Great Foreclosure Bus Tour Fad Hits Reno

Apparently the latest marketing fad in the world of real estate, the foreclosure bus tour, has arrived in Reno.

RenoForeclosureBus.com debuts with a Saturday tour of 20 bank-owned homes in the Sparks and Spanish Springs area all from the comfort of a fully-appointed bus. Promised future tours of once over-priced homes include North Reno, the Valley and Southwest Reno.

Put on by a division of Dickson Realty, the bus tour fad apparently joins the company's "Window of Opportunity" Foreclosure Home Tour as the latest in real estate marketing.

And, of course, as true brokers both are screaming from the rooftops that now is the perfect time to buy. Ahhh ... just like they told everybody in the big, unsustainable price run-up of the past few years. You know, like they told the 20 prior owners of the homes the tour will be gawking at this weekend.

What the Hell Is a Cuddle Party?

Along with our Monday RGJ was one of those special generic insert magazines that seem to exist for the sole purpose of selling ads to local businesses. In this case, the marks were Reno medical professionals.

But what made this issue of YourHealth Monthly stand out wasn't the advice on the health benefits of exotic fruits that have never seen the light of day in a Truckee Meadows supermarket (feijoa, camu camu, etc.), but an alleged new phenomenon -- cuddle parties.

Strangely, the story on this new fad was found in the"Men" column (apparently a timely "stress and your NCAA bracket" article is considered too masculine nowadays). So what exactly is a cuddle party, besides sounding like a swingers party for those afraid to go all the way? Essentially you hug, spoon, give back and foot rubs and, yes, even moo like a cow. The FAQ even covers the inevitable question of what happens when, well, something pops up (it's "Mother Nature's way of giving us the thumbs-up sign").

While there are no official parties scheduled for northern Nevada, though Dennis Hof might want to put his unique twist on it if the fad truly takes off, you can participate in the Silver State's inaugural event in Vegas next month. Wine, cheese and cuddling for just $50 a couple.

Candidates Roll Out The Fundraising Gimmicks

Three presidential fundraising gimmicks in one day? It must be end-of-the-quarter time again.

Tuesday's inbox brought not one, or two, but a trio of contests to try and pry more cash from supporters before the March 31, 2008 deadline. So whether you want to be a part of an intimate dinner for five, ride a bus chock full of reporters or a chance to see Elton John, now is your chance. We even have links for entering without coughing up the dough.

Barack Obama's offer arrived first this morning with a special invite to join him and three other winners for a special dinner. Two of those selected will be first-time donors, the other pair repeat contributors. No dollar amount is specified, just do it before April 1, but there doesn't appear to be a way to enter without purchase.

John McCain revived the "Ride the Straight Talk Express" contest and once again is offering the chance for a trip on the bus to donors. The winner receives airfare and hotel for an estimated $1,000 value. Supporters who plop down $50 or more, receive a commemorative ticket. For those who prefer to keep their wallet closed, you can always enter without giving.

Finally, an hour later, Hillary Clinton outdoes them all with an all-expense paid trip to New York to see Elton John on April 9. Two winners will be selected with each receiving a pair of concert tickets, airfare, hotel and a pass to the after-party with John and Clinton. Estimated value is $3,000 per prize. To enter the contest for free, go here.

Liveblogging the Gettysburg Address Coulter-Style

What if Ann Coulter liveblogged Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address?

Mark Kleiman at The Reality-Based Community takes a stab at it. Sadly, he's probably correct.

McCain a Straight Shooter, Obama a Spinner

Well, according to a Canadian computer science professor. Oh, and a flowchart to help future politicians decide if $1,000 an hour call girls are worth it.

• Queen's University professor David Skillicorn analyzed the speeches of John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and determined the Straight Talk Express may be for real. In his examination of spin words and phrases, McCain scored the highest for lack of spin. The GOP nominee had a 2.0, Clinton a 0.6 and Obama a -1.3. Skillicorn noted, however, a recent change in Obama's speeches, "I can only imagine that ... he is absolutely convinced that he can't lose, so all of a sudden his spin level has dropped dramatically."
• For politicians weighing the pros and cons of hiring a high-priced hooker, comes help in the form of the official Eliot Spitzer Flow Chart (aka "How to Not Bang a Prostitute").
• This made quite the splash back in 2007 but the resulting rush meant the site was always overloaded. So we checked back in and WikiScanner is still up, running and not quite as busy. Basically, you can see who has been making anonymous Wiki edits to entries of interest to them. The slight downside? The archive covers only February 7th, 2002 to August 4th, 2007.

McCain Launches NCAA Basketball Bracket Contest

Much like last year, the John McCain campaign is launching another contest wrapped around the NCAA Tournament. Have the best bracket and you win some McCain stuff.

While our Ohio State over UCLA title-game pick in 2007 came close (it's been a rough spell for the Buckeyes and championship games), we are back with our Bruins this year. Though, traitors that we are, we once again go with them as runners-up. It's the Tar Heels over UCLA 86-78.

One difference from last year, though, is McCain isn't releasing his picks until after it starts Thursday. Let's hope he doesn't "pick" any big first day upsets.

Grandma's First Aid Kit: Another Casualty of the War On Drugs

A friend of mine who works at a local grocery store was recently complaining how he had to keep ordering iodine as they were suddenly running out. Seeing how this product was one of those bottom-shelf items that usually expire before anyone actually buys them, it did seem a tad odd.

I told him my experience with iodine was that it seemed like only people born before 1940 had it in their medicine cabinets. And, if memory serves, the bottle almost always seemed just as old. If you had a scrape, it depended on whose house you were at when it came to treatment. Mom used Bactine, Grandma iodine. It was one of the rare times a kid actually wished they were at home instead of their grandparents.

So could it be that once in a generation time when grandmothers everywhere decide to finally replace that decades-old bottle with some new tincture of iodine? Or, perhaps, was it some rogue mountain climbers looking to save a few dollars.

Besides stinging the hell out of kids' scraped knees, iodine is also a world class water purifier. My brother and I spent a week in the backwoods of Kings Canyon National Park drinking liter bottles of tell-tale yellow-tint water courtesy of Potable Aqua tablets. It was great at killing the giardia. Of course, it also was great at killing the fresh taste of mountain spring water too, despite the addition of the "Plus" tablet. After five days in, and slowly going mad fighting mosquitoes and drinking a water that couldn't quench a thirst, we found a ranger with a jar of Gatorade powder. One Backpacker's Pantry Chicken w/Rice later, I had acquired enough powder for two liters of lemon-lime electrolytes. Nothing tasted sweeter.

But, let's face it, even the most dirtbag-oriented mountaineer wouldn't need more than a bottle for even an entire season on the Pacific Crest trail. So what else could explain the great iodine run?

How about tweekers, I joked.

But, alas, the joke was on us. It turns out iodine is an essential ingredient in the production of hydriodic acid, "the preferred reagent in the ephedrine/pseudoephedrine reduction method of d-methamphetamine production the cooking of meth," according to the National Drug Intelligence Center. And while industrial iodine crystals are the preferred form, bathroom cookers can make their own, albeit inefficiently, with bottles of iodine tincture and hydrogen peroxide.

A few days later, all six freshly-stocked bottles were gone before his shift was done. Needless to say, no clerk rang up a posse of little old ladies looking to replenish their first aid kits.

So the end result?

Iodine moved behind the pharmacist's window, where you now have to ask for it, and "sales" have returned to their usual tepid pace. Oh, and demand for hydrogen peroxide has also mysteriously slumped.

Dr. Death For Congress and Iran's Eliot Spitzer

And some VP guessing.

• Dr. Jack Kevorkian announced his plans to run for Congress in Michigan. One consultant said Kevorkian's independent candidacy "could play the Nader in this district, denying (Gary) Peters the seat." Republican incumbent Joe Knollenberg is embroiled in a close race with Democrat Peters.
• George Will thinks all the math points to Ohio Governor Ted Strickland as the Democratic VP choice.
• Iran's Eliot Spitzer problem. Tehran's chief of police, who has led recent crackdowns on Islamic women and their dress, was caught with six naked hookers in a local brothel.

McCain Sites Go Uncensored, Dems Not So Much

Apparently "straight talk" from both sides are welcome on John McCain's sites, while the Democrats seem intent on filtering out the bad, according to an experiment conducted by The Nation.

After placing comments on each of the candidate websites and YouTube accounts, only McCain allowed all to be freely posted. Hillary Clinton was the most likely to censor.

And example was the comment "Doesn't understand how to save workers from losing their livelihoods to globalization--I don't care what he says!" McCain's staff allowed the post, while Barack Obama's removed it and posted that it had been done "due to offensive or disrespectful content." Clinton's camp just never let it appear.

Angry Journalists versus Happy Journalists

And, if the number of posts are any indication, the angry seem to be winning. Handily.

AngryJournalist.com - "Why are you angry today?
Tell us what’s making you upset at your journalism job."

HappyJournalist.com - "Share what makes you happy to be a journalist. (Find the happiness …)"

The Looney Tunes Political Analysis

Do voters really always choose the wascally wabbit over Daffy?

Jeff Greenwald compares the great Bugs Bunny vs. Daffy Duck battles to presidential campaigns and concludes what kids have known for years, Bugs always wins.

And now with Barack Obama embodying the cool, laid back but confident style of everyone's favorite hare, while Hillary Clinton's "grim determination" and frustration are classic Daffy trademarks, will history repeat itself?