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Too much bad news got you down? - Then stay informed through HappyNews.com instead! "Real News, Compelling Stories, Always Positive"[Thanks, Carl]
—Mike @ 08:50
Flightplan - Without Jodie Foster in the starring role, this weekend's new #1 movie, Flightplan would have been mostly forgettable. With Jodie Foster, it was quite the opposite. We went with Mom & Al Friday night and we all enjoyed it, and found it intensely interesting. It's amazing how she can turn pretty much any plot into something good to watch. The story had a few unexpected twists, plus a few holes, but we were willing to forgive them.
Following an overnight stay at our place, the four of us drove down to the Annapolis area for a weekend family reunion (my mother's side), and dozens of us all had a blast. (Yes, there are now even more pictures in my camera awaiting upload...)
—Mike @ 23:51
Hybrid articles - Dave sends word that today's New York Times Magazine had a number of articles on hybrid and alternative-fuel vehicles. They include:
- High-Performance Hybrids,
- Cars That Guzzle Grass, and
- Pimp My Prius, about how owners are "customizing" (hacking) their car's electronics.
—Mike @ 23:41
Good luck, Texas - An IM conversation tonight with my Internet friend Mary Gaston of Galveston showed how better organized their local government is in preparing for Hurricane Rita, when compared with New Orleans and Louisiana's sluggish response to Katrina. They're preparing to evacuate early tomorrow morning, and it becomes mandatory at 5pm. There are no hilly areas on the island, from what I recall from a brief visit during a business trip many years ago, and everyone's worried they won't have a house to come back to, but at least they're taking the evacuation orders seriously. All they can do now is be safe and hope for a miss instead of a direct hit. What a season!
—Mike @ 23:05
One of my long-time hobbies... - going back to when I was a kid... is BCB DXing (say what?) — That's shorthand for listening for distant signals (DXing) on the AM radio broadcast band (BCB). A club that's been around for nearly 75 years (and that I've belong to longer than I can remember) the National Radio Club, has just launched an online version of its DXNews newsletter, called E-DXN, devoted to this hobby. Content is free for perusal through the end of this year, if you're curious.
—Mike @ 09:21
Apollo on Steroids - That's what NASA calls its newly announced vision of manned space travel technology in the post-Shuttle era. Estimated to be about ten times safer than the Shuttle, the new transportation system goes back to a capsule-on-a-rocket, but with an 18-foot diameter, it would be big enough to accommodate six people at a time; it returns to land, not sea; it could be re-used ten times; it could deliver four people to the moon's surface for a week-long stay or longer; and eventually it could be adapted for Mars missions.
Looks like some smart thinking went into this plan, as it uses the best features from available technology. As always, there will be those who say it's too expensive, we can't afford it, it's not the right time, yada yada. As always, I say we can't NOT afford to press on. This is one of the last remaining vestiges of the American exploration spirit; we need to nurture it.
—Mike @ 08:54
Unpaid endorsement - I like this product: Plus White Teeth Whitener Gel. You smear it on your teeth twice a day for two weeks, leaving it on for just 3 to 5 minutes, and it makes a noticeable difference in whitening your teeth. Even coffee and tea stains look a lot better. After the two weeks, use once a week as needed to maintain. Tastes like toothpaste; not unpleasant at all. Doesn't get much easier than that.
—Mike @ 22:59
Atlantic storm names may go Greek - This is already the fourth busiest Atlantic storm season on record since the 1850s, and we still have a way to go. Seventeen storms have been named, but each year there are only twenty-one names available on the list. So now, they're thinking of using the Greek alphabet in case they need more names. What I want to know is, what if this is a new pattern? If they use the Greek letters this year, what will they do next year? Hmm, maybe the planet names. Or the seven dwarfs? I guess there are lots of possibilities after all.
—Mike @ 22:54
Happy Birthday to me -The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been.—Madeleine L'Engle
About a dozen family members joined together at the lake this weekend to help me celebrate #53. That followed about a dozen friends who came up the previous weekend, so it's been a very fun week from start to finish. We also returned to Water & Wine in Watchung last Friday for another fabulous dinner with our friends Susan & Mike. I ordered Potato-encrusted Snapper Over a Bed of Spinach — my mouth is watering just typing the words. It was unbelievably tasty.
Fifty-three is starting to sound kind of "oldish" to me, but there's good news to report: according to this article [Thanks, Mace], I seem to be already doing a lot of the things should help keep me mentally sharp for a while longer yet.
—Mike @ 08:52
When evacuating - The people of New Orleans (or this week, North Carolina) probably wish they had made better preparations to pick up and leave their homes at a moment's notice. Appropriately, September is National Preparedness Month. The Department of Homeland Security has a web site called Ready.gov that contains some lists of how to prepare an emergency kit containing things you might need in such a situation, and recommendations on how to make a plan for different situations. It's better to think about it now.
—Mike @ 23:43
Find blogs on your favorite topics - using the latest beta product from the Google folks: Google Blog Search.
—Mike @ 13:29
Comparing hospitals - Under the category of more-information-is-good, there are a couple of new web sites that provide data on how well hospitals in your area care for patients with specific medical conditions, and how they compare with other facilities. One site, run by the federal Health & Human Services agency, is located at hospitalcompare.hhs.gov. The second one, at the state level, is sponsored by the NJ Dept. of Health and Senior Services, and can be reached at web.doh.state.nj.us/hpr/.
—Mike @ 15:37
Fuel cost calculator - This online tool from AAA uses current gas price averages to let you see how much gas your model car will use on a given trip, and what it will cost you. Clever! [Thanks, Carl]
—Mike @ 10:58
In this modern day of the Internet, VoIP, cell phones and podcasts - It's good to know that ham radio operators are still with us when we need them most. [Thanks, Rob]
—Mike @ 19:23
Stacking the deck - You probably haven't given much thought to the art of stacking playing cards, but at cardstacker.com, you'll meet a person who has turned it into an art form. He holds the Guinness World Record for the Tallest House of Free-Standing Playing Cards — no glue or fasteners of any kind are used. If you'd like to try your own hand at it, he's also written this how-to book. (Or, maybe you'd prefer to just play the cards that were dealt you?) [Thanks, Barb]
—Mike @ 10:58
Quote du jour -I believe how I act today will affect the way I am tomorrow.—Katharine Hepburn
—Mike @ 10:18
Chewing gum improves memory - Yep, you read that right. That's what this article says. Now if I could just remember where I stashed that gum...
—Mike @ 14:18
A hybrid per minute - That's the rate Toyota expects to be rolling the Prius off its new half-mile assembly line, in an attempt to make one out of every four cars it sells a hybrid. With 650 hybrid-related patents under their belt already, they've increased their R&D budget this year by another 10%, to nearly $7 billion, and they're eyeing their "ultimate goal of selling gasoline-free hydrogen-cell cars". Gasoline-free would be a very popular idea around these parts, if they can manage to work out the details. Time will tell.
—Mike @ 10:15
Nice to see offers of assistance coming the other direction - CNN has compiled this list of countries and agencies around the world (including several coping with major adversities themselves) who have offered money and supplies to victims of Hurricane Katrina.
—Mike @ 15:42
Rollable displays are here - well, at least in prototype form (click the photo for a closer look)."Readius" has a monochrome 5-inch QVGA display with four grey levels that can show maximum two images per second.A consumer product is expected to hit the market within two years. [Thanks, Mace]
—Mike @ 09:32
Even more popular - A friend of mine has a car that is coming off lease soon, so he decided to place his order for a new Prius. There's currently a four-month wait. I knew the wait for the Highlander Hybrid was at least that long, but I thought the Prius had recently come down to a month, with Toyota's ramped-up production. No doubt the skyrocketing gasoline prices have pushed the waiting time way up again.
—Mike @ 09:22
The government response - The federal government has set up a comprehensive website to support Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. The site includes what to do if you are looking for family members affected by the hurricane and how to help those affected.
—Mike @ 16:00
The "Survival of New Orleans blog" - is located here. It makes for some fascinating reading, by someone who is there living it. Includes links to live webcams. [Thanks, Jeff]
—Mike @ 15:43
Making a donation to the Red Cross? - Here's an easy way to make it three times as effective. This fund will triple the first $50,000 donated.
—Mike @ 20:48
More? - There's additional reading available in the Archives.
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