =)
^Tie Domi Incident
In the third period of Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, a Vancouver Canuck fan, decided to put on another show for the fans. She lifted up her jersey and placed her bare breasts on the penalty box glass. The man who this was all for was, Ben Eager, a forward for the San Jose Sharks. All of this was displayed uncensored on live TV. Vancouver is known for having "The Green Men," sit where the female was sitting. They usually do crazy things for the opposing team while they sit in the penalty box. Earlier in the day, they tweeted that they would not be at the game. So, of course someone had to do something outrageous!
I can't believe someone did this! As hilarious and awesome as I think this is, you just can't be doing that out in public, especially for something that is being covered by hundreds of cameras. Playoff hockey is the greatest thing ever invented and this has to be one of the craziest things a fan has done.
The only crazier penalty box moment I can think of is when a fan in Philadelphia tried to jump the penalty box glass and hit Tie Domi. That had to be one of the funniest thing I have seen too =)
^Tie Domi Incident
39 years later, he's at 25,000
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/weird_news/20110517_ap_maneats25000thbigmac39yearsafterhis1st.html?c=r
In my opinion, this is disgusting. At 57 years old, you should probably start watching your health, not eating away at it. The fact that this retired prison guard still enjoys the taste of a Big Mac after eating one, sometimes two, a day for 39 years is beyond me. The retired prison guard was honored during a ceremony at the McDonald's in his hometown. The sign below the golden arch of McDonald's also says, "Congrats Dan Gorske 25000 Big Macs." He also said the longest he's gone without a Bag Mac was only eight days. The man said he loves numbers and counting things which is how he decided to start counting how many burgers he ate... strange.
In my opinion, this is disgusting. At 57 years old, you should probably start watching your health, not eating away at it. The fact that this retired prison guard still enjoys the taste of a Big Mac after eating one, sometimes two, a day for 39 years is beyond me. The retired prison guard was honored during a ceremony at the McDonald's in his hometown. The sign below the golden arch of McDonald's also says, "Congrats Dan Gorske 25000 Big Macs." He also said the longest he's gone without a Bag Mac was only eight days. The man said he loves numbers and counting things which is how he decided to start counting how many burgers he ate... strange.
Rapture causes widespread conflict
The concept of tons and tons of people suddenly disappearing is bound to make someone freak out. When people actually believe that it's going to happen, though, you get another story entirely. Family arguments over who is and isn't getting into Heaven are popping up all around, making some kids stressed out and some parents look crazy. Frankly, I think this entire thing about the rapture happening on May 21 is bogus, as there are predictions of this all the time...and none of them have come true yet. Fake or not, though, I think that people should sort out whether they believe they'll be going to heaven, hell or just rotting in the ground, as such beliefs can actually hold quite an impact on the rest of one's life...yay senior English. Here's the article.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Man eats 25,000th Big Mac
http://www.wisn.com/r/27921062/detail.html
This Tuesday, Dan Gorske broke his own previously set record by consuming his 25,000th Big Mac. Most of us who have ever taken a health class remember Gorske from Morgan Spurlock's documentary Supersize Me. Gorske, who will turn 58 this year, has eaten an average of two big macs a day since 1972. Thats 14,235 days and about 12,250,000 calories. This milestone is especially amazing considering most people, including his wife, didn't think he would live this long. In order to verify that he has indeed consumed 25,000 big macs, Gorske has kept many of the recipts and boxes.
Personally, I don't like Big Macs because I can't eat foods that touch and I don't eat any condiments but I have heard wonderful things. I'm not a doctor but there's no way that can be healthy. Obviously he knows what he's doing because he's still alive but this seems pretty unhealthy. Whether you agree with him or not, you can't deny it's an amazing record that probably will never be broken. I honestly don't think I've done anything in my life 25,000 times.
This Tuesday, Dan Gorske broke his own previously set record by consuming his 25,000th Big Mac. Most of us who have ever taken a health class remember Gorske from Morgan Spurlock's documentary Supersize Me. Gorske, who will turn 58 this year, has eaten an average of two big macs a day since 1972. Thats 14,235 days and about 12,250,000 calories. This milestone is especially amazing considering most people, including his wife, didn't think he would live this long. In order to verify that he has indeed consumed 25,000 big macs, Gorske has kept many of the recipts and boxes.
Personally, I don't like Big Macs because I can't eat foods that touch and I don't eat any condiments but I have heard wonderful things. I'm not a doctor but there's no way that can be healthy. Obviously he knows what he's doing because he's still alive but this seems pretty unhealthy. Whether you agree with him or not, you can't deny it's an amazing record that probably will never be broken. I honestly don't think I've done anything in my life 25,000 times.
Jail inmates upgrade to visits via video chat
New system allows Cape May County Jail inmates online video visits
A sheriff at Cape May County Jail recently came up with the idea of allowing inmates to be able to speak with visitors over video chat. The system would allow the inmates three visitors per day for 20 minutes each as opposed to the regular one day per week face-to-face visits. Normally visitors have to go through the process of security and have to speak on a telephone while seeing the inmate through a glass. Personally, I think video chat visits are much more convenient for everyone and it helps that they are only a small fee of $10 per session. This may add up if someone is a frequent visitor, but overall it saves them the trouble of driving all the way to the jail and going through security to only be able to see to the person through a sheet of glass anyway. I'm no inmate visitor but in my opinion the sheriff who came up with this clever idea is one smart man.