What’s Not To Love About the Cordless Drill?
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What’s Not To Love About the Cordless Drill?

Prompted by a New York Times story on investing in a good tool kit, Pat professes his love for the cordless drill.

Today’s Starbucks Alter Ego: “Hairly”
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Today’s Starbucks Alter Ego: “Hairly”

Another addition to our online archive of alter egos.

 

Trivia: Friday February 3

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The story about the Iowa man caught speeding at 188 miles an hour led me to today’s trivia question.

 

Canada Wins for Best Super Bowl Ad (And It’s About Hockey)

Canada Wins for Best Super Bowl Ad (And It’s About Hockey)
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Of the Super Bowl ads I’ve seen so far, this is my favorite. Labatt, which distributes Budweiser in Canada, delivered a very pleasant surprise to a group of guys playing a recreational hockey game.

 

Pat’s Picks: Friday, February 3

Written by Pat's Papers | UPDATED: Friday, 3 February 2012 8:30 AM

The best headlines, the most interesting photography and conversation-starting articles from today’s newspapers.

Jason Gay’s Advice for a Fun Super Bowl Party
Source: Wall Street Journal
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Jason Gay’s Advice for a Fun Super Bowl Party

The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Gay has a classic column, doling out 21 tips for having fun at a Super Bowl party. Like tricking your guests into thinking when they arrive that you have no TV and you’ve planned to have everyone listen to the game on the radio instead. Also, he has some advice for guests: “Bringing a box of doughnuts to a Super Bowl party is like telling your friends you hate them.”

 
Pigs on a Police Car
Source: Burlington Free Press
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Pigs on a Police Car

The Burlington Free Press says officials failed to notice a modification to a decal used on state police cruisers until the paper pointed it out yesterday. Apparently, a prisoner-artist added a pig while updating the logo four years ago as part of a work program in the state’s Correctional Industries Print Shop. I’d call that getting the last laugh. Want to see the prank pig? Look at the cow’s spots.

 
Opinion: Media Got Trumped
Source: Washington Post
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Opinion: Media Got Trumped

In the leadup to the Nevada primary, Donald Trump made a surprising wager: he decided to back Mitt Romney. In his column this morning, the Washington Post’s Paul Fahri focuses on how many major media outlets—the Associated Press, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Politico, The Washington Post and CNN, to name a few—incorrectly reported that Trump would endorse Gingrich instead.

 
“Waitress Moms” Key to Elections
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
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“Waitress Moms” Key to Elections

The San Francisco Chronicle says “waitress moms” will be especially important in this year’s elections. And they’re of particular importance in Nevada—in Las Vegas alone there an estimated 30,000 waitresses whose average income is about $22,000.

 
The Cultish Appeal of the Turkey Leg
Source: Orlando Sentinel
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The Cultish Appeal of the Turkey Leg

Dewayne Bevil, the Orlando Sentinel’s theme park reporter (!), investigates a curious thing that he’s seen on the job but never fully understood: the allure of the turkey leg. Bevil writes that the “overgrown snack is too messy, too Cro-Magnon, too mysterious” for his tastes but he’s in the minority—Disney sells 1.5 million pounds of turkey legs each year.

 
Twin Cities Use Beethoven to Discourage Vagrants
Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune
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Twin Cities Use Beethoven to Discourage Vagrants

Transit officials in the Twin Cities are using an unusual strategy to deter rowdy teens from loitering in the city’s rail stations. In addition to adding more lights and security cameras, they’re pumping in Beethoven and music by other classical composers. Explains Transit Police Chief: “If it encourages some people to wander away because it’s not their favorite type of music, I guess that’s OK.”

 
Simon Says: I Want Beyonce
Source: New York Post
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Simon Says: I Want Beyonce

“The Voice” has Christina. “American Idol” has J Lo. And now Simon Cowell wants Beyonce as a full-time judge on “The X Factor.” And he’s willing to pay $100 million to get her, says the New York Post. Apparently, Cowell has decided that his first choice, Mariah Carey, “is no longer the hot ticket she once was.”

 
Komen Controversy Continues to Heat Up
Source: New York Times
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Komen Controversy Continues to Heat Up

The Susan G Komen controversy is really blowing up—it’s the lead story on the front page of the New York Times this morning. The paper says the social media outcry and immediate response—26 senators have asked the Komen foundation to reverse its decision to end its financial support of Planned Parenthood—is the latest example of how social media “can change the national conversation with head-snapping speed.”

 
Iron Lung Lady Dies
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
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Iron Lung Lady Dies

Interesting obituary in the San Diego Union-Tribune this morning. Dolores Thompson died last month at the age of 71. She was one of only 40 people in the entire country who still used an iron lung to treat the polio she’d contracted as a young child. Once the go-to treatment, the 700-pound cylinders used to be a common sight in hospital wards.

 
Iowa Man Sets Speeding Record
Source: Des Moines Register
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Iowa Man Sets Speeding Record

James Foldenauer has set a new record. The Iowa man was just in court to settle a speeding ticket he got in 2009—for going 188 miles an hour on his motorcycle. The Des Moines Register says that’s a state record for speed on a public highway. He was driving a 2003 Suzuki Hayabusa, which is about as fast as the bike can go without modifications.

 
PHOTO: The Real “Big Miracle”
Source: Anchorage Daily News
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PHOTO: The Real “Big Miracle”

A great photo of a grey whale being rescued back in 1988, the inspiration for the movie “Big Miracle,” makes the front page of the Anchorage Daily News. It was a weird rescue crew, says writer Richard Mauer: “Greenpeace, oil giant Arco, Ted Stevens, the Soviets, the U.S. military, a chainsaw distributor, a guitar-playing whale-song singer, a couple of Minnesota ice fishermen…brigade of Inupiat whalers.” And Mauer should know—he was there too.

 

Pat Kiernan, Cordless Drill Fanatic

Pat Kiernan, Cordless Drill Fanatic
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Most of you know me as Pat Kiernan, NY1 anchor. But little did you know I have another career: cordless drill fanatic. Actually, you would know that if you’ve invited me to your wedding in the last decade—it’s my go-to gift, whether it’s made an appearance on the registry or not.

 

Pat’s Picks: February 2

Written by Pat's Papers | UPDATED: Thursday, 2 February 2012 7:41 AM

The best headlines, the most interesting photography and conversation-starting articles from today’s newspapers.

Phil Says Six More Weeks of Winter; Staten Island Chuck Disagrees
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Phil Says Six More Weeks of Winter; Staten Island Chuck Disagrees

Breaking news from the Punxsutawney Spirit this morning, though it may be hard to believe after the 760-degree weather we had in New York yesterday. Phil’s verdict is in and he says we’re going to have six more weeks of winter. Speaking of New York, on Staten Island, Charles G. Hog, the borough’s “own prognosticating groundhog,” didn’t see his shadow, and predicted an early spring.

 
Review: Avoid Gaga’s Parents’ Restaurant
Source: New York Post
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Review: Avoid Gaga’s Parents’ Restaurant

Lady Gaga’s parents’ new restaurant gets panned by New York Post restaurant critic Steve Cuozzo this morning. In fact, he warns you might gag. Apparently, the Italian trattoria wasn’t even close to being ready last night at its opening. Cuozzo says it took 50 minutes for appetizers to show up and then when they did, the grilled calamari “were the worst I’ve had in a lifetime of squid-mongering.”

 
Shorten Meeting Length By Taking Away Chairs
Source: Wall Street Journal
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Shorten Meeting Length By Taking Away Chairs

If meetings run too long at your company, the answer may be to take away the chairs. Some companies are eliminating chairs at meetings to give people an incentive to keep their remarks brief. The Wall Street Journal says in a tech culture sitting “has become synonymous with sloth.”

 
Komen Decision to Stop Planned Parenthood Payments Causes Uproar
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
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Komen Decision to Stop Planned Parenthood Payments Causes Uproar

Fury is mounting over the decision by a cancer charity to pull its funding for Planned Parenthood says the San Francisco Chronicle. Planned Parenthood is accusing Susan G. Komen for the Cure of bowing to pressure from anti-abortion lobbyists, something the charity denies.

 
Facebook Reveals Financial Details Before IPO
Source: San Jose Mercury News
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Facebook Reveals Financial Details Before IPO

Details about Facebook’s finances are trickling in as the company prepares for its IPO. The San Jose Mercury News says the company earned $1 billion in profit last year, on $3.7 billion in revenue. The filings also reveal that Facebook now has over 845 million users, which is about half of world’s Internet users. Not bad for a company everyone thought didn’t have a business plan.

 
Ray WJ Raking in the YouTube Bucks
Source: Wall Street Journal
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Ray WJ Raking in the YouTube Bucks

Have you ever watched RAY WJ on YouTube? The Wall Street Journal says over 5 million people subscribe to be notified when he posts a new video. As one media expert points out—that’s bigger than the audience of some cable channels. Ray makes an estimated million dollars a year on his YouTube advertising share.

 
“Soul Train” Creator Don Cornelius Dead at 75
Source: Chicago Tribune
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“Soul Train” Creator Don Cornelius Dead at 75

Don Cornelius, the man who created “Soul Train,” has died. The Chicago Tribune says Soul Train’s impact on style was just as monumental as its impact on music. Just look at the sales for one of its main sponsor, Johnson Products, maker of Ultra Sheen and other African-American hair products. When Soul Train first went on the air in 1971, sales were about $12 million. When the show relocated to LA in 1977, annual sales were up to $40 million.

 
Bloodless Cancer Treatment for Jehovah’s Witnesses
Source: LA Times
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Bloodless Cancer Treatment for Jehovah’s Witnesses

There’s an interesting profile in the LA Times this morning, about a doctor who treats Jehovah’s Witness patients suffering from leukemia. Their religion does not allow them to get blood transfusions. Instead he builds up their white blood cell count with medication and when he must draw blood, he uses tiny tubes used for pediatric patients. 

 
Sunken Platinum Bars Lead Man on Treasure Hunt
Source: Portland Press Herald
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Sunken Platinum Bars Lead Man on Treasure Hunt

Greg Brooks is convinced only 700 feet of water separate him from his fortune. The Maine man was granted salvage rights, says the Portland Press-Herald, to excavate the S.S. Port Nicholson, which sunk in 1942 and which Brooks believes was carrying $3 billion in platinum bars. Others are skeptical. But he’s undeterred: “I’m going to get it, one way or another, even if I have to lift the ship out of the water.”

 

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