- Professional athletes waste loads of money on luxury items
they don’t need: a fifth Maybach, a third vacation home in the south of Spain,
a second jacuzzi in their 10,000-square-foot home…and the list goes on.
Compared to those over-the-top symbols of excess, Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson’s
latest use of discretionary income is remarkably responsible and intelligent.
For a 6-foot-10 NBA player, one of the more difficult endeavors in life is
finding a bed big enough to fit his massive frame. Other than getting clothes
that fit, a size-appropriate bed is tougher to find than just about anything
else. Jefferson knows this and it’s why he just threw down a remarkable $23,000
for a custom-made bed more than big enough to get a good night’s rest in. His
bed went viral when new Jazz guard Mo Williams tweeted a photo of Jefferson lounging in it,
his huge frame dwarfed by its massive measurements. The bed could fit most
average-sized families of four, or a 289-pound NBA center. Sure, the price tag
is big, given that a top-of-the-line Tempur-Pedic king-size bed runs over
$9,000 retail. But take a step back, realize that Jefferson is set to make $15
million in salary this season and should get another sizable deal as a free
agent next summer and the purchase doesn’t seem so ridiculous. Rather than
waste $100,000 on another sports or luxury car that he doesn’t need and may
never drive, Jefferson spent a nice chunk of coin on something that will help
him get a better night’s sleep, hopefully be more relaxed and rested and as a
result, possibly be a little healthier. That beats running up a $50,000 bill at
the club with two dozen bottles of Dom Perignon every day………..
- Welcome to Stockton, Calif., where election season
problems meet their solutions. For months now, Americans from coast to coast
have bemoaned the onslaught of unsolicited, unwanted phone calls from pollsters
and campaign volunteers, badgering them about who they’re going to vote for and
which issues they support or oppose. Maybe there is a way to make these
annoyances stop and maybe it can be found on the rough-and-tumble streets of
Stockton. Take a closer look at the San Joaquin – Calavares County Labor Council
and see if an answer doesn’t present itself. The council is having an extremely
difficult time finding volunteers for a simple reason: crime. “I hate to say
this but it’s a lot of the kids being defocused about what they should do
in life…a lot of drug activity here a lot of gang activity here, ” said
phone bank volunteer Stanley Dixon. Dixon and her fellow volunteers have lodged
numerous complaints about the supposedly shady activities going on around their
offices at 115 North Sutter Street and Stockton police confirm the crime
map of the streets surrounding the labor council is indicative of activity
in the area. There have been a few arrests for public drunkenness and one
assault with minor injuries in the last month, but no vehicle thefts and
no sexual assaults. There have been no murders in the blocks around the labor
council even though the city is headed toward a record high for homicides in a
year, but police officers acknowledge the whole city does has a significant
crime problem. Clearly, some of the problem is paranoia and perception on the
part of the council volunteers, but what is important is not the reality of the
crime issue. All that matters is that people are unwilling to come to the labor
council’s offices and volunteers because they are scared. If more communities
could use that fear and drive away would-be phone hasslers from campaign
headquarters and phone banks, perhaps good could be done for millions………
- British rocker and former Libertines frontman Pete Doherty
has been a troubled soul for virtually his entire music career. Embodying the
drugs component of “sex, drugs and rock and roll” more than most, he has
managed to turn his life into one big party in the way that many aspiring young
musicians dream about when they’re first starting out. Rarely, though, do those
dreams include being suspected in the disappearance of a French railway trolley
and its contents of staff uniforms, cold meats and cutlery. Doherty explained the situation
on his blog, writing that he was unable to take the train to go and see Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Friday
night in Toulouse, France, because of the alleged incident. “The train is out
of the question. I am currently in discussion with SNCF regarding my
accountability for a missing trolley-load of staff uniforms (gaberdine wool
mind you), cold meats, cutlery,” Doherty wrote. How a rock star became
entangled with France's national railway company, SNCF, over a missing and
presumed stolen trolley is unclear at this point, but the ever-resourceful rocker
asked fans if any of them could loan him a car so he and his friend could drive
to the gig from Paris, where Doherty currently lives. Maybe he could have gone Craiglist
and offered to swap backstage passes to one of his shows and free CDs in exchange
for a ride to the concert – well, assuming he gets back to playing shows some
time. Last month Doherty
cancelled a run of Scottish shows,
citing "unforeseen circumstances.” A stolen train could definitely
add some street cred to his rep, though……….
- NASA can no longer launch human beings into space due to
budget constraints, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still looking out for the basic
creature comforts of those who venture into the great beyond. Because traveling
into space can lead to motion sickness, the space agency has signed an
agreement with a California-based startup to develop and market a nasal spray
for motion sickness. NASA announced Friday that it will partner with privately
owned Epiomed Therapeutics of Irvine, Calif. on the nasal spray, which has been
proven to be a fast-acting treatment for motion sickness. Nearly half of the
astronauts who fly in space develop space motion sickness, with symptoms very
similar to what Earth-bound travelers on planes or boats also experience:
nausea, vomiting and light-headedness, among others. NASA has been working on
ways to alleviate those ailments among astronauts and believe that the nasal
spray, containing a fast-acting medicine called intranasal scopolamine, or
INSCOP, could do the trick. "NASA and Epiomed will work closely together
on further development of INSCOP to optimize therapeutic efficiency for both
acute and chronic treatment of motion sickness," said NASA researcher
Lakshmi Putcha of the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Although the drug also can
be administered as a tablet, though a transdermal patch or injected, a nasal
spray can work faster and more reliably, NASA explained. Epiomed is also working
with the U.S. Navy to test the nasal spray and will assume responsibility for both
sponsorship of future clinical trials and for Federal Drug Administration
approvals, but if the spray works well it could eventually make a massive
profit on the open market…….
- “Lord of the Rings” dorks in New Zealand, today is an
outstanding day for you. At long last, the legal tender of Middle Earth is also
legal tender in your home country. Yes, Kiwis will soon be able to pay for
their everyday purchases with a special set of coins commemorating the
release of Peter Jackson's “The Hobbit” trilogy. The coins are to be released
Nov. 1 and feature the likenesses of “Hobbit” characters including Bilbo
Baggins, Gandalf and Gollum. Some of the coins have even been minted from pure
silver and pure gold. Obviously, those selling them – New England Post is the
coins’ manufacturer – will charge much more for the small, circular monuments
to movie dork-dom than they are worth when using for purchases. Such is the way
of a free-market economy, sadly. The most expensive coin in the set will cost
more than $3,000, with the cheapest retailing for around $25. However, anyone
using them to buy groceries or petrol will find their real-world value
significantly lower, from 80 cents to $8. New Zealand Post is fired up about
its new cash grab, er, chance to bring a unique collectible experience to fans
of the dork-rific movies. In an official release, the company hailed the coins
as reflecting “New Zealand as the home of Middle Earth, and destined to be collectables
for years to come.” As for the first film in the “Hobbit” trilogy, “An
Unexpected Journey,” it will have its worldwide premiere in Wellington, New Zealand
on Nov. 28. For the occasion, the capital city is being renamed "The
Middle Of Middle Earth" for three weeks. “Unexpected Journey” won't hit
theaters elsewhere in the world until December, but it should do well on
account of the basement-dwelling, socially awkward fan base the franchise has
built and a star-studded cast that includes Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Andy
Serkis, Cate Blanchett, Bret McKenzie and Orlando Bloom.…….
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