I heard this story on Keith Olbermann's Countdown last night, though I also think that Mrs Duck mentioned it and also probably subconsciously saw it on the Consumerist. But, I think you could hear this story over and over again and still say, no fucking way. Apparently, through a loop hole in the Wal-Mart employee health care plan, an injured worker can be sued for the settlement that they receive from the party that injured them. Sued, by the way, by the Company that provides your health care in the first place. Unfortunately, it is legal, since the female former employee received medical expenses from both Wal-Marts health insurance and also from the insurance company of the trucking company that hit her in the first place.
In the end, it is more a story of getting yourself a good attorney, who makes sure he not only gets you money if someone else is at fault for medical expenses, but also for pain and sufferening and injury and all that.
Though, I still say, Wal-Mart is a spawn of the Devil. This poor will be suffering for the rest of her life, through something that is no fault of her own, and the story of the smiley faces and made in china cell phones have to make sure they don't set a bad precedent.
And no we are not talking about Robert Johnson, founder and former owner of B.E.T.
Black Trump is a novel in a series of science fiction/superhero novels created by a group of writers in New Mexico. The entire group would write and individual story and somehow the editor would string these stories together into a cohesive novel.
The fifteenth volume (dubbed "Book III of a New Cycle") in the Wild Cards shared universe fiction series edited by George R. R. Martin. Published in 1995, it is the final book in the "Card Sharks" cycle, with the completion of the Black Trump virus (fatal to anyone with the Wild Card infection) and its release in the world. Unlike the two previous books, Black Trump was a mosaic novel, much like Jokers Wild and Ace in the Hole.
I have noticed over the last few weeks, that my 50 states/50 hotties Mississippi post has been a very popular one. I think it must be because Lacey Chabert is still a popular actress, at least too look at. So, I had a goofy idea to use that power.
So, for every click I get on this post until Midnight, Monday, March 31st, I will make a nickel donation to Habitat for Humanity, which is still doing excellent work down in the ravaged Gulf Coast region. I started out a nickel, since I really do not know how many hits I will get, so if I under estimated, I will increase the amount to make it at least a worthwhile donation.
This has been a good, not great tournament, which makes perfect sense, since this has been a good, not great college basketball season. But, since it is college, it still teaches us things.
1.Don't Mess with Motas or Mrs Duck. My Oregon relative and my lovely wife, while still trailing in San Hiltadelphia, have the best chances to win our little blogging pool competition. Currently, Motas is in 4th place and Mrs Duck is holding down 8th, trailing Songbird, Lady Jane and Anthony. But, they have the most possible points available. Its gonna be a close one.
2.Whoever is doing the seeds was a bit of an idiot. There is no way Butler was a #7 seed. There is absolutely no way Duke was a #2 seed (and yes I am a Dukie and can still say that). If you think Davidson was only worthy of a #10 seed, you need to be committed. Someone needs to tell these conference commissioners there is more to basketball then the BCS conferences.
3.If Xavier can get past West Virginia, they maybe the darkhorses for the Final Four.
4.In the tournament, its all about the guards. You do need some inside play, but if you have a good backcourt, you are great shape. Look at what happened to Connecticut and look who on San Diego really beat them. Look at the run Davidson has been on. Its the backcourt baby.
5.These next two days are the last fun days, the weekend games could be exciting, but they are also times when the clock strikes midnight for Cinderella.
and no, I do not mean campaigning with Kordell Stewart and Michael "Burner" Turner. Of course, this will be seen with a slight slant, since this blog is at least an unofficial Obama blog, but soon, real soon, Hillary has just got to shut up.
No, I do not think she should pack it in yet, there is still a mathematical chance that she can win the Democratic nomination and it is not my job, or the presses job, or her opponents job to tell her when she should quit. Well it is part my job, since I will be voting against her in the Pennsylvania Primary. But, if she wants to keep plugging along about her message and her attributes, keep at it. It isnt my money.
But, Hillary has to start realizing that when you say things over and over again that are a tad outside the historical narrative, like the whole sniper controversy in Bosnia, she has to realize that she is not only hurting herself, but also the party as a whole. Republicans and McCainnites can now say how in the world could Obama not put this woman away when she is making up things. And please, Senator Clinton, when you repeat something over and over again, its not a misstatement due to fatigue and lack of sleep.
I am beginning to worry, as a loyal Democrat, that this whole battle between Clinton and Obama is going to make it hard to focus on McCain, who really should be quite beatable. Of course, since I am a loyal Democrat, it is my job to worry about these things. Its what we do.
Especially when the first 3 participants are so darned young, they were born in 1987. You do get to hear some old songs that you forgot about. I will have to agree with Simon on performance #2, Jason Casto's strumming sounded like something you hear on Septa, especially in comparison.
Way way back in 07, I mentioned the odd case of the boy found at the Christiana Hospital in Delaware and how the boys mother was still missing. Unfortunately, it seems that my original ideas were kind of right, as now Rosario DiGiralamo has been arrested in the apparent murder of Amy Giordano. This is after DiGiralamo had fled to Italy and lived on the run for many months. The Big break in the case may have come over this weekend. In what seemed to be just a throw away story, the news told us how another person had been arrested in the Giordano case for lying to the police. Now, conveniently after that arrest, police divers in Staten Island are finding body parts in a lake there and Digiralamo is under arrest and being held under for 3 million dollars worth of bail.
Deep down, we all knew that this was not going to go well, and the story for Amy's child is even worse, since he will have to live with the actions of his own father.
I am not a fool. I realize that lyrically, Matchbox 20 is not exactly Bruce Springsteen or Paul Simon. There songs are usually pretty light and airy. But when it comes to light and airy, sure can be good at it. And, you always need some filler to get you through the day.
Lets See How Far We've Come
I'm waking up at the start of the end of the world, but its feeling just like every other morning before, Now I wonder what my life is going to mean if it's gone,
The cars are moving like a half a mile an hour if that, and started staring at the passengers who're waving goodbye can you tell me what was ever really special about me all this time?
chorus: But I believe the world is burning to the ground oh well I guess we're gonna find out let's see how far we've come let's see how far we've come Well I, believe, it all, is coming to an end oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend, let's see how far we've come let's see how far we've come
I think it turned ten o'clock but I don't really know then I can't remember caring for an hour or so started crying and I couldn't stop myself I started running but there's no where to run to I sat down on the street, took a look at myself said where you going man you know the world is headed for hell say all goodbyes if you've got someone you can say goodbye to
I believe the world is burning to the ground oh well I guess we're gonna find out let's see how far we've come (right now) let's see how far we've come [How Far We've Come lyrics on http://www.metrolyrics.com]
Well I, believe, it all, is coming to an end oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend, let's see how far we've come let's see how far we've come
Its gone gone baby its all gone there is no one on the corner and there's no one at home well it was cool cool, it was just all cool now it's over for me and it's over for you well its gone gone baby its all gone there's no one on the corner and there's no one at home well it was cool cool, it was just all cool now it's over for me and it's over for you
I believe the world is burning to the ground oh well I guess we're gonna find out let's see how far we've come let's see how far we've come Well I, believe, it all, is coming to an end oh well, i guess, we're gonna pretend, let's see how far we've come, again let's see how far we go let's see how far we've come let's see how far we go let's see how far we've come let's see how far we go let's see how far we've come let's see how far we go let's see how far we've come
On a totally side note, I am hoping for a good day today, because I have had that feeling of doom swimming around in my stomach all day yesterday. I do not do well with tension, but who does?
You are the playing for the number one seed in the West Region, playing your Second Round game in Anaheim and with 5 minutes left, you and your pussy boy Bruins are still trailing the Texas A & M Aggies who no longer have Acie Law. If you need help from the partisan crowd in what is supposed to be a neutral site, as evidenced by you waving your arms around like a wounded sparrow, perhaps everyone including this blogging duck was right when they said your teammated were OVERRATED!
This is the NCAA Tournament, not the Lukoil Classic in Tampa. If you are going to eject a coach, even if it is the coach of a team that I did not choose in any of my brackets, that coach better have called your mother a Marquette loving whore.
Now Trent Johnson, the coach of Stanford is not exactly the coolest head in basketball, but this is not a freaking sock hop.
On the pool front, while I did a very respectable job on day one, day two caused my brackets to explode into a firey heap. You know it is never a good feeling to get absolutely every 13 vs 4 game wrong. Yep, all 4 of them wrong. Nice job Duck.
In San Hiltadelphia, its Tex who is out to a very respectable 240 points after the first round, with Songbird hot on his heels at 230, plus right now she has more possible points. Lady Jane is also at 230, though her hopes are fading a little bit since she had Connecticut in the Final Four, and right now the only Final Four the Huskies are making are the final four trips to the Sundae Bar at Old Country Buffet before it closes.
Things I learned at least after round 1. As always, the SEC is a tad overrated, though I must give props to Mississippi State for defeating my beloved Ducks. Duke is even more overrated then the SEC and I am now kicking myself for not going with Xavier, which I did earlier in the week in a different contest. Michael Beasley & Stephon Curry just raised there NBA stock over the last two days, while OJ Mayo may, just may want to consider another year of seasoning. And no matter how many times they happen, Buzzer Beaters and last second upsets are still alot of fun to watch.
In the San Hiltadelphia group, it is the Desert Songbird out to a very nice start. While the Stanford/Cornell game is not over yet, I can safely predict that she will go 8-0 for the early session, a very nice start. Motas of Portland, Tex and Lady Jane Scarlett are also in fine shape, looking at 7-1, while Mrs Duck will probably go 6-2 since she took Cornell for some reason.
I did not see any of the darn games, though was able to follow most of them on my cell phone when I needed to. It looks like the only games that had any breath were Xavier vs Georgia and Pitt vs Oral Roberts. Georgia just had to be warn out still, after playing through a tornado and also having to play 4 games in 3 days just this past weekend. Oral Roberts got behind way too early and could not scratch and claw there way back fully, submarining one of my Sweet 16 teams.
Be sure to catch the Kansas State/USC game tonight, just because it pits two future NBA stars in freshman Michael Beasley vs freshman OJ Mayo.
Yes, not just one bracket contest, but two of them. With prizes no less.
Contest #1 is an easy one, the Sparky Duck Bracket challenge. Go through the brackets, pick the most winners, or at least get the most points according to ESPN and win. Simple enough. I have created a group over at ESPN.com.
The prize is a traditional Duck family prize. But since I can not ship a case of beer, I will hand out a monetary amount that equals the same, at least in Pennsylvania dollars, which means $23.99 to the winner. There is no fee to enter.
Contest number 2 is called the Lower 48. It is a survival/knockout competition. I have elminated the top 4 teams in each region. To enter, you must pick one of the 48 teams listed below. First come, first serve. The team that makes it the furthest in the tournament wins. If there is a tie, there are tiebreakers. Example: If the last 3 teams all lose in the 3rd round, the team that loses by the least amount of points is the winner. If there is still a tie, the team that lost the highest seed is the winner. Coin flip if necessary as the next tiebreaker. Once a team is picked off the list it is gone, so get your choice in early.
1.Coppin State/Mt St Marys 13.Portland St 25.Belmont 37.Austin Peay 2.Indiana 14.UNLV 26.Arizona 38.St Marys 3.Arkansas 15.Kent St 27.West Va 39.Miami 4.Notre Dame 16.Clemson 28.Georgia 40.Cornell 5.George Mason 17.Villanova 29.Baylor 41.Kentucky 6.Winthrop 18.Siena 30.Purdue 42.Marquette 7.Oklahoma 19.USC 31.San Diego 43.Or Roberts 8.St Joes 20.Kansas St 32.Western Ky 44.Temple 9.Boise State 21.Cal-St Fullerton 33.Drake 45.Mich St 10.Butler 22.Gonzaga 34.Tex A&M 46.Oregon 11.South Alabama 23.Davidson 35.BYU 47.Miss St 12.American 24.UMBC 36.Miss Valley 48.Texas Arlington
The prize for this one is a $10 gift card of the winners choice.
There is no fee to enter either contest, though if you do decide to enter and then do a post over on your own blog to get some of your friends to enter each contest, that would be splendid. You have until 11 AM eastern time on Thursday to enter each contest and this sticky post will stay up until noon on Thursday.
My brain is slowly becoming fried. I have worked 6 out of the 7 days for 2 weeks straight, yesterday it was a 9 to 7 day with a half hour lunch and today I am looking at 9 to 6 with maybe a half hour lunch, if I am lucky. Corporate America is just so grand!
you know that the tri state area is in a heap of trouble.
Last night on the news, it was one of those surreal moments when you have to hit the rewind on the TiVo button. First there was a story about ex NJ Governor McGreevey, who had a source come forward yesterday and say that Mr McGreevey, his wife and himself were involved in multiple threesomes together. Now the source was one of McGreevey's chief of staffs (no pun intended) when he was mayor of Woodbridge, so it may not be the most reputable one, however, getting a look at McGreeveys ex, you could actually see it.
Then, as the news showed the new Governor of New York being sworn in to take over for Spitzer, there was a quick blurb about him mentioning that he and his wife were once swingers. Yes, swingers, or at least engaged in sex with multiple partners while married. The good news was at least that they actually did not pay for it, but that is only small small good news.
What happened to the political state leaders that used to just take bribes, or drive 100 mph down the turnpike without seat belts. Ahh, the good ole days.
We try and go every year, it is one of the big events in Philadelphia. While this years jazz theme was not as good as the Ireland and Fairy themes of the past, it still was fantastic to look at.
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
Yes an old joke, sue me, it still makes me chuckle.
Ahh Elliot Spitzer, Governor of New York and former high powered district attorney, should be lamenting the those in glass houses parable right about now. A man that had one of his feathers as being taking down a couple of New York escort services is now all tangled up in paying for an escort and taking her to Washington DC, which makes it a federal crime. Problematic would be a minor connotation.
There are a few things that strike about this whole fiasco, since truth be told I am an outsider. At least when it came to McGreevey of NJ, he was someone I had met and voted for, Spitzer is just another governor from another state I pay little attention to anymore. 1.Spitzer was done in by the people that he had prosecuted. And I do not mean the drug kingpins, mafia bosses or high class madames. I mean the rich and powerful of Wall Street. He made alot of enemies, rightly or wrongly, in the business world and affected the wallets and pocketbooks of some very powerful people. They were out to get him. The fact that the FBI may have been tipped off by a suspicious activity report or a SARS should not be lost on anyone. That is a banking thing, to try and catch people who maybe laundering money and trying to keep it just under the goverments threshold. If you don't think that for one moment that the bank he had his accounts at was one of the banks hurt by all the regulations in the trading markets that were started by Spitzer, you are underestimating the power of big business. 2.This is also another small hint that Hillary will not be the Democratic nominee, at least in my small humble opinion. Governor Spitzer would have been at least a dark horse when it comes to the position of Attorney General in a Clinton administration. He was one of her Super Delegates and also a fundraiser for her. If the Hill was to be the nominee in the summer, the powers that be that are controlled by a Republican administration would have saved it for the most opportune time. On the eve of the Mississippi primary is not a opportune time, since I could have told you 2 months ago she would have lost the Magnolia State. Yet, it is still a bit fun to watch, like a train wreck. Plus, we get to learn that there are alot of Escort services alot closer than we all thought.
I think I may have figured out, at least a little bit, why Philadelphians are always seen as kind of cranky. The companies they deal with when it comes to there utilities suck goat balls.
Honestly, there is a part of me that should cut Peco a break, there were winds up to 80 miles per hour over the weekend, so a power outage should not have been a shock. The timing could have been better, losing power from 7 to 11 pm is not the best thing when Duke vs North Carolina is on TV and you just spent moolah at the supermarket to cook dinner on an electric stove. Plus, one of the reasons that I do not give Peco that much goodwill is because this is the 4th power outage of the winter and the third that hit right around dinner time. And, there customer service sucks, yet they still make sure to charge you $200 bucks a month just for shitty service.
Comcast is the evil spawn of the cable TV. There new building does look shiny and sparkly, even if it might throw off the skyline of Philadelphia, sticking out like a sore thumb, but it would not surprise me if the indoors was painted in gold the way they charge an arm and a leg for overrated TV. Luckily we are not contributors to the evil spawn, that you DirecTV, but you know things are bad when Verizon actually looks good in comparison.
I can hardly pronouce this one, let alone know it was a word to begin with, but Stheneboea is the cattle queen of greek mythology. I get the strange feeling that being the cattle queen was not the strongest queen in the hierarchy.
Stheneboea or Stheneboia (the "strong cow" or "strong through cattle") was the daughter of Iobates, king in Lycia,[1] and consort of Proetus, joint-king in the Argolid with Acrisius, having his seat at Tiryns; she took a fancy to Bellerophon but was repulsed. As in the myth of Potiphar's wife, she testified falsely against Bellerophon, accusing him of advances and even attempted rape to her husband, who sent him on a deadly mission to Iobates. Bellerophon later returned to Tiryns and punished Stheneboea.
Unfortunately I can not locate a picture of Stheneboea, so I guess that means she did not have the face of a cow, that would have certainly been a sight that needed to saved for history.
I have absoulutely no idea why this song is in my head, besides the fact it was played when I got my haircut the other day, but it is. Though I do like rubies and soho always sounded cool. Lets enjoy a little Rancid</span> together.
It seems that I could be pretty darn close to being spot on when it comes to being a political pundit. Of course, if you listen to enough of the cable news talking head nonsense, your opinion can be pretty well formed for you.
As discussed last week in my fearless political predictions, Obama won Vermont in a walk, Hillary won Rhode Island in almost as close to a walk. I was a bit off when it came to Ohio, since Hillary won by about 10 to 12 points and I myself was thinking more of 6 or 7. Texas was almost right as well, Hillary winning by 4, but when you count in the caucus, by the way, what the hell is Texas doing having a primary and a caucus?, but if you count the caucus, it was more like 2 points and possibly a loss when it comes to delegates for Hillary.
So, all eyes will be on the keystone state, though I will not pull a Clinton and totally ignore the fact that Wyoming and Mississippi will be voting within the next week. But, I can see it now, the commercials in Philly will be for a Clinton, Charmin and then Obama and eventually we will not be able to tell the difference from the 3.
My apologies for being lacking in visiting by the way, the cold has finally slapped itself down on your feathered blogger.
Just by hitting the random button on Wikipedia, you can learn something new and different. To be honest, I have never heard of St Catherine, let alone the MV St Catherine, but I would guess that is the whole idea about learning something new.
The MV St Catherine is a car passenger ferry that runs in England from Portsmouth to the Isle of Wright. It has been in service since 1983 and holds up to 148 cars and 772 passengers.
Yes indeed, its Sparky Duck live via the internets. So put sparky.duck@hotmail.com in your little address book if you have the MSN Messenger/Windows live. If your an AIM fan, look for sparkyducky. And say hello. Just dont send emails there
