ben’s blog

What a beautiful design…

Many American women may fantasize about foreign men, but the truth is, American men aren’t that bad – especially when compared to Australian men, according to a British study.

Dr. Almudena Sevilla-Sanz from Oxford University in London found that Australian men make the worst husbands and hate helping out around the house. U.S. and British men, on the other hand, don’t mind lending a hand when it comes to housework, the Australian Associated Press reported.

Sevilla-Sanz studied more than 13,000 men and women from 12 developed countries. American men were considered the best husbands, along with men from other “egalitarian” countries such as Norway, Sweden, England and Northern Ireland.

Australian men finished last.

“In egalitarian countries you might, in principle, expect to see women preferring to remain single rather than face the prospect of spending more time doing household chores,” Sevilla-Sanz said. “However, this study shows that in egalitarian countries there is less social stigma attached to men doing what was traditionally women’s work. For instance, if paternity leave is the social norm, more men take it.”

Sevilla-Sanz’s study, which is titled “Household Division of Labor and Cross-Country Differences in Household Formation Rates,” will be published in the Journal of Population Economics.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,536601,00.html 

Obese Texas Inmate Charged With Hiding Gun in His Rolls of Fat

HOUSTON —  An obese inmate in Texas has been charged after officials learned he had a gun hidden under flabs of his own flesh.

Twenty-five-year-old George Vera was charged with possession of a firearm in a correctional facility after he told a guard at the Harris County Jail about the unloaded 9mm pistol.

The Houston Chronicle reported Thursday that Vera was originally arrested on charges of selling illegal copies of compact discs.

The 500-pound man was searched during his arrest and again at a city jail and the county jail, but officers never found the weapon in his rolls of skin. Vera admitted having the gun during a shower break at the county jail.

Invention guru Doug Hall looks for an invention to jump start the economy

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=8282129 

As quoted in this article, and I can’t think of anyone who gives a “#*@&” about Madoff.  The article goes on to say: “But Madoff also appeared to lay some blame at the feet of his clients, saying that they should have asked more questions, given the kind of extraordinary returns he was delivering.” 

That’s so sociopathic of him to blame the victim ;)  A crime that big weights heavy with blame, I’m sure he’s just trying to lighten the burden.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/07/28/business/main5194679.shtml

Gates is half Irish and related to the police officer who arrested him.

They both trace their ancestry back to the legendary Niall of the Nine Hostages. (The supposedly fearless leader battled the English, the Scots, the French and even the Romans, and struck fear into the heart of his enemies. His dynasty lasted for centuries, continuing up until the Elizabethan conquest of Ireland at the end of the 16th century.)

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=8195564&page=1

And they may both be related to Bill O’Reilly, now that would be interesting  (… one in every 50 New Yorkers who have European roots – with surnames such as O’Connor, Flynn, Egan, Hynes, O’Reilly and Quinn– have the same genetic signature as Niall of the Nine Hostages, Bradley said.)

Sounds like a good idea to me.  Most people don’t realize that the federal reserve is a private entity, it’s not a government entity.  They report to no one yet have the ability to price fix interest rates at their own discretion.  It’s well known that the founding fathers warned against central banking organizations.

The current economic conditions (IMHO) started during the Clinton years when Greenspan was the fed chairman.  When questioned about this last year he said he knew the potential risks but took no responsibility. 

Now Bernanke has continued with the same agendas.  My logic tells me there are only 2 reasons for the actions of these people and the past chairmans, a deliberate attempt to destroy our currency or ignorance. The value of the dollar is currently 4% of what it was when first introduced, no longer backed by silver or gold and worth less than the paper that it’s printed on. Kudos to Ron Paul for putting together this bill and getting the majority support from congress.

 http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/07/28/business/econwatch/entry5193539.shtml

I’m wondering if it got help by going in the opposite direction of the earths rotation.  It was 1500 miles wide and 6 miles thick.  How did it get up there?

 Full article

Went there today, the fish were amazing, the actual exhibit was lacking…it had too much of an amusement park feel geared towards kids and less of a learning/educational experience.