Things That Irritate, Flumox, and Down Right P*ss Me Off

People who throw cig butts out of the window when they have a perfectly good ashtray in the car and then the butt hits your window!

I can not tolerate trying to be a nice person by holding open a door for someone and they just march right through as if you were the doorman.  I often say, "Your welcome" to let them know how rude they are. And that means you, lady, at Nordstrom's on Saturday...






You want to turn left at a light where there is a left turn lane.  But you can't get in the lane because the people going straight have two car lengths in front of them.  Move up!



The young people  of today are not being taught manners.  I had a young man, who saw me entering the building,  walk in front of me, and then let the door slam in my face.  Up yours kid...



When you are at a checkout counter being helped and the clerk then answers the phone and spends time helping that person or takes a personal call and begins to do their nails.  I can see George Costanza slapping his hand on the counter and screaming, "Customer service here, customer service here!"



People who don't put their shoes away leaving multiple pairs of shoes, sneakers, and flip flops around (submitted by my spouse) Sorry, dear.  I'll make a concerted effort...



Drivers, while stopped behind another car at a light or stop sign, slowly creep creep creep to within inches of the car in front. I got hit by a guy doing this.  (submitted by me about my spouse) After much back seat driving, he still does this...



Constant calls by political parties for donations. I'll donate when I'm ready thank you. I love that feature with some phones, TV packages that show the number of the caller on the TV screen.  Don't even have to bother to look at the phone...



Press one for English, dos  por espanol...Pretty soon it's going to be press uno por espanol and two for English...



Customer service people who try to placate your anger by saying "I understand ", when they really are trying to calm you down because they know they work for a sh*t company!



People who truncate your name.  Why?  Tiger Woods always does it. Strik for Stricker etc.  The most notable President Bush calling whatshisname with FEMA, Brownie.



People who chew gum and snap it AND have their mouth open. We can hear you! And see those crowns and those filled teeth and possibly dentures.  Yuck!



People who realize at the last minute they want to exit and cross two lanes on a busy freeway to do so.  Get off at the next exit you jerk!



Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.  Enough said.  John Boehner's  perpetual tan.  Mitch McConnell's no eyebrows. Sarah Palin's "You betcha". 



But what's really p*ssing me off is that nothing, nothing has changed in Washington DC.  And here's a poll, and there are many others, that report the same..The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows that 27% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-four percent (44%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -17 (see trends). Just 37% of voters believe their own representative in Congress deserves to be re-elected. Thirty-nine percent disagree. Just 27% say their own representative is the best person for the job. Overall, 62% say it would be better for the country if most incumbents are defeated in November. Sixty-five percent (65%) of voters are angry at the policies of the federal government.

I am not alone folks.  I am not alone...

You're An EXTREME Redneck When.....

1. You let your 14-year-old daughter smoke at the dinner table … in front of her kids.

2. The Blue Book value of your truck goes up and down depending on how much gas is in it.

3. You've been married three times and still have the same in-laws.

4. You think a woman who is out of your league bowls on a different night.

5. You wonder how service stations keep their rest-rooms so clean.

6. Someone in your family died right after saying 'Hey, guys, watch this...'

7. You think Dom Perignon is a Mafia leader.

8. Your wife's hairdo was once ruined by a ceiling fan.

9. Your junior prom offered day care.

10. You think the last words of the Star-Spangled Banner are 'Gentlemen, start your engines'.

11. You lit a match in the bathroom and your house exploded right off its wheels.

12. The Halloween pumpkin on your porch has more teeth than your spouse.

13. You have to go outside to get something from the fridge.

14. One of your kids was born on a pool table.

15. You need one more hole punched in your card to get a freebie at the House of Tattoos.

16. You can't get married to your sweetheart because there's a law against it.

17. You think loading the dishwasher means getting your wife drunk.

Purge, by Sofi Oksanen: A Book Review

My blog has moved to www.satisfyingmycuriosity.com.  If you've enjoyed this blog, please check my new site out for other interesting comments on culture, travel, book reviews, and music.


This book isn't about anorexia or bulimia or the occasional colon cleanse.  Purge is a book of two voices that takes us  through the tumultuous times of WWII, the communist occupation of eastern Europe and into the uncertainty of Soviet life in the 1990's. It does not take place in Russia but in the little known country of Estonia.   Estonia  is a country in the Baltic Region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia (343 km), and to the east by the Russian Federation.  But this story could have been placed in any country that had been occupied by the Germans and then the Soviets.  I'm going to do an aside here.  My husband and I visited Moscow a year ago and wanted to go to the National Museum of Military History.  We wanted to hear the Russian's "take" on things.  Our guide, Olga, informed us that when the Russians finally drove the Germans back across the Germans' eastern front that they, the Soviets, liberated the countries that the Germans had occupied.  Ok then. We rolled our eyes.   Just ask those "liberated" people how they liked it and  you will see just how much  in Purge.  The two voices are that of Aliide, born in the 1920's, in Estonia in a small village.  The second voice is that of Zara, born in Vladivostok, Russia, sometime in the late 1970's.  The two voices meet in 1992 when Zara escapes from her brutal pimp, Pasha,  who had lured her from Russia with promises of making great money but instead  forces her into being a sex slave in Germany.  Read more...

Twisted Head Part Five

Well, I finally got my second set of botox shots based on the results of an intramuscular electromyography. Say what? It's called an EMG. You lay (lie, whatever) down and the doctor inserts a small needle, like an accupuncture needle, into various muscle groups. Yes, you read right. More needles in the neck. As the needle is inserted into the muscle, the doctor either puts his hand on your face and asks you to press against it or he moves the needle around. Are you still with me or are you running for the hills? The needle has a fine wire attached to it that sends a signal to a machine that reacts like an EKG machine. If, when you press against the doctor's hand etc, the machine makes a "noise", meaning shows an erratic line, then that muscle is contracting and that is where he needs to inject the botox. The doctor then moves to the next muscle group and sees if he gets the same reaction. If there is no "noise", then no botox for that muscle today. He located two muscle groups that made "noise" so that's where I got my two vials of botox. I have a really smooth neck...Anyway, it takes up to two-three weeks for any results to show. If it doesn't work this time, then I'm off to a specialist at Emory Hospital. Keep your fingers crossed for me, OK?

Twisted Head Part Four:The Saga Continues

Well, here it is almost three months since the botox injections and, drum roll please...nothing. It did NOTHING! Many of you asked about how in the world did I go half way around the world with my head twisted to the side. It's called good valium and business elite on Delta. When I'm reclining, I don't have any issues, except with the difficulty of reading. That's where the Kindle has been so much help. It's so light I can position it many ways. Once I got to Singapore I decided to have a massage. Not an Al Gore massage, just a plain old massage. After the massage the therapist said, you are so tight. I will adjust you. And before I could open my mouth, she had adjusted both sides of my neck. My chiropractor asked if she was certified to do that. Yeah right. But it sure felt good. It wasn't easy slogging my way through the jungle and climbing a mountain but I'm not a whiner, so I'm not going to complain. What I am going to complain about is what in the hell is going to happen to our health care systm when Obama/Pelosi/Reid care comes into fruition. I get back and I'm still on the valium type pills. I've been trying to work out and do some Dahn yoga to stretch the neck muscles. So, I have an appointment with the neurologist last week on a Weds. A week before that, I CALL the office to make sure the botox has been ordered. I know you're asking why do the injections again if they didn't work the first time. From my research I've done, sometimes it just takes more than once to kick in. I get a call on that Monday saying yes the botox had been ordered. I go to the appt and the doctor says that obviously the first set of injections didn't work and that he is going to use an advance technigue where he will put small needles into the different neck muscles, apply pressure to the muscle and if it contracts, that's where he'll put the injections. But he couldn't do it at that location because he didn't have the necessary equipment. Why didn't he do that the first time? 75-80% of all spasmodic torticollis sufferers respond to what he did do. Oh, no. Not me. I have to be different. So, he makes an appt for me the next day at the other office. I get home and get a call from the woman who had told me the botox had been ordered but...it...actually...had...not...been....Now, this is the second time this woman has done this to me. I know you're saying GO TO ANOTHER DOCTOR! Well, I found a "movement disorder" specialist in Atlanta but I couldn't get an appt with him until August! So, I got a call from this woman, apologizing, and saying the botox had been ordered. I called the mail order company and indeed it will be in their office tomorrow and my appt is the next day. But it will still take 3-4 weeks for it to work...if it does. If not, then I'll keep that other appt for August and change doctors. OK I will whine...My golf game sucks. But as I told the doctor, you can see everyday our soldiers coming back from Iraq or Afghanistan with lost limbs and crippling disabilities. So my whine will be minimal...

A Review on the writer Carl Hiaasen

I’ve always had an offbeat sense of humor. I loved Monty Python and their Flying Circus, The Holy Grail, Life of Brian and of course, Spamalot (French Soldier: I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.) I loved it. I’m also a fan of Dave Barry and Christopher Moore (Chris Moore is definitely not for everyone. He is VERY politically incorrect). So, in keeping with my sense of humor, a long time ago I picked up a book by Carl Hiaasen. It was Tourist Season, his first book. Here is a synopsis of the book off of Hiaasen’s web page: “The only trace of the first victim was his Shriner's fez washed up on the Miami Beach. The second victim, the head of the city's chamber of commerce, was found dead with a toy rubber alligator lodged in his throat. And that was just the beginning... Now Brian Keyes, reporter turned private eye, must move from muckraking to rooting out murder, in a caper that will mix football players, politicians, and police with a group of fanatics and a very hungry crocodile.” Now, who could not read something with that type of description? 

Hiaasen has, for most of his career, been an editorial writer for the Miami Herald. So, his focus, both in his editorial writing and in his novels, is South Florida. Now, if you’ve ever spent any time in south Florida, you know it is populated with all types of miscreants, crooked politicians, crooked real-estate agents and just the plain weird. Welcome to the wild, weird and whacked out world of Carl Hiaasen. Read more...

What's Become of "Buy American?"

It's getting harder and harder to "buy American" these days. Just look at these icons of american culture and see where they are now or were always made. I found this courtesy of comcast.net:

Toll House: Nestle, a Swiss company, is the owner of the Toll House brand of chocolate morsels, baking supplies and cookie dough. But, at least the cookies are an American invention. Ruth Wakefield owned the Toll House Inn outside Whitman, Mass., and baked colonial-inspired desserts. Her big hit was a butter cookie that she flavored with bits of a Nestle chocolate bar. In the mid-1900s, she and Nestle struck a bargain. They could use the Toll House name and in return she got a lifetime supply of chocolate. In 1939, Nestle started selling chocolate "chips."  Read more...

Plastic Bottles, Moonlight Cruises and Indiana Jones

It's almost been a month since I've returned from my trip to Borneo and I still am thinking about what an adventure my sister and I had. In addition to the adventure we also learned a great deal about how many dedicated people there are throughtout the world who devote their lives to the conservation of animals and the flora and fauna. For example, one of the scientists working along the Kinabatangan River noticed that the local shrimpers were cutting bark off of trees to hook their shrimp traps to so they could locate them. Well, that meant that the tree would eventually die and there would be more deforestation. This scientist got together with some the local influential shrimpers and suggested that instead of using the bark, why not use "used" plastic water bottles. Read more...

A Review: Innocent by Scott Turow

It’s been 23 years since we've seen Rusty and Barbara Sabich, the husband and wife in the wildly popular novel, Presumed Innocent, written by Scott Turow. Presumed Innocent was also a wildly popular movie starring Harrison Ford (playing Rusty Sabich, chief deputy prosecutor) and Greta Scacchi (playing Carolyn Polhemus, a sex pot assistant). I expressly remember the first time “they did it”. Whew, was that some scene. Yes, that’s right. Rusty was being a bad boy and began having an affair with Carolyn. That is until she is raped and murdered. Rusty is accused of the deed and stands trial, only to be exonerated. Or, was he?

Presumed Innocent was really the first of the courtroom drama genre novels. Unlike many of the other authors who write these types of dramas, Turow still has his hand in the legal business as a defense attorney representing white collar defendants. He has written 11 other books since Presumed Innocent. An author knows how much blood, sweat and tears he/she has put into a book and may wonder whether they will be able to replicate that success in a sequel. Innocent doesn’t have the same level was suspense that Presumed Innocent does but it is one hell of a read. It’s a great courtroom drama for adults. Read more... 

Desperate Housewives, Big Love and President Obama: Borneo Part Two

So, with my wodka, all was right with the world again. As I stated in my May 31st blog, most of our time was spent doing water safaris.

But on two occasions we went trekking looking for a group doing research for Hutan, an orang-utan conservation project. They have a study area and watch the orang-utans throughtout the day. These folks have got to be dedicated to hang out all day writing down mother turned left, ate leaf, baby clung to mama, mama turned right etc etc... Why? Simple answer. The better they understand their behavior, the better they can help them survive. They provide much needed info to the government of Malaysia, who can then implement programs to help the big apes survive. Alright. On with the story. Read more...

Borneo Adventure

My blog has moved to www.satisfyingmycuriosity.com.  If you've enjoyed this blog, please check my new site out for other interesting comments on culture, travel, book reviews, and music.


It's been a while since I last posted but my sister and I were on an adventure. We were on an ecotour on the island of Borneo. For the uninitiated, Borneo is the 3rd largest island in the world and is made up of 3 nations, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Borneo, for me, conjured up visions of head hunters and pythons ready to have me for dinner. Well, not so. Indonesia has the world's largest population of Muslims. Betcha didn't know that... Why did we chose a trip to Borneo? Well, my sister does contract work for the Houston Zoo and the Zoo is a major benefactor with the Malaysian government in working to save three threatened species, the Pygmy Elephant, the Orangu-tan, and the Proboscis monkey. Even though my sister has traveled extensively , it was the type of trip she had never experienced before (I had been on two African safaris) and we said "what the hell. Why not". Luckily for us, we saw all three species thanks to Red Ape Encounters. Our guide, Mincho, 29 and a father of three, was superb and his english was terrific. I'll get to the "why" his english is so good later. Here are just some musings, factoids and experiences: Read more...

Oxymorons and Other Things to Ponder

1. Is it good if a vacuum really sucks?

2. Why is the third hand on the watch called the second hand?

3. If a word is misspelled in the dictionary, how would we ever know?

4. If Webster wrote the first dictionary, where did he find the words?

5. Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack?

6. Why does "slow down" and "slow up" mean the same thing?

7. Why does "fat chance" and "slim chance" mean the same thing?  Read more...

Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel: A Review

Life of Pi, Yann Martel’s 2002 Man Booker prize winner, is one of my all time favorite novels. I remember that I asked my book club to read it because I was so enthralled with it. Half of them hated it and the other half, like me, loved it. There seems to be the same split for Martel’s newest novel or novella (it’s a mere 197 pages), Beatrice and Virgil. Let me digress a minute. One of the local high schools had Life of Pi on their summer reading list. A friend of mine, whose son attends this HS, asked me if I could help him understand the novel. The first thing I said to him is that in order to understand Pi you have to suspend your disbelief in what is happening in order for you to believe in what is happening. Huh?   Read more...

Twisted Head Saga Part Three

Now I don't want you to think I'm whining. But, seriously, I am. This stupid spasmodic torticollis is really pissing me off. First of all, the Botox was supposed to be a miracle. Not. I think I told you it can take 2-3 weeks for those little toxins to reach the little brain cells (yes, I'm sure blond jokes will abound) that are telling my muscles to contract. So, I called the doc after just 9 days and said, "PLEASE HELP ME!". So, they "worked me in". 2 hours later I had another set of 15 shots of Botox in the neck muscles. You guys out there listen up. The neurologist said that it is clear to him that women can tolerate pain more then men. So there! Anyway, at night, in particular, my neck really spasms so I bought a cervical collar. Now what is pissing me off is that three things that I truly enjoy are being hampered by this malady. Golf. I lost a match the other day that I never should have lost. Ever try to read a breaking putt with your left should raised 5 inches higher than the other. I was missing 4 foot putts! Drat! Then, I can't cook the way I like. I have this great Shun Ken Onion Chef's Knife that my hubby gave me a few years ago. Sharp sharp sharp. Try chopping with your head bouncing around like a bobble doll. Dan Akroyd as Julia Child on SNL anyone? And finally reading and writing. Good thing this program has spell check because every other word is like thid . Hid yoi lije thia. And not being able to read, well, I have yet to find a comfortable position. The cervical collar helps. Maybe I should just download some to my ipod. So, here I sit, cervical collar on, typing you a note to let you know that that GD! Botox better work. Oh, and the doc says, this malady doesn't go away. Learn to live with it. I shall because we all know what the alternative is....

The Fairy Tale All Little Girls Should Read

This is the fairy tale that should have been read to us when we were little...

Once upon a time...in a land far away...a beautiful, independent self assured princess happened upon a frog as she sat contemplating ecological issues on the shores of an unpolluted pond in a verdant meadow near her castle.

The frog hopped into the princess’ lap and said, “elegant lady, I was once a handsome prince, until an evil witch cast a spell upon me. One kiss from you however, and I will turn back into the dapper young prince that I am and then my sweet...we can marry and set up housekeeping in your castle...with my mother...where you will prepare my meals...clean my clothes...bear my children and forever feel grateful and happy doing so”.

That night...as the princess dined sumptuously on lightly sautéed frog legs seasoned in a white wine and onion cream sauce, she chuckled...and thought to herself:

I don’t f**king think so...

Sibling Rivalry: Three Sisters and Their Story...

In a couple of weeks from now my OLDER sister and I are embarking on our first major trip together. I guess you could say it's not our first journey together because just by virtue of being sisters, we've been on a life long trip. We also have a younger sister who is 6 years younger than me. My older sister and I don't really know a whole lot about her because when she was 8 or 9, we were 14 and 16 and could have cared less about her other than for her to stay out of our way. My older sister, I'll call "G". She is 16 months older than me. Our relationship, from the time we were born until our thirties, was a tumultuous one. Read more...

The Twisted Head Saga Continues

The last time I blogged about my torticollis I was awaiting an appointment for some Botox injections...which was to cure all ills. Oh, if life were so simple. If one could snap one's fingers and what you wanted appeared. Well, there has been no genie in a bottle for moi. There has been only disappointment and misinformation. My poison pen is directed at the mail order pharmacy Medco who has a contract with United Health Care to fulfill the prescriptions of UHC's insured. The crux of the biscuit, a favorite coinage by Frank Zappa, is that I should have shucked out the $1100 for the two vials and dealt with reimbursement later. But both the doctor's office as well as the insurance company ASSURED me that the Botox would be in the doc's office in a matter of days. Read more...

Come to Jamaica Pretty Lady

Let me tell you a story about a trip I took a few years back to the beautiful island of Jamaica.  When I was in the cruise business, I often had clients ask which of the islands in the Caribbean are the most beautiful. Well, for me, they are the islands formed by volcanoes that created beautiful seasides but gorgeous mountains such as  St. Lucia, Martinique, and,yes, Jamaica.  They are mountainous, have beautiful rivers and, for the most part, lush greenery. In other words, they're more than a few feet above sea level. I had been to Jamaica many times with my then, and soon to be ex, husband so this was my first trip solo (newly d-i-v-o-r-c-ed). Read more...

The Twisted Head

And, no, I'm not talking about the name of a pub in Scotland or perhaps Bill Clinton's supposed physical problem... Now Hairball, behave yourself. I'm talking about MY neck. Some of you who follow me on Face Book know that I've been diagnosed with torticollis. I have Laterocollis. Read more...

What's On My Kindle

As I blogged before, it took me awhile to buy an e-reader but I did.  More for travel than anything else.  But I've become addicted to downloading books, which were once $9.99.  Now, thanks to Apple and IPad, the download prices are closer to $15.  Thanks a bunch Apple.  Anyway, my community newsletter has asked me to write a monthly book review and my first two reviews were The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Larsson and That Old Cape Magic by Russo.  I really do love to read and since the weather here in the southeast has not been conducive to golfing or gardening, I read and oh yes, blog.  So, here's a partial list of what's on my Kindle.  Before the list, here is an interesting tidbit about the Kindle.  Many of the classics are FREE to download or at a greatly reduced rate, like a dollar.  The other thing I've found out about Kindle and publishing is that not all authors/publishing houses have negotiated an e-book deal so you can't get them on an ebook, like John Grisham9pdate 1/14, now you can), or they wait for three months to publish to Kindle, like Stephen King. Read more...

Tires and Sex

NOT sex with tires but tires and sex.  Ok then. What in the world are you talking about Hairball?  Let me tell you a little story that will clarify, anger, and amuse.  Back in the mid-80's I took a great trip to Tokyo, Hong Kong and Bangkok.  This little story takes place in Bangkok.   Thailand is a fascinating and beautiful country.  Buddist temples on street corners with some of the most beautiful women in the world, thousands and thousands of orchids and phenomenal hotels and incredible cuisine.  And, sex.  Before the Vietnam war, there was very little sex trade in Thailand.  It became a favorite R and R spot for the troops and then Bangkok (an appropriate name I guess)  became known for its sex trade. Read more...

Asthma and Claustrophobia

My blog has moved to www.satisfyingmycuriosity.com.  If you've enjoyed this blog, please check my new site out for other interesting comments on culture, travel, book reviews, and music.


Serious up.  I'm asthmatic and have claustrophobia.  Does being asthmatic necessarily mean you're going to be claustrophobic?  Maybe.  I read about this in Prevention magazine.  It seems that recent studies show that there is a striking connection between asthma and psychological problems, i.e. depression and anxiety.  If you've ever been in a situation where you have not been able to breath, it's not hard then for the mind to extrapolate,  "small place, no air."

The Olympics and Condoms-Strange Bedfellows

Did that title get your attention?  I was telling some friends of mine about this the other day.  I had read about this concerning another Olympics.   Their response was "you've got to be kidding".  Nope.  Would Hairball lie to you honey?   The practice of handing out free condoms began in 1992 in Barcelona.  Condom use within the Vancouver Olympic village is rampant.  This year some 100,000 free condoms were given to some 7000 athletes and officials of the games.  That's some 14 condoms PER person.  Back up...they gave them to the officials too?  This makes Tiger Woods and his trysts pale in comparison.  What do they have there?  A condom depot? Read more...

Totally Worthless Info to Impress Your Friends

A friend recently suggested I pick up a copy of a book entitled Who Knew.  Well, I obviously didn't know or I would have already read it. By the by, if I can't get a book on Kindle through Amazon, I buy them used.  My sister would say "go to the library".  But I bought this book for $3 and change including shipping.  So, there ya go.  The sub-title of the book is:  Things You Didn't Know About Things You Know Well by David Hoffman .

So, did you know:

If Jell-O is hooked up to an EEG, it registers movements virtually identical to the brain waves of a healthy adult.  After a martini or before?

On average, a Twinkie will explode in a microwave in 45 seconds.  Ok, tell me the truth.  How many of you tried this?

There are approximately 1,750 O's in every can of SpaghettiOs.  Job descriptiton:  The job entails counting food elements but not eating them...

Coca Cola was first marketed as "the best cure for a hangover".  A true Texas cure for a hangover:  A Big Red float with vanilla BlueBell Ice Cream.

The five  interlocking Olympic rings are black, blue, red, white, and yellow because at least one of these colors appears on every national flag.  Hurray for our Olympic team in Vancouver.  The most medals since Lake Placid.  Hmm, do we have to apologize for that? I just had to say it...

Banks are commonly shaped like pigs because in the eighteenth century frugal people saved their money in earthenware jars made of dense orange clay known as pygg.   Today banks are viewed as pigs...

In Pulp Fiction, the word f**k is used 257 times.  Just a typical day on the golf course folks...

For you dog lovers out there that do not pick up your pooch's poop:  Each instance of dog poop that goes unscooped attracts approx. 144 flies! Oh Oh yuck!

Seinfeld wasn't Jerry Seinfeld's first sitcom.  He played the govenor's speechwriter on Benson, but was fired after three episodes.   Why didn't he just show up the next day and pretend that he hadn't been fired? 

On average, we forget 80% of what we learn on any given day.  Is that before or after menapause?

What if You Had Two Cows: Political Science for Dummies

This is floating around the internet and I found it funny:

DEMOCRATIC
You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
You feel guilty for being successful.
Barbara Streisand sings for you.

REPUBLICAN
You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
So?

SOCIALIST
You have two cows.
The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.
You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow. Read more...

A Small But Growing Culture Within the NBA

Hairball, you mean other than tats, and guns, and women?  I'm not an NBA fan.  I can't even remember  the last time I went to an NBA game.  I think, maybe,  it was in Dallas in 1990.  So, if you're not an NBA fan, why are you writing about it?  It's because whenever I see an article about something "different", I read it.  And this article in today's WSJ really caught my eye.  It seems that over the last decade the NBA has recruited more and more players from outside of the good old U S of A. (Hairball, you really don't watch the sport if that's news to you.)  Stop being a wisenheimer and let me finish.  For those of you who DON"T know this, the number of players born outside of the US has doubled over the last decade (up to 83).  This year, 5 of the top 15 highest paid players are from outside the US.  Ok, OK.  You've made your point.  Move on.  The locker room atmosphere is changing.  While the American players listen to their iPods, iPhones to their ears, looking at laptops, the foreign born players are....drum roll please...READING!  WHAT?!  READING?! In the NBA?!        Listen up.  If you take into account the countries they come from Russia,  the Ukraine, Lithuania, Nigeria etc and couple this with their economic status, they could not  afford nor did they have access to ipods, iphones, laptops etc.  Instead, they read.  Their coaches insisted that they read.  So, it has carried forward.  New Orleans Hornets player, Emeka Okafor, just finished The Road, Interpreter of Maladies, and The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao.  Trust me.  These are not light weight books.  Apparently some of this is nibbling at the edges of the NBA culture.  The Bucks gave all of their players Kindles for Christmas.  But don't get the idea that this all hunky dory with the other players.  (Do you think any of the players in the NBA would say hunky dory? I'm not going to write what I believe they would actually say.)  They do make fun of "the readers".  So, now you know why I read the article.  Pairing reading with the NBA was such an oxymoron that to me it was like putting Obama and Cheney in a room and asking  them to come up with a plan.  Any plan.... Here's the link for the whole article:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704140104575057521488502914.html