05Feb 2010 by R&O 1 Comment

Burger Bullies

Observations, Olympics, Rants
I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that McDonald's Restaurants is the official purveyor of fine food and a major sponsor of the 2010 winter Olympics. Who says loads of money can't buy anything, huh? Can you imagine how many Olympic athletes adhere to a healthy diet of delicious McGrease burgers and fat fries? But these artery clogging saturated fat pushers are the official restaurant sponser of the sports spectacle we call the 2010 winter games. It's like Clifford Olson hosting the Variety Show Of Hearts Telethon. So you would think that a big mega-corporation like McDonald's would be on its best corporate behaviour during the upcoming games. Well, you're wrong. They're busy bullying local chefs at the Four Host First Nations pavilion. It seems that professional…
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21Jan 2010 by R&O No Comments

My Digital Life

Observations, Technology
My life, for better or worse, is digital. For a guy raised on vinyl records, rotary phones and three channel TV, the changes to my life and lifestyle are immense. My music collection is stored on a hard drive and streamed wirelessly to anywhere in my house or played on my iPod Touch which can also control my computers and music system. My movies are stored on another hard drive and played on my wall-mounted flat screen TV from a digital multimedia player. My home phones are wireless and are available in most rooms of the house. My cell phone is connected to my car and tiny bluetooth earpiece allowing me to call anyone, anywhere using only voice commands. My wife chats with her mother in Europe every Sunday morning…
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14Jan 2010 by R&O No Comments

The Israeli Method

Business, Observations, Of Interest, Politics
Air travel security is reaching a level of absurdity and everyone is paying the price except terrorists and upper-tier politicians. We're being subjected to probes, scans, pat-downs, interrogation and intimidation just because we have chosen to travel by air. Every new terrorist incident results in more and more ridiculous rules and procedures at our airports but the sad fact is that it's grossly inefficient and target the innocent passenger rather than the dedicated Jihadist pin-head that make air travel scary and unpredictable. Our governments hire an army of sub-literate, socially inept security personnel who root through our personal belongings, scan our bodies and send us to interrogation rooms if we act remotely suspicious or have the audacity to complain. It's time something was done but who can do it and…
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08Jan 2010 by R&O 6 Comments
Bob Dylan is an ass

Bob Dylan is an ass

Music, Observations
I was reading an article in the November 26 issue of Rolling Stone magazine about the creation of Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the mid to late 80's. It mentioned the museum's original plan to purchase artifacts for display in the museum but after purchasing it's first item (the original lyrics to "Purple Haze" complete with abandoned subtitle "Jesus Saves") for $17,600 the founders realized that trying to fill the museum with such purchases would quickly bankrupt them. They put together a team of music journalists with industry contacts that would scour the world for museum items and request they be donated or loaned for display. Pete Townsend (who was present at the groundbreaking) donated his Gibson J-200 he used to write "Pinball Wizard", Yoko Ono donated…
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