Refining the Bling with Abe

Honest Abe is 199 today, so Happy Birthday to the first president of the U.S. to have a beard while in office. He's also the tallest president that we have had and he adores the penny. Which, starting May 12th is what you'll need if you want to buy those annoying 1 cent stamps to mail a letter. USPS announced that the price of stamps will go up another penny over the current rate of 41 cents. Luckily we can buy our Forever stamps and be done with these petty increases in postage. Ah the days when stamps were 29 cents...

Dominica kicks Oil in the Mouth...for Now

Good news today that I first spotted on Steves Dominica Blog that the government is suspending its current plans to build a Venezuelan oil refinery on the island. The Prime Minister said that the public should be included in the debate and the total situation should be examined more closely. I think that the tourism boards public statement that I discussed the other day was a decent swing point in the process and hopefully this is a positive step. Lets hope that Chavez will not spew his Anti-American/ America is the Empire wrath on Dominica for taking a step back and looking out for itself and the resources that the tiny island does have. Anyways, as others and I have said, you can't have "The Nature Island" of the Caribbean and have your oil refinery too.

Do you Bling?

Finally to close out this exciting Tuesday, I have to ask the question...Do you Bling? So I feel bad for getting on Xango yesterday for selling people $40 bottles of "super" fruit juice. I send a small apology (though only a small one) to Xango as Kevin Boyd is catering to your inner star (and pocket book) with BlingH2O. I all honesty I shouldn't give this junk a bit of spin, but it just shows how much our culture is obsessed with "image" and consumption of high end stuff. At $40 a pop, the frosted bottles come with Swarovski crystals and are corked, just like wine. What a horrible idea and its seriously probably the water out of the guys bathtub. Seriously, who wants to lug around a corkscrew at the gym? Why not get creative and cover your Sigg water bottle with some eco bling...like dirt or something?

I can top this on the holy crap-o-meter. The Water Bank of America (WTF is that) is selling prepackaged ice cubes called IceRocks. Yes you read that correctly, prepackaged ice cubes. Here is what their website states:

"ICEROCKS® are secured, ready-to-be-frozen ice cubes made with high-quality spring water. These cubes, to be consumed within two (2) years, are hermetically packaged in disposable containers. ICEROCKS® uses a patented technology, providing a container of refreshing ice cubes that are pure and hygienic.
To enjoy the fresh taste of ICEROCKS® simply freeze, remove the plastic seal, and pop the ice cubes into your favorite beverage!"

Thanks to ecorazzi for showing us this wonderful idea. You have to check out the website because they totally try to spin their product in a eco-savvy/green/_______ (insert eco buzzword here) product. I do have to hand it to them for great marketing, but seriously, trays to make ice are like 35 cents. Better yet, most modern refridge/freezer units come with an ice maker. Seriously, prepackaged ice to go with your bottled water? What will they they think of next? Dehydrated water?

Cheers!