Good morning, Netizens...I was resigned to the fact living in a long-haul truck on the road would be my life until I graduated from college, or I died, whichever came first, for I was always as in love with the life on the road as…
Wanting to be someone you're not is a waste of the person you are. Kurt Cobain (1967 - 1994)
I just read in the Seattle Times that they are voting on a proposed plastic-bag fee and foam ban. The Seattle City Council is expected to vote at a 2 p.m. meeting today whether to charge shoppers 20 cents for each disposable grocery bag they…
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime. Teach a man to create an artificial shortage of fish and he will eat steak. Jay Leno (1950 - )
Good morning, Netizens...Particularly those new to Community Comment and/or The Virtual Ballroom.Unfortunately last week after learning of a number of forgeries designed to trick their way past the Spokesman-Review's security, I began verifying each new name and e-mail address as they came in. If you…
Good morning, Netizens...Doubtlessly mortified over the images that made their way around the world of the angry depositors demanding their money from a failed California bank, it would seem that perhaps the FDIC learned from their errors as they seized control of two more banks…
Education... has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading. G. M. Trevelyan (1876 - 1962), English Social History (1942)
Good morning, David...You wrote:Frank, I will encourage you to keep up the good fight. You are about to begin facing this one your own. I won't be surprised that Green Libertarian will do the prudent thing and save himself for future battles and discussions. He…
Good evening, Netizens...This picture shows the wildfire, as it appeared just above the Tassajara Zen Center, moving down the canyon, cutting off the access road and from there into the heart of the Zen Center near Big Sur, California. Despite being told to leave the…
I am half a block away from the downtown Spokane fire in the Joel Building. Pretty smokey. Tell me your thoughts for today and help me get this smoke out of my eyes.
Good morning, Netizens...A seagull sits above sunbathers on Brighton beach in southern England on Wednesday. (Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images) (July 23, 2008)Many of the sage minds in the Virtual Ballroom might ask, why have you posted a picture of a seagull when we have all…
I would like to open up a topic regarding Motorcycles. I have learned that there is absolutely no insurance required to own/operate a motorcycle in the state of Washington. That the Drivers guide for vehicles has but 2 or 3 lines regarding watching out for…
Today's scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality. Nikola Tesla (1857 - 1943), Modern Mechanics and Inventions, July, 1934
From Yahoo news:AP IMPACT: Traffic deaths fall as gas prices climb.COLUMBUS, Ohio - Rising prices at the gas pump appear to be having at least one positive effect: Traffic deaths around the country are plummeting, just as they did during the Arab oil embargo three…
Good morning, everyone...This is an open letter to Mayor Mary Verner sent this morning via e-mail: Today at 10:30 AM Mayor Mary Verner is hosting a community round table on emergency preparedness. The prepared text, taken from the City's Web Site states: “Building on a…
Good evening, Netizens...An Oregon U.S. Mailman wants the U.S. Postal Service to give workers the option to wear kilts, or what he calls Male Unbifurcated Garments or MUGS. Quoting the U.S.A. Today story, the man states, "MUGs are worn all over the world, and have…
Good morning, Netizens...Oh, Lordie! This morning's Picture of the Day is one that may either amuse or simply revulse everyone who has raised children who seem to acquire the gift of guinea pigs. In this morning's picture, we have two Guinea pigs wearing Peruvian local…
"So difficult it is to show the various meanings and imperfections of words when we have nothing else but words to do it with," wrote philosopher John Locke (1632-1704).While there's truth in Locke's assertion, it's possible to overcome the difficulty to some extent. We construct…
Good morning, Netizens...On a normal day, if SR columnist Rebecca Nappi writes an article, I will read it immediately, not necessarily because I always agree with her point of view, but because she writes with clarity and more often than not, captures my interest with…
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult. E. B. White (1899 - 1985)
Good morning, Netizens...For the benefit of those of us who live outside the fire zone of the Valley View fire, but who are curious if the fire has really descended from front page news to “also ran”, here are ten ways to tell the Valley…
Good morning, Netizens...Since on weekends we have no Word of the Day, we often find ourselves at the mercies of the Picture of the Day, which sometimes leaves us in intellectually-boring places. Perhaps not this morning.In this morning's picture, members of the press visit the…
So, I'm thinking of riding a bike for the first time in 40 years. YIKES!This comes with mixed emotions. With gas prices rising close to the same as a house payment, a lot of us are considering alternative methods of transportation. Public transit, walking, car…
Oh, Jesus...Here I am ready to leave for breakfast with MHibbs and John Olson sends me this priceless depiction of a new low-cost device (costs .08 cents) for your cell phone to keep you in strict compliance with the new hands-free law in Washington State.…
Good morning, Netizens...In today's Picture of the Day a Cambodian man walks at Preah Vihear temple near the Thai border north of Phnom Penh. (TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP/Getty Images) (July 17, 2008)The temple was built between the 9th and 11th Centuries, with most of the temple…
Spokesman-Review readers blog about news and issues in Spokane written by Dave Laird.
