I did not watch much of the Olympics though I did catch some glimpses of some of the sprint events when I was in a home where the TV was on. In general, I like it when countries that are not traditional sporting powerhouses do well and so was pleased to see that the countries of Southeast Asia had their best Olympics ever.
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As some readers may know, recently FreethoughtBlogs called for people who were interested in blogging for the site to apply. As a result we have a crop of interesting new people (see the sidebar) and Marcus Ranum’s Stderr is one such addition. But this week there was an interesting development. Someone sent in an application yesterday but less than ten hours later followed up with another email:
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From the sublime …
“Every religion in the world has denounced every other religion as a fraud. That proves to me that they all tell the truth – about others.” – Robert Green Ingersoll (Thanks to Randy P.)
… to the ridiculous.
“For the record, I do not think I am God. I believe in God. If God ever wanted an apartment in Trump Tower, I would immediately offer my best luxury suite at a very special price.” – Donald Trump, writing in Think Like a Billionaire.
There is nothing that riles up people more than the steady decline of comfort on US airlines, coupled with the disaggregation of fares so that now there is a steadily increasing list of things that used to be standard but are now charged extra, such a food, checked baggage, carry-on baggage, etc.
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People who use cell phones to talk are a scourge on the roads. But while there is evidence that talking on the cell phone, whether holding it in one’s hand or using hands-free devices, creates cognitive distractions sufficient to increase the risk of accidents and thus both should be banned, at least people have their eyes on the road and their feet on the pedals.
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A relative recently told me of a friend of hers who routinely parks in handicapped spaces just because they are more convenient. What is it with people who try to sneak into parking spaces that are reserved for people with handicaps? Are they simply too lazy to walk the extra distance that the other spaces might require? Do they think these reserved spaces are some kind of benefit provided to the undeserving that unfairly discriminates against them? Do they resent anyone being given a privilege that is not also available to them?
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When I returned to the US in the 1980s, we had little money and a six-month old daughter. If something were to happen to me, I wanted there to be at least some money to help in taking care of the baby and so I set about immediately getting a life insurance policy.
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From reader Jeff I received this link to another such episode. We see again a situation where the driver at an event in Virginia that attracted car enthusiasts, manages to make a total hash of parking even though the space available is huge. What makes this distinctive is that her car ends up on top of the car behind and that both cars are very expensive. The offending car is a Mercedes Benz while the victim car is a Ferrari costing around $300,000.
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