Posted inCurrent affairs

“Expansionary austerity” isn’t working in Europe

I'm no economic expert. But much of economics is simple common sense. So it's no big surprise to me that the British economy is faltering after David Cameron's conservative government decided several years ago that cutting government spending in a recession was the best way to stimulate growth and job creation. Huh? This "expansionary austerity" notion is another example of faith-based voodoo economics, like believing that cutting taxes results in more revenue. That's also a myth. Recently Nobel-winning economist Paul Krugman wrote about Europe's continuing economic problems that have been exacerbated by austerity measures. "The Austerity Debacle" shows why it's…
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Posted inHome life

People who throw cigarette butts out of their car are…

My wife and I have quite a few words that finish off the title of this blog post. Jerks. Inconsiderate. Litterers.  It hugely bugs us when we see someone toss a cigarette butt out of a car window. But usually the offender is driving along in front of us, so it's difficult to see what sort of person is the inconsiderate littering jerk. Today I had a chance to get a close-up view of that odious species, Cigarettebutt discardiatis. I was pushing my shopping cart in the south Salem Fred Meyer parking lot. Nearing my vehicle, I saw a car…
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Posted inMeasure 37 Salem Sustainability

Marion County commissioners raked over legal coals again

Ha, ha! We were right and you were wrongI Thanks to Salem Weekly, our city's alternative newspaper, I got to gloat again about our neighborhood's land use win over the Marion County commissioners after publisher A.P. Walther asked me if I'd like to write an opinion piece based on my recent gloating blog post. "Of course," I told A.P. I then struggled to find the perfect lead for the column, one which reflected my maturity, seriousness, and dignified writing style. "Ha, ha!" struck me as perfect, especially since I figured Salem Weekly wouldn't allow stronger language in a publication that's…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Science Sustainability

Eugene girls sue Kitzhaber over climate change inaction

Here's four big Green Thumbs-Up from my wife and me to Eugene residents Olivia Chernaik, 11, and Kelsey Juliana, 15. The Register Guard reports: ...with the help of their mothers, Lisa Chernaik and Catia Juliana, [the girls] filed a lawsuit against the state of Oregon and Gov. John Kitzhaber, accusing them of violating their duties to uphold the public trust and to protect the state’s atmosphere, water, land, fishery and wildlife resources from the impacts of climate change. Excellent! The lawsuit is being brought under the aegis of iMatter, a group that encourages kids to get involved in the fight to…
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Posted inMiscellany

Still a man’s world (in movie trailer voiceovers, at least)

Interesting piece in the New York Times about why movie trailers almost always feature male voices. Here's some excerpts from "Why Men Always Tell You to See Movies."  The question has been pondered by mystics through the ages, but in the sanctuary of cinema the voice of a sonorous, authoritative, fear-inspiring yet sometimes relatable presence is, invariably, that of a man. Consider the trailer and the omniscient, disembodied voice that introduces moviegoers to a fictional world. ...Do moviegoers want to hear female voices? Research indicates that our brains are wired to prefer theirs to male ones; that’s the reason robotic…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Neighborhood Salem

Salem’s Todd Davidson heading up international tourism efforts

One of our neighbors here in rural south Salem has become a celebrity -- in the tourism promotion world. Recently President Obama announced at Walt Disney World that Todd Davidson will lead an effort to increase international tourism through the U.S. Tourism and Travel Advisory Board.  Here's a KGW story about Todd's appointment (after a brief ad).  Davidson is CEO of Travel Oregon, which has been successful in boosting tourism in our state. "The travel industry is an important part of Oregon's economy," said Governor Kitzhaber. "Appointing Todd Davidson to Chair the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board was an excellent…
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Posted inHome life

Hines weight loss system: take a crap

Here's a can't-miss way to lose quite a bit of weight almost instantly. I'm sharing it with the world because I'd love it if this became known as the "Brian Hines Weight Loss System." (Don't hesitate to reblog this post and share it on social networks. Just make sure that my name keeps on being prominently featured.) I weigh myself every morning as soon as I get up, dutifully recording the result in my iPhone Weightbot app. I've noticed that my weight will mysteriously vary by a pound or two from day to day, even though I hadn't changed my…
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Posted inEntertainment

“The Artist” movie inspires me to… express myself!

When I first heard about "The Artist" (2011) I thought, "This is a movie that I should like, but won't." Black and white. Almost entirely silent, as regards speaking. French actors/director. An homage to films of the 20's and 30's. I figured "The Artist" would be one of those films my wife and I go to at Salem Cinema because it's an artsy, indie movie that's getting a lot of attention. Afterwards we'd look at each other and say, "What was that all about?," then go home and watch something genuinely enjoyable on TV, like The Colbert Report. Wrong. I…
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Posted inHome life Sustainability

Our Nissan Leaf doesn’t give me “range anxiety”

"Range anxiety" is a hyped-up malady potential electric car owners shouldn't worry much about. Yes, at first I worried about how far our Nissan Leaf would go on a charge. Now, I don't.  After four months of owning the electric Leaf, I enjoy driving the car almost as much as our Mini Cooper S. (Not quite... nothing is more fun than a Mini Cooper in my utterly biased opinion.)  It's quiet, smooth, responsive, and handles well. The turning radius seems as small as the Mini's. The interior is light, open, and well-designed. For a $26,000 car, after federal and state…
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Posted inNeighborhood Salem

Salem’s great Spring Creek flood of 2012

This is one for our rural south Salem neighborhood's memory book. Until we die or move away, us old-timers will be saying, "Remember the flooding back in 2012? Man, that was something we've never seen before, or since." Spring Creek is only half a mile long, at most. It's fed by, no big surprise, springs. The creek winds through our property on the way to Spring Lake. Usually it's quite small, even in winter. But the rainfall we've gotten this week isn't usual. Here's a seven minute video of how Spring Creek and Spring Lake looked to me, my wife,…
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Posted inHome life

Yellowbook, stay out of our mailbox! It’s illegal.

Curses to the companies that drop unwanted "yellow pages" directories beside our mailbox. That's littering, and we hate it.  And double curses to Yellowbook for putting the Salem - Keizer 2012 2013 version of their unwanted directory inside our mailbox without postage or an address label. That's illegal, and we hate it even more. I've filed a complaint with the Postal Service, choosing "tampering" as the offense. If this happened to you, and you want to file your own complaint, here's the Yellowbook corporate headquarters address and phone number (this is needed to file a Postal Service complaint):  Yellowbook398 RXR…
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Posted inSalem

Pringle Square gets ripped in a letter to the editor

   Ah, I was pleased to read in the Salem Statesman Journal today that another person dislikes Pringle Square for the same reasons I do.  This monstrosity of a development proposed to be built on the riverfront is ugly and uncreative. It won't draw people downtown. It won't make central Salem a more interesting and livable place.  Rebecca Custard is absolutely right: "Downtown Salem doesn't need another eyesore." I very much agree with Carole Duree-Jones (letters, Jan. 13) regarding the plans for the new Pringle Square. To those who are tasked with making and approving the design and usage decisions…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Adventurer of the Year 2012: 65 year old Jon Turk

  Way to go, Jon! At the age of 65, you're nominated for National Geographic's Adventurers of the Year 2012 award, along with Erik Boomer, a youthful 26. (Jon Turk is on the left in the photo above.) You've inspired this 63 year-old. Unlike you, I'll never be the first to circumnavigate Canada's frosty Ellesmere Island, dragging my sea kayak overland for a good share of the 1,500 miles, risking death in ice-choked seas, encountering curious wolves and polar bears. But you've reminded me that us geezers have a lot more living to do, regardless of our Social Security-eligible age. …
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Posted inHumor

“Vancouvria” — sharp satire about the anti-Portland

Man, I'm loving "Vancouvria." This homegrown You Tube'd video satire of Portland's more conservative neighbor to the north, where the dream of the suburbs lives on, is way better than "Portlandia" -- in my utterly subjective yet totally true opinion. Two more three-minute'ish episodes have been released, here and here, each as good as the first. Have a look, and a laugh. (In Episode 2, I really like "Ow...it burns!" and the guy continually texting.)    
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Posted inHome life Salem

Photos of rural south Salem’s snow-pocalypse

Who says the pioneer spirit in Oregon died out with the pioneers? It was alive and well today on what many are calling our state's 2012 snow-pocalypse. Though for some reason, many also are not. Hopefully these photos of my personal snow-pocalypse will change the minds of skeptics who doubt the severity of our recent weather emergency. My better judgment said, "Stay inside during this wild storm." My daring heart, along with a forlorn looking family pet, said "Risk your life and go for a dog walk." Given the inclement weather, even our dog, Serena, looked unsure about our chances…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Humor

In 2012, let’s elect Canada as president

Great news! The Canada Party has entered our presidential race. I'd vote for Canada to be the leader of the United States, for sure.  This is a highly persausive campaign video.   But seriously... (though I hope, oh, I so dearly hope, Canada will run for president), other countries have a hell of a lot to teach the United States. We aren't #1 in anything related to quality of life.  It's a fact. Check out the OECD's Better Life Initiative web site (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). Quality of life rankings for most of the world's developed economies, along with…
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Posted inHome life Humor

Weight training women, respect egos of older men

Astoundingly, via Google I wasn't able to find a reference to the most important bit of weight training etiquette every buff woman who frequents an athletic club needs to know: Do not, repeat, do not, leave a higher weight on a machine or piece of equipment than the senior citizen men in the weight room can handle themselves. This has bothered me for a long time. Today I learned that I'm not alone. Clearly, the time has come to educate women about proper weight training etiquette -- other than the obvious, like here, here, and here. This afternoon I chatted with…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Mitt Romney — job destroyer, “vulture capitalist”

Do you think Mitt Romney is a guy who will add jobs to the American economy? Think again. He's a job destroyer, not a job creator. He doesn't care if people get hurt when businesses shut down, so long as CEO's like him make loads of money. Here's the proof: a persuasive video, "When Mitt Romney Came to Town." Watch it and weep... for the workers whose lives were torn apart by Mitt Romney. If you don't have time for the full 28 minute video, there's a three minute trailer.   
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Posted inWeb/Tech

iPhone DiffCase: a lot to like, not quite right for me

I'm a naked iPhone user. Meaning, sometimes we both are, but usually only my iPhone is. I've enjoyed feeling the glassy, metallic sleekness of the iPhones I've owned without a screen protector or case coming between me and my beloved bit of technology. But after dropping my naked phone several times onto the (thankfully) carpeted floor of an athletic club, I decided to look into protection options.  And came upon DiffCase, an aptly named different sort of case. You should look into it if you're an iPhone user who is into tripod-necessary photography, seeks full protection for your phone, and/or…
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Posted inEntertainment

“Portlandia” needs a comedy makeover

My wife and I live in Salem, a.k.a. "So-lame," Portland's dowdy, plain, uncool neighbor to the south. We wish our city could be half as ravishingly interesting as Portland is. No, one-tenth as interesting. Heck, give us any little slice of Portland and we'd devour it hungrily. (Salem just got it's first Trader Joe's store, eons after Portland, Corvallis, and Eugene got theirs. We still don't have a true vegetarian restaurant, much less a vegan one.) So we really want to enjoy IFC's "Portlandia." We watched every episode of Season 1, chuckling only episodically. It kept seeming like Portlandia was on…
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