Monday, September 29, 2003

Salon.com Life | Falling down

Salon.com Life | Falling down: "Several months ago, my husband and I received two rebate checks simply for having children, all part of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, an economy-stimulating incentive. Congress approved this quickie tax cut so we'd all go out and buy Pottery Barn lamps and Gap boot-cut trousers and then presumably the economy, and we, would be saved. Instead, I cashed the checks, paid off some bills, and then tucked my dignity under my arm and went to file for food stamps. "

Sunday, September 28, 2003

BBC NEWS | Americas | 'My son didn't want to go to war'

BBC NEWS | Americas | 'My son didn't want to go to war': "BBC World services Newshour program's spoke to one woman, Lynn Bradach, whose 21-year-old son, Travis, was killed in Iraq while serving in the Marines. He was one of more than 150 Americans who have died there since the end of the war. "



Although you can read the interview on the BBC site, I recommend that you listen to it - it is a very emotional interview - especially when Lynn describes how she learned about her son's death. (Most of these details are omitted from the printed interview.)



"I was having a fun day at work. Then I checked my cell phone voice mail. It was a message from my son, Nick. 'Mom there are two Marines here at the house.'"

U.S. Incomes Fell, Poverty Rose in 2002 (washingtonpost.com)

U.S. Incomes Fell, Poverty Rose in 2002 (washingtonpost.com): "U.S. household incomes declined for the third year in a row, and nearly 1.7 million people in the country fell into poverty as the economy recovered sluggishly from the 2001 recession, the U.S. Census Bureau reported yesterday."

Friday, September 19, 2003

Popular Science | The Worst Jobs in Science

Popular Science | The Worst Jobs in Science:"Science is full of inquisitive people who take great pleasure in doing jobs that others would not touch with a 10-foot pole—and the world is indisputably a better place for their efforts. We're grateful that someone out there is doing these jobs. Even more grateful that it isn't us."

Yahoo! News - Wayward Chipmunk Hitches Ride to Calif.

Yahoo! News - Wayward Chipmunk Hitches Ride to Calif.: "The animal was 'dehydrated, very scared and stressed out' after the three-day roadtrip" - I know that feeling!

BBC NEWS | Europe | Clinton to open Srebrenica memorial

BBC NEWS | Europe | Clinton to open Srebrenica memorial: "It is fitting that the man who did so much to end the war should open the memorial that will ensure that the victims of this massacre - indeed all the victims of this terrible war - are not forgotten,' Mr Ashdown said. "

Thursday, September 18, 2003

CBC News: Five-second food rule fails microbiology test

CBC News: Five-second food rule fails microbiology test: "A high school senior in the U.S. has dealt a blow to the gastronomic principle known as the five-second rule. "

Cookie jar leads to long-lost brother

OrlandoSentinel.com:: "Bob Kunath recognized something in the way the pixie face of the vintage cookie jar winked at him. It was like it had a secret.

What he didn't know was that he had come upon a secret that would change his life."

JS Online: Cell phones fingered for germ spread

JS Online: Cell phones fingered for germ spread: "Doctors' cell phones and EKG wires are transmitting more than signals: New research suggests they can spread dangerous germs in hospitals."

Wednesday, September 17, 2003

Music Radiohead Rorschach: An innocent fifth grader's picture is worth a thousand-word critical analysis

East Bay Express: "When you listen to Radiohead, you're no longer actually listening to Radiohead -- you're listening to everyone's opinion about Radiohead. It's impossible to separate what you hear from what you've read. You are betrayed by what you know, and you know way too much.



Thus, in order to solicit an honest, undiluted opinion about Radiohead, you'd have to find the proverbial People Living Under Rocks. As People Living Under Rocks are unavailable, let's use fifth graders. "



This is a pretty funny article about Radiohead.

Low Prices, Blighted Suburbs

East Bay Express | News : City of Warts Low Prices, Blighted Suburbs,Contra Costa County wants to ban Wal-Mart's biggest store.: "Contra Costa County wants to ban Wal-Mart's biggest store. The future of retailing and a new kind of poverty are at stake. "

The Bay Area exports computer software, wine and, now, it seems, reality-show contestants.

The Bay Area exports computer software, wine and, now, it seems, reality-show contestants. What makes the region such fertile ground for them?

Tuesday, September 16, 2003

Wired News: Caregiver Tech Slowly Evolves

Wired News: Caregiver Tech Slowly Evolves: "But digital lifestyle technologies are slowly being adapted by the elderly, allowing them to stay longer in their own homes, relieve the burdens of caregivers and, ultimately, reduce their health-care costs."

Comfort Foods Switch Off Stress, Scientists Find

Comfort Foods Switch Off Stress, Scientists Find: "When life is not going so smoothly and people reach for goodies full of fat and sugar, they are doing more than surrendering to cravings. Comfort foods like chocolate cake and ice cream literally blunt the body's response to chronic stress, scientists reported last week. "

Friday, September 12, 2003

The American economy finally seems poised to roar ahead, but ...

New York Times - Business: "The American economy finally seems poised to roar ahead, but unemployment will remain at nearly 6 percent through the elections in November 2004

Thursday, September 11, 2003

Added RSS News Feed

Added a RSS News Feed to the site - so you can read the latest headlines from my website in your news aggregator.



Did this mainly to be compatible with newer blog listing tools like Feedster.

Pudgy pets: Tubby tabbies, portly pooches

Pudgy pets: Tubby tabbies, portly pooches: "America's pets are starting to look like Americans -- overweight. "

Monday, September 08, 2003

Top secret airport files stolen (September 5, 2003)

NEWS.com.au: "Two men of Pakistani-Indian-Arabic appearance presented themselves as computer technicians and were given unfettered access to the airport's top security mainframe room on August 27, a Sydney newspaper reported.
'Inside, they spent two hours disconnecting two computers, which they put on trolleys and wheeled out of the room, past the security desk, into the lift and out of the building,' the paper said."

Will We Look Like the Soviets When We Leave Iraq? (washingtonpost.com)

Will We Look Like the Soviets When We Leave Iraq? (washingtonpost.com): "Well-equipped foreign troops were under daily fire from determined if ragtag guerrillas, and casualties steadily mounted. Much of the world was opposed to the military action, and opposition was especially strong in Muslim countries. Islamic holy warriors were eventually drawn to the fight, bringing funds and increasingly extreme tactics. The occupying forces sought to modernize a traditional Muslim society and do it quickly. They never lost a battle, yet the war wouldn't end.



If this sounds like a description of the challenge facing U.S. forces in postwar Iraq, you're right. But it could just as well describe another war in the same region -- the Soviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan during the 1980s."

Monday, September 01, 2003

Cool Lightning Picture




SF Gate: Multimedia (image): "Lightning strikes in downtown Livermore in this time-exposure photo."

Link Maintenance

Replaced "Lists of Lists" with Library Spot in the reference section.


Replaced "YesterdayLand" with cartoonbank.com.


Changed text link to the Onion to a graphic.

Replaced "SETI stats" with links to web pages that mention this website.

Wired 11.09: PowerPoint Is Evil

Wired 11.09: PowerPoint Is Evil: "Imagine a widely used and expensive prescription drug that promised to make us beautiful but didn't. Instead the drug had frequent, serious side effects: It induced stupidity, turned everyone into bores, wasted time, and degraded the quality and credibility of communication. These side effects would rightly lead to a worldwide product recall."

BoothFinder.com: Built 2000 for $348,128.00, Used once

BoothFinder.com: "Built 2000 for $348,128.00, Used once" - Here is a trade show booth that became an expensive artifact of the Dot Com collapse.