Good Sunday to you all and  I hope you are enjoying the weekend.  Ours has been very warm and sunny.  We haven't had to put the air on yet.  Though the temperatures have been hot the humidity has been low.  I didn't see much to comment about during my trip through the internet yesterday.  Let's see what I find today.

I noticed on the news last night and this morning that Spain has asked for the bailout that anyone with an ounce of awareness has expected for quite some time.  The timing is perfect--on the weekend when the makers are closed.  It is also interesting in light of Obama's press conference on Friday which focused on Europe as the possible bump in the road for the U.S. economy.  Preparing for the news, maybe?

The GMA morning reports today included a report on the new 'prank' called 'swatting.'  Some morally/emotionally/intellectually deficient asshole decides to hack into someone's internet connection and calls 911 claiming a violent crime is in progress which brings the local swat team out.  The story this morning was the second I have seen lately.  I was a bit disgusted with the first one because the victim featured was a conservative talk show host/blogger who claimed he was targeted because he is a conservative voice.  A quick and dirty internet search reveals that he is blowing smoke on the motivation. This nastiness has been going on for at least the last five years and the above mentioned assholes have more often targeted random victims they didn't know.  Contrary to the idiot conservative blogger the political link is bogus.  However, that aside, I hope whoever is involved in this asinine and dangerous activity is caught and imprisoned for a long, long time.  This story, from 2009, gives some interesting details.  The incident that leads off the story occurred in 2007.

I remember when, more years ago than I care to remember, students I knew regularly took No-Doz and other over-the-counter pills to pull all-nighters.  Some may have taken other drugs but I couldn't testify to that.  I did take No-Doz a couple of times but found that I could pull a 36+ hour stint with out the help.  Now-a-days it seems the kids have taken things up a notch.

I used to live in Ft. Collins, Colorado.  I can't remember any time during the 20 years I lived there that the Poudre River dried up.  It has been a favorite for white water rafting and kayaking.  Not this year.  And they have a nasty wildfire not yet controlled burning nearby.  For an interesting contrast, compare the picture at the top of the column with those at the end.

Ah--someone else thinks that AARP's poll on Social Security and Medicare is more than a little bogus. Susie Madrak at Crooks & Liars hit all the criticisms I had and adds a few more.