Time wasters

The Internet is one of the world's greatest time wasters. It is better than television ever was in making potentially productive time unproductive and wasteful. Slate is a good way to kill an hour or two. The news, Dear Prudence, and the pod casts are entertaining and waste a lot of my time. I must admit I never miss reading Dear Prudence's insightful advice.

As trite as it is, I find myself wasting hours a week on Yahoo shine and omg. I am on Yahoo and suddenly I see "the world's best ice cream in Texas" and I'm reading about Peco Joe's cafe in Lufkin and ice cream I will never eat. I love to read movie reviews of films I will never see. Taking a virtual tour through the Hilton in Zimbabwe was a pleasant waste of an hour a few months back.

Facebook is a marvelous way to burn hours upon hours of valuable time. You can play the Farm or join an old girlfriend for a game of scrabble. Catching up with old faces from high school. It is fascinating to know one of the dunces of the class in the eighth grade owns a successful real estate company and has a summer place in Spain and has six cute children from three former marriages. I've decided the biggest time killer in Facebook is looking at pictures of your friend's trips. No wonder they block Facebook at work.

Why we are in Afghanistan

They have found a vast reserve of minerals in Afghanistan. These include gold, iron, and lithium (you have that in your camera battery). Now when you are discussing matters at your favorite tavern you can say, "They went into Iraq for the oil and they went into Afghanistan for the lithium".

South Carolina

I've been to some of the notable sights of South Carolina. I have visited South of the Border, Myrtle Beach, Charleston I remember in Charleston the horses that give carriage rides to tourists wear diapers. (I have not been to Hilton Head). A nice, old South state where people sell boiled peanuts on the side of the road.

Now people are talking about the new victor in the Democratic primary for the Senate seat.

Alvin Greene. Seems he surprised everybody by winning the primary with no money and no campaigning. I say let him stay in the race. Who knows? He might win.

Editor's note: South of the Border has lots of fireworks this time of year.

the Jersey Shore

I just read that I missed the casting call for the Jersey Shore. I might have been a good addition to the show. I'm from New Jersey, half Italian, a librarian. I like Italian hot dogs. Hey what could be more Jersey?

Still I might have to work on my pecs.

Communism is around the corner in Europe

This article states that the European crisis might bring about the return of the Communist party to Western Europe. As if we didn't have enough to worry about.

the Suits

Yesterday I was closing the elevator and I noticed five Caucasian males and one Asian female in $1000 suits standing in a row. Nothing strikes terror into a low level employee than the view of six "suits". "Oh no, we're going to be downsized! Oh no, we're going to be made more efficient!" One thinks.

At my advanced age, I realize now I will never fulfill my life ambition to be a "suit". I'll always be one of life's little people. I'll never get invited to parties in the Hamptons. I'll never have a $1000 dollar suit and eat on an expense account

At least I can dress in cheaper clothing so I don't have a big bill when I spill my Italian hotdog on my shirt.

Editor's note: Squirrel Nut Zippers sing about "suits".

Music for dogs

Not a lot of good news this week. The oil is still spilling in the Gulf. Our governor is making himself more and more endearing to civil service employees. This story caught my eye. Lou Reed and his wife, Laurie Anderson, are going to give a concert in Australia that is only audible to dogs. I hope they release it on an album. It would be fun to play it and drive the dogs in my neighborhood crazy.