Study Determines Best and Worst States 

for Surviving an Alien Invasion...

An odd new study has produced a list which ranks all 50 states on the basis of how well they would fare in the event of an alien invasion. The peculiar project was reportedly the work of the website NJCasino.com, which examined a variety of rather unique metrics that they believe would be key elements to come into play should ETs opt for a hostile arrival here on Earth. Specifically, the study looked at the amount of reported UFO sightings in relation to population density, the percentage of area covered by water or forests in each state, the number of military personnel, law enforcement officers, scientists, and engineers per 1,000 people, and the distribution of food and beverage companies.

 Find out how your state fared here.

 

machineartmoto is the leader in protection for your machine with style, affordability and superb design.

Both ADV bikes in the Backroads' barn sport machineartmoto products - and for great reason - they work and are just , simply, very cool!

Check them out here:

We have a non-automotive Car Talk Puzzler for you all this week.

This one is about coffee, not about cars, or motorcycles.

Here we go.

I like to make my coffee in the morning the old-fashioned way.

I still use a percolator. None of these K-cups, espresso machines or drip stuff with timers and internet connections. None of that. I just like the pure bubbling coffee that comes from a percolator.

Anyway, imagine you use a percolator too. You're getting up in the morning, getting ready to go to work. You've made yourself a boiling pot of coffee. And as soon as it finishes its last perk, you remove it from the stove. And while it's still boiling, you pour yourself a cup. It's probably on the verge of boiling and still 210 degrees. Very hot. You realize it's too hot to drink. And as luck would have it, you have to go and shave.

So, you got 5 minutes in which to shave, while your coffee is still boiling hot. And you like to put cream in your coffee. So here is the question.

Do you take the cream and put it in the coffee now, while you go shave, as the coffee is boiling hot? Knowing that the cream will start to cool off the coffee now, while you're shaving.

Or do you go and have your shave, and then when you returned, you put in the cream and stir it and drink it down?

Which scenario will make the coffee the coolest, so you can drink it after that 5 minutes?

Add cream and then shave for 5 minutes?

Or let it alone, shave for 5 minutes, and then add the cream?

Good luck.

Answer the Puzzler:

New Jersey residents will argue about anything under the sun, and no argument is more intense than the “Taylor Ham vs. Pork Roll” debate. I’ve also come to realize that I don’t really care what anyone calls it, I’m just happy to have such a great breakfast meat at my disposal wherever I may go in the Garden State.

As people continue to push the boundaries of food, we see products like Taylor Ham utilized in ways that might be unfamiliar to us—maybe even a bit taboo or unorthodox. There is perhaps no more interesting use of the beloved breakfast meat than at Windy Brow Farms in Fredon Township, NJ, where ice cream magician Jake Hunt is spinning the insanely popular Taylor Ham & French Toast ice cream. 

All a Rookie's Mistake?
 

MESOPOTAMIA — Recently discovered evidence has led biblical scholars to believe Noah made the mistake of washing his ark the day before it began raining. This new understanding has given researchers reason to think the flood itself may have been the result of this rookie mistake.

“Noah clearly didn’t think ahead with this decision,” said Professor Blake Rumsey at the Institute of Genesis Theology. “Everyone knows there’s a universal rule that it’s going to rain the day after you wash your vehicle. Noah lost sight of that fact, leading to 40 days and nights of rain, billions of deaths, and essentially, the reshaping of the entire earth.”
 

The Pros & Cons of Both

Before we get too far into this, let’s face it, smartphones have come a long way and are capable of doing things most don’t understand and some can’t comprehend. Navigation, however, is one of the features people from all walks – and levels of technological literacy – use on a daily basis. A smartphone works quite well for nav among dozens of other things, occasionally at the same time. So are standalone GPS units even worth having around anymore? As phones continue to advance – as well as GPS units – the lines between the two continue to become more blurred. Let’s have a closer look at the pros and cons of both. 
 

The Castle Inn Tour

Water Gap, PA

The Castle Inn is the last of the grand resorts which existed in Delaware Water Gap 110 years ago.  Delaware Water Gap had over 500,000 people who vacationed there, escaping the heat and low quality sanitation of the cities.  People from New York City and Philadelphia traveled by train to arrive to this area.  Delaware Water Gap was the second most popular in-land destination in the United States, second to Saratoga Springs, New York.  The Castle Inn, once a resort, is now a venue space for events, as well as a host to professional offices and unique retail shops.  The guided tour will take you back in time.  You will see the sites in Delaware Water Gap that still exist today, experience the Castle Inn in its restored Victorian Era grandeur, and hear the stories of experiences from the past.

We just did this last week and it was fun and fascinating.

Great food too!

I'm A Man

Danny Seraphine & CTA

Last week we celebrated tomobonist Jimmy Pankow's 76th birthday.

This week Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine turned 75.

Here he is with California Transit Authority, at the Modern Drummers Festival, covering Chicago's cover of a Stevie Winwood song...

I'm a Man!