Another Vegas landmark is gone

First, they demolished the Stardust.

Then that place that sold the 99-cent hot dogs that Brown ate was knocked down.

Now, the Golden Gate Casino in downtown has raised the price of its shrimp cocktail.

Since 1974, the old Golden Gate has promoted its "World Famous 99-cent shrimp cocktail." But on April 26, they raised the price to $1.99. (But if you're a member of the Golden Gate Players Club, you get $1 off.)

What's next? Closing the Peppermill Fireside Lounge?

Enjoy cheap gas prices while you can

In a couple of years, we might be wishing for $4 gas ...

The price of oil is likely to hit 150 dollars (Canadian, US) a barrel by 2010 and soar to 225 dollars a barrel by 2012 as supply becomes increasingly tight, a Canadian bank said Thursday.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080424190433.04dy6kj4&show_article=1

Edit: More gloom from other analysts. They predict $10 gas ...

http://www2.nysun.com/article/75363

I'm telling you, the Amish will rule this country before it's all over.

The joy of living in your hometown

It's great having family around. It really is.

Unless various family members keeping winding up in the headlines for getting arrested for various crimes. Here's the latest ...

http://www.4029tv.com/news/15970713/detail.html

Jen suggested we drop the "F" and become the Aldons. Mark called said the River Valley branch of the family is giving the NWA branch a bad name.

More details here ...

http://www.swtimes.com/articles/2008/04/24/news/news03.txt

Load up the pantry

That's what a Wall Street Journal columnist says we should be doing ...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120881517227532621.html

2008 World Beer Cup Awards

Looking at the results of the "most-prestigious beer brewers competition," I'm convinced they had college kids, homeless drunks and mouthbreathers aplenty as judges.

How else do you explain Old Milwaukee Light, Lone Star Light and Natural Light sweeping the American-style Light Lager category?

Even worse, Steel Reserve (without a doubt the most rancid swill I have ever had the misfortune of tasting) won the American-Style Specialty Lager category. (Sidenote: They still make Ice beers? Who knew!)

Oh well, I guess next time we're drinking cheap beers, we can say they're award-winning brews.

http://www.beertown.org/events/wbc/winners_list/winners_2008.html

Food rationing hits USA

Last night, while Jen watched her chick shows in the living room, I retreated to the guest room to the Internet and the 13-inch TV. That's when I came across a documentary on PBS called "King Corn."

The premise was simple. Two buddies from Yale realized their great-grandparents had both lived in the same small Iowa town and were farmers. The Ivy Leaguers did a little research, decided to move to Iowa and grow an acre of corn. Along the way, they show how screwed up the US food chain is these days.

While Iowans are now getting an average of 200 bushels of corn per acre, it's all unedible corn. They can't pluck an ear, boil it or grill it and eat it. It's all some strain of corn that's only good for being turned into cattle feed or high-fructose corn syrup. They traveled with their corn to a feed lot in Colorado where 100,000 head were kept and force fed corn to fatten them up. They talked to nutritionists, scientists, farmers and ranchers.

They also talked to the former head of the Department of Agriculture, the guy who started the farm subsidy programs. While he was cast as somewhat of a villain (farm subsidies caused the end of family farms and the rise of industrial farms that crank out poor quality foodstuffs) he made a very good point - part of the reason for our affluence over the years has been the cost of food has been kept low. Our grandparents and great-grandparents used to spend about 60 percent of their income on food. The average American now spends only about 12 percent on food. With that extra 48 percent now available, we've bought bigger houses, SUVs, clothes, flat-screen TVs and whatever else.

Then today, I come across this story about food rationing happening in some stores on both coasts ...

http://nysun.com/news/food-rationing-confronts-breadbasket-world

This is your biggest concern? Seriously!?!

I did not watch Wednesday's Democratic debate from Pennsylvania. But I have read quite a bit about the aftermath. The ABC questioners (George Snuffleupaguss ... I mean Stephanopoulos and Charles Gipson) did a horrific job. Their questions seemed to come straight from the Republican National Committee. And they wasted a lot of time on trivial BS.

At one point, they used a video clip of a PA voter. She was upset because Obama doesn't wear an American flag pin on his lapel. Some bloggers recognized the dude's name and found a New York Times story that featured him ...

Asked whom she might vote for in the coming presidential primary election and Nash McCabe, 52, seems almost relieved to be able to unpack the dossier she has been collecting in her head.

It is not about whom she likes, but more a bill of particulars about why she cannot vote for Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.

"How can I vote for a president who won't wear a flag pin?" Mrs. McCabe, a recently unemployed clerk typist, said in a booth at the Valley Dairy luncheonette in this quiet, small city in western Pennsylvania.

Mr. Obama has said patriotism is about ideas, not flag pins.

"I watch him on TV," Mrs. McCabe said. "I keep looking for that lapel pin."

Go back and reread that block. What stands out to you? Yeah, she's unemployed and her biggest concern for the upcoming election is a flag pin.

No, her choice won't be based on the economy. That mortgage mess that might cost $1 trillion to fix, gas at record prices, the dollar at record lows, a recession and possible depression are all meaningless to this dolt. That American flag pin trumps it all.

"Fort Smith" coming to your TV

Seems the producer of "24" is working on a western called "Fort Smith" for AMC TV.

It will follow the local sheriff's deputies who patrol Western Arkansas and Indian Territory in the post-Civil War years. Other than that, details are very sketchy. Here's what Ben Boulden, the paper's best columnist, has discovered ...

Hollywood Takes A Look At Fort Smith

2008 Steelers schedule

(All times Eastern)

Sunday, Sept. 7 vs. Texans 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Sept 14 @ Browns 8:15 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, Sept. 21 @ Eagles 4:15 p.m. (CBS)
Monday, Sept. 29 vs. Ravens 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Sunday, Oct. 5 @ Jaguars 8:15 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, Oct. 12 Bye Week
Sunday, Oct. 19 @ Bengals 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Oct. 26 vs. Giants 4:15 p.m. (FOX)
Monday, Nov. 3 @ Redskins 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Sunday, Nov. 9 vs. Colts 4:15 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Nov. 16 vs. Chargers * 4:15 p.m. (CBS)
Thursday, Nov. 20 vs. Bengals 8:15 p.m. (NFL Network)
Sunday, Nov. 30 @ Patriots * 4:15 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Dec. 7 vs. Cowboys * 4:15 p.m. (FOX)
Sunday, Dec. 14 @ Ravens * 1 p.m .(CBS)
Sunday, Dec. 21 @ Titans * 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Dec. 28 vs. Browns * 1 p.m. (CBS)

(* Times and TV network may change due to flexible scheduling)

$3,400

Got a check from Farm Bureau for the damage to the Jeep.

Luckily, I think the whole thing can be repaired for less than $1,500 (especially with Nash and I doing some of the work). Cha-ching!

Adjuster woke us up this morning at 8:30 a.m. He said we'll need a new roof. Now we'll just have to get in line with a contractor. Hopefully they'll get to us before the end of May.