HORRIFYING NEWS! Boys grave unearthed and looted! Robbers even take boys body!

So, a bunch of guys equip themselves with shovels and then proceed to dig up a grave of a boy in order to nab any loot that was buried with him. They find the booty that they were searching for and will eventually sell it for a handsome profit. Heck, to get even more money for their efforts they even take the guys remains and put him on a world tour for yokels who are willing to pay $30 a pop in order to see a corpse. Sound morbid? Sound unethical? Sound illegal? Sound like grave robbing? Hell no! It's not any of those things because this is what we call archeology...wink,wink.
The dead guy that I just wrote about was the late boy-king of ancient Egypt named Tutankhamun, or King Tut. His remains and possessions went on a second world tour in 2004 and his new owners, the Egyptian government, raked in $10,000,000 profit in each American city where he was displayed. The exhumation and molesting of his final resting place was not only legal but publicly celebrated. Heck, Steve Martin even glorified it in his hit song with nifty lyrics like, "Now if I'd known, they'd line up just to see him.I'd have taken all my money,And bought me a museum!
Born in Arizona, moved to Babylonia, King Tut".

Yet the definition of grave robbing according to Wikipedia reads, "Grave robbing, grave robbery or tomb raiding is the act of uncovering a tomb or crypt to steal the artifacts (as illicit antiquities) inside or disinterring a corpse to steal the body itself or its personal effects. Someone who engages in this act is a grave robber or tomb raider". OK, so what is the definition of an archeology then? They say,"...is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, features, biofacts, and landscapes. Because archaeology's aim is to understand humankind, it is a humanistic endeavor". I like how they sugar coat the moral sleaziness of the profession in the last sentence.

What this boils down to is that if you have a PhD in front of your name you can feel free to rape the final resting places of people as long as the government or a museum gets the coin. What is horrifying is the vagueness of how long the deceased must be in the ground before you can molest their remains. Apparently there is no set standard ether legally or professionally for and "archeologist" to go by. I've been reading into it it seems all you need is an advanced degree and an ok form the government and you are on your way. No regards to religious beliefs or the sanctity of ceremonial burial are required as you are doing it in the name of science and profit.
So when you, dear reader, take that final jaunt in you own life cycle be sure to stick it to the man one last time; don't take any valuables and do the cremation thing.

I've done a complete 180 on 180s.

So, I found a pair of "180s" ear warmers in the lost-and-found at our shop a few winters ago. Not to sure about the whole ear-muff thing, I washed them up and immediately threw them in a corner. But in a pinch one January I put them on for a winter bike ride and EUREKA!(latin:I have found it!) I was able to kiss sore throats and sinus infections goodbye! They are that good. Don't get the crappy imitations though because, well, they are crappy imitations. Depending on the time of year you can pick them up for between 8-15$.

Ouch...

DING DONG!!! The Witch is Dead!!!

Philip Schoonover,the CEO of Circuit City, was fired/forced to step down by shareholders this week. Schoonover was the jackass who fired 3,400 of Circuit City's most experienced employees because "they made too much money". Understandably, this crushed employee morale and helped lead to a 11% drop in sales this past quarter alone. How does it feel, Phil?

Mass Exodus

From time to time I turn to the Bible for comfort and religious guidance. I mostly stick to the parts quoting Jesus as he seemed to be compassionate and level-headed. Jesus was a "cause guy" and I dig that about Him. But then I get to the parts of the Bible that they somehow never covered in Sunday school and I have the shit scared out of me. Take this little, chicken noodle soup for the soul, passage for example:

20 “When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. 21 But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money".
--Exodus 21:20-21

Got it. I'm glad we have the whole legality thing cleared up when it pertains to beating another human being with a club. But what's even scarier is how "Christians" will try to put a positive spin on the whole passage like this joker-->Link. Oh, I get it noowww. They weren't really slaves, per se, but willing employees. I like how these "defenders" debate the semantics of slavery and completely ignore the fact that the Bible is condoning physical abuse. Still need a little more guidance concerning your responsibilities in the slave trade? Read on...

"When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are. If she does not please the man who bought her, he may allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her. And if the slave girl's owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave girl, but he must treat her as his daughter. If he himself marries her and then takes another wife, he may not reduce her food or clothing or fail to sleep with her as his wife. If he fails in any of these three ways, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment". (Exodus 21:7-11 NLT)

Wow! Polygamy too? This is definitely the band wagon that I want to jump on. Not.
No wonder they called this part of the Bible "Exodus"...

Same Planet, Different Worlds

"Live simply so that other's may simply live." -Ghandi





Note: The second photo was taken by South African photographer Kevin Carter during the famine in the Sudan. This heartbreaking photo of a collapsed girl on the way to a relief station is entitled "Wanting a meal" and won him a Pulitzer Prize. Three months after receiving the award Mr. Carter committed suicide. He was 33.

Engineer Gets 110 MPG Out Of '87 Mustang

I normally won't comment on anything related to the state of Ohio but this is the exception. Click this LINK to hear about an important invention that will probably be sabotaged by an oil-company spy.
So a guy(Doug Pelmear)in his garage can figure out something like this but highly paid engineers at automotive and energy companies can't? I wonder how many inventions/modifications have been shelved as it just might cut into oil profits. I thought this quote was interesting:
"I'm an optimist, and I think people need to know there is hope out there," Pelmear told the Toledo Blade. "That's why I decided to enter the X Prize race. I could have sold this [technology] off, but then people might not have seen it."

Ode to George

He was crude, lude and rude but he sure will be missed...