Treasury Paper Pay Stubs

The Treasury Department currently mails paper pay stubs to its employees, which will cost $1.5 million in 2011 and will cost $2 million per year after that. By using electronic pay stubs the department will join the 21st century and switch to electronic stubs. Isn't this the same 'green' government that asks us to eliminate paper to save the environment? Reminds me of another axiom, 'penny wise and pound foolish'. This will really help reduce the multi-trillion dollar deficit.

Find Feature

Did you know that most web browsers, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Crazy Browser, etc have a great, but little used feature. It is the "find" feature, usually located under the "view' button on the top of the page next to "file."

Click on "view" then click on "find" or " find on this page" and type in the word or phrase you are looking for. It moves to that part of the web page you are on and highlights the text for you.

This is great when looking for a person's name or other specific word in long web pages and it saves a bunch of extra reading when you are looking for something specific.

Bubble Wrap

Did you know bubble wrap is 50 years old this year? Now you do. Of course we missed bubble wrap appreciation day, which was Jan 25 (started in 2001 in Bloomington, Indiana).  

Here is a site that lets you pop the stuff online. A total waste of time, but you know you want to pop just a few. LINK

Airborne Snake Oil

Airborne (those little packages you see at the end of store aisles), first claimed to prevent colds, then claimed to boost your immune system. People who travel a lot think it is going to prevent them from catching diseases while on planes, trains, etc.

Last year, 2009, Airborne settled a lawsuit in which it agreed to pay over $23 million in fines for false advertising. The suit said there is no factual evidence to back the company claims, and said it is like a placebo. Caveat Emptor!

Fashion

Fashion is something that goes in one year and out the other.

Laurel and Hardy?

I have always been a huge fan of the boys and I didn't didn't make this one up. Laurel and Hardy delivered 50 bags of cocaine to a home in Kingston, Pennsylvania, where police arrested them. Hardy was also found to have ten bags of marijuana in his possession. 31-year-old Carlos Laurel and 39-year-old Andre Hardy were held at the Luzerne County Jail on several felony drug charges. Do you think they understand the irony of their partnership?

Spare Ribs

The term originally came from the German Rippenspeer which literally translates to "spear ribs," as this cut was traditionally roasted on a spit or spear. In English, it became ribspare and eventually sparerib or spare ribs. The name did not come from the Bible, as at least one of you was thinking.

Spareribs are cut from the bottom section of the ribs and breastbone of the pig, just above the belly and include 11 to 13 long bones. Baby back ribs are from the top of the rib area along the back. Spareribs are considered to be more meaty and succulent than pork baby back ribs.

In Western cooking spare ribs are generally cooked on a barbecue or on an open fire, and are served as a slab (bones and all) with a thick barbecue type sauce. St. Louis style ribs are trimmed and have the brisket bone removed, while Kansas City-style ribs are trimmed even further, and have the hard bone removed.

Nice Quotes

Thought you might enjoy some nice quotes.

At home I'm a nice guy; but I don't want the world to know. Humble people, I've found, don't get very far. (Muhammad Ali)

Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one. (Bill Gates)

I've decided to cut out the part of the speech where I say something nice about Democrats. (Ann Coulter)

Nice to be here? At my age it's nice to be anywhere. (George Burns)

Always be nice to people on the way up; because you'll meet the same people on the way down. (Wilson Mizner)

If you live long enough, lots of nice things happen. (George Halas)

Chinese New Year

Like other lunar dates, the Chinese New Year does not fall on the same date each year, although it is always in January or February. In 2010, it is February 14.

The Chinese New Year is an important celebration all over the world including Canada. There are similar New Year celebrations in Japan, Korea and Vietnam known as the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival.

Celebrations today are both literal and symbolic. Spring cleaning is started about a month prior to the Chinese New Year and must be completed before the celebrations begin.