XIAM007

Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Friday 7 February 2014

SHOCK: Almost One in Four 26 year-olds still live with parents! -

SHOCK: Almost One in Four 26 year-olds still live with parents! - 




A ten-year survey of millennials reveals that almost one in four (22.6%) 26-year-olds are still living with their parents.
The U.S. Department of Education report confirmed that, if you are tired of living with Mom and Dad, then do your homework and stay in school. According to the survey titled “Where Are They Now," education makes a difference: generally those with more schooling were less likely to be living at home. The study shed some light on how older millennials have been faring during the Great Recession. 
According to a Pew Research analysis of the 2012 data, lower levels of employment, an increase in college enrollment, and a decrease in young people getting married are major factors in the increase of millennials living at home. 
The survey followed 13,000 high school students who were sophomores in 2002, and checked in with them in 2012 to see where are they now.  Some of the results are:
10% living with roommate(s), prompting fellow millennial Katy Waldman to write an embarrassing Slate article bearing the headline, "More 27-Year-Olds Live With Parents Than Roommates"
53.8 percent made less than $25,000 from employment in 2011
40%  had been unemployed for one or more months since January 2009
13% reported they were neither working for pay nor taking postsecondary courses
60.2 %  of those who had enrolled in college, reported they had taken out student loans

Read more -
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/02/06/Almost-One-in-Four-26-Year-Olds-Still-Live-with-Parents

POLL: Internet access, smartphones, laptops more important to Americans than sex... -

POLL: Internet access, smartphones, laptops more important to Americans than sex... - 



There is a popular quote attributed to an unknown author which goes, “I would like to meet the man who invented sex and see what he's working on now.” Evidence reveals that it may have been the smartphone.
A new poll shows that while 20% of Americans claim they couldn’t live without sex, a full 26% say they couldn’t live without using their smartphones. It also shows that Americans prefer internet access, cars, laptops, and TV to sex.
The study by Harris Interactive also discovered that almost three quarters of adults say technology enriches the quality of their lives, and almost half of the people surveyed believe it improves their relationships with friends and boosts their social lives. About 40% of those polled thinks technology makes them happier.
Food was far and away the most treasured of all “could not live withouts,” garnering a hefty 73% of positive responses. 
From a generation of technology savvy Americans, only eight percent seem to regularly lose their ways, admitting that they could not live without their satellite navigation devices



Read more - 
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/02/06/More-Americans-Prefer-Their-Laptop-and-Smartphones-to-Sex

Bob Costas has pink eye - lol - Pink eye -

bobcostas

You Can Join The 'Mile Low Club' In This Luxury Submarine For Only $570,000 -

You Can Join The 'Mile Low Club' In This Luxury Submarine For Only $570,000 - 



Looking to take your relationship to a whole new level? Perhaps connect on a deeper plane?

Meet Lovers Deep, a private luxury submarine in the Caribbean Sea "intended for couples who want to have a private night together submerged beneath the ocean waves." For around $285,000 per night (and a two-night minimum stay), adventurous couples can shack up in a customized sub while fish swim past the window.

If the deep sea isn't enough to lift the ol' "periscope" on its own, guests have the option of an "aphrodisiac tasting menu," with dishes "including oysters, caviar and a decadent chocolate fondant with essence of pomegranate" designed to put you in the mood. Other options include a Barry White soundtrack, scattered rose petals, and free champagne on arrival via your choice of speedboat or helicopter.

Unfortunately, the sub will only venture to depths of 650 feet, so the true mile low club remains out of reach. Then again, any vehicle going a mile down might risk offering sub par service.

"All of our hand picked, luxury properties have something unique and quirky about them," Oliver Bell, one of the brains behind the experience and the co-founder of Oliver's Travels, a luxury travel agency, told the Daily Mail. "But Lovers Deep really stands out as one of our quirkiest yet.

"We’re always fascinated by the colorful array of requests we get through our concierge service and are looking forward to creating bespoke packages for those wanting to join the Mile-Low Club with us."

Then again, if you "suffer from claustrophobia or a fear of fish," Lovers Deep may not float your boat.

Read more - 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/07/mile-low-club-luxury-submarine-lovers-deep_n_4740784.html

Joe Biden Says LaGuardia Airport Like a "Third World Country" -

Joe Biden Says LaGuardia Airport Like a "Third World Country" - 



Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday said LaGuardia Airport is like a "third world country" while speaking about infrastructure in Pennsylvania.

Biden said if someone were blindfolded and taken to the airport in Hong Kong at 2 a.m. and asked "where do you think you are," the person would say "'This must be America, it's a modern airport.'"

He went on: "If I took you and blindfolded you and took you to LaGuardia Airport in New York you must think, 'I must be in some third world country.'"

Read more - 
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Vice-President-Joe-Biden-LaGuardia-Airport-Third-World-Country-244024751.html

Curiosity rover takes snapshot of Earth -- from 100 million miles away on Mars

This view of the twilight sky and Martian horizon, taken by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, includes Earth as the brightest point of light in the night sky. Earth is a little left of center in the image, and our moon is just below Earth. A human observer with normal vision, if standing on Mars, could easily see Earth and the moon as two distinct, bright "evening stars."

'McGruff The Crime Dog' Actor Gets 16 Years In Prison For Pot, Grenade Launcher... -

'McGruff The Crime Dog' Actor Gets 16 Years In Prison For Pot, Grenade Launcher... -



Former McGruff the Crime Dog actor, John R. Morales, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison following his guilty plea three years after police seized 1,000 marijuana plants, 27 weapons – including a grenade launcher, and 9,000 rounds of ammunition from his home.
The man who played the famous “Take a bit out of crime” dog was arrested in 2011 after Galveston police and drug-sniffing dogs pulled over the McGruff actor for speeding, the Houston Chronicle reports. Authorities found diagrams of two indoor pot-growing operations sitting on the front seat, and multiple pot seeds stored in the trunk of his Infinity.
Police raided Morales’ home and found the multitude of marijuana plants, ammunition and weapons, which included a grenade launcher, according to court documents obtained by News Fix Now.
On Monday, the now 41-year-old former actor pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Morales insisted that he was nonviolent, but U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore stated that, “Everything I read about you makes you seem like a scary person.”
McGruff the Crime Dog is a cartoon bloodhound that was created by global advertising company Saatchi & Saatchi and the Ad Council in the early 1980s for the National Crime Prevention Council used by U.S. police in spreading crime awareness. The dog is often played by actors wearing the character’s rain-coat costume as McGruff visits schools, does commercials and engages children through educational videos.

Read more - 
http://houston.cbslocal.com/2014/02/06/mcgruff-the-crime-dog-actor-sentenced-to-16-years-for-pot-grenade-launcher/

School Apologizes After Putting Fried Chicken, Cornbread, Watermelon On Lunch Menu For Black History Month... -

School Apologizes After Putting Fried Chicken, Cornbread, Watermelon On Lunch Menu For Black History Month... - 



Officials at an East Bay private school are apologizing after a controversial lunch menu option to celebrate Black History Month.
Students at Carondelet High School for Girls in Concord wanted to come up with ways to observe the occasion during a lunchtime celebration Friday. But when the school announced a menu of fried chicken, cornbread and watermelon, other students and parents became offended.

“When I first saw that, I was confused. I didn’t understand why our school would do this because we’re totally against that kind of stuff,” said Gianna Scoma, a junior at Carondelet.
School officials held an assembly on campus Wednesday to discuss the issue and also sent a letter apologizing to parents. Principal Nancy Libby wrote that the items were taken off of the menu and that the school doesn’t perpetrate racial stereotypes.
Libby also wrote the school will hold a diversity assembly for students and faculty.
“Cultural insensitivity of any kind is obviously inconsistent with the mission of Carondelet High School,” said school president Sister Ann Bernard.
Educators at Acts Christian Academy, a private school in East Oakland, told KPIX 5 that Carondelet could have done so much more to teach and celebrate Black History Month.
“Quite offensive because they put everything that we’ve accomplished into a menu,” said Dr. Doris Limbrick, principal of Acts Christian Academy.
Andrew Jackson, a teacher at the academy said, “Regardless of the accomplishments we have achieved, or what we have done, we’re still viewed under the same lens.”
The educators said Carondelet could have invited speakers or hold a field trip to learn about black history.
While many students felt bad about the announcement, some said our society is too sensitive.
“I understand like how it would offend people. But we’re just doing something to celebrate, not bring it down,” said Morgan Hartford, a junior at the school.
Gabby Simones, a junior at the school who is Latina said, “On Cinco de Mayo we would have probably had enchiladas, rice and beans.”
Robert Jackson, a teacher at Acts Christian Academy said offering fried chicken, cornbread and watermelon is different, because the food goes back to the history of slavery. “We talk about soul food because it was actually food we used that was left over from the master’s table and we used it to restore our soul and restore our hope.”

Read more -
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/02/06/controversial-black-history-month-lunch-menu-prompts-concord-school-to-apologize/