|
April 25, 2008
FOUR FOR FRIDAY
Q1 - Your Job: What's the best thing about your job? If you do not have a job, what's the best thing about not working?
Q2 - Health Insurance: Whirlpool Corporation's refrigerator plant in Indiana has suspended nearly 40 production workers suspected by the company of continuing to smoke despite claiming on health insurance forms they were nonsmokers. Additionally, the company charges smokers an extra fee for health insurance. Do you think companies should be allowed to deduct higher amounts of money from employees paychecks for health insurance if the employee smokes cigarettes?
Q3 - Borders: In its quest to secure the 2,000-mile-long U.S.-Mexico border, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has embarked on a construction project to build a 15- to 18-foot high wall along large swaths of the territory. But a lot of south Texans are mad about the plan. The proposed path of the fence cuts directly through some residents' backyards and even a local golf course. Do you think the United States should be erecting such a wall?
Q4 - Deterrence: A wall-mounted gadget designed to drive away loiterers with a shrill, piercing noise audible only to teens and young adults is infuriating civil liberties groups and tormenting young people. Nearly 1,000 units of the device, called the "Mosquito," have been sold in the United States and Canada, which according to its manufacturer, is a completely harmless solution to the problem of unwanted gatherings of youths and teenagers in shopping malls, around shops and anywhere else they are causing problems. Background: it seems that there is a very real medical phenomenon known as "presbycusis" or age-related hearing loss which, according to The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, "begins after the age of 20..." It first affects the highest frequencies (18 to 20 kHz ) notably in those who have turned 20 years of age or older, which means, there's real science to this Mosquito gizmo. How would you feel about the Mosquito's use in areas you or children frequent?
April 22, 2008
AL QAEDA CHIEF SLAMS MUSLIMS FOR LACK OF SUPPORT
Is it just me or does this headline and story read like it was written by the staff of The Onion? From the pages of Aljazeera.com:
AL QAEDA CHIEF SLAMS MUSLIMS FOR LACK OF SUPPORT
Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri criticised Muslims for failing to support Islamist insurgencies in Iraq and elsewhere in a new audiotape posted Tuesday on the Internet. Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant also blasted Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas over their reported readiness to consider a peace deal with Israel. "I call upon the Muslim nation to fear Allah's question (at judgement day) about its failure to support its brothers of the Mujahedeen (holy Warriors), and (urge it) not to withhold men and money, which is the mainstay of a war," he said
It's hard not to find humor in that story. Not nearly as clever as "Baggage-Handling Mix-Up Sends Dirty Bomb To St. Louis" or "Howard Stern Organizes Women's Health Symposium," but pretty damn close.
April 18, 2008
FOUR FOR FRIDAY
Q1 - Cell Phone Usage: According to an article I just read, there are two types of public transportation passengers: those who hate it when you whip out your cell phone and start yakking away, and the yakers themselves, who feel freedom to communicate is a natural born right. Some cities have instituted no-cell phone zones on trains and buses while others maintain an honor system. Do you think cell phone usage should be limited or banned on public transportation?
Q2 - Keychain: Are the keys on your keychain ordered in a specific way or are they slapped onto the ring in random order.
Q3 - Couch Potato For a Day: What TV-show marathon would keep you on your couch all day?
Q4 - Happy: Someone asked me the other day, "Are you happy?" (and not as in, are you happy right now but in general). How do you define happiness?
April 11, 2008
FOUR FOR FRIDAY
Q1 - Moving: If you were forced to leave your home for a location at least 500 miles away for one year, where would you choose to go? Keep in mind that your job would be secure and your financial situation would the same as it is now (mysteriously, your job would follow, and of course, if you're married or have kids or animals, they'd be able to come with you and you'd all live at the same standard as you do now).
Q2 - Recycling: An all-time high of 56% of the paper consumed in the United States in 2007 was recovered for recycling, according to the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), setting an all-time high and achieving an industry goal five years ahead of schedule. In announcing this news earlier this week, AF&PA also set a new goal of 60% recovery by 2012. Do you recycle paper? If so, what percentage would you say goes into a recycling bin?
Q3 - Crime: The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced last week that 63-year-old Louis McGuinn, a/k/a "Lowell Craig McGuinn," was sentenced to one year of probation and one hundred hours of community service for wearing service medals and badges--including the Distinguished Service Cross, a Silver Star, and multiple Purple Heart medals--that he did not earn or have authorization to wear. McGuinn, who was discharged from the Army in 1968 as a private, falsely held himself out as a Lieutenant Colonel. In imposing the sentence, the Judge stated that he took account of the "likely damage the defendant caused to the prestige" of individuals that had legitimately earned the medals, and specifically imposed community service to try to "redress damage to the community because of the defendant's misconduct." Do you think it should be illegal for someone to wear armed service medals and badges they did not earn, and in this case, do you feel the punishment fit the crime?
Q4 - Friends: If you could have prevented one thing from happening between yourself and a family member or a friend, what would that one thing have been?
April 4, 2008
FOUR FOR FRIDAY
Q1 - Dogs: Downward-facing dog is one of the most widely recognized poses of the ancient art of yoga. Some instructors are taking that pose literally by inviting canines into the yoga studio for classes with their owners. Do you think yoga can provide real health benefits for dogs, and if so, would you be interested in doing yoga with a dog.
Q2 - Money: If I gave you $175.00, what would you do with it?
Q3 - Life: In the United States, life expectancy is just 78 years, which apparently is too short for those of us opting to be cryogenically frozen after death. If having yourself cryogenically frozen gave you a 50/50 chance of being brought back to life at some point in the future, and you had the money to make it happen, would you go for it, or are 50/50 odds not enough for you? If 50/50 doesn't work for you, what if the odds were increased to a 100% probability of success in restoring you back to life?
Q4 - Odors: It's not just the fat and cholesterol in that sizzling bacon that will kill you: The irresistible aroma might too. A recently published study of fruit flies by a University of Houston researcher raises the possibility that even smelling rich foods may reduce the health benefits of dieting. How tempted are you by the smell of food?
|
|
