Think of someone you don't know.

Today's Tids Issue 2,204
Opening Stuff:

“Estanos bien en el refugio, Los 33.” That means “We are Ok – The 33 minors", and it was a a very happy note of encouragement received by a host of rescuers from trapped miners in Chile. The rescue team had just managed to insert a life support pipe between the surface and the minor’s prison below. Your heart has to leap. But get this. The pipe will deliver food, water and medical supplies while the hardy miners try to survive for the 4 Months it will take to dig them out! I’m thinking about them.

And of course our culture is experiencing the growth of entrapped minors --- in Facebook! With parents having to leave food and water outside of bedroom doors.

As you have noticed, the Tids financial department is typically cautious about the stock market these days. Yesterday was a good example of yet again desperate, manufactured enthusiasm driving the market upward. The reason for the uptick was supposedly increased Mergers & Acquisitions activity. Check out these headlines: 8:25 – “U.S. Stock Futures Rise As M&A Talk Boosts Sentiment; 9:37AM - ”Merger Outlook Lifts Wall Street At Open.”; 10:38 – “Why M&A Bump Is Bullish For Stocks.”; 2:13 – “Wall Street Flat As M&A Stir Fades.” What a crock!

The Question:
Exactly one thousand nine hundred and thirty one years ago today Mount Vesuvius erupted and destroyed what city. Name five other historic volcanic eruptions.

The Headlines:

--Stock Futures Gloomy One Day After Minor Uptick.
--Establishment Candidates Seem To Have Edge Over “Outsiders” Going Into Tuesday’s Primaries.
--Yen Reaches 15 year High Against The Dollar And 9 Year High Against The Euro.
--Atlantic Tropical Storm Danielle Moved Up To Cat 2 Hurricane.
--No Salmonella Found Beyond Two Original Egg Producers.
--RFK Jr. Wife Charged With Driving Under Influence Of Drugs One Month After Pleading Guilty To Drive While Intoxicated.
--Woods Divorce Finalized; All Parties Mum On Details.

Back to More Stuff:
A new Nielson study says that Blacks talk on cell phones twice as much as whites and that woman text and talk far more than men. There just has to be something funny in there. Maybe I'll come up with something overnight.

My brother-in-law writes to tell me that has created a good business making landmines that look like prayer rugs. He says prophets are going through the roof!

The next time you are sitting in traffic for a few more minutes than expected consider the woes of Beijing China commuters. The jam was over 100 Kms (62 miles) long and has lasted nine days! Hope you had more than one mug of a frappachino. Or is that a tea with ice cleam? Workers are feverishly trying to replace emergency call boxes with port-o-约翰’s.

If the establishment insider candidates win in the primaries it will be a license to steal.

I scoured last night’s Jon Stuart-Blago interview for something funny, but found nothing. Which just proves I guess that sociopaths aren’t funny.

A reader informs me a of a new Golf Czar being appointed by the 0-Man. He is rewriting some basic rules of golf. For instance the gimmie will be renamed the entitlement and only available to high handicappers. It’s all about fairness and basically eliminated any mentions of ability an successful achievement. In addition golfers will only be allowed one birdie and 6 pars. Anything in excess must be redistributed to all players having not made a birdie or par. Also, 18 and above handicappers will only report net scores versus gross scores by all others. This would enable redistribution of betting wealth. Kind of dis-incentifies practice and dedication, doesn’t it?

Microsoft’s Spell-check doesn’t recognize the spelling of Facebook. Is it jealous?

The Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree Department:
Marcus Jordan son of Michael tweeted that he had spent $56K one 24 hour period in Vegas. But since he is under twenty one, the tweets referred to “$21 K at Liguid” (to swim in the pool) and “$35K at haze” (A night club.) That a lot of back strokes and dance steps.

And...It bothers me a lot that they want o build a full fledged casino a ½ mile form the sacred lands of Gettysburg. And It bothers me most because it is just one more sign of the Decline and Fall of the American Empire.

The Answer:
While Vesuvius-Pompeii is the most romanticized of volcanic eruptions, it is only #10 in deaths resulting with 3,360. But enormous in percentage of the population) The second most notorious eruption was that of Indonesia’s 1883 Krakatau explosion and the ensuing monster Tsunami and 36,417 deaths. ( Of course the worse disaster surrounding Krakatau was the awful 1960’s movie about it.) The highest death from an eruption was in 1815 when Idonesia’s Tamborra killed 92,000. The rest – 1902, Mt. Pelee, Martinique –29,000; 1985, Ruiz, Columbia - 25,000; 1792, Unzen, Japan – 14,300; 1783, Laki, Iceland – 9,350; 1919, Kelut, Indonesia – 5,110; 1882, Galunggung, Indonesia – 5,110; 1631, Vesusvius, Italy – 3,500.

Hope you had a blast today! See you sometime tomorrow.