Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Why peeing in your socks may save your life! I had to read the article and then was left thinking that those socks would really come in handy on the Appalachian Trail. Charge your phone and keep your location via GPS? Sounds perfect.

- Is the Flint water crisis the result of a stimulus project gone wrong?

- I don't think Amy Schumer is a joke thief

- They are like ninja eagles on stilts

- Heh heh

Abbott and Costello Explain the Stimulus

The dough for loafers is only for unions.

The World Bank and Stimulus Funding

Today marks the 64th anniversary of the founding of the World Bank. There is an interesting connection between this anniversary and President Obama's stimulus package.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were created via the efforts of the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944 which took place at the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. The Mount Washington Hotel is a beautiful place but an international conference like the one in 1944 would be impossible to hold there today because of the lack of available bandwidth at the hotel for Internet access, cell phone coverage, etc.

That deficiency is about to change as Bretton Woods Telephone was awarded one of the first broadband stimulus grants and loans made under the Recovery Act (aka the Stimulus Bill). Bretton Woods' application was just one of 18 out of hundreds of applications that were approved for the first round of money. What makes the tiny Bretton Woods Telephone company so special? They have less than 1,000 access lines. The one thing they have that makes them special is the Mount Washington Hotel.

After seeing that Bretton Woods Telephone was picked from so many applications that would have benefited much greater population bases, I have to admit that my first thought was that President Obama was planning a Bretton Woods Conference of his own. Could he be planning something new for the World Bank or the IMF? If so - Bretton Woods would be the correct historical backdrop. And by the time the conference is announced - the Mount Washington Hotel should have the bandwidth needed to host such a conference.

Canadian Stimulus Money At Work

This is pretty amusing.

After two weeks of sluggish ticket sales to hear Bill Clinton speak, the Canadian National Exhibition has slashed prices from $20 to five dollars plus admission... Organizers were hoping to fill the 25,000-seat BMO Field, but to-date have only sold 7,000... to the marquee event, paid for in part by federal stimulus dollars.

All I could think about was the catch line from the movie The Running Man - I'd buy that for a dollar! (But not for $5 I guess.)

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Trent Green fills in for Peter King on Monday Morning Quarterback and does a much better job than Peter. If only we could make the switch permanent... The Go-Go's had a hit with 1981's Our Lips are Sealed. For the longest time I thought they were singing "Honored to see you". Just heard the song and was reminded of that tidbit... One bone to pick with Trent Green though - he says that Jay Cutler has a chance to pass for more then 4,000 yards this season but doesn't mention Kyle Orton. I think Orton will pass for more yards this year than Cutler. When the NFL prop bets are up - I'll even put money on it... It's tough to feel bad for a millionaire but I do feel kinda bad for Xavier Nady. He is basically out for this year while he gets Tommy John surgery and is probably out for next year too. No team will take a chance on him since he's a Type A free agent and would cost any team taking a flyer on him a first round draft pick. The way things are going though - I wouldn't be surprised if Nady qualified for stimulus money...