Alice and Frank are bungee-jumping one day. Alice says to Frank, "You know, we could make a lot of money running our own bungee-jumping service in Mexico."
Frank thinks this is a great idea. So they pool their money and buy everything they'll need: a tower, an elastic cord, insurance, etc.
They travel to Mexico and begin to set up on a square in a small town.
As they are constructing the tower, a crowd begins to assemble. Slowly, more and more people gather to watch them at work.
When they had finished, there was such a crowd they thought it would be a good idea to give a demonstration.
So, Alice jumps. She bounces at the end of the cord, but when she comes back up, Frank notices that she has a few cuts and scratches.
Unfortunately, Frank isn't able to catch her and she falls again, bounces, and comes back up again. This time, she is bruised and bleeding.
Again, Frank misses her. Alice falls again and bounces back up. This time she comes back pretty messed up; she has a couple of broken bones and is almost unconscious.
Luckily, Frank finally catches her this time and says, "What happened? Was the cord too long?"
Barely able to speak, Alice gasps, "No, the bungee cord was fine: it was the crowd. What the hell is a pinata.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Drop in crime coincides with exodus of illegal immigrants
A marked drop in Phoenix-area crime coincides with the recession and a drop in the number of illegal immigrants in Arizona.
Phoenix has seen a 25 percent decline in the number of crimes during the first five months of 2009 compared to the same time period in 2007 when the economy began to slow. Violent crime in Phoenix is down 12 percent, according crime statistics from the Phoenix Police Department.
Police Aren't Pulling Over Enough Black People
More wing-nuttery from the shrill shrew of delusional land ...
Ann Coulter and the Rev. Al Sharpton appeared on Larry King Live on Thursday night, and Coulter had some interesting comments about racial profiling: we need to do more of it, apparently.
Gunman kills kids at Tel Aviv club for gay youths
Israeli police say a gunman entered a youth club for gay teens in central Tel Aviv on Saturday night and sprayed the interior with automatic rifle fire, killing three people and injuring 11.
Gunman kills kids at Tel Aviv club for gay youthsCons backing up sewer
Officials in South Carolina's capital city of Columbia say prison inmates are flushing handmade weapons, underwear and various other debris down their toilets, causing a nearby sewer pump to break and costing taxpayers millions.
Officials of SC city blame inmates for sewer woes
Officials of SC city blame inmates for sewer woes
How to Spot a Sociopath
Seventeen years ago, Mary Jo Buttafuoco was shot in the head by her husband's underage lover.
How to Spot a Sociopath
How to Spot a Sociopath
'Banned in Bama'
State ban of wine with nude label a marketing boon
Alabama's ban on a wine that features a nude nymph on the label became a business opportunity for a California vintner who is preparing a marketing campaign to capitalize on being "Banned in Bama." The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board recently told stores and restaurants to quit serving Cycles Gladiator wine because of the label.
What went wrong with 'Cash for Clunkers'?
Technical snafus and crushing demand have nearly crashed the auto incentive program.
What went wrong
Also:
Using fat to fight the flab
Odd as it may seem, people who need to lose weight or fight diabetes might benefit from some extra fat – but only if it is the right kind.
Science News
From BBC-science:
Astronomers have been puzzled by a strange bright spot which has appeared in the clouds of Venus.  | | Aerial photographs reveal a lost Roman city called Altinum - which some scholars regard as a forerunner of Venice. |
THE BIG PICTURE
Talk about 'sleeping with the fishes'
Archaeologists have found the skeleton of a warrior from up to 5,000 years ago floating in a tomb filled with sea water on a beach near Rome.
Skeleton slept with the fishes for 5,000 years
Skeleton slept with the fishes for 5,000 years
Plastic surgery may stop migraine pain
A surgery to remove wrinkles gives unexpected relief to some migraine sufferers.
Stop migraine pain
Also:
Bull on the Loose in Idaho
You might expect to see a sight like this in Spain, but Thursday a bull caused quite a commotion in downtown Idaho Falls.
Welcome New Readers
We here at Carolina Naturally would like to welcome our newest readers in our 173rd country: Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
New cars worth waiting for
Automakers hope these forthcoming models will turn heads — and open wallets.
New cars worth waiting for
Also:
Saturday Jam
Today's Saturday Jam is an eclectic mix:
Blue Danube
Bad Company
You Don't Mess Around With Jim
Behind Blue Eyes
Blue Danube
Bad Company
You Don't Mess Around With Jim
Behind Blue Eyes
President Obama's Weekly Address
Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
Saturday, August 1st, 2009
Today, I’d like to talk with you about a subject that I know is on everyone’s mind, and that’s the state of our economy. Yesterday, we received a report on our Gross Domestic Product. That’s a measure of our overall economic performance. The report showed that in the first few months of this year, the recession we faced when I took office was even deeper than anyone thought at the time. It told us how close we were to the edge.
But it also revealed that in the last few months, the economy has done measurably better than expected. And many economists suggest that part of this progress is directly attributable to the Recovery Act. This and the other difficult but important steps that we have taken over the last six months have helped put the brakes on this recession.
We took unprecedented action to stem the spread of foreclosures by helping responsible homeowners stay in their homes and pay their mortgages. We helped revive the credit markets and open up loans for families and small businesses. And we enacted a Recovery Act that put tax cuts directly into the pockets of middle-class families and small businesses; extended unemployment insurance and health insurance for folks who have lost jobs; provided relief to struggling states to prevent layoffs of teachers and police officers; and made investments that are putting people back to work rebuilding and renovating roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals.
Now, I realize that none of this is much comfort for Americans who are still out of work or struggling to make ends meet. And when we receive our monthly job report next week, it is likely to show that we are continuing to lose far too many jobs in this country. As far as I’m concerned, we will not have a recovery as long as we keep losing jobs. And I won’t rest until every American who wants a job can find one.
But history shows that you need to have economic growth before you have job growth. And the report yesterday on our economy is an important sign that we’re headed in the right direction. Business investment, which had been plummeting in the past few months, is showing signs of stabilizing. This means that eventually, businesses will start growing and hiring again. And that’s when it will really feel like a recovery to the American people.
This won’t happen overnight. As I’ve said before, it will take many more months to fully dig ourselves out of a recession – a recession that we’ve now learned was even deeper than anyone thought. But I’ll continue to work every day, and take every step necessary, to make sure that happens. I also want to make sure that we don’t return to an economy where our growth is based on inflated profits and maxed-out credit cards – because that doesn’t create a lot of jobs. Even as we rescue this economy, we must work to rebuild it stronger than before. We’ve got to build a new foundation strong enough to withstand future economic storms and support lasting prosperity.
Next week, I’ll be talking about that new foundation when I head to Elkhart County in Indiana – a city hard hit not only by the economic crisis of recent months but by the broader economic changes of recent decades. For communities like Elkhart to thrive, we need to recapture the spirit of innovation that has always moved America forward.
That means once again having the best-educated, highest skilled workforce in the world. That means a health care system that makes it possible for entrepreneurs to innovate and businesses to compete without being saddled with skyrocketing insurance costs. That means leading the world in building a new clean energy economy with the potential to unleash a wave of innovation – and economic growth – while ending our dependence on foreign oil. And that means investing in the research and development that will produce the technologies of the future – which in turn will help create the industries and jobs of the future.
Innovation has been essential to our prosperity in the past, and it will be essential to our prosperity in the future. But it is only by building a new foundation that we will once again harness that incredible generative capacity of the American people. All it takes are the policies to tap that potential – to ignite that spark of creativity and ingenuity – which has always been at the heart of who we are and how we succeed. At a time when folks are experiencing real hardship, after years in which we have seen so many fail to take responsibility for our collective future, it’s important to keep our eyes fixed on that horizon.
Every day, I hear from Americans who are feeling firsthand the pain of this recession; these are folks who share their stories with me in letters and at town hall meetings; folks who remain in my mind and on my agenda each and every day. I know that there are countless families and businesses struggling to just hang on until this storm passes. But I also know that if we do the things we know we must, this storm will pass. And it will yield to a brighter day.Unusual Holidays and Celebrations
Today happens to be:
Girlfriend's Day,
and
Sweet Corn Day,
and
World Wide Web Day,
as well as
National Mustard Day.
Girlfriend's Day,
and
Sweet Corn Day,
and
World Wide Web Day,
as well as
National Mustard Day.
Daily Almanac
Today is Saturday, Aug. 1, the 213th day of 2009.
There are 152 days left in the year.
Today In History August 1
There are 152 days left in the year.
Today In History August 1
Our Readers
Some of our readers today have been in:
London, England, United Kingdom
Bremerhaven, Bremen, Germany
Catania, Sicilia, Italy
Porto Alegre, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil
Thornhill, Ontario, Canada
Manila, Manila, Philippines
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Gothenburg, Vastra Gotaland, Sweden
Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
as well as Bolivia, Scotland, and the United States
London, England, United Kingdom
Bremerhaven, Bremen, Germany
Catania, Sicilia, Italy
Porto Alegre, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil
Thornhill, Ontario, Canada
Manila, Manila, Philippines
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Gothenburg, Vastra Gotaland, Sweden
Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
as well as Bolivia, Scotland, and the United States
Daily Horoscope
Today's horoscope says:
Still dashing around smiling?
Well, it's only fair that you share the wealth, so tell your dear ones all of the marvelous things that are going on.
That way, even if their day isn't going along quite so swimmingly, they'll at least be able to enjoy yours vicariously.
Good things only get better when you reveal them.
And it requires no 'chemical enhancement' to be this way either.
Still dashing around smiling?
Well, it's only fair that you share the wealth, so tell your dear ones all of the marvelous things that are going on.
That way, even if their day isn't going along quite so swimmingly, they'll at least be able to enjoy yours vicariously.
Good things only get better when you reveal them.
And it requires no 'chemical enhancement' to be this way either.
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