Free Coffee for Life? Only If You Cheat the System

How would you like a free Starbucks coffee every day of the year? Well, did you know that you can get a free coffee on your birthday? One guy knew that and bought 365 cards and registered a different birthday for each. So now, he gets a free coffee everyday, for life. Why can't Starbucks shut it down? That was not explained.

How about another of the stories
A man asked his wife what she would like for her birthday. "I'd love to be eight again" she said. So he pulled out all the stops to make her dream come true. He whisked her off to Disneyland, made her go on all the scariest roller coasters, and force-fed her cotton candy and churros and ice cream.

Then he took her to McDonald's for a special kids' meal before rounding the day off with a trip to the cinema to see a two-hour cartoon carnival. That night she slumped into bed, feeling exhausted and queasy. "So what was it like being eight again?" asked the husband. "Actually," she said, "I meant my dress size?"

How is your heart rate? Normal right now? What about when you are watching an action movie like the most recent Mission Impossible? Is it elevated? Mine was. Anyway, what do you think your heart rate would do during a TV program like Game of Thrones. A scientific study was done at UCSF that tracked how heart rates changed during the show using a smartphone app.

Speaking of heart rate, do you monitor yours when you exercise?

Who's heard of the Five Man Electrical Band? They were most popular from the mid-60s through the mid-70s. Anyway, my point was that today's photos are of signs, and it made me think of their song called 'Signs'. Listen to it while you check out the photos.

You probably finished looking at the photos before the song was over. that's OK. Which photo is calling you to go on a trip right now?

Do you know what the 14th Amendment to the Constitution says? It was ratified on July 9, 1868, and granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed. You have probably heard that many Republican candidates for president think it should be repealed so that people won't enter the country illegally so that their child will be born as a citizen. I can understand how that gets people up in arms, but I am not sure changing the Constitution is the best direction. I think Marco Rubio's position most closely mirrors mine "I’m open to doing things that prevent people who deliberately come to the U.S. for purposes of taking advantage of the 14th Amendment, but I’m not in favor of repealing it."

Spotted this morning on Yahoo, Kelly Clarkson is a little bit pregnant. Or is she all the way pregnant? I guess the headlines says it all.

I saw a story about Mark Kelly, the astronaut who is spending a year in space. That made me think about how cool it would be to have a years worth of photos from space. That made me think about the fact that he has to exercise a lot to fight the deleterious effects of weightlessness. That made me wonder why the International Space Station doesn't spin to introduce artificial gravity. That made me research it on the interweb. It sounds like the main reason is just the size of the structure required to do so. The smaller the ship, the more RPMs would be required. One guy reckons that a two mile diameter ship might work. Otherwise, you've got Coriolis effect and other stuff to deal with. I read this article, but my search for "why can't ISS spin to induce gravity" brought up a number of links.

I think we have been busy enough this morning. Let's hit Waffle House before we get back to work. You're paying. Ha ha.