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February 17  |  Jon Bauer, Herald staff
Might as well rotate the tires: Everett's Boeing plant will be the backdrop for a presidential visit for the second time when President Barack Obama arrives today. President Bill Clinton talked jobs and trade during his Feb. 22, 1993.

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February 16  |  Jon Bauer, Herald staff
Dying to get in: A man who was enjoying a Triple Bypass Burger, which includes 1.5 pounds of beef and a dozen bacon slices, at the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas, is now recovering after suffering, yes, a heart attack while at the restaurant. The restaurant, famous for its 10,000-calorie meals, serves free meals to those who weigh more than 350 pounds.

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February 15  |  Jon Bauer, Herald staff
Dog must be an Adele fan: Malachy, a 4-year-old Pekingese dog, won best in show at the 115th Westminster Kennel Club dog show Tuesday night to the delight of the crowd.

The dog further endeared himself to the audience when hip-hop star Nicki Minaj attempted to restage her incomprehensible Grammy Awards exorcism performance, after which Malachy lifted his leg and peed on the pop star.

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February 14  |  
Chokehold

AT&T customers who do things like stream videos on their smartphones may find the devices "throttled" -- in other words, reduced to 1996 dial-up modem speeds -- as AT&T tries to reduce demand on its cellular data network (Page A4).

Sounds like it's time for yet another new AT&T motto. The Buzz suggests: "AT&T: What Can We Do to Enrage You Today?"

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February 13  |  
Dog star

The American Humane Society has presented a Pawscar to Uggie, a Jack Russell terrier, for his scene-stealing performance in "The Artist.''.

With the coveted award under his collar, Uggie is expected to command a lavish compensation package for his next screen role, including bottomless bags of sausage treats, a fur-lined dog bed and a cat constantly on call for Uggie to chase at his whim.

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February 11  |  Jon Bauer, Herald staff
But please, not "The Vow": Gentlemen, Valentine's Day approaches and you're wondering how you're going to get out of watching a chick flick. Have you considered selling your dearest on the romantic sides of movies such as "Say Anything," "Jerry Maguire" or even "Die Hard"?

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February 10  |  
We've got nausea! We've got nausea! We've got nausea! How 'bout you? More than 200 people, most of them cheerleaders, reportedly became ill with diarrhea and vomiting after a cheerleading competition Saturday at Everett's Comcast Arena.

Coincidently, the Everett Silvertips hockey club returns to Comcast Arena on Saturday night, and it's Silvertip Souvenir Medical Face Mask and Hand Sanitizer Night.

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February 9  |  Jon Bauer, Herald staff
Just a snort for me, thanks: A Harvard professor has developed a lipstick-sized canister that delivers a puff of caffeine powder, delivering an inhaled jolt equal to a large cup of coffee. AeroShot is being sold in Massachusetts and New York for $2.99 a canister.

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February 8  |  Jon Bauer, Herald staff
Smile, though your teeth are yellow: A study by the Centers for Disease Control found that smokers not only have more problems with their teeth than nonsmokers, they also go to the dentist less often. A full 20 percent of smokers said they had not seen a dentist in at least five years.

The other 80 percent had seen a dentist but only because they bumped into the doctor while they were both taking a smoke break.

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February 7  |  
Dippity dogs

A Bothell therapist uses a 9-foot-by-6-foot rehabilitation pool to help her canine clients regain mobility and recover from injuries.

The therapy pool's for dogs only, because she'd need a chain-mail bathing suit if she tried it out on a cat.

New Netflix competitor: Redbox and Verizon are teaming up on a new business that will provide movies via streaming Internet and supermarket DVD kiosks.

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February 6  |  
Oh, shut up

Turning conventional wisdom on its head, business book author Susan Cain argues that bosses who place a high value on collaboration waste the ideas and problem-solving talents of introverts, who don't function well in a team environment.

If Cain's book does nothing else but lead to fewer awkward office birthday parties, The Buzz says she deserves the Pulitzer Prize.

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February 4  |  Jon Bauer, Herald staff
Specious origins

You say you want an evolution: Atheists, freethinkers and humanists have joined ranks in the Palouse region of Eastern Washington, home to Washington State University, and will mark their collaboration by celebrating International Darwin Day with events dubbed "Darwin on the Palouse."

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February 3  |  Jon Bauer, Herald staff
That's the ticket: Former quasi-presidential candidate, unfulfilled debate moderator and presidential birth certificate authority Donald Trump endorsed GOP front-runner Mitt Romney, R-Celebrity Apprentice, during a Las Vegas appearance with the candidate.

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February 2  |  Jon Bauer, Herald staff
The Face that launched a $5 billion IPO: The social network Facebook has filed with federal regulators to sell shares publicly with the hopes of raising $5 billion to expand its audience beyond its current 845 million users.

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February 1  |  
Hey Hey, My My

Veteran rocker Neil Young on Tuesday endorsed a digital music format that delivers much higher fidelity than the heavily compressed format sold at Apple's iTunes store.

Downloading one song would take about 30 minutes, or almost as long as one of Young's guitar solos.

Stimulus shock: A much-ballyhooed electric-car factory in Indiana has gone bust, in a cautionary tale for states eager to throw money at high-tech manufacturing jobs.

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January 31  |  Jon Bauer, Herald staff
Get a gross of beer and pretzels while you're there: Costco is offering Super Bowl ticket packages for Sunday's game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis that range from $2,999.99 for one ticket up to $15,499.99 for two tickets and a pre-game party with an NFL legend.

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January 30  |  
Fight club

On this day in 1798, a brawl broke out in the U.S. House of Representatives after a congressman from Vermont spat in the face of a colleague from Connecticut.

There haven't been any fisticuffs in Congress since senators Benjamin Tillman and John L. McLaurin squared off in 1902 -- yet another sign of how far our federal government has strayed from the Founding Fathers' vision.

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January 28  |  Jon Bauer, Herald staff
What a long strange trip it's been: Barring a prison break, we should be reading less about Colton Harris-Moore, the Camano Island Barefoot Bandit whose cross-continent string of burglaries and plane thefts captured the attention of international media. Harris-Moore was sentenced in federal court to 6 1/2 years in prison, to run concurrently with a state sentence.

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January 27  |  Jon Bauer, Herald staff
I'd like to buy a vowel: A? Longtime "Wheel of Fortune" host Pat Sajak admitted during a ESPN2 talk show that he and the lovely letter-spinning Vanna White often partook of four-or-more-margarita meal breaks when they were younger.

This must have made things difficult for Sajak; the entire studio was spinning long before contestants even touched the wheel.

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January 26  |  Jon Bauer, Herald staff
Is there nothing it can't fix? Citing the cost and controversy, Monroe Mayor Robert Zimmerman says its unlikely that the city will renew a contract to use traffic cameras at intersections after 2013. Existing cameras won't be taken down because of a binding contract with the camera company.

But we think the mayor can solve even that problem with some strategically placed duct tape.

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January 25  |  Jon Bauer, Herald staff
Those magnificent men in their flying machines: Colton Harris-Moore, the Barefoot Bandit now awaiting sentencing for his cross-continent string of burglaries and aircraft thefts, characterized police and prosecutors in monitored calls and email as "swine," "fools" and "asses" and noted of himself, "Nobody on this planet have (sic) done what I have, except for the Wright brothers." (above)

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January 24  |  
The Disney Look

The Animatronic Abraham Lincoln no longer is the only worker bee at Disneyland with facial hair. The Walt Disney Co. will soon allow employees, presumably only the male ones, at Disneyland and Disney World to grow beards or goatees.

Disney also will allow Casual Fridays, but frankly we can't quite see Honest Abe in a blue shirt and tan chinos.

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January 23  |  
Ice Road Suckers

Fools of the road: Street Smarts columnist Bill Sheets recently asked readers to send in their driving pet peeves and received more than 140 responses. Among the top gripes were left-lane campers, tailgaters and those who drive too fast for conditions when it snows.

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January 21  |  
Tehran Barbie

Authorities in Iran have resumed their decades-long crackdown on Barbie, saying the doll exemplifies unwholesome Western culture.

How typical of the cruel, repressive Iranian regime to deny that nation's girls the opportunity to dress provocatively, crave expensive status symbols and starve themselves so they may have freakishly skinny waists.

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January 20  |  Jon Bauer, Herald staff
He's dead, Jim: Priceline, the travel booking website, is killing off its Negotiator character in a fiery bus plunge in a new commercial. For the last 14, years, the Negotiator was played by William Shatner, whose James T. Kirk character from "Star Trek" also met a dramatic end.

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January 19  |  Jon Bauer, Herald staff
Slip-sliding away

Look on the bright side: With roads still treacherous with ice and snow, auto body shops in Snohomish County have geared up for the parade of crumpled fenders and shattered tail lights that are sure to follow.

Think of it this way: That's not a $500 check you just wrote for the deductible; it's a flat-screen TV for your mechanic.

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January 18  |  Jon Bauer, Herald staff
One of our plows is missing: Everett School District employees reported that one of the district's snow plows was stolen from an equipment lot during the recent snowstorm.

Suspicion has fallen on those in the area with snow-free driveways who weren't sweaty and breathless from shoveling.

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January 17  |  Jon Bauer, Herald staff
Guess there won't be one more thing: A company that planned to sell a lifelike 12-inch doll of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, down to the black mock turtleneck, rimless glasses and jeans, said it will respect the request of Apple and Jobs' family and will not market the doll.

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January 16  |  
Made to be broken

Facebook requires that its users be at least 13 years old, but children younger than that are creating their own pages, with help from parents anxious for them to "embrace technology."

These kids are learning two lessons: That Facebook is a powerful social networking tool, and that you don't have to abide by rules you think are dumb.

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January 14  |  Jon Bauer, Herald staff
How about a Windows phone instead? Apple's plans to begin selling its iPhone 4S in China on Friday were delayed in Beijing after huge crowds surrounded the Apple store there, raising concerns about safety. When the store didn't open at 7 a.m., the crowd responded in anger, hurling eggs and shouting at employees.

Apple employees avoided harm by asking Siri to show them a good escape route.

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Can you give a pet a home?
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Rescuer becomes the rescued
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