On a Lighter Note...

Ha!

"Abercrombie to pay 'Jersey Shore' cast to stop wearing its clothes."

"We are deeply concerned that Mr. Sorrentino's association with our brand could cause significant damage to our image. We understand that the show is for entertainment purposes, but believe this association is contrary to the aspirational nature of our brand, and may be distressing to many of our fans,“ an Abercrombie & Fitch spokesperson said in a statement. “We have also extended this offer to other members of the cast, and are urgently waiting a response."

That's hilarious. 
It's even funnier when you consider that Abercrombie & Fitch doesn't exactly have a sterling reputation, itself.

Sure, it's probably just a way to get some free advertising, but I'm still amused. 

Funny... I've never watched "Jersey Shore"-- never shopped at Abercrombie & Fitch.  (I don't know if there's even one anywhere in this area.  Maybe in one of the malls?)  So how do I know anything about either one?  Clearly, both entities have done a good job of getting into the news.   

Over $1.4 Million Per Job, to Date

***Understatement Alert!!***

"Seattle green jobs program falls short of goals".

Last year, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn announced the city had won a coveted $20 million federal grant to invest in weatherization. The unglamorous work of insulating crawl spaces and attics had emerged as a silver bullet in a bleak economy - able to create jobs and shrink carbon footprint - and the announcement came with great fanfare.

McGinn had joined Vice President Joe Biden in the White House to make it. It came on the eve of Earth Day. It had heady goals: creating 2,000 living-wage jobs in Seattle and retrofitting 2,000 homes in poorer neighborhoods.

Well, I'm going to be brutally honest here... I think that their stated goal of weatherizing a mere 2,000 homes with the whopping $20 million was (how shall I put this?) pathetic.  That's $10,000 per home, and that's ridiculous (imnsho).  I don't believe it should cost that much to insulate a single home-- particularly a home in a "poorer neighborhood", which one assumes would most likely be modestly sized.  However, from the headline, we know that they didn't even manage to do that.

(Also, should it really take 2,000 people to weatherize 2,000 homes?  You're obviously not going to have all the projects going on at the same time, and it shouldn't take a crew of capable workers that long to complete one project and move on to the next.  I'll admit I'm no business genius or construction know-it-all, but that sounds like more people/jobs than would be required for the task, does it not?)

So... How many houses do you think they were able to "weatherize"?  Three quarters of their goal?  Half?  Even a measly one quarter?

But more than a year later, Seattle's numbers are lackluster. As of last week, only three homes had been retrofitted and just 14 new jobs have emerged from the program. Many of the jobs are administrative, and not the entry-level pathways once dreamed of for low-income workers.

Only three homes.  Fourteen new jobs (many of which are administrative-- so surprising, considering that this is the government we're talking about).  In over a year.  (The article goes on to explain how and why local officials are cautiously optimistic, blah blah blah.)

Wouldn't it be nice if this kind of inefficiency and waste were rare enough to be genuinely surprising? 

Changing Seasons? One Can Only Hope...

It seems like everywhere I look, lately, there's someone writing about how it's starting to feel like the very earliest beginning of autumn.  Usually, this opinion is presented with a twinge of sadness and a wish to hold on to summer a little bit longer. 

Obviously, those people do not live around here.  Sure, we're enjoying some temporary relief from the humidity and very highest temperatures, but it's only at my most unrealistically wishful that I can think autumn will be here soon.  "Soon" is relative, of course; if you think a month and a half are soon, then yes, we may get a taste of autumn "soon".  The way time goes whooshing by, yes, I guess it's fairly "soon"-- we're closer to summer's end than summer's beginning, thank goodness-- but it can't get here soon enough for me. 

Dry air.  Cool nights.  Open windows and fresh air streaming through the house.  Falling asleep to the sound of a nighttime breeze-- sleeping well in the natural coolness-- and waking to find the morning air beyond the cozy bed bracingly chilled.  Slanting, golden sunlight in the afternoon.  Feeling like going on daily walks again.  Snakes and insects slowly retreating from the world for a time.  Leaves crunching underfoot.  Plenty of things to photograph-- all changing from day to day.  Beautifully just-spooky-enough-to-be-fun late-October magic in the air.  A bonfire crackling and gleaming through the fading twilight.  Long-pants weather.  Maybe even (dare I say it?) long sleeves weather.  An excuse to finally dig out and wear scarves and hats.

...Basically it's just a whole bunch of the things that make life sweet-- and it means an end to the months of feeling like nature hates me.  Being outdoors can finally stop feeling like a punishment, for a few weeks at least. ;o)  Yes, I'm ready for that.

The Sci-Fi Approach to the Economy

LOL.

It's the economy, Earthling. 

"A Large, Amoral, Brutalised Sub-Culture"

"UK riots 2011:  Liberal dogma has spawned a generation of amoral, uneducated, welfare dependent, brutalised youth."

I have to agree, and unfortunately, we're facing many of the same problems, here.