the good old days

Falling in the “I wish I made this up” category…

image from the Stanford School of Medicine

Having a to-be-kindergartner in the family should be exciting. She’s certainly looking forward to school, but I’m just worried about whether she’ll actually have a teacher next year. Plus Buzz works in academia, and I’m currently a student — three quarters of our family is in a position that’s much shakier thanks to South Carolina Governor Sanford’s repeated insistence that he won’t take stimulus money. (Luckily, we’re not the only residents of the state disgusted by the idea; a high school student is asking the state Supreme Court whether such budgetary choices are solely the Governor’s responsibility. Good for you, Casey Edwards.)

Sanford keeps saying it’s all about saving the children, won’t somebody please think of the children and their horrible, horrible future debt load:

In the end, I just don’t believe a problem created by too much debt will be solved by piling on more debt. — Gov. Sanford’s opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal

So we’re going to solve the problem of too much debt by not adequately instructing our children on, among other things, the basics of economics and how to budget their own money? Oh, except Sanford’s children go to private school, so their educational quality stays constant whatever happens to public schools. That explains why he seems disproportionately interested in the next generation’s debt load — it’s the only burden his kids are taking on.

At least payday lenders love South Carolina; just drive along any street in greater Columbia and count how many TITLEMAX stores you see. One SC industry is certainly flourishing.

This afternoon my daughter insisted she did not want to learn math. ANY math. At all. We asked what she wanted to be when she grows up; she replied doctor, and I explained doctors need to know math — for example, to figure out how much medicine to give somebody. She frowned and said she would “just be a mom, then.” I pointed out that moms need to know math so they know how much money to spend on clothes and food and toys. So she decided she would never grow up…

I frankly don’t know where the math-hatred is coming from, since she’s only turning 5 next month and hasn’t learned addition, let alone anything hard. She has had to watch me struggle with thermodynamics homework for the last few weeks, and I suppose that’s been scarier to watch than I thought.

But I want to keep her excited about kindergarten next fall, and I’ll be showing her this later today — then do some age-appropriate math lessons. (Right after she gets home from her super-girly ballet lessons.)

In the modern age of vaccines, hygiene, and adequate nutrition, it’s rare to have a terribly serious contagion inflicted on one’s offspring. Petty, annoying diseases are still fairly frequent. For example, now that he’s going to daycare, Son has expressed his outrage at Mother’s neglect by catching a cold. (This is his backup plan, of course, after shrieking at the top of his lungs and kicking the door failed to work.)

What’s most unfair about this cunning plan of his? He’s not wasting away in bed; aside from a few big sneezes and not being able to suck his thumb (because he can’t breathe through his nose), Son has barely noticed he’s ill. Instead, he’s punishing me by infecting the damn cold on ME, then recovering in 48 hours while I shiver and sniffle for at least a week. The recuperative abilities of the average toddler are far better than that of the average adult.

Just in time for the start of classes, too. Yeah, kids are totally awesome.

Via Millie Motts.

One out of every 10 people in America is employed in a service that is related to the U.S. auto industry.

That’s a statistic from the Center for Automotive Research, via GM Facts and Fiction. It’s actually plausible; there are factories around the nation, not just in Detroit, that are somehow related to putting a car together. (I will note, though, it’s not clear how many of those sub-suppliers also work for Honda, Toyota, BMW, or “foreign” companies with US operations.)

The “Big Three” will never simply vanish — they (and the extended support structure of dealerships, suppliers, mechanics, etc.) are simply too large and too integral to the country’s manufacturing landscape. The job loss, health care loss, and tax income loss would be spread over the course of a few years. And it’s also worth noting that, to a large extent, the American Auto Maker crisis is largely of its own making; the recession is simply pinching them harder and sooner than expected.

I’m not against bailing out the auto industry, because the ripple effect around the country would be incredibly bad. At the same time, I haven’t decided if I’m in favor enough to write to my elected officials about it. (Yes, Visteon, when you fire loyal employees, they’ll hold a grudge and not help YOU out when the time comes. Payback’s a bitch, ain’t it.) But I am in favor, just enough, to mention it here. The issue is worth awareness and discussion and thought. And perhaps a large dose of nervous worrying as well.

If it is decided that they deserve a second chance, then the automakers need to be held to a much higher standard than they currently are. It would be inspiring to see them remade into an industry that is a leader in sustainable design and manufacturing, rather than grudgingly hoping global warming is a passing fad. But given the firmly entrenched old-style industry and infrastructure they have, I’m not holding out much hope.

Driven to Kill has the title of a psycho thriller flick, but the plot of an average 50’s scare-the-driver film. It doesn’t live up to its name.

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I didn’t really like Hal Johnson in this film. “Women will do the darndest things!” Yeah, Hal, I’m sure she climbed up on that stool just because she has breasts. “That knife is for fun, son!” What a great way to introduce safety to your kids. Backbone of the nation? Go drive into a tree, Hal.

Unfortunately, Hal isn’t a respectful, interested-in-safety guy when he’s behind the wheel of an automobile. “He changes from a careful, considerate citizen, to a menace!” (Which rather makes me doubt that Hal is such a wonderful guy in all other aspects.) Even more unfortunately, Hal isn’t the one who meets his death due to his carless driving… and it’s hard to take comfort in the idea that Hal will be sad forever because of the bad thing he did.

Did you ever wonder what it was like in the Old West under the open sky?

It was fairly dangerous, dirty, and disgusting, actually.

As we all know, the Old West was a time when men were men, and appetites were huge.

Um… or that.

As Chairman of National Barbecue Month, Chef Michael Tondow invites you to join him for the month of July! He then takes a few minutes of his time to share with us a recipe for steak, “Scumpy Style.” This involves dousing steak with Kitchen Bouquet — those Old West cowboys never went anywhere without a bottle of bland browning sauce, after all — to create a “seal for the natural meat flavors”, then grilling (presumably until any hint of rare meat is charred out of existence).

Be sure to serve beans in an old-style Western bean pot… to create a chuck wagon atmosphere!

Ugh.

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With only a few hits on Google, Chef Michael Tondow officially exists only in this film. The National Barbecue Association and the Hearth Patio & Barbecue Association are still with us, however, and both insist that May is National Barbecue Month.

In the 1930’s…

Skippy Peanut Butter
Improved by HYDROGENATION

Hydrogenation? What’s that? Sounds scientifickal!

Since partially hydrogenated vegetable oils are cheaper than animal source fats, are available in a wide range of consistencies, and have other desirable characteristics (e.g., increased oxidative stability (longer shelf life))…

Improved by making it cheaper, smoother, and longer-lasting, I guess, but also full of tasty trans fats.

Originally seen at Serious Eats

But the mortallest enemy unto Knowledge, and that which hath done the greatest execution upon truth, hath been a peremptory adhesion unto Authority, and more especially, the establishing of our belief upon the dictates of Antiquity. For (as every capacity may observe) most men of Ages present, so superstitiously do look on Ages past, that the Authorities of the one, exceed the reasons of the other: Whose persons indeed being far removed from our times, their works, which seldom with us pass [unquestioned] either by contemporaries, or immediate successors, are now become out of the distance of Envies; and the farther removed from present times, are conceived to approach the nearer unto truth it self. Now hereby methinks we manifestly delude our selves, and widely walk out of the track of Truth. — Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica (1672)

With that reflection, let’s look at one of the world’s oldest Authorities of Antiquity… astrology!

You’re still filled with great mental energy today and should be able to start just about any project on the right foot.

SO NOT. I am queasy and listless thanks to inadequate sleep/caffienation, the presence of in-laws in town, and a greasy breakfast sandwich.

You are in tune with the practical issues in the work place today. A firm sense of direction will help get you to your destination.

Uh, my work place is shutting down in three weeks. Not many practical issues to be in tune with, and who needs direction to know our destination is JOBLESS?

Family needs are important and there is no question about attending a family event this evening…. You are the cheerleader and the inspiration for your family and friends.

Actually my mother-in-law secretly hates me for being younger than she is, which is really creepy because I don’t think she would want a daughter-in-law who is OLDER than she is, or maybe she actually would, which is even creepier. My position isn’t so much “cheerleader” as it is “bearer of grandchildren that aren’t quite as fulfilling as Nana expected.”

I guess my parents lied about when I was born, because my Virgo horoscopes are always ironic, twisted versions of true reality.

I was skimming my just-posted post and thought I’d made a mistake.

I quoted Rick Kieffe’s statement as including (emphasis mine)

the current objection to religious sentiment (”Under God”, “In We Trust“) was not closely reviewed by our dealership

I thought I must have screwed something up, since it should be “In God We Trust”. But no, not my fault…

I don’t want to be too hard on Mr. Kieffe for the omission. Accidentally leaving out a word happens to anybody, seemingly most often in important documents.

But the particular word that was left out… it’s just hilariously ironic.