Today's Tids Issue 2,990
Opening Stuff:

The countdown to 3,000 Tids starts now. The pressure is on -- just ten more days to find some quality too.

This just in: Barbara Walters name Hillary her "Most Fascinating Person" of 2013. Fascinating, a word often used just before the phrase, "But, dubious." It can also mean "Thrilling. "Hill the Thrill". Republicans and Bill at times feeling the chill. Oh, Doctor Spock used the word Fascinating all of the time, often with a quizzical look on his face. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFods1KSWsQ

So, did you hear of the of problem after a mass collision of teen skiers? Boarders without doctors!

The Question:
What Auto Manufacturers do you think had the highest average MPG for all their cars?

The Headlines:
--Target Says Hackers May Have Stolen Data From Forty Million Customer Cards; Largest Breach in History.
--Big Discounting Has Retailers Scrambling To Make Year Ending Sales Goals; Consumers Realizing Biggest Deals Not, "Black Friday" But Last Hour Panic Days.
--Markets Hold Today After Going Berzerk Buying On News About Tapering.
--EU Leaders Concerned Over Ukraine Debacle.
--"Ice" Discovered In Antarctica!; Diamond Find Makes Cold Continent Economic Power For Shivering Penguins.
--Kerry Sending Mea Culpas To India.

The NFL Playoffs begin this week in earnest. I have selected four "Wars" where each team has a big stake for their future, and several other must wins where the opponent with little of or no chance at the playoffs can only smile at making life miserable for a team with a chance. The wars are NO-Carolina, NE-Balt, Arizona-Seattle and Chicago-Philly. All of those teams are in it at some level. Other tight playoff sensitive games are Minn-Cinn, KC-Indy, Pitt-GB, Det-NYG, Dall-Wash and Miami-Buff. Denver needs to win against Houston and they will. For the above games I'm holding my breath and picking Carolina, Balt, Seattle, Philly, Cinn, KC, GB, Buff cold over Miami, Dallas and Det finally talking advantage of an opportunity (Note: Giants may show up to prove there is no internal rift.) In the rest I have SL over TB, Browns over Jets, Jax over Tenn, SD over Oakland and SF over Atlanta.

I've been reviewing the progress of The Voice for many weeks, and maybe I should have been also looking at X-Factor. Actually I avoided X mainly because of judges, but last night stumbling around the channels I saw a couple of acts that I considered immense. Jeff Gutt was strong as a power rock singer, but I what stopped my clicker was the duo Alex and Sierrra, she on the piano and he on guitar, singing the moving break-up song, "Say Something".

Stock Guru Dr. Marc Faber says best "Shorts" are Facebook, Tesla, Twitter, Netflix and Veeva Systems. Publisher of the "Gloom, Boom  Doom Report" also says that after reaching a high of 1,813 in November, the market will stagnate for ten years. Want some tums?

There are so many English movies set in the 18th Century, because there are so many gigantic empty baronial estates in search of an income.

A local Firefighter on disability for a shoulder injury is about to have that $3,902 month scratched after being seen and taped in vigorous workouts and weightlifting in a local gym. His Lawyer says two docs won't permit him to travel for a test to determine his ability to resume or not resume work because he is suffering from "Crippling Anxiety" -- a lawyer 's disease if I ever heard one. I bet Illinois hasn't even discovered that one yet. Fascinating, eh?

The Insurance Industry has just named its safest cars for 2014. Topping the list are Honda and its rich cousin Acura. Newcomers to the list are Mazda, Q50, Toyota Highlander and Chevy Spark. Along with Honda, the old safety leader Volvo won the top designation based on "Standard" safety equipment in vehicles. This Insurance Annual Rating (Non- Big Gov, by the way) is having a profound influence on car makers. For instance Toyota redesigned it's top selling Camray just to pass this test. Who says society can't work without the disruption of government officials.

See, Capitalism left on it's own words well. As good a person as he is, Pope Francis may have somewhat of a jaded view of free enterprise, coming from Argentina. 

Sometimes when writing I just go to YouTube and play a pleasant movie soundtrack, which are often just low key pleasant background. For instance, the English movie Mansfield Park, based loosely on Jane Austin's life, has a moving satisfying sound that keeps the mind in slow contemplative motion...missing typos along the way. Or, it could be described as innocuous and tedious, depending on who you are.

You have to love Southern Illinois U. Their Basketball coach went on a post game rant, you know the kind that unctuous sportscasters like to ridicule. The university said to all of the snipers looking for a reprimand, "We hired him because he was feisty."

The Conscience: Chapter 30 continues.
    Within seconds we were back approaching the restaurant. Angelica instinctively slowed, knowing that the foursome might be anywhere. I pointed my finger ahead, and she saw it too, adroitly slowing while maneuvering the car behind a devilry truck. The unlikely couple, Sanna and Bruno were helping the two American heavyweights into a cab. Angelica, backed up the car to a point where she could turn right into a small alley. She crept in then floored it. We sped by the glares of angry business people leaping out of the way, nearly crashing into a a couple of trash cans. At the end she turned left and then left again at the major interaction. It was only seconds tilcwe were ahead of the cab, now leaving, for where?
   The cab slid acorss the intersection front of us. She pressed the pedal and we slowly followed. As we turned on to the street in chase, she raised her left hand to hide her face from sharp eyes and I slid down in my seat. After another second or two, I looked back only to see a complacent Sanna and Bruno walking the other way. 
    Our car stayed comfortably behind. "They're going to the airport," I heard her say, our first words after five minutes of tension. At least, for me. "This is the way taxis go."

The Answer:
Hyundai has been preaching their #1 high mph for a couple of years. Earlier this year they reported to the EPA they had made a mistake. So EPA took it upon them selves to investigate all companies and determine the most efficient makers. Guess what? Hyundai (28.3) is till #1 with Mazda, Kia and Honda close behind. #5 is Subaru followed by Volkswagen (Includes their Audi cars), Nissan, Toyota, BMW, Ford, Daimler, GM and Chrysler at 21.6. Industry average is 24.0. Note: These automakers must give the USA a national average of 39 mpg by 2025. Yikes!

I love a good war, but only when it's on a football field.