Found an interesting article on Slate about whether to idle or shut off you car. It even goes into whether to warm up your car or just start driving.

Some excerpts:

Today's cars use electronic fuel injectors, which rigorously control the amount of gas delivered to the engine when you hit the ignition. As a result, virtually no fuel is wasted during startup, and only a thimbleful is burned as the car roars to life. So forget about the 30-minute axiom you were raised on - the threshold at which it makes more sense to shut off rather than to idle should be expressed in seconds, not minutes.

The researchers concluded that restarting a six-cylinder engine - with the air conditioner switched on - uses as much gas as idling the same car for just six seconds.

Idling is similarly wasteful in frigid temperatures. Contrary to popular belief, cold-weather drivers needn't warm up their cars for longer than 30 seconds. The best way to raise an engine's temperature to optimal levels is to drive it almost immediately after startup; according to a study by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, a car driven for 12 minutes in 14-degree-Fahrenheit weather will achieve the same temperature as one that idles for 30 minutes. (However, it's best to avoid rapid acceleration during that 12-minute warm-up drive.)

But if we were able to eliminate idling in stop-and-go traffic, the effect could be more dramatic. Right now, it is imprudent (and often illegal) to cut your engine while on public streets. There are automated systems, such as in the vaunted Toyota Prius, that can rapidly turn engines off and on when the car is, say, stopped at a red light or involuntarily "parked" on a bumper-to-bumper freeway; just apply some pressure to the accelerator, and the engine springs back to life. According to the learned folks at Car Talk, the widespread adoption of such technology could reduce our national fuel consumption by as much 10 percent.

more ...

 
Cam Cardow - 26 May 2006

Huh?

What piracy crisis? MPAA touts record box office for 2007 - Ars Technica

... But this sort of thing has become crucial to the MPAA. Take a look at the group's homepage; nearly everything is about copyrights and piracy. The MPAA routinely asserts that the movie business is being decimated by piracy, but the press release announcing the Weekly Reader deal sits just below a far more interesting piece of news (PDF): data that shows the US box office doing its biggest year of business ever in 2007, growing 5.4 percent over 2006 and bringing in $9.63 billion.

more ...

Comcast Must Die - MojoBlog

Comcast, the cable TV giant, has given its customers lots of reasons to hate the company. They've refused to embrace a la carte programming, charged people $2 to stop sending them junk mail, wrecked people's credit reports, falsely advertised its Internet speed and generally abused the people who pay for its services. Comcast's customer service problems are so acute that Advertising Age columnist Bob Garfield started a blog called Comcast Must Die to compile all the gripes about the company from consumers. But Comcast doesn't really need any help generating bad press.

more ...

AT&T's degrading service and my landlord’s ban on Comcast - ZDNet

With all the negative attention headed towards Comcast lately, AT&T's problems seem to be slipping below the radar. Unfortunately for me, those problems are first hand for me as I'm personally suffering degradations in speed. As if getting 1200 Kbps downstream on a so-called 1500 Mbps service and all those outage problems (example here and here) weren't bad enough, my AT&T DSL service has declined. I suppose I could count myself lucky compared to my Mom's neighbor who only got 320 Kbps service after AT&T unilaterally and without permission "upgraded" his bill to the 1500 Mbps service without upgrading his performance.

more ...

Great news for Microsoft: Zunes stolen! - ZDNet

Providing yet another sign that Apple's iPod is the audio and video platform, a policy think-tank on Tuesday said that thefts of the media player have skewed crime statistics. Microsoft wishes it had that publicity.

more ...

The Gaza Bombshell - Vanity Fair

After failing to anticipate Hamas's victory over Fatah in the 2006 Palestinian election, the White House cooked up yet another scandalously covert and self-defeating Middle East debacle: part Iran-contra, part Bay of Pigs. With confidential documents, corroborated by outraged former and current U.S. officials, David Rose reveals how President Bush, Condoleezza Rice, and Deputy National-Security Adviser Elliott Abrams backed an armed force under Fatah strongman Muhammad Dahlan, touching off a bloody civil war in Gaza and leaving Hamas stronger than ever.

more ...

Could a Coffee Maker Be Worth $11,000? - Slate

The New York Times used words like "cult object," "majestic," and "titillating"; the Economist called it "ingenious" and "sleek." The subject of these encomiums is, incongruously, a commercial coffee machine—the Clover 1s, an $11,000 device that brews regular coffee (not espresso) one cup at a time. Could the Clover represent that much of an advance in the state of the coffee art? I had to try it for myself.

more ...

Are you ready? Here is some info for you:

NASA Eclipse page

Perfect Viewing for Wednesday's Total Lunar Eclipse - Wired

CU-Boulder Observatory To Host Lunar Eclipse Viewing

Get ready for the eclipse that saved Columbus - AFP

History's Greatest Gadgets - Wired

It's not all about circuits, silicon and stock options: mankind's been making technology since the dawn of time. Here's ten of the most wonderful gadgets from centuries - and millenia - past. No "ThyPhone" jokes, if you please!

January 31, 2008

Board of Directors
Yahoo! Inc.
701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
Attention: Roy Bostock, Chairman
Attention: Jerry Yang, Chief Executive Officer

Dear Members of the Board:

I am writing on behalf of the Board of Directors of Microsoft to make a proposal for a business combination of Microsoft and Yahoo!. Under our proposal, Microsoft would acquire all of the outstanding shares of Yahoo! common stock for per share consideration of $31 based on Microsoft's closing share price on January 31, 2008, payable in the form of $31 in cash or 0.9509 of a share of Microsoft common stock. Microsoft would provide each Yahoo! shareholder with the ability to choose whether to receive the consideration in cash or Microsoft common stock, subject to pro-ration so that in the aggregate one-half of the Yahoo! common shares will be exchanged for shares of Microsoft common stock and one-half of the Yahoo! common shares will be converted into the right to receive cash. Our proposal is not subject to any financing condition.

Our proposal represents a 62% premium above the closing price of Yahoo! common stock of $19.18 on January 31, 2008. The implied premium for the operating assets of the company clearly is considerably greater when adjusted for the minority, non-controlled assets and cash. By whatever financial measure you use - EBITDA, free cash flow, operating cash flow, net income, or analyst target prices - this proposal represents a compelling value realization event for your shareholders.

We believe that Microsoft common stock represents a very attractive investment opportunity for Yahoo!'s shareholders. Microsoft has generated revenue growth of 15%, earnings growth of 26%, and a return on equity of 35% on average for the last three years. Microsoft's share price has generated shareholder returns of 8% during the last one year period and 28% during the last three year period, significantly outperforming the S&P 500. It is our view that Microsoft has significant potential upside given the continued solid growth in our core businesses, the recent launch of Windows Vista, and other strategic initiatives.

Microsoft’s consistent belief has been that the combination of Microsoft and Yahoo! clearly represents the best way to deliver maximum value to our respective shareholders, as well as create a more efficient and competitive company that would provide greater value and service to our customers. In late 2006 and early 2007, we jointly explored a broad range of ways in which our two companies might work together. These discussions were based on a vision that the online businesses of Microsoft and Yahoo! should be aligned in some way to create a more effective competitor in the online marketplace. We discussed a number of alternatives ranging from commercial partnerships to a merger proposal, which you rejected. While a commercial partnership may have made sense at one time, Microsoft believes that the only alternative now is the combination of Microsoft and Yahoo! that we are proposing.

In February 2007, I received a letter from your Chairman indicating the view of the Yahoo! Board that "now is not the right time from the perspective of our shareholders to enter into discussions regarding an acquisition transaction." According to that letter, the principal reason for this view was the Yahoo! Board's confidence in the "potential upside" if management successfully executed on a reformulated strategy based on certain operational initiatives, such as Project Panama, and a significant organizational realignment. A year has gone by, and the competitive situation has not improved.(1)

While online advertising growth continues, there are significant benefits of scale in advertising platform economics, in capital costs for search index build-out, and in research and development, making this a time of industry consolidation and convergence. Today, the market is increasingly dominated by one player who is consolidating its dominance through acquisition. Together, Microsoft and Yahoo! can offer a credible alternative for consumers, advertisers, and publishers.(2) Synergies of this combination fall into four areas:

• Scale economics: This combination enables synergies related to scale economics of the advertising platform where today there is only one competitor at scale. This includes synergies across both search and non-search related advertising that will strengthen the value proposition to both advertisers and publishers. Additionally, the combination allows us to consolidate capital spending.
• Expanded R&D capacity: The combined talent of our engineering resources can be focused on R&D priorities such as a single search index and single advertising platform.(4) Together we can unleash new levels of innovation, delivering enhanced user experiences, breakthroughs in search, and new advertising platform capabilities. Many of these breakthroughs are a function of an engineering scale that today neither of our companies has on its own.
• Operational efficiencies: Eliminating redundant infrastructure and duplicative operating costs will improve the financial performance of the combined entity.
• Emerging user experiences: Our combined ability to focus engineering resources that drive innovation in emerging scenarios such as video, mobile services, online commerce, social media, and social platforms is greatly enhanced.

We would value the opportunity to further discuss with you how to optimize the integration of our respective businesses to create a leading global technology company with exceptional display and search advertising capabilities. You should also be aware that we intend to offer significant retention packages to your engineers, key leaders and employees across all disciplines.(3a)

We have dedicated considerable time and resources to an analysis of a potential transaction and are confident that the combination will receive all necessary regulatory approvals. We look forward to discussing this with you, and both our internal legal team and outside counsel are available to meet with your counsel at their earliest convenience.

Our proposal is subject to the negotiation of a definitive merger agreement and our having the opportunity to conduct certain limited and confirmatory due diligence. In addition, because a portion of the aggregate merger consideration would consist of Microsoft common stock, we would provide Yahoo! the opportunity to conduct appropriate limited due diligence with respect to Microsoft. We are prepared to deliver a draft merger agreement to you and begin discussions immediately.

In light of the significance of this proposal to your shareholders and ours, as well as the potential for selective disclosures, our intention is to publicly release the text of this letter tomorrow morning.

Due to the importance of these discussions and the value represented by our proposal, we expect the Yahoo! Board to engage in a full review of our proposal. My leadership team and I would be happy to make ourselves available to meet with you and your Board at your earliest convenience. Depending on the nature of your response, Microsoft reserves the right to pursue all necessary steps to ensure that Yahoo!'s shareholders are provided with the opportunity to realize the value inherent in our proposal.(3b)

We believe this proposal represents a unique opportunity to create significant value for Yahoo!'s shareholders and employees, and the combined company will be better positioned to provide an enhanced value proposition to users and advertisers. We hope that you and your Board share our enthusiasm, and we look forward to a prompt and favorable reply.

Sincerely yours,

Steven A. Ballmer
Chief Executive Officer
Microsoft Corporation

* Highlights are from various sources including: ZDNet, AdWeek,
(1) - Laying the ground work for a hostile takeover.
(2) - Google
(3) - Ballmer driving a wedge between the board and stock holders
(4) - need for scale to compete in the digital ad market.

49 years ago "the single most influential creative force in early rock & roll" - as Bruce Eder has said - Buddy Holly died in a plane crash with Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson, "The Big Bopper."

Ready to eat Cheesecake Filling! A Dream come true!

Why even bother buying a shell, you can just eat it straight out of the container.

Now I have something to follow that cheeseburger with.  

OK, we a photo of the Apollo 11 crew left to right - Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot.

Now, check out the pocket just above Michael Collins arm.

Looks like a slide rule to me!

Life-saving program BANNED by the Feds! - ZDNet

Pardon me while I bang my head on my desk Less than 3 weeks ago I wrote about a simple storage device that saved 1500+ lives and over $175,000,000 in just a couple of hundred hospitals out of 3700 nationwide. Now the Feds have ordered the program halted.

Read on ...

Ten Best Technologies and Trends of 2007 - Extremetech.com

Ten Worst Technologies and Trends of 2007 - Extremetech.com

Five desktop Linux highlights of 2007 - DesktopLinux.com

2007: The Miserable Year in Review - John C. Dvorak

The Top 10 New Organisms of 2007 - Wired

THREAT LEVEL's Year in Review - 2007 - Wired

The Year in Oversight:The yeas and nays of Congress' efforts to gavel the Bush administration into order in 2007 - MotherJones

100 things we didn't know last year - BBC

I went to Testcolor.com and did there profile:

You are 47 % extrovert and 53 % introvert.

Independently of any order of importance :

You are intellectual and intelligent, you wonder and you inquire before taking any action.

You are also dynamic, your actions are only directed by your own will and you know how to lead people.

Finely you are creative, you always have new ideas, and your inspiration comes from the inside.

Your attitude towards the environment :

At first, at 37%, you are centered on your thoughts and your actions are determined by your knowledge and your experience.

Then, at a rate of 33%, you are centered on the facts and on the reality of things at 32 %, Your actions depend on the real facts.

Finally, at 28%, you are attached to moral values and feelings, and you have an emotional relation with the environment.

Your highest qualities today :

At 22 %, you are intellectual and intelligent, you keep wondering and inquiring before setting up your next step or defining your values.

At 19 %, you are thoughtful and deep, you think before getting into action and you know how to communicate your knowledge.

At 19 %, you are dynamic and active, you are determined in your actions, you know how to communicate your ideals and your energy, and thus, you know how to boost people.

At 19 %, you are a creative person, with always new ideas, and you know how to apply them.

At 18 %, you are strong-willed and active, your actions are determined by your own will, by the goals you settled to yourself, and by your need to act and move ahead.

Finely, you are creative, you know how to see beauty, you are intuitive and your inspiration comes from the inside, you are open and good communicator, you know how to attract people and engage them.

A Thinkgeek specialty!

Times Person of the Year 2007 - Vladimir Putin

1,800:
Cubic meters of water consumption, per capita, in the U.S. in 2006

300:
Cubic meters of water consumption, per capita, in 15 European Union countries

100:
Cubic meters of water consumption, per capita, in Denmark

From the Rocky Mountain News The Clause Celebre

Primary Photo By Martti Kainulainen / AFP/Getty Images; photo illustration by Chas Chamberlin/The Rocky Mountain News

Can you pick out the famous movie Santas that help make up our St. Nick mosaic? They range from Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation to Tim Allen in The Santa Clause to "Mini Me" Verne Troyer in Jingle All the Way. And that burly-looking dude? Why, it's Hulk Hogan, of course, flexing his way through 1996's Santa With Muscles.

The transistor turns 60 - C|Net

Sixty years ago, on December 16, scientists at Bell Labs--William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain--built the world's first transistor and nothing has been the same since. We'll be covering the anniversary in subsequent articles, but here's a smattering of some of the implications, in somewhat chronological order, of the event ...

If you use Firefox and wish a festive Christmas/Holiday theme, check out Tinseltown. The extent that the author went in taking this theme is incredible.

Tinseltown is a Christmas theme with holiday imagery including Christmas lights, snow, reindeer, presents and more. This theme is made eve better with great Christmas icons from Watiworks and a semi-transparent URL bar. Get in the holiday spirit!

Buddha Banana is just one of a bazillion in the Image Gallery. 

We where watching a bit The Wizard of Oz and started talking about Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. As such, I delved into the internet and happened upon this little photo and just had to pass it along.

The post title is an actual quote from the movie. It was one of many I could have used:

• Heh heh heh heh heh heh!
• And now, my beauties, something with poison in it, I think. Something with poison in it, but attractive to the eye, and soothing to the smell.
• Well, my little pretty, I can cause accidents, too!
• Just try and stay out of my way. Just try! I'll get you, my pretty and your little dog too!
• I'll get you my pretty... and your little dog too!

By the way, pick up Wicked, it's a good read.

La Gare Montparnasse 1895

Harmon/Kardon Computer Speakers
17" LCD Monitor
2004 USPS Champs Elysees Jersey
2005 Discovery Champs Elysees Jersey

On Saturday DARPA Grand Challenge takes place. Driver-less robotic vehicles will attempt to navigate a 60 mile urban setting on the former George AF Base in California. At stake is a $2 Million prize for first place. There are 11 teams that have qualified. Wired magazines Danger Room has a special section just for this event.

Check out Flickr's Jack-o-Lantern gallery

Don't forget:

Get your free taco today at Taco Bell between 2pm and 5pm today!

Check out more images on Best of Worth A

Welcome To Purple Tuesday

Rockies Win The Pennant !

Because of libration you actually get to see 59% of the Moon's surface from Earth.

The animation shows a set of simulated views of the Moon over one month.

Fifty years ago today Russia shocked the world with a little thing called Sputnik1

Sputnik at 50: An improvised triumph - Yahoo News

When Sputnik took off 50 years ago, the world gazed at the heavens in awe and apprehension, watching what seemed like the unveiling of a sustained Soviet effort to conquer space and score a stunning Cold War triumph.

But 50 years later, it emerges that the momentous launch was far from being part of a well-planned strategy to demonstrate communist superiority over the West. Instead, the first artificial satellite in space was a spur-of-the-moment gamble driven by the dream of one scientist, whose team scrounged a rocket, slapped together a satellite and persuaded a dubious Kremlin to open the space age.

And that winking light that crowds around the globe gathered to watch in the night sky? Not Sputnik at all, as it turns out, but just the second stage of its booster rocket, according to Boris Chertok, one of the founders of the Soviet space program.

Read on ...

Procured off of Ubuntu Gallery

I was wondering if he is related to McGruff?

Real Eyes
Realize
Real Lies

Create your own Einstein images @ www.hetemeel.com

As I get ready to empty out my storage unit I come across this article No Sex Please, We're Organizing: A nation of pack rats tries to get it together on Mother Jones.

Here are some tidbits from it:

American women would rather organize their closets than lose weight, according to a 2005 Rubbermaid survey.

1 in 3 ikea customers say they get more satisfaction from cleaning out their closets than from having sex.

75% of L.A. garages are used in ways that preclude any parking.

In 2003, a Bronx man spent two days trapped under his magazines—ranging from Vibe to the Harvard Business Review—before firefighters rescued him.

The average American fridge is twice as big as its European counterpart.

More than 70% of Americans are routinely unable to find matching lids for their 15-plus food-storage containers.

Read on ...

via Wikipedia

Bastille Day is the French national holiday, celebrated on 14 July each year. In France, it is called "Fête Nationale" ("National Holiday"), in official parlance, or more commonly "quatorze juillet" ("14th of July"). It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789; the storming of the Bastille was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern French "nation", and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the First Republic, during the French Revolution.

Read on ...

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Friday occurring on the 13th day of any month is considered to be a day of bad luck in English, German, Polish and Portuguese-speaking cultures around the globe. Similar superstitions exist in some other traditions. In Greece or Spain, for example, Tuesday the 13th takes the same role. In Russia, the unlucky day is Monday[citation needed]. The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia (a word that is derived from the concatenation of the Greek words ... meaning Friday, thirteen, and phobia respectively; alternative spellings include paraskevodekatriaphobia or paraskevidekatriaphobia) or friggatriskaidekaphobia, and is a specialized form of triskaidekaphobia, a phobia (fear) of the number thirteen.

No historical date has been verifiably identified as the origin of the superstition. Before the 20th century, although there is evidence that the number 13 was considered unlucky, and Friday was considered unlucky, there was no link between them. The first documented mention of a "Friday the 13th" is generally listed as occurring in the early 1900's.

However, many popular stories exist about the origin of the concept ...

Read on ...

Be sure to check out the external links. Quite a few of them are rather interesting.

Are you ready for global warming fashion?

In 22 seconds, Krispy Kreme can make a enough donuts to form a stack as tall as the Empire State Building.

Just think of all the holes that are left over.  

FYI - It's Flag Day

Old Glory

Who Designed the original flag?

Saw the Gin Blossoms last night at the Walnut Room.

Favorite quotes (probably not the exact quote, but you'll get the idea):

Jesse Valenzuela - It's nice to be in Denver. You have a drinking problem, but I like you any way.

Robin Wilson:

1. We know about 20 songs and we are going to play most of them tonight
2. Give us a few minutes, we're going to drink our shots and figure out what where playing next. - This was right after Jesse above statement (:

The Walnut Room is a small venue to say the least, it holds maybe 200. Being that small there is not a bad view in the house, unless some tall guy with a big head is in front of you - I think tall people should be regulated to be behind those of us that are vertically challeged. I think I'll call my rep in DC about this. ;) - Anyway, where was I, oh yea, they have an excellent sound system and lights for such a small place - I would definitely suggest ear plugs if you go. Last night was the 2 year anniversary so the included a couple free drinks and free pizza prior to the show.

The pizza was damn good and so was the show.

~ update ~

Forgot to mention Pete's Kitchen for after show breakfast burrito. Nothing like Pete's Kitchen for late night breakfast.

Check out OldAmericanCentury.org

I have summitted my laptop configuration to Linux on Laptops for their consideration.

Now it is wait and see time.

Do you have feelings of inadequacy? Do you suffer from shyness? Do you sometimes wish you were more assertive?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist about Tequila.

Tequila is the safe, natural way to feel better and more confident about yourself and your actions. Tequila can help ease you out of your shyness and let you tell the world that you're ready and willing to do just about anything. You will notice the benefits of Tequila almost immediately, and with a regimen of regular doses you can overcome any obstacles that prevent you from living the life you want to live. Shyness and awkwardness will be a thing of the past, and you will discover many talents you never knew you had. Stop hiding and start living, with Tequila.

Tequila may not be right for everyone. Women who are pregnant or nursing should not use Tequila. However, women who wouldn't mind nursing or becoming pregnant are encouraged to try it. Side effects may include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, incarceration, erotic lustfulness, loss of motor control, loss of clothing, loss of money, loss of virginity, delusions of grandeur, table dancing, headache, dehydration, dry mouth, and a desire to sing Karaoke and play all-night rounds of Strip Poker, Truth Or Dare, and Naked Twister.

Tequila. Leave Shyness Behind.

With Ballmers recent FUD about patent threats against Linux (and if anyone knows about stealing intellectual property, it would be MS!) I found Open Source, the Internet and the Decline of Microsoft on drdreg.com an interesting read.

~ update ~

Check out Show Us The Code - an open letter to Steven Ballmer

~ update ~

doofus - I won't be holding my breath waiting on Dell to start selling Linux machines. I think it was just a bunch of hot air.

I have been taking the light rail here in Denver a fair amount recently and I have noticed something odd. In all the stations there are no clocks. There are lighted displays in all the stations that give information, but not the time. It just struck me as odd.

Denver is starting to melt out. It was a gorgeuos 50-55 degrees and sunny all day. Finally was able to sit outside and enjoy lunch at the local drinking establishment. It's been months since I've been able to do that. Sure was nice.

Now, if we could just get a little more melt off, it could be bike ridable around here again.

According to FactCheck.org "The President's facts check out, though he leaves out some inconvenient ones."

Check it out for yourself.

3,000 – Number of Iraqi civilians killed every month. More than 3,000 Americans have also been killed, and more than 22,500 wounded, while serving in Iraq.

15,000 – Number of U.S. troops in Baghdad. A teeming capital city of more than 6 million citizens, Baghdad contains almost 25 percent of Iraq's 26 million people.

60,000 – Possible number of fighters in the Mahdi Army, a militia led by Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Iraq's government has been unwilling or unable to disarm this militia.

141,000 – Total number of U.S. military personnel serving in Iraq. There are also 16,500 military personnel from 27 other countries, including 7,200 from the United Kingdom. Together, they patrol a country about the size of California or Sweden.

3.4 million – Number of Iraqis who have fled their homes. More than half have left the country. The rest have moved within its borders, trying to escape the sectarian violence. Authorities say "sectarian cleansing" is common.

$8 billion – Estimated U.S. costs for the Iraq War, per month. At the end of 2006, the United States had spent more than $400 billion to finance involvement in Iraq.

More than 95 percent – Amount of Iraqi government revenues that come from oil production. Iraq has the world's third largest proven oil reserves, behind Saudi Arabia and Iran. But production remains below prewar levels.

Between 75 and 80 percent – Number of Iraqis who are Arab. Another 15 to 20 percent are Kurdish. About 5 percent are Turkoman, Assyrian, or something else.

Between 60 and 65 percent – Number of Iraqis who are Shi'a Muslims. Between 32 and 37 percent are Sunni Muslims.

More than 60 percent – Number of Iraqis who approve of attacks on American-led forces, according to recent polls.

More than 50 percent – The rate of inflation in Iraq. Unemployment estimates range from 20 to 60 percent.

About 40 percent – Iraq's literacy rate, defined as the percentage of Iraqis age 15 or older who can read and write. For men, the rate is 56 percent. For women, it's 24 percent.

Wishing you and yours
a Joyous Christmas,
Happy Hanukkah,
a prosperous New Year,
peace, love, laughter
and a great good cheer.

Big time winter storm hitting Denver right now.

I made it to work for dinner this evening and breakfast tomorrow. The hotel is full with most of the guest stuck and unable to travel and more walking in looking for rooms.

Fun, fun, fun.

McDonald's has applied for patents in the U.S. and Europe for the "method and apparatus" used in the preparation of the sandwich.

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=26183&in_page_id=34

http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1952246,00.html

PC Magazines 15 Best Places to Waste Time on the Web.

Team Wonderbike - Are you a member yet? Go take the pledge.

These 10 questions are drawn directly from the new naturalization exam of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services bureau. You must correctly answer 6 out of 10 to pass and become a citizen of the United States of America.

1. Name one important idea found in the Declaration of Independence.

2. What is the supreme law of the land?

3. What are the three branches or parts of the government?

4. How many United States senators are there?

5. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?

6. Who is the chief justice of the United States?

7. Name one example of checks and balances.

8. When was the Constitution drafted?

9. What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?

10. What type of economic system does the United States have?

See all 144 questions approved for this exam

Answers:

1. People are born with natural rights or The power of government comes from the people or People can change their government if it hurts their natural rights or All people are created equal

2. The Constitution

3. Legislative, executive, and judicial or Congress, the president, and the courts

4. 100

5. 435

6.John Roberts

7. The president vetoes a bill or Congress can confirm or deny a president's nomination or Congress approves the president's budget or The Supreme Court strikes down a law

8. 1787

9. The Bill of Rights

10. Capitalist economy or Free market or Market economy

I have started listening to KVUC 102.3 FM here in Denver. I ususally listen to KBCO, but KVUC is more diverse / eclectic in there programming. KBCO, as a Clear Channel station, is more formatted than KVUC, who is owned by NRC Broadcasting and owns 2 stations here in Denver and 13 stations in Colorado resort towns.

They are online - www.kcuvradio.com

Small is better.

Peacefire has added https:// support back to the www.StupidCensorship.com site. They found due to a common configuration error where networks are set up so that blocking software only applies to http:// sites and https:// sites past through unfiltered. https://www.StupidCensorship.com

They have also added http://www.TowerOfDonuts.com to their list of circumventor sites. Here are other circumventor sites that as of today still work.

How many members of the Bush administration does it take to change a light bulb?

1. One to deny that a light bulb needs to be changed;
2. One to attack the patriotism of anyone who says the light bulb needs to be changed;
3. One to blame Clinton for burning out the light bulb;
4. One to arrange the invasion of a country rumored to have a secret stockpile of light bulbs;
5. One to give a billion dollar no-bid contract to Halliburton for the new light bulb;
6. One to arrange a photograph of Bush, dressed as a janitor, standing on a step ladder under the banner: Light Bulb Change Accomplished;
7. One administration insider to resign and write a book documenting in detail how Bush was literally in the dark;
8. One to viciously smear #7;
9. One surrogate to campaign on TV and at rallies on how George Bush has had a strong light-bulb-changing policy all along;
10. And finally one to confuse Americans about the difference between screwing a light bulb and screwing the country.

After a sabbatical of a few months I am going to start updating the my lowly weblog again.

I bet you can hardly wait.

How things have changed in the past 91 years - (Cost is today's dollars)

Trust me, when someone invites you over for a beer, this is what you want to see - lots and lots of New Belgium beer !

There is a new Circumventor site at:
http://www.ChemistryNerds.com/
(Note that unlike some other recent ones, this URL begins with 'http' not 'https'.)

This one *does* load images. They're hoping they've secured enough bandwidth to get it to work.

As always, if you find that these sites are too slow or are getting blocked too quickly, you can go to http://www.peacefire.org/circumventor/simple-circumventor-instructions.html for steps to set up your own Circumventor site on your own home computer. If you are in a country where all Internet access is censored, you can send that URL to a friend outside the country and ask them to set up a Circumventor for you.

Every day, eat:
14 ounces of fruits and vegetables
2 1/2 ounces almonds
5 ounces of wine
1 clove of garlic
3 1/2 ounces of dark chocolate (less if you're counting calories)

4 times a week, eat:
4 ounces of fish

via USAWeekend

The confusion has finally ended.

After much trial and error I have finally figured out how to get the font size the same across different browsers. I usually use Firefox and I have always wondered why the font size was smaller when viewing it as apposed to IE or Opera. Finally the cunuderum is over, it's all in the way you specify the size. I have been coding with CSS and have specifying the size using small, x-small ect. Well if you use pixels instead, such as 12px, magically the font size appears the same across the board.

Sweet!

©Ranger Project, NASA

Dude, the moon expires today! (Or, maybe it just needs to be sold by today.)

Man, that is going to one smelly place when George finally gets us back to the moon.

Phew, nothing like old smelly cheese.