S & P Birther Index?

The Borowitz Report had a fun piece noting with amusement that improving economic indicators coincide pretty reliably with increased activity of "birthers".  It seems that as the economy improves, desperate Republicans become agitated and more anxious to bring down the President by any means possible. When economic conditions worsen, the birthers presumably rest easier,  confident that hard times will ruin the president's prospects without any shenanigans required.

Still,  mere public questioning of Obama's citizenship is not a strong enough indicator of recovery for jittery markets anymore.  Investors now look for signs of increased intensity in the suspicions about who the President really is being tossed around before confidently predicting a sustained economic improvement.

"Mr. Dorinson was quick to add that while the surge in references to Mr. Obama being “an Islamic socialist born in a mud-hut in Nairobi” is encouraging, the economy is not out of the woods yet. We won’t be fully in a recovery until the Republicans start calling him a Wiccan."

If they start calling him an atheist we might be launched into an unprecedented economic expansion!

I Saw What You Did There, Bill

Bill Nye the Science Guy is the bomb.  When my children were young,  his show was one of their favorites.  My younger daughter and eldest son, in particular, were at the right age at the right time to really benefit from Bill's friendly, energetic, exciting presentation of scientific concepts.  Maybe it is a coincidence, but those two are now working on science degrees in college.

The video below is one of my favorite short ones in which Bill cheerfully debunks Astrology.  It is even more fun that he mentions 2000 years ago when the Babylonians made all this stuff up.  I saw what you did there Bill, you crafty atheist, you.  I approve!

What makes it even cooler is that my daughter the Physics student shares a birthday with Bill Nye the Science Guy.  That makes them both Scorpios!

The Robin Came and Sang...WTF?!?

We've enjoyed a record-breaking mild winter here in Chicagoland with temperatures well above average all season long and hardly any snow.   With no snow on the ground,  people have been looking hopefully for green shoots and other signs of an early spring on the bare brown earth.

Over the past few days I was thrilled to hear the distinctive "Cheer up!" which is the song of the American Robin*.  I had not actually spotted a little harbinger of springtime, but I know that song when I hear it.

I figured I would spot one soon enough, but I didn't expect it to be like this!

A roaring March lion blew in a few inches of snow the other day, catching this little fellow and a bunch of his equally red-breasted friends by surprise.  There was a lot of flustered, fluttery activity outside my window a little while ago.  When I realized what it was, I grabbed my camera, ran out into the snow in my slippers and snapped a picture. 

That is the kind of dedication you won't find in the average blog.

You're welcome.

* I think it is most unfortunate that the lovely robin redbreast has been assigned the unflattering scientific name Turdus migratorius.  Come on scientists, can't you do better than this?  They are the harbingers of springtime,  for pete's sake!

Truly Ice Cold and Refreshing!

I have a few household things to take care of before I can finish the posts I am working on today.  So, for your viewing and listening pleasure I am linking to a great little NPR Morning Edition piece on iceberg beer made in Quidi Vidi*, Newfoundland**.   These brewers are putting the fun back in Newfoundland!

Quidi Vidi Brewing Co.

As a public service -  not to mention to make it worthwhile for people to read my blog;  hey,  it's educational! - readers should know that it is still much too early for this season's icebergs to be present off the southeast coast of Newfoundland.  They are rarely sighted as far south as St. John's (and Quidi Vidi is in that same area) until late April, May and June.  During those months the place is lousy with them.

Hey, it is a long float from Greenland, even with the assistance of the Labrador Current!

Now,  go and tell all your friends!  Not only are you now more knowledgable about a place that is universally mistaken for the mythical New Finland,  but you can tell them about delicious ice cold beer (for reals!)!

* Yes, the reporter does pronounce "Quidi Vidi" correctly, when she says what sounds like Kiddy Viddy.
** No, the reporter does not pronounce "Newfoundland" or "Newfoundlanders" correctly when she says what sounds like Newfinlin.  Newfoundland sort of rhymes with understand, and the "found" is pronounced "fun".  So  Newfunland  is the correct way to pronounce the name of this amazing place.