Behold The Mac & Cheese-Stuffed Bacon Weave Taco

It's difficult to be shocked in a world where Waffle Tacos and Doughnut Sandwiches are mainstream enough to show up on fast food menus. But the latest creation from evil genius Nick Chipman over at Dude Foods was insane enough to give this henceforth unflappable food blogger heart attack by proxy. Class, please give a warm welcome to the Double Decker Mac & Cheese Stuffed Bacon Weave Taco.

Thank you, Gothamist!

Global Inequality: 85 Richest People's Net Worth Equals Poorest 3.5 Billion

Global capitalism, we have a problem.

We’ve long known that life isn’t fair and that the world’s wealth is unevenly distributed. But the latest factoid from Oxfam on global poverty and inequality is breathtaking. In a new report, the nonprofit reports that just 85 people—the richest of the world’s rich—hold as much wealth as the poorest 3.5 billion. That’s half the world’s population.

WILL OREMUS

Will Oremus is a Slate staff writer. Email him atwill.oremus@slate.com or follow him on Twitter.

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In other words, the top 0.00000001 percent are worth as much as the bottom 50 percent combined. The top 1 percent, meanwhile, control nearly half the world’s wealth, or 65 times as much as the world’s less-fortunate half.

If there’s one kernel of hope—not mentioned in the Oxfam report, as far as I can tell—it’s that inequality betweencountries may be easing slightly (though it’s hard to tell for sure). On a country-by-country basis, though, the filthy rich have only been getting richer. Between 1980 and 2012, the wealthiest 1 percent increased their share of the spoils in 24 of the 26 countries Oxfam surveyed. This includes the United States, where the wealthiest 1 percent have captured 95 percent of all economic growth since the financial crisis of 2009, while the bottom 90 percent have gotten poorer.

Oxfam’s concern is not just that half the world’s population could be bought and sold by a group of individuals who could fit in a single large boardroom. It’s that this staggering disparity creates a vicious cycle. From the nonprofit’s report:

Oxfam is concerned that, left unchecked, the effects are potentially immutable, and will lead to “opportunity capture”—in which the lowest tax rates, the best education, and the best healthcare are claimed by the children of the rich. This creates dynamic and mutually reinforcing cycles of advantage that are transmitted across generations.

Good luck, you half of the world’s people who hold less than 1 percent of its wealth. May the odds be ever in your favor!

Thank you, Slate!

Parrot Mini-Drone - Admit It - You Want One Too

In the press:

“The Minidrone, made by the makers of the AR.Drone, is a lightweight, superstable, small, and incredibly fun flying machine.”
Popular Mechanics
“Ahead of CES, French electronics maker Parrot has presented two futuristic spy gadgets that are bound to create a sensation in Las Vegas.”
Yahoo News
“Parrot’s AR Drone 2.0 has been one of the most popular hobbyist drone models ever created. Now, at CES Unveiled, the company expanded its reach and came out with miniature toy versions: the MiniDrone and the Jumping Sumo.”
Popular Mechanics

Branstad Gone Rogue Again

Bonuses paid to two state directors raising their pay beyond state salary caps have caused several Iowa legislators to question whether Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has overstepped his authority.

Courtney Kay-Decker, director of the Iowa Department of Revenue, received $800-per-pay-period housing allowance for her first year on the job, ending March 15, 2012, that totaled $20,800. The portion that fell in fiscal 2012 raised Kay-Decker’s compensation to $175,012.

The maximum salary set by law for the revenue director is $154,300.

K. Brian London was hired as Public Safety commissioner in October at an annual salary of $128,890.

- See more at: http://thegazette.com/2012/12/21/branstad-gives-directors-bonuses-that-raise-pay-beyond-caps/#sthash.Uf7qlwmP.dpuf

Thank you, CR Gazette

Buttered, Bacon-Wrapped Smokies

BACON WRAPPED SMOKIES WITH BROWN SUGAR AND BUTTER

Warning: PARTY FOOD!I guarantee if you make these, they will be gone! I made them for a gathering and 
everyone just kept eating them, and eating them …

Ingredients
1 pound Bacon, Cut Into Thirds
1 pound Lil’ Smokies (small sausages)
1 stick Butter
2 cups Brown Sugar

Preheat oven to 375F.
Cut the bacon into thirds and wrap each smokie.(small sausage)
Place all the wrapped smokies in a single layer in a baking dish.
Then melt the stick of butter and then 1 cup of brown sugar and stir until mixed well.
Pour the butter and brown sugar mixture on the smokies and bacon.
Then take the other cup of brown sugar and sprinkle evenly over the smokies.
Bake them for about 15-20 minutes and then turn the heat up to 400F for about 5 minutes or longer until the bacon becomes crispy.

For Melissa and Thanks to Margaret for Sharing

BE BOLD - Blog - Murderati

Be alive in the moment. Make encouraging joy and introspection a part of your being.

Thank you, Toni McGee Causey

Burgled Bacon

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The Iowa Bacon Board has offered a reward to whoever provides the information that leads police to the burglar who took bacon and other items from a Des Moines home.

Someone broke into the home Monday and stole jewelry and electronics, bacon, pork chops, sausage, chicken and four pounds of hamburger.

The Des Moines Register says the Bacon Board is providing VIP passes to Des Moines' Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival as the reward. And the board and Eden Farms will be providing the burglary victim with 15 pounds of bacon and two tickets to the festival.

No arrests have been reported.

(AND no reward offered from the Jewelry Board! That's it. I'm done decorating myself forever.)

Thank you, Rachel Begle (KCRG-TV9)

Iowa State Senator Asserts Homosexuality a Health Risks to Heterosexuals

Senator asserts homosexuality poses health risks to heterosexuals (AUDIO)
Dear God! What's next?
Thank you RadioIowa!

Swanson Vitamins Promoting Questionable 'Supplement'

Gentlemen,

I think you would be well-advised to do a little more research on the Prevagen product you are promoting. It is damaging to your reputation to be selling the product of a company that has been under investigation by the FDA for this product. Though the dose has since been reduced, Prevagen has been responsible for hospitalizations and well over a thousand reports of serious adverse events. This is not the type of company or product that reflects well on your core business or one that should be in the unsupervised hands of your trusting clients.

As a loyal customer, pharmacist and referral source, I implore you to rethink this choice particularly the choice to promote the product after claiming to have researched it. It didn't require much energy on my part to find what I suspected was a serious problem.

Getting Kicked While the Richest Get Richer

Getting Kicked While the Richest Get Richer

The Quadrotor AR Drone 2.0 - Do I Want One? YES!

Quote - "When I saw this at the store, I stopped DEAD in my tracks. I wanted it!! But it seemed expensive. 2 weeks later I had one. Yes, the battery is only about 12-15 minutes, but so are ALL remotes. What do you expect, it runs 4 motors. I highly recommend downloading the ARDrone Sim app and practicing before your first flight. And do not fly without the indoor hull for a while, even outside. Parts can become very spendy if you're not careful. And waiting for them is even worst! Most of all, this is by far the best toy I have EVER owned !!!!"

Tiny Steps - Big Pharmacy Moments

I do believe that creative managers can make any business model work through hands-on, frequent supportive interaction with their employees. Corporate obstacles can be overcome if all employees work together to improve conditions for their own benefit and that of their clients. (Teachers do this all the time with incredibly scarce resources.)

Our local superstore looked and functioned very differently under two different managers. Also, when I worked as a float for a superstore, every place I went had a different culture even in the presence of a monolithic structure that was completely inflexible. I think what I saw was secondary to the local manager's shared human relations skills. Still caring in a planogram nightmare? People notice.

Washington County Democrats - When Thinking Was In Fashion

Before they changed the kibble at coffee. "Oh. They ship that in from West Des Moines. We have no choice in the matter."

Pharmacy - Trust, Quality and Caring for Your Family

There is nothing that can replace the clear signal to the public that your dedication is to their families and that your God demands palpable quality in everything you say and everything you create.  Pure Deming. Pure Pirsig.  Products that one sells should be chosen for the value that one knows is present.

Services should be chosen with the client's needs at the forefront of all considerations.  If one cannot love introducing clients to something within which they can feel your commitment, don't venture there.  I worked with a female technician who experienced tremendous positive emotional upheaval in her life when her training to serve breast cancer patients collided with their real life stories.  She often spent much of her day in tears because of the pureness of her empathy.  She touched every life that was offered to her.  She had no thought of marketing.

Cost effectiveness evolves as one's reputation for honesty and emotional integrity grows.  It is not gleaned from catalogs or won in negotiations with wholesalers.  One's clients and the needs in their lives, all of them, are one's business.  The pursuit is always taxing, often emotionally wrenching and never without reward.

Quality matters.  It is proven over time and lasts a lifetime, as clients' children are born and their parents die, a caring, dedicated pharmacist should always be at the center of their lives.  Does our profession have the appropriate objectives in the 21st century?  It will, if you offer it your life and your heart.

Pharmacists were known for that once.  Shouldn't they be known for that now?

Rocket Board!

You have to watch this. I'd try it on a mile of mattresses but this guy has huevos!

Thank you, Gizmag.

Cara Valente-Compton Will Be In Your Tomorrow

Cara was viciously attacked yesterday by Independent Source PAC, run by private investigator Michael Corwin. A Super PAC created out of the Citizen's United decision! These scurrilous attacks were very personal, accusing Cara of being a Republican puppet. We had expected this campaign to get negative but we did not expect to what lengths our opponent and her supporters would go to stay in power. We definitely never expected that it would get this nasty and vicious, especially from a Super PAC that purports to be fighting against "conservative candidates", something that Cara is most definitely not! Anyone who knows Cara knows these allegations are baseless innuendos and downright falsehoods. Cara desperately needs your help, we know that assaults like these rarely come as one attack and will likely hit again and much harder, much more personal and much more vile than the last. We must counter this! We must have more walkers, more phone bankers and more money to send our own response to the district. In short, we need your help! These Karl Rove-style tactics can not stand. We cannot let a group benefiting from the Citizen's United case make the decisions in Democratic primaries just because they want to keep a long-time entrenched incumbent in office. My question: who is next? Are there other candidates that do not fit with Michael Corwin's "view" of the Democratic Party and his heavily funded Super PAC? Are we going to allow these decisions to be made by one man who has over 100 thousand dollars at his disposal? Do you want to live in a world where a few powerful PAC's make choices for the rest of us? Are we a part of the Democratic Party of New Mexico or the Democratic Party according to Independent Source PAC? Again, this is a call to arms. We need help. Please contact me or Cara with what you can do to help. Don't allow this brand of destructive politics to win out. Make a stand with Cara today!

But If I Were Dating!

Thank you, Tim!

Thai Red Curry & Coconut Milk Vegan Soup

Today's lunch was something I just kind of threw together. It was chilly outside and I was hungry for something quick yet satisfying.

Thank you, Melissa!

High Flight - This Concludes Our Broadcasting Day

I was trying to describe this engram to Melissa.  Here it is.

Tribute to Shelby - Simply Awesome

2011 Marching Band Competition - WHS performs at Waukee, IA.
Daughter Shelby was Captain of the color guard.  Hard work and dedication pays off for my star (bottom right end at timestamp 1:47).