7 Things I Learned This Week

Last Friday I started something new called 10 Things I Learned This Week. It actually got some readership, which is rare for a Friday. So I think I'll milk this baby.

Here are 7 things I learned this week.

1. 73% of North Americans say they would rather give up their social networks than their TV.

2. In Portland, they are creating retirement homes for chickens.

3. Most depressing advertising story of the week: This hypocritical, showboating, insincere nonsense from someone who should know better. More about this on Monday.

4. According to the TSA, their officers "followed proper screening procedures" when they insisted on physically patting down an hysterical 4-year-old girl.

5. Conrado "Connie" Marrero was a pitcher for the Washington Senators. "One day (Ted) Williams got two home runs off me, and afterward he came up to me and said 'Sorry, it was my day today,' Marrero recalled. "I responded, 'Ted, every day is your day.'" Marrero turned 101 on Wednesday in his home town of Havana, Cuba. He is the oldest surviving major league baseball player.

6. In 1982, the U.S. led the world in the percentage of 25- to 34-year-olds who had the equivalent of a two-year college degree. In 2009, the U.S. was 15th.

7. There is a new cable TV channel. It is called DogTV. It runs 24-hour programming for dogs. According to The New York Times the programming consists of "three- to six-minute segments featuring grassy fields, bouncing balls and humans rubbing dog tummies." Sounds better than the crap I've been watching.