10 Thoughts for July 13, 2014

1. As of June, the US deficit is running 28.2% lower than fiscal year 2013 (starts October 1 / ends September 30), and 2014 is on track to have the lowest deficit since 2007.
2. With the official national unemployment rate at 6.1%, we've now reached a level not seen since September 2008.
3. Pompeii, I don't think, was meant to be funny.  At about 1:21:35, rocks falling from the sky hit two people in the head and they wriggle around as they collapse.  Now, the wriggling was itself a riot, but that the rocks falling from the sky, having been shot up some 1000+ feet, then falling another 2,000, bounce off the heads of people and off the tops of roofs.  Conservatively, with gravity, these rocks would be going at least 150 mph, though probably closer to 240 mph.
4. One of my IKEA small plates chipped when I accidentally hit it against the faucet.  Being porcelain and not regular ceramic, it didn't crack or shatter, but the chipped portions went flying, with one tiny piece striking my cheek and the rest landing on my hair -- I had to shake my head to get one piece out.  No cuts, but sad to have to throw the plate away.
5. Just one more monster left -- Delli -- to defeat in Poko Pang.  I have come up with a decent strategy to finish the game, but sadly it looks like it'll take at least another two months.  You see, Delli is so tough, using friend power barely made any dent, which means that Delli is as strong as 3 or 4 of the last monsters combined.  Nevertheless, I will get er done.  And no, no hacks or cheats used, and not a single cent spent, ever.  BTW, Line games are full of screwed up programming.  Four months ago I reached my all-time high of 6.9M points, but that was three monsters short of the end.  When I reached the final monster, my score was just short of 5.9M, and that's with the benefit of an extra museum challenge that adds points onto my total.
6. Speaking of hacks, or maybe it was an easter egg, I accidentally came across one in Ninja Strikers that allowed me to use one ninja to populate two slots.  Dunno how to replicate it and I'm not about to mess it up.
7. About Ninja Strikers: Talk about messed up.  The rules keep changing, even as they're not clearly explained.  In the newly created "world rankings", I was 5th in the first round which had just 50 people listed -- that seemed odd, too.  The next thing I know, with the competition period having ended, I was ranked 3rd.  This meant that there were two fake users listed above me.  The next period then started, and lo and behold, the top half-dozen users are all stacked with 6-star ninjas.  At that point, I said fuck it.  I don't give a shit about the world rankings because either the software is fucking with users in an attempt to get them to spend $$ to get 6-star ninjas or the game is totally rigged and there's no point to playing against other people in the "world".  They've pissed me off so much that I've ignored the "world rankings" BS and slowed down my game playing -- every time I open the game up, I am reminded of how much BS is built into the game, and I sometimes just close it without playing.
8. This is the third-straight year that I'm fully participating in CNET's Daniel Terdiman's Picture of the Day Challenge.  So far I'm 33 for 35, which probably means that I'm out of the running for the grand prize.  Still, I love playing these challenges because it requires one to pick up on visual clues and use the internet to find the location.  I've read that cheat sites have cropped up, but that takes all the fun out of playing, doesn't it?  The cool thing is, with my knowledge in Architecture and Landscape Architecture, I often know the structures photographed or can find clues as to where the location is.
9. I still don't get it, how Portland IKEA is the only one that features a monthly new menu special.  This month's special is pulled pork sandwich with fries.  Much thanks to Portland IKEA's management for setting up a monthly food special and sticking with the program.
10. The ACA is turning out to be a big winner.  Not only is it contributing to lower medical costs but also a significant plunge in the number of uninsured in America, and an ever-growing amount of federal budget savings.  Now, if only Democrats would stop running against it, and instead highlight what the ACA has done, rather than what conservatives think it has done.