American Ingenuity

Gas is now over $4 a gallon and the sentiment seems to be that it isn't heading back down anytime soon. As you may be aware, Ford, Jeep, and Chrysler have come up with their own unique answer to the gas crisis. Some motor companies may be working on the development and production of alternative fuel vehicles, hybrids, and increasing gas mileage in existing models. These are the same companies that have good long-term growth prospects and good sales. Arguably, companies that have seen into the future (perpetual energy crisis based on the increasing demand on the limited resource of oil) are trying to position themselves on the forefront of a better, cleaner, and more efficient car industry.

On the flip side, the American car industry again shows us that they have their head in the sand. Rather than finding a sustainable solution to consumer complaints on rising gas prices, they have come out with this.

Ridiculous.

I'm not sure if Detroit is aware of this, but the problem isn't just that we don't like having to pay more each week at the pump. There is also a little something called global warming. Oh, and the other issue- our dependence on the Middle East for oil- maybe that has also caused us some trouble in recent history?!

Heartwarming article

I found this on MSN this morning and wanted to pass it along...


25 fascinating love facts

By Laura Schaefer

Love is a many splendored thing…and very surprising thing, too. As if you needed proof of that, here are 25 funny little facts about love. Study them, scratch your head over them, and share them with someone you fancy.

1. Men who kiss their wives in the morning live five years longer than those who don't.
2. The oldest known love song was written 4,000 years ago and comes from an area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
3. When it comes to doing the deed early in the relationship, 78 percent of women would decline an intimate rendezvous if they had not shaved their legs or underarms.
4. Feminist women are more likely than others females to be in a romantic relationship.
5. Two-thirds of people report that they fall in love with someone they’ve known for some time vs. just met.
6. People telling their story of how they fell in love overwhelmingly believe the process is out of their control.
7. Falling in love can induce a calming effect on the body and mind and raises levels of nerve growth factor for about a year, which helps to restore the nervous system and improves the lover’s memory.
8. Love can also exert the same stress on your body as deep fear. You see the same physiological responses—pupil dilation, sweaty palms, and increased heart rate.
9. Brain scans show that people who view photos of their beloved experience an activation of the caudate—the part of the brain involving cravings.
10. The women of the Tiwi tribe in the South Pacific are married at birth.
11. The “Love Detector” service from Korean cell phone operator KTF uses technology that is supposed to analyze voice patterns to see if a lover is speaking honestly and with affection. Users later receive an analysis of the conversation delivered through text message that breaks down the amount of affection, surprise, concentration and honesty of the other speaker.
12. Eleven percent of women have gone online and done research on a person they were dating or were about to meet, versus seven percent of men.
13. Couples’ personalities converge over time to make partners more and more similar.
14. People are more likely to tilt their heads to the right when kissing instead of the left (65 percent of people go to the right!).
15. The tradition of the diamond engagement ring comes from Archduke Maximillian of Austria who, in the 15th century, gave a diamond ring to his fiancée, Mary of Burgundy.
16. Forty-three percent of women prefer their partners never sign “love” to a card unless they are ready for commitment.
17. People who are newly in love produce decreased levels of the hormone serotonin —as low as levels seen in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Perhaps that’s why it’s so easy to feel obsessed when you’re smitten.
18. Philadelphia International Airport finished as the No. 1 best airport for making a love connection, according to a recent survey.
19. According to mathematical theory, we should date a dozen people before choosing a long-term partner; that provides the best chance that you’ll make a love match.
20. A man’s beard grows fastest when he anticipates sex.
21. Verona, the Italian city where Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet took place, receives around 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet every Valentine’s Day.
22. When we get dumped, for a period of time we love the person who rejected us even more, says Dr. Helen Fisher of Rutgers University and author of Why We Love. The brain regions that lit up when we were in a happy union continue to be active.
23. There’s a reason why office romances occur: The single biggest predictor of love is proximity. Familiarity breeds comfort and closeness… and romance.
24. One in five long-term love relationships began with one or both partners being involved with others.
25. OK, this one may not surprise you, but we had to share it: Having a romantic relationship makes both genders happier. The stronger the commitment, the greater the happiness!