GM Pension Plan
GM is putting $6 billion into its pension plan. It would make more sense to stuff that $6 billion in cash into a Chevy Volt and just leave it in downtown Detroit.



McDonald's Case
A Brazilian court has ruled that McDonald's must pay a manager at one of its locations $17,500 because he gained a lot of weight on the job. Unfortunately, the man now plans to use the money to buy 17,500 Dollar Menu hamburgers.



Nice Photog Pay
A photography teacher at a San Francisco area community college is making $208,000 a year. In his defense, taking pictures of people in San Francisco can leave a person scarred for life.



When Krugman Attacks!
NY Times columnist says the 2010 will be a "catastrophe" for America... mostly because major Republican victories means he won't stop whining for the next two years at least.



Al Jazeera Booted
Morocco has kicked Al Jazeera off the air in that country. The Moroccans say they can come up with their own reasons to hate America and the Jews.




October 29th


1863: 18 countries meeting in Geneva form the International Red Cross… mostly in hopes of meeting some hot foreign nurses.


2004: Al Jazeera broadcasts an excerpt from a video of Osama bin Laden in which he first admits direct responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks. 9/11 “truther” Charlie Sheen misses the broadcast because he was too busy screwing a hooker while beating his wife.


2008: Delta Air Lines merges with Northwest Airlines, creating the world's largest piece of excrement.

Verse and worse

Nintendo and its boss have been plagued by their loss

And the shareholders themselves are exceedingly cross

They'll run past the steeple

As they sing: ``Wii the people''.

Verse and worse

Nintendo and its boss have been plagued by their loss

And the shareholders themselves are exceedingly cross

They'll run past the steeple

As they sing: ``Wii the people''.

Misty Reflection

Add your own Errol Garner.

This is my contribution to James at Newtown Area Photo's meme called Weekend Reflections. Post a reflection during the week-end, log on to MckLinky via his site - and you're on.

The day's last patch of colour

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON (Image ID:124-6437)

You know how you sometimes get a lucky shot? This was the perfect example. I shot this back in March this year. I was on a freeway, driving south into gathering darkness. I had hills in front of me, cloaked in the black velvet of warm night. But my rear view mirror? Ah, that was a different matter altogether ....

I could see a rapidly diminishing patch of sky behind me, reflected in my mirror, with a range of vivid colours. But I was certainly not going to pull off the freeway just to take a shot or two.

When I eventually came to my exit, the patch of colours had shrunk to a tiny area above the distant horizon. On the expanse of the exit ramp, in little or no traffic, I finally pulled over with plenty of space to spare. How lucky was I: instead of my normal 18-125mm lens, my camera had a 70-300mm lens fitted, so I didn't have to carry out a quick swap.

This was shot at the full extent of the 300mm lens - and yes, the telephone pole actually gave the frame a bit of character as I shot into the distance.

The day's last patch of colour

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON (Image ID:124-6437)

You know how you sometimes get a lucky shot? This was the perfect example. I shot this back in March this year. I was on a freeway, driving south into gathering darkness. I had hills in front of me, cloaked in the black velvet of warm night. But my rear view mirror? Ah, that was a different matter altogether ....

I could see a rapidly diminishing patch of sky behind me, reflected in my mirror, with a range of vivid colours. But I was certainly not going to pull off the freeway just to take a shot or two.

When I eventually came to my exit, the patch of colours had shrunk to a tiny area above the distant horizon. On the expanse of the exit ramp, in little or no traffic, I finally pulled over with plenty of space to spare. How lucky was I: instead of my normal 18-125mm lens, my camera had a 70-300mm lens fitted, so I didn't have to carry out a quick swap.

This was shot at the full extent of the 300mm lens - and yes, the telephone pole actually gave the frame a bit of character as I shot into the distance.

What I'm reading right now....

I'm a book person. I don't have a Kindle. In know they are great for traveling, but I want to hold a book in my hands and turn the pages. I have stacks of books by my bed and magazines everywhere. It doesn't always have to be about the words - I like pictures of houses and interiors and cookbooks too! I recently read about these three books on other blogs and ordered them right away - and they are all wonderful! I recommend them all.

You can imagine how excited I was when I heard there was a new book coming out on Billy Baldwin! And the photos are wonderful. French cooking is my favorite and I have heard that this book is very cook friendly. The third book below concerned my husband who saw it and said "Oh no, now you have an excuse to be messy." Not true - the book is about balance and not obsessing on perfect cleanliness, but having a lived in, well kept, but not perfect, house.

Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator, by Adam Lewis.





Around My French Table, by Dorie Greenspan




A Perfectly Kept House Is a Sign of a Misspent Life: How to live creatively with collections, clutter, work, kids, pets, art, etc... and stop worrying about everything being perfectly in its place, by Mary Randolf Carter



All three are available at Amazon.