Where ARE we headed??!!

So here's an entirely scary concept: Kevin Phillips, in his article The Old Titans All Collapsed. Is the U.S. Next? presents startling evidence that we're gonna have a MAJOR headache a few years from now. Interesting reading.

Landscaping Hardscape

Been thinking about redoing the landscaping at home. The little gardens to the left and right of the front door have gotten NASTY over the years. Weeds everywhere, plants dead or dying, geez. I've taken care of the trees in the front and back yards, replacing the mulch. Looks GOOD! So now it's on to the gardens. I just ADORE this look.....

Trend for Old Folks and Insurance

Mom's trying to figure out which insurance plan to go with for her Medicare/Medicaid/retirement.

She's gotten information from several companies (Humana, BlueCross/BlueShield which she uses now, AARP, and so on). Turns out that all the plans are 95% the same!! She says the presentations and documentation that she's been reading is mostly repetitive, with just a few tweaks here and there between the different companies, and slightly different costs.

I think she's going to stay with the BC/BS plan 'cause none of the others are way different.....

Showing Google Earth in a Browser

Well, they finally did it! You can now use Google Earth in a browser plug-in instead of loading the software application. Go to code.google.com/apis/earth to download. Sweet!!

The Japan Shop

Learning Japanese like I am? Check out The Japan Shop. Very nice folks (Clay and Yumi are their names), very good prices.

They've started doing these little $5 "Instant Downloads" which are quite interesting. It may be a Japanese story (in Japanese, of course!) with flash cards, a PDF of the readings, an audio recording at full speed and a recording where the speaker speaks the words slowly for studying, etc. Or it could be a study guide for Japanese sayings with flash cards, PDF, audio recordings, and so on. I've picked up the ones published so far. They're great, and have helped me learn a lot of Japanese, plus at only $5 per download, it's an economical way to study.

They also sell regular books and dictionaries, electronic dictionary devices, study guides, the JLPT study series, and on and on. They EVEN have free stuff for download!

Check 'em out! (By the way, I'm not affiliated with them in any way, except as a very satisfied customer.)

What's on my playlist now?

Ida Corr's new album, Streetdiva. Be sure to check out the "Let Me Think About It" Club Mix with Fedde Le Grand

Brother's Wedding Anniversary

Today is Rob and Lindy's 24th anniversary. According to about.com, the 24th anniversary is for musical instruments. Hmmmm.....

Spacecraft spies probe parachuting to Martian surface

Very Cool! You can actually see the Phoenix parachuting to the Mars surface!



http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn13981-spacecraft-spies-probe-parachuting-to-martian-surface.html?feedId=online-news_rss20

The Republicans Have Ruined Us

The war, now absurd gas prices? What next -- or should I tempt fate by asking??

Yee ha!

From Joke of the Day

M&M's

An old man and a young man work together in an office. The old man always has a jar of peanuts on his desk, and the young man really loves peanuts.

One day, while the old man is away from his desk, the young man yields to temptation and scarfs down over half of the contents of the jar. When the old man returns, the young man feels guilty and confesses to his crime.

"Don't worry, son. I never eat the peanuts anyway," the old man replies. "Since I lost my teeth, all I can do is gum chocolate off the M&M's."

Need a reason for an HDTV?

Well, you have a few hours to go get one before Discovery HD channel starts its 5-week run of the series 'Planet Earth' tonight at 8pm.

The whole series is done in HD, and as USA Today says, 'it could be that only an IMAX will be enough' to show how great the picture is.

My TiVo is ready and waiting.....

Source: Engadget HD

New "Floating Towers" Project in Singapore

This is insane!! Would YOU live here??





Source: World Architecture News

Vista 90-Day Report

Jeff Jones has published a review of several operating systems during their first 90 days of existence, including Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems.

Here's his chart:



And here's the link to the full report: http://www.csoonline.com/pdf/Vista_Vuln_Report.pdf

Source: CSO OnLine

Ergonomics?

A theory called the "Healthy Worker Effect" supposes that when someone performs a repetitive task for a long time, like lifting heavy boxes or surfing the Web, the person can develop a resistance to problems associated with the activity. The effect may be developmental, according to Harwood, in that children could develop a body structure to handle more ergonomic stress than they would have if they started the task as an adult.

Kids nowadays can spend hours cradling a cell phone with a crooked neck, slumping over a computer game, slouching in front of a PC while text messaging friends and listening to music. And that's on top of time they might spend in school on a PC surfing the Web to research topics and do homework.

Source: News.com

What a Difference 50 Years Makes

Here's the opening quote of the article:

The chief obstacle to the progress of the human race is the human race. - Don Marquis, poet, artist, newspaper columnist, humorist, playwright and author (1878 -1937)

Some of the listed scenarios:

- Mark gets a headache and takes some headache medicine to school
- Mary turns up pregnant
- Pedro fails high school English

Harmless back then, but boy, do they get it now!!

Check it out!

Source: Wikipedia

Bumper sticker

If you aren't completely appalled then you aren't paying attention.

Man dies from crab he was about to cook

Didn't know THIS could happen:

A man died after getting cut by a live crab he was about to cook up for dinner. Apparently, he was infected by a flesh-eating bacteria that the crab was carrying. The bacteria, Vibrio, can also turn up on fish and prawns. From the German Press Agency:

Cooking destroys the bacteria, making the seafood safe for consumption. Doctors advised people preparing meals to use tongs or gloves when handling the live crabs. The claws should be brushed and washed with water before cooking, they added.

Source: rawstory.com

Oh, Get This Kid Some Prozac!

Ever been in the store, and some kid is acting up? You ain't seen nothin' yet!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkWcwJyagW4

Source: YouTube

A Halloween Costume Microsoft Would Be Ashamed Of!

Analog is dead - Long live analog!

Starting February 17, 2007, analog TV only has 2 years to live. After that, unless you buy some sort of set top box or a new TV, you won't be able to see anything or get signals from the air like now. If you buy a new TV after March 1, 2007, you should have the ATSC tuner (the one that gets digital signals) in addition to the NTSC signal we've used for years and years.

If you're planning on buying a TV, I'd wait until April to make sure that an ATSC is included in the TV.