A big finale to Galileo's mission...

The spacecraft Galileo has been exploring Jupiter and its moons for eight years, and on Sunday, it will end its mission in a fiery finale by plunging itself into Jupiter. This cnn.com story has all of the details, and be sure to check out the photo gallery. It's very cool.

French Fries are back...

Now that the US needs France's help in Iraq, Congress is getting ready to add French Fries back to the congressional cafeteria menu. I hope they realize how ridiculous the whole "Freedom Fries" thing made the US look. Cnn.com has the full story.

Counterfeit Bush $200 Bill...

Recently someone at a North Carolina grocery store paid for $150 worth of groceries with a counterfeit $200 bill with Bush's face on it. The Smoking Gun has pictures.

Johnny Cash...

The 'Man in Black' died early Friday morning in Nashville. Here's a link to a cnn.com article about his life. Also, here's a link to an article about his recent success.

The Falling Man...

The Falling Man is a picture from 9/11 of an unknown man falling from one of the towers. The picture (along with all other pictures of people falling / jumping from the towers) is very controversial and was only shown in the days directly following the attacks - it was pulled from all major new outlets. Esquire magazine has a great article about the Falling Man picture and others like it. It's a very good read, and you'll find it here.

An Easy Jet flight that wasn't so easy...

Here are some pictures of an Easy Jet 737 after flying into (and out of) a thunderstorm. The plane looks like it's been through a battle. FYI...Easy Jet is a European discount air carrier.

Rock Over London, Rock on Chicago...

Sadly, the world said goodbye to Wesley Willis, the 40 year old schizophrenic singer/songwriter from Chicago who died on August 21st after a long battle with leukemia. Willis had a simple, yet very unique and quite strange musical style. Here are a few of his song titles that help explain him: Rock 'n Roll McDonalds, I'm Sorry that I got Fat, Birdman Kicked my Ass, and My Mother Smokes Crack Rocks. Reuters has the full story.

The CA Recall Election Taco Poll...

Some Taco Bell employee was really thinking "outside the bun" when they came up with this. It's the Taco Bell Recall Election Taco Poll, and you can vote by buying a Beef Crunchy Taco for Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Chicken Soft Taco for Gray Davis, or a Grilled Stuff Burrito for anyone else. The results should be interesting...and tasty.

The little plane that could...

Recently, a group of aerospace engineers succeeded in flying a small model airplane across the Atlantic ocean - from Newfoundland to Ireland. Other unmanned aircraft have made the crossing, but this one is small enough to qualify as a real "model" airplane and is eligible to claim world records in its category.

More information is available at the Trans Atlantic Model website.

A day for lefties...

Yesterday was Left-hander's Day!! My wife, Linda, was very excited since she wasn't aware that lefties have their very own day. Now she has something to celebrate.

A world-class space museum...in Kansas?

Yes, Hutchinson, Kansas to be exact. Hutchinson is near Wichita right in the center of the U.S. The museum is called the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, and it has a very nice collection of space things - from rare Soviet spacecraft, to a moon rock, to an SR-71 Blackbird. CNN.com has more details on the museum.

Which Fantasy/Sci-Fi character are you...

Have you ever wondered which character from popular sci-fi / fantasy movies your personality fits the best? Well, you can find out by taking the Which Fantasty/Sci-Fi Character are you? quiz.

I was Galadriel from the Lord of the Rings. I'm not so excited about matching with Galadriel, but my second closest match was Aragorn. I'm OK with that.

It's all over at Meigs...

On Tuesday, demolition crews finalized the destruction of Meigs Field, Chicago's lakefront airport. The airport desctruction is the work of Chicago's Mayor Daley, who is the aviation world's "Ace of Spades."

Reinstalling Windows XP...

Here's one man's step-by-step account of reinstalling Windows XP in less than 200 steps. It's pretty funny and not too far from the truth.

It's about time Mr. President...

Today, President Bush finally said he takes full responsiblity for what he said about Iraq trying to buy nuclear materials in Africa. He should have just said this a month ago, rather than making his entire staff take the fall first.

The World Says Goodbye to the Old VW Beetle...

The last old-style Volkswagen Beetle will roll off the assembly line in Mexico today, as the plant is will be converted to produce the New Beetle.

Since 1998, Mexico has been the only country where you could buy a new, old-style Beetle. It will be sad to see the old Beetle go, but with more than 21.5 million of them having been produced over the last 70 years, it probably won't be hard to find one.

See the full story at cnn.com.

The aviation world focuses on Oshkosh...

The annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is going on this week. The Oshkosh, WI event is the largest aviation event, air show, etc. in the world. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers flight, which will be a theme at Oshkosh.

If you've never been to Oshkosh and are even mildly interested in aviation, you should definitely check it out sometime. It really is amazing.

Downloadable music for the PC...

Buymusic.com recently launched a downloadable music service for Windows. My first impression is that it is a total rip-off of the iTunes Music Store - from the ads, to the layout of the website, to the "Download" buttons. Buymusic.com has also taken a very anit-Apple stance, which I think if funny because seemingly every idea for their site came directly from Apple.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see who wins the on-line music battle. To stay ahead, Apple needs to hurry up and get the Windows version of iTunes into the market. Unfortunately, Apple, Microsoft, etc. can't work together on one standard file format. Buymusic.com uses WMA and iTunes uses ACC. Neither format is playable on the other's platforms, which makes things confusing, and in the end, probably hurts Apple the most.

Metallica's most recent mistake...

Recently, Metallica filed a lawsuit against Canadian indie band Unfaith for using the cords E and F in a way that causes "confusion, deception and mistake in the minds of the public." Metallica wants this band to stop using these cords or pay them 50% of the revenue generated from the songs. I think this is ridiculous, but it's a proper follow-up for a band that I feel has been on the wrong side of many issues over the last few years. Starting with the Napster suit, through the recent decision not to feature music on iTunes, and now, to this. I think Metallica only cares about Metallica and that in the end will hurt them.

Google Can't Find Weapons of Mass Destruction Either...

Google is having as much trouble finding Weapons of Mass Destruction as the Bush Administration. Follow this link to search Google for WMD. Click on the first link and see what you can find...look closely.

A $250,000 Lunch with the Oracle of Omaha...

Through an eBay auction, someone purchased a lunch with Warren Buffett for $250,000. The winning bidder and seven friends get to dine with Buffet in either New York or Omaha (I found this funny because these cities are not often used in the same sentence). The proceeds go to the Glide Foundation, a non-profit organization offering programs to the poor, hungry and homeless in San Francisco.

2004 Presidential Candidate Selector...

Follow this link to use the 2004 Presidential Candidate Selector. After answering a series of questions, it will tell you which candidate your views most closely match. My results had Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D- OH) at the top of the list with a 95% match. The funny thing is I've never hear of Mr. Kucinich. I guess I'll have to check out his web site. By comparison President Bush had a 12% match with me.

The Help-Wanted Index...

I read an interesting article in Slate about the correlation between the health of the job market and the number of help-wanted ads placed. The theory goes that the more help-wanted ads that are placed the lower the unemployment rate will be. Except for the abnormal job market in the late 1990's, the Help-Wanted Index has been fairly accurate. It's been shown to be a good leading indicator of unemployment as it takes a few weeks after a help-wanted ad is placed for someone to respond, get interviewed, and get hired. Of course, the index is currently at its lowest point since the early 1960's.

An updated Webster's Dictionary...

Once every ten years Webster's Dictionary is updated. This time around some new Internet-era words like "dot-commer" and "McJob" made it into the dictionary twice as fast as usual. A new word that I didn't see mentioned that my wife and I have been using lately is "McMansion," which describes a large, expensive suburban house that is closely related to its less-expensive sibling the "cookie-cutter." Maybe next time.

It's the Ultimate...

As of last Thursday, I've joined the 2003 Kansas City Ultimate Summer League. Ultimate is kind of like soccer or hockey played with a frisbee. I've been wanting to try it for a long time, and I'm glad I did; it was a lot of fun. Actually, I can't believe how strenuous it is. I realized that I'm in pretty bad shape. Anyway, I'll give you updates throughout the season. I'm not very good, and I hardly know the rules so there's no where to go but up.

The battle for Iraq's cell phone network...

Wired News has a good article about the fight to decide on which technology to base Iraq's new cell phone network. Originally, MCI was awarded a contract to build a GSM network. US politicians were upset about two aspects of this...1) that MCI does not actually own or operate a cellular network in the US and 2) that GSM is a European standard and not widely used in the US.

The most upset was a congressman from California who thinks Iraq should have a CDMA network. His view point is slightly skewed because Qualcomm, who owns the CDMA technology, is based in his home state and would benefit greatly from Iraq using their product.

My viewpoint is that since GSM is the European and Middle Eastern standard, the US should not contract someone to build anything but a GSM network in Iraq. A CDMA network in Iraq would mean that Iraqi's could easily use their cell phones thousands of miles away in the US but not in their own region. That just doesn't seem right.

An adult theater at the Plaza?

Well, probably not the adult theater you were thinking of, but the Palace theater (owned by Cinemark) on the Plaza in Kansas City no longer allows children without adult supervision. Actually, children under 6 won't be allowed under any circumstances.

These new rules are not completely logical because teens make up the majority of moviegoers, but the rules do help position the Palace as "Kansas City's Premier Theater," which has been their aspiration for some time. Other recent tactics used to stop the teen influx were removing all student discounts and raising ticket prices (first $7.75, now $8.00).

I think there are a lot of people (me included) who will pay a premium to see a movie without the distractions that kids bring. However, there is a limit on that premium, and I think $8.00 is right about there for me. To pay $8.00 and still have to sit through 10 minutes of commercials (not movie previews, but Skittles commercials) is borderline outrageous.

I don't know right now if the changes will change my movie-going frequency. I guess if the Palace's theory works, my wife and I will go more often.

More details are available in this story from the KC Star.

How do you explain this when you get home...

Today, I ran across a story about a woman who hit a homeless man with her car, drove home with him on the hood, and left him in her garage as he died. It happened in 2001. I faintly remember it, but it's so outrageous it needs an encore. She ended up getting caught months later after telling people about it at a party. Here's a link to the CNN article I read.

Weekend weather in Kansas City...

Mother Nature has not been friendly to Kansas Citians this year. On Sunday, southern Kansas City got pounded by heavy rain and large hail. Here's a picture I got from a co-worker showing the size of the hail that rained down on his house for about 30 minutes.

Now that I’ve seen The Hulk…

I disagree with the harshness of most of the reviews I’ve read. My plan was to not read any reviews, but, of course, I ended up reading some on Friday. Needless to say, they were less than glowing and, in my opinion, too negative.

Overall, I thought The Hulk was a good movie. Not great, but it definitely gives you a different take on the summer blockbuster. The story is engaging and kept my interest. The animation was very good – opposite to what a lot of people have said. The comic-book look and feel is the strongest part of this movie, as Ang Lee uses split screens, unique transitions, and fast editing to set the mood.

I thought the animated Hulk was very good. I do agree with the criticisms that the Hulk lacks the emotional capability to draw the audience in, which hurts the film because we need to feel for the Hulk for this to truly work. The action scenes, however, are very impressive. I truly enjoyed the Hulk smashing tanks, fighting helicopters, and bounding around the desert. It was great fun.

The Hulk...

I'm getting excited about seeing The Hulk this weekend. I think it's going to be different than most people expect. Some of the trailers I've seen are all action, with the Hulk throwing tanks around like they were toys. However, the radio spots I've heard talk more about how this is going to be a summer blockbuster like you've never seen and stress the fact that much of the film is more drama than action.

With Ang Lee directing, I would expect that the movie takes the necessary time to develop the story, and personally, I think most of the summer blockbusters would be better with more story and less action. Anyway, later this weekend, I'll post my review. Until then, if you're curious you can check out the postings on IMDb.

Oops, there goes my job...

It's no secret that the job market is not so hot, but after reading this article in Fortune, it looks like we should all learn a trade or move to Bangladesh very soon.

Fortune is saying that the White Collar job market is caught up in the out-sourcing trend that has moved manufacturing and Blue Collar jobs to Mexico or China over the last 25 years. Lucky for us, it's now our turn to be out-sourced.

I think this trend is sad but true. The talk around my workplace is that out-sourcing is in our near future. After discussing this with my soon-to-be Economist wife, these companies shipping jobs overseas aren't seeing the big picture that if every company does this there will be no one left in the U.S. with enough money to purchase the goods and services now being produced in India. In the end it hurts everyone...except the CEOs who will be rewarded for their short term profit gains.

The credit card prank...

I ran across this and thought it was really funny.

This guy tries to see how unintelligible his signature on a credit card receipt has to be before they refuse it. Needless to say, his signatures get extremely creative, and no one seems to care. How's that for security?

And then there was one...

It shouldn't be surprising that Microsoft announced that they would no longer support the IE browser for the Mac. With Apple's release of Safari, it doesn't make sense for Microsoft to continue developing a product that's given away. I honestly don't see a lot of difference between browsers, but lately I've been using Safari. I like it mostly because the interface is cleaner and it keeps the same look and feel of the other Apple apps.

Microsoft said they're not retreating from the Mac platform, as they will continue development of other Mac-based products. The full story is here.

MCI has a sugar daddy...

OK, telecommunications won't be a regular theme here, but I wanted to mention the fact that although MCI (formerly WorldCom) has gone through one of the largest bankruptcies in U.S. history and cost shareholders enormous amounts of money, the Government continues to award them large contracts. I don't think this is right (and it's not because I happen to work for a large telecom). The Motley Fool did a good job summing up the issues here. Take a look.

My iPod obsession...

I don't think it's a unique affliction, but I've spent a lot of time recently obsessing over the the new iPods. I haven't been able to convince myself that it's worth 300 hard earned dollars (at a minimum), so I've been searching eBay for a used one.

Searching eBay has been an interesting experience because I expected that eBay, being a well-functioning and well-informed marketplace, would have the older iPods at a hefty discount from the current retail prices. What I found was that older iPods hold their value extremely well. A used 2nd generation 10 GB iPod is selling for approximately $225-$250 on eBay, when you can by a new 3rd generation one for $299. I don’t know if this is because the iPod purchasing community on eBay is not as well informed as I expected or because the new iPods are in short supply. Anyway, it surprised me, and I guess I’m going to either wait until the prices on eBay fall or make a trip to MacHardware and buy a new one.

Welcome to my life...

Well, I've decided to join the communications revolution and start my own blog.

I have fairly diverse interests, and my blog will likely reflect them. I'm interested in the arts (movies, music, etc.), aviation, technology, advertising, and politics (to a certain extent). I hope you enjoy.