Scree - January 20, 2011
Smoking Grades
The American Lung Association State of Tobacco Control 2010 was recently released. Tennessee received a C and three F's!
The grades came as no surprise to me. I run regularly at lunch time. One of my regular routes passes Vanderbilt Hospital. Outside the Hospital on 21st Ave, the smokers line the street. Doctors, nurses, hospital workers, visitors and patients all join in together for a few puffs. The smoke on 21st Ave was so thick I began crossing the street to avoid it. The Hospital took action and moved the smokers back away from the street and hid them behind shrubbery. You still know they are there; but it does not look as bad for the Hospital.
The good news from the report is that Tennessee is doing better than Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. All of these neighboring states received all F's. Ouch!
Of course the non-smokers wonder why the smokers don't quit smoking and the smokers wonder why the non-smokers don't quit harassing them.
I will say that it is interesting to see all the smokers grouped together. People from all walks of life, all incomes, all religions joining together for a single purpose, the puff. It is too bad that this truly American Spirit is wasted on smoking.
Hi-Tec Liquid Mountaineering
The new craze sweeping the outdoor world is Liquid Mountaineering. Using the same principles as skipping a stone, the runners try to run on the water by stepping quickly. Some mountaineers have taken numerous steps across the water.
The video received more than 8,000,000 views and I am sure as many laughs. In the video, the Liquid Mountaineers wore and endorsed Hi-Tec shoes. The Hi-Tec shoe company is now sponsoring a petition to give to the Olympic Committee to make Liquid Mountaineering an official sport.
(Oh the print on the Hi-Tec site is very dark... I don't think it was intentional.)
