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Thong-Induced Injuries Deserves Class Action Status

Some things are inevitable, you just wonder why it took so long:

As she was attempting to put on a Victoria's Secret thong, a Los Angeles woman claims that a decorative metallic piece flew off the garment and struck her in the eye, causing injuries and a new product liability lawsuit against the underwear giant. Macrida Patterson, 52, alleges that she was hurt last May by a defective "low-rise v-string" from the Victoria's Secret "Sexy Little Thing" line, according to a lawsuit filed last week in Los Angeles Superior Court. A copy of her June 9 complaint, which does not specify monetary damages, can be found below. Patterson's lawyer, Jason Buccat, told TSG that a "design problem" caused the decorative piece to come loose and strike Patterson in the eye, causing damage to her cornea. He added that the eye injury, which caused Patterson to miss a few days of work, will be "affecting her the rest of her life."

Most women I know have been injured by thongs. Besides the physical damage, there's the humiliation of knowing that she's willfully put a clothing garment in her butt crack ostensibly to avoid a lesser disaster: the dreaded panty lines. Men wouldn't wear a bra. Men wouldn't wear high heels. Men wouldn't wear panty hose. And men certainly wouldn't wear thongs. It's a conspiracy to create a perpetual state of discomfort and misery in the fairer sex.

This lawsuit deserves a lot more attention. Women of the world unite! Bring Victoria's Secret down for being the purveyors of a clothing product that has complete disregard for human health and dignity.


Cross-posted at Right Wing News

Are Americans That Stupid?

Rachel Lucas wants to start a new category on her blog possibly called, “Most People Are Too Stupid To Vote But They Do Anyway So We Are All Going To Die.” I already have a category "We're All Gonna Die", but I usually reserve that for the latest bird flu epidemic, global warming or other bout of unhinged hysteria put forth by the elites aimed at enslaving the masses, so it's kinda related.

Rachel is despondent because most Americans are idiots. Yes, well that can give you a lifelong depression, if you think about to much. There is a solution, though, for the screwballs who think things like this:

A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 29% of voters favor nationalizing the oil industry. Just 47% are opposed and 24% are not sure.

Here's my proposal: America should go back to the good old days when only those who own property can vote. If you don't have a vested interest in a piece of property, you just don't have a vested interest.

Also, it would help if a person could read and as some of Rachel's readers suggested, pass a common civics exam. Of course, that would eliminate Obama and his 57 states from voting, too.

Cross-posted at Right Wing News

Pro-Life Pharmacies

It might be legal, but is it right? In answering the question for themselves, some pharmacists have refused to fill prescriptions of birth control pills or morning after pills. I am really torn about this whole thing, actually. While I'm all for people not violating their consciences, I just think there are better ways to deal with this than refusing service. For a pharmacist who doesn't want to fill a morning after pill prescription, why can't he just have his co-worker do it? Why the need to lecture the woman?

This whole issue brings to mind the Muslim taxi drivers refusing to pick up someone who has been drinking, is drinking, or carrying alcohol or others not taking seeing eye dogs. It's legal. If they don't like to pick up all people, even those they disagree with, pick another freaking profession. My sentiments go the same direction about persnickity pharmacists.

However, it seems to me that an Ob/Gyn is well within his or her rights to refuse to perform an abortion. In fact, few people get the specialized training for them, so forcing a doctor to do this procedure could, in fact, be harmful to the woman wanting one.

The free market has a solution--pro-life pharmacies:

When DMC Pharmacy opens this summer on Route 50 in Chantilly, the shelves will be stocked with allergy remedies, pain relievers, antiseptic ointments and almost everything else sold in any drugstore. But anyone who wants condoms, birth control pills or the Plan B emergency contraceptive will be turned away.

That's because the drugstore, located in a typical shopping plaza featuring a Ruby Tuesday, a Papa John's and a Kmart, will be a "pro-life pharmacy" -- meaning, among other things, that it will eschew all contraceptives.

So, pharmacists who work here can work with a free conscience. Hmmmm..... I seem to remember Catholic hospitals being forced to dispense certain drugs and perform certain procedures, including abortions. In fact, a Catholic hospital in Colorado was sued by a "transgender" woman for not allowing the surgery and the hospital eventually relented. That just happened in March. This seems to violate the separation of church and state, but then, the hospital isn't a church, per se. It's a charity.

A pharmacy is a private business so they can do whatever they want, right? Substitute people seeking birth control drugs, for say, HIV drugs. Say the pharmacy decides to not sell cholesterol lowering drugs because fat people aren't "honoring the temple". Really, many medications are needed because of some stupid lifestyle choice. Stopping at the sexual vices seems rather limiting.

What do you think?

Pharmacies should be able to withhold medication they find objectionable:
	Agree
	Disagree
pollcode.com free polls

What Is Wrong With Steve Jobs?

I have no information about anything, but if I didn't know better, I'd say Steve Jobs has cancer. He looks absolutely terrible. He's dropped a serious amount of weight.

Does Apple have their succession planning lined up? It's been a problem for them, since Jobs returned. Who will steer the Apple ship sans Jobs? No one knows. Anyway, it was so alarming, I just had to note it.

By the way, I'm so excited about the new iPhone. I want one! Of course, I have the old iPhone which works perfectly well. Just greedy.

Airline Fat Fees

Watch out obese, corpulent, fatties, your airplane tickets are going to be more expensive. Yes, everyone is going to be paying more, but fat people, they are going be paying bigger prices to go with their bigger bodies. Well, this all might happen. Or, people might be weighed with their luggage and pay a collective price.

As if the whole process of boarding a stinky, germ-infested airborne cattle car isn't degrading enough, you'll be weighed like, well, a cow. And if you're fat, like a fat cow. Now here is what I'm picturing: You schlep to the airport two hours early, you drag your luggage, you go to check in with the irritated masses, you finally get to the check-in counter. The attendant sizes your rotund body up, sizes your bulging luggage up and says: Miss, please get your lard ass on the scale with your luggage. That will be $75 extra--$2 for every extra pound over the limit.

After that humiliation, you take your paunchy rear to the security line. Barely making eye-contact, the security officer with the GED and surly attitude thinks you're shady and says, "Miss, please stand your blond haired, blue-eyed body in front of the scanner, we are going to look at your person and check for parts of bomb-making material and we'd really like to X-ray you. Stand right here. Thank you. Hey Squid, come take a look at these....ju..., I mean bottles." After being searched, partially disrobed and man-handled, you'll be free to get on the plane where you will be wedged into your narrow middle seat in complete physical and psychological pain.

What's your opinion?

Should airlines charge by passenger weight?
	Yes
	Yes, but only if luggage is weighed with them
	No
pollcode.com free polls

Houston, We Have A Gas Problem

No, I'm not talking about the toilet that is still malfunctioning on the space station (horrors! it's been over a week). Wait, it was fixed yesterday. I'm talking about Continental cutting 3,000 jobs because of jet fuel costs. This will have a profound effect here in my community.

I don't see how fuel costs can't adversely affect the economy over the next few months. It affects the costs of everything.

The Abortion Business: I Want The Choice To Not Be An Investor

Abortion is a business. It is a big business. Huge. Michelle Malkin reports:

In April, the annual report of Planned Parenthood Federation of America revealed that the abortion giant had a total income of $1.02 billion—with reported profits of nearly $115 million. Taxpayers kick in more than $336 million worth of government grants and contracts at both the state and federal levels. That’s a third of Planned Parenthood’s budget.

And what market-distorting results do we get for those government incentives? 289,650 abortions in 2006.

This industry trades on other's misfortune and stupidity. The industry also violates the medical principle of "first, do no harm". Harming one living organism for the convenience of another strikes some as morally wrong, but the fact is, abortion is legal. Legal doesn't mean right.

Still, what's really galling is that people who believe it is morally wrong are forced to support the procedures. Where is my choice as a tax payer? Since feminists are all about choice, I'd like to exercise mine and not have my money subsidize what I consider a repugnant medical procedure.

If another doctor wants to sell killing and make money at it, so long as it's legal, that's his choice. As long as a consumer wants to buy the killing to escape her irresponsibility and it's legal, that's her choice. I want to exert my choice as a taxpayer and not be forced to support their disgusting commerce.

Cross-posted at Right Wing News

Goin' Shoppin' But Not At Kroger

When I'm not living the glamorous blogging life, I'm doing things that Hollywood stars do--like grocery shopping. Remember in December of 2005, holy mother of peanut butter I cannot believe that I've been blogging for that long (what the hell is wrong with me?) when Kroger lost me as a customer? The straw was a smile, or rather the lack of one, but it was hardly the only thing.

Yes, I'm still an H.E.B. Central Market shopper. It's been two and half years now. Produce. Good. Meat. Good. Prices. Slit-my-throat-you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me-bad. But it's my own damn fault. I spend money on organic strawberries and indulge in unnecessary items like European, high-density butter.

Kim duToit talks about his Kroger experience. He's a former grocery store consultant. His advice is good, but it makes sense, so I doubt anyone will listen. How is Kroger still in business?

Kim links to James Lileks who's peeved with Chairman Bob. A thought occurs to me: One of the first rules of marketing is that if you're ugly, don't use your image. There is a corollary: If you're boring or borderline scary, don't use your image either. In the case Lileks highlights, the picture serves no useful purpose except maybe to make Chairman Bob's mother proud. Otherwise, why are we looking at this dude's mug?

Getting Out Of Public Restrooms Clean Gets Easier--UPDATED

Longtime readers know of my germ phobic nature. I'm not totally anal, but after having a kid spend four months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, public germs freak me out. That's in contrast to private germs--the germs in our homes, our beds, bathrooms and kitchens--that our bodies have acclimated to and are used to fighting and help build our immune systems. Yes, I do believe in hand washing at home. And yes, dirty kitchens and bathrooms at home skive me out. But a hermetically sealed bubble boy life doesn't interest me.

That's in contrast to my love of fastidious, obsessive cleanliness in public places. I want restaurant kitchens, public bathrooms, etc. to be perfectly clean, because no matter how hard they try to keep it clean, there are still going to be germs. I try to not think about it. And one of my pet peeves is public bathroom design where a person can't get out of the bathroom without touching some germ-infested surface.

Yesterday, I received an email from the owner of a business that solves the problem of getting out of public bathrooms clean. Check it out:


No, I'm not getting paid to advertise this gizmo, although I told the owner that it would be nice. Actually, I just think it's high times something like this came along. So, if you own a business, buy these things. They look easy enough to install. I actually used one at a local restaurant the other day. What a thrilling experience to get out of the bathroom without having to touch anything. It doesn't take much.

Cross-posted at Right Wing News

UPDATED: Hey, this might not be world changing stuff, but a healthier world matters to me!

Texas Tort Reform

Good for doctors and consumers, bad for lawyers. And Texas has more Fortune 500 companies now than California or New York. Come on down, ya'll!

Shameless Plug and Organic Stuff

Just a quick note, here. Have you noticed that I have an advertiser right now? That big block with natural skin care products is paying me actual money to advertise here. How cool is that?

A reader asked if I had used their products. The answer is no, I have not. That being said, I will talk about buying organic, natural products for a minute. This is something that I try to do anyway--but organic. Even my dog gets organic food even and he deserves a swift kick in the ribs not the super excellent dog food. I'm still irritated over his apparent passive-aggression. This morning, the cute fluffy white cotton ball of a dog jumped up on our bed and peed in the middle of it. Not a little spot mind you. Oh no! He emptied his pint-sized bladder on the white comforter cover. And yes, he'd been let out already. And yes, he's now generally potty-trained. It was purposeful.

For those who believe that dogs and cats don't have free will, I'm here to tell you, you're wrong. My friend's big, fat, irritating cat pees and poops on her pillow whenever he's mad at her for not giving him enough attention. If she goes out of town, the pillow gets it. For some reason, she thinks it's funny. I, on the other hand, do not find any sort of pet excrement on my bed amusing.

So even this rage inducing canine gets organic food and I'm here to tell you he doesn't deserve it. But my kids do. Now, I'm not super mega anal about the organic thing, but I try, as much as possible to buy organic food. Certain things seem to make a huge difference when they're organic, taste wise. Chicken is the most dramatic. I don't know, nor do I want to know, what happens to regular chickens, but the difference with organic chicken is so obvious it's a tad disturbing. Other things like fruits and veggies make a difference when fresh and organic. There is even an organic vodka I like called Rain. Good stuff. Great packaging.

Anyway, I do think it is valuable, when at all possible, to buy organic. It is just one more way to minimize your intake of antibiotics and if the animals and ground are treated better, that's a bonus, too.

So, take a look at NaturOli's products and buy some, too! You'll be supporting me and you'll also be buying some products that are natural and plant based. They look really good. Also, if you would like to advertise here, let me know. You guys know you're smart and there's more of you reading this than I ever imagined would care about what I have to say, which actually calls into question the first assertion. Nah, I stick by it. You're smart.

"I Hate Secretaries Day"

I think this sentiment speaks for lots of people--bosses and secretaries:

Perhaps my impatience with Secretaries Day springs from job dissatisfaction, as an executive assistant at a New York-based magazine suggested when we mused about why the holiday creates bitterness. True—in my mind, I should be the boss. And I resent being reminded of my slow progress up the chain of command every year.* Those of us who yearn to be professionals, not administrative professionals, tend to bristle at the idea that we're just boosters for the big boys and girls. (Don't get me started on the perversity of National Boss Day, Oct. 16.)

Just a heads up, bosses. Administrative Professionals Day is like any other Hallmark created moment. You might be tempted to ignore it, but I wouldn't suggest it.

Your Boring Job Is Shrinking Your Brain

Now there is proof of what you feared all along: that your boring job is killing you--or maybe other people--one brain function at a time:

Monotonous duties switch our brain to "rest mode", whether we like it or not, the researchers report in Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences.

They found mistakes can be predicted up to 30 seconds before we make them, by patterns in our brain activity.

Scientists are working on a device that would amplify the brain sound of a mistake about to be made, but I think an old fashioned system works best. Rewards for few mistakes, punishments for when they happen.

Stupid Professor Suing Note Service

When I was in chiropractic college, I ran a note service. I paid students to take and type notes, published them weekly and students bought them. It was fantastic for everyone, although it was a lot of work and profit margins were tight. Well, now some nutty professor is suing the note service company for copyright infringement. Glenn Reynolds calls it the "DUMBEST COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT CLAIM YET". No kidding.

I never understood why profs hated note service. Most of them were disorganized wrecks and the notes helped students. Some barely spoke English and the note service gave the students a fighting chance to understand the concept. I'm still shocked I passed Biochemistry. I didn't understand one word my professor said. Thank God for Daryl Luplow who was a genius and managed to translate his genius into language the rest of us could understand in his clearly written notes. We all passed because of him. The professor did nothing to forward learning.

Probably, the professors don't want to be known as being so predictable that someone can take notes one year and ten years later still use the same notes. It makes everyone question what it is, exactly, they're doing. My histology prof used 20 year old notes. Granted, histology won't be changing any time soon, so why would the notes change?

How to Serve: Tips for Being A Good Waitress

Cassy Fiano balances her views on being a good patron by giving tips to waiters and waitresses. Please forward her articles to anyone in the industry. Dang. It needs help. And I blame the training programs at the restaurants.

Feng Shui At McDonalds

I actually think Feng Shui makes lots of sense and have incorporated some ideas into my own home and life. If McDonalds finds that using the five elements balances the profit column, I don't think anything else will matter to them.

Green Energy Will Be Driven By Green Money

For those who want to change the world into a better place, do it with dollars. The world will become environmentally friendly when there's money in it. For example:

The wind turbines that recently went up on Louis Brooks’s ranch are twice as high as the Statue of Liberty, with blades that span as wide as the wingspan of a jumbo jet. More important from his point of view, he is paid $500 a month apiece to permit 78 of them on his land, with 76 more on the way.

“That’s just money you’re hearing,” he said as they hummed in a brisk breeze recently.

Texas, once the oil capital of North America, is rapidly turning into the capital of wind power. After breakneck growth the last three years, Texas has reached the point that more than 3 percent of its electricity, enough to supply power to one million homes, comes from wind turbines.

Texans are even turning tapped-out oil fields into wind farms, and no less an oilman than Boone Pickens is getting into alternative energy.

“I have the same feelings about wind,” Mr. Pickens said in an interview, “as I had about the best oil field I ever found.” He is planning to build the biggest wind farm in the world, a $10 billion behemoth that could power a small city by itself.

And money, more than insipid moralizing, will drive green energy. And that's the best way. The American Way.

"Disque-Wad" Condescension

My experience at the Apple Store with smarty-pants technicians has been 100% positive. In fact, they are all so sweet and helpful, I'd like to have a permanent tech just at my beck and call, but then there would be no joy in visiting the Apple Store. James Lileks is only 99% satisfied:

Well, no, but when I got the video card from Skinny McLatte at the computer store, he told me to be careful putting the card in, and noted that my cotton sweater might build up a charge. Especially if I had carpet. I'm not quick to pick up condescention, but this fellow oozed it. Yes, that's me, Mr. N00b; here I am replacing a video card, which I've managed to extract from the machine all by myself instead of lugging it all to the shop and saying IT BROKE YOU FIX, and you're going to treat me like someone who pets the cat for five minutes before he touches the motherboard. Criminey. My experience with Apple Store employees is 99% positive, but this guy chapped my arse straight away. The good ones listen to what you say and detect actual small nodules of useful information; the few arrogant dique-wads can't be bothered to hear your diagnosis, because you cannot possibly know what's going wrong.

Well, we've all experienced this sort of thing and it is indeed, irritating.

How to Present Failure

The latest Dyson commercial was airing and he was saying that he had over 5,000 failures. But he made one great success. There are good ways to present failures before they become successes.