President Obama has an uncle also named Obama.  (Go figure!)

Well, it seems that uncle Obama got picked up for drunk driving the other weekend.   Now, what this has to do with the presidency is beyond me but the press seems to think that it is important.  Sounds to me like the media is desperate for news.

Well, the last time that we had a president with a colorful relative was Jimmy Carter.  BTW, what ever happened to Billy Beer?

While Yogi Bear eats picnic baskets in Jellystone Park, bears at Yellowstone park will and do eat people.  And such was the fate of a Michigan man this week.  While hiking alone on a trail familiar to the man, he was attacked and killed by a bear.

Now, park rangers have vowed to track down the bear.  Yet, you have to wonder how they can determine which bear did the deed?  DNA?  And, since there were no eye witnesses, no one can give a description of the bear.

But more to the point, if you are out in the wilderness alone, anything can happen.  So, you need to be prepared.  Or more to the point, ALWAYS carry a gun.

A new hotel has opened in downtown Grand Rapids.  And, unlike a lot of downtown hotels, this one renovated an existing building instead of building a new one.

Well, I was excited because this place was advertizing reasonable rates.  Yes!  Finally a hotel in downtown GR that isn’t going to cost an arm and a leg.  Then the  ad said that their rooms start at $150.00 a night.

$150.00 a night!!??  I have never paid that much for a room!   Even at the major high end chains I have never paid more than $90 a night.  But, I guess in perspective, when rooms at the other places start at over $200 a night, a 25% savings looks pretty good.

If I ever have to spend the night in GR, I think I will choose one of the hotels a couple of mile away and a whole lot cheaper.

I passed a guy today on my way to work.  He had a pair of frilly panties hanging from his rear view mirror.

Now, I assume that the panties belonged to his girl friend and that he was displaying them like a trophy.  But, his girl friend must be rather large as the panties could also pass as a “sun screen”.

But, given todays’ society, maybe they were his and he was hanging them up to dry.

Moe Kadaffy has pledged that he will fight to the death.  But, since he has gone into hiding, it is hard to determine just whose death he is talking about.  And, if nobody knows where he is located, he could be fighting well into his 90s.

But, I am amazed as to how much he looks like Moe Howard.  Since Hollywood is looking to do a remake of The Three Stooges, maybe he could get the part.  Of course, that would require that he come out of hiding.

The faculty at CMU (Central Michigan University) recently had a one day strike.  It seems that they have been working without a contract since early this summer.  But, finally decided to do something about it when school started.

Several students were upset that the contract issue had not been resolved over the summer.  And, I can understand their anger.   But, the reality is that once summer hits, faculty and administration alike all head for the hills and school and contracts are the last things on anyone’s mind.

But, when fall returned and school started up again, all of those things that were unimportant over the summer suddenly became vital to the faculty.

I am sorry.  While I can appreciate their need for a contract, the fact that they are striking, on the first day of class after a summer hiatus, sounds more like a kegger to me.  Toga! Toga! Toga!

College is more that just getting an education.  It is also learning about life.  And a CMU (Central Michigan University) student can testify to that fact.    He learned that if you walk in the middle of a country road at 2am, you will probably get hit by a car.  He did and he did.

And while he has seen the light, it was from an on coming car.  He is OK but in the hospital.  I suspect that alcohol was involved.

Our local Meijer store (regional grocery chain) is being remodeled.  Now, this is a major remodel which means just about everything is getting relocated.

Ordinarily, my shopping trips are a marathon event.  In fact, even my grocery list is organized to fit the layout of the store.  I start from the back and move to the front and I try to avoid retracing my steps.

But, now with the remodeling, many things are getting relocated.   Of course, the staples, like beer and pop and potato chips stay pretty much in the same place.  But the non essentials, such as milk and juice and bread, get relocated weekly.

All and all, my trips to Meijer are more like a scavenger hunt than a shopping event.

While you might find slide rules posted at a water park, back in the 50s and 60s, slide rulers were the precursor of the pocket calculator.  With a few slips of these wooden calculators, you were able to solve complex mathematical equations.  And, while you couldn’t get the exact answer, you could get a close estimate.

Now, since the accuracy of these devices was dependent on their size, most of them were well over a foot long.  So, in order to make them easy to transport, many of them came with leather holsters that clipped to your belt.  So, if you were walking down the street and were inspired with a mathematical problem, you could whip out your slide ruler and have at it.

If you were a nerd, you had a slide ruler.  And if you were a super nerd, your slide ruler hung off of your belt.  But, if you were a premo super nerd, your slide ruler hung down almost to your knees.

The HP 35 pocket calculator was not only a major scientific breakthrough, it destroyed a whole subculture.

Scientist now know why coffee stains dry like bulls-eyes.  Well, OK.  I know that I will sleep better at night knowing this piece of information.