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April 28, 2006

"Marzipan" Babies

A forwarded email from my Aunt Barbara prompted me to find out more about its attached photos of miniature babies purportedly made of "frosting" or "marzipan." The miniature babies are, it turns out, not made of marzipan at all. Sculpting with polymer clays, artist Camille Allen of British Columbia has been crafting both miniature and lifesize babies for five years using a technique she learned from her husband's grandmother, and the photos are of some her work. She uses soft English mohair to imitate fine baby hair and brushes them with paints for realism to enhance their tiny wrinkles and creases. It's an amazing art form!

Click on the image to view the other photos. For more information, visit Camille's website.

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April 28, 2006

City Slinkers

Why are coyotes, those cunning denizens of the plains and rural west, moving into urban centers like Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and other big cities?

In an article for Smithsonian Magazine, Christine Dell'Amore writes, "In fact, coyotes have spread to every corner of the United States, shifting their behaviors to fit new habitats and spurring researchers to cope with a worrisome new kind of carnivore: the urban coyote."

From the article: Until the 1990s, the farthest that coyotes had ventured into Chicago was to forested reserves near the city limits. But "something happened," says Stan Gehrt, a wildlife biologist at Ohio State University, "something we don't completely understand." Within ten years the coyote population exploded, growing by more than 3,000 percent, and infiltrated the entire Chicago area.

Gehrt found territorial packs of five to six coyotes, as well as lone individuals, called floaters, living in downtown Chicago. They traveled at night, crossing sidewalks and bridges, trotting along roads and ducking into culverts and underpasses. ... No one knows why coyotes are moving into cities, but Gehrt theorizes that shrewder, more human-tolerant coyotes are teaching urban survival skills to new generations. ...

In Southern California, where coyotes have been living among people since the onset of urban sprawl after World War II, the animals have become more numerous in the past 20 years or so. There have been at least 160 attacks on people in the United States in the past 30 years, most in the Los Angeles County area. The majority were bites, often inflicted while people were protecting their pets. One coyote attack, on a 3-year-old girl playing in her front yard in Glendale in 1981, was fatal. ...

Should the urban coyote be viewed with trepidation? "Some people have fears that kids are going to be the next ones to be eaten," says (biologist John) Way. "I tell them coyotes have been at the edges of their neighborhoods for years." Way emphasizes coyotes can be an asset to urban ecosystems, keeping a check on deer, rodents, Canada geese and other animals that thrive on the suburbs' all-you-can-eat buffet.                                                                                                                                  Photo: Troy Boswell/Los Angeles Animal Services

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April 27, 2006

My cousin Mike forwarded an email about this bridge the other day. At first, I thought the image was the product of some clever Photoshop manipulation, so I did a little research and learned that the bridge is, in fact, a real marvel of engineering! The photo was taken on the day of inauguration.

Magdeburg Water Bridge

The giant kilometer-long Magdeburg Water Bridge, completed in October 2003, connects two important German shipping canals, the Elbe-Havel canal and the Mittellandkanal, which leads to the country’s industrial Ruhr Valley heartland. Engineers first conceived of joining the two waterways as far back as 1919 but construction was postponed during the first and second world wars. After the Cold War split Germany, the project was put on hold indefinitely. Construction began in 1997 and after six years and around half a billion euros the gigantic water bridge now connects Berlin’s inland harbor with the ports along the Rhine river. As Europe’s longest water bridge, it measures just short of a kilometer at 918 meters. The huge tub, created to transport ships over the Elbe, took 24,000 metric tons of steel and 68,000 cubic meters of concrete to build. More info

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April 26, 2006

Camera Tossing

Here's an interesting camera technique; set your camera for a slow shutter speed, then toss it into the air so the shutter fires while it's in flight over something interesting. The results can be fascinating!

This image was created by "copilot" (I don't know his real name.) Here's how he explains it:

"I set my Nikon 4600 to "Scene" > "Fireworks" mode. This sets a 4 second exposure. I pressed the shutter release while holding my gloved hand in front of the shutter, then I counted to three and gently spun the camera into the air [over a campfire] and caught it again just as the shutter clicked closed. Nothing special. This came out of the camera exactly like you see it here."

I've created images by moving the camera over and around various lights during time exposures, and I've photographed lights hanging from a cord and being spun, but I've got to try this technique! Chris, you should try it, too, with your 5600! (But don't let it land in the fire!) I'll try to get some more of these...

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April 26, 2006

Odds & Ends

Enjoy Skipping TV Ads While You Can

In this era of easy ad skipping with TiVo-like video recorders, could television viewers one day be forced to watch commercials with a system that prevents channel switching? Yes, according to Royal Philips Electronics. A patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said researchers of the Netherland-based consumer electronics company have created a technology that could let broadcasters freeze a channel during a commercial, so viewers wouldn't be able to avoid it. ...

Microsoft to unveil new Internet Explorer

Microsoft Corp. is releasing a new test version of Internet Explorer, the market-leading Web browser that is facing competition from smaller players. The new beta, available for free download to English-languages customers, includes fixes for problems that were causing Internet Explorer 7 to stop working ... Microsoft also added more guidance to help people using IE's new browser tab functions, which let a user view more than one Web site from within one window, using multiple "tabs." ...

Yawn... Fixing things that don't work and incorporating "tabs" which Apple's Safari and Mozilla's Firefox have had for years... now, that's MS innovation!

Seagate to Unveil 750-gigabyte Hard Drives

Seagate Technology LLC is beefing up the capacity of its hard disk drives to a whopping 750 gigabytes, offering consumers of digital media more storage for their computers than ever before. ...

Student Recites 8,784 Digits of Pi

A 15-year-old Virginia high school student last month managed to recite nearly 8,800 digits of pi. That should put him among the top pi-reciters in the world. ...

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April 25, 2006

NYC Tattoo Convention

The 9th Annual New York City Tattoo Convention begins May 19. For those interested in so decorating their bodies (and those who simply like to gawk at them), this is a big show. Tattoo junkies from all over the world come to display, well, themselves. Those of this ilk say the NYC convention is one of the biggest.

To give you a taste, take a look at some photos taken by Christopher Walker at last year's convention. I doubt I'll ever understand the motivation behind this art form in present day society, but these images are awesome! Ready for a walk on the wild side?

If this sort of thing interests you, here's a list of tattoo conventions for the rest of 2006.

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April 25, 2006

I have at least one friend who thinks bulldogs are beautiful...

Hannah Named "Most Beautiful Bulldog"

DES MOINES, Iowa Apr 24, 2006 (AP)— To those who know her best, Hannah is the ultimate girly girl. She enjoys socializing in the neighborhood, wearing fancy outfits and pursuing a shoe fetish that would rival any Hollywood starlet.

But Hannah doesn't wear shoes she eats them. Still, that didn't stop this 2-year old English bulldog from beating out 49 others to claim top prize in the 27th annual "Beautiful Bulldog" contest Monday.

The contest marks the beginning of the Drake Relays, one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious track and field meets.

Hannah, who is white with patches of brown scattered across her squat figure, took the stage wearing a Drake cheerleaders' outfit and shocked the crowd by taking "top dog" honors over Porterhouse, a brown male from St. Paul, Minn., who dressed like a construction worker complete with tool belt and hard hat.

As the winner, Hannah will serve a yearlong term as the official mascot of both the Relays and Drake University. ...

The panel of judges poured over a random assortment of drooling, grunting canines with a much different purpose than their Westminster Kennel Club counterparts. Bowed legs, deep wrinkles, bloodshot eyes, protruding teeth and clever costumes were considered strong attributes. ... More

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April 25, 2006

Buddy Holly's Diamond Watch Auctioned

Some of you may be too young to remember Buddy Holly, but most of you probably know his name. He was one of Rock and Roll's early pioneers. He died in a chartered plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa, along with Ritchie Valens (La Bamba) and The Big Bopper (Chantilly Lace) February 3, 1959, "the day the music died." He was 22 years old.

Six months before his death, Holly married Maria Santiago. As an early Christmas gift, she gave Buddy a diamond-studded Omega watch which he was wearing when he died. The watch, along with some other Holly memorabilla, was auctioned April 14.

The watch sold for $155,350.The buyer was a woman near San Francisco who wanted to remain anonymous. She is reportedly a big Holly fan and will use the watch to begin her collection.

Read the article describing the pre-auction here, an article following the final sale here, and further information about the sale on the auction site here. For those who want a refresher on the short life of Buddy Holly, click over to this site.

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April 24. 2006

Heaven Scent

My brother, Ken, forwarded me an inspirational email story last week titled "Do You Smell That?" I don't usually post or forward so-called Internet glurge, but this heartwarming story so touched my heart that I decided to do a little research to see if there was any truth to it. I discovered that it is true in the sense that there is such a child, and the tale of her premature birth and subsequent battle for health is a real one. What elevates this story above other true accounts of seriously ill children and direly premature babies who beat impossible odds to go on to live healthy lives is the comment Danae makes about rain and the pursuant interpretation that "God was holding Danae on His chest" during those first fragile months of her life.

Danae Blessing turned 15 last month. But when she was born in Dallas in 1991, after just 24 weeks of gestation, almost no one believed she'd see even one birthday. The infant girl weighed 1 pound, 9 ounces and was just 12 inches long at birth. Her prognosis was dismal: Presbyterian Hospital's physicians said Danae's chances of survival were 1 in 10, at best. Even if she lived, Danae would almost surely be blind, probably brain-damaged and paralyzed.

David, Danae's father, went home and quietly began arrangements for a funeral, but Diana, her mom, would hear nothing about it. There was no arguing with her belief that Danae would be well. At the neonatal ICU's window, the Blessings watched Danae, aching to hold her. But for two months they couldn't cuddle or even touch their baby. Her nervous system was so immature, her nerve endings so raw, that she couldn't be handled without causing her pain.

Danae survived, went home when she was 5 months old and "was always a happy baby," Diana says. Now Danae is in the ninth grade and describes herself as "an independent being." She's perfectly healthy, seldom ill except for a couple of broken bones from a skating fall and  surgeries to  lengthen her  Achilles tendons (a common procedure for kids who were preemies.) She's bright, forthright, compassionate and, her mother says, "an old soul."

In recent years, Danae became the subject of a story circulated via the Internet. It first appeared in Richard  L.  Scott's book,   Miracles in Our Midst.  The former CEO of  Columbia Health Systems sought out tales of triumph over medical odds, and Danae's story  (then titled "Heaven Scent") became his favorite. It gained more fame as "The Smell of Rain" when it was included in 2000's Chicken Soup for the Christian Family Soul.

Diana says they still get inquiries from readers as far away as Bangladesh, Australia and Ireland. Some are  worried about their own preemies, asking: "Is your story true?  Will things really be OK?" Occasionally  friends  encounter  Danae's  story for the  first time and say,   "I got this e-mail, and it's about you!"

Take a few minutes and read this beautiful story . Also read a letter from Diana Blessing.

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April 22, 2006

Farce of Nature

It's Earth Day. Take the day off. Protest something environmental. Plant a tree.

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April 22, 2006

"Thank You for Smoking" -- A Review 

Dawn and I saw "Thank You for Smoking" last weekend and found it far better than some critics' reviews had led us to believe. Based on Christopher Buckley's scathing 1994 novel, it's a straight-faced dark satire about the all-American pastimes of spin-doctoring, lying and bullying your opponent with so much rhetoric that people start to think he's the liar. It's a confident, razor-sharp comedy.

The Greek chorus of this smoke-and-spin satire is a trio of lobbyists who meet to share food, drink  and secrets of  the trade at  a D.C. restaurant.  The tobacco lobbyist is a spin master named Nick Naylor; his comrades represent the firearms and alcohol industries. They proudly call themselves the Merchants of Death.

Nick would be easier to like if he were easier to hate. Instead, he's a loving father who teaches his son that it  doesn't matter if  you're right  or  wrong; it's how you massage  your message.

The cast is terrific. Sam Elliott, the quintessential modern cowboy type, has one fantastic scene as a one-time Marlboro man who is now dying of cancer and speaking out against his former employers. I can't think of anyone better to play the role. And what about William H. Macy as a persnickety senator,  or David Koechner as an unhinged gun fanatic,  or Robert Duvall as a North Carolina tobacco company billionaire?  Even Rob Lowe turns in  a  fine performance. Perfect casting.

The current mix of media myopia, polluted politics, and end-of-the-world fatalism makes this a well-executed piece of comic nihilism that seems strangely satisfying and curiously timely with its emphasis on  the process of  spin as opposed to  the moral content of what  is  being spun.

We enjoyed "Smoking" much more than the group of smokers sitting in front of us who seemed put off by  the underlying subject matter.  I  think  they  saw it  as  an assault on  smoking  and missed the point of the film entirely.  Too bad. It's a fun ride.  It's interesting to note that, except for clips such as John Wayne lighting up before  taking  a  bullet  in  "The Sands of Iwo Jima,"  no one  actually  smokes  in  the film.  It's an unexpected touch in an unexpectedly entertaining film.

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April 21, 2006

It's Spring!

Chris Mathews finally got the shot he wanted after asking his girlfriend, Kristie Pierce, to leap again and again...

Really nice shot, Chris! Think I'll do the same thing this weekend.

Got a photo you'd like to share? Send it to me. Got comments? Send them here.

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April 21, 2006

In Chevrolet's Online Apprentice contest, contestants submit 30-second video commercials for the 2007 Chevy Tahoe for a chance to win valuable prizes. The following is a commercial created and submitted by a participant for the contest. I don't know how many Tahoe's it would sell, but it's certainly entertaining...

The Chevy Online Apprentice

Click on the image to watch

(Thanks Michael!)

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April 21, 2006

David M. Bresnahan takes a not so uncommon position regarding the traffic light cameras mentioned in yesterday's post...

RED-LIGHT, SPEED CAMERAS & TICKETS: BILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS

The manufacturers of red-light and speed cameras typically sell their equipment to cities and receive a large percentage of the revenue from each ticket, creating a billion-dollar industry.

Lobbyists from the manufacturers of the controversial traffic enforcement cameras teach elected officials how to convince constituents that the cameras are all about safety. In the lingo of lobbyists it is called "framing the issue."

Virtually all the negative news stories about cameras that give unjust tickets to thousands of innocent drivers, or how the cameras have actually caused accidents to increase only reach a small audience. The stories are usually treated as local news and do not gain national circulation.

The result: the general public are not aware that there are major problems with the cameras in cities all around the world.

Despite the class action lawsuits, despite the news reports of cities refunding millions of dollars plus more in damages, and despite the fact that government studies show there are ways to reduce accidents without using the cameras, politicians are voting for the cameras and the revenue they produce.

Media investigations in Virginia, Colorado, and Washington, D.C. all showed that accidents increased at intersections where the cameras are in use. Government sponsored studies have shown that the easiest way to improve safety at intersections is to increase the length of time of the yellow light.

Politicians receive donations to their campaign funds. Lobbyists receive incentives from the manufacturers, and salespeople get gigantic commissions. Every ticket sent to an unsuspecting motorist puts many dollars into a lot of pockets, not just the local cities.

Now, if we can only come up with a way for people to make money by making traffic lights stay yellow longer we just might actually have safer roads. Until that happens it seems that our only defense against immoral and unjust traffic enforcement camera tickets is to put PhotoBlocker spray on our license plates.

I have it on mine, simply because I do not have the time, energy, or money that would be needed to go to court and fight a ticket that is sent to me in error. I claim the right of self-defense. ... Link

\\//

Here's a re-post of my comments:

I agree in part, Dave, with your argument for longer yellow lights. It would allow more drivers through intersections per green/yellow cycle. But it would also further delay drivers waiting at red lights while the green/yellow drivers moved through the intersection. I suspect the longer delay would yield the same or more frustration for drivers at the rear of the line when they finally got their turn and were faced with an impending red light. Those drivers would, I fear, still try to "sneak through" the intersection, gauging that there were a couple remaining seconds on the longer yellow. For some, there wouldn't be. Net result? No change. I have a better idea: If, as you say, the cameras are unreliable, then let's remove them until they're proven to work correctly. Class action lawsuit? Political outrage from constituents? Both? I can't say. But extending yellow lights would fail to stop motorists from trying to squeeze under them, wouldn't fix the cameras and would keep the camera money rolling while the driving public received little or no relief or benefit.

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April 20, 2006

Here's something for the "traffic light challenged" among you...

The PhotoBlocker™ Spray

Are you annoyed because you are continually receiving expensive tickets in the mail demanding huge fines because they claim you ran another red light? Never mind the photo showing you barreling through the intersection, a snarl on your face and your license plate in full view. Unfair, you say? It should only count if a real traffic cop catches you in person?

Sadly, there are too many drivers sharing the roadway who find traffic lights a deliberate contrivance by Big Brother to make them late for work. Or late getting home. Or it's evil bureaucrats flexing their collective muscles and exercising unreasonable control over us.

Worse yet, there are drivers who view traffic lights as a contest; when they beat one, they score. The greater the risk, the bigger the rush. These guys scare me the most.

So it didn't surprise me when I ran across this ad for a spray designed to spoof the cameras. According to their Web site, "A majority of red light & speed cameras utilize a strong flash to photograph the license plate on your car. Once sprayed onto your license plate, the PhotoBlocker special formula works to create a high gloss that reflects the flash back to the camera. This overexposes the image of your license plate, rendering the picture unreadable. Ultimately, with PhotoBlocker, your license plate becomes invisible to traffic cameras yet stays completely legible to the naked eye."

Wonderful. So now you can simply blast through busy intersections against the red with confidence, knowing that, if you make it (and assuming you live through it,) you won't be bothered by one of those pesky traffic fines in your mail box.

Sound like something you could use? Well, the manufacturer would like to sell you a can. At $30, it's not cheap. But it is, after all, your little way of "sticking it to the man." Of course, I suspect that if it isn't already illegal, it will be soon. Most states prohibit covering your license plate, the obvious intent being to allow law enforcement to view it. If this stuff actually works, I would expect the courts to view it as covering the plate. Legislation to trump any attempt to circumvent the intent, if not the letter, of the law will likely follow.

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April 20, 2006

Thank Goodness! 102" just didn't seem quite big enough...

Panasonic Unveils 103-Inch TV Screen

NEW YORK Apr 19, 2006 (AP)— Home TV screens just keep getting bigger. And there's no end in sight. Panasonic pitched a tent outside the New York Stock Exchange yesterday to show off the biggest high-definition plasma screen yet.

At 103 inches, it's an inch bigger than versions being produced by Samsung and LG.

Panasonic vice president Andrew Nelkin says the new screen weighs 400 pounds. If you buy one, and have a wall big enough to fit it, you'll want professional installation. He also says he wouldn't be surprised to see someone come up with an even bigger screen before long.

In this AP photo, Yoshi Yamada, chairman and CEO of Panasonic Corporation of North America, stands next to a 103 inch high-definition plasma television as he speaks to reporters during a news conference outside the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, April 18, 2006. Panasonic unveiled the world's largest high-definition plasma television Tuesday and announced plans to make the super-large screen plasma available to consumers in time for this years Christmas season.

And the Super Bowl!

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April 19, 2006

Llama Love

A nice photo of Sheri Kembro with her two pet llamas. She and her husband live in the foothills with forty or so animals including "Bigson", the black Great Dane featured with "Gibson" in Monday's post.

Nice shot, Sheri! Thanks for sending it.

Got a photo you'd like to share? Send it to me. Got comments? Send them here.

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April 18, 2006

Remembering the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

On an unseasonably warm Tuesday evening in April 1906, the Grand Opera House in the heart of San Francisco swelled with the voice of Enrico Caruso. The legendary tenor was performing Don Jose in Carmen with the Conried Metropolitan Opera Company of New York, which was on a nationwide tour.

After the performance ended, the finely dressed fans headed home. Just hours later, the roof of the Grand Opera House would collapse. Shortly after 5 a.m. on April 18, a 7.8-magnitude quake, unleashed offshore, shook the city for just less than a minute. ...

The earthquake resulted in fires that soon grew out of control. They raged for almost four days, burning more than 28,000 structures and leveling more than three-quarters of the city. Today, those few days in April are remembered through grainy black-and-white images, local legends, family lore and the letters written by the survivors. ...

In the quiet of the city after the shaking stopped, an even more destructive force was brewing. Much of the water supply came to the city in rigid iron pipes -- and about 30,000 pipes ruptured with the intense shaking. Soon came the smell of smoke. ...

The mayor issued a shoot-to-kill order for anyone found looting. Amid the chaos, thousands of residents, dressed in layers upon layers of their best clothes, began making their way on foot to the ferryboats to evacuate across San Francisco Bay to Oakland or to tent camps scattered throughout the city. ...

Most neighborhoods that survived the quake were later consumed by fire. The disaster would leave 3,000 dead, perhaps more. And in a city of 400,000, more than half were left homeless. ...

As the ashes cooled, the city immediately began to rebuild. Nine years later, San Francisco hosted a world's fair called the Panama Pacific International Exhibition. It was built on filled-in mudflats. The centerpiece was the 43-story Tower of Jewels, covered with more than 100,000 dangling glass beads. In the evening, all lit up, it looked an awful lot like a brilliant fire. More...

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April 18, 2006

Happy Birthday, Steve!

It seems like only yesterday... such a cute little guy, all smiles and giggles... I called him "Slick" and took him for walks in front of our 4-plex apartment near Mather AFB where I was stationed... He was our first born... Yet today, somehow, he turns 43... with a beautiful family of his own! Is that possible?

Time passes far too quickly. I yearn to turn back the clock, to hold on to those precious early years... but then I would have to wait so long to know the fine man he has become... Happy birthday, Son!

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April 18, 2006

Harry Eng

A former minister and elementary school teacher, educational consultant and magician, Harry had the most fun with his impossible bottles getting people to think. I must have heard him say "the average person uses only one-eighth of their brain" a thousand times, if I heard it once, usually after someone would offer a not-so-well thoughout solution to one of his bottles. The most common was that the bottle was cut or that it was blown around the stuff inside. Harry would tell you straight away that everything went through the neck of the bottle and that all of his bottles were standard, off the grocery shelf variety. No monkey business with the bottle. The stuff inside? That's up to you to figure out.
 
It drove me crazy! Harry suggested that I get myself some big tweezers and some long hemostats (surgical grippers that lock shut which are sold in nearly every large flea market in the United States) and just try it myself. So I did. Once I was thinking on my own and trying different things, a phone call to Harry would yield a new "secret". Sometimes we would talk about things like which brand of tennis ball has the thickest, toughest cover. So Harry really did just want people to think. Put forth a little effort and then he'll help.
 
Harry made some unbelievable bottles. Some claim he made more than 600. His signature was a knot in each bottle. Sometimes huge, sometimes small, but always bigger than the neck. Harry died in June of 1996. Click on the image to see more of his amazing work.

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April 17, 2006

Size Matters!

Meet Gibson, the "World's Tallest Dog" according to the Guinness Book of World Records, and his only slightly smaller nephew, Bigson. Dawn and I met Sandy Hall, Gibson's owner, and Sheri Kimbro, Bigson's owner, with their dogs Saturday at Pete's Restaurant on J Street in Sacramento. Delightful people and wonderful dogs!

When Gibson (that's Gib on the left) stands on his hind legs, the 170-pound "Harlequin" Great Dane is more than 7 feet tall, and has a shoulder height of 42.6 inches (topping Harvey's old record of 41.5 inches.) And he's still growing! He holds several world records, including the world's tallest dog, tallest therapy dog and tallest Great Dane.

Gibson has appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", "Good Morning America", "Inside Edition", the "Montel Williams Show", "Larry King Live", and been featured in "Life Magazine", "Parade Magazine" and "Ladies Home Journal" to name a few. In fact, he was in the "Life" newspaper insert just last week.

Of course, it goes without saying that Gibson would have his own Web site. And he and Sandy will be appearing on the revived "I've Got a Secret" TV show on May 5. Tune in at 8:30 PM (or 11:30 PM) to see if they stump the panel!

These are wonderful, sweet, friendly dogs. And so are "their people."

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April 17, 2006

Weather forecast

Now that's a little more like it! Remember? Like in all the history books? More like the real spring...

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April 16, 2006 - Easter Sunday

Easter Card from Agnieszka

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April 14, 2006 - Good Friday

Why is it called Good Friday?

Calling the day of the Crucifixion ‘Good’ Friday is a designation that is peculiar to the English language. In German, for example, it is called Karfreitag. The Kar part is an obsolete word, the ancestor of the English word care in the sense of cares and woes, and it meant mourning. So in German, it is Mourning Friday. And that is what the disciples did on that day—they mourned. They thought all was lost.

I’ve read that the word good used to have a secondary meaning of holy, but I can’t trace that back in my etymological dictionary. There are a number of cases in set phrases where the words God and good got switched around because of their similarity. One case was the phrase God be with you, which today is just good-bye. So perhaps Good Friday was originally God’s Friday. But I think we call it Good Friday because, in pious retrospect, all that tragedy brought about the greatest good there could be.

I can see virtue in either terminology. If we call it Mourning Friday, as in German, we are facing reality head on, taking up the cross if you will, fully conscious that the Christian walk is seldom a walk in the park. But if we call it Good Friday, as in English, we are confessing the Christian hope that no tragedy—not even death — can overwhelm God’s providence, love, and grace. Either way seems fine to me!  

Text © Ken Collins 

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April 14, 2006

As you may recall, Kyle MacDonald set out some time ago to trade one red paperclip for a house. He's been trading up since then and, after several progressively advantageous deals, successfully traded a recording contract (he'd gotten in trade) for a one year apartment rental in the heart of downtown Phoenix! I'd say he's doing pretty well, and he's becoming somewhat famous in the process having appeared on numerous national TV shows and been well followed by the press.

So it's fun to check in on Kyle from time to time to see how he's progressing towards home ownership. You can follow his progress and see what he trades the Phoenix rental for by clicking on the paperclip above... If I were a betting man (and I am) I wouldn't bet against his ending up with that house!

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April 14, 2006

You've got to hand it to Florida defence lawyers, at least for their creativity...

DUI Device is Challenged

A computerized breath test used by law enforcement across the state is under scrutiny, putting hundreds of drunken-driving cases in jeopardy.

Florida defense lawyers are trying a new way to defeat drunken-driving charges: attacking the computer program that analyzes the results of breath tests. Already, hundreds of breath-test results have been thrown out in at least one county. In other cases, DUI charges have been pleaded down to lesser offenses or placed in limbo in four counties because of questions about the accuracy of the breath-test results. Similar cases are pending in South Florida, including the DUI case against a former Miramar city commissioner whose breath test showed his blood-alcohol level at twice the legal limit. ...

The defense lawyers say the device can incorrectly identify materials in the breath sample as alcohol when they are not. To prove this, defense lawyers throughout Florida have been demanding to see the software ''source code'' from the Intoxilyzer 5000 breath-test device -- used by all Florida law-enforcement agencies that do breath testing. ...

The defense argument creates a problem for law enforcement and prosecutors -- not because anyone has proved that the Intoxilyzer software is faulty but because they can't get their hands on it. The Intoxilyzer manufacturer, Kentucky-based CMI, refuses to turn over the source code, arguing that it's a trade secret. ... Some judges are dismissing the breath tests, citing a state law that gives defendants the right to ''full information'' about the tests. Story

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April 13, 2006

Gospel of Judas

Judas Iscariot, vilified as Christ's betrayer, acted at Jesus' request in turning him over to the authorities who crucified him, according to a 1,700-year-old copy of the "Gospel of Judas" unveiled April 6. In an alternative view to traditional Christian teaching, the Judas gospel shows the reviled disciple as the only one in Jesus' inner circle who understood his desire to shed his earthly body. ...

The leather-bound copy of the gospel was written in Coptic script on both sides of 13 sheets of papyrus, and spent most of the past 1,700 years hidden in a cavern in the Egyptian desert, [according to] Terry Garcia of the National Geographic Society.

This document was probably copied from the original Greek manuscript around the year 300, Garcia said. Discovered in the 1970s near Minya, Egypt, the volume -- including the gospel and other documents -- was sold to an Egyptian antiquities dealer in 1978. The dealer offered it for sale without success, and eventually locked it in a bank safe deposit box in Hicksville, New York, for 16 years, which hastened its decay. ...

The Judas gospel is being published in book form by National Geographic and pages from the papyrus manuscript [are] on display at the society's museum in Washington starting... The manuscript will ultimately be housed at the Coptic Museum in Cairo. Link

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April 13, 2006

Flying Carpet

If you fly out of Sacramento International Airport, you may have noticed one of the more unusual art forms I've seen in some time, an aerial view of the Sacramento River woven into a carpet for the floor of the pedestrian bridge connecting the terminal to the parkinggarage. The image represents approximately fifty miles of the Sacramento River starting just outside of Colusa, California and ending about six miles south of Chico.

Although I've noticed the carpet on occasion while hurrying across the bridge to catch a flight, I've never taken (or had) the time to study it in detail. I'll make it a point next time.

The artist, Seyed Alavi, received a Bachelor of Science degree from San Jose State University and a Masters of Fine Art from the San Francisco Art Institute. His public art projects are often engaged with the poetics of language and space and their power to shape reality and include site-specific installations for The New Museum of Contemporary Art and Franklin Furnace in New York City; The University Art Museum- Cal State Long Beach; The Museum of Santa Cruz County; The deSaisset Museum; The University Art Museum, Sonoma State; The University Art Museum, Cal State San Bernadino and San Francisco's Capp Street Project.

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April 12, 2006

"Pass the Jellyfish"

While visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, Pam Obando snapped these passing orange colored jellyfish.

Great shot, Pam!

Got a photo you'd like to share? Send it to me.

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April 12, 2006

I know I've posted this before, but it's circulating again (thanks Arnold) and seems apropos given our current immigration climate...

Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 1907:

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant, who comes here in good faith, becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American... There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Says it all.

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April 12, 2006

Aztlan Rising

As you know, I try to avoid posting political news or commentary, but Owen sent this link to a documentary-styled video showing photos apparently taken at the recent "immigrant rallies" protesting proposed U.S. tightening of immigration policies and I thought it worth passing on.

You've probably seen the media images of the crowds and of young Mexicans waving Mexican flags, but the media seem to have forgotten to include the inflammatory signage and anti-American sentiment reflected in this video. Click on either image below to watch the video. (Note: Mac users may need to use a browser other than Safari.)

Also of interest is Aztlan Rising's web site. One post complains there are "too many American flags" at the rallies. Also, here's a link to the site referenced in the above right photo...

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April 11, 2006

Cartoons from the Arab World

As you'll see on this site, the Danes aren't the only ones using cartoons to press their political point...

Tom Gross offers "a selection of cartoons from the media of seven Arab countries (Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Syria and Egypt) and from the Palestinian Authority ... A number of these countries are regarded as moderate or allied to the West. Most print media in the Arab world are under the full or partial control of the ruling regimes.

One picture can sometimes be deadlier than a thousand words."

The image displayed here is "...another cartoon from the Internet site of official Palestinian Authority cartoonist Omayya Joha, showing alleged Jewish control (in the form of snakes) of the United States. The snake was often used to portray Jews in historic European anti-Semitic images."

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April 11, 2006

Odds and Ends...

Michael D sends these announcements for those of you using Windows machines:

HP Printer Software Leaves Windows Open To Attack

Hewlett-Packard has acknowledged a flaw in the software that ships with two of its printers. The Toolbox software could open a Windows-based PC to attack. The vulnerability could allow a hacker to pull files from machines running on the same network as the printer. The models affected are the Color LaserJet 2500 and 4600. HP has already issued a patch. If you own one of these printers, you should patch your software immediately. Visit HP's site for more information.
 
Tuesday Is the Big Day! Microsoft Will Issue Security Patches

Microsoft will issue security patches today to fix holes in its software. There will be five in total. Among those are fixes for vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer. The patches for Internet Explorer are rated "critical." Hackers have been exploiting them over the past few weeks. So make sure you run Windows Update!

It's why I'm grateful my primary computer is a Mac! Here's more of possible interest...

FDA OKs First Attention Deficit Patch - The FDA on Thursday approved the first skin patch to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children. The patch called Daytrana, designed to be worn for 9 hours, contains methylphenidate, which has been shown to help children with ADHD. It is the same stimulant that is in Ritalin. The patch is made by Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Miami. ...

FDA knocks cell phone-brain tumor study - Federal health officials are dismissing a recent study that suggests a link between long-term use of cellular and cordless telephones and brain tumors.  ...

Caribbean coral suffers record death - A one-two punch of bleaching from record hot water followed by disease has killed ancient and delicate coral in the biggest loss of reefs scientists have ever seen in Caribbean waters. ...

Microsoft announced last week that it plans to delay the consumer launch of its Windows Vista operating system from the second half of 2006 until January of next year but will have the new version out for large businesses in November. The delay is troublesome given that Microsoft and PC makers will not have the first major update to Windows since 2001 available for the 4Q holiday shopping season.

California Condors Spotted Nesting in Big Sur - For the first time in more than 100 years, California condors were spotted nesting in the northern part of the state, scientists said. ...

There! I've cleaned off my desktop and I'm taking the rest of the day off.

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April 10, 2006

Nellis AFB Las Vegas Air Show

We's promised photos, but we were unable to attend last month's California Capital Air Show at Mather Field due to unbelievable traffic snarls. We just couldn't get in! Those who did struggled against a clogged Highway 50 and a poorly planned single gate resulting in two-hour waits just to reach the gate. I'm afraid Mather Field just isn't up to hosting such a popular air show. I'll be interested to see if the organizers learned from the experience and have a better plan (or another venue) next year.

Meanwhile, Tom snapped some terrific shots at the Nellis AFB Las Vegas Air Show November 13, 2005, some of which I've posted as a consolation for those of you who were counting on Mather air show images. The USAF Thunderbirds performed, so there are quite a few shots of their show along with shots of some of the static exhibits. Note the sunset! Click on the image below to view the rest...

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April 7, 2006

Sweet Sunshine

Peter Gran snapped this nice image yesterday during a reprieve from the seemingly never-ending rain. Amazing how just looking at it made me feel better. Have a wonderful weekend!

"...we finally had a break from all the rain yesterday afternoon. The sun came out and so did my camera. I walked the beach here at Pismo Beach, California. Took a lot of pictures with trees as my subject. This picture is of a tree growing outwards from the bank and then reaching upwards. - Peter"

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April 7, 2006

Playboy Hef Celebrates 80 Frisky Years

Hefner flanked in this picture by two of the three girls he's currently dating,  25-year-old Holly Madison, left,  and

32-year-old Bridget Marquardt. Not shown is 20-year-old Kendra Wilkinson. (Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

Hugh Hefner turns 80 on Sunday. On the one hand, I hope I'm as frisky at his age as his press coverage makes him out to be. On the other hand, if that was my 20 year old daughter, I'd be banging my head against the wall...

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Aprtil 7, 2006

This is good news...

Judge Rules in Favor of 'Da Vinci' Writer

LONDON Apr 7, 2006 (AP)— A judge ruled Friday that best-selling author Dan Brown did not steal ideas from a nonfiction book, ending the suspense about whether the novelist committed copyright infringement in his thriller "The Da Vinci Code."

High Court judge Peter Smith rejected a copyright-infringement claim by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, authors of "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail," who claimed that Brown's blockbuster "appropriated the architecture" of their 1982 book. In the United States, the book is titled, "Holy Blood, Holy Grail." ...

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April 7, 2006

I'm not sure I want to face the viruses and other problems associated with Windows, but I can definitely see value in having it "in the box" if and when I need it... But I'll wait for the bugs to be worked out and get it in Panther.

“Boot Camp Turns Your Mac Into a Reliable Windows PC”

“I’ve been testing Windows on a new iMac for several days,” writes Walt Mossberg for the Wall Street Journal, “and except for a couple of trifling annoyances, it runs perfectly, just like a stand-alone Windows PC... In Windows mode, the iMac was blazingly fast — far faster than my two-year-old H-P Windows computer. And every function of Windows I tested, including Web browsing, email and music playback, ran flawlessly.” Article

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April 6, 2006

Peasekeeper Missle Testing

This photo is of the LG-118A Peacekeeper missile system being tested at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The lines shown are the re-entry vehicles -- one Peacekeeper can hold up to 10 nuclear warheads, each independently targeted. Were the warheads armed with a nuclear payload, each would carry with it the explosive power of twenty-five Hiroshima-sized weapons.

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April 6, 2006

I wasn't sure whether to post this 1955 magazine article from "Housekeeping Monthly" here (the more cerebral page) or on the "fun" page. On the one hand, this was my mom back in the 50s. On the other hand, it's from my sister-in-law, Cindy, and by today's standards would be considered pretty funny. I opted to post it here in honor of my mom and a bygone era...

The Good Wife's Guide

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April 6, 2006

Sunshine!

According to forecasts, it'll be short lived, but I plan to spend all the time I can today soaking it up!

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April 5, 2006

Dave sends this interesting photo and caption...

Smoke Rings

"Mount Saint Helens continues to spew ash, while it is forming a lava dome in the crater and still having minor tremors. Here, in this sunrise shot, she appears to be blowing smoke rings (and anything so benign is welcomed, given recent history.)

What forms the "smoke rings" is the air flowing over the mountain, getting pushed up higher as it goes up and over the top. The moisture content and initial temperature are just right so that the moisture condenses from a vapor to small particles at the higher altitude.
 
When the air moves past the peak and comes down again, the particles evaporate back to an invisible vapor. The two "pancakes" describe that there are two layers of air for which this is happening, thus making this awesome picture possible."

There is some disagreement as to whether this photo is of Mount Saint Helens or Mount Rainier; the silhouettes are similar. What we do know is that the "smoke rings" are not smoke at all, but lenticular clouds typically formed in the vicinity of high mountains. And Brent and Jan LeBaron say they did not take the photo, although they are often mistakenly credited. Wherever and whenever and by whomever the photo was taken, it's a great shot! - Doug

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April 5, 2006

This is pretty cool...

Apple Launches Software to Run Windows XP

Apple Computer Inc. unveiled software Wednesday to help owners of its new Intel-based Macs run Microsoft Corp.'s rival Windows XP operating system, despite the computer maker's insistence it won't assist such efforts.

Apple's new "Boot Camp" software, a "beta" test version available as a free download, lets computer users with a Windows XP installation disk load that system on the Mac. ...

The switch to Intel chips lets users load Windows onto a Mac computer, without the need for emulation software that slows performance. But until Wednesday, the user needed some technical expertise to pull it off.

The Boot Camp software makes it easier to install Windows and lets users run either Mac OS X or Windows when they restart their computer.

A final version of Boot Camp will be available as a feature in the upcoming Mac OS X version 10.5, code-named "Leopard."

Apple shares gained $3.79, or 6.2 percent, to $64.96 in morning trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, while Microsoft shares rose 21 cents to $27.85 and shares of Intel rose 2 cents to $19.32. Link

We'll get a look at Leopard in August. This should be interesting!

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April 4, 2006

Just to prove I'm always...

...alert to the idea that there is great mystery and wonder in our lives...

On Wednesday, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 in the early morning, the time and date will be:

01:02:03 04/05/06

We now return you to your regularly scheduled chaos.

(Tip o' the hat to Michael D)

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April 3, 2006

Storm Clouds

Steve sends these awesome images taken by family friend Adrian of Texas (?} storm cloud formations during the last few months of 2005. Click on the image below to view the others (nine total.)

UPDATE: According to Snopes, "These images are actually photographs of tornadoes and other extreme weather phenomena taken by storm chaser Mike Hollingshead in Nebraska and Kansas during the summer months of 2002 and 2004. Some of these photos are viewable on the 2004 Digital Photos section of his web site (scroll about halfway down the page)."

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April 1, 2006

Happy April Fool's Birthday!

Today marks the birthday of our daughter-in-law, Kim. Honest. No, really! She was born on April Fool's Day and, as birthdays go, this one's a milestone.

Happy birthday, Kim!