Just when you think your fellow humans...

can sink no lower, you learn of someone doing something that manages to evoke images of a person who can walk upright beneath the mold on pond scum lying in the street.

I'm referring to Noeul Alba, a 37 year old Bronx woman who is accused of trying to profit from the tragedy in Newtown, CT, by posing as one of the relatives of one of the victims and soliciting funds.  When confronted with evidence of her scam, she denied involvement.  The good news is that she faces some serious punishment.  Up to five years in jail and $250,000 in fines.  Personally I'd rather see her forced to do a few thousand hours of community service volunteering to tend the graves of the children who died at Newtown.

Things I'm pondering this morning include:

Why in the world would a restaurant chain be willing to discount its salad when added to an entree by 50%, but only if you ask?  Putting on the menu that "add a salad to an entree for only $2 more" (the eventual price) will encourage people to buy one and result in more sales.  Forcing people to ask if there's a discount will reduce the sales.  If it isn't a moneymaker, then don't discount it.  But this half-way solution is no solution.

How smart is the person who came up with this billboard?  It's for a church and it shows an image of a casket being borne by six pallbearers into a church with the caption, "will it take six strong men to finally get you back into church?"  Brilliant.

Is the intersection of Crenshaw and Adams the only intersection in L.A. County where there are gas stations on all four of the corners?  I've seen a couple with three, but this one appears to be the only one with four.  I will keep looking.

Why is it when you order fast food at the drive-thru that some of the french fries end up at the bottom of the bag?  Always. 

Why is red carpet red?  Why not blue or green?  The first mention of someone having a red carpet rolled out for him was being so "honored" by a vengeful wife (in a fictional story).  Is that really an honor?

Why Piers Morgan considers the Bible flawed is something I get.  When you can use the Bible to make the argument that same-sex unions are wrong, there is something wrong with the book, not the unions.  But why he thinks the Constitution is flawed makes no sense to me.  Yeah, yeah, he's hung up on the Second Amendment.  But that Amendment isn't flawed, how people pervert its purpose is flawed.

Will we get to the end of 2013 and still have Sears and JC Penneys in malls around the country?  Who knows?  Both are in serious trouble.

Yesterday I went to the movies with a friend.  Midway through the film, the picture went dark and the manager walked in.  "Sorry folks, we had to stop the movie to bring the house lights up.  We'll do our best to keep the interruption as short as possible."  Turned out that a woman in the audience had fainted and had to practically be carried down to a waiting wheelchair.  It seemed like half the remaining audience latched on to the opportunity to run to the restrooms during the break.  So why don't people make it a point to go just before a movie starts?  If you do that, should you really need to go again an hour and ten minutes later?

Should we be generous and offer to help our friends when they have a problem or issue where we have expertise?  I imagine it gets tiring to be a doctor and always being asked medical questions.  But when there is a serious issue, most of the doctors I know on a personal rather than professional level are happy to discuss the matte.  If someone who is a friend has an issue with their income taxes, I take it as a compliment if they ask for help, and I'll offer it freely.  Sometimes even before being asked, although if they don't want to discuss it I'll drop it like a hot massage rock.

How can an NBA coach be the league's coach of the month in November and then be fired weeks later in December?

This Date in History:

On this date in 1612, Galileo observes Neptune, becoming the first astronomer to do so.  He mistakenly catalogues it as a fixed star rather than a planet.
On this date in 1832, John C. Calhoun becomes the first Vice-President of the U.S. to resign.
On this date in 1836, Spain recognizes the independence of Mexico.
On this date in 1846, Iowa becomes the 29th state.
On this date in 1867, the U.S. claims Midway Atoll.
On this date in 1895, Wilhelm Röntgen publishes a paper on radiation that leads to his being known as the man who discovered X-rays.
On this date in 1902, the first ever professional football game played indoors was played at Madison Square Garden.
On this date in 1912, the first municipally owned streetcars in San Francisco went into service.
On this date in 1935, Pravda published a letter by Pavel Postyshev, reviving the New Year tree tradition in the Soviet Union.  Wait, Pravda published a letter???
On this date in 1944, Maurice ("The Rocket") Richard became the first person to score eight points in one hockey game.
On this date in 1971, Kim-il Sung added President of North Korea to the titles of Prime Minister of North Korea and General Secretary of the Worker's Party of Korea that he'd already bestowed on himself.
On this date in 2000, Montgomery Wards announces it is going out of business.
And on this date in 1922, Stan Lee, founder of Marvel Comics was born.  Happy 90th birthday, Stan!!