All about me

I know I rail against federal government programs, but one I have a soft spot for is Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps, perhaps because I heard my dad tell so many stories about being a member. It did good work by getting things done that needed doing, and it put some money in the pockets of people who didn't have any and showed them how to use it.

This is post test No. 3. Hmm. We're not showing many lines. Oh, well.

The title of this piece -- "The right way to slack off at work" -- makes it seem like a primer on how to be a bad employee. But it's really about how to cope with being in a downsized company in which you might be doing the work previously done by several employees:

Today's bachelor-cooking quiz: If you've already put the ear of corn in the boiling water before you discover that you're out of butter, how do you save the meal?

Answer: Butter-flavored Pam cooking spray -- just a hint. It gave the corn a light, buttery taste and gave the salt something to cling to.

I mean, it would have given the corn that taste and the salt something to cling to, had I actually been stupid enough to get in that predicament.

Today's bachelor-cooking quiz: If you've already put the ear of corn in the boiling water before you discover that you're out of butter, how do you save the meal?

Answer: Butter-flavored Pam cooking spray -- just a hint. It gave the corn a light, buttery taste and gave the salt something to cling to.

I mean, it would have given the corn that taste and the salt something to cling to, had I actually been stupid enough to get myself in that predicament.

Baby boomers, whiners till the end:

America's baby boomers are in a collective funk. Members of the large generation born from 1946 to 1964 are more downbeat about their lives than are adults who are younger or older, according to a new Pew Research Center Social and Demographic Trends survey.

We've started interviewing the politicians for our fall-election endorsement interviews, so blogging will be a little light and/or spotty for the next few weeks. I know, I know, try to contain your grief.

My niece Melissa took these photos with her cell-phone camera at her house in Houston after Hurricane Ike roared through. They were jarred awake by a tree falling on their house, cutting it in half from front to back across the dining room and living room. Ten foot to the left, and the tree would have taken out all the bedrooms. They stayed together in the hallway until the eye moved over them, then made it to a neighbor's house, where they rode out the rest of the storm.

The death of a thousand cuts continues:

Effective next week, a Rush County newspaper says it will no longer publish on Mondays, opting to cut back to five days a week to save on newsprint, delivery, and other expenses.

This is an outrage, totally reprehensible. I demand that somebody do something!

There's a Hoosier look to the newest issue of Playboy.

Nearly a dozen Indiana college students are featured in the adult magazine's “Girls of the Big Ten” feature, five from Purdue and six from Indiana University.