This made me splut liquid out my nose this morning when I watched it…Then again, I am a big Sesame Street and Muppet fan…

I grew up in Ohio and have lived in California for the past 20 years or so. Suffice to say there is a pretty big difference between the cultures; each is distinct. Here are a few news stories that demonstrate that difference…

Xenia, Ohio via the Dayton Daily News:

While others were celebrating Independence Day, a Mississippi Drive man was being treated on Friday, July 4, at Miami Valley Hospital after being run down by his car in his driveway, according to police.

Now that is a trick, to run over one’s self. I’ll guess that alcohol was involved in the incident. I used to live in the Mississippi Drive area as a youngster and I can see this happening easily there in the Arrowhead Development…

Mount Vernon, Ohio via the Columbus Dispatch

“There is a significant amount of evidence that Mr. Freshwater’s teachings regarding subjects related to evolution were not consistent with the curriculum of the Mount Vernon City Schools and state standards,” the consultants reported.

The report confirms that Freshwater burned crosses onto students’ arms, using an electrostatic device, in December. Freshwater told investigators the marks were Xs, not crosses. But all of the students interviewed in the investigation reported being branded with crosses. The investigation report includes a photo of one student’s arm with a long vertical line and a short horizontal line running through it.

The family of one student who was burned filed a federal lawsuit last week against Freshwater and the district, saying the student’s civil rights were violated. Today, the family’s attorney, Jessica Philemond, said it was unfortunate that the school district didn’t do anything sooner to stop Freshwater.

Freshwater’s friend, Dave Daubenmire, defended him “With the exception of the cross-burning episode … I believe John Freshwater is teaching the values of the parents in the Mount Vernon school district,’’ he said.

Mount Vernon is another little town in Ohio where I spent very early years. OK, while it’s clear to me that Knox County is god fearing, I didn’t know that tattooing religions icons was part of the local value system and regardless of where you stand on the bible issue or intelligent design, the line really ought to be drawn when teachers burn crosses on their student’s skin…

Not all wackiness is confined to the great state of Ohio though. In the place I now call “home” – the San Francisco Bay Area – there is a different kind of wacky that requires some degree of head shaking. Take this gem for instance…

San Francisco, CA via NBC 11 News

The hearing room on the second floor was packed with people who are passionate about animals at the San Francisco Zoo.

“Children in America think chimpanzees are not in danger. Why is that? They see them on tv. We can show them chimps are endangered. People will open their wallets and provide more money they’ve ever gotten.”

The majority of the people at the meeting would like the zoo to be turned into an animal sanctuary. Supervisor Chris Daly is sponsoring the legislation.

Being frequent visitors to the SF Zoo I can say with some degree of familiarity it’s a reasonable zoo as zoos go. It entertains children, does a reasonable job of education, and the animals don’t seem to be in any more distress than animals in any other zoo I’ve ever visited. Come on people, pull your heads out of your butts on this one…

Via the San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco voters will be asked to decide whether to name a city sewage plant in honor of President Bush, after a satiric measure qualified for the November ballot today. Backers of the measure, who for several months circulated a petition to place the measure on the ballot, turned in more than 12,000 signatures on July 7, said organizer Brian McConnell.

…

The measure, if passed by a majority of voters, would rename the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the George W. Bush Sewage Plant. McConnell said the intent is to remember the Bush administration and what the group sees as the president’s mistakes, including the war in Iraq.

While I’ve got a sense of humor, particularly about President Bush, this is a stupid idea. Why let the memory of this guy linger any more than it already will? And, given how well things have worked around Bush, do you really want to doom your sewage plant by christening it with his name? Puh-leeze!

Perhaps this entry is entertaining to only me, if that’s the case, that’s ok. But it never fails to amaze me how different these places are and how asinine each can be in their own special ways.

Driving into work the other day I heard that crude oil scheduled for August delivery was priced at $145.77 per barrel. Given that oil has increased in price nearly 10 fold over the past few years, I found myself wondering just how the math works out on the cost to produce an average gallon of gasoline. Despite my hypothesis that the government could screwup a two car parade, the Energy Information Administration came through and had actual answers to my questions.

Tthere are 42 gallons of crude in every barrel. Not all crude oil is created equally, so there are various yields of gasoline and other products per barrel, but the consensus is that 19.6 gallons of gasoline come from each barrel of crude oil on average. Simple math now tells us that the cost of the raw material in August for future delivery to the 167,500 retail gasoline distribution locations in the US is $7.44 per gallon. Yikes!

The price of gasoline at the pump also takes into account Refining – after all, that oil didn’t just magically turn into gasoline – at around $0.476 per gallon. The gasoline has to get from where it was to the filling station and we have to see commercials about how the petroleum companies are doing good to the environment; that’s not free either, around $0.28/gallon. Finally, the government, Federal and State, need to take their cut which is $0.399/gallon except in California where it’s more!

So, accounting for lag between August delivery, refining, and distribution, we should expect to see prices around $8.59 per gallon by the end of the year. And that’s a cheery Christmas present, isn’t it? And, oh by the way, if we don’t see these sorts of prices, someone, somewhere is manipulating the system rather insidiously.

The Aussies have a point in this short promotional video, the Kiwi’s have figured out a number of the tough problems, they’ve got beautiful scenery, and they’ve got sheep! Who could ask for more?

How long will it be until New Zealand is added to the axis of evil – heck, we can then go in and stomp out those terrorist shepards…A higher quality version is available at Invade New Zealand.

Fooled again might have been the better title for this entry. Despite my age and experience, I actually believed that Barack Obama stood for something more than his personal desire to attain power. I guess, I thought he was that rarest of people, a politician with principle. His message of hope and change is exactly what the country needs particularly when backed up by a man of principle.

Earlier this week, Mr. Obama proved that he’s no different than any other politician striving to attain higher office. And while this revelation was not unexpected, it somehow was still surprising and most definitely disappointing. Part of Obama’s message has been about accountability and one of his promises was to filibuster any bill that included immunity for telecommunications companies relative the government’s illegal spying on US citizens. This week, the such a bill came to the floor and Mr. Obama didn’t filibuster, he didn’t even vote no, he supported it with a yea vote.

This FISA bill is a steaming pile no matter how you spin it – it significantly places individual Constitutional rights at risk for further erosion. Now, we’re not likely to ever know the real damage the Bush Administration caused by illegally spying on citizens because it’s all swept under the table in this legislation. This action constitutes a breach of trust of the highest order.

Now, instead of enthusiastically supporting candidate Obama, I find myself in the all too familiar position of voting for the lesser evil: do I choose McCain, a known politician and liar or Obama, now a known politician and liar? Does it really matter? What a truly depressing development.