Top o' the Mornin'
Today's my favorite Chicago holiday! It is not exactly St. Patrick's Day, since that is on the 17th, so we can call it Chi-rish Day. It is the day that the river is dyed green and people drink too much. For me, though, it goes further. I moved to Chicago in January 2008 from Florida and my "Chi-rish day" was not ridiculously cold. It gave me hope that warmer days were on the way.
Nuclear Fears in Japan
In the wake of the earthquake-tsunami catastrophe, Japan is now scrambling to prevent a nuclear meltdown.
The earthquake knocked out power at nuclear power plants in Fukushima and on Saturday afternoon there was an explosion caused by the pumping system that is needed to bring the reactor’s temperature down.
The quick-and-dirty of nuclear power: Nuclear fission splits the nucleus of atoms. Lots of energy is created by that, so it is hot. That heat is used in steam turbines that generate electricity. The problem right now is that the cooling system isn’t working and there is a worry that it could be too hot and there could be a nuclear meltdown, which could cause lots of enivronmental and health problems.
The explosion looks dramatic, but the Japanese officials said that the reactor itself was not damaged. However, they did double the evacuation area from 10 kilometers to 20 kilometers.
The 8.9-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit Japan on Friday afteroon. So far, 1,700 people are dead, with that number expected to rise. More.
Mo' Money, Mo' Problems: NFL Edition
The 2011 NFL season is in jeopardy after months of negotiations between the players’ union and the owners came to a head on Friday night. The players’ union is decertifying so that players can file anti-trust lawsuits – Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and others already have – and the owners have locked out the players.
At issue is how to share the $9 billion the NFL pulls in each year. The players are also calling for more transparency from the owners to ensure that they are getting their fair share. I am sure there is a lot more to it than this and I am probably screwing it up. More.
Alec Is Da Man
Speaking of fighting with the boss, Alec Baldwin wrote this really great open letter to Charlie Sheen telling him to sober up, suck it up, apologize and get back to making dads laugh. More. In my opinion, John Francis Donaghy has more #winning in the part in his hair than Charlie Sheen has in his whole being, so he should listen up.
So Long, Sahara
The storied Sahara casino is set to close in May, because it is no longer economically viable to run and the economy has stymied any immediate plans to return the casino or its site to its former glory. The hotel and casino opened in 1952 and was home base for the Rat Pack. Now, it has the Nascar Café and a sucky roller coaster. More.
Today's my favorite Chicago holiday! It is not exactly St. Patrick's Day, since that is on the 17th, so we can call it Chi-rish Day. It is the day that the river is dyed green and people drink too much. For me, though, it goes further. I moved to Chicago in January 2008 from Florida and my "Chi-rish day" was not ridiculously cold. It gave me hope that warmer days were on the way.
Nuclear Fears in Japan
In the wake of the earthquake-tsunami catastrophe, Japan is now scrambling to prevent a nuclear meltdown.
The earthquake knocked out power at nuclear power plants in Fukushima and on Saturday afternoon there was an explosion caused by the pumping system that is needed to bring the reactor’s temperature down.
The quick-and-dirty of nuclear power: Nuclear fission splits the nucleus of atoms. Lots of energy is created by that, so it is hot. That heat is used in steam turbines that generate electricity. The problem right now is that the cooling system isn’t working and there is a worry that it could be too hot and there could be a nuclear meltdown, which could cause lots of enivronmental and health problems.
The explosion looks dramatic, but the Japanese officials said that the reactor itself was not damaged. However, they did double the evacuation area from 10 kilometers to 20 kilometers.
The 8.9-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit Japan on Friday afteroon. So far, 1,700 people are dead, with that number expected to rise. More.
Mo' Money, Mo' Problems: NFL Edition
The 2011 NFL season is in jeopardy after months of negotiations between the players’ union and the owners came to a head on Friday night. The players’ union is decertifying so that players can file anti-trust lawsuits – Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and others already have – and the owners have locked out the players.
At issue is how to share the $9 billion the NFL pulls in each year. The players are also calling for more transparency from the owners to ensure that they are getting their fair share. I am sure there is a lot more to it than this and I am probably screwing it up. More.
Alec Is Da Man
Speaking of fighting with the boss, Alec Baldwin wrote this really great open letter to Charlie Sheen telling him to sober up, suck it up, apologize and get back to making dads laugh. More. In my opinion, John Francis Donaghy has more #winning in the part in his hair than Charlie Sheen has in his whole being, so he should listen up.
So Long, Sahara
The storied Sahara casino is set to close in May, because it is no longer economically viable to run and the economy has stymied any immediate plans to return the casino or its site to its former glory. The hotel and casino opened in 1952 and was home base for the Rat Pack. Now, it has the Nascar Café and a sucky roller coaster. More.
While there are no immediate plans to demolish the faded beauty, this immediately reminded me of the final scene of Casino when all of the old hotels are brought down to make way for mega resorts. I haven’t been to Vegas in almost a decade, meaning I haven’t been there as an adult. Hmm, not sure how I feel about that.
It's Ours Now
Colonel Moammar Gadhafi might be advancing on the opposition in Libya, his son’s British manse is now in the hand of the rebels.
Squatters, made up of essentially exiled Libyas and radical Brits, took ownership of Saif Gadhafi’s $17 million house in London. The group, Topple the Tyrants, say they are going to use it as an embassy for the opposition and as a possible refugee center. As they see it, they wouldn’t want Saif Gadhafi to sell the house to fund more killings. More.
The place has a private theater and a swimming pool. Not to make light on the Libyan plight, but I need to look into this “squatting” thing.
Squatters, made up of essentially exiled Libyas and radical Brits, took ownership of Saif Gadhafi’s $17 million house in London. The group, Topple the Tyrants, say they are going to use it as an embassy for the opposition and as a possible refugee center. As they see it, they wouldn’t want Saif Gadhafi to sell the house to fund more killings. More.
The place has a private theater and a swimming pool. Not to make light on the Libyan plight, but I need to look into this “squatting” thing.
The Deficit Made Me Do It
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is mulling a possible run at president in 2012, basically uses patriotism as an excuse for his extramarital affairs. “There’s no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate," Right...
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is mulling a possible run at president in 2012, basically uses patriotism as an excuse for his extramarital affairs. “There’s no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate," Right...
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