Nursing in the United States

Here's a great "graphic post" on nursing from NursingSchool.org, put together by Jess at WallStats.com.

Image provided by Nursing School.org

Camping

The Google Timeline

This is a neat visual timeline of Google:

A View of Downtown Houston

The sun came out earlier today.  (The photo below was taken from the
29th floor of a building in Greenway Plaza, facing South East, 132 degrees. 
Downtown is visible as the cluster of buildings in the center of the
photo).

3 Starbucks, 1 Corner

At the corner of West Gray and Shepherd there have been two Starbucks on opposite corners for years. A new Barnes & Noble bookstore has been built where the 1930's art deco building once stood on the North East corner. Even though there is a Starbucks on that corner with a drive through, a new Starbucks has opened in the Barnes & Noble store.


The Houston Chronicle has a brief article on the 3 Starbucks at one intersection phenomenon, as well as a video: Comedian gives two cents on Starbucks corner.

Manly Recipes

Over at the Art of Manliness blog there's an entry on "Cowboys Recipes That’ll Put Hair on Your Chest".  My favorite of the bunch is "Sonofabitch Stew":

This was a favorite beef stew dish among cowboys of the America West. It was also known as rascal stew or by the name of some unpopular figure of the time. For example, some cowboys called it Cleveland Stew in (dis)honor of President Grover Cleveland displacing cowboys from the Cherokee Strip. If you’re not into eating animal organs, pass this one up. However, if you want to put some hair on your chest, belly up to the table and pound this meal down.

• 2 pounds of lean beef
• Half a calf heart
• 1 ½ pounds of calf liver
• 1 set sweetbreads (that’s the thymus gland for you city slickers)
• 1 set of brains
• 1 set of marrow gut
• Salt, pepper to taste
• Louisiana hot sauce

Cut the beef, liver, and heart into one inch cubes. Slice the marrow gut into rings. Place these ingredients into the Dutch oven and cover with water. Let it simmer for 2 to 3 hours. Add salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Chop sweetbreads and brains into small pieces and add to stew. Simmer another hour.

Time to cowboy up.

Political Ideology

I saw this quote over at the Coyote Blog:

Democrats: The people in power can’t be trusted.  You need to remove them and put our guys in charge

Republicans: The people in power can’t be trusted.  You need to remove them and put our guys in charge

libertarians: People in power can’t be trusted.  You need to remove their power and be in charge of your own damn self

Macheads

I watched an interesting video on Hulu about Macheads.

The only Apple product I own is an iPod shuffle, but I think many people are aware of the cult of Mac (or Apple).  It almost seems that a prerequisite for inclusion as a Machead you have to have an eclectic style sense.

Ignite Presentations

Have you seen videos from Ignite before?  Ignite is a community of geeks that explain a subject in 5 minutes using 20 slides in front of an audience.  The presentation is recorded and shared on their site and through YouTube.

Here's a great presentation on displaying information visually:

More Gov, More Taxes

The government may not raise income taxes for low-income and middle class families, but the proposed government health-care plan and cap and trade will both certainly raise the tax burden for both groups:

• Dem Senator Warns of 'Big, Big Tax' on Middle Class in Baucus Bill
  
• Obama Admin: Cap And Trade Could Cost Families $1,761 A Year

Wordle of Blog Categories

The image below is a visual representation of the number of blog posts I have for each category.  The larger the word, the more blog posts I have for that particular category.

I created this using the advanced tools over at Wordle.

Health Care Cartoon

This is how I feel about government run agencies and programs.

This political cartoon is by Michael Ramirez over at TownHall.com: http://townhall.com/cartoons/cartoonist/MichaelRamirez/2009/09/5/

Sent to you by mister_cbond via Google Reader:

Cartoon of the Day

via CARPE DIEM by Mark J. Perry on 9/9/09

Michael Ramirez.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to CARPE DIEM using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Articles on Healthcare

With the healthcare debate raging strong, I thought I'd share the articles that I've been reading on the subject. 

Here's a direct link to HR 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009.

Some of the websites that I look to regularly for news and information on the debate are Conservatives for Patient's Rights and the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest.  I also recommend reading The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care by Sally Pipes. 

The articles:

• Annals of Medicine The Cost Conundrum Reporting & Essays The New Yorke (...).url
  
• BigGovHealth.URL
  
• Britain's cancer shame as 15,000 elderly patients could be saved every (...).url
  
• Browns' Tweet nothings for NHS Mail Online.url
  
• California’s Nightmare Will Kill Obamanomics Kevin Hassett - Bloomberg (...).url
  
• Canadian Health Care The End of Innovation - ABC News.url
  
• Chuck Norris Dirty Secret No. 1 in Obamacare - Townhall.com.url
  
• CNSNews.com - Conyers Sees No Point in Members Reading 1,000-Page Heal (...).url
  
• Democratic Health Care vs. Democracy Will Wilkinson Cato Institute C (...).url
  
• Economic View - The Pitfalls of the Public Option in Health Care - NYT (...).url
  
• Europe's 48-hour working week will be 'catastrophic' for patients, say (...).url
  
• FDA Takes Cheerios to Task for Boastful Labels - Political News - FOXN (...).url
  
• Fury as NHS trust says only women between 39.5 and 40 years old can ha (...).url
  
• Get the facts about the stability and security you get from health ins (...).url
  
• Graham Cost Estimates a 'Death Blow' to Calls for Public Health Care P (...).url
  
• Hands OFF My Health - Educating Americans About the Risks of Governmen (...).url
  
• Health care in India Lessons from a frugal innovator.url
  
• Health Care Infomercial Airs Despite Objections - Political News - FOX (...).url
  
• Health-Care Myths at Emac’s Stock Watch Fox Business.url
  
• HOSP-ITALITY ABU$E - New York Post.url
  
• House Health-Care Proposal Adds $600 Billion in Taxes (Update2) - Bloo (...).url
  
• In health bill, billions for parks, paths - The Boston Globe.url
  
• Intensive Obamacare Michael D. Tanner Cato Institute Commentary.url
  
• Investors.com - Canada's Single-Prayer Health Care.url
  
• Investors.com - Rushing Ahead In Health Care Wonderland.url
  
• Iowa Woman Owes State Almost $300,000 for Veteran's Health Care - Loca (...).url
  
• Massachusetts Sued Over Cost of Health Care - NYTimes.com.url
  
• Medicare Administrative Costs Are Higher, Not Lower, Than for Private (...).url
  
• MICHIGAN Obama Time To 'Stop Clinging To' Unworkable Health Care Syste (...).url
  
• My Way News - Health care debate could derail over gov't plan.url
  
• Obama confident of passing healthcare reform Special Coverage Reuter (...).url
  
• Obama Health Care Reform Riles Up Whole Foods CEO John Mackey - ABC Ne (...).url
  
• Of NICE and Men - WSJ.com.url
• Parsing the Health Reform Arguments - WSJ.com.url
  
• Pelosi says any health-care plan must halt cost spiral Front page Ch (...).url
  
• Rasmussen Reports™ The Most Comprehensive Public Opinion Data Anywhere.url
  
• Reaction to my Health Care Piece Being Pulled - John Stossel's Take.url
  
• Reality check Canada's government health care system - CNN.com.url
  
• Reform Needs Healthy Life Incentives - WSJ.com.url
  
• Rep John Fleming (R, LA-04) So, you want a Government-run health care (...).url
  
• Search Results - THOMAS (Library of Congress).url
• Sprightly pensioner dies in 'zoo' hospital after 'catalogue of blunder (...)​.url
  
• The Greenroom » Forum Archive » Statist health care, by the numbers.url
• The health-care debate Will the blue dogs bolt The Economist.url
  
• VA Medical System in Shambles, Veterans Groups Say - Political News - (...).url
  
• When the Government Runs Health Insurance - Kaiser Health News.url
  
• White House Launches Web Site to Battle Health Care 'Rumors' - Politic (...).url
  
• White House Open to Deal on Public Health Plan - WSJ.com.url
  
• White House uses Web against Drudge attack - Yahoo! News.url
  
• WUSA9.com Washington, DC Cardin Town Hall Meeting On Health Care Get (...).url

Forced Unionization of Health Care Workers?

Mark Mix, the president of the National Right to Work Committee has an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal today about the government's health care plan, "Read the Union Health-Care Label".  Specifically he discusses the legislation that authorizes the Secreatary of Health and Human Services to regulate health-care workers. 


Speaking of Secretary Kathleen Sebelius:

Ms. Sebelius will be taking her marching orders from the numerous union
officials who are guaranteed seats on the various federal panels (such
as the personal care panel mentioned above) charged with recommending
health-care policies. Big Labor will play a central role in directing
federal health-care policy affecting hundreds of thousands of doctors,
surgeons and nurses.

Big Government, Big Labor, Big Problems.

Car Salesman

I've had a few buddies that have or currently sell cars.  It's a demanding, cut throat job (from my limited understanding). 

With limited understanding in mind, here's an in depth look at car salesmen from within the profession.  A journalist went 'undercover' in the industry for three months to get a glimpse of the profession.

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html

Here's a short video about the article: Confessions of a Car Salesman

Houston's Museum District

A recent visit to the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Rothko Chapel has rekindled a dormant desire for more culture.  I enjoy the hell out of museums, history and zoos. 

HMNS is currently exhibiting the Terracotta Warriors.  This is a fascinating exhibit and definitely worth the price of admission.  There's another interesting site in the Houston area having to do with the Terracotta Warriors, the Forbidden Gardens in Katy.


From the Forbidden Garden's website:

Forbidden Gardens offers 9 different exhibits from our army of 6,000 1/3 scale Terra-Cotta soldiers to an Emperor's dining table. Our weapons room contains replicas of some of the weapons discovered with the terra-cotta army. The Calming of the Heart Lodge, or the Summer Palace, was a vacation getaway for those who lived and worked in the Forbidden City. The architecture room features a 1/20 scale model of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, that is split to view the architectural style of the roofing of the Imperial City.

Check out the Houston Museum District's website: http://www.houstonmuseumdistrict.org/

Additionally, here's a map of the museums in the area: http://houstonmuseumdistrict.org/default.asp?id=144



Inside the Rothko Chapel

NYC Garbage Art

This is an interesting way of cleaning up litter: New York City Garbage by Justin Gignac -- Thank You for Littering.™

When Buzzwords Attack

This paragraph is disgusting:

"We're continuing our commitment to delivering specialty coffee excellence while refreshing our store design approach with an amplified focus on local relevance," Kim-Williams said, citing the earthy store at First Avenue and Pike Street as an earlier example of the guise. "Ultimately, we hope customers will feel an enhanced sense of community and a deeper connection to our coffee heritage."

This quote is from a Starbucks spokeswoman in the following article:  Neighbor: Starbucks stole my ambiance.

Government begins house to house search for guns

In a view of more intrusion to come by the federal government, the ATFE is going house to house searching and questioning law abiding Texans about their firearm purchases. 

This will increase as the government begins to strip away our liberties, one by one, starting with the 1st and 2nd amendments.

It all began with the Drudge Report headline linking to the Houston Chronicle article: Federal agents hunt for guns, one house at a time

 

Performance Reviews

The Onion News Network has a hilarious satire on improving the economy.  The "news feed" explains that Obama is going to hold a performance review with every American and is placing motivational billboards all around the country.