Trendspotting

I am no international man of mystery but I do get around and try to keep my eyes and ears open. I have noticed a couple trends of late that I think are worth mentioning. First the cool one. I have noticed that, especially in urban areas, hot young chicks in their twenties are restoring and riding beautiful 60's motorcycles, both british and japanese. Nortons and Triumphs and Honda 250's. I saw the sweetest Honda 250 in San Francisco earlier this year, with a pretty lass astride. Great color palettes on these bikes and even nicer with a comely vixen on top. I have noticed it in San Diego and L.A. as well and just want to say, you go girl!

*

Another thing that I have noticed is that do to rampant texting and tweeting, posture is really poor these days. It is a great talent to be able to walk and use those opposable thumbs in tandem, but many people resemble some evolutionary throwback. Not to mention all the time we spend at our monitors. Chiropractors have to love this technology boom.

*

Speaking of texting, is it just me or does anybody else find the dumbing down of language infuriating. I am speaking of the habit of substituting u for you in a letter, like c u latr. A lot of my pals do this and I want to shriek. I guess it is because I am the son of an editor and an ex proof reader but it is very annoying. I hate it even in text form, in fact I hate texting. Send me an email, please don't text.

*

I was listening to the new UCLA football coach on the radio the other day and heard another of my favorite bugaboos. Jim Mora Jr., not exactly a brain surgeon, and certainly not ghetto raised, said something in response to a question that sounded on the order of "That would be pure conjuncture." Jim Rhome does this a lot as well. Hey, just because a word sounds a lot like another word, in this case conjecture, doesn't mean that they are interchangeable and you will end up sounding really stupid.

*

Online Begging. I got this letter from our Prez today titled, Hey Robert, it's Barack. Like we are bro's now.

Well hey bro, I'm a little tapped right now. Can you call off your dogs? Because I get five of these a day and I'm not giving you another penny. We have issues. We can discuss them later.  I gave a few bucks to another nonprofit that shall remain nameless and they are badgering me daily as well. Big turn off. The door is now shut.

*

As my loyal readers know, I am of the E1b1b1c1* - d1 persuasion. My posse left Somalia about 22,400 years ago, chasing the dream. I have spent a lot of time researching my personal genetics and touching base with my extended clan. You can too.

Today is the last day for Family Tree DNA's winter sale. Click here to get a great deal. If you want to check your DNA against a huge database of humans and ascertain cousinship to five generations, order an autosomal Family Finder test. It is a hundred bucks off if you order today. I have over a thousand new cousins, including email addresses. Men can check their paternal Y-DNA and their mitochondrial DNA or MtDNA. Women, MtDNA and FF. Everybody who has done it on my recommendation has been happy, except for that one guy who was miffed because he couldn't find any link to royalty.

Once you start on this quest there is no turning back and you will never regret it. Trust me. Dip your toe in and spend two hundred bucks on the Family Finder test. You have until midnight for the cheap rates.