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Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 263

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I wonder about the similarities between the following presidential campaigns: Hillary Clinton (D-NY) 2016, Jeb Bush (R-FL) 2016, and Mitt Romney (R-UT) 2012.

Wow … Unbelievably, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) who is seeking the Republican nomination for president, said global warming is not a hoax and the primary cause is human action increasing the carbon dioxide level. I’m sure the GOP base is excited and the other candidates are thanking him for paving the way.

Amazon is now collecting sales tax on purchases by Ohio residents, and I’m OK with that.

The transition away from posting daily has been good for me because 1) I don’t feel rushed preparing, and 2) I’ve been visiting other blogs more. Then again, I tend to get behind on weekends.

I added a new page – Hear Ye – to serve as a place for announcements, such as information about the next act of Meals: The Musical. (Yep – it’s there now, but I will announce again next week.)

There will be an Explore post on Saturday.

For those interested in jello shots, this creative recipe is worth checking. 

Carrie Rubin is looking for help with your quest to be published by Amazon. Here’s her post on how you can help her.

Last week Democrat Lincoln Chafee (D_RI) announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination. As a sign that his candidacy is in trouble, his name cannot be found in The Onion’s archives.

The Onion’s profiles of presidential candidates: Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

June is the most popular month for weddings in the US. To lead you into this week’s satire, The Onion captured the latest wedding trends.

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On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion (Combos welcome)
More US children being diagnosed with YTD – Youthful Tendency Disorder
Idiot zoo animal with zero predators still protecting young
New Claritin flamethrower incinerates whatever causes allergies
Automakers asks nation if it still wants handle above car windows
Laid-back company allows employees to work from home after 6 pm

Interesting Reads
Raising money: political campaigns vs. new-business startups
Building the Clinton Foundation
Powering the future car: hydrogen or electricity?
Is Pope Francis a Communist?
Six mysteries in biology
(Photo Gallery) National Geographic Traveler Contest

Here’s a 2-fer to send you into the weekend. First, a video from the early MTV days (do you remember the song) and a bigger hit from a 80s. Have a safe weekend and in the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

39 thoughts on “Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 263”

  1. “New Claritin flamethrower incinerates whatever causes allergies”—I’d like to get my hands on that. Between the hubs’s and oldest son’s sneezing, we should have stock in the stuff. Allergens are everywhere in Ohio. That area of the US lights up for the highest levels of pollen and ozone, a troubling combination for allergy sufferers. Cincinnati is apparently bad like Cleveland. Hope you don’t suffer them.

    Thanks so much for the mention. Very nice of you to do and greatly appreciated! Glad the new posting schedule is working out for you.

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    • Carrie,
      Thought the resident MD would appreciate the Claritin flamethrower. However bad Cleveland is for allergies, I’ve got the feeling Cincinnati is worse. (I’m OK, but gathered from others). … and I was happy to put in a plug for your book.

      Liked by 1 person

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  3. Be careful, Frank. You created some empty space for yourself by not posting every day. Then, you filled it back up with the Hear Ye page. You won’t get free time that way. Just sayin’. 🙂

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  4. Just to warn you… I will never, ever remember to check the Hear Ye page unless prompted to do so! However, next week’s musical act should be significantly easier. I found it a little disturbing how much more prevalent alcoholic drinks were in decent song titles than non-alcoholic ones…. which may say more about my preferences in music than anything else.

    I’m glad to hear someone saying that the pope isn’t communist… let’s add Obama, Scandinavia, and Evolution to that list, and perhaps we’ll get a few steps closer to distinguishing between the terms “Communist” and “someone/something I disagree with”!

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    • Alisha,
      Oh yes … I’m well aware of the lack of prompt. But it’s perfect for the musical because regulars know an act is coming and they may have missed the announcement. In the previous schedule, I announced it 2-3 times.

      Good comment about Communists.

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  5. You know that idiot animal in the zoo? He may not be so dumb after all. There are open-carry geniuses exercising their right to be jerks in zoos now. So mama knows best after all.

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  8. It’s been really nice to have you visit more often – thanks so much for that. Glad you are enjoying your new schedule – I sense your relief and happiness about it. Love those 80’s videos! Hope you have a great weekend 🙂

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  9. As one who had a second career as a battery engineer I found the “interesting read” on hydrogen-powered and battery-powered cars an interesting update. Nothing I read there motivated this Democrat-convert to want one of either. Hydrogen is something I’m familiar with – most satellites now flying use nickel-hydrogen batteries. The gas is highly explosive (implosive, really, but the result is the same.) To use it, it must be under very high pressure, so it leaves me wondering about its safety in collisions or in refueling leaks.

    As for electric cars or hybrids, they are all severely limited by the chemistry and physics of their batteries. They will have the range problem until there is some kind of breakthrough, something that seems unlikely any time soon. People have been working on this since Edison’s time and lithium-ion has been the only practical and significant improvement. (The Tesla car is essentially powered by a huge gob of lap-top batteries, hence the price, and the weight.) Notice that all these designs involve compromises to achieve better mileage, narrower chassis, hard tires, lighter frames (a safety downer).

    The gasoline engine continues to improve, with fuel injection and emission controls. I think it is the future, at least for our lifetimes.

    The following quote by Thomas Edison is widely known in the battery business:

    “The storage battery is, in my opinion, a catchpenny, a sensation, a mechanism for swindling the public by stock companies. The storage battery is one of those peculiar things which appeals to the imagination, and no more perfect thing could be desired by stock swindlers than that very selfsame thing. … Just as soon as a man gets working on the secondary battery it brings out his latent capacity for lying.”

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    • Jim,
      Given your background, many thanks for sharing your perspective. Just like so much of life, everything has positive and negatives aspects to consider, thus much is not as cut-and-dry as many think. Great quote from Edison.

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  15. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to come around this time, Frank. We had unexpected guests this weekend and that’s all it takes for me to lose momentum. 🙂 You have some excellent “reads” here and I am particularly interested in the article on the Clinton Foundation and Pope Francis. As for the music, I don’t recall Squeeze at all. But it’s a standing joke in our household that “Mom doesn’t remember the 80s.” I don’t. Must have been under too much stress. 🙂

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