Gas Price: $2.85

I was driving home on East Washington when I noticed that many of the gas stations had raised their gas prices to $2.85 a gallon. This is from $2.65 yesterday.

I quickly drove into one of my favorite gas stations, which was at $2.66, and filled up my van, which was empty after driving to Chicago to get my daughter. So, I was actually filling up my van and at the same time watching the gas station manager change the gas price to $2.85 a gallon.

My daughter told me later that gas is $2.99 a gallon in some places in Madison. Is it too late to convert my garage into a barn and start raising horses?

O Hare Airport Lack of Security Shocking

I was waiting to pick up my daughter at the O Hare airport in Chicago yesterday when I had a lesson in security play out right in front of my eyes.

And my conclusion was: the security where I was at O Hare airport was lousy.

The incident occurred when an airport officer (I'm assuming he was a Chicago policeman) discovered an unattended suitcase. A pink suitcase that I'm guessing belonged to a little girl or teenager.

The officer walked over to the suitcase and asked people nearby if the suitcase belonged to them. No one responded.

The officer then got on his radio and called for assistance. While the officer waited ( while standing some distance away) he did not relocate the people away from this suitcase. So, if the suitcase had blown up, a lot of people would have been killed and injured.

In fact while the officer was waiting, a young man walked up and stood by the abandoned suitcase and made a cell phone call, which lasted several minutes. If the suitcase at that point had blown up, that young man would have been the first one killed along with others.

Within a few minutes, a bomb sniffing dog was brought to the scene. The first thing the dog did was knock the suitcase over. If the suitcase had contained a bomb, again a lot of people would have been killed or injured.

Luckily, there was no bomb and the pink suitcase was carried away by the police officer. I hope terrorists never come to the O Hare airport and place a bomb there, but it would be very easy for them to successfully plant a bomb and kill or injure a lot of people.

The United States is still not prepared to defend against terrorists.

Obese Story # 2

A woman in New Hampshire is filing a formal complaint because her doctor basically told her she needed to lose weight to be healthy.

Having lost about 50 pounds over the last 2 years. I am on the doctor's side. A doctor should always tell you the truth, whether you are obese, an alcoholic, or whatever. Chances are that person is already in denial and by sugar coating it, it just makes the doctor or family member an enabler.

Given a choice between a straight forward, honest doctor and a doctor who is a diplomat, give me the honest doctor every time.

Last word: adults should not be coddled and if you have a weight problem, join Weight Watchers. Today!

Madison, WI: # 1 Party Town

According to a recent survey, Madison, WI, is now considered the number one party town among college students. This is nothing to be proud of.

If you live here in Madison, you will read stories of students falling off balconies and dying. Or students getting assaulted at 2 o'clock in the morning.

Alcohol is the number one drug in America. Over the years, I've seen family after family ruined because of alcohol.

This award for being the number one party city is harmful to everything Wisconsin and our University stands for.

Obesity in the South

An organization called "Trust for America's Health" has listed the states with the highest rate of obesity. Here are the top 4:
Mississippi
Alabama
West Virginia
Colorado

I have spent many a summer in Mississippi and I love the people of the South. I've seen over the years that the Southern culture has started to blend with the Northern culture. I'm guessing this is because of cable TV and the passing of time. When I'm down there, my family and relatives tend to go to McDonald's and Sonic just as often as people up North.

The only difference in the South is that they don't have a culture of exercise and fitness. The people of the South are hard workers. But they commonly don't ride bicycles, jog, or join health clubs. I saw my first jogger about 2 years ago.

The people of Mississippi and Alabama are one of the poorest people in the United States. So, chances are they can't afford to join a health club or buy a treadmill. The hot weather also contributes to staying indoors and being inactive. Poverty is commonly accompanied by a poor diet. Many people in these two states don't have health insurance. So, only under extreme circumstances do they go see a doctor.

I enjoy my visits in the South. And consider myself a Bayou Yankee: half Northerner and half Southerner. My hope is that along with other changes, it becomes more common for people in the South to start exercising so they live longer.

Putting the Fun in Dysfunctional: "4 Brothers"

I went to see the movie "4 Brothers" and not only was the family in it dysfunctional but so was the movie.

I liked the actors, especially Mark Wahlberg: they did their job. I liked the premise of the movie: 4 boys are adopted by a tough, but loving foster mother. After the boys grow up, the mother is killed in a convenient store robbery. The 4 brothers come home to find out who killed their foster mother and why.

So, here was a movie with actors I liked and a premise I liked but, unfortunately, the movie was awful. This is a movie that most of their budget went to bullets and guns and not much else.

I don't think this movie is even worth a rental price.

Wendy and I attended the Triangle Ethnic Festival today. This festival is held just west of downtown Madison in the Bayview International neighborhood. It was interesting and fun. 

Dancers dressed in traditional costumes from different countries performed at the Ethnic Festival. 

I had really great beef bamboo skewers at this booth serving Cambodian food. The beef was done just right and the spices were just right. The beef was served with a type of cole slaw and rice. 

This is a small container/bowl I bought at the Ethnic Festival. This container is from Kenya and made out of soapstone. 

Gas Price Now $2.69

Gas price is now $2.68 a gallon in Madison. The cost of horses and buggies is also going up.

Gas Price $2.59

Gas price in Madison is now $2.59 a gallon. Out on the highway it is now up to $2.65 a gallon.

The annual family campout ended today. We will be sending out a photo CD within a week or so. 

Gas Price $2.49

Gas in Madison is now $2.49 a gallon.

Movie Previews

During the last week or so, I've been scavanging around for something worth watching. There is nothing worth watching on TV right now. And the movies in both the theaters and at the video store have not been worth leaving the house for. But there is promise in some movies to be released in the next week or so. Take a look.

"Four Brothers"
This movie could be good but it also could be incredibly bad. Actor Mark Wahlberg leads a band of four brothers who return to the old neighborhood to avenge the murder of their mother. Previously, Wahlberg starred in the movies "The Italian Job" and "The Perfect Storm." Release date is 8-12-05.

"The Great Raid"
A squad of Rangers is given the mission of rescuing hundreds of Americans from a Japanese POW camp in the Philipines during World War II. The squad is led by actor Benjamin Bratt, formerly of the TV show "Law and Order." Release date is 8-12-05.

I'm hoping that this is as good as the movie "Saving Private Ryan."

"Red Eye"
A woman who's afraid of flying finds herself both on an airplane and in the middle of a terrorist plot. Lisa Reisart stars. I don't remember seeing her in any other movies and an internet search didn't turn up any other movie credits. So, she is not a big star, which is fine. This may be a good popcorn movie to see if there's nothing else worth watching. Release date is 8-19-05.

Lessons to be Learned

You may have read about the rescue of the Russian submarine Priz. The Priz had become entangled in a net and couldn't surface. A British rescue team used a "remote controlled robot" to cut the netting and freed the sub before the crew ran out of oxygen.

There are two lessons to be learned that may not be obvious at first glance:

1. Despite how they are portrayed in movies and on TV, not all robots are killer robots.

2. Despite how wives feel about them, not all remote controls are evil.

Hell's Kitchen Renewed

The Fox network is renewing its reality show "Hell's Kitchen" for another season.

Like many shows, for me, one season was enough.

Much like the show "The Apprentice," this show was about 12 people competing to be the number one chef and to win a restaurant of their own.

The host/taskmaster is the evil Chef Ramsay. Chef Ramsay's idea of training people is to scream at them, telling the contestants to shut up, and belittling them. And that treatment extended to customers who dared to complain to him about his bad food. I don't know if Chef Ramsay is a great chef or not, but as a manager he has the people skills of a backwater, diner cook.

The other thing I didn't like about this show was that the winner, Michael, was caught cheating during one of the cooking contests. Instead of being kicked off the show or being reprimanded, he ends up winning the whole thing. What kind of message does that send?

I watched the whole first season of "Hell's Kitchen" but I won't be setting TIVO to record the second season.

Gas Price $2.45

Gas prices in Madison have reached $2.45 a gallon.

Tibetan desktop prayer wheel I bought on Ebay. See article below.

Tibetan Prayer Wheel

Friends and family know that I collect figurines and objects from Asia. Last week I purchased a small Tibetan prayer wheel (see photo above) on Ebay.

In some temples there are huge prayer wheels or cylinders that people push much like a revolving door. Each time the prayer wheel, large or small, is turned this sends prayers out into the universe.

So, I was thinking. Maybe I should hook up my prayer wheel to an electric motor and send thousands, maybe millions of prayers out. What kind of Karma would I get then? But I'm sure that's against the rules and could even produce bad Karma.

So, instead, I'll just give it a twirl once in a while.