Some more lunchtime news observations, skimmed from the lunchtime perusal of the paper:
- From the “One Step Over The Line” Department: Global warming is having numerous effects on society. One that
peakedpiqued (no pun intended) my interest as a Diplomacy player is the fact that Italy and Switzerland are being forced to redraw their borders. The previous border was the ridge crest of the glaciers, and as they shrink and move, that’s no longer viable. As a result, a new criterion has been proposed so that the new border coincides with the rock. The border between Italy and Switzerland was fixed in 1861, when Italy became a nation, but it has been occasionally modified, most recently in the 1970s when the Switzerland-Italy highway was built at the Brogeda crossing. The border change only affects uninhabited mountaintop terrain. No families should have to change citizenship. - From the “Not Only Do They Clog the Arteries” Department: KFC (the chain formerly known as “Kentucky Fried Chicken”) is standing up for their civic duty. They are offering to fill potholes in a number of cities, if they can plaster their logo on the street afterwards. Some cities don’t like the idea, but I think it is a great way to fill civic coffers. After all, it is not as if we don’t have advertising almost everywhere else that we ignore.
- From the “Chop Chop” Department: Earlier, I wrote how an increasing number of airplanes are being mothballed. That’s not economical for some: some are just chopped and recycled. This article profiles one of the companies that does it. I’ve always found this process interesting, since I first read about it in Airliners.
- From the “Looking Good at 48” Department: There are certain actresses of my youth (and possibly your youth) who were just your personal model of beauty and cuteness. Dawn Wells. Valerie Bertinelli. Danielle Fischel. Karen Valentine. Susan Dey. I mention this solely because the Chicago Tribune has an article about Valerie Bertinelli appearing on the cover of People in a bikini, looking quite good at 48 (only a year younger than me).
- From the “The Teflon Market” Department: I’ve often made fun of Whole Paycheck. But TJs seems to be below scorn (or is that above?). But is it? Here’s an article that questions TJ’s green credentials. Yes, they use a lot of packaging, but they also use compostable trays and really encourage the use of bags. Is the problem as bad as they state?
- From the “Social Networking” Department: More and more boomers seem to be finding social networks. Even Kirk Douglas has a MySpace page. I wonder if this means it isn’t cool any more. I don’t know, but I still find it freaky to get friend requests from folks I went to camp with in 7th and 8th grade (not that I mind reconnecting). But given all this, why is it so hard to reconnect with the people you actually want to reconnect with?
