According to the NY Times, a new TV technology is coming after eight long years of debate. It's digital, wireless, local and it offers high-speed Internet access. The FCC approved the technological service last week, referring to it as "multichannel video distribution and data service." Rural areas that cannot get cable could be served. It will supposedly be cheaper than other high-speed internet options. "This will be the Southwest Airlines of subscription television," said Sophia Collier, the president of Northpoint Technology, the small company that originally envisioned the technology. Northpoint (not to be confused with NorthPoint Communications, a bankrupt broadband Internet provider) has long said it could offer 96 digital channels and high-speed Internet access for a total of $40 a month — versus the $80 to $100 that cable companies typically charge now. (You can use the NY Times Login Generator to read the article if you don't already have a free username/password.)
You can download almost any version of Internet Explorer from this page.
Bill says this: "Like most everything else in this life that seems to good to be true, NetFlix doesn't measure up although it often takes afflicted individuals a few months to realize the trap in which they have been ensnared. I myself fell for it. I was able to break free from one side of the trap but am still occasionally afflicted by the other."
"Slidell police said they arrested two car burglars who locked themselves out of their getaway car after breaking into a vehicle owned by a police officer's son. "These guys are wannabe car burglars, but they couldn't even break into their own car to get away," Lt. Rob Callahan said."
Dave, on why he bathed Fuzz, his cat: "Fuzz's hair was getting pretty caked and matted with milk, and she was starting to smell pretty funky, so we decided to give her a bath in the sink today. Amazingly, she actually seemed to enjoy it. Here's some pics." (via Rebecca)
"As the smoke clears from Jenin, many Palestinians slowly — but still privately — will begin to assess the catastrophe. What will they learn? That murdering bombers ultimately draw a devastating Israeli response. That their own leadership that condoned and at times sponsored the terror, and so prompted the war, allows neither dissent nor freedom in formulating its policy — and thus is solely responsible for its own failure. Most will grudgingly admit that 97 percent of the West Bank was a better deal than Jenin and Israeli tanks."
In case you haven't heard, the tornado in Maryland was an F5, with winds in the 261-318 mph range, making it the strongest tornado in Maryland history.
"When he began shooting Star Wars Episode II in an all-digital format, George Lucas imagined that Attack of the Clones could screen in 2,000 digital-projection theaters nationwide. Oh, well. As of the May 16 opening, only 19 screens had the equipment required to do so. Here's where to find them."
TV Guide names Seinfeld as the best TV show of all time. That may be stretching it a bit, but it was good. Hopefully they'll release the episodes on DVD soon.
Good morning. Klez is still coming on strong. Two more copies in the Inbox this morning. Somebody didn't install the free virus software.
I had three more copies of the Klez virus in my Inbox again today. This is one agressive little bug. May I please suggest that all of you boys and girls update your antivirus software? You can even do this for free, if you'd like. As a result of all of this, I'm considering switching to an email client that will neither receive or send email in HTML format.
"Chase Cringely sounds like the name of a NASCAR driver. Chase Cringely was my son. He died this week after 74 days of life, a victim of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). He literally stopped breathing lying in my lap while I did e-mail. There was no sound, no struggle. I just looked down and he was no longer alive. I have no idea whether he had been dead for one minute or 10, but we were unable to revive him. He was never sick, he just died, and now there is a void in our lives that we can never fill."
Soda POP - I let my guard down for two seconds this morning and was promptly nailed! "Will that be all?" the cashier asked. "No, I also want a soda" was my reply. Big Mistake! "Where are you from, New York?" she barks. Dear Readers, for the record, if you happen to find yourself in Mississippi, please refer to all carbonated drinks as "Coke" or be prepared to stand trial for Civil War crimes. "I have some Yankee nieces that say soda", she continued. Disclosure: I was born in Mississippi and moved to New York when I was 19. I lived in NY for almost seven years, then I moved back to MS. While you're travelling, you'll want to keep the following points in mind for future reference. If you're in the Northeast you call it soda. If you're in the Midwest you call it pop. If you're in the South, you call it Coke. If you're in CA, you call it a soft drink. Just kidding. I don't what they call it in CA. Please tell me.
Angelina Jolie's latest movie is getting terrible reviews from a host of critics.
Stadium Pal - When you gotta go, but you wanna stay. I suppose it would also make you feel a little like an astronaut.
"While Segway is being tested -- and heartily applauded -- by the Postal Service, the Atlanta police force and General Electric Co., a small but growing number of medical experts, traffic engineers, consumer advocates and community activists are concerned about their use on sidewalks."
Last night, Brad Watts, Courtney and I went to The 930 Blues Cafe. We really enjoyed it. They have a live band that plays old-school Mississippi Delta Blues. On the weekends, they have guest bands.
Jay Leno said "Last night I was watching TV and I saw one of those shows where they talk to the deceased. Then I realized it was just wife Sharon trying to talk to Ozzy."
"The frightening reality of the Middle East and terrorism now is this: These murderous young men and their masters are not motivated by politics or even the religion they hide behind. They want nothing that any politician or god can give them. They got exactly what they wanted on Sept. 11, and they are getting exactly what they want right now: a body count. It doesn't matter to them whether the bodies include fellow Arabs or Muslims, or whether the carnage produces political gains for Palestinians."
One Invasion Won't Be Enough - "Such an attack would result in a certain mass Israeli nuclear weapons city-busting strike on its present and potential enemies. This would not be in America's interest so defanging Hezbollah has to be high on our priority list. Which means goodbye Syria as it is one of Hezbollah's two major state patrons."
This guy didn't like it very much when some teens TP'd his yard. "Are you feeling lucky, punk?"
I think I'll pass on this recipe. Can you imagine telling your guests what you're going to be serving when they ask?
"Iraq Watch is a comprehensive web site devoted to monitoring Iraq's progress in building weapons of mass destruction. Iraq Watch describes key Iraqi organizations and sites, lists their foreign suppliers, and provides access to U.N. and other documents that describe Iraq's activities. Iraq Watch welcomes inquiries and comments from policy makers, scholars, journalists and the general public."
Behind Enemy Lines is now available on DVD. This is a 'guy movie' to be watched on a Friday night while drinking beer. Is it intelligent? No. Is it fun? Most of the time.
"Covert U.S. military units have been conducting reconnaissance operations in Pakistan in recent weeks and participated in attacks on suspected al Qaeda hide-outs there, opening a new front in a shadowy war being waged by the United States along the mountainous Afghan-Pakistan border, according to U.S. military officials."
American Obesity Association - "Obesity is not a simple condition of eating too much. It is now recognized that obesity is a serious, chronic disease. No human condition — not race, religion, gender, ethnicity or disease state — compares to obesity in prevalence and prejudice, mortality and morbidity, sickness and stigma."
There were two virus-infected emails in my Inbox this morning. Probably the Klez virus. Thanks. UPDATE: I just recieved a third copy of Klez.
Sheryl Crow's new album debuted at number two on the album chart this week. After listening to the album a couple of times, I can recommend it. It's good driving music.
John Ivers loves roller coasters, so he built a real one in his southern Indiana yard! It's a real, working roller coaster 180 feet long, 20 feet high, and complete with a 360-degree corkscrew. It goes over his steeply angled barn roof and wraps around a nearby Chinese elm.
"Ultimately, the people who run Microsoft could decide to delete all the source code and go home. Microsoft is a private enterprise run for fun and profit. If you take the fun and profit out of it, why bother?" (via Dave)
More chickens coming home to roost: Despised Construction Foreman Slain with Pickax
"Louisville comedian Tom Mabe went undercover at a telemarketing convention in the nation's capitol Monday to turn the tables on an industry he loves to hate. He was on the phone calling telemarketers in their hotel rooms before dawn Monday. He called the conference attendees in the middle of the night offering to sell them a sleep aid and pretending he was calling on behalf of the "Telemarketers with Insomnia Foundation." None of the people who picked up the phone were amused, with most hanging up and calling him a jerk."
"Osama bin Laden's failure to appear on video or audio tapes recorded since December may indicate the al Qaeda leader is dead, sick or on the run, but senior intelligence analysts yesterday suggested it also could be part of a strategy to make his reappearance more dramatic when timed to another terrorist attack."
Victor Davis Hanson, on Sharon: "A corrupt international community that ignored thousands who were beheaded, incinerated, and blown apart in the Congo, Bosnia, India, and Rwanda has demonized him for a "massacre" in which less than a 100 Palestinians were killed in efforts to apprehend the murderers among them."
If you don't already think that pop music sucks, just take a look at Spin Magazine's Top Forty list. I rest my case. (via FrostBitten, aka The Girl with The Purple Neon)
Heather is pulling the plug on Dooce.com. She promises to return to the web under an assumed name.
James Lileks tells us about his trip to Target: "I came across many new promotional foodstuffs: SpiderMan cereal, Episode Two cereal, and “Attack of the Clones” Ruffles as well. If there isn’t any Yoda Soda (burp you will, yes) there will be soon. It would be possible, I think, to spend a day consuming nothing but Episode Two comestibles. But it’s all kid stuff. I want liquor tie-ins! Dark Side Stout. Skyywalker Vodka. Palpatine Port."
"It makes me roll my eyes every time one of our pundits waxes poetic about the great history and culture of the Muslim Mideast. Unless I'm missing something, the Arabs haven't given anything to the world since Algebra, and, by the way, thanks a hell of a lot for that one."
I enjoyed Jeff Jarvis' post entitled Brush With Infamy. Jeff notes how Bill Cosby (and others) reacted when he published negative remarks about their TV shows.
Bill Gates took the witness stand today, telling a federal judge that antitrust sanctions sought by nine states would cripple Microsoft and set its Windows operating system back 10 years. I'm sorry, but I just don't buy that line of reasoning.
"The Board of Directors of Segway LLC (www.segway.com) today announced that George T. Muller, former president of Subaru of America Inc., has been named president of the company effective May 1, 2002. Segway, which announced its product in December 2001, is the company that developed and manufactures the Segway HT, a self-balancing, electric-powered transportation device."
TCM will air Billy Wilder's 'Double Indemnity' tonight at 8 PM CDT. If you've never seen it, tune in. Here is Ebert's review from his 'Great Movies' list.
There are some conclusions that can be drawn from this photo. I will allow you to draw them.
"Does common sense even matter any more?" Ernie the Attorney talks about the renewed debate surrounded deep linking.
The Empire Bounces Back - "Those who stayed wondered aloud whether Lucas, a famously stubborn CEO, would listen to all the people begging him to change course before he tainted a franchise adored above and beyond all others. According to sources close to the Big Kahuna, the answer is yes, George was listening."
"On the Golf Channel, no one blames America for everything bad that happens to them. In golf, you alone are responsible for what happens to you. No whining is allowed on the Golf Channel. Your ball ended up in a divot or took a crazy bounce? Too bad, that's golf — that's life. Unlike on CNN, Fox or MSNBC, where guests can wail that whatever went wrong was caused by an American conspiracy, on the Golf Channel they tell you to get over it and move on." (Thomas Friedman, NY Times, Free Registration Required)
Who Cares What You Think? Blog, and Find Out - Howard Kurtz weighs in on blogdom, but completely ignores all of the blogs that are not political, namely the original bloggers.
Dark Victory - "An inside look at the new "Star Wars" episode: how the young Darth Vader fell in love and George Lucas rediscovered the heart and soul of his epic series."
Last night, Courtney and I went to the new mall and did a little shopping. I bought a shirt and the new Sheryl Crow CD. I've listened to half of the disc and so far I'm impressed.
I'm downloading Mozilla RC1 on my screaming fast 56k modem! I'm going to install it and report back to Perlboy with the results of my test drive.
"This past week, President Bush returned to his Axis of Evil rhetoric, and we were glad to hear it. But words aren't enough anymore. It's time to act. We need to begin right now taking practical and visible steps toward the removal of Saddam Hussein. It's surely time to order the Pentagon to prepare a battle plan that can be executed before the end of this year. Time to instruct the secretary of state that his top priority now is preparing allied support for action against Iraq. Time to begin the serious arming and training of the Iraqi opposition. Time to rid the Middle East of a vicious predator who is working full time to get a nuclear bomb." - Bill Kristol, The Weekly Standard
We're now using DirecTV at home, rather than Suscom digital cable. Our motivations for switching were price and channel selection. DirecTV offers two Spanish-language channels, TCM and FX, all of which were unavailable with Suscom. We cannot get local channels through DirecTV at this time, but these channels will be available within 24 months. I'm keeping an open mind about the satellite/cable war, and I will report back with my opinion after testing DirecTV for a few months. NOTE: If you use the right installer, the equipment and installation are free. Why? The installer is paid by Hughes for each unit that they sell. The installers that charge for the equipment and the installation are merely padding the price to increase their profits.
Shameless Product Plug: Sunsweet Dried Plums - These are hands-down the best prunes that I've ever eaten.
Victor Davis Hanson tell us, "And so like the twilight of communism, the day of the Arab strongmen is nearing an end."
The Engineer - "He was hiding with only his arm visible as he tried to throw a 'kwa' -- a home-made pipe bomb -- at a tank. Shrapnel from a shell severed it, he says. But as a bomb-maker, one of the most highly respected positions in the Palestinian resistance, he could equally have lost the arm in less glorious circumstances: in one of the explosions that are a professional hazard of his job. Omar admits he is one of only a few dozen fighters not to emerge either dead or in plastic handcuffs from the fiercest battle waged by the Palestinians during the Israeli army's invasion of the West Bank."
It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time! (via MeFi) Who says the internet isn't fun? (Flash Required)
Jay Leno says "...it was so hot in Boston that priests were sweating and not being accused of anything!"
"Crediting sales of its Windows XP operating system, shipment of Visual Studio .NET and .NET Framework units, and the global launch of its Xbox game console, Microsoft announced Thursday that it took in revenue of $7.25 billion in its fiscal third quarter, resulting in a net profit of $2.74 billion, up from last year's $2.45 billion."
"The General Accounting Office has found that departing Clinton aides vandalized the White House and Old Executive Office Building, stealing two historic doorknobs, scrawling obscene graffiti on walls and inflicting $14,000 worth of damage."
Jonah Goldberg: "Which brings us to Iraq. Of all the artificial nations of the Middle East, Iraq is the most bogus. Even the name "Iraq" reveals the wishful thinking of its architects. It means ''well-rooted country.'' Of course, it's not well rooted. Shiite Muslims form the majority of the country (assuming Saddam hasn't killed enough to put them in the minority). The Kurds comprise another fifth of the Iraqi "population" (the quotation marks are there because it's not clear that Saddam thinks the Kurds qualify as Iraqis, which is why he was so cavalier about gassing them). When Col. Edward House, an adviser to Woodrow Wilson, looked at the British plan for Iraq, he told the president, 'They are making a breeding place for future war.'"
Tony Woodlief gives us an excerpt from a pre-takeoff cell phone coversation. LOL!
The FDA has approved yet another method to correct vision problems. The new method, called conductive keratoplasty, is used to correct farsightedness, and is less invasive than laser surgery. I'm going to wait until they've perfected these corrections and then possibly give it a try.
"An accused flasher told an Oslo court that he unzipped his pants in public because he had a wasp in his trousers. The court found his version of events hard to believe."
"The five brightest planets visible from Earth have lined up in plain sight to form a spectacular celestial array that won't be seen again until 2040. Through the next four weeks, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Saturn and Venus will appear tightly clustered in the western sky, forming a knot of planets that can be viewed in the evening despite the glow of light-soaked cities."
Virtual Nose Hair Plucking - If you're under 25, you probably have no clue what this is all about.
Regarding Gore's speech in Florida this past Saturday, Rich Galen writes: "If you have seen footage of Mr. Gore in shirtsleeves you know that he was sweating when he began the speech and continued to sweat throughout the speech. Someone said given the fact that he had nothing new in his speech, it should have been titled "Sweatin' to the Oldies" and he should immediately announce Richard Simmons as his Vice Presidential running mate."
"The record industry's legal victory over Napster last year has neither stopped the trading of free music online nor halted a slide in music sales. A new generation of free music exchanges has blossomed in place of Napster, which was forced offline by a California court in July and has yet to return. So the record companies have found themselves back in courtrooms worldwide and are facing a more complicated set of legal questions." No duh. The link is to a NY Times article, so free registration is required.
"Intelligence officials have assembled what they believe to be decisive evidence, from contemporary and subsequent interrogations and intercepted communications, that bin Laden began the battle of Tora Bora inside the cave complex along Afghanistan's mountainous eastern border. Though there remains a remote chance that he died there, the intelligence community is persuaded that bin Laden slipped away in the first 10 days of December."
Jeff Jarvis, on the Lottery: "It's a tragedy to steal this money from the poor. It's a tragedy to waste it on the stupid."
"State and local police called to investigate an apparent homicide Monday discovered that the body bound in a blanket actually was a life-sized doll. Police welcomed the revelation with a sense of relief and a measure of sheepishness after mobilizing no fewer than 20 public safety officials, ranging from the state medical examiner to Maine State Police homicide investigators."
Deaf Like Me? "It's hard to imagine a starker example of parental selfishness than wanting your child to be disabled because you want her to be just like you. But these parents don't see it that way. They subscribe to the credo of the ''Deaf Pride'' movement, which holds that deafness is not a disability but a culture to be valued - no different from being black or Chinese."
MCI To Offer Flat-Rate Package - "MCI Group announced yesterday that it would offer a package of local and long-distance telephone service in 32 states for a flat fee of as little as $50, as the telephone giant seeks to respond to tougher competition. The new unlimited-calling plan will cost between $49.99 and $59.99 a month. The company plans to broaden the rollout to all 50 states and the District of Columbia by the end of the year."
CD Zapping - "Take one CD, Microwave at full power for 5 seconds, and place on top of tesla coil. Enjoy!" (Thanks, Joe!)
Lost in the Wilderness - "As this magazine went to press on April 12, Secretary of State Colin Powell was in Jerusalem, where Yasser Arafat's Al Aksa Brigades had just set off another deadly bomb. This was only a day before Powell's planned meeting with Arafat. Amazingly, though it postponed any meeting for at least a day, the Bush administration still seemed inclined to have the American secretary of state meet with this terrorist leader. We don't use that term flippantly, as hyperbole, or even as an insult to Yasser Arafat. We are simply being descriptive: Arafat is a terrorist."
"John Cusack will star in the long delayed adaptation of the John Grisham novel "The Runaway Jury," while Naomi Watts is considered the front-runner to play the female lead."
"Universal Pictures has begun principal photography on The Hulk, the feature film based upon one of Marvel Comics' most memorable and popular superhero series and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) from a screenplay by James Schamus."
Dan Bricklin has had an opportunity to ride the Segway. He's written two pages about the experience, considering the pros and cons.
If you Google for 'Donny', I'm number nine. A couple of weeks ago, I was number twenty-four.
"One day after a federal jury found him guilty of bribery, racketeering and tax evasion, Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. announced Friday that he would run for re-election and appeal the verdict."
Monopoly Cards We'd Like to See, by DribbleGlass. I got a kick out of these.
"A tour guide who called himself Shraga witnessed the attack. "The bus stopped and an explosion took place on the right side of the bus, windows smashed, fruit and vegitables were spread all over," he said. "It was all black where the explosion was... then I saw people with no head and no arms."
Traficant was found guilty. I suppose he'll hire a real lawyer next time. Have you seen his website? It's a real hoot! Of course, his hair is even more of a hoot!
Here's an 'in your face' quote by Condi Rice: "The Iraqis need revenues and we ought to remind them that they're going to have a hard time eating their oil." (via Jay)
Jamie Glazov offers Ten Tips on How to be An Arafat Apologist. Here's an excerpt that I found amusing: "Don’t lose any sleep over the fact that explosives of the specific type used by Palestinian suicide bombers have been found in Palestinian police stations all over the "occupied" territories. Also don’t concern yourself with the fact that 500 Palestinians were just recently arrested in and around Arafat's compound and that dozens of them were on Israel's lists of most-wanted terrorists. Arafat was obviously still trying his best to track these people down. The reason he couldn’t find them was that they were cleverly hiding in his office while he was desperately patrolling the West Bank looking for them."
"Sarah McLachlan gave birth to a baby girl on Saturday. The baby, named India, and McLachlan, 34, were both in good health. McLachlan, who was born in Halifax, now lives in Vancouver with Ashwin Sood, her husband and the drummer in her band. She has been on hiatus since announcing her pregnancy last October, though a new album is in the works." I'm really looking forward to her next album. The last one was brilliant.
To the lunatics who claim that a plane did not crash into the Pentagon on 9/11, James Robbins offers his eyewitness account: "The Pentagon is about a mile and half distant in the center of the tableau. I was looking directly at it when the aircraft struck. The sight of the 757 diving in at an unrecoverable angle is frozen in my memory, but at the time, I did not immediately comprehend what I was witnessing. There was a silvery flash, an explosion, and a dark, mushroom shaped cloud rose over the building. I froze, gaping for a second until the sound of the detonation, a sharp pop at that distance, shook me out of it. I shouted something both extremely profane and sacrilegious..." (via Matt Welch)
"A Hamas official is conceding that a large number of his warriors surrendered their weapons. When these fearsome fighters ran out of ammunition, they stopped fighting. And they were unwilling (or unable) to give their own lives. This would seem to undermine the conventional wisdom about Hamas and other terrorist organizations--namely, that military victory over them is not possible, and that combat only leads to "desperation" and more violence."
"The eagerly awaited premiere of George Lucas' "Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones" will comprise two private afternoon showings for children and families affected by Sept. 11. An evening screening — open to the public, with tickets going for $500 to $1,000 — will be a fund-raiser for the Children's Aid Society, it was announced yesterday."
Baseball: In case you haven't noticed, the Detroit Tigers suck. That's right, they're 0 and 8. They haven't won a single game all season.
Swiss Cheese Update - There are eleven unpatched holes in IE. Great. UPDATE: More!
Fred Barnes weighs in with Lost in the Shuffle - "Yet what's overlooked is that for the past three decades Palestinian terrorism against Israel is the one enduring fact of life in the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians under Arafat's leadership. Arafat was implicated in the 1972 killing of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. He ordered the killing of the American ambassador and others in Sudan in the 1970s. He was behind hijackings and killings in the 1980s. And the terrorism has continued except for the three years when Benjamin Netanyahu was Israel's prime minister. It all but stopped then because Netanyahu sent word to Arafat he would be "taken out" if terrorist attacks persisted."
First, it was the record companies, now a few greedy authors are whining like babies. Give me a break. Rebecca says it "smells like the RIAA". Hah! Great way to put it. I couldn't agree more.
"Andrea Yates' mother and brothers asked prosecutors Wednesday to file criminal charges of negligence against a psychiatrist who treated the Houston homemaker in the weeks before she drowned her children."
"The next time 8-year-old Katie Smith says there's a tiger next door, maybe people will listen. Katie was playing in the back yard of a home in Westbury on Sunday when she heard a bellowing roar from behind the fence. With an 8-year-old's natural curiosity, she peeked through the fence. Staring back was Colby, a 500-pound Bengal tiger."
"Peter Markovina, 19, the morning manager of a Pizza Hut in Norwin Towne Center, was arrested last night and charged with armed robbery. Authorities say he held up a Parkvale Savings and Loan branch office at 90 Malts Lane, just 100 yards from the pizza parlor where he worked."
Glenn Reynolds has written an article for Tech Central Station about blogging: All Tomorrow's Media
A company's internal MP3 server has cost them $1 million! Scary, indeed.
Inventing the Future - "Weblogs aren't just the next generation of personal home pages, representing a return to text over design and, lightweight content management systems. They are also a platform for experimentation with the way the Web works: collective bookmarking, virtual communities, tools for syndication, referral, and Web services."
Drudge is reporting that an extremist Islamic group claims that Osama is alive and well. Yeah, right. Why wouldn't he say so himself, if it were true?
It's Working - "There is a virtual consensus in the American media that Israel's military operation in the West Bank will invariably fail. An editorial in today's Washington Post condemns "Ariel Sharon's futile attempt to end terrorist attacks with a military invasion and confinement of Yasser Arafat." A funny thing, though--everybody was so busy talking about the futility of the Israeli operation that nobody has noticed its one, unambiguous success: a sharp decline in the suicide bombings. There hasn't been a suicide bombing since Monday, and that one injured one person and killed nobody. This suggests that the assumption underlying all the coverage of the West Bank--that Sharon's operation is bound to fail--may be entirely wrong. Indeed, if the Israeli campaign can substantially reduce suicide bombings, the entire moral calculus underlying it changes."
Do-It-Yourself DSL is No Pipe Dream - "Carl Oppedahl has long felt the same way about his Colorado neighborhood and Qwest. Here's the difference between us, though: Oppedahl isn't just whining about his dearth of DSL; he's going out and rolling his own."
Tony Woodlief - "What journalists routinely fail to do when reporting government school teacher salaries is adjust them for time actually spent working (or if many of my former teachers were a guide, pretending to work). While the rest of us spend most of our summers earning a living, teachers have that time free. Given their nine-month work periods, that average $43,000 salary amounts to $29.86 an hour, compared to $15.80 an hour for the average American worker. The teacher's unions are fond of claiming, however, that their compensation should be compared to that of other professionals, and not to average workers. So let's consider their claim. If they want to be paid like other professionals, then it is only fair to point out three critical areas where they are currently protected from the market forces that most professionals face..."
"From the beginning, Arafat's tactics of terror were audacious: blowing up airplanes in midair; taking children hostage in schoolhouses; skyjackings; hijacking of buses; shootouts and bombings in crowded airports, theaters, terminals, markets, beaches, restaurants, wedding halls. His most daring moment was during the 1972 Munich Olympics, in which eleven Israeli athletes lost their lives."
Bumbling Gumbel - "In a move that shook the news industry, Bryant Gumbel announced he is leaving his job as co-host of the CBS "Early Show." For the rest of America, however, life continues on pretty much as usual. Mr. Gumbel's departure should not be a surprise. The CBS program consistently lags in the ratings, often finishing third behind NBC and ABC. The reason for this, in my opinion, is Mr. Gumbel himself. The reason for this, in my opinion, is Mr. Gumbel himself. He has the reputation of being hopelessly left wing and rarely, if ever, tries to hide his political leanings."
Israeli Prime Minister Sharon to Bush: Stay the...up out my bizz-nass. It will be interesting to see how this will play out. You have to wonder if perhaps the U.S. is privately giving Sharon the green light to wage their own war on terrorism, while publicly asking him to withdraw his troops.
We saw High Crimes and we enjoyed it. Was it a great film? No. Ashley Judd was particularly good, but the script could have used a slight injection of intelligence and clarity. Would I watch it again? Yes. I'll give it a 6.5 out of a possible 10. Note: Ashley Judd needs to start eating. She suffers from wrinkles that would disappear if she gained ten or fifteen pounds.
Michael Barone says, "It is often said that we cannot prosecute a war against Iraq until there is a solution to the Palestinian problem. But actually it is the other way around. We cannot get a solution to the Palestinian problem until we have successfully prosecuted the war against Iraq."
"A 608-pound black bear killed in a collision with a minivan is the largest ever found in the state, wildlife officials said."
"A Port Charlotte woman driving home ran over an alligator, which then bit through her car's bumper and lifted the vehicle off the ground."
Which state stamp do you like best? My favorite is Colorado. How about that Wisconsin stamp? Moo!
"Al-Qaida and Taliban forces are distributing pamphlets that offer rewards for dead or captured Westerners and threaten Afghans who support the U.S.-led coalition, U.S. Army officials said Friday. Maj. Iris Hurd said leaflets have been found in the last few weeks that offer $50,000 for a Westerner delivered dead and $100,000 for one who is alive."
Courtney and I watched K-PAX (IMDB/Ebert), starring Kevin Spacey, last night. We both enjoyed it. We found it quite absorbing. The story managed to hold our interest from start to finish. Admittedly, we would have preferred a more satisfying ending.
Local News: "Dozens of Mississippians are paying at least $1,000 to eat breakfast with Vice President Dick Cheney at a fundraising today for 3rd District Rep. Chip Pickering." This breakfast is being held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, only a couple of blocks from here. I feel like I'm working near 'an undisclosed location'.
"When is Microsoft going to recognize the fact that people want Service Packs to fix bugs, not add new features and NEW bugs?"
Early Puberty Linked to Shampoos - What? This is nuts! (No pun intended.)
"A woman pleaded guilty to insurance fraud after she was caught on video participating in an aerobics class while receiving disability payments, authorities said Thursday."
Essentially, is there any real difference between these people and the KKK? It's hard to tell from the photo.
Blogger is free, and it sucks like a free service. I've said it, so there it is. If I want to blog like the big boys, I'm gonna have to upgrade to Movable Type. The various Blogger quirks and outages are beginning to drive me nuts!
Bombers Gloating in Gaza - "By their estimation, the organization's two recent attacks — the one at a Seder on Passover night in a Netanya hotel that killed 25 people, and the other in a Haifa cafe that killed 15 — were the most successful they have ever made. That is true partly, Mr. Shanab said, because Hamas is now using weapons-grade explosives instead of home made bombs manufactured using fertilizer, a fact the Israelis have confirmed."
It's hard to believe that Saturday-morning cartoons are dying off. I have fond memories of getting up early on Saturday mornings to watch Bullwinkle and Looney Tunes.
Antidote to the Liberal Monotone: Blogging - Norah Vincent talks about blogging. (via Instapundit)
"At least it had heated rear windows--so your hands would stay warm while you pushed."
Stop the Dream of an 'Arab Bomb' - "Here is the certainty: When Iraqi scientists present their dictator with the bomb on a given morning, it will detonate over Israel that afternoon. For those smart, civilized strategists who say that Hussein would not endanger his Palestinian brethren, I would like to remind them that he already has killed more than 100,000 of his own people in police actions."
A Letter to Dubya: "Mr. President, it can no longer be the policy of the United States to urge, much less to pressure, Israel to continue negotiating with Arafat, any more than we would be willing to be pressured to negotiate with Osama Bin Laden or Mullah Omar. Nor should the United States provide financial support to a Palestinian Authority that acts as a cog in the machine of Middle East terrorism, any more than we would approve of others providing assistance to Al Qaeda."
"Saddam Hussein has increased money for the relatives of suicide bombers from $10,000 to $25,000. Palestinians say the bombers are driven by a priceless thirst for revenge, religious zeal and dreams of glory — not greed. Since Iraq upped its payments last month, 12 suicide bombers have successfully struck inside Israel, including one man who killed 25 Israelis. The families of three suicide bombers said they have recently received payments of $25,000."
"China's buildup of short-range missiles near its southeastern coast is "threatening" to Taiwan and poses a danger to sea lanes and ports in the region, the Pentagon said yesterday."
Michael Jordan, an old man, stinks it up in a career-low performance. Please retire, again, so that we can remember the glory days. Thank-you.
"Sharon reportedly wants to exile Arafat, the chief fomentor of such fanaticism. If so, why the tentativeness? Sharon should ship Arafat to Europe, where there is much official sympathy for him. Arafat would like today's France, where he could place his phone calls by the light of burning synagogues."
This is one fat dude. For some reason, I thought that all sumo wrestlers were Asian. I was wrong.
"Declaring American mediation in the Middle East a failure, the EU executive urged the United States on Wednesday to stand down as primary peacemaker and let a broad alliance of nations mediate a cease-fire and a durable Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement." This amuses me.
"So after eight weeks of basic, five weeks of infantry advanced training and three weeks of parachute training, more than 50 percent of this group of young soldiers couldn't pass the push-ups, sit-ups and two-mile run."
"Marketed as an after-dinner drink, Utopias MMII is intended to be imbibed in two-ounce servings at room temperature. Koch says, with pride, that Utopias MMII is actually illegal in 15 states, including Utah, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania."
"The Israeli army said Tuesday it has found a letter at Yasser Arafat's compound, written by a militant group to Arafat's chief financial officer requesting enough money to build up to nine bombs a week."
Ken Layne has an idea: How 'Bout Relocating Israel to Mexico? (via Instapundit)
"In the 24 years since Elvis Presley died, people have claimed to see him in Disney World, on Bourbon Street and at seemingly every filling station along Route 66. But as it turns out, he's in Glen Burnie, working the drive-through window at Checkers, serving up a hunka hunka burnin' beef."
Another reason that I don't want to get LASIK surgery: "Of patients who had undergone the two most common types of surgery -- LASIK and PRK -- 58 per cent failed a night vision test, said opthamologist Dr. William Jory of the London Centre for Refractive Surgery in London, England." (via garret)
Remember 'New' Coke? It was such a huge success that Coca-Cola is going to launch another soft drink: Vanilla Coke.
At about 4 AM on Sunday, a 45-year-old woman plowed her car into Target and began driving down the aisles. "Cleanup on aisles six, seven and eight. Stat!" LOL!
You can go here to turn off all of the Yahoo! spam. To everyone complaining about the Yahoo! spam policy: You get what you pay for. What did you expect?