Microdrive for Cheap

Need a 4 Gig Microdrive for your camera and don't want to pay the big bucks? Get a Nomad MuVo mp3 player (seen on the left) with 4Gig Microdrive and strip the microdrive out and use it in your camera. Instructions on how to do that are here. Slick - unbelievable price for a 4 Gig Microdrive ($199). The MuVo itself isn't all that great of an mp3 player and you could do better with some of the Creative 30 or 40 Gig models for not that much more, but as an additional super sized microdrive for those big 6-8mp digital SLR's, tough deal to beat.

8x DVD Writer
Looking for a hot burner for dirt cheap? ($80) This NEC drive gets outstanding reviews. Will write DVD +/- R's at 8x and DVD +/- RW's at 4x. Will write CD's at 32x and read them at 40x

Photography - Lenses
Tokina has a nice prime 17mm lens for around $375 delivered per Outdoor Photography - looks to be a nice lens - would translate to be about a 25mm lens with the 1.5x multiplier effect on some digital SLRs. Much cheaper than a wide angle high quality zoom. If you like the dramatic depth of field that wide angles give you (Muench fans?), then this may be the ticket without breaking the bank. You can buy it with mounts for Canon, Nikon, Minolta,etc. The AT-X 17 AF PRO lens features the exclusive "Focus Clutch Mechanism", a signature of the Tokina PRO series lenses which provides a faster, smoother autofocus operation with a smooth manual focus action not normally found in autofocus lenses. The updated PRO features a floating element autofocus system, an all-glass aspherical lens element, & an aluminum lens barrel with a chrome-plated brass mount plate.

Word of the Day
peremptory adj.Putting an end to all debate or action: a peremptory decree.
Not allowing contradiction or refusal; imperative: The officer issued peremptory commands.
Having the nature of or expressing a command; urgent: The teacher spoke in a peremptory tone.
Offensively self-assured; dictatorial: a swaggering, peremptory manner.

Quote of the Day
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."
The Dalai Lama

College Grades?

Grade Inflation - is an A really an A anymore? What's your opinion? Read an essay by Michael Berube, a Professor of Literature at Penn State.

Culture
Christian Pop Culture here to stay? Looks like it. Religious-themed T-shirts, posters for Christian rock concerts, signs promoting traveling evangelists and billboards preaching sexual abstinence don't just dot the landscape; they are the landscape, especially in the smaller towns and cities. Christian pop culture seems, at times, to be all the pop culture such underdog places have, at least in any local, grass-roots sense. Big TV, big music and big film, by clustering in the nation's glitziest ZIP codes and focusing -- almost exclusively, at times -- on the lives and loves of affluent young singles, have left vast swaths of the country to the preacher-folk, who've seized the day by slicking up their acts. It's no wonder that some are now ready for prime time. .... The flame is an old one; only the fuel is new. And there's still plenty of it. Expect it to burn on.

War
Riding into Falluja - take a short ride with the Marines and get a taste of another hell hole. Think this is about the time I'd be asking for a city desk beat.

Always liked to learn the meaning behind certain expressions, so thought I'd occasionally include an Expression of the Day.

Expression of the Day
Dead as a Doornail Also, dead as a dodo or herring. Totally or assuredly dead; also finished. For example, The cop announced that the body in the dumpster was dead as a doornail, or The radicalism she professed in her adolescence is now dead as a dodo, or The Equal Rights Amendment appears to be dead as a herring. The first, oldest, and most common of these similes, all of which can be applied literally to persons or, more often today, to issues, involves doornail, dating from about 1350. Its meaning is disputed but most likely it referred to the costly metal nails hammered into the outer doors of the wealthy (most people used the much cheaper wooden pegs), which were clinched on the inside of the door and therefore were “dead,” that is, could not be used again. Dead as a herring dates from the 16th century and no doubt alludes to the bad smell this dead fish gives off, making its death quite obvious. Dead as a dodo, referring to the extinct bird, dates from the early 1900s.

Quote of the Day
"When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion."
Abraham Lincoln

Super Shoe!

Got a mere $250? Then I've got the shoe for you! Battery powered sensors, microprocessors,electric motors - who knew running could be such fun? Each second, a sensor in the heel can take up to 20,000 readings and the embedded electronic brain can make 10,000 calculations, directing a tiny electric motor to change the shoe. The goal is to make the shoe adjust to changing conditions and the runner's particular style while in use. Now if they would just invent one that when you slip it on , it cures you of all your illnesses while you are wearing it, whether it be rheumatoid arthritis,diabetes, or whatever. Seems like they could send a charge through you that would revitalize the immune system - Heck, I'd shell out $250 for that!

Politics
Maybe this should be entitled Politics and Christian Fundamentalism? Check out this article from Britain's Guardian newspaper. Spooky is the word.

Abuse in Iraq
If you want to get a rather depressing view of what has been going on in Iraq, check out Seymour Hersh's article in the New Yorker. Rough stuff in this article

Word of the Day
preternatural \pree-tuhr-NACH-uhr-uhl; -NACH-ruhl\, adjective: 1. Existing outside of nature; differing from the natural; nonnatural. 2. Surpassing the usual or normal; extraordinary; abnormal.3. Beyond or outside ordinary experience; inexplicable by ordinary means. Usage: But at other times, Bobby Jones, Stroke of Genius is dead, solid perfect, especially its first half-hour tracing Jones' sickly childhood and his preternatural affection for the game.

Quote of the Day
"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."
Alvin Toffler

More Photography Tools

Nikon Coolwalker
Nikon has come out with a nifty little 30Gig device for transferring your photos when out in the field, so that you can keep shooting with your CFII cards (also SD cards with an adapter). Read about it on the Photography Blog. It can hold up to 10,000 6mp JPG pics. Will handle jpg, tiff and Nikon's RAW formats. Price hasn't been announced yet in the States or I don't believe it has. (Supposedly MSRP in Great Britain will be £399, which translates into about $715 US. Whew!) You could print right to a printer out in the field, utilizing its PictBridge technology. And you can plug it into a TV and use the remote that comes with it to have a neat slide show. Sounds nice - just not so sure about that price, but then I'm sure if I put it on my Xmas Wish list, my brothers will cobble the money together to get me one. What a family!

Website of the Day
A Faster,Better Behaved XP (Want to figure out something about the XP operating system? A good place to look)

Quote of the Day
"We hate some persons because we do not know them; and we will not know them because we hate them."
Charles Caleb Colton

Watch out for the Sasser Worm

Tech security experts always tell you to never open email attachments without a confirmation from the email sender. That's because executables sent in the mail as attachments are usually used by viruses and worm to spread to other users. The latest worm to be released, Sasser, is an exception. It doesn't spread through email.

Sasser spreads by attacking a flaw in Microsoft Windows XP and 2000's Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS). Windows systems that have applied Microsoft Windows Update patch 835732 are protected against the Sasser worm. Sasser essentially looks for a port vulnerability on a randomly generated IP address. When it finds an opening, it overflows a buffer in LSASS.EXE. Sasser then uses FTP and connects back to the originating computer to download a copy of the worm.

According to early reports, the original Sasser worm was slow moving. Howver, new variants of Sasser have been released, and the infection rate is accelerating. The key to stopping Sasser infections to to update Windows and to use a firewall to block Sasser traffic.

For the full article, go here For those of you who don't have a firewall, looks like you had better head to ZoneAlarm and get the freebie one there. And you had better go to Windows Update and install any Critical Updates, in case you haven't done that in awhile. You can get to Windows Update by clicking on Tools and Windows Update in Internet Explorer. This is considered a Level 4 - Severe threat by Symantec (makers of Norton Anti-Virus). Also make sure your virus definitions are up to date. If you have no idea what any of this means, you'd better go find a computer friend, before your system is compromised.

i9900 Arrives!

The long awaited Canon i9900 inkjet , delivering borderless 13x19 prints has arrived. It can knock one of those out in just 3 minutes. 8 ink tanks (they added red and green to the usual 6) . 2 picoliter droplets. Requires Service Pack 1 for Windows XP to utilize the high speed usb 2.0 interface. You can get it delivered from Page Computers for $437. (Retail is $499 + shipping). You can also get it for a similar price if you get it from Buy.com and use the 2% savings you would get from being a member of Ebates. Please leave a comment if you need to know my shipping address, as you will probably be eager to send me one as a gift.

Movies
Recently enjoyed "Kill Bill" and "Master and Commander" on DVD. Both with awesome surround sound (I was actually ducking this nasty fly that I couldn't seem to find during "Kill Bill", when I finally realized it was coming out of the speaker just behind me - now that was pretty funny). Kill Bill was smack full of action and loaded with lots of good "spraying blood" scenes - typical Quentin Tarintino . The lovely Uma Thurman was so very cool in this movie. Russell Crowe was good in Master and Commander, although I missed the fabulous old English accent of Patrick Tull in the audiobook version. Great action scenes though - totally deafening with cannonballs crashing all around you at close range.

Camera Review
Another review of the D70 from Nikon. Gallery of Photos with the D70.

WebSites of the Day
Photography Blog
Photo-i
Digital Outback Photo

Quote of the Day
"It matters not whether you win or lose; what matters is whether I win or lose."
Darrin Weinberg

An Interesting Chart

Here's an interesting chart and statistics from the WP Post. Just goes to show you what would happen if the "poor" of America really turned out to vote. No more Bushie. I also find it interesting that Post-Graduates tend to vote Democratic just like folks who didn't graduate from H.S. Guess they wised up by the time they got through all that educatin' Also interesting that Protestants are so pro-Republican - probably explains why I'm no longer a church goer. :) The stats also show how non-inclusive the Republican party is - not good when Hispanics will soon be a majority in this country. The key for the Dems? - get minorities and poor folks out to vote - Dems would win easily. However, that is not an easy task, since most of those folks are suspicious of just about everything (sometimes for good cause).

Computer Tip of the Day

Troubleshoot IE image issues (from TechTV web site)

Scott from St. Albans, W.Va., called to say Internet Explorer keeps saving images as bitmaps instead of in JPEG format. How does he solve the problem?

A Java or ActiveX issue is preventing your browser from seeing images as anything other than a bitmap. If you have Windows XP, look at available Windows updates. Microsoft has a fix available for the problem. The company also recommends clearing your cache and History files (Tools > Internet Options > General tab) and restarting IE.

The Restaurant

Tune in tonite at 10 p.m. Eastern on NBC for the 2 episode of Season 2 of The Restaurant (reading the link will get you up to date on the show). I saw this last season and it was GREAT! Reality TV in the restaurant business. But this is for real - The chef and his accountant are suing each other as we speak and perhaps we will get lucky and even see a Season 3 (although this looks somewhat doubtful, especially considering the fine character of the financial guy). Check it out. (It's up against that fine show CSI Miami (gag), so if you're one of the 20 million who watch it, then you'll miss the better show on NBC).

If you like watching the restaurant business and enjoy good food, also check out the book Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. (If you're easily offended by four letter words, you may wish to skip this book.). :) But, if you can tolerate that, then you'll find out what it's like to run a restaurant in crazy NYC, written in a very engaging style. (If you're ever in NYC, you should try Les Halles, where Anthony is Executive Chef).

Quote of the Day
"I believe in an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out."
Arthur Hays Sulzberger

Oddly Enough
Berlin has introduced five talking waste bins which say thank you in three different languages or scream "goal" to help promote a cleaner city. (The Germans do some strange things!)

and from Mexico, comes the story of this lucky fella:
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A Mexican man who got drunk, fell asleep on railroad tracks and was run over by a train slept through the entire episode and escaped unharmed, local officials said on Friday.

A look back at Rudy Chapa

Running
I was reading about the famous Penn Relays, when for some reason Rudy Chapa's name popped into my head. Decided to do a Google and see what had happened to Rudy. Here's an interesting article, catching up with Rudy Chapa, an Indiana running phenom. I remember him when I was coaching cross country at a nearby H.S. in Indiana, back in the 70's. This kid and some of his teammates at Hammond High could really blast - was always a thrill to see them run. Rudy still holds the 10,000 meter H.S. record, set in 1976. Plus, it sounds like his kid is turning out out to be a heck of a runner, as well. And his mom was a sprinter and high jumper at Indiana, so that definitely makes them great in my book. :)

Health
Researchers show cystic fibrosis defect in mice corrected with turmeric extract A possible new cure for CF? Wouldn't that be something? From just a common spice. I had a good friend many years ago, who had to watch his daughter die of this at the age of 14. He and his wife helped her clear her lungs every night for every day of her life - she was a very nice kid, with a great spirit. Damn shame, that something like this hadn't come along then. Still too early to know about this spice (hasn't been tested on humans), but sure would be nice if it worked for the majority of people suffering this disease.

Confessions of a closet carb fiend

This Dave Barry article is a hoot. Check it out.

Get a $100 off!

You still have till the 30th of April to sign up for a year's worth of service at Audible.com and get $100 off of a PocketPC or a PalmPilot (you could get a Zire 71 for $99 at Amazon with this offer) or various mp3 players, including the Apple Ipod (there's even the opportunity at Amazon to get a Handspring Treo 600 with $270 in rebates plus the $100 Audible discount) Along with that you get 2 audio books per month for $20/month (or choose 1 audio book for $15/month), a real deal when audio books in bookstores run between $25-50 each. If you decide you still don't want to shell out the money for one of those devices even with a $100 discount, you can still sign up and get a free Otis Player, which will play audible books as well as mp3 and wma music. I use an Otis player myself and they are excellent. Click the ad at the top of this web page to learn more.

Himalaya

Movies
Happened to watch Himalaya last night on DVD. Great flick - highly recommended for rental. (I'd purchase this one). Was Oscar nominated for Foreign Film of Year in 2000. Yaks/Caravans/Nepal/Winter storms - great story, beautiful scenery,beautiful people and wonderful music - all in a spectacular mountain setting, often at 17,000+ feet. Watch the movie and then watch how they made the movie under Special Features - that will blow you away. I'd tell you, but that would spoil it. Enjoy the movie first, then be surprised when you watch what they did to film this. Family entertainment - 5 stars. You miss, you lose. :) (I'd adopt the little kid in this movie in a heartbeat)

Taxes
It pays to file electronically - couldn't have been more than a few days and already my VA return is sitting in my check book. Impressive. Speaking ot taxes and the working poor (yep, that's me! - well, close, anyway. :) - did anyone catch Nightline last night? They were doing a 3 part series on the "Working Poor in America". David Shipler, the author of Arab and Jew: Broken Spirits in a Troubled Land, which I listened to earlier this year via audible.com, sat down with Ted and 3 families were profiled. Would be curious to know what you thought of it - unfortunately, I missed it. Tonite's show asks the question of what the hell is happening in Iraq?

Digital Photography
Another positive review of the D70 over at Imaging Resources. It's a tremendously capable d-SLR that noticeably advances the state of the art for cameras anywhere close to its price point. The lens it ships with is first-rate, with a wider focal-length range and faster maximum aperture than the Canon equivalent, and the camera itself just feels good in the hand. It's also remarkably responsive, with true instant-on availability, a responsive shutter, and truly exceptional continuous-shooting ability. Naturally, none of this would mean anything if the D70's images weren't up to snuff, but image quality is absolutely first rate as well. All in all, the D70 is an excellent camera, with features and performance well beyond what one might expect from an attractively priced d-SLR. Highly recommended!

Word of the Day
disingenuous
adj. Not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating: “an ambitious, disingenuous, philistine, and hypocritical operator, who... exemplified... the most disagreeable traits of his time” (David Cannadine).
Pretending to be unaware or unsophisticated; faux-naïf. Usage: "It is disingenuous to say when a driver or passenger who fails to buckle up gets hurt or killed, it is their right and no one else gets hurt. ... " or " But the most disingenuous part of the plan is that Mr Sharon has cloaked this aggression in a withdrawal from some Palestinian areas. ... "

Quote of the Day
"I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming that comes when you finish the life of the emotions and of personal relations; and suddenly find - at the age of fifty, say - that a whole new life has opened before you, filled with things you can think about, study, or read about...It is as if a fresh sap of ideas and thoughts was rising in you."
Agatha Christie (You rock Agatha! - says this 50+ curmudgeon!)

MacDonald's Wireless Plan

MacDonald's is bringing wi-fi to the masses. Another way to sell a burger. "McDonald's plans to charge customers $2.95 for a two-hour wireless Internet connection, with other pricing options available from Wayport, including a $29.95 monthly plan that will give subscribers unlimited use of all locations in the Wayport network. Service options available via roaming partners will be announced soon. "

I guess I wonder if someone really wants to sit in a MacDonald's for 2 hours? Hardly the ambiance of a nice coffeehouse. And if I just spent $3 to sign on, I'm not going to want to just grab my email and leave. Personally, I think it should just be a free ad-on, like a number of Schlotsky stores offers. I wonder if MacDonald's will also be offering some sort of wet-wipes so that you can clean the grease off your keyboard when you're done? Lord knows, there will be enough on there.

Krispy Kremes RULE!
Who's worrying about trans-fats? Not Hawaiians! The folks in Hawaii are on their own personal suicide mission. Either the planes will crash from too many donuts, or they'll die from clogged arteries. Suspect it would be a better death going down in the plane with 2 or 3 of the sugar bombs tucked away in each cheek.

Reuters:

Hawaii residents love Krispy Kreme Doughnuts so much that they often stock up at a new store in Maui before boarding inter-island flights back home, overloading airline luggage bins along the way.
"The locals bring so many boxes of doughnuts on board that we can't always fit them on our flights. Some people will put five or six boxes in an overhead bin," says Mark Dunkerley, president of Hawaiian Airlines .
Hawaii's first Krispy Kreme store opened on Jan. 27 in Maui, less than a mile from Kahului Airport.
Doughnut shops are sprinkled liberally across the Hawaiian islands. But the novelty of a major chain, combined with the widespread custom of "omiage," a Japanese word that refers to the custom of bringing gifts home to family and friends, have given rise to the commuter doughnut.
On the day the Maui store opened, a Kauai police officer bought doughnuts for his entire department, then hopped on a plane for the short flight home, Krispy Kreme spokeswoman Tina McNealey said.

Politics
I thought it was interesting to hear the pundits talk about GW's press conference last night. Can't believe how nice some of these guys are. One former Reagan person on Charlie Rose, thought he hit a "home run". Somehow, this guy must have never played baseball. It's called "3 Strikes and you're OUT, bubba" !!

You might want to take a look at Fareed Zakariah's recent article in Newsweek. At least somebody has some concrete suggestions! "The date, June 30, is less important than the entity to which power is transferred. If that new government is seen as an American puppet, then challenges to it will persist, and America will find itself propping up an unpopular local regime that is doomed to fail. And that dilemma reminds one not of the British in Iraq, but of the United States in Vietnam. "

Whew..

Press Conference
Do you sometimes (often) wonder why the President's advisors ever let the Pres out for a Press Conference? I hate to say it, but this is the best person we can find to represent this country? The man can hardly put together a cogent sentence. I'm sorry, but if you vote for this guy come November, you need to reevaluate the value of the education you have received, because it can't be worth much.

Did you catch the glimpse of Condi and Card and Rove? They looked like they were suffering, especially Condi. I find it interesting that in all the photos of her you see, where she is unaware the camera is on her, she looks like she has been run over by a Mack truck. Perhaps she is just deep in thought trying to decipher what the Pres has just said - that would pop a blood vessel or two in the ol' noggin. Somehow I think the word of the day (see below) describes this Presidency. Wish I had something of a more profound nature to say, but after I suffer through an hour of such lucidity, I generally have a brain fart myself.

Money
You would have almost thought the markets had heard the Pres speak and then collapsed . Let's hope they weren't listening to closely, a vain hope, I'm sure. I expect the markets to tumble further tomorrow after that reassuring little chat. Looks like robust retail sales has led folks to think an interest rate hike might be coming - that is always bad news. Was nowhere to hide today - Gold went down, stocks went down, bonds went down. A few more days of this and we can rejoice - another buying opportunity! :)

Word of the Day
idiosyncratic adjective: Deviating from the customary: bizarre, cranky, curious, eccentric, erratic, freakish, odd, outlandish, peculiar Usage: "DiMarco, who putts with an idiosyncratic grip known as "the Claw", shot a bogey-free four-under-par 68.." or "As carmakers have used idiosyncratic design to drill into various niches — think of everything from the Mini Cooper to the Hummer — the task of teasing ... "

Quote of the Day
"The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools."
Herbert Spencer

Phil breaks the Jinx!

You saw a great sporting event if you caught the Masters today. An incredible putt for birdie on the final hole gives Phil Mickelson a 1 shot victory over Ernie Els and breaks a career jinx of having never won a major tour event. It was one of the best Masters I've seen. For an interview with the champ, check out this page.

Did someone say "OINK, OINK?????"

Politics
Check out this latest example of fine,fine PORK tossed at us by the fine representatives of Alaska. Good God almighty - someone should drop them off a pier in Alaska with a few nice sized anchors tied to their boots. I've been to Ketchikan and I can tell you this has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard of - no wonder people grow sick of the process in Washington and have no faith. Read the article in the Times and then write these idiots and tell them to get a grip on reality.

Golf
Ah, the Masters again! Always great fun to see. (for "live" leaderboard scoring, head over to Golfweb ) Watched Arnie trudge up the 18th yesterday to complete his 50th Masters in a row at the age of 74. That had to be tough - the urge to compete is still there, but at age 74 the ol' bod just doesn't want to cooperate. Nicklaus may have played in his last Masters as well, but we'll see - he changes his mind frequently. Hated to see John Daly miss the cut by 1 stroke as he had been having quite a good year. Mike Weir, the defending champ, couldn't get it going and missed the cut as well. Tiger sucked it up again and moved from 4 over after the first day to finish at even par after 2 days, just 6 strokes behind the leader - the guy never ceases to amaze you.

And Bruce Edwards, Tom Watson's caddy of some 30 years, passed away at age 49 of Lou Gehrig's disease. Probably the game's greatest caddy. Not much much progress on the ALS front or so it would seem - ya gotta hope that one of these days they will dream up a cure.

You can watch the Masters at 3:30 Eastern Time on CBS today. (starts at 1:30 on Sunday)

Photography
Spent some time browsing the digital photography and Photoshop titles in the bookstore the other day. Some titles worth looking at are:

• How to use Adobe Photoshop CS $30 in the bookstore; $21 online


• Adobe Photoshop: One on One $40 in the bookstore; $25 online (looked to be very good)


• The Digital Photographer's Guide to PS Elements $30 in the bookstore; $21 online

Clicking on the above links will take you to the BestBookDeal.com web site. Click on the Amazon Review link to read more about each book.

The latest hot camera, the Nikon D70, is fully reviewed here at Digital Photography review. Has a few minor drawbacks but sounds pretty good, even more so, if you happen to have a Nikon camera with a few lenses already.

Politics
Kristof speaks out: It's not just that the Bush administration's arrogance and unilateralism have led Pakistanis to give Osama bin Laden a 65 percent favorable rating, compared with 7 percent for President Bush (the latest international polls from the Pew Research Center make you want to cry)...... It wouldn't have taken much to maintain our friendship with our allies. Sure, there are cultural gaps: Europeans are bewildered that Americans can feel more threatened by Janet Jackson's breast than by unregulated handguns. But the Bush administration had to work hard to take all the good will accumulated over the decades since World War II and the Marshall Plan, and replace it with distrust and hostility.

Taxes
Finally knocked out the ol' taxes the other day with the help of Complete Tax . Worked very well - pointed the way to various deductions that I might have missed , had I tried to figure it out on my own. And the cost was $0, which is always nice. Also was nice to realize that if you fell into one of the lower income brackets, donating to a Roth or regular IRA nets you a nice tax credit. A $2000 deposit into one, nets you 50% of that amount as a tax credit. That makes for a very nice way to reduce a tax burden and save for the future.

Reading an article in USA Today, I noticed the following comments: "Taxpayers overpay their taxes by an estimated $1 billion a year because they fail to claim itemized deductions, opting for the standard deduction instead, according to the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress." and "* The earned income tax credit, designed to help the working poor, has become so complicated that about a quarter of eligible taxpayers fail to claim it. The credit is worth up to $4,204 this year." And catch this little jewel - this is sure comforting to the average taxpayer - "The GAO found that 2 million taxpayers who used a preparer took the standard deduction when they would have been better off itemizing. Low-income taxpayers have an even harder time. Tax preparers are responsible for nearly 70% of errors and overclaims on returns claiming the earned income tax credit, the IRS says." and "The number of Americans who believe cheating is acceptable has risen sharply, to 17% last year from 11% in 1999, according to an IRS survey. If Americans believe the tax code arbitrarily rewards taxpayers who can afford sophisticated lawyers and accountants, ''That seriously erodes democracy itself,'' says John Fox, a tax attorney and author of 10 Tax Questions the Candidates Don't Want You to Ask."

Quote of the Day
"If your head is wax, don't walk in the sun."
Benjamin Franklin

Word of the Day
opprobrium uh-PRO-bree-uhm\, noun:1. Disgrace; infamy; reproach mingled with contempt.2. A cause or object of reproach or disgrace. Usage: "He will also earn their opprobrium for supporting the Lib Dem's policy..." or "Social opprobrium also once greeted adopted children, stepchildren, and even the only child, not to mention the children of interracial couples. ."..

(Free) Tax Programs

In case you've waited till the last moment, you can still do your taxes on-line and sometimes for very cheap. This year I had to switch from TurboTax because they changed the requirements for free filing and I no longer could meet them. So I went looking elsewhere on the Net and found CompleteTax . They have requirements as well, but not as stringent as TurboTax (which now requires that you meet the requirements for the Earned Income Credit or be older than 62,etc). H&R Block is also a possibility, but they charge for State Tax filing and CompleteTax does not. Note - these free filing programs are for folks who don't make lots of $$$. :) They are also quite easy to use. You can save your info at any time and return to the online form whenever you wish. I've used these programs for the last few years now, without a problem.

Word of the Day
asperity \as-PAIR-uh-tee\, noun: 1. Roughness of surface; unevenness. 2. Roughness or harshness of sound; a quality that grates upon the ear, harshness of climate. 3. Roughness of manner; severity; harshness. Usage: She spoke with great authority, with an asperity that didn't allow for sentimental accountings or ideological projections. or ..the asperity of northern winters or "IT WAS BECAUSE I RECEIVED NO WAKE UP CALL," he wrote, with capital-sized asperity.

Quote of the Day
"Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time."
Steven Wright

Powell talks to German Kids

Education
An interesting article that sadly shows how knowledgeable German (and other European countries as well) kids are regarding world affairs as compared to American kids. I saw this when I lived in Germany in the summer of '68 and again when I spent a semester in Germany in '71. Believe me, there is no comparison. I guess that is what comes with the thought of being the most powerful country on Earth and a long ways away from other countries. Unfortunately, both of those are rapidly diminishing in this new "global" world and kids in this country (and their teachers and parents) had better wake up and start learning about the world. Makes me think of a comment I heard by James Olmos on Charlie Rose last night, who mentioned that kids up till the age of 12 can learn to speak, write and think in 4 languages simultaneously with no difficulty. How many American kids can speak another language? Pathetic few.

A mini-series worth watching
Speaking of James Olmos, tune in to PBS this Sunday night at 7 p.m.(check the web site in the following link for exact times in your area - I get local PBS and it happens to be on at 3 p.m in my area) for American Family, the first drama series ever to air on broadcast television featuring a Latino cast, and the first original primetime American episodic drama on PBS in decades, first premiered in January 2002. Episodes from the first season currently air on Sunday nights (check local listings), leading up to the April 2004 premiere of the second season. “I wanted to do something different with AMERICAN FAMILY this year,” said series creator, Academy Award® nominee, writer/director Gregory Nava (El Norte, Selena). “Instead of doing an episodic series, I wanted to tell one epic story that unfolds like a mini-series over 13 parts. The topical story lines will be based around events of the Iraq war, and will show how the Gonzalez family came to America during the Mexican Revolution. AMERICAN FAMILY will depict all the sacrifices they have made through the years to achieve the American dream. In every household in America, there is an epic story – this year AMERICAN FAMILY will tell that story.”

Television has some fine offerings, unfortunately you need cable to see most of them, with the exception of PBS that comes along now and then with outstanding programming, such as the one mentioned above. If you live in an area where you can get Direct TV, Dish, or cable, and you're sick of the crap on TV, do yourself a favor and sign up, but make sure to get HBO and Showtime where some of the best TV is being produced.

Quote of the Day
"I have witnessed the softening of the hardest of hearts by a simple smile."
Goldie Hawn

Odd Summary
Reuters - A German cat weighing six times the normal weight is so fat that it cannot take more than four steps without getting exhausted, officials at a Berlin animal shelter have said after receiving the six-year-old feline. Mikesch, a black and white house cat weighing in at 18.5 kg (nearly 41 lbs), was taken away from his elderly owner on Thursday. The man, who was himself taken to a nursing home, had been feeding the cat two kg (4.4 lbs) of mince each day.

Become a Gas Spotter!

Want to know the price of gas at stations in your neighborhood? Want to help out by checking gas prices and adding them to the data base? Well, here's an interesting and unusual site that will help you get that information. Then, when you get ready to go out to get some gas, you just have to enter your zip and a radius and up will come all the gas stations in your area with prices and when they were updated. They've got some 82,000 spotters now - of course, it's only as good as how frequent these spotters report back. Heard this guy talking about it on CNN this morning, so suspect they will quickly have more spotters (like me). Of course when I checked in the boonies where I live, none of the gas stations were even listed, so I added them. You can do the same. If you're in the big city, this is a nice way to find the cheapest gas quickly. If nothing else, interesting to see what gas prices are like across the country. So go check out GasPriceWatch.com.

Quote of the Day
"If you can give your son or daughter only one gift, let it be enthusiasm."
Bruce Barton

From the Odd World
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German hamster called "Teddy" has sparked a police rescue mission after he climbed inside a computer printer and got stuck because he was too fat to get out again. "Contrary to his normal habits, Teddy climbed inside a PC printer and was unable to get out because of his corpulence," police in the northern city of Flensburg said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that they initially thought it was an April Fool's joke.

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German man has been arrested for credit card theft after trying to buy 76 euros (51 pounds) worth of beer and cigarettes at a gas station with a stolen card that belonged to the cashier. "When I looked at the credit card I saw it was my name," the 33-year-old named Heiko told Berlin's B.Z. newspaper. He locked the man inside the shop and called the police. He said he had recently ordered a credit card but it never arrived in the post

SAT Scores - How important are they in the Grand Scheme of Things?

College
There isn't much I usually agree on with David Brooks, but this might be the exception. I can't find a whole lot to disagree with in this article. Worth a read and some reflection if you're one of those poised on the brink of "collegehood". Since the admissions process has gone totally insane, it's worth reminding yourself that this is not a particularly important moment in your life. You are being judged according to criteria that you would never use to judge another person and which will never again be applied to you once you leave higher ed.

Kerry starting to trail?
The latest CNN poll had Kerry falling behind Bush. The Bush "money" juggernaut is beginning to roll. Time to gear up for that $25 donation to the Democratic party! I still continue to find it amazing what the appeal is to those 50%+ of Americans who voted for Bush and would vote for him no matter if he annihilated every country on earth, let the planet sizzle from overheating, and even drove a big Caddie around with a mini oil derrick as a hood ornament. Do they think that represents "values"??? How can one continue to listen to the litany of lies and still keep the faith? Is it because he claims to be religious? How important does that need to be in the running of our country? It certainly hasn't prompted him to be compassionate (wasn't that anywhere in the Bible?). Nothing worse than a hypocrite. Or is it that he just promises not to raise taxes (while he gives every fat cat a huge tax break and runs our country into trillion dollar deficits)? Seems like this country did pretty well under Clinton - no deficits and a rip-roaring economy. But then the puritans were out in force back then making sure that the ONLY issue in America that mattered was what your sex life was like and frowning disaprovingly while doing God knows what in their own bedrooms (or someone else's). Check out Krugman's article today - This Isn't America

Last week an opinion piece in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz about the killing of Sheik Ahmed Yassin said, "This isn't America; the government did not invent intelligence material nor exaggerate the description of the threat to justify their attack."
So even in Israel, George Bush's America has become a byword for deception and abuse of power.

Getting more than you Bargain for in that Tuna Sandwich?

Yep, it's the ol' mercury problem surfacing again (not that it ever went away!). Getting worse all the time. One of the big culprits? - coal-fired power plants - yep those babies pump the stuff out and it plops down nicely upon the sky-blue waters, the little "Chicken of the Seas" of the world's oceans suck it down and grow up to be big fat tunies with lots of Hg just waiting for our tummies. Of course, our leaders in Washington are doing everything in their power to get this under control. From Arriana Huffington's column - Without getting shrouded in a toxic cloud of technical mumbo-jumbo, the bottom line is that current technology offers a way to reduce mercury emissions by 90 percent over the next four years — but the Bush administration has opted for a plan that would, at best, lower the noxious output by just 50 percent over the next 14 years, while setting no meaningful limits on the tons of mercury released by the chemical industry. All of which will save the power, coal and chemical industries billions.....Choke on that for a minute: Big Power gets a tasty multibillion-dollar treat, while everyone else is served up a Toxic Tuna Surprise

And make note of this. This is where the world of Washington lets off it's own noxious odors: It turns out that two of the key EPA regulators overseeing the development of the mercury guidelines, Jeff Holmstead and William Wehrum, used to represent utility industry clients before Bush tapped them for high-ranking posts in the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. They were both attorneys at Latham and Watkins — a high-powered D.C. law firm that’s been lobbying the administration to adopt the less stringent mercury standards, and which authored one of the memos cribbed in the EPA proposal.

To write to the EPA and your congressman, please take a moment to fill out the form from moveon.org. It only takes a second and the more voices that speak up the more powerful the message. I would prefer to eat my wild salmon, knowing that it's chances of absorbing mercury, are diminishing, rather than increasing.

Want to get more involved? Check out Move On's "50 Ways to Love your Country"

Something to think about

From Al Gore: (from an introduction to the section entitled "Every Vote Counts" of the book 50 Ways to Love Your Country .

Woody Allen has famously said that 90 percent of success is showing up. That’s true of democracy too. I’d argue that the other 10 is making sure you’re registered beforehand.
It’s easy to be cynical about politics and to believe that one vote barely matters. But consider these facts: John F. Kennedy’s 1960 victory over Richard Nixon—a victory that ultimately led to sweeping changes in civil rights laws, the first great wave of space exploration, and the creation of Medicare—was decided by just 100,000 votes nationwide. In 1994, the year Republicans won both houses of Congress, the redistribution of about 10,000 votes nationally would have kept Congress in Democratic hands. One of my former House colleagues, Connecticut Democrat Sam Gejdenson, won reelection by twenty-one votes that year. (“All you need is one,” he remarked; “the rest are for your ego.”)

The democratic political process isn’t perfect. Winston Churchill once said it’s the worst system for governance “except for every other system that has ever been tried.” Often, you may find no candidate who completely reflects your views. But as voter participation has declined—from nearly two-thirds of eligible voters in 1960 to less than half in many national elections today—strong and decidedly undemocratic forces have stepped in to fill the void.

In a democracy, the future isn’t something that just happens; it’s something we shape for ourselves, together. Special-interest lobbyists get the government they pay for only when we stay home from the polls—only when we abdicate the electoral power that is mightier than any soft-money check, more decisive than any million-dollar ad blitz or corporate misinformation campaign.

Word of the Day
perfidy Deliberate breach of faith; calculated violation of trust; treachery: The act or an instance of treachery. Usage: "Stories of Al Jazeera's perfidy now circulate among the troops with the tenacity of urban myths" ...... "And yet Gibson has seeded his film with images of Jewish guilt and perfidy that will fall on fertile anti-Semitic soil around the world"

Quote of the Day
"On account of being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only nation in the world that has to keep a government four years, no matter what it does."
Will Rogers (1879-1935)

Something to Think About...

Only in America......do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.

Only in America.....do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries,
and a diet coke.

Only in America......do banks leave both doors open and then chain the
pens to the counters.

Only in America......do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.

Only in America......do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.

Only in America......do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well: 'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning 'bloodsucking creatures'.

Only in America......do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.


EVER WONDER ....


Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?

Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed?

Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?

Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?

Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?

Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?

Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?

Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?

Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?

Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes?
Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?!

Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?

If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?

NCAA Basketball!

Have you been tuning in? Some good games recently. Saw a great game last night between Wake Forest and St. Joseph's. Right to the wire. The one thing I notice about really good teams, that I certainly didn't notice about my school (Indiana) this year, is that players on good teams know how to move without the ball. No one just standing around - these guys are constant motion, looking for the quick advantage. I can't figure out how coaches of teams that just aren't cutting it, can't see this. It's all so obvious :)

Duke/Illinois and Texas/Xavier should both be great games tonight. Better tune in!

Quote of the Day
"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much."
Mother Theresa

Word of the Day
pulchritude (PUL-kruh-tood)That quality of appearance which pleases the eye; beauty; comeliness; grace; loveliness. (Pulchritude comes from Latin pulchritudo, from pulcher, "beautiful." The adjective form is pulchritudinous) Usage: "Where Linda has her infectious charm, Polly has only her empty pulchritude"

(hardly a word that comes to mind when thinking of beauty and loveliness, is it? - you would almost guess it means something foul smelling - like putrid. LOL)

Oddball Story of the Day

Hot oven shoots woman

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - A woman heating fish fingers has been shot in the leg by a gun that had been stashed in her oven, police say. Roxanne Perez, 29, from Texas, was taken to hospital on Friday where she was in good condition, they said. An acquaintance stored the gun for safekeeping in the bottom drawer of Perez's oven about two weeks ago, then "completely forgot about it" according to a police report.

Perez, who said had no idea a gun was in the oven, said she heard several shots then felt a sharp pain in her left hip.

Change your font size

Here's a neat tip:
Quickly change the font on Web pages (Win XP)

You may already know that you can change the size of the font appearing on Web pages by opening Internet Explorer, and choosing View | Text Size, and then selecting either Smallest, Smaller,Medium, Larger, or Largest, depending on your preferences. But ifyou have a mouse with a scroll wheel, you can accomplish the same task without having to access the View menu at all.

All you need to do is hold down the [Ctrl] key and then scroll the wheel down to enlarge the text on the Web page, or scroll the
wheel up to reduce the text size. I've noticed that this works on many web pages, but not necessarily all.

Want to see Cuban Performers? Tough!

Jackson Browne protests the US Policy in an article from the NY Times. Visas have been denied to other Cuban artists because their visits are "detrimental to the interests" of our country. In essence, the government says that if Carlos Varela plays concerts in the United States, the money he makes would go to Fidel Castro. This is untrue. In Cuba, renowned artists keep much of what they earn, because the government does not want them to leave the country and live somewhere else. Yet, the Bush administration used the same reasoning to keep Ibrahim Ferrer, of the Buena Vista Social Club, and Manuel Galbán from attending the Grammy award ceremony in Los Angeles last month. (Both men won awards.)
Jackson Browne, a singer-songwriter, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 15

Close Call

Space Shuttle
It appears that those brave souls riding the Shuttle space missions were damn lucky over the years. Mr. Parsons said he could not explain why a critical part like the speed brake actuator had not been inspected for more than two decades, despite the major overhauls and examinations each shuttle underwent every three or four years.... Mr. Parsons said finding and fixing the speed brake problems had resulted from increased safety awareness after the Columbia disaster. The Columbia and its crew were lost on Feb. 1, 2003, in a re-entry accident, and the remaining shuttle fleet has been grounded ever since.

The brake issue was not found as a result of the Columbia investigation, but corrosion and other problems found on another part of the Discovery led NASA engineers to look at similar machinery, like the brake actuators, officials said.

And you want to vote for this crowd?
Did the Bush administration ignore terrorism warnings before 9/11? Justice Department documents obtained by the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, show that it did. Not only did John Ashcroft completely drop terrorism as a priority — it wasn't even mentioned in his list of seven "strategic goals" — just one day before 9/11 he proposed a reduction in counterterrorism funds. .....Did the administration neglect counterterrorism even after 9/11? After 9/11 the F.B.I. requested $1.5 billion for counterterrorism operations, but the White House slashed this by two-thirds. (Meanwhile, the Bush campaign has been attacking John Kerry because he once voted for a small cut in intelligence funds.) . For more on this, read Krugman's article in the Times. Better yet, watch the 9/11 hearings on CNN - they're going to be veryinteresting. Richard Clarke appears tomorrow before the commission. Will Condi Rice appear? Looks like she is trying the big dodgeroooooo - gee, Condi, don't you want to get to the bottom of this mess? hmmm......

Freedom Tower - Irresponsible?
The total amount of energy released by the two 767's that struck the Twin Towers equaled that of a tactical nuclear weapon — almost a quarter of a kiloton. In 2006, two years before Freedom Tower is scheduled to open, a new generation of aircraft, led by the Airbus A380, will begin entering service in the world's airlines. The A380 will carry almost 82,000 gallons of fuel, more than three times as much as a 767. One hardly needs to do the math........ Dangling an iconic and indefensible target in front of terrorists is inconsistent with a strategy of reducing our vulnerabilities wherever possible. A thought provoking article - I couldn't agree more. How about a nice park? A few trees blown up sounds bettter than thousands of people.

Quote of the Day
"If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name in a Swiss bank."
Woody Allen

How fast can you Read?

This is fun and rather humbling. Go to this web page and find out how fast of a reader you are. Then come back here and post your speed in the comments section below this post. No lying!

Google goes Local

Google now has a neat new tool. Just got to http://local.google.com type in for example pizza+your zip code and check out the results! Click on the little compass that will show up. Try bookstores, restaurants, you name it. Very neat way to find something quickly. You'll get a map to find the place, phone numbers, directions from where you are, etc. Way cool. This would be quite handy if you were on the road traveling. If you're not all that familiar with all the tools Google has , you might want to check out this page. It might surprise you.

Clarke drops a bomb on the Bush Administration

A rough day for the Bush folks. Richard Clarke debuted his new book on 60 minutes (he was Bush's counter terroism expert - and Reagans, Papa Bush and Clinton's) and poked a damning finger at how Bush and his administration have handled the war on terror. Knowing this fixation the current administration has on Iraq, I have the sickening feeling, he is dead-on. At the same time Joseph Biden was saying on This Week, ""I am much more concerned about the safety of my granddaughter in school here in Washington because of al-Qaeda than I am with 10 Saddam Husseins. And we took our eye off the ball because of a preoccupation with Iraq,". Even Chuck Hagel (R) commented on the program that "he is concerned by Mr. Clarke's allegations that the Bush administration did not give adequate attention to al-Qaida. "Without bringing this to the highest levels of government and putting the appropriate focus on it, with the responsible players, then it is going to get lost. And according to Clarke's book, or at least what I read of it, that's much of what he charges here, that it did get lost, that it wasn't a priority, and that's a very serious charge," he said. "

I have a growing concern (as was espoused on This Week) that come June 30th when it is time for the Iraqi's to govern themselves, and we start some kind of exit move, that Al Qaeda is going to find that a fine time to attack. Bush needs to go to Nato and to the World Community now and doing some major fixing up or I shudder to think.... I think this country is at a crisis point in this war on terror and if we reelect this administration that still hasn't awoken to the real threat of terroism, we are in for some damn rough times. Your choice America - if you don't vote, don't blame me.... (For a refreshing look at what a Kerry Administration might bring in dealing with the countries of the world, read this article in the Wash. Post.

Hey Paul - think there might just be a better use for all that money?
Here's a guy blessed with gazillions of bucks and he's going Alien chasing. How bout spending that 13.5 million on schools or something? Chump change to you Paul, but might keep some teachers from having to buy their own crayons. Get a grip, buddy. Nothing wrong with space exploration, but we have a few more pressing problems at the moment, don't you think?

Basketball
On a brighter note, the state of Alabama must be going nuts. First Alabama upsets top seed Stanford, then little Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham rises up and smites the big boy Kentucky, another #1 seed. This is one of the really great sports that one can watch during the year - the NCAA basketball finals. They're not yet making the obnoxious bucks and the little guy can rise up and smack the big guy - great fun.

Word of the Day

red herring

A smoked herring having a reddish color.

Something that draws attention away from the central issue.

Usage: The White House is dismissing as a "red herring" charges from the administration's former counter-terrorism coordinator that President Bush has been more focused on Iraq than al Qaeda.
Idomatic Note: Something that draws attention away from the central issue, as in Talking about the new plant is a red herring to keep us from learning about downsizing plans. The herring in this expression is red and strong-smelling from being preserved by smoking. The idiom alludes to dragging a smoked herring across a trail to cover up the scent and throw off tracking dogs. [Late 1800s]

Quote of the Day
"America has always been an argument about wilderness, what it means and how it is measured and defined. The old idea is that wilderness defines a place out there, an amplitude of emptiness that can easily accommodate the human imperative. After all, it was once commonly predicted that it would take centuries to populate this vast land. But in our world wilderness is sharply demarcated, surrounded and, in logistical terms, not really wilderness at all, like Yellowstone. What preserves it isn't its amplitude but our restraint." ... a quotation from "Stumbling Upon Wolf Tracks in the Northern Reaches of Yellowstone" by Verilyn Klinkenborg (New York Times 10/5/03)

Geez, Time for new Vacation Plans

Here I was going to go somewhere probably lame this summer, and then I stumble across this article The city of Berlin is moving quickly to decriminalise possession of small amounts of cannabis in what is called "bowing to reality", even as federal law in Germany still outlaws production or sale of the drug. The legislation to permit possession of up to 15 grams of pot or hashish "for personal use" is backed by the overwhelming majority of lawmakers in the city council chambers

- shades of the 70's. Seems like the ideal time to brush up on my German! I think the Berliners, who are pretty liberal when it comes to drinking,smoking,etc (like most Germans) are making sense with this idea. Better than running around through peoples' gardens wasting taxpayer money, in the hopes to gather up some kid growing a weed or two in the backyard. Actually, during my college years, I lived with a German family for 3 months, who had a garden and unbenownst to them, their son was growing the "evil weed" in the garden and then drying it in their attic. He used to tell them he was experimenting with a new tea leaf. Ho,ho,ho! Had some good times in that house! LOL

What is a more troubling problem for Germans is the very high percentage of kids smoking, something I noticed even back in the late 60's and early 70's. Wonder what their rate of lung cancer is over there?

And perhaps even more thought provoking - Beer is sold at fast-food outlets such as McDonald's and Burger King. Beer and wine are sold at cinema snack bars. Many autobahn service stations make more money selling beer than they do selling fuel. Boy, now that's comforting to know that somebody is tooling down the Autobahn at 150mph after quaffing down a few liters at the last rest area. Of course, it's not a whole lot different here in the States, except that in Germany, Beer is truly KING! (In fact a nice big Liter from the ol' Herbst Brauerei in the Marktstrasse in Krefeld would suit me just dandy, about now! :) Wonder if it's still there?

Computer Tip

Running XP but don't like the way it stacks up different windows in the task bar? A friend of mine who uses Win98 says that is one of her peeves about XP. Well, you can fix that if you don't like it that way. Right click on an empty area in your task bar and make sure "lock the taskbar" is unchecked. Then click on "Properties" and make sure "Group Similar Taskbar buttons" is unchecked. That's all there is to it. XP comes with the default set to "group them", but by using the above method, you can fix that. Of course, if you open tons of windows, you may see the reason for XP's default setting, particularly if you are still in the stone ages and are not using a browser with a "tabbed windows" interface such as MyIE2 or Mozilla. 

Palms/Hiking/Computers/Books

Palm
Just added a new link to in the blogroll on the right side - Palm Addicts. If you own a Palm, this is a cool site. You will definitely be in the KNOW!

Hiking the PCT
Just got a note from "Nocona" re: her new attempt to complete the PCT (as well as news of her recent wedding! - Note the picture to the left - this was on top of their cake - the summit of Katahdin on the Appalachian Trail and the completion of a Thru-Hike for both her and her husband "Bald Eagle" - hikers take their hiking seriously, as you can tell! :) . She started the Pacific Crest Trail once with her new husband (boyfriend back then) , but developed high altitude pulmonary edema and had to get off. Janet and I know Bald Eagle from our hike of the AT in '95 - we hiked with him off and on and I remember my Dad (who in his 80's came out to hike with us for a few days in the Shenandoahs), being quite impressed that Bald Eagle was a Texas Aggie (as was my Dad - Civil Engineer - class of '34). I am, of course, digressing as I usually do, but had to point out the pertinant facts! :) Anyway, check out Nocona's journal. She's a great journal writer and you can follow along with her as she hikes the PCT. I feel like I somewhat know the PCT from having transcribed "Simply Seekings" journal for her when she hiked the PCT, so it will be interesting to compare their experiences. (for those of you unfamiliar with the hiking world, a transcriber is someone who types up a hiker's notes from the trail. The hiker periodically mails them to the transcriber, who types them and then posts them on the Net).

Computer Tip
Want to compress your images (jpeg) before transmitting them over the Net so that they won't take up so much bandwidth? There used to be free programs for this, but now many places charge. I recently found an online one that you can bookmark. Simply upload your picture and in a few seconds, you'll have a much compressed picture file (actually they will give it you in a number of different compressions) and then you can save the one you like back to your hard drive and use it to send in your email or post to a web page if you have one. Quite slick and does a good job. Nice to see that you can still find a free one out there.

Booklovers
Remember the Bookcrossing web site I talked about the other day? Well here's another good reason to join - a completely free book! Even the shipping! Take a look at this free book offer . You can thank me, once you get the book. :)

Related Links:

The karma of virtual libraries

Read and Release

Find This Book

A Global Book Club's Traveling Titles

A Novel Approach to a Circulating Library

Die ganze Welt als Leihbücherei For my German Readership!

Quote of the Day
"I think high self-esteem is overrated. A little low self-esteem is actually quite good…Maybe you're not the best, so you should work a little harder."
Jay Leno 

Audible Billboards

As most of you know, I'm a big fan of audible.com and audio books (as you can see from the ad at the top of the page and the links in the right sidebar). It's a company that has taken off once Ipod included it on it's nifty little music player (you can get $100 off an Ipod by hitting the link that advertises that in the right column - with a 12 month membership to Audible). People on an Audible business forum I regularly read are always try to find a way to promote the company. Here's a neat idea that Audible uses out in San Francisco that I would think could be used in any major city. Sure could have been used on I-285 in Atlanta where I sat many an hour trying to get home at night for about 8 years. Check it out!

Sports
Lots to keep your attention this week. NCAA Basketball Tournament starting Thursday - the ol' tube will get a workout. Should be a good tournament - don't think any of the top teams are unbeatable. On the golf front - Tiger goes for 5 straight wins at Bay Hill (Arnie's tournament). Something no golfer has done in history. Bet he'll be pumped for this one. If he has a good first round, look out.

Iraq
Would $5000 be enough if your wife and 3 kids were killed by bombs from an invader? Seems like a pittance to me and more so, an insult. You couldn't pay me to have this Capt. Tracy's job. What does one country owe another for the lives of civilians in a war? Read the story . Your thoughts on what should be done? Post in comment section below. (Did German civilians get any money after WWII? How about VietNam? Korea? - anybody know the answer to that? ) And finally - the Iraqis should appreciate this quote - ""And there is, I am certain, among the Iraqi people a respect for the care and the precision that went into the bombing campaign." - - Donald Rumsfeld, defenselink.mil, 04-09-03



Quote of the Day
"We do not rejoice in victories. We rejoice when a new kind of cotton is grown and when strawberries bloom in Israel."
-- Golda Meir (someone should remind Sharon of this quote?)

Word of the Day
perfidy \PUR-fuh-dee\, noun:
The act of violating faith or allegiance; violation of a promise or vow; faithlessness; treachery. Usage: "To ordinary Algerians, the news that chemical tests did not end until 1978 was renewed proof of the hypocrisy and perfidy of the military who have misruled them since independence in 1962. "
--"Bombshell that rocked generals in Algeria," Irish Times, October 25, 1997 (Perfidy comes from Latin perfidia, from perfidus, "faithless, treacherous, false," from per-, "through" (perhaps connoting deviation or infringement, or perhaps explicable by qui per fidem decipit, "who through faith or trust deceives") + fides, "faith.") 

What's new with XP Service Pack 2?

Here's a lengthy and well written article on the changes that will be forthcoming this summer for XP. In my review for Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1), I noted that that release wasn't your average service pack. That description is even more apt for SP2, which is in effect a major update to Windows XP, one that will likely replace existing XP versions on store shelves when it ships in mid-2004. XP SP2 is laden with much-needed security features, and a must-have upgrade for all XP users. I recommend that all Windows XP users upgrade to this service pack as soon as possible.

--Paul Thurrott

Sure hope this is an easier install than SP1 (one I never have tried to do). For that service pack, you had to go through a lot of steps initially to make sure you had a clean upgrade. Maybe they'll improve on that with SP2? For those of us with modems, it's probably worth ordering the disk. I'm sure this thing will be huge.

Computer Tip
Ever get frustrated when trying to print a web page in IE and the right side of the page gets cut off? (happens to me all the time). Well, you can go in and fiddle around with margins and all that, but an easier way is to just copy the URL and then open up Mozilla (that's an alternative browser to IE and can be downloaded at www.mozilla.com and paste the URL (that's the web site address) into Mozilla. That will open up the page and then you can print it and no more chopped off right margins! Why IE hasn't fixed this, is beyond me. I'd like to say MyIE2 (a browser that uses IE as it's core engine and my favorite browser) gets around this problem, but alas, it doesn't. So if you want to print web pages without disappearing right margins, download and install a copy of the Mozilla browser.

Word of the Day

pejorative
adj. Tending to make or become worse. Disparaging; belittling.
n. A disparaging or belittling word or expression.

Usage: "The GOP spent millions of dollars and many years making the word "liberal" a wicked pejorative" and "The neighborhood is filled with dilapidated duplexes -- earning it the pejorative moniker "Duplex City" 

Seabiscuit and Iraqi Children

Just when you think all you ever read is bad news (thanks to news services who think all we want are Gladiators and Lions ripping at each other), along comes a very nice story from the author of Seabiscuit (Laura Hillenbrand) and actor Gary Sinese. Check it out and make a donation if you so desire. And if you haven't read Seabiscuit, do yourself the favor and do so (the book is much, much better than the movie).

Quote of the Day
"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."
Scott Adams  

Back Again!

Well, after a week's stint cleaning out my parent's house in preparation for a sale, I have returned to the mountain. If that isn't thrilling, I don't know what is! My only comment on cleaning - give some thought to your future heirs on what really has meaning or might have meaning in the future for others and toss the rest of the stuff. Does it make sense to save notecards for 50 years? I don't think so, unless there are good letters included inside of them. I've learned a lot from this little experience and it has renewed my resolve to dump all the useless stuff I have - Ebay, here I come! :)

News Aggegrators
I keep coming back to this topic, because I think for many readers they are still unaware of the merits of this type of news browsing for the Net. Here's a nice tutorial that explains it in simple fashion and allows you to register and have your own free web-based aggregator (seems like they could have come up with a more user-friendly word, other than "aggregator". That word would spook anyone). It also mentions pc-based aggregators so that you can take your news with you and read it offline like on a laptop or tablet pc. I use FeedDemon on my Desktop which I really like, but there are others as well. One other nice feature of news aggregators is that once you have your list of feeds, you can export them via an OPML file (who cares what it means?) to another user and then they have a nice set of ready made feeds. (OPML - Outline Processor Markup Language (XML-based format for exchange of outline-structured information - now aren't you sorry you asked?)

Change for a Million?
Did you hear about the woman in Covington, Georgia, who went into Walmart and purchased some $1600 worth of merchandise and then presented a forged million dollar bill to pay for it? Think someone should have told this poor soul that there is not such thing as a million dollar bill. Geez, I wonder if she contemplated how they were going to give her change for this large of a bill, anyway? Takes all kinds - but hey, if you want to make the news, not a bad way to do it. Will be interesting to see what her sentence is.

Family Genealogy
Have members of your family flung out across the country or globe? Trying to find a way for everyone to stay in touch? You might want to check out www.myfamily.com . I've been using this for about 3 years now and is an excellent site for sharing photos, news, family trees, files and much more. Of course, it may take some cajoling to get your family members to become active, especially if they are not Internet junkies, but if you can get them to become active, there's a lot of good that can come from it.

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Word of the Day
Lagniappe n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi.
A small gift presented by a storeowner to a customer with the customer's purchase.
An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called boot. Broadly, something given or obtained gratuitously It could be an additional doughnut (as in baker's dozen), a free one for the road drink, an unanticipated tip for someone who provides a special service or possible a complimentary dessert for a regular customer. REGIONAL NOTE Lagniappe derives from New World Spanish la ñapa, “the gift,” and ultimately from Quechua yapay, “to give more.” The word came into the rich Creole dialect mixture of New Orleans and there acquired a French spelling. It is still used in the Gulf states, especially southern Louisiana, to denote a little bonus that a friendly shopkeeper might add to a purchase. By extension, it may mean “an extra or unexpected gift or benefit.” Pronounced like "len-yep". Usage example - "Two lagniappe seminars also are offered this spring, free to anyone enrolled in at least one of the other classes"

Laptopping it

Giving the ol' laptop a whirl for awhile. Heading back to my Dad's house to clean it out and put it up for sale - about a 10 hour drive, so at the moment am letting the wife drive while I tap away to keep myself amused (I hate riding). Now if I just had a Bluetooth phone and a bluetooh enabled laptop (actually I think I can buy some kind of bluetooth dongle for my laptop for cheap), i could even be cruising the Net! Oh well.... Decided to fire up bloggar which is a very handy offline tool that allows one to compose blog material offline and then easily post it to one's blog - free program and it can be found at Bloggar. Fortunately I have one album on this laptop - Oystein Sevag's Global House. Just unplug my earbuds from my little Otis audiobook player and plug them into the laptop and high quality tunes! Nice background music - New Age music is good for that.

Stopped for a moment at at Flying J truck stop to grab some grub off the buffett. Didn't have time to try out the $1.95/hr. wi-fi access, although I did fire up the laptop before leaving the parking lot and it grabbed the signal and sent me to a browser screen where I could pay up to get online, but didn't have the time, so...... Don't think Janet wanted to sit in the parking lot waiting on me while I endulged in such important work.

Saw a very cool wide screen (oxymoron?) 10.25" Sony laptop today at CompUSA.. Had built in web cam, gorgeous, highly reflective screen - 40 gig HD, 512mb RAM, wifi 802.11G built in - not sure of the weight but had to be under 3 lbs - slick. Just past $2000 mark. Then stumbled over to gasp and pee my pants over a 23" Apple active matrix LCD screen - good god was that gorgeous! A mere $1999. After seeing that , it made you want to buy a Mac on the spot! Off to the Handhelds - played with a Palm Tungsten T3 for awhile - liked it - slides open to reveal large screen - beautiful screen, seemed very fast. Wanted to check out the new Toshiba 850 with the 640x480 screen, but unfortunately someone had screwed with it and the screen wasn't functioning correctly. Built-in wifi though and also took CF I/II cards which means I could use my microdrive cards in it. Sure wish that screen had been working!

Meanwhile the little '92 Accord is humming along I-65 at a nice 75mph and still getting 30+mpg. Has been a very reliable car since buying it some 60K milies ago. And that's the news of the day - bet you can certainly rest peacefully now. :)

Booklovers

If you consider yourself a lover of good books, then check out the link on the right side of this page that sends you to BookCrossing.com. Spend some time exploring the site and join up, if you like. I think this is such a cool idea and a great way to open up reading to lots of people. I'll not say more, as it would not do justice to all the good words at BookCrossing.  

Anty Up Time

Time to anty up a few bucks to help the Kerry folks defeat GW in the Fall. He'll need all the money he can get and then some. You can contribute here . Just $25 will help but if you're one of the fat cats, a few more bucks might help even more. :)

Word of the Day
scuttlebutt Half of a barrel, filled with soapy water and kept next to the main mast, where crew members went to clean up. Since each crew was often restricted to a particular location on the ship, this was the only location where members of different gangs could exchange information 

Time To Hit the Appalachian Trail Again!

Thruhikers have started up along the Appalachian Trail again. Some 40 had left Springer Mountain, north of Atlanta as of Feb. 20th. 1750 northbound thruhikers started the trail last year, down somewhat from the peak back in 2000 when some 2875 started. Of those 1750 who started last year, 352 made it the whole way. 291 went southbound with 45 finishing the whole trail. The trail covers 2174 miles and crosses 14 states. Janet and I hiked some 1800+ miles of it back in '95 and if we ever get healthy again, we might just finish it! For a bit of history:

First reported thru-hiker
In 1948, Earl V. Shaffer became the first to report a thru-hike, walking the entire Trail from Georgia to Maine. He hiked again—this time from Maine to Georgia—in 1965. On his third thru-hike, 50 years after his first, he became the oldest thru-hiker at age 79.

Youngest thru-hiker
A 6-year-old boy became the youngest person to hike the A.T. when he completed a flip-flop thru-hike with his parents in 1980. Twenty-two years later, in 2002, another 6-year-old boy completed a flip-flop thru-hike with his parents and 8-year-old sister

Youngest female thru-hiker
The youngest female to thru-hike the A.T. was 8 when she completed hiking the Trail in 2002 as part of a family group.

Oldest Female Thru-Hiker
Emma Gatewood, better known as "Grandma Gatewood," mother of 11 children and grandmother of 23, was 67 when she first hiked the Trail in 1955. She completed her second thru-hike in 1957 and became the first person to complete the Trail three times when she finished a section hike in 1964. Yep, she carried that sack and wore Keds!

Multiple hikes
Approximately 100 people have reported hiking the A.T. two or more times; about 25 have reported hiking the A.T. three or more times.

For some good links to trail stories, forums, pictures and ongoing events, try some of these.

Appalachian Trail Conference

Daily Trail Journals of this and past year's Hikers

Wingfoot's Trailplace (WF has hiked the entire trail 7x)

Our Trail Journal from '95

Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association

The Thru-Hiking Papers

Frank Logue's AT Page

Appalachian Tales An Appalachian Trail Education Project 

For the Lover of Words

Dictionaries
Check out this interesting compendium of dictionaries - you'll surely find something good in here!

Pompeii
Just finished my latest audio book Pompeii . Wonderfully narrated with appropriate Roman voices. Full of suspense, even though you know what will eventually happen - actually that increases the drama. Meticulously researched , you'll learn a lot about aqueducts and volcanos, all while having a great time. From an Amazon blurb about the book

All along the Mediterranean coast, the Roman empire’s richest citizens are relaxing in their luxurious villas, enjoying the last days of summer. The world’s largest navy lies peacefully at anchor in Misenum. The tourists are spending their money in the seaside resorts of Baiae, Herculaneum, and Pompeii.

But the carefree lifestyle and gorgeous weather belie an impending cataclysm, and only one man is worried. The young engineer Marcus Attilius Primus has just taken charge of the Aqua Augusta, the enormous aqueduct that brings fresh water to a quarter of a million people in nine towns around the Bay of Naples. His predecessor has disappeared. Springs are failing for the first time in generations. And now there is a crisis on the Augusta’s sixty-mile main line—somewhere to the north of Pompeii, on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius.

Attilius—decent, practical, and incorruptible—promises Pliny, the famous scholar who commands the navy, that he can repair the aqueduct before the reservoir runs dry. His plan is to travel to Pompeii and put together an expedition, then head out to the place where he believes the fault lies. But Pompeii proves to be a corrupt and violent town, and Attilius soon discovers that there are powerful forces at work—both natural and man-made—threatening to destroy him.

If you want to get started on Audio books, just click the link at the top of the page and you can get a free audio player (will also play .wma or mp3 music files) with a year's subscription to Audible. 2 books a month for $20 - cheap when you consider what you would pay for audio books in a bookstore. Books on tape or on CD often run between $25-$50 each. (or click the link on the right side of this page and save $100 on an Ipod). And with an an Audible audio player, you just download books - no tapes or cd's to lug around. You can check out some of the books I've read in the last year on the right side of this page - click on the links and you'll see what the price is, if you are not an Audible listener. Then imagine getting that book for just $10! A wonderful service - especially useful if you are driving lengthy distances to work or are working out at the gym on treadmills or anywhere that you are doing something mindless and could be enriching your mind at the same time.

Master and Commander

Now on to the Patrick O'Brian series and the first book in his series. Wonderfully narrated by Patrick Tull, an old salt if there ever was one, great prose and a whole new world of terminology. I'm already prowling the Net for naval terms. Did find a great sight at this link describing his books and so much more. Most of you are familiar with the recent movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, starring Russell Crowe. That was the 10th in the series, so I've got some reading to do before I go see the movie. :) Check out the book jacket covers and an interesting article by Robert O'Harrow in the Washington Post.

Back to brushing up on my naval terms!

Word of the Day:
Gerrymander - To divide (a geographic area) into voting districts so as to give unfair advantage to one party in elections. And for a bit of word history regarding this strange word:

WORD HISTORY “An official statement of the returns of voters for senators give[s] twenty nine friends of peace, and eleven gerrymanders.” So reported the May 12, 1813, edition of the Massachusetts Spy. A gerrymander sounds like a strange political beast, which it is, considered from a historical perspective. This beast was named by combining the word salamander, “a small lizardlike amphibian,” with the last name of Elbridge Gerry, a former governor of Massachusetts—a state noted for its varied, often colorful political fauna. Gerry (whose name, incidentally, was pronounced with a hard g, though gerrymander is now commonly pronounced with a soft g) was immortalized in this word because an election district created by members of his party in 1812 looked like a salamander. According to one version of gerrymander's coining, the shape of the district attracted the eye of the painter Gilbert Stuart, who noticed it on a map in a newspaper editor's office. Stuart decorated the outline of the district with a head, wings, and claws and then said to the editor, “That will do for a salamander!” “Gerrymander!” came the reply. The word is first recorded in April 1812 in reference to the creature or its caricature, but it soon came to mean not only “the action of shaping a district to gain political advantage” but also “any representative elected from such a district by that method.” Within the same year gerrymander was also recorded as a verb. (Word history courtesy of Gurunet)