Good  Wednesday, All.  Cloudy so far today with rain expected later.  We did get some sun yesterday which was nice.  I really could use several days of sun and no rain to dry out the gardens.  We'll see if nature cooperates.  The news is still dominated by the Boston bombing even though there is nothing new on it.

This story annoys me no end.  I read the headline out lout and both of us asked 'Who the hell are they shitting???"  Reading the story you realize 1) the stats are for one month only, 2) the touted decrease in prices of gas didn't even counter the increase in the month before, and 3) the decrease wasn't enough to make a real appearance in the market place.  This is spin and nothing more.

Harold Meyerson has good comments on his op-ed for the Washington Post.  The Walmart model has infected much, if not most, of the American consumer retail economy.  I have noted before that we rarely go to Walmart anymore--for all of the reasons mentioned in the several articles lately.  Reading Meyerson's piece I realize that we haven't shopped at a Penney store in at least seven or eight years.  And the last time we left without buying anything.  I don't remember what we went in for but I do remember we didn't find it.  We now shop at a several small shops where we get good products at reasonable prices and get wonderful service.  And a couple of those small shops are part of national chains.

Here is a gently amusing story from the BBC.  This guy has style.

Found this on Grist today.  Enough to convert one to vegetarianism.  Oh, shit!  I almost forgot about the contaminated spinach, tomatoes, peppers, sprouts, and melons of recent years.