Who knew? Detroit is planning on being a trend setter in this regard…

A decision on whether to file for protection under federal bankruptcy laws will be by the end of the northern summer, according to Robert Bobb, Detroit Puablic Schools’ emergency financial manager. Such a filing would be unprecedented.But in Detroit — where US Education Secretary Arne Duncan dubbed the school system a “national disgrace” — politicians and bankruptcy experts see few alternatives, given the deep financial challenges confronting the district and the state.

Having a guy with two first names (and the same no less) in charge is probably a bad sign, but I digress.

Anyway, there’s a special Chapter of the Bankruptcy code, Chapter 9, for public entities.

And even though Detroit started it, expect more…

Some experts say the Detroit case could be the first in a string of Chapter 9 bankruptcies among school districts and other public entities battered by the economic crisis, and it could help shape that area of the law.

Great.

via the Hot Air GreenRoom, where Mitch Berg draws a parallel…

The Detroit Public Schools are pondering bankruptcy, swamped by (let me know if any of this sounds familiar) the combination of lowered demand for their product and mushrooming expenses, including pensions for long-retired employees:

Read it.

For the past week, I’ve had this bag on my desk which looks surprisingly similar to a bag of Starburst. Seeing it led to Starburst cravings which lead to this post.

Starbursts were introduced in 1960 and were called Opal Fruits. Original flavors were strawberry, lemon, orange and lime. At some point, lemon and lime were combined to make way for some sort of black currant flavor. Not sure when cherry (or as I like to call it, the best one) was introduced. They came to America in 1976 with the new name. The Opal Fruit name was phased out in 1998 for global marketing reasons.

Starburst are classified as soft taffy. I hadn’t really thought of that.

Now and Laters, the ugly red-headed step-cousin of Starburst, “are initially tough to chew when placed in the mouth, but eventually soften and resemble taffy.” Resembles taffy, huh?

Also, because of this hard then soft formula, the candies don’t hold up well to the moisture in the air, and will build up increasing layers of “hardness.” Because of this, they only have a shelf-life of about a month.

People actually eat Now and Laters?

Source: Wiki vs. Wiki

Hagerty Classic Insurance, a provider of classic-car insurance, began looking more closely at the problem of eating behind the wheel after a DMV check on an insurance applicant turned up a “restraining order” against anything edible within his reach while driving.

The top 10 food offenders in a car are:

1. Coffee: It always finds a way out of the cup.

2. Hot soup: Many people drink it like coffee and run the same risks.

3. Tacos: “A food that can disassemble itself without much help, leaving your car looking like a salad bar,” says Hagerty.

4. Chili: The potential for drips and slops down the front of clothing is significant.

5. Hamburgers: From the grease of the burger to the ketchup and mustard on top, plenty of goop can end up on your hands, clothes and steering wheel.

6. Barbecued food: Similar issue arises for barbecued foods as for hamburgers. The sauce may be great, but it will end up on whatever you touch.

7. Fried chicken: Another food that leaves you with greasy hands, which means constantly wiping them on something, even if it’s your shirt. It also makes the steering wheel greasy.

8. Jelly- or cream-filled doughnuts: Has anyone ever eaten a jelly doughnut without some of the center oozing out? And jelly can be difficult to remove from material.

9. Soft drinks: Not only are they subject to spills, but they also can fizz as you’re drinking them if you make sudden movements. Most of us have childhood memories of soda fizz in the nose; the sensation isn’t any more pleasant now.

10. Chocolate: Like greasy foods, chocolate can coat your fingers as it melts against the warmth of your skin, leaving its mark anywhere you touch. Try to clean it off the steering wheel and you could end up unintentionally swerving.

I’m surprised Ribs was only 6th.

Source MSN.com

We were in Lake Havasu City, AZ this weekend, home of the world famous London Bridge, which is no longer falling down.

Lake Havasu City is also home to the largest concentration of RV Garages that I’ve ever seen.

OK, it’s actually the only place I’ve ever seen an RV Garage.

The RV Garage, which can also be used as a garage for a huge speedboat, is a common feature around Lake Havasu.

On the street that we drove down, only one of many streets, every single house had one of these garages.

Yes. I think we need more negotiations. That will solve it. As if you can have a rational conversation with someone who believes this…

“If you are born mentally or physically deficient, says Im, the government says your best contribution to society… is as a guinea pig for biological and chemical weapons testing.” …

If you somehow had any doubt that there is evil in the world, cast it away.

via Hot Air, where you can read more of the appalling details, if you can stomach it.

How sad that the only knowledge that I have of this program is that President Feckless killed it…

HAVANA (Reuters) – The United States has turned off a news ticker at its diplomatic mission in Havana that long had irritated the Cuban government, the U.S. State Department said on Monday, in another sign of efforts to improve relations with Cuba.

The Bush Administration had installed a news ticker at the US diplomatic mission that streamed news to the Cubans.

The Cubans responded by putting billboards and flags in the way to try to block the view.

Feckless pulled the plug on the program, claiming it was not effective.

Obviously it was so ineffective that it “infuriated” Castro and caused him to try to put up flags to block the view.

Boy I miss Cowboy Diplomacy. This new apology diplomacy is depressing.

I got my new Taurus revolver on Monday. It’s called The Judge. Taurus claims that the name comes from the fact that so many judges carry The Judge with them into the courtroom for personal protection. That sounds made up to me.

Questionable name mythos aside, The Judge is totally awesome. For the uninitiated, what makes The Judge so interesting is that it takes both .410 Shotgun Shells and .45 Long Colts as ammo.

The specific model I got will additionally take either a 2 1/2 or 3 inch shell.

The small size plus the firepower/destruction ability of a shotgun make The Judge the ultimate home protection weapon. No need for perfect aim, no fancy semi-automatic mechanism to jam- just point in the general direction of the bad guy and pull the trigger. Rinse. Repeat.

Sure it may not kill the bad guy, but if he’s somehow still a threat after 5 shotgun blasts, that’s what the 9mm is for.

Below, a silhouette target with the result of 10 rounds. Also, a close up of the face. (click the pictures for larger images)

Oh, and in related news…

Glendale, AZ is an interesting suburb on the Westside of the Valley. After a 6 month stint in Glendale, I don’t think I’d move back.

ShotSpotter is acoustic surveillance technology that the city employs to detect gunshots.

The system relies on an acoustics-based, GPS-equipped system that automatically locates the origin of the shot and notifies authorities. A series of acoustic sensors picks up the sound waves of a muzzle blast that radiate outward from the barrel in all directions.

Acoustic Triangulation
ShotSpotter uses 10 to 12 sensors spaced evenly throughout each square-mile section of the city it’s covering, and each sensor is capable of hearing the sound of gunfire within a 2-mile radius.

1. A shot is fired somewhere in the city. Sensor 1 picks up the sound of the shot.
2. One second later, a second sensor picks up the sound waves of a gunshot. If sound in this city travels at about 0.21 miles per second, we now know that the shot was fired approximately one-fifth of a mile farther away from Sensor 2 than from Sensor 1.
3. To figure out which of these two points is the location from which the shot was fired, we need to find a third sensor that picked up the sound of the shot. A third sensor, located to the south of Sensors 1 and 2, picked up the sound waves a half-second after Sensor 2 detected them. This would put the origin of the sound about one-tenth of a mile farther from Sensor 3 than from Sensor 2.

Source: Howstuffworks

I broke down and purchased the Rydia and Yang chapters of FFIV:TAY.

Rydia’s was fun. There were 2 really cool character appearance. I did have a complaint about one thing, but unfortunately, it’s a spoiler, so I can’t talk about it. This one took me about 3 hours to finish.

Yang’s was only ok. You primarily only control 2 characters, one of which is old, and one is new. This one was also short, taking me around 2 hours to finish.

Palom and Edge’s chapters are available. Porom, Edward (the spoony bard), and the Lunarians are released August 3. The final chapters are released September 9. I’ll probably pick those up in the coming weeks.

I was bored Sunday morning, so I busted out the original Legend of Zelda. I created a new character named “Memory” and decided to play the game from memory – no online maps to show me all the “it’s a secret to everybody” or, perhaps more importantly, my way around Death Mountain.

It started off well enough, except no one would give me bombs (“10th enemy has the bomb,” my ass!). So after about 15 minutes, I got frustrated and went to level 1. I believe I died in here, which, with only 3 hearts isn’t that sad. Beat it on my next try, and came out with 80 rubies. I used that to buy bombs and a blue candle. Then, wouldn’t you know it, monsters started dropping bombs!

With my new tools, I found 3 “secrets to everybody” (including one for 100!), and 3 heart containers, which was enough to get me my white sword! While in the area, I also got the letter. I finished off level 2, and had enough cash for the blue ring, which made levels 3 and 4 even easier.

I then went for my remaining 2 heart containers, my magic shield, the power bracelet, made a quick pit stop in level 8 for the magic book, and went for my magic sword. While in the area, I did level 6, and then went back for arrows and found I was just shy of enough money for my bomb upgrade in level 5 – but you know I wasn’t skipping that, so I walked around killing those damn blue knights until I got enough money for it!

I knew I needed bait and 100 more gold for bomb upgrade for level 7. For the second time, was finding myself short on cash! I was missing my map because I knew there was at least 1 (actually 2) more 100 ruby “secrets” out there! I found 1 or 2 more minor ones, but also found a door repair! I finally grinded out enough cash and beat level 7 and 8.

Up to Spectacle Rock I went! My first time in, I only had a blue potion with me. My shield was eaten (stupid ham!!), but I got the silver arrows. I then accidentally stumbled upon Ganon who, since I had already taken my potion, tore me apart.

I got healed and got a new red potion, but forgot to buy a new shiled, and went back in. Because I didn’t have the shield anymore, the blue ghosts were tearing me apart even worse then normal. I managed to get the red ring, found Ganon again, but I was out of potion and he quickly beat me.

The third time, I got my shield back, and another potion. By this time, I also had a good mental map of the place. Since I didn’t need any more items, Ganon was the only thing on my mind! The monsters could sense that I was on a mission, and were dropping hearts all over the place. I made it to Ganon with full health and a full red potion! 30 seconds later, I had Ganon’s triforce in hand, and Princess Zelda was rescued!

All in all, a fun time with an old game!

I have since looked at this map (which is really cool!), and found where my missing treasures were located. I’ll remember them for next time!

Also, after looking at that map, I noticed some interesting things such as how close the green fairy pond is to the starting point, and that level 2 is much further away from it then I remembered!