Hey There

Sometimes life throws curve balls at you. Not a wicked slider or a Tim Lincecum fastball, but a wicked curve ball that fools the hell out of you.

I have a friend who always answered the phone by saying "Hey there". Every time I called: "hey there".

Unfortunately we don't get a chance to talk much anymore. I didn't see it coming.

Just like that wicked curve ball.

But of Course

Monday

Curing Pain

Yes, even Pirates suffer pain at times. I have dislocated, bruised, or broken some ribs. The pain is overwhelming. There is no comfortable sleeping position. So, I decided to do what a good Pirate does: drink, catch some rays, and pass out.

The Global Food Problem

US grain farmers are making a killing with commodity prices high. US consumers may be a bit upset, but if you are poor in a third world country, well good luck.

In the United States, when world wheat prices rise by 75 percent, as they have over the last year, it means the difference between a $2 loaf of bread and a loaf costing maybe $2.10. If, however, you live in New Delhi, those skyrocketing costs really matter: A doubling in the world price of wheat actually means that the wheat you carry home from the market to hand-grind into flour for chapatis costs twice as much. And the same is true with rice. If the world price of rice doubles, so does the price of rice in your neighborhood market in Jakarta. And so does the cost of the bowl of boiled rice on an Indonesian family's dinner table.

Read the whole story at Foreign Policy

Chickens

for Gwen

To tip or not to tip?

Dinner for four at a really nice restaurant: $87.00

the tip they left: $4.00

Assholes!

Oh, and for half of the meal 3 of them were talking on their cellphones.

A House for Doc Blondie

Doc Blondie has a job and is looking for an affordable place to live. I think this little fixer upper might fit the bill. However, commuting from Iowa to the Netherlands everyday might present a problem.

That Didn't Take Long

Well, the Royal Kids were married Friday. Today CNN has an opinion piece about whether the marriage can survive.

They also have a video about how fast it took to have Miss Kate's wedding dress duplicated.

This is the state of our media.