- Billboards have one and only one purpose: Get people’s
attention. They can do it by shocking, amusing or inspiring, but the purpose
never varies. It’s what Dr. Carlos
Castro, owner of Sonria Dental Care/Georgia Prosthodontics in Norcross, Ga.
should not be apologizing. Castro posted a billboard right next to a daycare
called Legacy Academy and the placement of the ad has created a backlash that
led the good doctor to take it down. It shows a before-and-after close-up photo
of a person in need of dental work and what that person's smile looks like
after the work is done. The “before” picture shows a person missing several
teeth in what one might call the definition of the negative stereotype many
people have of people living in the South. Ami Bombardieri, the director of Legacy
Academy, lodged a complaint about the billboard because she claims she has had
many children in tears over the photo. “My biggest concern is that it's not age
appropriate," Bombardieri said, adding that some parents have complained
as well. "They're afraid to go outside on the playground because it
overlooks their playground and these are little toddlers, and it's just not
OK.” Wrong, whiner. So what if terrified children are refusing to go outside to
play or look at the billboard because it scares them? That’s the point. Maybe
if these tots learn early on that taking care of their teeth is important, they
won't eat tons of sugar, forget to brush and end up needing the very sort of
surgery Castro is advertising. Capitulating to the complainers at the daycare
only shows weakness and that send a terrible message to children. Sadly, the
two sides issues a joint statement Thursday and in it, Castro agreed to replace
the billboard with something different within a week. He added that he had “received
notification that the children attending Legacy Academy Berkeley Lake may be
frightened by their billboard” and said he is “extremely concerned about the
health, safety and welfare of children,” so therefore he would swap out the
offensive image for a more PG-rated one. Bad move, doc……..
- Robots are having a strong 2013 so far. Robots who can
turn trash into power and carry large loads for troops in the field have taken
steps toward completion and now, a four-legged
robot known as BigDog has been upgraded so it can not only transport military
supplies over areas too treacherous for conventional vehicles, but boasts an
arm capable of lifting and throwing cinder blocks. Massachusetts-based robotics
firm Boston Dynamics is partnering with he Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency (DARPA) on the
BigDog project. The robot is steered
by a human driver who uses an operator control unit to communicate with the
robot, which can now carry and hurl heavy loads while traversing rough terrain.
A new video shows the robot, while harnessed to the ceiling, using its external
arm to grasp a cinder block while raring back and tossing it over its shoulder
from the arm’s position in the spot where one would typically find the head of
a four-legged animal. The block travels approximately 25-30 feet and with a
typical cinder block weight 20-25 pounds, throwing one is no simple task. It’s
an impressive feat that seems to have little practical connection to a military
robot that’s going to be used for carrying supplies, but science isn't about
the practical. BigDog, so named because it is approximately the same height as a
large dog while being much heavier than one, has been in development since 2005.
The 40-inch tall, 240-pound locomotive robot could also be used in non-military
settings for tasks such as search-and-rescue missions. So far, the project has
been extremely costly with few tangible returns on that investment, although
prototypes are always more expensive than the products they eventually spawn. BigDog
is powered by a water-cooled, two-stroke internal combustion engine capable of
producing approximately 15 horsepower and communicates with its pilot via an
onboard control computer that also records data for performance analysis and
operational support. It has been tested through mud and snow, completed jumps
of more than three feet and carried more than 340 pounds on flat ground…….
- Look at communism, making a comeback in the Czech
Republic. Led by Vaclav Sloup, who trained soldiers who stopped thousands of people
attempting to flee across Czechoslovakia's fortified border to West Germany,
the Czech Communist Party has somehow risen to second place in recent polls.
Anger over corruption and growing poverty has pushed Czechs to seek an
alternative and a party whose ideology has become a fringe entity since
communism’s collapse in 1989 is taking advantage. Statues of Vladimir Lenin may
be long gone and the party may insist it has reformed, but Communist Party lawmakers
still greet one another with "comrade" and advocate controversial
positions such as leaving NATO. The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia
currently holds 20 percent of the vote and Sloup is now the education councilor
in the northern region of Karlovy Vary. He insists his past should not be held
against him. "I carried out my duties when Europe was divided by an Iron
Curtain, and it was in accordance with laws of the time," he said. "I
have nothing to be ashamed of." Maybe Czechs agree with him because communists
have moved past ruling conservative parties to second place in polls and
positioned themselves as a possible coalition partner for the poll-leading,
center-left Social Democrat Party after a 2014 general election. Social
Democrat leader Bohuslav Sobotka has even spoken about the possibility of
forming a minority government backed by communists. Such a regime would require
ending a 1995 ban on government-level cooperation with the communists and the Social
Democrats will debate the issue at a national congress March 15-16. If there is
no agreement to work with the communists, a left-right coalition with little in
common could result and the government could stall out in the same way it did
in 2010. Prime Minister Petr Necas, a center-right politician has deemed the
Communist Party to "unreformable,” but if voters agreed then the party’s
candidates would not have won spots on governing councils in the majority of
the country's 13 regions in regional elections. Ironically enough, the
Communist Party’s fittingly bland and nondescript headquarters sits on
Political Prisoners Street in Prague and with a January survey showing that
just 46 percent of people felt that today's system was better than communism,
maybe the 1980s are about to make a Czech-flavored comeback……..
- Close, but not quite. ABC's "Zero Hour" gave its best
effort, but it was all for naught as it missed out on the coveted title of
worst new series of the television season by a single episode. The conspiracy
thriller has been yanked from the air after three episodes, one more episode
than NBC's "Do No Harm" aired before it was taken out behind the shed
and put down. ABC pulled “Zero Hour” from its schedule Friday, effective
immediately, and announced that "the remaining episodes have not yet been
rescheduled, but are likely to air during the summer.” Sweet, because a show
that averaged barely over 5 million viewers and only a 1.0 rating among adults
18-49 is definitely going to do big ratings when three meaningless episodes are
aired over the summer when the show has been canceled for several months. “Zero
Hour” featured Anthony Edwards in his television return and its bizarre story included
clones, Nazis, monks and clockmakers. That eclectic mix brought in the lowest
numbers ever for an in-season premiere on ABC, although they were still better
than "Do No Harm," which had the lowest-rated in-season premiere for
any drama on any of the major networks and was pulled after two shows. Not only
that, but “Zero Hour” also aired more episodes in its original time slot than
the CW's "Cult,” which aired twice on Tuesdays and was shipped off to
Fridays. To fill the void left by the demise of “Zero Hour,” ABC has scheduled
"Shark Tank" repeats for the next two Thursdays at 8 p.m. before the return
of crap-tacular reality series “Wife Swap” on March 21………
- Arguably the most expensive bong hit ever has taken a
huge bite out of former middleweight titlist Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.’s wallet. Chavez
was suspended for nine months and fined $900,000 by the Nevada State Athletic
Commission on Thursday for failing a drug test following his loss to champion
Sergio Martinez last fall in Las Vegas. His offense was testing positive for
marijuana following his unanimous decision defeat to Martinez on Sept. 15 in
one of the biggest fights of 2012. It was his second offense in Nevada since
2009 and Chavez had his heading before the Nevada commission on Thursday after
his case had been repeatedly put off. He didn’t even attend the meeting, citing
visa issues, and instead appeared by telephone along with Top Rank promoter Bob
Arum and translator Ricardo Jimenez, a Top Rank publicist. Las Vegas attorney
Don Campbell represented Chavez at the hearing and the commission voted 3-2 on
the punishment. The fine represents 30 percent of Chavez’s $3 million purse for
the Martinez fight, a decision the commission reached because it viewed this as
his second drug violation, albeit for a different substance, in the state in
less than four years. His 2009 positive test was Furosemide -- a diuretic
typically used to help cut weight or used as a masking agent for steroids -- in
conjunction with his fight against Troy Rowland. "I'd like to apologize to
everyone in boxing," Chavez told the commission via phone. "I know
this has been a very bad thing for me and my career. A lot of things have been
said about it and my reputation. I respect boxing a lot. I've been in it a long
time. I try to do the best I can and will continue to try to do the best I can
because I love boxing more than ever." Arum decried the size of the fine,
but Nevada commission executive director Keith Kizer said even if Chavez
refuses to pay the fine and never fights in Nevada again, the commission can
still get its money by attaching his purse paid by another commission. It is the
second largest in Nevada combat sports history, behind only the $3 million Mike
Tyson was fined for biting Evander Holyfield's ears in their notorious 1997
heavyweight championship fight. Next time, maybe Chavez can pass on the chron
until after he fights………
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