Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Burn Baby Burn

I confess, I have a particular hatred of resumés.  It probably started when I first had to create my own, but has long since gone beyond that.  The damn things just nauseate me, no matter whose they are.  It doesn't help that you can't spell it correctly without those wretched accent marks.  Ugh.  I can't even explain it.  It's like the cockroach reaction.  It doesn't make sense that they're any worse than any other vermin, but for some reason they are.  I see a resumé scurrying up my screen and I just want to knock it off and stomp on it until I can't tell what it used to be anymore.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Bridge Over I-40

Here's a factoid about the recent disaster from the geniuses at Fox News.
The entire span of an interstate bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River during evening rush hour Wednesday, sending vehicles, tons of concrete and twisted metal crashing into the water.

— A look at recent fatal bridge disasters in U.S. history:

• Bridge/location: Silver Bridge, Ohio River
Date: Dec. 1967
Deaths: 46

• Bridge/location: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Point Pleasant, W.Va.
Date: May 1980
Deaths: 35

• Bridge/location: Schoharie Creek Bridge, Amsterdam, NY
Date: April 1987
Deaths: 10

• Bridge/location: Hatchie River Bridge, Covington, Tenn.
Date: April 1989
Deaths: 8

• Bridge/location: Zuber Creek Culvert
Date: Jan. 1983
Deaths: 5

• Bridge/location: Bridge over I-40 in eastern Oklahoma
Date: May 26, 2002
Deaths: 14
Note how every entry except the last one has some fairly specific information about where it is. You might also notice that, although the "bridge over I-40" incident had a higher death toll than any but the top two, it's last. If you think that's because they're in chronological order, then take a look at the "Zuber Creek Culvert" entry .

But that's not the funny part. It wasn't a "bridge over I-40." It was I-40. This is not just a couple of rickety boards over some culvert (in which case it would make perfect sense to leave the name out). It was an interstate highway over the ARKANSAS FREAKIN' RIVER, a waterway that crosses four states and is a major tributary of the Mississippi.

Amazing.