What Caught My Eye Today - Debt Sequestration

Debt Sequestration - In case you had not noticed, the United States is supposed to careen off a fiscal cliff on March 1. Let's recap how we got here, shall we? 

The fiscal cliff was the sharp decline in the federal budget deficit that could have occurred beginning in early January 2013 due to increased taxes and reduced spending as required by previously enacted laws. The previously enacted laws leading to the fiscal cliff had been projected to result in a 19.63% increase in revenue and 0.25% reduction in spending from fiscal years 2012 to 2013. Those laws included the expiration of the 2010 Tax Relief Act and planned spending cuts under the Budget Control Act of 2011. The spending reduction elements of the fiscal cliff are primarily contained within the Budget Control Act of 2011, which directed that both defense and non-defense discretionary spending be reduced by "sequestration" if Congress was unable to agree on other spending cuts of similar size. The scope of the law excludes major mandatory programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Up to now Congress has unable to reach agreement on spending cuts and the sequestration was delayed until March 2013 as part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.

I'll grant you a moment or two to get over the shock of Congress being unable to agree on pretty much anything. Right then? Let just see what all the commotion is about here.

At last check, the U.S. debt stood at slightly more than $16.6 trillion. The impending doomsday of sequestration amounts to $85 billion in 2013. So much sequestration does that buy you? Not much.  $85 billion represents just over one half of one percent of our national debt. So if we manage to take off $85 billion a year then that debt will be history by the year 2213 (give or take a year or two).  Of course, the government is running a $1.1 trillion deficit so the debt will actually continue to grow more than the $85 billion we are paying back each year. Which means we'll eliminate the debt...never.

A recent news item suggested that one of the outcomes of the debt sequestration could be a delay in tax refunds. Last year, the Internal Revenue Service paid out $300 billion in tax refunds (about $3,000 per household).  Never mind the fact that this money amount to an interest free loan to the government courtesy of the taxpayers. I say keep it for the debt.  In fact, keep those tax refunds for the next 53 years of so. That'll get rid of the debt. Oh, but wait just a second. The government is running a $1.1 trillion deficit so the debt will actually continue to grow more than the $300 billion we are paying back each year. Which means we'll eliminate the debt (yep, you guessed it)...never.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated spending on Social Security and healthcare for 2012 at $2.5 trillion ($1.6 billion for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and $900 billion for healthcare).  And that figure is expected to rise to more than $3.2 trillion over the next 10 years as the rest of the healthcare reform law kicks in. I suppose we could scrap entitlements altogether and we'd have that debt down in no time. Of course there would be no social safety net, but isn't that what churches are for anyway?

You know, we could always just sell off some states to pay down the debt. In 2010, the GDP of all fifty states was $14.7 trillion. That's a wee bit short of $16.6 trillion, but would it really matter?  Who are the debtors going to collect from if there aren't no more United States?

I get that you don't indiscriminately cut $85 billion without the possibility of hitting some bone.  A lot of people are going to get hosed by this deal through no fault of their own.  My point here is that the government seems to be making a real big deal out of something that, in the grander scheme of things, does not make much of an impact on the issue we are supposed to be tackling in the first place, the national debt.

Anyway, I'm off to my homemade bunker to wait things out. Geeze, I thought after the end of days and recent close encounters with asteroids, I wouldn't be going back so soon.

What Caught My Eye Today - Misery, Guam, College Endowments, Flatulence

Fred's Note:  At the risk of stating the obvious, this is one of the more eclectic collections we've had.  

Misery - With its violent crimes, high unemployment, dwindling population and financial crisis, Detroit was recently named as the most miserable city in the United States. Yeah, yeah. Big surprise, I know. Still, I cannot help but feel a bit sorry for this poor city.  They've had a ridiculous run of bad luck. It toppled Miami, which held the title last year, and surpassed Flint, Michigan, Rockford and Chicago in Illinois and Modesto, California, which rounded out the five most unhappy urban areas. Is it just me or does it strike you as a bit odd that Miami and Chicago rank that high on this list.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not planning on relocating to either place anytime in the foreseeable future, but I find it rather difficult to compare the likes of Chicago to Modesto (seriously, how many of you even know where Modesto is?). "Detroit's problems are hardly news. It has been in a four-decade decline paralleling the slide in the U.S. auto industry," according to Forbes.com, which compiles the yearly ranking. To compile the list, Forbes looked at 200 of the country's largest urban areas and ranked them on factors including crime rates, foreclosures, taxes, home prices, commute times, weather and decreasing populations. Violent crime, high foreclosure rates and declining home prices pushed Chicago into the fourth spot, along with the high expense of living there. New York, which came in at No. 10, was also cited for its high cost of living. The Big Apple has one of the country's highest income tax rates and longest average commuting time at 36 minutes. Being from California, home to 20% of the nation's population, I gotten used to the fact, that my state will always rank somewhere near the bottom of most rankings for bad stuff.  We have more people for bad stuff to happen to.  Big cities, like Chicago and New York, are always going to get hosed. 

Guam - Fair warning, people. This next item can be summarized in one word --- Eww. Dead mice laced with painkillers are about to rain down on Guam's jungle canopy. I swear that this is a legitimate story. They are scientists' prescription for a headache that has caused the tiny U.S. territory misery for more than 60 years: the brown tree snake. Most of Guam's native bird species are extinct because of the snake, which reached the island's thick jungles by hitching rides from the South Pacific on U.S. military ships shortly after World War II. There may be 2 million of the reptiles on Guam now, decimating wildlife, biting residents and even knocking out electricity by slithering onto power lines. The infestation and the toll it has taken on native wildlife have tarnished Guam's image as a tourism haven, though the snakes are rarely seen outside their jungle habitat. Interestingly, the Guam Visitors Bureau doesn't seem to mention the presence of two million snakes anywhere on its website. Go figure.  The solution to this headache, fittingly enough, is acetaminophen, the active ingredient in painkillers including Tylenol. The strategy takes advantage of the snake's two big weaknesses. Unlike most snakes, brown tree snakes are happy to eat prey they didn't kill themselves, and they are highly vulnerable to acetaminophen, which is harmless to humans. U.S. government scientists have been perfecting the mice-drop strategy for more than a decade with support from the Department of Defense and the Department of the Interior. One wonders how something like this actually gets funding and, what with fiscal sequestration a mere two days away, whether or not this funding will continue or not.  To keep the mice bait from dropping all the way to the ground, where it could be eaten by other animals or attract insects as they rot, researchers have developed a flotation device with streamers designed to catch in the branches of the forest foliage, where the snakes live and feed. A 2010 study conducted by the National Wildlife Research Center found brown tree snakes would cause between $593 million and $2.14 billion in economic damage each year if they became established in Hawaii like they are on Guam. So far, Guam's containment seems to be working. Only a few brown tree snakes have ever been found in Hawaii, and none over the past 17 years.

College Endowments - As a proud alumnus of San Jose State University (Class of 1993. Go Spartans!), this story stings a bit.  Read on, you'll see what I mean. Stanford University has set a new record for college fundraising, becoming the first school to collect more than $1 billion in a single year. In the 2012 fiscal year, roughly 3,500 U.S. colleges and universities raised $31 billion, 2.3 percent more than the previous year. The record was set in 2008 when schools took in $31.6 billion before fundraising dropped during the height of the financial crisis. Topping the list was Stanford at $1.035 billion, followed by Harvard University at $650 million, Yale University at $544 million, the University of Southern California at $492 million and Columbia University at $490 million. The top 10 fundraising colleges collected $5.3 billion, or 17 percent, of the $31 billion, even though they represent only 0.3 percent of the 3,500 accredited, nonprofit schools. Isn't it a comforting thought that the income equality gap between the haves and the have nots is just as prevalent in centers of higher learning as it is everyplace else. Of course, logic would follow that you would need to learn the difference being having and not having someplace. Why not at school? The 10-campus University of California system raised $1.56 billion. That sum includes $405 million collected by UC Berkeley, which was the leading fundraiser among all public universities. Stanford's $1.035 billion haul is equal to nearly $56,000 for each of its roughly 18,500 undergraduate and graduate students, though much of the money will be used for research and construction. By contrast, San Jose State University, a public college 20 miles away, raised $14 million, which is equal to $450 for each of its 31,000 students. Twenty years ago, that $450 dollars would have covered most of my tuition for a semester. These days $450 covers less than 10%.  One last thing, and yes I know this will sound like sour grapes, but if you can afford to go to Stanford, do you really need an extra $56,000 to boot? Talk about an embarrassment of riches.

Flatulence - I had to check the archives on this, but I'm pretty sure this  is the first time flatulence has made the list. Yeah, I was a bit surprised myself. I've been doing this for a pretty long time (767 postings and counting) and you'd think that I would have covered this sort of thing well before now. Scientists say physics can explain why you feel gassier when you fly. As an airplane increases in altitude, pressure decreases. And according to what's known as the ideal gas law, when pressure decreases, volume increases. Cabin pressure tries to compensate for these changes, but it can only do so much and your intestines end up expanding with volume. Speaking strictly from a 'good for your health' standpoint health professionals recommend you release the volume from your intestines. Flatulence may be inconvenient, but it serves a purpose. And if it really is good for your health, I'm sure the poor schmuck sitting next to you (or behind you ) will completely understand and sympathize with your situation. If you don't pass gas when you need to, you may develop abdominal discomfort. Researchers suggest being as discreet as possible and even wearing activated charcoal underwear liners to absorb the odor. Seriously, who actually owns a charcoal underwear liner? For that matter, where would you even buy one? (Yes, I checked. It seems you have to go online to such sites as flat-d.com or myshreddies.com to procure such on item, but they do offer free shipping.).  Let's say you are mindful of your fellow passenger and decide to don said charcoal underwear liner after that  visit to the taco truck before coming to the airport.  Do you really think you are going to make it through TSA screening without incident. I got felt up by security once because I forgot I was wearing a ThermaCare heat wrap on my back.

Did You Know? #19

How many popes have there been?

There have been 266 popes according to the Annuario Pontificio under the heading "I Sommi Pontefici Romani" (The Supreme Pontiffs of Rome). Published every year by the Roman Curia, the Annuario Pontificio attaches no consecutive numbers to the popes, stating that it is impossible to decide which side represented at various times the legitimate succession.

What Caught My Eye Today - Contagion, Universe, Mississippi, Bourbon

Contagion - As if flu season isn't bad enough, now there's...well, we're not quite sure, but it's kind of bad. A British man infected with a new virus from the same family as SARS has died, bringing the worldwide death toll from the previously unknown disease to six. Is it just me or does the phrase unknown disease scare the bejeezus out of you? The virus, called novel coronavirus or NCoV, was unknown in humans until it emerged in the Middle East last year. Usually you expect these sorts of things to come out of Africa or Asia.  Way to step it up, Middle East. There have been 12 confirmed cases worldwide - including in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Britain, and so far 6 patients have died. If I did my math correctly (and I'm pretty sure I did) that makes for a 50% mortality rate.  Again, unknown disease...yikes.  NCoV was identified when the World Health Organisation issued an international alert in September 2012, saying a completely new virus had infected a Qatari man in Britain who had recently been in Saudi Arabia. Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that includes those that cause the common cold as well as the one that caused SARS, which emerged in China in 2002 and killed about a 10th of the 8,000 people it infected worldwide.

Universe - Scientists are still sorting out the details of last year's discovery of the Higgs boson particle, but add up the numbers and it's not looking good for the future of the universe. Researchers have come to the conclusion that, "it may be that the universe we live in is inherently unstable and at some point billions of years from now it's all going to get wiped out." Okay, first of all, lighten up fellas. A lot can happen in several billion years. Secondly, it must be nice making bold predictions that have absolutely no chance of being proven or disproven. Physicists last year announced they had discovered what appears to be a long-sought subatomic particle called the Higgs boson, which is believed to give matter its mass. Work to study the Higgs' related particles, necessary for confirmation, is ongoing. If confirmed, the discovery would help resolve a key puzzle about how the universe came into existence some 13.7 billion years ago, and perhaps how it will end. According to scientists, "this calculation tells you that many tens of billions of years from now, there'll be a catastrophe." Scientists had grappled with the idea of the universe's long-term stability before the Higgs discovery, but stepped up calculations once its mass began settling in at around 126 billion electron volts - a critical number it turns out for figuring out the fate of the universe. Earth will likely be long gone before any Higgs boson particles set off an apocalyptic assault on the universe. Physicists expect the sun to burn out in 4.5 billion years or so, and expand, likely engulfing Earth in the process. Don't get me wrong, I love science. What I don't get is all this doomsday talk about something that may or may not happen billions of years after the Earth ceases to exist which, oh by the way, probably won't happen for billions of years. Seriously, science geeks, maybe you should take up a hobby or something.

Now, let's take step back from the ledge a bit, shall we?

Mississippi - Mississippi just became the final state to officially ratify the Thirteenth Amendment serves as the final punctuation mark on a dark chapter in American history. Now then, for those of you who chose to sleep through civics class, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution (yes, that's what Amendments are attached to) outlaws slavery and involuntary servitude and was adopted in December, 1865. After seeing Lincoln in theaters last November, a middle-aged recent immigrant from India  did a little bit of Internet research only to discover the Mississippi never got around to actually ratifying the amendment. The state did vote to ratify the amendment back in 1995, nearly 20 years after Kentucky, the second-to-last state to ratify the amendment, held its vote. At first I was ready to dump all over Mississippi, but then reconsidered.  It isn't as if Mississippi was the only state to drag its feet on ratifying this amendment. Eight other states (Oregon, California, Florida, Iowa, New Jersey, Texas, Delaware and Kentucky) also did not ratify the Thirteenth Amendment at the time.  That said, 130 years is a really, really long time to drag one's feet.  And even then, Mississippi managed to screw things up.  However, through an apparent clerical error, Mississippi never officially notified the United States Archivist of the ratification, meaning that they've officially been on the side of slavery for a century-and-a-half. Mississippi finally sent in the paperwork to complete its belated ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment. Is it possible the folks in charge of such matters may have been "hittin' the till" a bit too hard?

Which brings us to our final item of the day...

Bourbon - Maker’s Mark executives announced that they’re reversing the decision to water down their bourbon. Show of hands, people. Who didn't see this coming?  You don't mess with Mother Nature and you certainly don't mess with a man's bourbon. When the company announced plans to cut the alcohol content in its bourbon from 45% (90 proof) to 42% (84 proof) due to supply problems, customers were mad. Really mad. Turns out, people would rather deal with a shortage of their favorite bourbon than a shortage of alcohol in their bourbon.  In defense of Maker's Mark, they really were trying to do a solid for their patrons.  Basic economics say that when supply is short and demand is high, prices will tend to rise.  The upstanding folks at Maker's Mark were trying to avoid price hikes by increasing supply, which would have required diluting their bourbon by a few percentage points.  It is worth noting, that almost every other bourbon on the market is a mere 80 proof, so even if Maker's Mark went forward with its new blend, it still would have been more potent than any other bourbon.  Taking all that into consideration, I think the conclusion is pretty clear.  What the heck, were they thinking?  You don't mess with a good thing.  Just ask Coca Cola how well that New Coke deal worked out.

What Caught My Eye Today - Citizenship, Medals, Asteroids, Junk Food

Fred's Note: Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.  In honor of the occasion, we'll try to make a "love connection" for each of today's items.

Citizenship -  It's been said that money cannot buy love or happiness, but I guess you can put a price on citizenship. Turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa has led to a surge of interest in programs that let investors buy citizenship or residence in countries around the world in return for a healthy contribution or investment. Most are seeking a second passport for hassle-free travel or a ready escape hatch in case things get worse at home. Arab Spring in the Middle East. Al Qaeda uprisings in North Africa. How much "worse" are these folks expecting things to get?  "Investor visa" or citizenship programs are offered by many nations, including the United States, Canada, Britain and Austria. But the Caribbean countries offer a fast path to citizenship at a very low cost. The whole process, including background checks, can take as little as 90 days in St. Kitts. And there's no need to ever live on the islands, or even visit. That may be true, but I gotta say, you could do a lot worse than hanging out in a Caribbean paradise unless, of course, you prefer the soothing sounds of civil unrest and unfettered gunshots. A foreigner can qualify for citizenship in St. Kitts with a $250,000 donation to a fund for retired sugar workers or with a minimum real estate investment of $400,000. The minimum contribution in Dominica is $100,000. By contrast, a U.S. program allows visas for a $1 million investment in a U.S. business employing at least 10 people or $500,000 in designated economically depressed areas. The investor can apply for permanent residence in two years, and seek citizenship after five more. And they said there was no path to citizenship. Turns out there is...if you happen to have a million dollars burning a hole in your pocket. Demand in Canada is so great that the country stopped accepting new applications last summer. Critics say the programs undermine the integrity of national passports and have security risks. While there are no known cases of terrorists using the programs, experts say that's a possibility with many visa arrangements anywhere. Here's the thing. People determined to do evil are going to find a way to do so. I doubt "investor visas" are going to contribute to the problem. Heck, if anything, issuing more visas might make it easier to keep track of such individuals.

Medals - Good news for those whose love of country doesn't necessary put them in the line of fire.The Pentagon is creating a medal that can be awarded to troops who have a direct impact on combat operations, but do it well away from any combat zone. The new Distinguished Warfare Medal will be awarded to individuals for "extraordinary achievement" related to a military operation that occurred after September 11, 2001.  But unlike other combat medals, it does not require the recipient risk his or her life to get it. In the article I read, there was specific mention of recognizing drone aircraft operators who have been instrumental in strategic air strikes against terrorist targets.  The new medal will be the first combat-related award to be created since the Bronze Star in 1944. A recognition of the evolving 21st century warfare, the medal will be considered a bit higher in ranking than the Bronze Star, but is lower than the Silver Star, defense officials said. The Bronze Star is the fourth highest combat decoration and rewards meritorious service in battle, while the Silver Star is the third highest combat award given for bravery. If recent engagements in Afghanistan and Pakistan have proven anything, its that you don't have to have boots on the ground to fight a war. I think its great that there is recognition for all of our soldiers' contributions.

Asteroids - Less than 24 hours until the next "close call."  Best not take any chances...go tell your loved ones just how much they mean to you...just in case. The 150-foot-wide asteroid 2012 DA14 — which will zoom within 17,200 miles of Earth on Friday, marking the closest approach by such a large space rock that astronomers have ever known about in advance — may harbor $65 billion of recoverable water and $130 billion in metals, say officials with celestial mining firm Deep Space Industries. $130 billion? That's a lot of bling for your better half. The company has no plans to go after 2012 DA14; the asteroid's orbit is highly tilted relative to Earth, making it too difficult to chase down. But the space rock's close flyby serves to illustrate the wealth of asteroid resources just waiting to be extracted and used, Deep Space officials said. Deep Space Industries is just one of two asteroid-mining firms that have revealed their existence and intentions in the past 10 months. Deep Space aims to launch a phalanx of small, robotic prospecting probes called Fireflies in 2015. Sample-return missions to potential targets would occur shortly thereafter, with space mining operations possibly beginning around 2020. Sure there's $200 billion to be had according to the brilliant minds at Deep Space; too bad they have no clue how to get it.  Maybe I can get in on this.  I bet if I come up with a cure for cancer I could make a fortune. Of course, I don't know the first thing about the causes of cancer or existing cancer treatment protocols, but why should that slow me down?

Junk Food - No one said love (or in this case a serious food craving) was painless. A regular patron and unofficial spokesman for the Heart Attack Grill has died of an apparent heart attack, the second unofficial Heart Attack Grill spokesman to die in as many years. Founded in 2005, the unapologetically unhealthy restaurant employs waitresses dressed as nurses and serves butterfat milkshakes, "flatliner" fries and 9,982-calorie "quadruple bypass burgers." Yes, you read that correctly and for that, these guys got themselves into the Guinness Book of World Records. Patrons who are able to finish them are escorted to their cars in wheelchairs. Customers who weigh over 350 pounds eat free. Since opening in Las Vegas in October 2011, there have been various reports of customers having medical emergencies while dining at the grill. As the song says...Love hurts.

And on that note, we're done. So go out there and show some love to someone.  

Did You Know? #18

What is the world's oldest living organism?

Pinus longaeva, the Great Basin Bristlecone Pine, is a long-living species of tree found in the higher mountains of the southwest United States. One member of this species growing in the White Mountains of eastern California, at 5062 years (as of 2012), is the oldest known living non-clonal organism on Earth.

What Caught My Eye Today - Pope, China, Iceland, Olympics

Pope - Pope Benedict XVI stunned the Roman Catholic Church when he announced he would stand down, the first pope to do so in 700 years, saying he no longer had the mental and physical strength to carry on. In an announcement read to cardinals in Latin, the universal language of the Church, the 85-year-old said: "Well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of St Peter ..." Renounce seems like such a harsh word.  Couldn't he have gone with retire, like everyone else?  Benedict is expected to go into isolation for at least a while after his resignation and does not intend to influence the decision of the cardinals in a secret conclave to elect a successor. I'm thinking a nice long beach holiday. Maybe St Tropez? Several popes in the past, including Benedict's predecessor John Paul II, have refrained from stepping down over their health, because of the division that could be caused by having an "ex-pope" and a reigning pope alive at the same time. I don't know how big of a deal that really is. The U.S. has 4 ex-Presidents, and none of them seem to be getting in the way of the current President. The resignation means that cardinals from around the world will begin arriving in Rome in March and after preliminary meetings, lock themselves in a secret conclave and elect the new pope from among themselves in votes in the Sistine Chapel. There has been growing pressure on the Church for it to choose a pope from the developing world to better reflect where most Catholics live and where the Church is growing. You know, for as conservative as Benedict XVI is, I find it fascinating that his legacy will likely be framed by a rather progressive, and most certainly provocative,  action on his part.

China - Chinese courts have convicted eight Tibetans for encouraging self-immolation protests against Beijing's rule over Tibet, One of the eight, a monk, was given a suspended death sentence, while the others got long prison terms. I find it a bit ironic that the Chinese courts, in their infinite wisdom are handing down death sentences to dissidents who have tried to kill themselves. Sort of sends a mixed message, don't you think? Nearly 100 Tibetan monks, nuns and laypeople have set themselves on fire since 2009 to protest the lack of religious freedom. Tibetans who have self-immolated are mostly younger than 25 and have grown up under Chinese rule. The burnings have galvanized many Tibetans, who see them as selfless acts of sacrifice, making it hard for authorities to denounce the self-immolators. I'm thinking government executions are probably going to have the same impact on Tibetans, if not more.

Iceland - A 15 year-old Icelandic girl who has been called, for official purposes, "Girl," won a court battle to keep her given name, Blaer. The Iceland government had refused to recognized the name because it wasn't on the country's list of 1,853 approved girls' names. On the off chance that you were curious, boys have it even worse, with only 1,810 names to choose from. Like a handful of other countries, including Germany and Denmark, Iceland has official rules about what a baby can be named. Good grief, this practice isn't just limited to Iceland? Names are supposed to fit Icelandic grammar and pronunciation rules; choices like Carolina and Christa are not allowed because the letter "c" is not part of Iceland's alphabet. I have to believe that these laws, however stupid they might be, have something to do with the preservation of the language. What with there being just 320,000 native speakers of the Icelandic language, I suppose one can see some logic here. Still, I find it hard to believe that a name could pose that much of an existential threat to an entire language.

Olympics - International Olympic Committee (OIC) officials dropped wrestling from the Olympic program on Tuesday, a surprise decision that removes one of the oldest Olympic sports from the 2020 Games. The IOC executive board decided to retain modern pentathlon — the event considered most at risk — and remove wrestling instead from its list of 25 "core sports." Pop quiz. Who can name all 5 disciplines in the modern pentathlon? The IOC board acted after reviewing the 26 sports on the current Olympic program. Eliminating one sport allows the International Olympic Committee to add a new sport to the program later this year. Wrestling, which combines freestyle and Greco-Roman events, goes back to the inaugural modern Olympics in Athens in 1896. Wrestling was voted out from a final group that also included modern pentathlon, taekwondo and field hockey. I'm torn on this one. On one hand, it's a bit sad the the IOC is breaking with tradition by eliminating one of the original sports of the modern Olympics that also figured prominently in the ancient games. At the same time, it is hard to criticize the IOC's desire to keep up with the times. Wrestling will now join seven other sports in applying for inclusion in 2020. The others are a combined bid from baseball and softball, karate, squash, roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding and wushu. Wushu? What's that? They will be vying for a single opening in 2020. Okay then. The modern pentathlon consists of fencing, horse riding, swimming, running and shooting. As for wushu, it is a full-contact sport developed in China in 1949, in an effort to standardize the practice of traditional Chinese martial arts. Call me crazy, but I would have stuck with wrestling.

What Caught My Eye Today - Netherlands, Russia, Asteroid, Numerology

Netherlands - Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, 74,  is stepping aside to let her son rule. Following a Dutch tradition of making room for a younger monarch, the queen will abdicate her throne in April so her son, Prince Willem-Alexander, 45, can begin his reign. Thirty-two years is good run, wouldn't you say? And the queen is following in her mother's footsteps. Mommy dearest (or Queen Juliana, if you prefer) handed the crown to Beatrix in 1980. Alright lad (or King Willem, if you prefer), let's see what you got. Britain's Prince Charles, won't be so lucky. You don't say. Queen Elizabeth, 86, is unlikely to follow Beatrix' example. Again, I'm stunned. Wearing the British crown is considered a lifetime commitment, and abdication is seen as a scandal. Last time I checked, being a member of the royal family was not exactly a scandal-free lifestyle. I've lost track of how many tabloid headlines the House of Windsor has accounted for. Speaking of which, anyone know what Prince Harry is up to these days? He just got back from another tour in Afghanistan, which must be music to the ears of the daily rags.

Russia - I'm not saying the U.S. Government is the model of efficiency, but one thing we don't get hung up on is time.  Too bad Russia cannot say the same thing. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev issued a decree that Russia would observe year-round DST. Under the decree, all clocks in Russia were advanced one hour on 27 March 2011 as usual, but are not to change back the following October, effectively making Moscow Time UTC+4 permanently. The move he made in 2011 when he was president has been widely unpopular as it has plunged the sprawling nation into darkness until late morning throughout the winter. Medvedev's mentor, Vladimir Putin, who returned to the presidency in May after spending four years in the premier's seat due to term limits, has indicated that Russia could switch back the time soon. Putin said in December that sticking permanently to summer time would make it difficult for TV audiences in Europe to watch the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi. As it turns out, Russia has been tinkering with its time zones for several years now. In 2010, Russia reduced its number of time zones from 11 down to 9, and would have gotten rid of more, if not for the vehement protests of residents in Eastern Russia. I guess Russians aren't quite as amiable as the Chinese are. Since 1949, all of China has only had a single standard time.

Okay, boys and girls. Time to get your geek on for these last two items.

Asteroids - A 150-foot-wide asteroid, Asteroid 2012 DA14, will come remarkably close to Earth next week, even closer than high-flying communication and weather satellites. Really? "Asteroid 2012 DA14" is the best name we could come up with? How is one supposed to get excited about something call "Asteroid 2012 DA14"? It will be the nearest known flyby for an object of this size. Scientists promise the megarock will be at least 17,100 miles away when it zips over Indonesia at 17,400 mph next Friday (February 15). Of course it would be Indonesia that would have been impacted if the asteroid were to collide with the planet. It's not like those poor bastards haven't suffered enough at the hands of Mother Nature. Might as well have extra-terrestrial forces pile on. Impossible to see with the naked eye, the asteroid is considered small as these things go. By contrast, the one that took out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago was 6 miles wide. If it impacted Earth, it would release the energy equivalent of 2.4 million tons of TNT and wipe out 750 square miles. The likelihood of something this size striking Earth is once in every 1,200 years. A close, harmless encounter like this is thought to occur every 40 years.

Numerology - I wish I could explain my fascination with stuff like this. I wish I could, but I can't. The largest prime number yet has been discovered — and it's 17,425,170 digits long. The new prime number crushes the last one discovered in 2008, which was a paltry 12,978,189 digits long. The number — 2 raised to the 57,885,161 power minus 1 — was discovered as part of a giant network of volunteer computers devoted to finding primes. The network, called the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS) harnesses about 360,000 processors operating at 150 trillion calculations per second.  GIMPS, huh?  I'm not even going to attempt to figure out how they overlooked the unfortunate acronym they created. Seriously, this is why no one aspires to careers in science. Honestly, would you really want to be associated with something called GIMPS? STUDS maybe, but GIMPS...I think not.  In addition, the number is the 48th example of a rare class of primes called Mersenne Primes. Mersenne primes take the form of 2 raised to the power of a prime number minus 1. Since they were first described by French monk Marin Mersenne 350 years ago, only 48 of these elusive numbers have been found, including the most recent discovery. The person who made the discovery is eligible for a $3,000 GIMPS research discovery award. Again, where's the love for science?  I guess it isn't bad enough to have socially awkward acronyms for otherwise extraordinary mathematical discoveries. The poor schmucks who make these discoveries get stiffed as well. 

Did You Know? #17

Which U.S. President delivered the shortest Inaugural Address?

George Washington's second inaugural address in 1793 contained just 135 words. Rounding out the 5 shortest addresses are Franklin Roosevelt's fourth address (1945, 559 words), Abraham Lincoln's second address (1865, 700 words), Theodore Roosevelt's address (1905, 984 words), and Zachary Taylor's address (1849, 1090 words).  William Henry Harrison holds the record for longest inaugural address in 1841 at 8460 words.  William Howard Taft is a distance second in 1909 at 5434 words. Barack Obama first address in 2009 contained 2395 words, slightly longer than his 2013 address of 2096 words.