Linda's new look...

I'm back...

I'm resurrecting my blog. Linda and I are planning to use it to send updates about the baby. We'll see how long that lasts.

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.