Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Oklahoma, Arkansas setting cell-phone trend

Estimates by the CDC on the number of households that have just cell phones, no land lines.

Oklahoma: 26.2 percent of households, 25.1 percent of adults

Utah: 25.5 percent of households, 23.9 percent of adults

Nebraska: 23.2 percent of households, 22.4 percent of adults

Arkansas: 22.6 percent of households, 21.2 percent of adults

Iowa: 22.2 percent of households, 18.9 percent of adults

Idaho: 22.1 percent of households, 21.3 percent of adults

Kentucky: 21.4 percent of households, 21.6 percent of adults

New Mexico: 21.1 percent of households, 20.5 percent of adults

Texas: 20.9 percent of households, 19.5 percent of adults

South Carolina: 20.6 percent of households, 19.2 percent of adults

Tennessee: 20.3 percent of households, 20.8 percent of adults

District of Columbia: 20.0 percent of households, 25.4 percent of adults

Mississippi: 19.1 percent of households, 20.3 percent of adults

Arizona: 18.9 percent of households, 17.1 percent of adults

Oregon: 17.7 percent of households, 18.1 percent of adults

Minnesota: 17.4 percent of households, 16.5 percent of adults

North Dakota: 16.9 percent of households, 18.1 percent of adults

Florida: 16.8 percent of households, 15.5 percent of adults

Kansas: 16.8 percent of households, 15.2 percent of adults

Colorado: 16.7 percent of households, 15.2 percent of adults

Georgia: 16.5 percent of households, 15.0 percent of adults

Illinois: 16.5 percent of households, 15.2 percent of adults

Michigan: 16.3 percent of households, 15.3 percent of adults

North Carolina: 16.3 percent of households, 14.8 percent of adults

Washington: 16.3 percent of households, 15.6 percent of adults

Wisconsin: 15.2 percent of households, 13.6 percent of adults

Louisiana: 15.0 percent of households, 13.8 percent of adults

Ohio: 14.0 percent of households, 13.1 percent of adults

Alabama: 13.9 percent of households, 12.2 percent of adults

Indiana: 13.8 percent of households, 13.0 percent of adults

Maine: 13.4 percent of households, 12.0 percent of adults

Alaska: 11.7 percent of households, 13.3 percent of adults

New Hampshire: 11.6 percent of households, 8.9 percent of adults

West Virginia: 11.6 percent of households, 10.6 percent of adults

New York: 11.4 percent of households, 10.6 percent of adults

Wyoming: 11.4 percent of households, 13.0 percent of adults

Maryland: 10.8 percent of households, 9.8 percent of adults

Nevada: 10.8 percent of households, 10.1 percent of adults

Pennsylvania: 10.8 percent of households, 9.2 percent of adults

Virginia: 10.8 percent of households, 10.0 percent of adults

Missouri: 9.9 percent of households, 8.4 percent of adults

Massachusetts: 9.3 percent of households, 8.4 percent of adults

Montana: 9.2 percent of households, 5.4 percent of adults

California: 9.0 percent of households, 8.4 percent of adults

Hawaii: 8.0 percent of households, 8.2 percent of adults

New Jersey: 8.0 percent of households, 6.1 percent of adults

Rhode Island: 7.9 percent of households, 5.3 percent of adults

South Dakota: 6.4 percent of households, 6.8 percent of adults

Delaware: 5.7 percent of households, 4.0 percent of adults

Connecticut: 5.6 percent of households, 4.8 percent of adults

Vermont: 5.1 percent of households, 4.6 percent of adults


Now I'm guessing some of that is due to the rural nature of the states at the top of the list. After all, why ask AT&T or whoever to string telephone lines to your house when you can get a cell signal? But I'm still a little shocked by just how many Okies and Arkansans are doing without a home phone.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Two sad stories about bars

I love bars. Don't get to go to them these days, thanks to the baby, and I miss it. It's not the drinking because you can do that at home much cheaper. It's the social atmosphere. It's the laughter. It's the people watching. It's the "Holy crap, I've not heard that song in forever" when the jukebox plays.

That's why the next two links make me a little sad.

At Boston's Bull & Finch, aka Cheers, Eddie Doyle was downsized by the owner. SK, I expect a full newsteam investigation into this travesty ...

After 35 years, a legendary Boston bartender is fired

And in the NY Times, there's a story about traditional Irish pubs dying, even in Ireland. And by traditional Irish pubs, I don't mean the TGIF-ified chain pubs here in America ...

In Search of a Pub

Update: Found another bar story on the NYT Web site. This one is about bars in NYC that don't have TVs.

The Few, the Proud: Pubs That Still Resist the Pull of the Television Screen

Monday, March 9, 2009

Matt Jones to jail

Seems the former Razorback had a few beers while playing golf last Thursday. No big deal, right? I mean, the boys and I have done the same thing several times. Of course, we never did it while being in a Drug Court Program after being caught with cocaine.

So Jones will go to jail for a week.

Jones to jail

Friday, March 6, 2009

The cutting edge of fashion



A baby as an accessory!

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Jon Stewart on Rick Santelli's rant

I'm sure you've seen Santelli's CNBC rant about the buyouts and stimulus packages. Here's Jon Stewart's response ...

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

This sums it up

We Are Everywhere

You know Obama was at a Wizards NBA game the other day, right? Did you notice the people sitting behind him?



Yep, more Steelers fans.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

The importance of newspapers

David Simon, creator of "The Wire" wrote an op-ed piece for the Washington Post about how the Baltimore PD is playing fast-and-loose with FOIA laws now that the Baltimore Sun isn't working the crime beat.

No One Left to Press the Police

The New Republic says the end of newspapers means a new era of public corruption ...

End of Golden Age of Newspapers

Closer to home, I wonder what our local officials are getting away with now that our newsroom has shrunk to a bare-bones level. And I wonder what abuses will go unreported when the next round of cuts happen.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Time

Another thing nobody tells you about having a baby is how little time you'll have.

Now, I know what you're thinking — It should be obvious to anybody that you'll have little to no free time when dealing with an infant.

I knew that. I realized the days of watching uninterrupted TV were over. I realized wandering through hardware or book stores was coming to an end. I knew spontaneous long drives around town on the weekend were kaput.

I'm talking about not having time to do the simplest of things. Like showering, using the bathroom or even flipping through a magazine.

I thought of this because Jen messaged me today with the triumphant news that she's showered. For the past 10 weeks, she's only done that when I've been home to watch Paige. But, somehow, she managed to do it today.

So kudos to Jen, for showering before I get home today. I don't know if I could have pulled off that feat.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Obama is cooler than you



Hey, kid, the POTUS is sipping a frosty cold adult beverage next to you in some high-dollar NBA seats. Show a little respect!