Where's the spring?

Geez, it March 1st and I am enjoying another day in single digit
temperature. So far, this Michigan winter is everything it was
promised to be. Long, cold and snowy. Mmmm, maybe I should
take a timeout and spend a weekend somewhere warm.
The general mood in Michigan isn't any brighter, either. Seems like
the current economy crisis is hitting hard here
with the automotive companies teetering on the brink of
bankruptcy. Well, the next couple of weeks will certainly be
interesting. I am hoping GM is going to pull through, for the matter
of saving Opel in Germany. My first two cars were Opel's and I have
fond memories driving those junkers around.

Movie review: Taken (3/5)
'Taken" tells the story of a man (Liam Neeson) with a dubious past
quitting his job to be close to his teenage daughter. When she is
kidnapped in Paris he is using his 'unique' talents to get her back.
The plot was very predictable and the movie felt like a 'Bourne'
movie with 'Man on fire' mixed in. I give it 3 stars, because of Liam
Neeson's performance. Otherwise the movie was just too predictable.

Idiocracy

The other day I got to see the movie 'Idiocracy'. It was suppose to be a comedy
about two very average people getting sent into the future through a
military experiment. They arrive in the year 2500 and realize that society as
dumbed down so much, that they are the smartest people in the world.
Despite the fact, that the movie was terrible (1/5), its original premise made
me think. The thought is, that stupid people reproduce at a much higher rate
than smart people and over time, lets say a couple hundred years, the IQ of the
whole society is lower than the score of a baseball game.
I wonder if there is a grain of truth to that. I mean, we are living in a country
where more people vote for American Idol than for the president, where
a TV quiz show gives you money for showing the same intelligence as a 5th
grader. And its not just the US. I just read an article in a German magazine
that students don't finish their engineering majors because its too 'hard'.
So, does that mean we are regressing back into the stone age? Right now,
stupidity is not only tolerated it is encouraged. For example, if you are
stupid enough to buy a house you couldn't afford in the first place, don't
worry, the government will bail you out.
I wish I had a time machine and could jump forward a couple
hundred of years. Maybe 'Planet of the Apes' got it right after all.

On a more positive note, here some local restaurant ratings:
bd's Mongolian barbecue - Novi (2.5/5)
This was your typical Mongolian barbecue. Typical chain place, but they
way overcooked my food and the service wasn't that great either.
2.5 Schnitzelwagen

Mirchi - Indian Restaurant - Novi - (3.5/5)
I forgot the exact name, but it is a small place on the corner of Novi Rd.
and Grand River Av. The food was very good, even for somebody like
me who doesn't like super spicy food. The service was ok. For some
reason I never had good service at any Indian restaurant I've been.
A solid 3.5 Schnitzelwagen.

Winter Wonderland II

With winter holding a steady grip on Michigan, last Sunday was actually
nice with temperatures in the 30's. A couple of co-workers and I decided
to hit the slopes. You heard right I went skiing. Well I strapped 2 long pieces
of plastic to my feet and carefully maneuvered down a hill. Not sure if you
can call that skiing. It was fun, though. I haven't been on a ski hill in a
couple of years and the Ski 'Resort' of 'Alpine Valley' was just the right
amount of difficulty for me. Just to clarify for anybody outside the Midwest,
a 'Resort' is usually a couple of buildings, a couple of ski lifts and some
moderate high hill, and the 'Alpine Valley' has no resemblance of the
Alps or a valley for that matter. It's kinda like calling the sandbox at your
local swimming pool 'Ocean Beach' But, for me it was quite enough.