Exporting America

Want to see a list of companies that exports jobs overseas? Lou Dobbs of CNN keeps the list here. Check out more of Lou at Lou's CNN web page where you can read transcripts of prior shows. Lou, for those of you who don't get CNN, is one of the brightest guys in TV journalism . 

An Interview with Sidney Blumenthal

A timely interview with Bill Clinton's former Sr. Advisor - if you're a Democrat, you'll appreciate it, if you're a right-wing Republican, you will be shredding it. We are certainly a country of different visions.

Word of the Day:
fantastical - appealing to fancy, existing only in the imagination, conceived or done with no reference to reality or common sense. From the article - What kind of President is that? The picture that appears in Bob Woodward’s fantastical book ‘Bush at War,’ which includes reporting that is totally at odds with the image of Bush that Woodward swallows, has done enormous mischief, and really is the basis and the foundation stone of what remains of the public esteem for Bush. 

Women - Friday is RED Day!

Most women don't realize it, but heart disease is the #1 killer of women, more than all cancers combined. A woman dies of heart disease every single minute in this country, killing more than 500,000 every year. Signs are not always what you would expect either - you know - the crushing chest, pain down the arm,etc. Men often feel those symptoms, but women tend to come in and indicate that they feel like they've been having a stomach ache/indigestion, or have a backache or complain of dizziness or numbness. Some have had excessive fatigue, sometimes as long as 6 weeks before having their heart attack. So - do you know your blood pressure? Your chosterol numbers? Are you smoking, obese, or both? The new prevention guidelines aimed at women urge at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days; quitting smoking; and that high-risk women receive cholesterol-lowering drugs, preferably statins, and take omega 3 and folic acid supplements. For more info, read this article .

So wear your RED on Friday! National Heart Health Awareness Day!


If you're looking for a good Omega 3 supplement, I can recommend the following from Health from the Sun - 1-2 tsps a day will definitely be a boon to your heart, not to mention the anti-inflammatory properties if you're prone to arthritis,etc. Not that expensive and quite mild tasting.

Folic Acid tabs can be picked up at any drugstore/Walmart,etc and are quite inexpensive. Most multi-vits will have 400mcg in them, the daily requirement. I suspect taking twice that wouldn't hurt a bit. 

Defense budget doesn't include funds for Iraq, Afghanistan

Noticeably absent from next year's request is money for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. White House budget director Joshua Bolten estimated that another $50 billion would be needed to cover those costs next year. The White House expects to cover the war costs with supplemental funds after next fall's elections

Gee, a mere 50 billion left out - why doesn't that number appear in the deficit number as Josh Marshall points out in his Talking Points blog?

Serving your Country or ... ?

Following up on what many thought was a dead issue after the 2000 election, perhaps there is something more to President Bush's military record than he is willing to admit to? An interesting article here - seems like it would be easy enough for GW to prove where he was. This has suddenly surfaced as a hot topic again, although it is the last thing the WH wants to talk about

Are we a Nation of Cheaters?
An interesting look at cheating in society today. Are we truly worse than we used to be? Lots of good links here and good interviews - take the Integrity test at the bottom of the page. Something to discuss with your kids, perhaps? 

Kerry Appeals across the Board

Thought a comment I heard from Bill Schneider, CNN's Sr. Political Analyst was interesting - he suggested that all the Democratic candidates were actually niche candidates, i.e, Lieberman - a "Bush" Democrat; Edwards - Southern appeal ; Clark- National Security ; Sharpton - Black Vote ; Dean - the "left" wing; whereas Kerry appeals to all of these issues and has thus become the more viable candidate. Hard to imagine someone is going to really stop him. Looks like a Kerry/Edwards ticket would be a formidable one. So much will hinge on the war in Iraq and Jobs, come November. If those are going badly, the Democrats have a very good chance, if they've both improved significantly (unlikely), Bush with all his millions will be tough to beat.

Was sorry to see Lieberman go - he just failed to understand how sick and tired Democrats are, when it comes to what is happening to the country. I always liked Joe and probably of all the candidates, he is the one guy who I felt was truly sincere in what he believed in and whom I could completely trust. I, too, am more of a centrist, but the mood is for more than that. It's really more about just getting rid of Bush than any serious "issue" discussion about how things can best be accomplished. Joe misses the "fed-up" component, something Dean capitalized on early, but didn't have the skill to completely carry off. All that said and done, I'm not convinced anybody can do anything in Washington, but I'll take a chipmunk over what we have now.

Quote of the Day:
All I was doing was trying to get home from work
Rosa Parks 

Nikon D70 Digital SLR

This looks to be a very interesting new addition to the line of digital SLR cameras. This might finally tempt me, although owning 2 Canon zooms does keep me back a bit. I'm sure by the time you added a few top quality lenses to this camera, you'd be in the $3000 bracket. You can read about it here . 

Another Bogus Budget

Krugman in the Times writes "The prime cause of giant budget deficits is a plunge in the federal government's tax take, which fell from 20.9 percent of G.D.P. in fiscal 2000 to a projected 15.7 percent this year, the lowest share since 1950. About 45 percent of this plunge can be attributed to the Bush tax cuts. The rest reflects the end of the stock market bubble, the still-depressed economy, and — probably — growing tax sheltering and evasion." And he goes on to say: "It's true that increased spending also contributes to the deficit, and that there has been a substantial increase in discretionary spending — spending that, unlike such items as Social Security payments, isn't automatically determined by formulas. But the bulk of this increase was related to national security.

Sure do appreciate all the help George. And with the tax cut, I'm finally able to buy that 2nd Jaguar. (the toy model , that is).  

Budgets of Mass Destruction

This article by Thomas Friedman in the Times is just too good! Wake up call!

"Is your future better off now than it was four years ago?" That's what's on people's minds. It should be coupled with the bumper sticker: "Read My Lips: No New Services. Bush Gave All the Money Away." And it should be backed up with a responsible Democratic alternative on both taxes and spending.

And please don't tell me the tax cuts are working. Of course they're working! If you put this much stimulus into our economy — three tax cuts, loose monetary policy and out-of-control spending — it will produce a boom. Eat 10 chocolate bars at once and you'll also get a rush. But at what long-term cost? 

A Varied Look

Politics
It was a busy day for the couch potato yesterday. Morning political talks shows for 3 hours - that was enough cranial overload to last me for a bit. George Stephanopoulos (one of the best news talks shows on tv, imho) had a good panel on to discuss the upcoming timetable for Iraq (former UN ambassador Holbrook, former CIA Chief Woolsey, Fareed Zakariah (Newsweek editor), and George Will. Bottom line of their discussion - no way will this timetable be met and the US is facing a very serious and critical situation. It needs to be postponed but the Iraqi's may well have no patience for that - we are in deep, deep do-do. None of the panelists really had a solution - we have worked ourselves into a mess from which there is no easy way out.

Tim Russert had Howard Dean on for the full hour. Howard did a good job, despite tough questions from Russert. But I'm afraid for Howard, it's too late. He self destructed before his Scream when he made the mistake of scrapping with Gephardt in Iowa. I also think he miscalculated that his Internet surge represented the wishes of the general populace - actually I'm inclined to think it was just a fringe element of ardent "geeks" who were very good at getting the younger crowd to cough up lots of small donations. This, however, does not necessarily translate into a campaign for the masses. The media has also painted a picture of him that he has a tendancy to get mad and fly off the handle and the public has this image seared into their mind now. And in this world of "appearance is everything", Howard, quite frankly, looks too goofy for the average voter - something he can't help, but should we need to be reminded that that matters - just think back to Dukakis and his tank.

Who knows? Maybe Kerry will go down for some unknown reason yet (catering to special interests?)? It's a tough spot for the candidates , because any attacks they use now, will be used by GW in the general election, so if they get too rough, they may doom themselves unintentionally.

In the meantime, head on over to the Democrat's web site and pledge some money - this will be the first time I think I've actually kicked in money to a political party - believe me, the Democrats will need every bit of money they can get to beat Mr. Moneybags. I shudder to think what 4 more years of GW's policies might mean.

Uncharitable Care: How Hospitals Are Gouging and Even Arresting the Uninsured
A friend passed along the following article the other day which is worth the read. What I would like to know is what do these hospitals do with all this money given to them by the States that is supposed to help poor people who have no insurance? It smells like a big fat RAT. Would be very interested to hear the answer to that question, something the article strangely omits.

The Superbowl
Finally, a great Superbowl! One of the best Superbowl games I've watched (not that I can easily determine that, since my memory is good for about a day - don't even begin to ask me next year, who won this year!). Was hoping for Carolina to pull it off, but that last kickoff out of bounds doomed them by giving New England just enough field position to get it done.

The hyped half-time show was crap - rappers grabbing their crotches (try some Gold Bond, Nelly or perhaps a visit to the doc for a crabs checkup?) and a surprise "boob" shot from Janet Jackson, which appears to have been planned all- along. I Think that was the fastest cutaway in TV History. Where's my TIVO when I need it? (For a funny story on this event, check out ESPN's Page 2 ) The better music came from Josh Grogan and Beyonce (singing the Nat'l Anthem). Now those two have some pipes!  

Vote and the Pols will listen

Bob Hebert of the NY Times points out an important issue - getting lower income people out to vote . I've said this time and again that if you could get low income people past their skepticism of the system and get them out to vote, they could become a potent force in politics. They are the ones truly left behind and have the most to gain by becoming a political force. I find it interesting that all the talk I hear on the campaign trail is about the "middle class" - what about all those milions who fall in the lower class? (how's GW's tax cut help them? - I can tell you - NOT AT ALL). Most Americans are unaware of the extent of the suffering that has fallen on the bottom 20 percent or so of the population. Many low-income Americans are leading lives of grim and sometimes painful determination, struggling to survive from one day to the next. The contrast between the real lives of families sinking beneath the weight of economic distress and the headlines that continue to insist that the economy is doing famously is extraordinary.

Where's that compassion ? 

Which way will Iraq turn?

The Shiite Surge If you haven't been keeping up on the Iraq situation, here's a chance to catch up and understand some of the background behind the current problems that face the US. Look's like it's going to be tough to turn back this Shiite religous conservatism. What to me is troubling and much more so to those who are not ultra-conservative in that country, is that the Shiites, long repressed, are following the lead of those who wish to take the country back into a conservatism that bodes no good for women - shades of the Taliban. It would be one thing if that type of authority allowed for open expression on the parts of those who didn't necessarily have their viewpoints, but I doubt that it will in the long run. As the article suggests, they don't wish to be like Iran, but it could be easy to slip into that same type of governing. For those not of this ilk, they may find themselves worse off than they were under Saddam.

Word of the day ( from article above )
Sanguine - a. Of the color of blood; red. b. Cheerfully confident; optimistic (from the article - "Subsequent events have proved this view far too sanguine."

(The similarity in form between sanguine, “cheerfully optimistic,” and sanguinary, “bloodthirsty,” may prompt one to wonder how they have come to have such different meanings. The explanation lies in medieval physiology with its notion of the four humors or bodily fluids (blood, bile, phlegm, and black bile). The relative proportions of these fluids was thought to determine a person's temperament. If blood was the predominant humor, one had a ruddy face and a disposition marked by courage, hope, and a readiness to fall in love. Such a temperament was called sanguine, the Middle English ancestor of our word sanguine. The source of the Middle English word was Old French sanguin, itself from Latin sanguineus. Both the Old French and Latin words meant “bloody,” “blood-colored,” Old French sanguin having the sense “sanguine in temperament” as well. Latin sanguineus was in turn derived from sanguis, “blood,” just as English sanguinary is. The English adjective sanguine, first recorded in Middle English before 1350, continues to refer to the cheerfulness and optimism that accompanied a sanguine temperament but no longer has any direct reference to medieval physiology. (definition courtesy of GuruNet)  

Joe Trippi's Wild Ride

A great story on the guy who started the Dean "Revolution". Amusingly written and rather sad. Sort of reminds me of my college days and VW Vans, hippies, flower power and all that good stuff. Think maybe they needed a few more adults a bit earlier on, though. Interesting that early on they saw Kerry as the main threat, or at least that is the impression I get from reading this article. Would love to see Carville and Trippi in the same room together - now that would be a hoot!

Trippi's successor? - Roy Neel, often described as a "Washington Insider". He recently posted an intro on Howard Dean's blog. My question is - how could they have burned through 41 million so fast? Down to about 5 million now and contributions bottoming out. 

Robert Reich's View on What Democrats Need to do.

The Dead Center Robert Reich talks some sense about what the Democrats need to do to become a force once again in American Politics. Worth Reading. (Robert B. Reich, former United States secretary of labor in the Clinton Administration, is a professor of social and economic policy at Brandeis University and the author of the forthcoming "Reason: Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America.")

Word of the Day:(mentioned in the article above)
"Pyrrhic" as in Pyrrhic Victory - A victory that is offset by staggering losses, as in The campaign was so divisive that even though he won the election it was a Pyrrhic victory. This expression alludes to Kind Pyrrhus of Epirus, who defeated the Romans at Asculum in a.d. 279, but lost his best officers and many of his troops. Pyrrhus then said: “Another such victory and we are lost.” In English the term was first recorded (used figuratively) in 1879. 

I Don't think This is what Atkins Had in Mind

German cannibal gets eight-and-a-half years The world has no end of sick individuals. I've heard of death wishes, but this one is a tad bit over the top.  

Georgia, have you lost your Mind?

Georgia considers banning 'evolution' This has to get my award for the ding-dong idea of the day. Makes me even happier I moved out of Georgia and I don't even have kids! Must be nice to bury your head in the sand and ignore science. Even some Republicans thought it was nutty - ""If you're teaching the concept without the word, what's the point?" said Rep. Bobby Franklin, a Republican. "It's stupid. It's like teaching gravity without using the word gravity."  

Gentle Debate

The Dems snoozed through their debate last night, with only Dean taking a gentle jab at Kerry. Sharpton was his usual witty self. With 40% of the electorate being black in S.Carolina, I suspect he is going to hurt Edwards by pulling votes away. "It is a shame that you will take young men and young women from South Carolina, send them abroad, they die under one American flag, they have to come home and live under two flags," he said. "You don't send Confederate flags with us to Iraq. Don't wave them in Greenville. Don't wave them in Columbia." (the debate took place in Greenville,SC, also a county that doesn't recognize Martin Luthur King Day, something which probably only Reverend Al knew, compared to the other candidates).

Edwards has said that if he doesn't win there, he's quitting. Some of the others should be so wise (Lieberman, Kucinich, and maybe Clark).

Quote of the day:
As long as President Bush is willing to go to the moon I think we should send him.”
Viewer’s comment to Texas Cable News after Bush’s announcement 

More Troubling News on Diebold Voting Machines

Looks like the folks at Diebold have been sitting on their duffs rather than fixing the security of their voting machines . I don't know about you, but I want my vote to count and this doesn't give me the greatest confidence. Good though that this report has hit the NY Times, where it is less likely to be ignored than if it were to appear in the "conspiracy" press. Sounds like they got their work cut out to get this finished in time for elections.

Vote Quotes of the Day:
Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half.
Gore Vidal (1925 - )

The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.
Winston Churchill (1874-1965) 

Birds

I've enjoyed birdwatching in the past, but haven't done it in a long time, other than to watch the gazillion goldfinches currently attacking my thistle feeders in the backyard. Stumbled across a nice artist's sketchbook on birding today while browsing the net -take a look .

Bird Quote of the Day:
Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best
Henry Van Dyke 

Dell's Digital Jukebox - Not Ready for Primetime

I couldn't agree more with Tom's conclusion on this device. Why should we pay money to test products for companies? After reading this, I'd certainly take a pass. Still waiting for the perfect device before I cough up hard earned dollars. Ipod is close, but $$$. Too few players support Audible.com books, so they are out. (Ipod does).

Switching to the Political Front, the Democrats debate tonight at 7 p.m. EST on MSNBC for you cable/satellite folks. Should start to get interesting now as candidates need to sharpen up the differences between themselves. I'd personally rather hear more about their ideas than simply the same ol' "kick Bush out" routine. How am I going to pick one, if they all say the same thing?

Wonder if the Israeli/Palistinean issue will ever move forward? Noticed today that Israel released some 400 Arabs in exchange for 4 Israeli soldiers. Of course this had to marred by a "freedom fighter" killing 10 innocent hospital workers on a city bus as revenge for Israeli soldiers killing 10 Palistineans the day before. (I still have a hard time with the word "freedom fighter" when they kill innocents, but then Israelis haven't exactly been selective when it comes to moving in and stomping on these little refugee towns). These two countries just have the wrong 2 leaders in charge to ever achieve peace, but I don't know what it's gonna take to remove them and move ahead. I sure wouldn't want to be a civilian in that neck of the woods - worse than being a soldier.

Quote of the Day:
"Education... has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading."
G.M. Trevelyan  

Interesting Looks at the Candidates

Noticed the following article in the Christian Science Monitor but more than the article, what caught my eye was the short synopsis of each candidate running for office, about 1/2 way down the page. Just click on each candidates picture and you'll learn quite a few interesting facts about them. Nicely done.

Quote of the day:
"The world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think."
Horace Walpole  

Who Needs this Stuff in Today's Education?

It's a rare day when you find an exceptional teacher. You would think that most principals would be touting their superior teachers to the world. What's up with this principal then? Something is very strange at Brooklyn Technical . 

Kerry Wins in NH

As expected, Kerry won in NH, by more than I figured he would. The rest of the folks finished in about the order I would have guessed. Thought this was an amusing comment :

The BBC's Rob Watson, in the town of Hampton in western New Hampshire, says as was the case in Iowa, Democrat voters seemed less concerned about the fine print of the candidates' policies than their ability to beat Mr Bush in the November election.

As one voter put it, she would vote for her cat if she thought it could defeat the president.


On another note, heres an interesting bio on Teresa Heinz Kerry . Many will just assume she is a rich, spoiled lady. Her record as seen here would obviously debunk that thought.  

Does Drilling make sense?

Interior finishes plan to open nearly 9 million acres in Alaska to drilling I see that Gale Norton (Interior Secretary) is getting around the ban on drilling in the Alaska Wildlife Refuge by drilling next to it. I'd be curious to hear comments from those who advocate this as to why the following comments below are wrong? - "It makes no sense to industrialize this incomparable wilderness area when there's only about six month's worth of economically recoverable oil ... and it would take at least 10 years to get it to market," said Charles Clusen, director of the Alaska lands project for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group."

Seems to me if all we can get out of this area is a few month's worth, why not concentrate our energies on alternative energy sources? Waiting on an explanation.....

Quote of the day
"Hold a book in your hand and you're a pilgrim at the gates of a new city."
Anne Michaels  

Many American Students would wish they had it this good!

Tony Blair is hanging by a thread these days and not only over Iraq, but even more so lately over tuition "top-up" fees. The proposals that are out there now for funding university education certainly seem defensible to me, but then I'm not all that well-versed on the English system. It doesn't sound bad though that you can get loans to go to school for 0% interest and don't have to start paying them off, once you are out of school, until you are making at least $27,000. And if you never make that much (I would sure hope you would if you spent 4 years at the University!), then after 25 years they are written off entirely.

I think this is the problem with many societies that fund all health care and educational expenses - at some point people get fed up with all the taxes to pay for this and say enough is enough! And as the article points out, should the dustman really pay for the doctor's degree? Why not let the student themselves pay for some of their education? English students should try coming to the US and face the $30k/year that some colleges charge. Not saying our system works of course, as $30K/year is obscene, but it does point out that societies where everything is a "given" eventually bump up against the economic consequences of such largess.

For an explanation of top-up fees and the problem England faces, go here

P.S. And if you think it's only England that has problems, then you should check out the German situation .  

Looking at Medical Bills

Insurance and medical bills are so whacky. I recently had some lab tests done at a local hospital. The Hospital billed $175 for one of the lab tests. My insurance company allowed only $41 of those charges. I paid $8. Another one of the tests, the hospital charged $143 for and the insurance company allowed $11. I paid $2.25. What kind of nonsense is this? The hospital knows what the insurance company is going to pay for these various tests - why the huge discrepancy? I've had it explained to me that the hospital keeps jacking up the price in the hope that the insurance company will agree to pay more, but this big of a difference? Come on. Now if these high charges were truly justified and considering that the insurance company only pays a small portion of these charges, then the hospitals should be broke. Obviously they are not, so their charges are bogus.

It makes me wonder if I had no insurance and needed these tests, would I be paying that full price? I think by law, the hospital couldn't discriminate and give me a lower rate, simply because I didn't have insurance. So my guess is, that I would pay that higher rate. So maybe that's how the hospital makes up it's shortfalls - on the backs of those who can't afford insurance. Of course, any person who didn't have insurance would be asking what this was going to cost them before taking the test and most likely they would decide they don't really need that test (even if they do). Of course the hospital can't tell a huge conglomerate like Blue Cross to shove it, so they continue to play this game. Think it's time for another letter to the ol' congressman. Lest one think that the hospital is trying to screw the insurance company by hyperinflating their charges, well, I have no doubt that the insurance companies are hosing all of us - are 20% yearly premium increases year after year, really justified? I sure hope the Dems can fix this mess, but with the constant Washington stalemate politics, I hold out no great hope.  

This is Disgusting

I've read some pretty damn spooky articles in the paper before, but this one tops them all. I heard about this article in the NY Times on CNN this morning, so decided to go read it and boy - this is rough. If you want to learn a bit more about sex traffic in the USA and Mexico and elsewhere (and you probably should be aware), , then you will learn more here than you want to. After reading this, I think if I had a daughter, I'd chain her to my wrist at all times of the day. Makes one want to go out on a crusade to save these girls. A sick picture of society.

Dean Given Raw Deal by Press

I think the Press has run totally amuck with Howard Dean's war whoop after the Iowa caucus. I think Hardball with Chris Matthews has run this a 1000 times. I think this is grossly unfair to Dean. Sure, he went over the top a bit, but he was talking to a bunch of kids, some 3500 of them late at night and was trying to keep them inspired after a tough loss. . Was it not the smartest thing to do? Surely not and he admitted that on Primetime with Dianne Sawyer, but at the same time, he admitted that he plays it from the heart. Personally that would make me trust him more than it would someone who was cold, dry and unemotional. I heard a lot of comments that this rhetoric after the caucus was "angry". How could anyone describe it as "angry"? I saw it a 1000 times myself and there is no way it could be described an angry. Overenthusiastic - yes, but who the hell made these reporters God? We should all be entitled to a slight goof now and then without being mercilessly hounded by the media. I thought Howard and his wife looked great on Dianne Sawyer's show. Dianne kept badgering away as well and I was disappointed in her. I think Howard makes a lot of misstatements, gets flustered at times and I'm not sure he would be the best candidate for President, but he sure as hell didn't deserve this treatment. And I thought he and his wife had the right values - it's obvious they have a good marriage. You'd get my vote Howard if you just tell them to shove it where the sun don't shine.  

Robert's got it right

Marriage Aid that Misses the Point Another waste of money - I thought Republicans were supposed to be for smaller govt? Ha! And check out this boondoggle of spending initiatives Among the most controversial provisions, as a whole, are nearly 8,000 "earmarks," or special funding measures, for projects in the home states of representatives and senators. These come to $10.7 billion, according to the watchdog group, Taxpayers for Common Sense, which advocates reduced government spending Just a few of it's goodies - $50 million for an indoor rain forest in Iowa, $1.8 million for exotic pet disease research in California, $200,000 for recreation improvements in the city of North Pole, Alaska. As John McCain said, "The sum of these political indulgences is enormous and growing and amounts to the theft of our future and the theft of our economic recovery."  

MyIE2

Noticed that my fav web browser (MYIE2) was topic of discussion on TechTv today. Ol' Leo was suitably impressed. For those of you who haven't tried this out, go to MyIE2 and download. Just install the basic MYIE2 - skip all the plugins they offer or at least the UCMore one. The others are OK. UCMore is suspected of spyware. Along with tabs (the best damn thing that ever happened to browsers), it has mouse gestures (very handy) and also allows URL aliases. What are those? Let's say you have a long url like the one here - www.mountaintalk.blogspot.com. Well, you can assign for instance the letter m for that URL. Then instead of typing in the whole URL to go to the web site, you just type "m" and hit enter. Pretty slick. You can set up as many of those as you like. Just one of many, many features with this browser add-on - the options are extensive. It is frequently updated. And it's FREE. Other web browsers sometimes stumble on certain sites because they are not set up for IE. This gets around it because it uses IE as it's core engine with all the extra goodies you really want.  

Another evening of BS

If you had the chance to watch the Pres's State of the Union, then you must have wondered what State of the Union he was talking about. The facts behind all his statements are dramatically different than the reality he proposes. What is sad is that many average Americans don't read enough or care enough to understand that his statements are simply disingenous. What I find amusing is that I recall all the talk about how successful Bush was in Texas in the State House getting both parties to work together and how he would be able to do that as well in Washington. They must be smoking some bad stuff down there in Texas, cause if this guy could bring people together, than I'm ready for the loony bin. This guy is leading America down the path of ruin and many of us had better wake up!

On a more pleasant note, watched Rabbit-Proof Fence last night on DVD. Would give it 3.8 out of 5 and for the background info, I'd give it a 5 out of 5. Movie was good and informed me of a situation I only knew vaguely about, but the background info on the movie and how it was made and how these young actresses were selected was outstanding. If I had a life to live over again, I'd probably have done something in movies - cinematography or something along those lines. I find it fascinating to see how all these talents come together to produce a movie.  

Atkins Hasn't Really Changed

Media and Docs get it wrong again I have to admit that I see this happen all the time. All these so-called "experts" that read these diet books and then write articles on them, don't really read what the guy has written. They pick up some snippets of conversation somewhere and then proclaim them as truth. It must be particularly frustrating to folks like Atkins,Sears,Weil,etc... to always have to try to play down these inaccuracies.  

Kerry,Edwards strong winners in Iowa

Well, I must say, I'm pleased with these results. My two picks for people I'd choose and in the order I'd choose them. Not totally surprised - I think people are looking at "electability" and Kerry in particular presents that image, and I think Edwards is respected for keeping his fight above the "negative campaigning". Nothing against Howard Dean, but I'm afraid he just doesn't come across that well, except as "angry" and people want more than that in a leader. And he appears quite stiff when contrasted with Kerry or Edwards. It was surprising in Iowa with the huge turnout that the "organized" campaigns of Dean and Gephardt didn't do better - that left all the pundits scratching their heads. It showed the people were expressing their personal opinions about the candidates and actually turned these caucuses into a primary. The unions that supported Gephardt got slam dunked which had to be a shocker for them. The Vets were a definite plus for Kerry and will be as well when the campaign turns towards S.Carolina and Florida and other southern States, where many Vets reside.

Now it will get interesting in NH, for sure. Will Kerry get a bounce out of this? With Clark in NH, could be quite a 4 way slugfest, assuming Dean still has some fight left. Looks like Gephardt will drop out, Kucinich might as well, and I don't think Lieberman has a prayer anymore either, so we're down to 4. Stay tuned. 

Movies

Been watching a lot of movies again. Started up the addicting Netflix thing to amuse myself during sleepy winter months. Will probably regret this! Did have the chance to watch 2 excellent and widely divergent films lately. Winged Migration was absolutely fabulous. I'd recommend getting the DVD to see the extra info on how they filmed this, which is practically as amazing as the film. Definitely a family pic - no R rating on this beauty. You don't need to be into birdwatching to admire this movie. It's quite interesting that the Academy of Motion Pictures awarded "Bowling for Columbine" the Oscar for Best Picture over this film. Nothing against that film, which I also found well worth watching, but it pales (imho) in comparison to this feat of movie making.

Switching to a wholly different arena, I can also recommend Bloody Sunday . If you want to get right in the middle of the march that ended up so tragically and started "the Troubles" in Ireland, this is the film for you. Interesting, in that Brits produced it, yet it definitely shows you that the Brits ran amuck on this given day. I was surprised to see that Brits produced it and didn't pick up on that till watching the extra info on the movie - I would have sworn Irish Catholics would have produced it. A riveting movie and highly recommended. (Note - the "f" word is a favorite word of the Irish, so if it bothers you, I warned you!)  

Pickering

A good editorial in the Washington Post:(ya gotta watch ol' GW - he's a slippery fella)

Washington Post Editorial:
End Run for Mr. Pickering
Sunday, January 18, 2004

PRESIDENT BUSH'S decision Friday to install controversial judicial nominee Charles W. Pickering Sr. on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit using a recess appointment is yet another unwarranted escalation of the judicial nomination wars. We have lamented some of the attacks on Mr. Pickering, but his record as a federal trial judge is undistinguished and downright disturbing, and Senate Democrats are reasonable to oppose his nomination. Installing him using a constitutional end run around the Senate only inflames passions. The right path is to build consensus that nonpartisanship and excellence are the appropriate criteria for judicial selection.



The recess appointment -- the president's power to temporarily install federal officers without Senate confirmation -- is a uniquely bad instrument for federal judges. Judges are supposed to be politically independent. Yet Mr. Pickering will be a controversial nominee before the Senate as he considers cases and will lose his job in a year if he is not confirmed. Even his supporters should understand that he will be subject to the political pressures from which judges are supposed to be insulated.

We don't rule out the recess appointment in all circumstances. At times judges have commanded such uniform support that presidents have used the power to get them in office quickly, leaving the formality of confirmation for later. We supported, moreover, President Bill Clinton's lame-duck recess appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit of Roger Gregory, who, like Mr. Pickering, was held up in the Senate. But there was a big difference: Mr. Gregory was not controversial. His nomination, in fact, was eventually resubmitted to the Senate by none other than President Bush. It was held up initially because of a long-standing dispute over appointments to that court, not because of any concerns about the nominee himself. There was reason to hope that Mr. Gregory would be confirmed -- as, indeed, he was. In this case, Mr. Bush has used a recess appointment for someone who cannot, on his merits, garner a vote of confidence from the Senate and who has no prospect of confirmation in the current Congress.

We don't support the filibuster of nominees, but the answer to Democratic obstruction cannot be the appointment or installation of temporary judges who get to hear a few cases over a few months, all the while looking over their shoulders at the senators who oppose them. The great damage the judicial nomination wars threaten over the long term is to erode judicial independence, to make judges constantly aware of how they might have to answer to the Senate for a given opinion. Using the recess appointment to place Mr. Pickering on the 5th Circuit has made that danger into a reality.  

Hubble Telescope to Die

Sad day for the space telescope. Needing repairs but with new space initiatives now taking precedence, it will not get those and thus will become another piece of space junk in a few years. But it did reveal amazing things for us: Using images from the craft, scientists have determined the age of the universe, about 13.7 billion years, and discovered that a mysterious energy, called the dark force, is causing all of the objects in the universe to move apart at an accelerating rate. This force is still poorly understood

Images from Hubble glimpsed galaxies back to a point just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang (search), thought to be the explosive beginning of the universe. Astronomers have found that galaxies and clusters of galaxies formed much earlier than theorists had expected. This suggests that planets where life was possible could have formed as early as about 12 billion years ago. The solar system, which includes the sun and Earth, is much younger, about 5 billion years old.

For more info on why we are not fixing it, head here  

Iowa Heating Up!

Looks like the Iowa Caucus is a dead heat between Dean, Kerry,Gephart and Edwards. Should be interesting come Monday night. I am still of the opinion, that Kerry would be the best candidate in a one on one debate with GW. He'd shred the guy like a rapier going through cheese. Kerry has that Clinton like mind. Dean, I'm afraid appears often uncomfortable and I'm afraid he'd blow it with one insensitive remark or another. Gephardt is too strident and so is Edwards at times, although I like Edwards and he'd probably be my second pick. I thought it was interesting that a caller to the Larry King show ,when Ann Richards was a guest, was concerned that Howard Dean just didn't have the persona that comes across well on TV to be elected by the general populace. Ann, who now supports Dean, sorta stumbled on that one - she did admit that he needed to throw a bit of levity into the mix now and then and not be so serious. But I think the caller is representative of the average American voter - you're gonna vote for whom you like and for whom your gut tells you is the best person and if they don't come across well on TV (where most people get their news), then it's a tough road ahead. (Remember Kennedy/Nixon?) Of course, one does then have to wonder how the hell GW ever got elected - if there ever was a guy who looked dumber than a bunch of rocks, I'm not sure who that would be.

But this country is swamped with religious conservatives at the moment who are zealous in nature regarding their cause - most other folks aren't quite that zealous and thus don't have that unified drive that it takes to push a lot of votes to a candidate. And all it takes is GW to invoke some religious voodoo to get his masses all heated up. Personally, I'd like a president who kept Church and State separate and took care of business in a thoughful and certainly non-unilateral manner. It's fine if you're strongly religious, but do me a favor and keep it to yourself - it's your choice to be so, let me make my own choices.

Someday our President,whom we elect, needs to remember that although he ran on a party platform (in Bush's case, he has departed from the Republican platform and is performing on his own platform), he now represents ALL the people and can not cater to his own special interests. It takes quite a person to sometimes go against his own Party and choose wisely for EVERYONE. Will we find that person in 2004? We will, if people get off their lazy tushes and vote - Americans only have themselves to thank for the Patriot Act, the rape of the environment,etc,etc. - had more Americans voted, we'd wouldn't be in this quandry now. Time to shake off the cobwebs America and open your eyes.  

A Great Day for Golf

Only One shot away!
Michelle Wie, a 14-year-old ninth grader from Honolulu, missed the cut by only one stroke at the Sony Open in Hawaii, but that could hardly be viewed as falling short. It was the thrill of a young lifetime, a remarkable two days of golf and a showcase for the most-talked about amateur player since Tiger Woods. Wished I would have seen this - had to be great fun to be there and watch this. Now, it's back to the 9th grade for her. Her performance has to boggle the other professional's minds. Cranking out 300+ yard drives - whew. I'd be lucky to hit one 200 probably, but then I'm an ol' geezer, not a 14 year old with long legs and a beautiful swing. This will be a lady to watch! 

The Italian Job

If you haven't rented this DVD yet, you should. Great action stuff with Mark Walhberg, Ed Norton, and Charlize Theron (always nice to look at) and Ed Norton. Great car sequences with little mini Coopers. Also great sound effects in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround -I think I was deaf after the movie. LOL Holds your attention all the way through - lot of fun. Extra features on the DVD are interesting (how they made the movie,etc). That extrra stuff is always great - I am continually amazed at what talent goes into making movies - just the sheer organization of the whole project is mind boggling. Of course, when you have lots of moola, it helps. 

Hot Shazaam!

Is it true that when you eat celery, you burn more calories than you actually consume?

It may seem like wishful thinking to believe that such a "negative calorie" food exists, but in the case of celery, it appears to be true. According to several sources we found with a search on "celery burn calories," an 8-inch stalk of celery contains approximately 6 calories. But the mere act of digesting said stalk burns more than 6 calories, resulting in a negative caloric intake...

So, perhaps this means that if I eat like 10 lbs of celery a day and nothing else, I could actually starve myself to death? Anyone wanting to try that out?  

Yikes! Trans Fat Hell !

From a health newsletter I receive comes this lovely bit of information. Buyer beware!

Without naming any specific restaurants or brands, here are some
of the items tested and their TFA totals:

* One slice of double-cheese pizza - about half a gram of TFA
* Large order of French fries - 4 to 6 grams
* Chicken pot pie - 5 grams
* One sour cream glazed doughnut - 5 grams
* Five chicken nuggets - almost 4 grams
* Two spring rolls - 2 grams
* "Captain's" platter of fried shrimp, fish, clams, and scallops
- 22 grams

That last one is not a misprint: 22 grams of TFA!

According to at least one research report, a daily intake of
only one gram of TFA may increase the risk of heart disease by
as much as 20 percent. And a 2002 report from the National
Academy of Sciences concluded that, "the only safe intake of
trans-fat is zero."

Don't say I didn't warn you!  

Music Players - Which One?

Lots of Players, Little Harmony Interesting article in the NY Times on the bewildering choice offered consumers today. And this article doesn't even mention Flac type formats or Ogg Vorbis. Huh, you're asking?

I like the Ipod, but it won't play WMA files and for my ears, WMA sounds just fine when recorded at 64kbps and I have quite a few tunes already recorded in that format. But it will play Audible files which are audio books that I frequently listen to and in a level 4 format which is the superior format for those books. A big plus for the Ipod. But will it serve as a voice recorder? No. Will it rip directly from a source (such as a record player,tape deck, cd player,etc?) - No. Does it have an FM tuner? No. Other makers offer many of these options, but do they offer Audible? No, most do not, so they are all pointless for me. I WANT IT ALL! Aren't any of these manufacturer's listening to me??

Let me know if you've figured out the perfect solution! As the article points out, it ain't easy!  

Cold Mountain

Saw this movie over the past weekend. Had read the book by Charles Frazier when it first came out in '97(great book!), but had forgotten some of it. The movie brought back quite a bit, although the memory had grown foggy over the last 6 years. I'd give it 3.5 stars out of 4. The beginning battle scene at the battle of Petersburg near the end of the Civil War was awesome and hard to watch. I had remembered this particular scene from one of Jeff Shaara's books, The Last Full Measure . It made you realize how god awful war really is.

Some of the minor roles were excellently acted, almost overshadowing the major actors (Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Renee Zellweger). The preacher whom Jude Law strings to a tree in the middle of town for trying to drown a young black girl, whom he has impregnated, is great in his role. He played a draq queen in a movie with DeNiro, but his name escapes me at the moment. It's hard to overshadow Kidman though, who is so visually stunning. (Almost hard to believe you would have found anyone so beautiful lurking around back then. LOL) Zellweger turns in quite a performance as the local peasant girl who helps Kidman on her farm while Jude Law is trekking homeward across the Appalachians (some gorgeous Appalachian scenes), although at times I think she goes a bit over the top. The book was outstanding and I think the movie is certainly worth seeing. Not for young kids though (some nudity) and battle scenes and a few others would be too rough. Rated R. Great on the big screen though (what isn't, huh?).

A quote from Amazon.com that recaps the book: "The hero of Charles Frazier's beautifully written and deeply-imagined first novel is Inman, a disillusioned Confederate soldier who has failed to die as expected after being seriously wounded in battle during the last days of the Civil War. Rather than waiting to be redeployed to the front, the soul-sick Inman deserts, and embarks on a dangerous and lonely odyssey through the devastated South, heading home to North Carolina, and seeking only to be reunited with his beloved, Ada, who has herself been struggling to maintain the family farm she inherited. Cold Mountain is an unforgettable addition to the literature of one of the most important and transformational periods in American history. "

Enjoy! 

Rover Lands on Mars!

NASA'S M2K4:Roaming the Red Planet Check out this very cool Flash site on the Rover mission to Mars. Watched this exciting moment on TV last night as it touched down and they had to wait about 10 minutes to finally hear the signals indicating that it was OK. You can imagine the tension in that control room.

This web site will tell you everything you want to know. Works of course quickly if you have a cable modem (broadband), but will work fine with dial-up modem, as long as you are patient. Highly recommended!

P.S. Unbeknownst to me (missed it in the news somehow), the Brits tried to land a craft on Mars on Christmas Day, but they have not yet heard back from it. For more news about that and attempts to find it, click here .

Update: I have to chuckle at a mention of the Beagle on Clive Soley's blog (I especially like the phrase "done a runner"!), "While I’m at it let’s give a quiet thought to the Beagle somewhere on Mars. That also was a great effort even if it has done a runner! A prize to the cartoonist as well who showed it following a Martian child back to his crater somewhere on Mars and saying to his mother “I don’t know where it came from - it just followed me home”!"

 

Desktop Sidebar - Nice Feature

Desktop Sidebar Home Page You might want to check this out - a floating sidebar that can autohide and will display all kinds of useful info for you. Been experimenting with it today and like what I see so far, although I'm seeing a memory footprint of 13-18mb. Still, if you have at least 512mb of memory, shouldn't be a big issue or if you have few other programs running. Unlike myself, who loves to cram a million programs on his computer.

In the comments section below, please post any new cool electronic gadgets you got for Xmas, so I will now know what to buy! Got that gadget thirst, which I didn't satisfy at Xmas!

Hope you all have a great 2004 and stick to those resolutions! (I don't even bother anymore! LOL )  

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Hope everyone is out there having a great time today! After a trip home to visit my Dad, we are heading back to Virginia with our 2 cats. Another interesting adventure, I'm sure. It's been rather hectic on the home front, so I haven't had the opportunity to post - should be able to start that back up soon, although more in-laws are descending upon us when we arrive back in Virginia. Sure good to visit with everyone over the holidays though.

Update:
Made it to Lexington, KY where I am typing this. Everything closed on the trip down, except for Waffle House's and truck stops. Stopped at a Flying J truck stop and had an excellent buffet with very friendly folks. Wireless Internet Access at Flying J's for $1.95/hour which is really cheap - didn't try it out, but nice to know as there are many of those around. Our cats were the best on the trip down. Are now hiding under the bed in our motel room, which is the same thing they did on the trip up! Weird - must feel safe though. If you didn't get any Xmas greetings this year and need one, then visit this site. Thanks to my Arkie bud for that one. 

An Interesting Few Days

Decided it was time to go home to visit my father who is not doing so well lately (at 90, who is?). I'll probably be lucky to make it to 70! Of course about 30 minutes before I'm ready to leave home, the power goes out in the house and comes right back on. Unbenownst to me, it messes with one of my USB ports that my external backup Hard drive is connected to. It looks like the Hard Drive is toast, along with the USB 2.0 PCI card and mini-hub and maybe even the printer. After getting all those suppliers to ship me new parts (no questions asked either, which was surprising), I decided to unplug everything, reboot the machine and then plug everything back in. Of course, voila - everything goes back to working. Nothing like adding to post departure stress! (back on the phone cancelling all those orders)

For more fun, we decide to take the 2 cats along with us. Our one cat, Turbo, has made this trip before, but the little one Willow, who is high strung, has not. Turbo goes willingly into his cat carrier and proceeds to snooze for the next 5 hours without so much as a peep. Willow, shows her great pleasure with the whole experience, by deciding it is time to do a number #2 in her cat carrier, just 20 minutes from the house. Needless to say, that caused some excitement in the ol' car and a quick exit off the road. A few minutes of cat cleanup (good job, Janet!) and we are headed off again. 30 minutes later while paying for some food at Wendy's in the driveup lane, Willow decides that she isn't getting enough attention and does the ol' heave ho all over my camera bag sitting on the back floorboard. Another cleanup and fortunately, by now she has about exhausted herself. The next 4 hours she spends curled up in Janet's lap, heart pounding, but doing better.

As soon as we reach the motel for the night and lug the 2 varmints inside, they both make a run for under the bed and although Turbo comes out later for a look around, Willow remains firmly attached to her square of carpet under the bed and does not come out for anyone. In the morning, we have to move the bed and pry her off the carpet. Fortunately, once in the car she snoozes off for the remainder of the trip, which lasts another 5 hours.

Believe me, I was glad to end this trip!

Fascinating Insights from Saddam Interview

Bearing Questions, 4 New Iraqi Leaders Pay Hussein a Visit: "'The world is crazy,' said Mowaffak al-Rubaie, a Governing Council member in the room on Sunday after Mr. Hussein was captured near his hometown, Tikrit. 'I was in his torture chamber in 1979, and now he was sitting there, powerless in front of me without anybody stopping me from doing anything to him. Just imagine. We were arguing, and he was using very foul language.'"

Hardly seems contrite, does he? Quite an interesting short article - read it now (NY Times articles are free only for 7 days). And after you finish that one, you can check out William Safire's comments, one being "I think Saddam is still Saddam — a meretricious, malevolent megalomaniac. He knows he is going to die, either by death sentence or in jail at the hands of a rape victim's family. Why did he not use his pistol to shoot it out with his captors or to kill himself? Because he is looking forward to the mother of all genocide trials, rivaling Nuremberg's and topping those of Eichmann and Milosevic. There, in the global spotlight, he can pose as the great Arab hero saving Islam from the Bushes and the Jews."

Quote of the Day
Save the Environment -- Plant a Bush Back in Texas
 

A "Christmas Present" for the Iraqi People

Saddam Captured - Iraqi News Today Wow, what a shocker this morning. Much to the woe of his supporters in the Arab world, Saddam didn't die fighting. Maybe that will tell them something about the kind of person he really was. Interesting times surely lie ahead. Hopefully, they will let his trial spin out long enough so that all the evidence is heard against him. That would be important for the Arab world to hear , especially if it is an Iraqi run trial. One must not forget that for many in Arab countries, their news can be a rather lopsided version of actual events. This will be hard to hide. Strangely, in a way, I felt sorry for the sorry ol' goat - but then I am reminded of how many millions he slaughtered for no good reason and that feeling quickly vanishes. I also had the sinking feeling that this would just put another feather in the cap of ol' GW and no doubt hasten his reelection - a foreboding thought , if there ever was one. A long slog still lies ahead - hopefully enough international pressure and criticism will keep the U.S. somewhat in line and prevent its (GW's and gang) imperialistic tendencies. It would be nice to see Iraq emerge on its own - definitely, not a certaintity despite todays events.  

Beat the Flu with a simple home Remedy!

Alternatives to the Flu Vaccine 12/13/03: "Preventing the flu (and other illnesses) as described in greater detail below is obviously 'your best medicine.' But if you do get the flu, one of the most important and simple things you can do is to use hydrogen peroxide in your ears. Yes folks, simple hydrogen peroxide, about a half of a capful in each ear, several times a day, is more than likely to abort the flu reaction. I didn't believe it when I first saw it, but I have now seen many hundreds of cases that have been rapidly aborted with the use of hydrogen peroxide. You can read my original posting on peroxide for this purpose. It costs less than a penny, so you really don't have much to lose. Give it a try. I can guarantee you that it is less toxic and more effective than any flu vaccine on the planet."
Doc Mercola has come up with another strange one, but hey, if it works! Would be interested to hear from anyone who has ever tried this, so please enter your comments below. I'm not looking forward to getting through this flu season easily, so may be bubbling this stuff down my ears as well!
Quote of the Day
"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it."
Sir Winston Churchill 

A Bolder Approach to Helping the World

Optimism for the World Deepak Chopra looks around at the chaos in the world - wars, terrorism, economic disparities, and social injustice - and sees nothing but potential. Indeed, to him the current state of humanity is like that of a caterpillar, which toward the end of its life eats so voraciously it destroys all the greenery around and becomes bloated and disfigured. But then the destructive insect uses those nutrients to transform into a magnificent butterfly. Check out the latest grass roots organization!

Quote of the Day
The world belongs to the optimists; pessimists are only spectators.
Francois Guizot  

Another Bonehead Move

Bidding for Isolation Well, ol' GW has done it again. He is a master at pissing off the world, that's for sure. Even Canada, who has more soldiers in Afghanistan than even we do. Bet the next time I try to travel to Canada, they'll just tell me to take a hike. 

Be notified when this Blog updates!

You can be notified via AOL Instant Messenger whenever this blog is updated. Simply click on the little Blog/Notify Me icon in the upper right corner!  

TransFat - Something you should know about!

Transfats - They're Everywhere! Check out this Canadian site on TransFats. Lots of good info here.
A landmark study in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1997 found that among 90,000 nurses studied, those who consumed 1 gram of trans a day for a decade had a 20 per cent increased risk of cardiovascular disease. What worries some scientists is that some Canadians are eating high levels of trans on a daily basis -- according to one Health Canada study, levels between 8 and 39 grams a day.

Some early research has linked trans fats with type two diabetes and Alzheimer's. There are also studies showing trans fats pass through the placenta to the fetus ... Research suggests that mothers who have an high intake of trans, have a greater risk of delivering pre-term..and that their babies may be smaller. Researchers in Denmark suggest that if you were to stop eating all trans fat, it would take several months to a year for it to leave your blood and body fat 

Be cautious, this Xmas Season!

ResellerRatings.com - Compare product prices, read customer reviews of stores. If you're shopping on the Net this Xmas, and you're buying some new gadget/toy from some place you have not dealt with before, you might want to check here first for a rating and actual customer reviews of their service. Better safe than sorry.
Quote of the Day
"I never believed in Santa Claus because I knew no white dude would come into my neighborhood after dark."
Dick Gregory
Photo of the Day

Click to view larger image  

Another look at Walmart

Is Walmart a Good Thing?
"Wal-Mart is the greatest thing that ever happened to low-income Americans," said W. Michael Cox, chief economist of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. "They can stretch their dollars and afford things they otherwise couldn't." But will they have any dollars to spend, if Walmart causes their own companies to shut down? That's the critical issue. From what I've read, that does happen - companies have to rely on cheaper overseas companies to produce these goods, thus depriving those very Americans who need to spend at Walmart, of their jobs. Catch 22.

Photo of the Day

click for larger view

Quote of the day
"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh."
Voltaire 

Talk about a Wild and Crazy Day!

KRT Wire | 12/06/2003 | No. 1 Oklahoma demolished by No. 13 Kansas State Wait till you read this article - talk about a wild and crazy system - gives me a headache just reading it! There must be a better way. On a sad note - my IU Hoosiers blew a 12 point lead in the last 4 minutes of their basketball game to lose to #5 Missouri - hard to take. 

Can Google Grow Up?

Google in Trouble?
Google is one of the best things to happen to the Net. So will its IPO, expected this spring, be a must-buy? A look inside reveals a talented company facing trouble. A fascinating look inside Google - will you invest next Spring? Got any guts? :) Here's one spooky comment from this article - "Then there's Microsoft. The company has an army of brainiacs working on incorporating web search into MSN and its new operating system, code-named Longhorn, due out in 2006. It plans to be able to index every user's hard drive and use the information to provide better searches. "All I'll say is that search is vitally important to us," says Chris Payne, Microsoft's executive in charge of search." Huh? Index my Hard Drive? How's that for an invasion of privacy? Either this is a misprint or MS is losing it's mind.  

No More Ads at the Top!

Good News - No more ads at the top of these pages. (The Ebates Ad will disappear soon, as well). Blogger was kind enough to remove them for me, so you won't have to be pestered with ad clutter. I realize this was of great concern to my readership. 

Nifty Programs from Mirek!

Here's a nifty little program from Mirek called PalMail. It takes up only the tiniest bit of memory and runs in your Systray. Will check email for you and allow you to remove Spam from your ISP's server, before it even reaches your inbox. Very simple to use and FREE! While you're there, you might as well download MWSnap as well. An excellent screen capture program and naturally, it's FREE, too! (of course the author would appreciate any and all donations, but that's up to you).I've used MW Snap for some time now and it's a great alternative to paying for screen capture programs. Certainly does everything I need it to do! 

Lots of snow in the mountains of SW Virginia

Woke to 2 or 3" of snow and then it just kept on coming. I live at 3200' and the snow fell continually, finally reaching 1'. We'll see if it continues. Temps are around 28, so certainly conducive to more. Sure wasn't anticipating this. Wish I had put my Bridgestone Blizzak winter tires on before this struck! Drove about 4 miles on some Douglas Touring M&S tires, which worked well, but not good enough as the plows were doing a lousy job and it was snowing and sleeting heavily. 

Wireless everywhere!

DailyWirelessBroadband Reports says Intel Centrino television ads have come under fire for depicting wireless users happily browsing while on Mount Everest. According to the Guardian, a television watchdog group has started an investigation into the ad after over 100 disgruntled users complained. The ad shows one climber watching wireless video via his Intel powered laptop while huddled in a snow storm. Unfortunately the watchdog group likely won't have a leg to stand on once they dig a little deeper.

Everest's base camp (at 17,400-feet) actually is wireless ready. One of the web's pioneers and creator of what may be the very first BBS system, Dave Hughes struck a deal with Cisco to wire (or un-wire in this case) the mountain. With the help of native Sherpa Tsering Gyalzen, Hughes not long ago launched Everest's first wireless cafe. This particular edition of the Cook Report tells the tale of Hughes and Gyalzens' efforts to bring connectivity to portions of the mountain. There's also this photo gallery of both the network and the the group's adventures.

If that's not depressing enough for those in civilized and more reasonable climes who still can't get broadband, there's a $250 million dollar plan in the works to run 1200 miles worth of fiber across unstable glaciers to the South Pole (BBC, Wired News).

All of this just makes me wonder if we haven't all lost our minds or something?  

A New Kind of Poverty

America is a country that now sits atop the precarious latticework of myth. It is the myth that working people can support their families Where are we heading? No place good or so it would appear. For all those "middle class" folks out there, it's a wakeup call, as you're only a lay-off away from the soup kitchen.

How often do you remember to leave some money for the woman who cleans your room in a hotel? Makes one pause, doesn't it? (I always do, but most likely, because "I've been there, done that".) That's sometimes the benefit of working in a low paying profession - teaches you respect for others who slog their entire lives in that world) 

Here's your Chance!

EFF: "Verify the Vote: Tell Congress to Fight for Secure Elections!"
Want to know if your Representative has signed on to support for this bill? Just go to the above website and about half way down, you will see a button that says "Learn More about this Issue". Click on it and you'll see if your Rep has voted for it or not. If not, just fill out the form and send him/her an email or fax to express your opinion.

Idiotic Labels

Label Makers
Someday Congress will pass a law stating that all horses led to water will be required to drink.

Sound crazy? That's almost as crazy as a new House of Representatives bill called the Menu Education and Labeling Act (also known as MEAL - cute, huh?), which mandates that if you lead customers into a restaurant it's your duty to make them think.

Here's what I think: It's a terrible idea.

This is a dumb idea. People who are intelligent about their food choices are going to know what to eat and those who aren't intelligent about their choices aren't going to read nutrition info. This one would be one of those that Senator Proxmire would have chosen for his Golden Fleece awards. 

Cool XP Tip

Saw this tip in Computer Shopper magazine this month. "Ever downloaded a file and not been able to remember what it does, how to use it, or where to find an update? Use the Properties Summary page in Windows Explorer to store relevant URLS and other pertinent information related to the file.

To find a file's Properties Summary page, locate and right-click the file in Windows Explorer, and select Properties. Fill in the blanks under the Summary tab. You can provide a category, keywords, and comments,which you can also use to search for lost files. (This tip only works in XP). The downside: You'll need the discipline to fill out the Summary page every time you download a file.

Quote of the Day:
"How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?"
Charles DeGaulle

Site of the Day:

Master Street Painter 

The Wal-Mart You May Not Know

Fast Company | The Wal-Mart You Don't Know: "The giant retailer's low prices often come with a high cost. Wal-Mart's relentless pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas. Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line?"
If you read anything in this blog,then read this article. Anybody in business who sells to a major customer (I've been there) will sure recognize the pros and cons of this. And the final statement is so telling....  

The Dumbing Down of America - Women's Magazines

Stuff and Nonsense
A man would have to wear Kevlar if he ever wanted to approach these women. Sometimes it seems there is something about wearing haute couture that makes you want to suck on the gas pipe.
If you can make it through all the perfume ads, you will find yourself either in the land of stuck up bimbos or happy little fools. A sad state.  

Uncensored Gore (and it ain't Al)

LA Weekly: Features: Uncensored Gore: "It's lucky for George W. Bush that he wasn’t born in an earlier time and somehow stumbled into America’s Constitutional Convention. A man with his views, so depreciative of democratic rule, would have certainly been quickly exiled from the freshly liberated United States by the gaggle of incensed Founders. So muses one of our most controversial social critics and prolific writers, Gore Vidal."

Somehow I think you'll understand Gore's opinon of things by the time you get done with this article. :)  

Kerry declines Public Financing

Another Democrat turns down public financing. Will the others follow suit? This frees Kerry and Dean from the 45 million dollar restriction, although Kerry says he will stick to that (we'll see). It means they forgo the 18 million they'd get in public financing, but now they can spend , spend , spend. Think this is a good idea? I've created a poll here, so you can vote!





 

And you thought your job was bad?

How about fart sniffer, barnyard masturbator, carcass cleaner,corpse flower grower? Yep, and you thought Scientists had all the cushy, high paying jobs! For a detailed description of these academic endeavors, check out this page. 

Interesting Info from Dr. Mercola's Blog

Most Common Cause of Heart Attacks

I frequently ask in my lectures what the most common symptom of heart disease is. Very few are able to answer correctly. Most guess chest pain or shortness of breath, but the actual answer is sudden death. While fish oil is one of the best ways to prevent heart disease and sudden death, there are other factors that may be more significant. Unresolved emotional conflicts resulting from stresses in our life are clearly one of the most important causes of cancer. However, new evidence also supports that the bioelectrical short-circuiting resulting from unresolved emotional stress may also be the single largest reason why people die from heart attacks. Researchers from Johns Hopkins found that people whose blood pressure rose during "mental stress" were six times more likely to have a heart attack or other severe heart event within six years than people who handled the stress more calmly.

Yahoo News November 11, 2003

So do youself a BIG favor and CHILL OUT! Giving up smoking and consuming fish oil might be good ideas too, along with a bit of exercise beyond the usual late night prowling for goodies. 

You are Screwed my Friend! LOL

The Onion | Mom Finds Out About Blog: "In a turn of events the 30-year-old characterized as 'horrifying,' Kevin Widmar announced Tuesday that his mother Lillian has discovered his weblog."

A very funny read. The dangers of blogging! Ashcroft will probably stumble upon my blog and then I'll be one of those detainees without representation!  

Will your Vote count?

From the Desk of David Pogue: Maybe Hanging Chads Weren’t So Bad After All: "Then came last Sunday's New York Times, which presented a terrifying report on Diebold, a leading maker of paperless touch-screen voting machines. Eight million of us will be tapping on Diebold computers in the next Presidential election.
So what's wrong with that? "

As a friend of mine keeps reminding me, this is Republican chicanery at its best. I tend to live in Pogue's worlds of gray, but even this one is beginning to convince me, as it seems to be doing to Pogue, as well. I recently spoke with my voting place about this and they told me that if they didn't jump on the offer to have these machines, they would forgo Federal funding for it, which would cover 75% of the cost. Don't know yet what they'll do, but my guess is that they will move to these machines. For some reader comments on this issue, head to Pogue's forums. As one reader suggested, why can't they set up a printer that is attached to the screen that would print the voter's choices and that could be signed by the voter and dropped in a ballot box as a double check? Sounds sensible - that's probably the problem.  

Who's buying me one of these for Christmas???

State of the Art: Swiss Army Recorder: TiVo/DVD: "Each of these remarkable machines is a TiVo recorder, DVD player and DVD recorder in a single box, with one remote that also controls your TV."

This sure sounds sweet (except for the price tag) - of course one other drawback not mentioned is that you will now surrender your life to the boob tube, but that shouldn't be a problem for most Americans.  

Diabetes more and more in the Spotlight

USATODAY.com - Diabetes: What you don't know can hurt you: "Diabetes is the leading cause of end-stage kidney disease and of blindness in working-age adults. It at least doubles the risk of heart disease and accounts for 60% of lower-limb amputations not caused by accidents. "
"The good news is that if they get to blood sugar goals of <7% A1c, BP <130/85, and LDL cholesterol levels of <100mg/dL, along with taking an aspirin a day, they may significantly reduce the risk of developing a heart attack. Of course, having good medical followup is crucial, because it usually requires medications to achieve these values and maintain them

This is not a nice disease. Check out this article for more info. I'll provide a link later to the ongoing chat transcripts that are currently taking place as I write this. And in the meantime, do you know what your numbers are above? If you have diabetes and you don't know those numbers, you're playing with fire.  

Vegans Rejoice!

Kucinich's Salad Days (washingtonpost.com): " He is, in all likelihood, the first major party vegan to run for president. He ingests no beef, poultry, fish, dairy or animal products (exact definitions vary, but by contrast, vegetarians resist meats but not all animal products, such as eggs). Kucinich also eschews processed foods, caffeine, alcohol and tobacco. Does he indulge any vices? 'Yes,' he says, 'I'm a member of Congress.' "

Mr. Groats goes to Washington! :)  

Do you recognize the breakfast you're eating?

DoctorYourself.com - Arthritis: "Look, folks: For breakfast, we drink hot bean extract and eat undeveloped bird embryos and the ripened ovaries of trees. We eat the muscles of ground up dead pigs placed between pulverized seeds fermented with a fungus, with a slice of curdled cow breast milk. And if I suggest vegetable juices, I'm the oddball? "

Read this carefully and you'll probably recognize the breakfast you just consumed. :)

Quote of the day:
"A paranoid is someone who knows a little of what's going on."
William S. Burroughs  

For all you Tire folks!

For all you folks visiting this blog who saw it on Google while searching for Aquatred's or Douglas Tires, I welcome you! :) Sorry, I didn't have much to say here about them. For whatever reason the Aquatred's just would not behave on my '92 Camry - couldn't get the bump out of them, no matter how many times I switched them around and replaced them. Douglas Tires seem to be doing fine, if perhaps a bit noisy. They are a M&S tire with a fairly aggressive tread, so even though they are touring tires, they're a tad bit on the noisy side, but that I can live with.

In the meantime, browse around - you might find something even more interesting than tires! Then, maybe not! :)

Quote of the day:
"A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world. Everyone you meet is your mirror."
Ken Keyes, Jr.  

The Advantages of Television

Dean Offers No Apology for Rebel Flag Remark: "But Dr. Dean refused to apologize or retract the statement. Indeed, he appeared stunned at times as the Rev. Al Sharpton of New York, one of two African-Americans in the race, and then Senator John Edwards of North Carolina attacked him for using what they asserted was a potent and divisive symbol of segregation."

Dean usually appears half stunned about most things. :) I think this is one of the advantages of television and why it is important to watch these debates, in addition to reading the newspaper on reports online. You get so much more feel for a person when you can watch them in the heat of battle week after week. Dean always strikes me as a bit uncomfortable and has the strangest expressions on his face. I know you're not supposed to vote on glamour, but poise and the way you conduct yourself are important aspects of leadership and people having confidence in your ability to lead.

Actually the ones that appear most poised are Mosely Braun, Al Sharpton, and John Kerry, with possibly John Edwards added into the bunch. Of those four, Kerry probably has the best chance of winning the nomination, but I'm not sure his support staff is up to the challenge of getting out the voters. Dean remains the frontrunner (although he does seem to bounce back and forth on his ideas and is frequently called on it), but I sure can't see him beating GW and that is a spooky thought. Clark does nothing for me and appears to just say whatever he thinks the public wants to hear. I still go with Kerry, although I like John Edwards more and more for his honesty and a gut feeling that he speaks from the heart. I could never get that from just reading a newspaper.  

Kenyans Again - as Usual

Watched the New York City Marathon this morning. Damn Kenyans are incredible - 1,2,3 in the Men's race, 1,2,3 in the Women's race. Wonder how many more years it will be before the women can run as fast as the men. Paula Radcliffe came close with a 2 hr, 16 min marathon. Must be incredible to run close to 5 mins/mile for 26 straight miles and still be able to talk! I'd have been lucky to run under 6 minutes on my best day for just 1 mile probably!

Quote of the day:
Americans always do the right thing, ... after they have exhausted all the other possibilities.
Winston Churchill  

Antipixel Blog

Added a new blog to the list on the right. Antipixel has some very nice photography and some interesting articles. Very nice site design. Check it out.

Also - Feed Demon has released an updated beta for it's news aggregator. Release candidate 2. Check it out here
. 

What's your guess?

Where does the term "Indian Summer" come from?

As the warm days of summer are replaced with the brisk nip of fall, your question proves the perfect puzzle for us to tackle...  

Well Written Article on the Troubles in Iraq

Broken Baghdad Brutal, Bloody and bellowing

Nice to read a balanced article from time to time. A job well done (imho).

Quote of the day:
"Too bad the only people who know how to run the country are busy driving cabs and cutting hair."
George Burns  

And you thought driving with a cell phone was dangerous!

Train traveler's arm stuck in toilet trying to retrieve phone

The world never lacks for bizarre stories!
 

Oh, This makes me so Happy!

From the Desk of David Pogue: Customer-Service Cluelessness: "For example, only a month earlier, the same story had played out with our MCI home long-distance service: our plan was supposed to include unlimited, free long-distance calls on the main line. Yet month after month, we were billed for long-distance calls. Month after month, we’d call customer service. “Oh, I’m so sorry; we’ll credit that to your next bill”—and no credit ever appeared. (We finally dumped MCI.)"

I'm so glad I just signed up with MCI! If you're on this plan (and I know someone who reads this, is!), better pay attention to your bill! Good article on the sneakiness of many companies - or is it just an oversight? You be the judge. (You may have to register at the NY Times site to read the article - free).  

Fish Oil and blood sugar

A good day today! Fasting blood sugar this morning of 91! For a long time, had been in the 130's. Despite varying opinions of the effects of large dosages of fish oil (taken for my RA) on blood sugar, for me it seems to be a cause for higher readings. I've recently reduced considerably the amount of fish oil I'm taking and my blood sugar readings are plummeting. Disclaimer - I've also started doing 4 mile walks again at a fast pace and that could be helping as well and my RA is not flaring, so I may try to increase the fish oil again after awhile just to see if my blood sugar again jumps. The mad scientist at work! (Dr. Mercola found that high dosages of fish oil contributed to higher blood sugar readings for his dad, as well and they dropped once he lowered the amount). 

Ato Boldon visits Tech TV!

Ato Boldon - Trinidad and Tobago sprinter
Was watching TechTv this afternoon and was quite surprised to see Ato Boldon talking to Leo. For those of you who don't know him, Ato is one of the world's great sprinters and turns out to be a web junkie. He writes all the info you see on this site and works with a designer in Trinidad to produce it. Pretty cool.  

The Next Michael?

Yahoo! News - James Makes Sparkling Start to Professional Career
LeBron James turned in a tremendous performance in his much-anticipated NBA debut on Wednesday.The 18-year-old James had 25 points, nine assists, six rebounds and four steals in 43 minutes in what was by far the best debut performance of any player making the jump from high school to the professional ranks.

Maybe this guy can be the next Michael without the chip on his shoulder? I wouldn't be surprised. Everytime you think there can't be anyone better, then someone else comes along, no matter whether it is baseball, track and field, basketball - they just keep getting better. (and richer!).  

Some Pics from Washington DC

Washington, DC Photo Gallery

Haven't had much time to post lately. Have a look at the link above for some random shots I captured while on a recent 3 day trip to the Nation's capitol.  

Al gets in another good one

Democrats in Debate Attack Bush on Iraq, Each Other (washingtonpost.com)
Al Sharpton gets in another good zinger at the most recent Dem debate: "It's about right versus wrong. I said it earlier when we were talking about right to choose: One of the reasons I'm glad to be in this race is we're going to have the battle between the Christian right and the right Christians."

You can count on Al for the best one-liners.