No Runny Eggs

Earlier today President Obama gave a speech in Ohio, reasserting his claim that he took office during an economic collapse of such magnitude that we should all be happy about the current economic conditions. He then went on to point out (for approximately the 3,459th time) that the banking system was saved, which prevented the recession from becoming a depression.

Then something interesting occurred to me. The only piece of legislation passed specifically to address the banking problem was the Troubled Asset Relief Program (“TARP”).  (For the record, I opposed TARP).  So it is worth noting that TARP was signed into law on October 3, 2008, long before Barack Obama became President. So, Mr. President, if TARP actually saved us from a depression on your watch, you better thank Mr. Bush.  Fat chance.

The Brits have always had a difficult time separating reality from fiction.  Watching shows like “Dallas” or later, “90210,” shaped much of the British view of what America, and in turn Americans, was and were.

I think in some similar ways, Americans pick up on stereotypes of the the Brits.  Fawlty Towers was a long running british farce about a hotel manager played by John Cleese, and his hapless staff running a hotel.  If you haven’t seen the show, please do.  John Cleese is incredibly funny and as a hotelier getting into odd situations with his staff, was years ahead of Bob Newhart.

While at the time, Fawlty Towers may have given us the false impression of the Brits as hospitality idiots, it now looks like it was just ahead of its time.

A Holiday Inn in London is now “offering a human bed warming service!”   Yup, you read that right!  You can get somebody on their staff to put on an all-in-0ne “sleeper suit” and have them crawl into your bed to warm it before you hop in!

Apparently, there are benefits to a warm bed.  According to some scientist who knows about this stuff, a warm bed helps us fall asleep.

Dr Chris Idzikowski, director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre, said the idea could help people get off to sleep.

I was thinking that if the right person crawled in to some beds, you could drop the last two words of the Dr. Idzikowski’s statement!

Listen, I live in Minnesota and know all about the desire for a warm bed.  From late November until as long as I can get Mrs. Shoe to leave them on, I like my flannel sheets!  I hate crawling in on cold percale sheets!  Better yet, at least in my world, is to get both of our dogs to lay on my side of the bed while I’m getting ready for bed.  About five minutes of the two hounds laying where I’m about to crawl in and the temperature of the sheets is just right for my winter’s nap!

Now, I’m not suggesting that Holiday Inn should go to putting dogs in each of their rooms.  However, I suspect that with some of the dental problems that the Brits still have, it’s entirely possible that that would inadvertently happen, if you catch my drift!

No, no need for dogs but before they went down the path of human bed warmers, did anyone consider the possibility of an electric blanket?  I suppose they might have, unless the “bed warmer” is just code for something else?  Hmmmmmmm?