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!

Like a 29 cent stamp...

How many of you out there dread going to the Post Office, raise your hands now...Unless you live in some small town where nobody mails anything, then you know what I'm talking about. You have your package ready (you hope) addressed (did I put the right zip code on it?) and you stand for what seems like HOURS waiting for that wonderful word: "Next."

A few years back I was pretty stoked when USPS announced they would install automated mailing centers to help reduce congestion and lines. You just go, set your package on the scale type thing push a few buttons and BAM, you were on your way! I have found in "The Rouge" that these machines are a crock of crap. They don't tell you upfront that they can not print the small postage labels UNTIL the very last step before you pay for the postage. What the heck is that all about? I believe the employees sabotage the automated centers so that you are forced to come at their specified hours and wait in line, a.k.a. Job Security. BUT you could at least buy stamps at a vending machine type outlet so that was nice right?..............well NOT ANY MORE.

I just found out today, though this appears to have been going on for sometime, that the USPS is removing those automated stamp vending machines. I guess the company that makes these machines no longer makes them and the parts don't exist to repair the broken ones. My question is why are they always broken if they are never working in the first place? It is funny though that the USPS website lists these automated stamp delivery mechanisms (are they really "vending machines") are just ONE of available alternate mailing options available from the Post Office. HA!

Ran a nice little 8 mile loop around the downtown area of "The Rouge" this evening. Stormed right before hand so the air was clean (for "The Rouge") standards but the lovely smell of refinery fumes lingered in the air. There is an interesting bridge, in which no pedestrian traffic is allowed, in Baton Rouge that separates the downtown area from a lower-class neighborhood . The only way to access the downtown area (where most of these people live, is via this bridge. Only problem is, to get their, you have to drive, which a majority of the individuals in this neighborhood can not do. So they risk their safety and harassment from the police for crossing this manmade barrier just to go to work. I wonder what great politician thought this one up?

The real reason to talk about the run was to finally plug http://www.running2win.com/. If you are a runner and want to keep a log of all of your efforts/mileage on a fairly easy to use website this is the one to use. Yea, if you have the Nike "pod" thingy you can put in your shoe you can use their site. But, almost like eating locally grown food, this website is designed by my old club running team faculty sponsor. He responds to almost all emails and the site is really amazing for being COMPLETELY FREE. There are some little quirks, but I love it. I'm trying to figure out how to show my monthly mile total in the blog, hopefully I can get with Mike (the site owner) to look into it very soon. Check it out and if you need any help, just ask!

Cheers!