Category Archives: Uncategorized

Arithmetic

Start with 700,000,000,000.

Divide it by 365.

1,917,808,219.13

Divide that by 24.

79,908,675.8

Divide that by 60.

1,331,811.26

Divide that by 60.

That gives you 22,196.85 .

That's how much money the US Department of Defense officially spends in one second. $22,196.

Or, one second of DoD budget = a top of the line Honda Civic.

31.5 million top of the line Honda Civics a year, even.

The DoD spends roughly $80,000,000 per day.

The poverty line in the US for a family of four is $22,050 / year.

So, in one day, the US Department Defense spends more money that it would take to keep 3,624 families-of-four just above the poverty line, for a year.

14,496 people for a year = one day of defense spending.

Our priorities are broken.

On a lighter note, from the album "Reading, Writing and Arithmetic" here's The Sundays with "Joy":

Philistines

The "Glee" cast has surpassed the Beatles for the most appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 chart by a non-solo act.

The cast of the Fox television musical series about a high school glee club has six debuts on the chart this week. That gives it a total of 75 songs on the chart to the Beatles' 71.

...

Elvis Presley still leads overall with 108 songs to chart on the Hot 100. He's followed by James Brown with 91, then "Glee."

The Beatles are sixth, behind Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin. Lil Wayne, Stevie Wonder and Jay-Z round out the Top 10.

Glee is definitely in my list of top 10 shows: top 10 worst shows ever. I tried a couple of episodes but I honestly found nothing interesting at all; anti-charismatic 20-somethings with plastic smiles and glassy eyes lazily lip-sync to cheese-slathered versions of worn-out top-40 songs from the ages, while pretending to be in high school. Yeah, Jane Lynch is funny, but she'd be funny anywhere. The show is just fucking awful.

And who the fuck is Lil Wayne?

God damn, I hate being old and wise. My lawn: you're on it.

Update: I suppose I should clarify that if you like Glee, that's cool. Doesn't bother me. You probably hate half the stuff I like. But I'd still grab you a beer if I was going to the kitchen and you needed one - we can get along. Besides, if we all liked the same stuff, there'd be no such thing as browsing in stores - and I think we all like that.

T'ain't Tricklin' Down Is It?

As many households and small businesses are being turned away by bank loan officers, large corporations are borrowing vast sums of money for next to nothing — simply because they can.

Companies like Microsoft are raising billions of dollars by issuing bonds at ultra-low interest rates, but few of them are actually spending the money on new factories, equipment or jobs. Instead, they are stockpiling the cash until the economy improves.

The development presents something of a chicken-and-egg situation: Corporations keep saving, waiting for the economy to perk up — but the economy is unlikely to perk up if corporations keep saving.
...
Corporations now sit atop a combined $1.6 trillion of cash, a figure equal to slightly more than 6 percent of their total assets. In the first quarter of this year it was 6.2 percent of assets, the highest level since 1964, when it was 6.4 percent.

Corporate profits were up 40% last year.

Eyes Wide Shut

Irmgard Holm had cataract surgery last year. She mistakenly reached for what she thought was one of her half dozen eyedrop medications -- but the burning sensation that followed let her know something was seriously wrong.

It was superglue.

Aiieieee!!