Free Grub at Mouse House!

NOT A NEWS FLASH: Disney is a smart company. They have figured out how to get people addicted to their product, and maximize every penny from the marketplace. They're also smart enough to know that once schools and colleges start back up in the middle of August, it's next to impossible to fill up the Disney World hotels and theme parks. Not only are families affected, but teachers, administrators, professors or any staff involved with schools or servicing schools. So they've devised a scheme to actually GIVE you something, if you can commit to a limited timeframe when they're slow. From Aug. 16 to Oct. 3 (subject to availability at the time of booking) they are offering their basic meal plan FREE with a minimum 5-night stay at one of their hotels, plus the purchase of park passes. That works out to be about a 20-25% savings, and when it comes to Disney that is a whopper of a sale! The basic meal plan allows every person in your family to enjoy one full sit-down meal, one "counter meal" (which is like a burger and fries), and one snack which would be an ice cream bar, bag of popcorn, Coke, that sort of thing. If you're staying at the resort, you're going to be eating in the parks anyway. So this is a giant savings. You can also upgrade to the full 3-meals-a-day plan, Park Hopper passes, nicer hotel and so on, if you are used to more than the basic package at Disney World. This offer is extremely limited and will disappear before the summer comes. In fact some dates are already getting tight even now. So CALL ME if you're interested in booking, and I'll supply all the details you need.

Arrrrrrrrrrr, Mateys! Great news has just hit CNN today. The tanker that was pirated yesterday with 20 Americans onboard is now back in business. Details aren't complete, but it sounds like the US crew was able to overpower their captors and take back control of the ship, while taking one of the pirates prisoner. Touche! I guess they didn't realize our guys have watched every episode of 24 and MacGyver.

Did Juneau that cruise lines traveling to Alaska are saying "Nome more?"

It's true. In 2007, after legislative approval in 2006, the citizens of Alaska pooled their collective greed and decided to pass a law, adding a $50 per person head tax on cruise ship passengers. Their theory? "We'll get richer than rich from all these rich old people who can afford to enrich our richness!" That may not be verbatim, but you get the idea. Cruise lines, who had already committed to the Alaska season in print, TV and other media, had to add the extra money on top of the already ludicrous port charges and taxes and the people of Alaska rejoiced. Ever hear the saying "what goes around, comes around?" Nobody knows exactly what that means...probably some moonshine-induced saying from Appalachia, but the bottom line is there's nothing sweeter than revenge. The cruise lines have had a difficult year selling an expensive destination such as Alaska, so for 2010 many of the major cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Princess and others are going to reduce the number of ships they send to the Great State by an average of around 20%. Don't worry about doing math....that's what The Cap'n is here for....let's take 1 Carnival ship. Just ONE. With passenger capacity of about 2400 people. 2400 X $50 = $120,000 "head tax" on that single ship, on 1 single voyage. In 2009 this ship did 19 Alaska cruises. $120,000 per cruise X 19 = a loss to the citizens of Alaska of $2,280,000.00 on this ship alone, and that's only the head tax. Imagine monies lost from shore excursions, tourism businesses, hotel operators who do tours in association with cruises, and so on. It's exponential. By passing their GREED TAX, they risk turning much of civilized Alaska back into wilderness, driving businesses under. Originally, this tax was explained as going towards the upkeep of ports and the essential service required for ships. Again, that was the theory. Ketchikan officials recently approved a half-million dollars of their cut to build a new Performing Arts Center. Nothing to do with cruise ships, just upgrading the town's concert hall if the truth be told. Over the last 6 months or so, we've heard a lot about Alaska in the news and this is just another in a long litany of decision disasters. Stay tuned.

Peek-a-boo, I see you! University of California researchers, fulfilling a Pentagon contract, announced recently they have succeeded in rigging a live flower beetle with electrodes and a radio receiver, which enables scientists to control the insect's flight remotely. Pulses sent to the bug's muscles or optic lobes can command it to take off, turn left, right, or hover. This according to a report in the MIT Technology Review. The insect's large size, up to a 4 inches, would also enable it to carry a camera, giving the beetle military uses in surveillance or search & rescue. Researchers admired the native flight-control ability of the beetle so much that they abandoned their original concept of developing robot beetles. Absolutely! Why try to mimic nature, when you can torture a living organism? Didn't we learn anything during the Bush years? I'm sure Dick Cheney has suggested trying to mount wee-little lasers or mini-machine guns on these bugs, to truly realize their potential.

Dateline: Kassel, Germany. There is a new way for men to frolic in Deutschland. It's called the Mannerspielplatz, which in English translates into "Men's Playground." No, you THINK you know where this is headed, but trust me...keep reading. The Mannerspielplatz was built so that energy-fueled office workers could get in touch with their "Inner Manliness", according to the January edition of Wired Magazine. So what constitutes Inner Manliness you ask? For a mere $280.00 a day (in US dollars), German men can frolic all day on 29-ton backhoes, 32-ton front-end loaders, they can carve up pavement with jackhammers, or play with other various big, loud, sweaty-type vehicles and things to make a man feel like a man. "At the Men's Playground," the owner said, "We fulfill all men's dreams." Just call me Bob The Builder. But please - if you need me, I'll be up on the Bridge with a beer, feeling plenty manly I assure you.

OOOOOOOOOOOO-klahoma! OK!!

In January London's "The Sun" reported about a practitioner of a new art form in which a design is inked, with a tattoo needle, into the sclera - the white part of the eyeball. A Canadian citizen was the first (and possibly only) daredevil to attempt the procedure. However, when Senators from Oklahoma heard the report, they were alarmed enough that they passed legislation out of committee to ban the practice in their state. "If we can stop even one person from doing it in this tattoo-happy society, we've been successful," said Sen. Cliff Branan. An Oklahoma City tattoo artist told KSBI-TV that the law is actually useless, because people who have a desire for uniqueness will do what they have to do anyway. He indicated a little something called "common sense" will prevent the problem from becoming wide-spread. So far, only the Senators from the state of Oklahoma seem to believe they have constituents who might ink-up their eyeballs, but stranger things have happened.
Not many, but a few...