--THOSE PICTURES ARE REALLY SOMETHING

…Happy Friday.

Do you have big plans for the weekend?

Is the weather nice where you are?  I hope so.

…Someone recently asked me where I got the facts and stats that I sometimes post here.  I wouldn’t tell them, and I’m sorry, I won’t tell you either. But they’re interesting, don’t you think?

Here are some more:

…The average rate on a fixed 30-year mortgage is now a record-low 3.34%

…Americans are 450% richer than during The Great Depression, but, per capita, give less to charity than during The Great Depression

…The average American parent spends six hours a week shopping and four hours a week playing (or spending time) with their kids

…The average American has 10 credit cards

Their average credit card debt is $15,000

…By age 20, the average American is exposed to over 1 million television commercials
 

…Cats kill 3.7 birds annually (no kidding)

…37.8 million people watched Obama's inauguration in 2008.

20.6 million this year.

The Movies:

-3 in 4 people sneak their own food into the theater

-26% of people think the back row of the theater is the best seat in the house

-49% of people have walked out of a movie because it sucked

-People see an average of 4 films a year

-35% of all people own Netflix

-26% admit to streaming films at work

-13% go to the cinema alone

…You can write off the cost of contact lenses and/or glasses on your tax return.

…There have been 4.1 million homes lost to foreclosure since the housing collapse in 2008

…In 2011 there was 3.2 million firearms imported into America

…Transocean, the drilling company that owned the oil rig implicated in the catastrophic Deewater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was ordered to pay a $1.4 billion fine.

BP was fined $4 billion

...Last week Starbucks opened its first store in Vietnam.  Vietnam is the world's second-largest coffee producer.  Starbucks is currently in 50 countries

…Actor Patrick Dempsey, of "Greys Anatomy" fame, purchased Starbucks rival Tully's out of bankruptcy

…2012 was the warmest year ever in America, eclipsing the 1998 record by a full degree.

…Percentage of Americans saying laws covering the sale of firearms should be stricter:

2011: 43%

2012: 58%

…1 in 15 12th graders smoke pot daily.  6.5% of all 8th graders do.

…Last year, over 35 million (MILLION) copies of the erotic trilogy, "Fifty Shades of Grey" were sold

…It takes the average man 97 days to say, "I love you" to a person they're dating

…78% of men check a woman out online before a date

…The average cost of an academic year at a four-year college soared 71% in the last decade, now averaging $22,100