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Smoking or gays?

“WASHINGTON (CNN) -- You've seen the iconic picture of a soldier with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, but that could soon be a thing of the past.

A new study commissioned by the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs recommends a complete ban on tobacco, which would end tobacco sales on military bases and prohibit smoking by anyone in uniform, not even combat troops in the thick of battle.

According to the study, tobacco use impairs military readiness in the short term. Over the long term, it can cause serious health problems, including lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. The study also says smokeless tobacco use can lead to oral and pancreatic cancer.

The Defense Department's top health officials are studying the report's suggestions and will make recommendations to the Pentagon's policy team and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

The study recommends phasing out tobacco products such as cigarettes and cigars over a five- to 10-year period…”

    The CNN story goes on to say that many in the military object to a ban on smoking.  

    The military is so upset with the idea of gays in the military, and we know that about 10% of the military is gay, I think we should offer a deal …It could be you can smoke if you agree to gays in the military.  Smile
   

KFC Free Chicken NOT

 

My son just just got back from KFC.  It seems that Oprah Winfrey had a coupon on her web site for two pieces of grilled chicken, two sides and a biscuit for free.  The free chicken deal is good for two weeks with the coupon.
  So my son was in the drive-thru and the KFC girl said they no longer honor the coupon.  When my son got to the window he said why are you not honoring the coupon?  She held up a large number of coupons and said we got all this paper and we are losing money.  She said they stopped taking the coupons about 30 minutes ago.
  My son paid the $6.00 for the chicken.  When he got home he said “I hope it is not good.”  But he said later it was good.

  OK I do not have an MBA or any degree.  Hell, I had to go to summer school four years just to get out of high school.
  You should not run a promotion like this for two weeks.  Hell, I do not think for two days.  The coupon should be on the KFC site and not on the Oprah site.  Then you need to make sure that all the KFC places are going to honor the coupons.  
   I suspect this is not going to work out so well for KFC.  You know of course what they will do?  Yes, give out coupons to make up for it.  Of course this time it should be coupons you get at the KFC and not let people download a coupon and make a thousand copies of it.

Crock Pot

  No, when I say crock pot I am not talking about some Republican in Washington.  I been wanting a crock pot for cooking.  I love chili.  I used to make it a great deal but have not been making any recently for some reason.
  Ken gave me a crock pot for my birthday today.  It has a big removable stoneware pot.  It has a small cookbook with it.  It looks like all the recipes call for a lot of items.  That may keep me busy trying to make sure I have everything.  Smile
  If you have any recommended crock pot recipes send them to me and I will try them out and post them on Howard’s Notebook. 

  I have not made it to the fair yet.  I was going to leave at 2 PM.  Now I am telling myself I will leave at 4 PM. 

Stimulus: How it may affect your wallet

  CNN Money again has a good article on how the new economic recovery plan will affect you. 
  I said the other day that the Work Pay Credit ($400 credit to each worker) I do not feel is going to have any effect.  Each worker is going to get about $15 extra each pay period.  Ken makes more than $75K a year so he will not even get the full credit and even if he got the full credit when you make over $75K a year your not going to notice an extra $15.00 on your pay check.  I think that part of the bill, which cost $116 billion, is money down the drain.
  The One-Time Payments for those who do not work, like me, is a one time $250.00 payment.  I think it will have some effect because when you get a sum like that you go out and you spend it on things that have an effect.  But is it worth $14.2 billion?

  The College Credit and Pell Grants and things for college are not going to help my grandson.  His mother is in Sweden and has not filled out paper work he needs.  His step-father does not want to release any information about and Russell is having to pay for school using credit cards.
  The Unemployment Benefits will help Russell.

  We should not look at the economic recovery bill as what is in it for me. We have to hope that it will fix things and turn things around.
 
  One thing that is a surprise to me in the bill is the Food Stamp Payments part of the bill.  It will increase food stamp payments by 13.6%.  The CNN story says that a family of four getting food stamps gets $588.00 per month currently.  I had no idea they got so much in food stamps.  That is a lot of money.  
  I could feed a family of four very well with $600.00 a month of food.

Where the locals eat

  I did not get the videos made.  I was sleeping all day.  I am not sure why I was so tired today.

  You know I have a number of blogs set up.  It is rare that I post to the others.  I can not think of a name for them or a reason for them.  I will get on the Internet and I find some great blogs with great ideas.

   I found Where the Locals Eat (A Guide to the Best Restaurants in America).  I do not have a car and do not get out much here in Miami so I put in Kansas City, MO and did a search. It looked correct to me.  Pretty neat site and with the iPhone and other devices like that it is great.  Just think your out someplace and you have GPS on your cell phone and you pull up a site like that and it will tell you the best eating places near you.  God, I love this time and the Internet.

   I just put in our address and said find a restaurant near me and it picked Shorty’s Bar-B-Q.  So this site does a good job.
  One thing I did notice is that the pages load slow on it.  I am not sure if that is due to the search or if they do not have enough band width.
   
  I got a site:  www.hnbdo.com and I love the software and the look of it.  I just got to come up with a name and an idea.  I guess I should have the idea first.  Smile

  I am not an idea man.  I can organize and correct problems.  I am a great supervisor for some reason.  I am not an idea person. 
  Sort of sad.  When I was born I guess I was standing behind the door or something as God was handing out the gifts of life.  He did not give me good looks, he did not make me smart, he did not give me big dick… I should have got something from the big guy.

What happened to the Acorns?

  The Washington Post has a story "Acorn Watchers Wonder What Happened to Crop."  A few years ago I would not have paid any attention to this story.  I remember hearing about missing bees and I did not believe that story and it turned out to be true and a big story.  So now I am wondering if this story about starving, skinny and crazy squirrels might be true.
  It seems naturalists and just common folks are finding that the acorns are missing.  There is no crop this year.   
  If you live in an area with acorns take a look around and tell us if they are missing this year.

Watermelon has Viagra-life effects?

   I think I will go on the watermelon diet.  Smile
  LUBBOCK, Texas - “A slice of cool, fresh watermelon is a juicy way to top off a Fourth of July cookout and one that researchers say has effects similar to Viagra — but don't necessarily expect it to keep the fireworks all night long.

Watermelons contain an ingredient called citrulline that can trigger production of a compound that helps relax the body's blood vessels, similar to what happens when a man takes Viagra, said scientists in Texas, one of the nation's top producers of the seedless variety.

Found in the flesh and rind of watermelons, citrulline reacts with the body's enzymes when consumed in large quantities and is changed into arginine, an amino acid that benefits the heart and the circulatory and immune systems…”

  I looked on the Internet and right now it looks like the price of watermelon is around 40 cents a pound.  The cost for a watermelon is around $4 to $6 right now.  After this news story about the Viagra type effect the price may go UP.

New look for Howard’s Notebook

  I made a change to the look of Howard’s Notebook.  I make them all the time.  I need help.  I can not stop myself.  Smile
  I like dark colors as many of you know.  Is it because deep down I am a dark person?  I like warm earth tones.
  I am not crazy about the masthead with the new TypePad theme that I am using.  If you want to fire up PhotoShop or Paint Shop and make me a masthead feel free.  My email address is:  jhoward@hnbbs.net
  I like the look and feel of this new theme.  I am posting this on June 20th of 2008 and I may have a different theme by the time you read this post.

  Jimmy, my son in CA, was expecting $1200.00 in rebates from the IRS.  He only got $600.00 from the IRS. If you file a joint tax return with your wife you do not get $1200.00 you only get $600.00 because you filed a joint return.  This was news to me and for my son and his wife.
  My ex-wife, in Texas, has not got her tax refund yet.  She must be one of the very last to get the refund.  I think she will get $300 and she is going to be so happy if she gets the money.  She is very poor and that is going to be a lot of money to her.  She just got on food stamps a few months ago. 

  Russell, my grandson, is still in pain.  He spent 9 hours in the ER last Sunday with abdominal pains.  He had right lower quadrant pain.  He still has pain.  They did a Cat Scan on him. 
  My fear was that he had appendicitis.  The appendix looked OK on the scan.
  The ER doctor said the scan showed fluid in the abdominal area.  He did not know what the fluid was or where it came from.  He said Russell needed a doctor to work with him and that Russell may need a GI doctor and a full work up. 
  I am worrying about Russell.  A 19 year old should not be having this sort of problem.

Bakery

  People all over the world read this blog.  What is a bakery?  jhoward@hnbbs.net
  I was born, in 1941, in Missouri and a bakery is a place that sells pastries and bread.  When I think of a bakery I think of donuts. 
  When I was in grade school and was about 12 or 13 I went to St. Vincent's Catholic school.  My last year at St. Vincent's was 1955.  I just wanted to give you an idea of the time and place.
  You had to eat lunch at school or walk home and eat at home.  I walked across the street to a drug store and had a hot dog and a malt each day for lunch.  One day I saw the school principal with her robe flying and her rosary swinging coming for me at the drug store.  She came in and pulled me off the stool, by the ear, and marched me over to the church.  She told Father Oscar Huber that I was eating not at the school or home but at the drug store.
  (A few years later Father Oscar Huber would give the Last Rites to President John F. Kennedy in Dallas and then go out side and tell the world that John Kennedy was dead.)
  I could not eat at the drug store any more.
  I would say I was going home to eat and would walk a few blocks to a bakery.  I had the same thing each day.  I would have root beer, out of a ice cold glass bottle, and donuts.  That is going to be my "rosebud" and my heaven.  When I die I may end up young and in a clean bakery drinking root beer, out of a glass bottle, and eating donuts.  "Rosebud!" 

  Now I am in Miami.  I walked to a bakery a few blocks from here.  I was the first customer.  I looked and I saw no donuts.  I am thinking no problem she just did not bring them out from the back yet.  I asked about donuts and she told me that they do not sell donuts.
  How can you be a bakery in the United States and not sell donuts?  I wonder if I should contact Homeland Security.
  I got some of the stuff she was selling.  It came to almost $9.00 and I am not sure what the heck I got.  The sign says they sell; Comidas Chilenas, Paila Marina, Humitas, Mote con Huesillo, Empanadas de Pino, Sandwich Chilenos, Paella, Lasagna, Pastelitos Cubanos and Dulces Chilenos y Cubanos.
  I wonder if I am the last "American" to leave Miami should I leave the American flag or should I take it down and bring it with me?

 

The Barbecue Hall of Fame and Museum

  A guy named George Vesel, in Kansas City, has been trying for years to get a Barbecue Hall of Fame and Museum.  He is trying to get money from the National Endowment for the Humanities.  No one seems interested in the idea.