The Hot Sheets

Did you ever see the movie Men In Black? For those of you that missed that science fiction production, it's the story of a secret organization in charge of monitoring, licensing, and policing intergalactic aliens here on planet Earth. The reason I bring up Men In Black is that part of the movie involved investigating alien encounters, and the information source our hero's used was referred to as the "hot sheets". In the movie, the "hot sheets" included supermarket tabloids such as "Star Magazine", "The Mirror", and perhaps the best known... "The National Enquirer", and we discover in the movie that these publications offer the best source of investigative reporting about aliens on the planet.

For many years now, I've stood in lines at the grocery stores where the above mentioned tabloids are sold. Looking at the sensational headlines these periodicals show on their front page, many of the headlines seem unlikely at least, and a crazy fantasy at worst, though the information is presented as fact.

You should know that I really enjoyed Men In Black, but I never embraced the notion that grocery store periodicals were in fact "hot sheets" of information until today. I learned today that one of the biggest political scandals of the last year was originally reported by The National Enquirer more than couple years ago. Yep... The revelation that John Edwards had an affair and fathered a child that has come to light in just the last few days was originally reported in the fall of 2007 by The Enquirer.

So the next time you see some wild tabloid news headline, even if you don't trust the source, it may turn out to be true... or not.

Presto!

I'm not at all sure when I heard the word presto used first, but I imagine is was on some early day TV magician show where the guy taps his top hat with his magic wand, says "Presto!", and out pops a cute white rabbit. Now the definition of the word presto is...

presto-[pres-toh] adverb, adjective, noun
–adverb
1. quickly, rapidly, or immediately.
2. at a rapid tempo (used as a musical direction).
–adjective
3. quick or rapid.
4. executed at a rapid tempo (used as a musical direction).
–noun
5. Music. a movement or piece in quick tempo.

Now what brought me to thinking about the word presto was an occurrence the other day in our mud room. With the nice warm days we've had, for some reason our unfinished mud room collects fly's, and on this particular day, one of those little pests was on one of the windows so I took a swat at it with my cap and Presto!... my window turned into garbage. I guess the little metal button on the top of the cap hit the glass just right.

It's amazing how fast something can go from useful to useless... kinda prestoish.

Unintended Consequences

One of the laws former President Bush signed into law during his second term defined the amount of lead permitted in children's products. Lead has been a health issue for years, and the legislation Bush signed into law was important and at first, seemed like a good idea to protect children's health. But there were some unintended consequences.

The law was broadly written and included hand made products. An extreme example of what the law required for testing of children's products determined an amount of just over $2000 for tests of a $10 hand made bib... http://uspolitics.about.com/b/2009/02/09/congressional-ban-on-lead-in-toys-has-unintended-consequences.htm

The new standards have been in effect for less than two years, and this past week we learn of another unintended consequence of the lead restriction. It seems that some manufacturers have switched to the use cadmium as a legal substitute for lead in kids products, though the dangers are as bad or worse for children.

I don't know if this is another case of profit at all cost or not, but the dangers of cadmium exposure have been known for years. As near as I can tell, cigarette smokers and those working at or living close to industrial facilities that use cadmium in their manufacturing processes have been most exposed. I have done no research as to why cigarette smoke has cadmium in it, but manufacturing plants make sense as cadmium is used in plating processes among others.

So it seems to some of the worlds manufacturers, it's okay to bend the spirit of the law (protecting children) as long as they don't break the actual rules. It's too bad that we as consumers don't seem to learn who is poisoning us and stop buying their products, instead of expecting the government to protect us with laws that end up being bent, not broke.

Insulated

Most folks have never had to work outside, let alone work outside when the temperature is below zero and the wind is howling. It's down right dangerous for those not prepared, and miserable for those that are prepared performing necessary tasks in extremely cold weather.

As an phone repairman, I spent everyday outside in the elements, but only a very few in extreme cold. I have the utmost respect for those that can't escape their job when the weather turns brutally cold. Utility workers are the first that come to mind. When the power goes out, or a water main breaks during cold weather, somebody has to fix it.

Fire fighters and other emergency personnel don't catch a break either. Their jobs become so much more difficult and dangerous as the temperature drops. When you get in trouble who do you call? 9-1-1 and some how, some way, someone will show up and help you no matter what the weather.

Ag workers obviously don't catch a break either when it gets cold. Livestock needs attention, especially when the temperature drops, and it only takes a half second of observation to see who is dressed to work outside and who isn't. When the livestock needs help the most, it is always under the most difficult of conditions, often in isolated locations. I don't envy ranchers and farmers this time of year!

So as you cuss your car for not starting, your glasses for fogging up, the ice you just slipped on, or the price of your utility bill during this cold weather, don't forget to thank the folks that do the outside jobs so the rest of us can remain insulated from winters harsh reality.

Historic Places

Driving around southwestern Nebraska, you quickly see the state has spent a a lot of money providing signage about geographic locations. It seems southwestern Nebraska is the canyonlands based on all the different canyons described along the roadways. Now I admit what is described on a road sign as a canyon in Nebraska is a bit different from what I'm used to in Colorado, but I digress. Rivers and streams are almost always signed, and historic area signs and monuments are along most highways as well.

I often wonder where place names come from. Some old timer for sure had something to do with the name, and that's true around our place. When Margie and I bought the place and didn't know anyone yet, we "named" a cut of the road through a nearby hillside "Skunk Hill". The reason we named it what we did was we'd seen three dead skunks shortly after we moved in and it made sense to us.

Funny thing about naming something, you usually find out that the place already has a name and Skunk Hill is known by everyone around these parts as Rippy Pass. I have not asked anyone yet about old Rippy and the story of the name, but I'll get around to it one of these days.

What brings the above to mind is today's trip into town and back. Right at Rippy Pass sitting atop a Cottonwood was a Bald Eagle. Just sitting there enjoying the view along Medicine Creek I guess as it was still there on our return trip. Had we not already misidentified Skunk Hill and learned of Rippy Pass, we'd have called the cut Eagle's Crest.

This is the first Bald Eagle we've seen up close in Nebraska, but it's just another reminder of many great things to see around here if you keep your eyes open!