Life In The Weeds

Shamu gone Wild

Recently, an orca whale killed a Sea World trainer...a tragedy to be sure!

As it turns out, this is the third trainer related death involving this particular orca, named Tilikum. From what I have read, the whale grabbed the veteran trainer by her long pony-tail and dragged her into the water.  According to the medical examiner, she likely died of traumatic injuries and drowning.

So the questions have been swirling about what to do with the whale.  In a recent statement, by the President of Sea World, Tilikum will not be punished and will remain an "active, contributing member of the team."

What other choice do they really have?  Release it into the wild?  Keep the whale even more isolated?

Scary thing about orca whales...they are smart as hell.  I think Tilkum new exactly what it was doing when it grabbed this trainer. 

Take a look at this video showing a group of orca whales teaching a young calf how to hunt.  Or this clip sneaking up on it's pray...ON THE BEACH.  Or this one!

You tell me...you think these whales know what they are doing?  

mj

Silver or Bronze

Obviously, the Olympic athletes in Vancouver have one thing in mind while competing...winning the Gold medal.  Standing on the highest podium and listening to your countries National Anthem must be the most thrilling experience for any athlete.

But, what about those athletes that win Silver or Bronze?  Which would you prefer?  The obvious answer that jumps to mind is Silver, right?   Maybe, not...

I guess it all depends on the sport and how close you were to finishing Gold..I would imagine that the athletes that finish in 2nd place, and take Silver, spend much of their time saying...what if or if I only did x or y...it could have been me up on the top podium.  The Silver Medal up on their mantel could haunt them for the rest of their days.  After all, Silver represents "first loser"...

Bronze, on the other hand, might, in fact, be more satisfying!  The athlete coming in third may say to themselves...hey, I pushed it hard and was so psyched to just "make it to the podium."   Their Bronze medal may sit on their mantel as a great achievement, with no lingering memories of a slow start or missed step somewhere along the line.  

Silver or Bronze?  Which one could you live with?

mj

The Hurricane

I'm still glued to the Olympics...and the United States is still kicking some significant ass!

Last night, Jeret "Speedy" Peterson took silver in aerial freestyle skiing...he landed "the hurricane" to put him into medal contention. This jump consists of five twists and three flips as he soars about 60 feet into the air.  It was the same jump he tried 4 years earlier - and missed. Big props to Speedy for going for it again.  

Here is a cool graphic that breaks-down The Hurricane.

Two things jumped out at me while watching Speedy last night after his jump:

1. He was wearing a brown leather belt...completely out of place...must be a superstition?

2. He was wearing an Under Armour top...first I have seen at the games...hhmm?

mj

Enter Text from Image Below

Maybe it's just me...but when I am signing up for something on-line, registering or taking a survey - whatever the case may be - it really bothers me when you are asked to "enter text from image below" to complete your task.

Why, you ask?  

Because it takes me forever to figure out what the letter/number combination actually is!  It's usually blurry as hell, warped and distorted and printed in psychedelic colors.

Here are two examples...

My left brain just does not like working so hard!

mj

Fly Eagles Fly

Not those Eagles...everyone should know by now that I'm a Jets fan!

A couple of weeks ago, over President's Day weekend, we had some friends in town from Maryland. With a house full of kids, and some mildly hungover parents, we decided to take everyone over to Rosedale Park for some sledding action.  It was a good opportunity to "represent" Jersey sledding...as there had been a little smack talk comparing sledding hills amongst the kids.

As the adults watched and chatted from the bottom of the hill, one of us turned an noticed a large hawk (at least that's what we immediately thought) drop out of a tree and begin to take flight.  Once the bird opened it's wings and soared a bit, two of us, in unison said, "is that a Bald Eagle?"

Sure enough, it was...a Bald-friggin-Eagle!  We watched it fly above us for less than a minute and then, it was out of sight...you could see adults and children at the top of the sled hill pointing as it flew overhead.

Fast forward to yesterdays NY Post article.  Sure enough, Bald Eagles are among us!

I like the idea of the country thinking of New Jersey as the home of our National icon, rather than home of the cast of the Jersey Shore!

mj

Walmart goes Vudu

As reported here, months and months ago, Walmart is changing their image.  They continue to shift from "home of the redneck" to a hip and cool way to purchase all things inexpensively.

Now, they have upgraded their hipness and coolness with the purchase of Vudu, a streaming movie rental service.

Lookout Netflix?  Not sure, but if I were Netflix, I would be nervously looking in the rear view mirror at the Walmart guerrilla charging...

mj

What's up with the Blue Bottles

If your are like me, you must wonder about why people have "blue bottle" displays decorating their yards.  If you are not familiar with this unusual form of yard art, here is a picture of what it might like...

 You see this around quite a bit as you drive around...and I never understood.  After a bit of research, here is what I found.

According to ancient African myth, bottles on trees could catch evil spirits and prevent them from entering a home. In the 18th century, Africans who came to the South as slaves adorned cedar trees with bottles for protection, according to Robert Farris Thompson, African and African American art historian at Yale University.

The color blue also signified healing powers.

There you go...mystery solved!

mj

Above the rest, quite literally!

I love the Olympics...watching athletes compete at the highest level is unbelievable to watch...especially when they train for this ONE moment in time.

Last night, it was Shaun White's time to shine...and did he shine!

He has been the face of the Snowboard Half-pipe ever since he won gold in Torino at the last Winter Games. As it turns out, Project X and Red Bull gave White his very own, private, personal half-pipe in a secret location. White has been hiding out and inventing a plethora of new pipe tricks for the whole world to see in Vancouver.

White proved last night that he is just FAR superior than the field...the competitors were not even close in their scores.

Here is what I love most about White - last night, he showed the world that he is truly a competitor and went for it on his last run...with the gold medal already in his pocket.  He could have easily boarded right down the middle with his finger held high...basking in the glory of a gold medal.

Rather, he went for it and tried a trick that no one has executed (or seen) in competition.  White busted out the Double McTwist 1260 — a trick that’s beyond the expertise of many a boarder.

The video footage has been taken off YouTube...but worth a look once it's available!

mj

Gas hits 2010 low!

Gas prices hit an all time low for 2010 this week.

Retail gasoline prices hit a nationwide average of $2.61 per gallon and fell below $2.40 in parts of the country.

Here is what I find interesting...prices are now 16 cents below the January 15th peak, but still 64.5 cents above year-ago levels. 

Were we really paying below $2.00 per gallon early last year?  Why does that seem impossibly low?  Ahh, the good old days of paying less than $100 to fill up my car!

Check out these numbers...according to some dude at OPIS (Oil Price Information Service), motorists spend about $953 million per day on fuel, down from about $1 billion per day last month.  ONE BILLION per day...

The typical motorist uses about 50 gallons of fuel per month, which would cost about $130 at current prices.  Are you a typical motorist?

Not to worry, prices could move higher as the spring driving season approaches!

mj

What's in a name?

There seems like there is always a story behind the naming of your child or children?  

Well, this story is no different.

This past Sunday, a little baby girl was born, in flight, at 24,000 feet!  She was born two weeks early as her mother was heading to La Paz on a military-run commercial airline -  Transportes Aereos Militares.   A doctor and a nurse who were passengers on the flight helped out.  The airline is commonly known as TAM, so the little girl was named Tami, while soaring through the skies.

Here is the best part - and a customer service lesson for sure - the airline will give the Tami free domestic flights until she reaches age 21. She'll also get a scholarship through high school at a Bolivian Air Force school.

Now that's a great way to earn customers!  

Can you see an American run airlines doing the same?  Not me!  Any of the big airlines would likely charge for the extra passenger and ban that mother from future flights!!  

Though, I can see Jet Blue embracing this sort of customer service...and Jet would be a pretty cool name for either a boy or a girl.

mj