Goodbye, Facebook

Got this email yesterday:

Account Scheduled for Deletion
   
Hi Mike,

We have received a request to permanently delete your account. Your account has been deactivated from the site and will be permanently deleted within 14 days.

If you did not request to permanently delete your account, please login to Facebook to cancel this request:

https://www.facebook.com/login.php


Thanks,
The Facebook Team

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I had deactivated my Facebook account several times over the course of the last few days but kept getting signed in, mostly by forums which use the Facebook comment module, but I had also signed in (and reactivated it) to let a few of my friends know about my decision, those who didn't have my email address.  I didn't want to make some grand announcement, just like those who proclaim "I'm leaving this group!".

There are multiple reasons, the main one being that of privacy and how Facebook tracks you across the Internet, namely with the aforementioned comment module.  Also, I found that Facebook had closed several groups and pages I followed and the only reason they had done so was because they were pro-conservative or anti-liberal/progressive. Their site, their rules, their reasons, but I don't have to put up with that and refuse to do so.  Privacy is rare on the 'net but I won't surrender any more than I need to.

Another important reason was an annoyance; why would people send you a friendship request and then ignore you?  They wouldn't even like a post of mine much less leave a comment under them.  Now, I don't desperately need the attention, but I would comment or like a post on their pages because I wanted them to know I was reading them and I KNOW they had time to at least click the "Like" button because some of them posted multiple times during the day. 

And, speaking of posting, right before I decided to get off Facebook, one woman I know posted 27 different links in the course of fifteen minutes.  That was a record but it was nothing to see a dozen or more posts in a day from her and thanks to Facebook's strange algorithm, they filled up my feed and I didn't see anything from anyone else.   I use an AdBlock extension plus a nifty Greasemonkey script from FB Purity that let me customize my feed, but Facebook was always changing some script to defeat the way I wanted to view their website. It just got to be a hassle.

Anyway, it was astounding how often some folks would post; an old classmate would post dozens of photos of a grandson's baseball game and while  I understand her excitement, I'm not sure why she expected ME to have the same enthusiasm.  I also didn't want to see endless photos of another woman's puppy - sure, it was cute, but not any cuter after 50 photos of the same damn dog.  I also didn't care about someone posting they were eating at a particular restaurant, esp. if they didn't do a review of the food or post a photo of it.

While Facebook is a good way to keep up with old friends and kinfolk, what's wrong with an email now 'n then? I know nobody is going to write a letter and they'd rather text than actually talk to someone but Facebook is akin to trying to be a sniper using a 12 gauge shotgun...you're going to scatter your shots so far apart you'll be lucky to hit anyone.

So, adios, Facebook.  I didn't waste a LOT of time using it, but I wish I had that time back. Oh well, live and learn.

Cukes Cause Pukes

A little too close together in my Facebook news feed:

ultracrepidarian

ultracrepidarian [uhl-truh-krep-i-dair-ee-uh n]

adjective
1. noting or pertaining to a person who criticizes, judges, or gives advice outside the area of his or her expertise

noun
2. an ultracrepidarian person.

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I saw this word in my reader feed earlier and thought it might be a good one to add to my vocabulary and especially to use in online arguments. What I really like about these esoteric words is that it shuts the other person up until they can go find out what it means.

Not but a few minutes after I read it, I went to a lottery forum I participate in and caught up on a thread I had been following about the recent Tennessee Powerball winners who gave a press conference even before they claimed their share of the jackpot. The arguments were getting heated when one guy said no one had the right to criticize them since he was sure no one giving their opinions had ever won. That led to a spate of replies with one person saying "one doesn't have to be a doctor to know they have a belly ache."

Thinking about the lottery reminded me I needed to go get a ticket for tonight's Texas Lotto.  I stopped at the dollar store on the way home and started to go down an aisle but two older men were talking and blocking my way.  I turned around and went down the next aisle and while looking for what I wanted to buy, heard one complaining he hadn't been sleeping well and the other said "The sandman hasn't been visiting you, huh?" and at that exact point the store radio speaker just above their heads started with the distinctive opening guitar rift of "Enter Sandman" by Metallica!

I love these coincidences that seem to happen to me a lot;  I'll be listening to online radio and reading something in another tab and the radio hosts will say a word I'm reading at the same time or reference a news story I'm scanning.  Freaky!  ("coincidence" is even a post label in this blog)

And speaking of freaky:  after those earlier two coincidences, I got on Facebook to see what's been happening since I last visited and noticed a FB friend had posted a video of the Top Ten Eagles songs.  #1 was "Hotel California" and I had to make a comment about it being one of the most overplayed songs ever...and after I hit "Enter" on the post, another friend's post showed up right below that one - check it out:

(click image for larger view)

What's Your Facebook Personality?

Your Facebook Personality is Friendly

You are good at getting people to let loose. You are the fun one in your group. You use Facebook just to have fun. You don't have an agenda, and you avoid drama. You easily feel lonely. You like to have a big social support system to count on. You're happy to be Facebook friends with people you don't know well - as long as they're friendly too!

What's Your Facebook Personality?

Bitly 404 Page

I was trying to view a recipe posted on the Foodgawker Facebook wall, but kept getting a 404 page.  They said they had fixed the link, but didn't.  That's the problem with using these link-shortening services - far too often something happens in the conversion of the link and it's invalid or they make a mistake in copying...either way, it's a broken link.   Here's a screenshot of what I got:

Still, the Bitly 404 page is a pretty cool one - funny and animated, with a seagull flapping its wings, clouds floating across the sky and waves bobbing a dead pufferfish? up and down.  See it for yourself. (put your cursor over the water to make waves-I don't think anything else is interactive)

Facebook Email Change

Facebook sure has been changing a lot of things here lately. Most of the changes were ones I didn't much care for, such as the Timeline makeover, but this one doesn't affect me at all. I get P.M.s fairly often from my FB friends and sometimes a few from other folks that go in the "Other" folder (and which I often miss) but I never used my Facebook email account.

(my real name redacted as so to give me the illusion that I have a little bit of privacy left)

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Actually, nothing.  It's the description at the top of the post that's oh-so-wrong.

This is the latest post on the Relish Magazine Facebook page.   I don't have the heart to tell them the vulgar definition of "corn hole". 

I guess they never watched Beavis and Butthead.

(Please note:  if that video doesn't explain the term to you, just do a Google search, but don't say you weren't warned!)

rile

rile [rahyl] verb (used with object), riled, ril·ing.
Chiefly Northern and North Midland U.S.

1. to irritate or vex.
2. to roil (water or the like).

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I definitely know this word, because too many things rile me on the Internet; sometimes it's the news, but most often it's somebody whose comments go beyond the pale.  I'm getting better, though, but I sometimes will still sign up for an account just to reply to some jerk on a forum I'll never visit again.

I don't let too many people rile me on Facebook because I've already blocked most of the a-holes who post to the pages I follow.  I also do it for a few people who are friends with some of my Facebook friends but I don't want to get into it with them on my friend's wall, just out of respect for them.

I've quit commenting on YouTube videos because 99% of the time the person making some outrageous statement knows absolutely nothing about the subject.

Rare Error

One of the very few errors I've had here on Blogger. I've had this blog for over five years and I haven't had more than five errors in all that time. Back in MSN Groups, I could get five errors in a day, even that many in an hour. Facebook is better, but they have more glitches than I think I want to tolerate.

Oddly enough, I got it the other day when posting this.

Adam Ant as Brad Bonner

A Facebook and long-time online friend recently posted some Adam Ant videos on her wall and seeing them reminded me of an old episode of Northern Exposure where he played Brad Bonner, a British rock star (typecasting in reverse?) visiting Cicily, Alaska and wanting to make a "tribal rock" video with some of the local natives. 



The character taking the video is Ed Chigliak, played by Darren E. Burrows. Mr. Burrows and I share many of the same political beliefs and I am proud to count him among my Facebook friends. (Burrow's Facebook fan page)

My Facebook Profile

You Are Shy in Real Life

You are modern and up on the latest trends. You resist getting stuck in a rut. You have mixed feelings about yourself. Sometimes you love who you are, and sometimes there's so much you want to change. You are very verbally adept. You love to talk, even if no one else is listening. You consider yourself a bit of a paranoid person. You aren't going to put a lot of personal information out there online.

What Does Your Facebook Profile Say About You?

Blogthings: Learn Something Surprising About Yourself

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Sometimes these quizzes are funny because they're so wrong, but other times they're almost scary when they're spot-on.

I don't know about the validity of the other stuff, but I AM paranoid, especially about my online security.

You're really not paranoid if there ARE people out to get you, you know.

Gog Bless Us All

This was one of the replies to a post on Facebook about a neighbor's condition;  she recently had heart surgery and was in critical condition, with her kidneys not functioning.   I was glad to see that she's doing much better, but I had to laugh when I saw this.

(I cropped out the poster's name and photo)

I think I would have deleted the post and posted again or at least used the "Edit" feature. Oh well, her heart was in the right place and her sentiments were good, if not her spelling.

Costly Kids

Just read this article on Yahoo: Cost of kid-raising hits $234,900 in U.S

Wow.  That's a lot of money, but thinking of the yearly cost of food and clothes, plus college, it sounds about right.  Since that's an average, it makes me think of the privileged kids who are above the average and especially those children who get below the average cost spent on them, sometimes much less.  I know people who probably have spent close to that much on beer in the same amount of time.

Some of the comments on the Yahoo Facebook wall (where I saw the link to the article) were - as usual - getting heated. Some people were saying their children's love was worth much more than that while others said they were never going to have children. Of course - as usual- there were self-righteous types who were replying to the anti-having children posters telling them they shouldn't have children if they were going to have an attitude like that. Good grief, they just SAID they weren't having children; why rake them over the coals for not wanting children?  I have a sneaking suspicion that the critics would never admit they wish they hadn't had children and were jealous of those who weren't.  They're probably the ones who shouldn't have had children.

I had a friend who told his mother he wasn't having children. (and since he was gay, I figured it would've been a safe bet) She told him "But who will take care of you when you're old?"

"I dunno." he replied. "But I ain't havin' nobody stick ME in a nursing home."

Nothing wrong with not having children, but I personally think *some* people who have children shouldn't have them and/or they have too many. It's still a free country - for the time being - so pop those kids out like your womb was a Pez dispenser, I don't give a damn. Just keep them quiet in restaurants, that's all I ask. Oh yeah, and keep 'em off my lawn, too.

Reminds me of an old joke:

A traveling salesman was making calls in the back woods and stopped at a primitive cabin where at least a dozen kids were playing outside in the dirt.  He could tell the family was very poor and it wouldn't be any use in trying to sell them something, but he really needed to use the bathroom so he asked the harried looking woman if he could use their facilities.  Shifting a baby from one arm to the other, she pointed towards an outhouse in the back yard.

The salesman walked toward the privy and opened the door, but as he looked down into the hole, he could see a young child struggling in the muck, the head barely visible.  He ran back to the front, frantically screaming for someone to help the child.  The woman followed him to the outhouse, looked down in the hole at the child and to the salesman's horror, put a leg into the opening and with her foot pushed the child's head below the surface.

"My God!" exclaimed the salesman."Why did you do that?"

Without batting an eye, the woman replied "I reckon it'd be easier to make another one than it would be to clean that one up."

YOLO

YOLO= "You only live once." I saw this several years ago on a Facebook wall. The subject was the most daring things people had done and one guy said he and his girlfriend had climbed some mountain last summer and someone else said they thought that was crazy and the mountain climber replied "YOLO".

I wasn't familiar with that particular acronym, but it didn't take long to find out what it meant: You Only Live Once - Mainly used to defend doing something ranging from mild to extreme stupidity (That's from the website Urban Dictionary. I'm not linking to it because 90% of the definitions on the site contain some...or a lot...of profanity. I'm thinkin' it's more than fair that I cite the source even if I don't insert a hyperlink)

I don't think climbing a mountain is stupid;  I wouldn't do it, but I can think of a lot more stupid things there are to do.  The way YOLO is being used most of the time is stupid, though.

Since that time I've seen it hundreds of times on the 'net, on Twitter feeds and set as a Facebook status. It's becoming overused, much in the way Hotel California was played way too much on the radio. That song was great the first dozen times I heard it, but when it was played a dozen times a day....

It was like that with YOLO for a long while, then - thankfully - it fell into disuse. It wouldn't go away completely - there were the isolated incidents that would call attention to it again, such as when Zac Efron got a YOLO hand tattoo. It's making a comeback, though, and a search of the 'net will show that I'm not alone in thinking it's being used far too often and in the wrong context.

I was reminded of it again the other day when some doofus posted in a fan group something like "Me 'n a bud drank a fifth of vodka, polished off a case of malt liquor and smoked a whole oz. of some crazy kine. YOLO." Yeah, I thought. You only live once, but you'll also probably only live a short time.

I suppose you only live once, but I prefer to go by the haiku written by James Bond in Ian Fleming's novel You Only Live Twice:

You only live twice:
Once when you are born
And once when you look death in the face

I'm certainly not a spy nor a combat veteran, but I have looked death in the face, both literally and figuratively. That's for another blog post, though.

The following is from the 1967 James Bond thriller You Only Live Twice opening, sung by Nancy Sinatra. (The movie bears little resemblance to the novel, by-the-way) I love the opening bars of the tune.

Firefox 13.0

Firefox just released the newest version of their browser.  From Firefox 13 Tweaks Tabs, Home Pages, Speed and Security

Before the upgrade, when Firefox users clicked to open a new tab, they saw simply a blank page, unlike browsers such as Chrome, Safari or Internet Explorer, which provide users with links to recently opened or favorite sites. Now, the Firefox homepage will feature icons that enable quick access to bookmarks, history, settings, add-ons and downloads. Additionally, when users click for a new tab, they'll see thumbnails to their most recently and frequently visited sites.

I really like the thumbnail part when opening up a new tab and it does seem a little faster.  Only one of my add-ons was not compatible, much fewer than with other releases. 

The funny thing about this is that I've almost always liked the upgrades Firefox has done.  I didn't like the last few MSN Group upgrades and don't like the new Facebook Timeline, so I take offense when people say I (or others) don't like change.  The changes Firefox has done are easier to get used to and are more useful than other "upgrades" I've gone through.  Even going from Windows98 to XP wasn't as bad as trying to get used to the new Timeline. (so that's why I installed some extensions for Firefox that hides it from me!)

I do wish my Windows Media Player on this Vista machine was more like the one I had with my XP computer.  It's definitely not an improvement, I don't care how much they try to convince me otherwise.

The very best upgrade I ever had was going from dial-up to DSL.  Who wouldn't want a hundred times more speed?  (I really need to upgrade to cable, though, but my speed is satisfactory for now)

Liking Your Own Facebook Posts

Liking your own Facebook posts is like giving yourself a high five in public.
 - Conan O'Brien

I saw this quote as the rebuttal to someone on a totally unrelated subject. Others chimed in , saying it was lame, stupid, etc.  I didn't see one reply in support.

It made me Google "liking your own Facebook posts" and there were millions of mentions about it (18.1 million), but this one stood out as one of the few in defense of the practice: Should you like your own Facebook posts?  As is almost always the case, some people had to chime in with their own and insulting opinions.

To be honest, it's not a big deal as far as I'm concerned but I do wonder why people do it.

The reason I bring this up is because I accidentally liked one of my own posts earlier and quickly unliked it before anyone could notice. Maybe it's a bigger deal to me than I'm admitting.  It just seems like it's....not sure of the word or phrase I want to use...maybe "self-promoting"?  I wouldn't dream of mentioning it on my own wall and especially not on someone else's wall who does it, though.

I've seen several of my Facebook friends like their own posts and it's always struck me as odd. One friend does it all the time, but she can't be bothered to like even one of my own posts. THAT does bother me. She's the one who sent the friendship request.  What's the use of having Facebook friends if you don't interact with them? Other friends like nearly every one of my posts and I appreciate it; at least it lets me know they've read them.  The same ones always like my replies to their posts and that lets me know they appreciate ME reading THEIR posts.  Seriously, it doesn't take much effort to click the "like" button.

I've been culling my Facebook friends list because if they don't care about my posts, then why should I care about theirs?  I'm not being dramatic here;  it's just that there are reasons I spend time online: one is to learn - the news, recipes, subjects that interest me, etc.  Another is to be entertained - the learning could be lumped in with that, because I enjoy finding out things I didn't know.  Last, but not least, I love the 'net because it allows me to keep up with friends and family members.  It's almost a Catch-22 thing with that, though.  If they don't care enough to keep up with me, why should I care about keeping up with them?

Foolish Facebook Feuding

I belong to a lot of Facebook groups and fan pages;  ones about TV shows, movies, politicians, celebs and several Amarillo media outlet pages.  With the recent backlash over North Carolina’s marriage vote followed by President Obama's endorsement of same-sex marriage, the pages have seen activity such as I've not witnessed before since I became active on Facebook.

For the record - I'm not "for" gay marriage...but I'm not against it, either.  It really should be a non-issue, as I take the libertarian stance that govt. has no place in marriage.  I'm on record as saying gay marriage won't be the downfall of this great nation, but the continued loss of our freedoms will be.  The only "problem" I have with same-sex marriage is one of semantics, namely that marriage has been defined as between a man and a woman.  If gays want to "marry", then there should be a different word to describe it, such as "civil union".

That's not the point of this rant, though;  reading through a thousand or more posts from both sides of the issue I've been offended by many of those arguing for and also by many against it.  The anti folks are the most obnoxious - but not by much.  Most use the Bible verses to argue their case and they have a point...but many are not being very compassionate when they state their case.  Personally, I consider myself a Christian, albeit not a very good one, but the judgment isn't mine to pass out.  I can send no one to Heaven, cannot sentence anyone to Hell.  There have been a few against it that have had that compassion, though...voices of reason in an unreasonable crowd.

The pro people are almost as bad, bringing up the argument that the Christians pick and choose what they want to follow from Biblical teaching.  They're right, but they are so full of rage it's hard to give sympathy to their views.  The hatred between the two groups is frightening.  I almost feel as though I'm caught in the crossfire.

What annoys me the most is the President's change of heart over the issue.  He's been on record as being against it, but just as soon as N. Carolina passes the ban, he changed his mind.  He may have agonized over it, who knows?  I'm not against his new-found stance, but I think he has seen a poll or study that showed he was losing the (for example) 18-24 vote and needed to sway them back into the fold.  I don't need to see statistics to know that it's the older generation that holds the anti viewpoint and that the younger generations have little or no problem with gay marriage.  I think the President is doing what he does best and that's being a consummate politician. (and that's what I hate the most about politicians, especially the ones that are good at being one)

What's also troublesome is that there are many other issues for the President with which he should concern himself;  our dwindling civil rights and vanishing privacy, several wars, the economy and many others.   We have our service people dying and the drums of war are beating even louder...people are out of work and we're putting ourselves into debt that our children's children's children won't even begin to pay off...and Big Brother is here, Orwell's 1984 a few years late here in 2012.  I may seem callous, but same sex marriage should be far down the list of his concerns.   Something that affects perhaps 3-4% of the population shouldn't take precedent over the things that affect us all.

Anyway...I shouldn't sit on the fence about this.  If it were up to me, I'd let gays legally join together using any word to describe it but "marriage".  I'm still against the govt. being involved with whatever one wants to call it, though, but since it is, then allow any two people a license.  Let the churches decide if they want to perform a ceremony.

Sure, let them legally join together.  Let them have the same tax and other advantages that heterosexual couples have. As some comic once said, they deserve the right to be as miserable as the rest of us.

A Texas-Sized Gripe

Since I first got on the 'net, I've been reading all sorts of memes about Texas.  Most are funny, some are stereotypes but true, but there are several that just aren't true.  I see people write that Texas is flat - not so, not even here in the Panhandle.  Part of Texas is called the Hill Country for good reason.  There are mountains in far west Texas.  Another misconception is that Texas is hot.  People who think that should spend a winter here in the top of Texas.  Another is that Texas is all desert.  Good grief.  Texas borders the Gulf of Mexico and has some lovely beaches; east Texas has loads of timber and from here to Lubbock is some of the finest farmland in the U.S.

That's OK, though...those ideas are from people who just don't know any better.  There's one thing, however, that's perpetuated by Texans themselves and I want to set the record straight.

There was a recipe post that hit my reader yesterday that finally made me decide to rant.  The post - The Texican Burger -  brought up the "what kind of coke do you want?" meme.

Me: Do you want a coke?
Not me: Yes.
Me: What kind?
Not me: Dr. Pepper.

This is such crap. I was born and raised here in Texas, lived here for over half a century and I've NEVER heard anyone say that nor been asked anything like that when ordering a soda.  If you asked for a Coke, that's what you got.  If you ordered a DP, they knew you meant Dr Pepper. (which originated in Waco, Texas, btw.)  If you asked a waitress for a strawberry coke, she would probably tell you they had Fanta or Big Red or maybe you'd get a Coke w/ strawberry flavoring added.

Maybe this all stems from the popularity of Coca-Cola and being asked if you would like a coke.  "Yeah, gimme a DP."  That's the only thing I can think of that comes close to "What kind of coke...?" meme.

I belong to a couple of Texas Facebook groups which have posted this among other Texas "truths".  Along with this (and that Texans all drive pickups with gun racks and school lets out during hunting season or that all the women are blonde and have "big hair"), they also state that "true Texans" don't say "soda" or "pop" or "soda pop". Like I said, I'm a native Texan and I say soda and pop and soda pop.

Do a search for "texas what kind of coke do you want" and you'll see thousands of posts that continue this idiotic idea.  Maybe there's something to the stereotype that Texans are stupid - maybe I've just grown up around the smarter ones and the rest of Texas is filled with dumb asses.

Pinuninterested

I had been hearing good things about Pinterest, an online "pinboard" used to organize and share your interests. I have a couple of Facebook friends who use it and several of my favorite recipe sites have also touted the service.

So, I went to the site and requested an invite.  I wondered why they made people do that; I would think that the normal procedure of filling out a few bits of information would do. I signed up and got a message saying I would be notified shortly.

Again, I wondered why I had to wait.  I really don't know why, but my suspicion is that they want people to think it's "exclusive" and it is a privilege to be allowed to join.  Several days went by and I finally got an email notifying me that I had been accepted and to click on a link.

As you can see, I was taken to my Facebook account and, as with so many of these things, I had to allow Pinterest to access my data and to let it post on my account.

This app may post on your behalf, including pinboards you created, pinboards you followed and more.

I really hate those apps.  It not only accesses my personal data, but that of my Facebook friends.  I want to be the one to share information, not some invasive application.  It also said it was going to update me to the new Timeline.  I've been putting that off, even though all Facebook accounts will go to that sometime this next week.  (I don't mind change, but I do not like that new format.  What's wrong with how they're doing it now?)

So, here's what I did with the invite.

Swimming in Conspiracy Theories

I subscribe to Alex Jones on Facebook, not that I'm such a big fan of conspiracy theories, but because I used to listen to his radio shows on late at night and found them both amusing and entertaining. (Along with Art Bell's Coast to Coast AM) It was also a good way for me to fall asleep, much better than listening to music. It wasn't the show or subject manner that amused me the most, but rather the callers.

The Alex Jones Facebook page is no different; just the other day there was a post about the recent Clintonville "booms" and it brought the crazies out of the woodwork.  Some posters claimed the govt. was responsible (which makes up the highest percentage of blame in most conspiracy theories) while others said it was aliens and a few blamed fracking (the hydraulic fracturing of formations to release the oil or gas.  Fracking is one of the latest controversial subjects that serves as the blame for people's water catching on fire, pollution of water aquifers and gingivitis. OK, just kidding on that last.  Fracking will be the subject of a future rant, so stay tuned!)

As is nearly always the case, there were posters who disregarded the subject at hand and wanted to bring up their own pet conspiracy theory.  One guy said we all should Google "New Navy Maps".  Usually these things don't interest me (as a Ron Paul supporter who frequents several forums devoted to him, I've grown extremely weary of this stuff), but I never had heard of that, so I did some quick research.

In a nutshell, this is supposed to be one of the new maps the U.S. Navy will use in the near-future.  As you can see by the graphic below, large sections of America will be flooded.

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NOTE:  Image was removed, prob. by Google/Blogger because I used it without permission.  To be honest. I didn't think it was such a big deal;  it was a crudely drawn map with areas of America underwater.  I tell ya, these conspiracy nutjobs don't have a sense of humor.   If whoever turned me in is reading this:  sorry you got upset, sorry you can't make a better graphic and sorry that you're such an anal retentive asshat.

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Many theories were put forth as to why so much of the U.S. will be submerged; Fracking (again ), global warming, intentional diverting of the Mississippi river (which doesn't account for the east and west coasts being under water) as well as many others.

I'd have to look at a topographical map, but it looks to me like the water just blows right through part of the Rocky Mountains.

If this comes to pass, it might be a good idea to buy stock in a boat building company or maybe get some of that good-for-nothing-else desert land in Arizona and New Mexico...which will be ocean front property then.

Maybe it would be better to invest in a company that makes tin foil?