FREEBIE

Take the family and take a hike.

“The National Park Service turned 100 on 8/25/16.  To celebrate You can get in to the parks for FREE through this weekend. The National Park Service turns 100 on August 25, 2016, and we’re inviting visitors of all ages to join in the celebration throughout the month! With special events across the country, and free admission to all 412 national parks from August 25 through August 28, the National Park Service is encouraging everyone to #FindYourPark / #EncuentraTuParque for the centennial!”

Rate Hike or Not?

Fed Reserve chair Janet Yellen gave indications today an interest rate hike could, maybe happen. Someday.  I’m convinced the woman speaks in tongues since she’s never clear about when the hike will happen. The Federal Reserve has said for about a year interest rates will rise, albeit slowly. But things keep happening like high unemployment, Brexit, things going on in China, etc. The last interest uptick was in December and did nothing to fatten your savings or your CDs if needed for retirement or paying off school. Yahoo has up bits of her speech today in Wyoming where, again, we’re given no clarity :

“..in light of the continued solid performance of the labor market and our outlook for economic activity and inflation, I believe the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened in recent months,”

Now we’re getting some where, right?  Not so fast.

“Based on this economic outlook, the FOMC continues to anticipate that gradual increases in the federal funds rate will be appropriate over time to achieve and sustain employment and inflation near our statutory objectives,” she said.

Clear as mud.

New York’s Train Ride from Hell (not so much)

Honestly, people. Get a grip. Here’s a few select words from a Fox News story out of New York:  Crazed woman; Chaos; Freak Out; All Ran; Screaming; Crying; Pandemonium; Emergency Brake; Craziest; Train Skidded; Urinating; Sweltering; (and the obligatory) Dozens of Cops. Sounds horrifying, doesn’t it? Here is a calmer version of what transpired. A woman got on a train in New York while carrying a box of …(wait for it)..some worms and crickets. Then this happened:

“A group of teenagers pushed her, prompting her to freak out and toss the box of pests into the air, said witnesses. Straphangers then started screaming and crying, and all ran down to one end of the car.”

Then all those other terrifying words worthy of Wes Craven happened. I am unsure if the people had never seen crickets and  worms before or what. Not sure why the woman ended up urinating at the end. Perhaps there was a bladder issue, or maybe she does have mental health concerns.  Regardless, there was no cause for the panic described. Worms and crickets go together like fishing poles and bait. (hmmm) Besides, those kids shouldn’t have pushed her.

News Neutrality

Little confused here over what this guy Jorge Ramos is asking for.  According to this story up at the Hill,  the Univision anchor was speaking to Megyn Kelly about a Time mag piece he wrote calling for journalists to “abandon neutrality” when they cover Donald Trump.  Personally, I  haven’t seen a lot of neutrality when it comes to either Trump or Hillary Clinton. Most stories you can figure out exactly where that journalist sits in regards to their preference of liking or disliking a particular candidate.

Rules for Bringing Back Extinct Critters

We’re almost scientifically there – the ability to bring back extinct creatures.  But, if news from Popular Mechanics is any indication, forget the dinosaurs. Folks in the know at UC Santa Barbra have developed some guidelines for bringing back a species. First, they should be recently extinct. Second, what can they contribute to the environment, and third can you bring back a lot of them. They suggest you consider the “pipistrelle bat”. It only went extinct about four years ago so it’s good with the current ecosystem, eats lots of bugs, and would actually prove useful in abundance. Apparently, if you’re only bring back two large dinosaurs, that’s just zoo material. If they don’t mate they’ll die off, again. What’s the point.

Today is National Dog Day .  No peeking at pictures of – or – glorifying cats. It’s all about the canines today. Hey, remember four years ago? The elections went to the dogs because the Democrats were pushing the story Mitt Romney had once strapped a dog to the roof of his car, while Republicans pushed back with the fact Barack Obama ate dog when he was younger.  Heh, yeah those were some good times. Imagine all the fun moments we’ll remember from this election.

That’s it for today’s Cooler, the rest is up to you.  Fill up the bottom half with anything that strikes your fancy. News or notes from elsewhere that you want to pass along or a comment about something you saw here. It’s OPEN THREAD time!

* All emphasis mine.