The Weekend Eudemon
Baseball and beer. A Tigers game? Nope, it was son Jack's team getting shellacked in little league, then my wife and I christening our new outdoor furniture with a few Oberon ales and music. I typically go to bed early, but during the summer, it's hard to resist those soft summer nights. I used to make myself go to bed, so I could get up early and study in leisure (read: without children screaming in my ear). But no more. This summer, I'm enjoying the cooling nights.
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At $208 a stick, I don't think many people will let their friends bum one:
A Chinese company marketing the world's first "electronic" cigarette hopes to double sales this year as it expands overseas and as some of China's legions of smokers try to quit.
Golden Dragon Group Ltd's Ruyan cigarettes are battery-powered, cigarette-shaped devices that deliver nicotine to inhalers in a bid to emulate actual smoking.
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The ironic stories are the best stories:
A driving student lost her licence three hours after passing her test after going for a drink with her instructor to celebrate. Police in the Bulgarian capital Sofia pulled over Kristina Andreeva, 23, for erratic driving and a breath test found both she and instructor Ivan Filin, 48, were three times over the limit.
Has anyone else noticed that it seems like a disproportionate number of bizarre stories like these are coming out of former Soviet bloc countries? I assume it's because they're schizoid countries: old country/modern world, poor but capitalism coming to make 'em rich, socialism to free market. Tough growing pains, but humor fodder for the rest of us. If you feel guilty, ship money to the Church in Eastern Europe. I think it's one of the best charitable causes in the world right now.
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Dang it! I wanted to get spliced up: A Dutch hospital is asking people to stop leaving their bodies to science because they have run out of room.
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This story wins the triple crown: sad, funny, and infuriating at the same time:
Robert Baswell, 44, was tossed into a garbage truck Monday morning when trash collectors emptied the Dumpster he was sleeping in into their truck. He was repeatedly crushed each time the truck compacted a new load of trash, breaking his legs and ribs. . . . Steinger, Iscoe & Greene in West Palm Beach . . . are representing him, presumably for a future lawsuit.
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That's it for now. A sunny and 70-degree day calls.
