“Denton House: A McDonald’s Mansion in New Hyde Park, NY”
There are several strange and unique McDonald’s in the United States, including a colonial-themed locale in Independence, Ohio; a river boat restaurant on the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri; and a brightly lit Golden Arches in the middle of Times Square. However, the most unusual McDonald’s location on U.S. soil can be found in New Hyde Park, New York, where the franchise opened its doors in a gorgeous Georgian mansion that dates back to 1795.
Before one can fault the corporate giant for opening a restaurant in a historical landmark, it must first be noted that this mansion — known by locals as the Denton House — was abandoned and on the verge of collapse before McDonald’s purchased the property in the 1980s.
Happy Repeal Day!
December 5th 1933: Prohibition ends
On this day in 1933, Prohibition officially ended in the United States upon the ratification of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution. Utah was the final state to ratify the amendment, and this gave the measure the required 75% of state approval. The 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment of 1920 which had imposed Prohibition, which banned alcohol in the United States. This is the only time in US history when one amendment overturned another.
Marijuana will also become legal in Washington State tonight, at midnight.
Good things happen around this day. ^_^
BREAKING NEWS: Oil rig explosion and fire off Louisiana coast, 2 missing
The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that a Black Elk Energy Co. oil and natural gas platform had some sort of explosion occur in the gulf, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky over the water.
#GettingTiredOfYoShitBigOil
(via andasfortakingitinstride)
“On the fence: SUV gets stuck in smuggling attempt”
Two men attempting to enter the United States illegally early Tuesday morning were thwarted when their SUV got stuck on top of the border fence 20 miles west of Yuma.
Shortly after midnight, Border Patrol agents patrolling the Imperial Sand Dunes encountered a silver Jeep Cherokee attempting to drive over the International Boundary fence using a make-shift ramp extending from Mexico into the United States.
The ramp’s flawed design caused the Jeep to become “high centered,” and unable to move as it drove over the precipice of the 14-feet-high fence.
When the agents approached the stranded vehicle, two men fled into Mexico. The agents removed the Jeep from the fence, and seized both the vehicle and the ramp.
Now that the bell has rung to signal the end of Q3 2012, Ford is standing in the ring with both hands in the air like Rocky: The company’s overall profit of $1.63 billion for the last three months is nearly equal to its entire 2011 total of $1.94B. Those numbers come thank to the record-breaking pretax operating profit in North America of $2.33B on revenues of $19.5B, the third straight quarter that The Blue Oval has crossed the two-billion mark. Customers are paying more, on average, for Ford vehicles, another contributor to the company maintaining double-digit profit margins on its products.
True, there are a couple of bruises. Losses in Europe continue, with The Continent suffering an even larger decline in pretax revenues to $468 million, and European revenue has dropped to $5.8 billion compared to $7.8 billion a year ago. South America is another sore spot, with exchange rates and currency restrictions being blamed for a 23-percent decline in revenue to $2.3 billion and a screeching 97-percent shrinkage in pretax operating profit to $9 million, down from $276 million in the same quarter last year. Global revenue is also down three percent to $32.1 billion.
But North America’s numbers have kept the tide rising, even with the rise in the company’s North American tax rate to 30 percent, a 20-percent jump over last year. Ford’s prognosis for the rest of the year is for strong results and even greater production – 1.5 million in Q4 versus 1.4 million in Q3 – even with expanded costs to market the new models it is introducing as well as continued challenges in Europe. That means great news for two of our three domestic automakers, following the Chrysler announcement of an 80-percent jump in Q3 profit to $381 million.
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The automotive industry is an indicator of how well the economy is doing. Ford didn’t rely on bailout funds but it’s still great to hear of their positive gains on the news of Chrysler’s profits.
Romney may try to take credit for this.
NORML (@NORML) tweeted at 0:28 PM on Fri, Oct 19, 2012:
CO’s largest labor union endorses marijuana legalization amendment 64 - #YesOn64 #LegalizeIt http://t.co/vzbBcdLr
WATCH: CNN anchor throws American Family Association spokesman off show
“Ellsworth police return stolen pot to medical marijuana caregiver”
A medical marijuana grower in northern Ellsworth was happy to have his stolen plants returned Saturday, despite the fact he’ll only be able to salvage about 15 percent of the crop.
Thomas Davis, a state-licensed marijuana caregiver, was burglarized Wednesday night, when police say Aaron Pert, 32, of Trenton, broke into Davis’ greenhouses and stole 17 marijuana plants worth an estimated $12,800.
Pert allegedly cut two large openings in Davis’ greenhouse, and apparently used clippers to remove mature, flowering branches from the large plants. He also allegedly cut a smaller hole in the side of the greenhouse that faces Davis’ home, which the caregiver said was likely a “lookout” peephole.
Pert had been charged early Thursday morning with possession of a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle and possession of marijuana. After Davis reported the burglary, police questioned Pert, who admitted to stealing the plants, according to Lt. Harold Page.
Page said Pert told police where he stashed the pilfered pot. Police found the marijuana in the woods in northern Ellsworth and held onto it for two days. Police didn’t return the plants right away because the department was worried it may violate federal law in returning the medical marijuana, which is legal under Maine law but illegal at the federal level.
Ellsworth Police Chief John DeLeo made the decision Saturday to return the plants to Davis. On Monday, DeLeo said returning the marijuana to Davis was legal, as far as he was concerned.
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THIS is how police services should be rendered.
Kudos to Police Chief John DeLeo!
#CommonSensePrevails
“Tesla Gets $10 Million Grant To Help Build The Model X”
Few auto manufacturers would actually find themselves lobbying California lawmakers to pass more stringent zero-emission regulations. Then again, Tesla is not your “typical” automaker, as zero-emission cars is all they do, and that lobbying has put Tesla firmly in the minds of the state’s lawmakers.
With California having a vested interest in the success of the EV world, thanks to its growing number of cars on the road, it needs Tesla to start hammering out a more eclectic line of vehicles. The Model X is exactly the balance that Tesla and California need, but as an up-and-coming business, Tesla’s funds are a little tight. Well, California has upped its faith in the growing automaker, as it the state has issued it a $10 million grant to help the EV manufacturer get its Fremont, California ready for production of the new crossover SUV.
Now before you get yourself up in arms about the government handing out grants to another EV company, please note that per the terms of this grant deal, Tesla has ponied up $50 million toward the project. That $60 million will be used to create 700 new jobs, update equipment and bring in the new equipment that Tesla needs to stamp out the Model X.
This means that we are getting closer and closer to the scheduled 2014 release of the Model X, which will carry with it an MSRP from $57,400 to about $90,000. Models nearer the top end of the MSRP spectrum will boast dual-motor all-wheel drive and a 0-to-60 mph time under 5 seconds. That will put the Model X near the performance level of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo with a lower MSRP and no fuel to purchase. All that remains to be figured out is whether it will boast a 300-mile electric range like its Model S brethren. If so, Tesla certainly has a winner on its hands.
“It’ll be a challenge to reach 54.5 MPG as Americans get heavier”
Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in recent decades in the US, and with our bulging bellies has come an increase in serious health issues like diabetes and heart disease. Add to that excess gasoline consumption and additional risks in accidents, and the fat forecast gets even more depressing.
Starting with the statistic that Americans’ weight gain is burning more than one billion gallons of excess fuel each year, Allstate and Cars.com have created an infographic explaining the complex struggle between fuel efficiency and passenger weight (check it out below). The short version: as automakers explore their options to meet ambitious federal corporate average fuel economy standards of 54.5 mpg by 2025, obese passengers make the efforts more complex.
The infographic, called “The Seesaw Battle of Fuel Efficiency,” looks at what automakers are doing to meet the 54.5 mpg mandate during a time when more than one third of American adults are obese. For the automakers, cutting down weight is important because every 100 extra pounds can cut fuel efficiency by up to two percent. To improve efficiency, automakers are reducing vehicle weight by using more lightweight, high-strength steel and lightweight aluminum. They are also changing accessories inside the car, such as using MP3 players instead of CD players, flash drives instead of owner’s manuals and air pumps instead of spare tires.
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When I was into the drag racing scene, there was a rule of thumb that for every 100 lbs. you shed from you car, you’d gain a second in the 1/4 mile. In the parking lot, you’d see people’s back seats removed sitting alongside their spare tires and whatever other junk they had in their car just to gain 1 or maybe 2 seconds on their timeslips. The more dedicated racers even went as far as removing all the carpeting and headliner material from their daily driven vehicles. Anything added to their car, thus, had to at least improve performance (i.e. a bottle of nitrous, forced induction system).
I recently shared some of my opinions about meeting the challenges of raising the fuel efficiency standard but the argument about our own behaviors compromising automotive efficiency is equally interesting and valid. It’s almost a self-defeating scenario where the manufacturers are cutting weight through manufacturing but we’re just putting the weight back in through our mouths.
Unfortunately, the onus is ultimately on society as being the more affordable route to helping meet or exceed any new fuel efficiency standards NOT being compromised by increased weight gains. And there will inevitably come a tipping point because Americans are not only working more hours but spending more time in their cars just getting to work and getting less exercise. It’s not a very positive outlook for Americans and/or the future of automotive efficiencies if the lifestyles we choose do not change for the better.
It would be fallacious to entirely expect the manufacturers to do all the work.
Woman Tells Police Being a Republican Should Keep Her Out of Jail
A diner at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro told police he was afraid the Council Bluffs woman might hurt one of the employees after they tried to eject her for her political rant.
Diners at a West Des Moines restaurant ran into two things that don’t mix – alcohol and politics – not long before President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney meet in their second presidential debate.
After an encounter that neither candidate likely approved, Charlene Idelle Hunziker, 47, of Council Bluffs was charged with public intoxication and harassment of public officials.
Authorities were called to P.F. Chang’s China Bistro at Jordan Creek Town Center about 3:45 p.m. Friday after restaurant employees tried to eject Hunziker for upsetting ther diners with her political rant, according to a report on file at the West Des Moines Police Department.
Officer Chris Morgan said in his report that when he arrived, Hunziker reportedly yelled at him and said he didn’t need to be there because “she was a Republican.”
“Running out of gas, stations in CA now inching toward $5/gallon prices”
The basics of supply and demand, even in a market as curated as global petroleum is, are fairly easy to understand. Today’s example: southern California, where some stations are beginning to run out of gas due to “refinery supply problems” at both Chevron and Mobil, reports USA Today. The result? Prices could hit $5-a-gallon soon. AAA says that the average in California today is $4.486 a gallon, well above the national average of $3.789 and making a run on the $4.61 record from June 2008.
Since some gas stations are no longer buying wholesale fuel, the tanks are running dry. USA Today notes that a Costco in Simi Valley started selling premium (which was available) at regular prices (since that fuel was not available). Another station owner told Bloomberg, “I can get gas, but it’s going to cost me $4.90 a gallon, and I can’t sell it here for $5. … My market is open, but no gas.” He can’t sell it for $5 today, but with California prices jumping 20 cents overnight and 40 cents for the week, that could change soon. In fact, a station in Calabasas was selling gas for $5.69 yesterday, along with signs that said: “We are sorry, it is not our fault.”
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If you’re not already driving a fuel-efficient car, prepare to get bent over.
