SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:

THIS WILL NO DOUBT SAVE THE NATION – FROM FOX:   The Army is kissing a decades-long St. Patrick’s Day tradition goodbye in Georgia’s port city, saying smudged lipstick doesn’t go with the uniform.
For more than 40 years, spectators at one of the world’s largest St. Patrick’s Day parades have darted into the street to peck passing soldiers. But this month, Savannah’s parade committee announced that tradition is not to be continued, sparking frustration from longtime residents.  “Even though rules are meant to be broken, I don’t think traditions are,” said Brian Ferguson, who once marched in the parade as a band member.  Mims Deriso wore the lipstick marks proudly when he paraded, seeing it as appreciation for the military. “It’s a shame it’s got to go,” he said.  There are people who actually spent time working to outlaw this.  Hide your ice cream cones.  That's next.

ANOTHER EVIL CONFRONTED – FROM COLLEGE FIX:  The top librarian at MIT recently argued that to make tech workplaces more inclusive and welcoming to women, ditch “Star Trek” posters and other geeky stuff cluttering office walls.  “There is research that shows that workplaces that are plastered with stereotypically ‘tech or nerd guy’ cultural images – think Star Trek – have negative impact on women’s likelihood of pursuing tech work and of staying in tech work in general or in that particular work environment,” said Chris Bourg, director of libraries at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  “Replace the Star Trek posters with travel posters, don’t name your projects or your printers or your domains after only male figures from Greek mythology, and just generally avoid geek references and inside nerd jokes,” Bourg added. “Those kinds of things reinforce the stereotypes about who does tech; and that stereotype is the male nerd stereotype.”  I've always felt that libraries are a threat to national unity.

THE COFFEE BOOM – FROM REUTERS:  NEW ORLEANS - The number of Americans drinking a daily cup of coffee is at the highest level since 2012, with demand continuing to get a boost from at-home consumption and gourmet drinks, an industry study showed on Saturday.  Sixty-four percent of Americans age 18 or over said they had a cup of coffee the previous day in 2018. That compares with 62 percent in 2017 and was roughly on par with levels last seen in 2012, according to results of a survey commissioned by the National Coffee Association (NCA) released during the group's annual meeting in New Orleans.  The survey underscores strong U.S. demand for the caffeinated beverage even as demand for soda and juice continues a years-long decline.  I attribute the higher demand to those little cups that make it so easy to brew coffee.  Thank Keurig and the others.

March 18,  2018