tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57247292011-12-14T21:41:27.344-05:00... has moved! New location is <a href="http://myopiczeal.blogsome.com">MyopicZeal.Blogsome.com</a>.Ericnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2811100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1123985109843865082005-08-13T21:04:00.000-05:002005-08-13T21:05:09.850-05:00

Wow! The new products in the Discovery Toys fall catalog are hot! As regular readers of this blog know, April Wood, a Discovery Toys Senior Education Consultant, is one of the advertisers on our site, and as such we have been given a sneak preview of the fall catalog!The traditional Super Marbleworks Raceway Construction set, and the accessory set of extra parts, have been discontinued and

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1120576348334623682005-07-05T10:09:00.000-05:002005-07-05T10:12:28.343-05:00

If you are looking for the full Discovery Toys catalog online, including products such as the Zip Track, the Super Marbleworks Raceway Construction Set, the Castle Marbleworks, Roll & Play, Tot Rock, and lots of others, you can support our sponsors by viewing it here!Educational books, games, puzzles, and toys are available on April's site, and all porducts are guaranteed for life! Yep.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1119224046846695342005-06-19T18:30:00.000-05:002005-06-19T18:34:06.850-05:00

Buy the Discovery Toys Super Marbleworks Raceway Construction set here!

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1106694895377496602005-01-25T18:12:00.000-05:002005-01-25T18:14:55.376-05:00

My blog is shutting down at this location, and I will be posting under my new location from this point forward. http://myopiczeal.blogsome.com Please update your bookmarks and MyYahoo! feeds. Eric.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1106316377820426002005-01-21T09:04:00.000-05:002005-01-21T09:06:17.820-05:00

In a bit of blatant marketing, here is a link to April's post announcing the Discovery Toys Winter Sale. It really is great stuff and right now they're running a pretty good sale. Stock up for those birthdays!

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1106141364407969332005-01-19T08:29:00.000-05:002005-01-19T08:29:24.406-05:00

Now that's a long discussion.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1106139038337436522005-01-19T07:50:00.000-05:002005-01-19T07:50:38.336-05:00

Anyone believe this? :-)

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1106080318370697692005-01-18T15:31:00.000-05:002005-01-18T15:31:58.370-05:00

You read it on the internets, it must be true.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1106070334416881212005-01-18T12:45:00.000-05:002005-01-18T12:45:34.416-05:00

Print 'em. Hand 'em out as needed. "Just so you know: Everyone around you is being forced to listen to yer conversation"

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1106061717995079862005-01-18T10:21:00.000-05:002005-01-18T10:21:57.996-05:00

"'Good old Europe has made this possible,' German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told a packed hall in Airbus's headquarters in Toulouse, southwest France."

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105994773135664872005-01-17T15:46:00.000-05:002005-01-17T15:46:13.136-05:00

"it gets old after a while" Yeah, I would guess so.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105991954684375922005-01-17T14:59:00.000-05:002005-01-17T14:59:14.686-05:00

Kate Stelnick may weigh only 100 pounds, but her appetite is remarkable. The college student from Princeton, N.J., is the first to meet a restaurant's challenge by downing its six-pound hamburger - and five pounds of fixins' - within three hours. Via Wizbang (with Photos!!)

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105970723332458252005-01-17T09:05:00.000-05:002005-01-17T09:05:23.333-05:00

PSA: "Firearms, weapons of any kind, ammunition (either real or simulated), explosives of any kind (including fireworks), knives, blades, or sharp objects (of any length), aerosol sprays, coolers, thermal or glass containers, mace, pepper spray, sticks, poles, pocket or hand tools (such as a leatherman), packages, backpacks, large bags, duffel bags, suitcases, laser pointers, posters, signs,

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105962621015318352005-01-17T06:50:00.000-05:002005-01-17T06:50:21.016-05:00

For some reason I found this fascinating. By changing the type of paint on the new A380, Airbus dropped 440 pounds off the weight of the plane. "By using chromate-free paint, engineers got the outer paintwork down to about 350 kilograms (770 pounds), Schoepf said. 'That's compared to 550 kilograms (1,210 pounds) for a plane of this size using other paints.' "

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105646808975772112005-01-13T15:06:00.000-05:002005-01-13T15:06:48.976-05:00

Kennedy Slip up: "Kennedy also mangled the name of the Democrats' new star, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, calling him 'Osama bin ... Osama ... Obama.'"

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105640343037071852005-01-13T13:19:00.000-05:002005-01-13T13:19:03.036-05:00

This is a great list. Always avoid alliteration. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with. Avoid clichés like the plague -- they're old hat. Employ the vernacular. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc. Lots more...

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105564386009194562005-01-12T16:13:00.000-05:002005-01-12T16:13:06.010-05:00

"Referring to abortion, [Ted Kennedy] said Democrats should not yield on a woman's right to choose, but should also acknowledge that 'we are a better society when abortions are rare.'" I wonder what his reasoning is that we are better off when abortions are rare? Are we better off when plastic surgery is rare? Or hair cuts? If not, what's the difference? Inquring minds want to know.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105555298519113082005-01-12T13:41:00.000-05:002005-01-12T13:41:38.520-05:00

Myopic Zeal : The $1 Billion Surplus1. Where's the MSM?

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105540048269310632005-01-12T09:27:00.000-05:002005-01-12T09:27:28.270-05:00

Good idea. Celica Tsunami, "the new wave of bold style." Hat tip: Illuminated Donkey.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105527339160460142005-01-12T05:55:00.000-05:002005-01-12T05:55:39.160-05:00

Kind of a cool story about the "Indian Bill Gates." Ajay was first exposed to computers as a baby, sitting on his grandfather's lap while he worked. At nine-months of age he could type A B C on the computer, and when he was just two-years-old he managed to surprise his parents by working out how to send email to his grandparents. ... When he was just five-years-old, Ajay passed the Microsoft

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105526420338677042005-01-12T05:40:00.000-05:002005-01-12T05:40:20.336-05:00

"FORT HOOD, Texas (Reuters) - A former inmate at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison forced by U.S. guards to masturbate in public and piled onto a pyramid of naked men said on Tuesday even Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein did not do such things." Humiliating? Yes. Torture? Questionable. Worse than Saddam? Well, if you call being forced on a pile of naked men worse than this. BAGHDAD — Pictures of dead

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105479751557674932005-01-11T16:42:00.000-05:002005-01-11T16:42:31.556-05:00

Do bike helmets make you safer? Not according to the British Medical Journal. [I]n 1988 the largest survey of cycling casualties ever undertaken concluded that helmets did not prevent injury; indeed, increased use correlated with increased risk of death." Why? Possibly because: The likelihood is that when wearing a helmet cyclists feel less vulnerable and therefore ride less cautiously. As a

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105478448929113152005-01-11T16:20:00.000-05:002005-01-11T16:20:48.930-05:00

Tech Central Station has an interesting read: Take the three isms one at a time. The basic idea behind federalism is to avoid concentrated power -- to give more authority to Austin and Boston, and less to inside-the-Beltway power brokers. Actually, judicially enforced federalism does the opposite. In a world with strong constitutional lines between the federal government and the states, the

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105471829655712942005-01-11T14:30:00.000-05:002005-01-11T14:30:29.656-05:00

Hate speech? “Although this week should be fun for those not offended by alternative lifestyles, with scheduled events including The Pleasure Hunt, The Blue Ball Dance, In-Drag Races and more, we are strongly suggesting that families concerned with exposing their children to the homosexual lifestyle and homosexual behavior schedule their vacations another time,” Heirich wrote on his site.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105393185929001382005-01-10T16:39:00.000-05:002005-01-10T16:39:45.930-05:00

Fascinating stuff. Check out the rise of Firefox (formerly, Mozilla) over the last year. Jan 2004: IE: 84% Mozilla: 8.2% Dec 2004: IE: 71% Mozilla: 21.3% That's HUGE, considering the number of people browsing the web.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105390294081866652005-01-10T15:51:00.000-05:002005-01-10T15:51:34.083-05:00

This is the best one sentence summary of the dilemma an undercover agent must face that I've read: "In order to penetrate you not only have to be language-proficient, you also have to commit acts that exceed criminality. It's very hard. " [The full story is about the idea that we are better off if Bin Laden is left at large].

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105386135804755482005-01-10T14:42:00.000-05:002005-01-10T14:42:15.803-05:00

I've got some friends in the southwest who might be interested in this. The apple pie is actually a green chile apple, while other options include cherry chipotle and habañero peach. //slightly embarassed to be caught having listened to NPR....

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105378095074633962005-01-10T12:28:00.001-05:002005-01-10T12:28:15.073-05:00

One of the funniest dumb criminal stories in a long time... After cleaning out the till, the robber and a passenger took off in a red Honda, and cops from four towns and sheriff's deputies gave chase. The caravan zoomed at speeds up to 100 mph through the winding roads of western Puget Sound, where twists and turns can leave even locals disoriented. After a while, the fugitives managed to lose

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105377976730270272005-01-10T12:26:00.000-05:002005-01-10T12:26:16.730-05:00

Interesting law in Washington "'It is the policy of the state that you cannot dissolve a marriage when one of the parties is pregnant,' "

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105376994078945432005-01-10T12:09:00.000-05:002005-01-10T12:09:54.076-05:00

This band has some great lyrics... [Country Music Alert] Listen here. Yet another hat tip.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105376758413022672005-01-10T12:05:00.000-05:002005-01-10T12:05:58.413-05:00

Interested? The company that owns Biosphere 2 Center, 3.1 glass-enclosed acres designed to simulate the Earth’s environment, has put the site up for sale. Hat tip: David at Agape.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105372591493378492005-01-10T10:56:00.000-05:002005-01-10T10:56:31.493-05:00

"If nothing else, they said, Gingrich understands that talk [of his potential presidential aspirations] could help sell his book, which goes on sale Monday."

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1105372307319529692005-01-10T10:51:00.000-05:002005-01-10T10:51:47.320-05:00

Interesting theory. "The killer wave that swallowed tens of thousands of Muslims was an act of Allah designed to punish the Christians. So went the convoluted logic of some Muslim imams in recent sermons from Saudi Arabia to the Palestinian territories. "

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104925078081345472005-01-05T06:37:00.001-05:002005-01-05T06:41:12.276-05:00

This is sort of a fun list. A few of the 100... The collective noun for rhinos is "crash". The Sydney Harbour Bridge contains just 16 nuts and bolts. The rest is held together by rivets, because it doesn't need to be dismantled. Herrings break wind to communicate and keep the school together. A "jiffy" is 10 milliseconds in computer science terms.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104892276401893842005-01-04T21:31:00.000-05:002005-01-04T21:31:16.400-05:00

Great quote, found on Walt Williams' home page: "' The greatest threat to the future of our nation -- to our freedom -- is not foreign military aggression or internal communistic subversion but the growing dependence of the people on a paternalistic government. A nation is no stronger than its people and the best measure of their strength is how they accept responsibility. There will never be a

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104886330625858452005-01-04T19:52:00.000-05:002005-01-04T19:52:10.626-05:00

Keys are locked in the car. What's the best way to get them out? Call the fire department and tell them your car is on fire. Keys no longer locked in. Man locked up.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104868421398363042005-01-04T14:53:00.000-05:002005-01-04T14:59:19.350-05:00

More on the "equivalencies" comparing Tsunami deaths v. death by Saddam. We've been hearing a lot about equivalencies lately: People are comparing the money pledged to tsunami relief to the money spent on the inauguration. People are equating the money dedicated to tsunami relief to the money spent on the occupation of Iraq. Well, let's look at this tragic equivalency, too: By the latest

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104863949654233952005-01-04T13:39:00.000-05:002005-01-04T13:39:09.653-05:00

Let me guess... he wants to borrow a pair of really sharp toe-nail clippers and promises to be good. "Prosecutor Adina Ekiel added: 'He is complaining that his toe nails are too long.' "

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104842568955990372005-01-04T07:42:00.000-05:002005-01-04T07:42:48.956-05:00

Great analogy: 'This is going to be very much like sticking your hand in a wasp nest,' said David C. John, a Social Security analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation and an ally of the president. 'And the reaction will be similar.'

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104804611910124742005-01-03T21:10:00.000-05:002005-01-03T21:10:11.910-05:00

Rush Limbaugh makes some creative points regarding the comparison between the outpouring of compassion for a natural disaster like the tsunami, versus the relative lack of compassion for the victims of manmade tragedies like are seen in Rwanda, Darfur, or Iraq (claim: Saddam killed twice as many people as the tsunami did - though it was over a period of years).

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104784241961202372005-01-03T15:30:00.000-05:002005-01-03T15:30:41.960-05:00

Get in an accident while wearing a seat belt ... win a T-shirt from the state of Tennessee!

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104783956759385032005-01-03T15:25:00.000-05:002005-01-03T15:25:56.760-05:00

"Chiao and Russian cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov, who arrived at the station in October, had to cut calories because the previous crew got into their food rations. They had permission to do that but did not record how much they had eaten and 'It was not until we got well into the mission, we started seeing on board we weren't going to have enough,' Chiao said."

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104782900180995972005-01-03T15:08:00.000-05:002005-01-03T15:08:20.180-05:00

Ah, the timeless "pull the chair out from under the Queen as she sits down" prank.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104781694434479622005-01-03T14:48:00.000-05:002005-01-03T14:48:14.433-05:00

This is hilarious. From The Sun.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104780846316170422005-01-03T14:34:00.000-05:002005-01-03T14:34:06.316-05:00

Michelle Malkin quotes at length a Barron's article regarding illegal aliens. Of note: If the IRS could collect all the taxes it says that it is owed from the underground economy in a given year, then the current budget deficit would disappear overnight. And if the IRS could collect these taxes every year, then the nation would have surpluses as far as the eye can see.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104766650835382742005-01-03T10:37:00.000-05:002005-01-03T10:37:30.836-05:00

"The U.N., without the U.S. behind it, is a failed institution" - Richard Holbrooke, quoted by NYT Jan 3, 2005.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104766178661233762005-01-03T10:29:00.000-05:002005-01-03T10:29:38.660-05:00

Bored?

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104766086362133532005-01-03T10:28:00.000-05:002005-01-03T10:28:06.363-05:00

Creative writing from a high school senior: "Punctuation is a serious problem, too. Imagine if we all took your easy way out, you punctuation slackers. Something as simple as a comment on the weather could turn into an insult. 'You look ugly today huh' is very different from the intended, 'You, look! Ugly today, huh?'"

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104760823797948432005-01-03T09:00:00.000-05:002005-01-03T09:00:23.796-05:00

Michelle on Nanny 916. Fines against children for playing with toy guns that look realistic?

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104760671525940702005-01-03T08:57:00.000-05:002005-01-03T08:57:51.526-05:00

She peered through the peephole and saw a stranger trying to break into her home. Fear gripped her. As she waited for the police, she tried to scare the man off: She banged on the door. Cranked up the stereo. The man left, but the feeling of helplessness was life-changing. "I realized that no one was going to take care of me but me. The police can't be on every street corner. You need to be

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104759942871903052005-01-03T08:45:00.000-05:002005-01-03T08:45:42.870-05:00

Posted on Agape's blog. Worth reiterating. === Hopefully we do not become numb to these stories, simply because there are so many. It is amazing how short our memories can be, and a world away we will tend to forget or immunize our minds to this tragedy. Shiva’s sons, Sunder, five, and Gautam, three, were having breakfast while their six-year-old sister, Abhinaya, fetched water from the

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104700570318044092005-01-02T16:16:00.000-05:002005-01-02T16:16:10.316-05:00

Drudge tells us: "In the heady days before the election, Kerry's top aides sat around picking a cabinet. Nowadays the foreign-policy team still meets on the assumption that it could be reconstituted for '08. But the reality is, 'it's mostly sitting around some lawyer's office and asking each other if we've heard about jobs,' says a member of the team."

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104529488570368812004-12-31T16:44:00.000-05:002004-12-31T16:44:48.570-05:00

"INEVITABLY, confronted with a tragedy of unimaginable scale, the human mind looks for someone to blame. In the Dark Ages, disasters were ascribed to the wrath of God. Now, in an odd inversion that we like to think of as progress, they are adduced as evidence of no God. In the absence of a deity to decry or appease when the earth moves in such devastating fashion, humankind reaches for the next

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104514507532766462004-12-31T12:35:00.000-05:002004-12-31T12:35:07.533-05:00

Sometimes it takes a tsunami to make one surrender to God. At 35, he said, 'My life is finished. All I can do now is to surrender to God.' Amazing story of a python saving some people from the flood waters.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104451146867339282004-12-30T18:59:00.000-05:002004-12-30T18:59:06.866-05:00

“I don’t know what that is about but it sounds very much, I am afraid, like the US trying to have a separate operation and not work with the rest of the world through the UN system,” she added. ... or maybe it's just that the US would rather our donations actually go to those that need the assistance, rather than line Kofi's wallet.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104435670298610412004-12-30T14:41:00.000-05:002004-12-30T14:41:10.300-05:00

"'It meant I wasn't able to have bee stings for two weeks and so it's set my treatment back."

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104352369756702702004-12-29T15:32:00.000-05:002004-12-29T15:32:49.756-05:00

"No matter if it rains or snows..." Hah.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104346538074157392004-12-29T13:55:00.000-05:002004-12-29T13:55:38.076-05:00

This is nothing short of astounding to me.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104272322244649562004-12-28T17:18:00.000-05:002004-12-28T17:18:42.243-05:00

Oh my, this is funny. Investigators were suspicious about the report because the head carving was backwards, as if done while looking into a mirror.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104163298367008252004-12-27T11:01:00.000-05:002004-12-27T11:01:38.366-05:00

Title link goes to a Yahoo search for earthquake car. The power is incredible.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104112517618519032004-12-26T20:55:00.000-05:002004-12-26T20:55:17.616-05:00

Wow. Spent most of the day after Christmas assembling various gifts for the kids from grandparents and aunts. There should be a law against giving unassembled gifts. Much assembly was required.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104001039157166122004-12-25T13:57:00.000-05:002004-12-25T13:57:19.156-05:00

Interesting. "'In my view, Blockbuster just killed the video store by offering $15 pricing for online, but maintaining $25 a month for store-based subscriptions,' Hastings said. 'They are telling their customers to go online.' "

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1104000648799121942004-12-25T13:50:00.000-05:002004-12-25T13:50:48.800-05:00

A fun list... Still others probably should have been abandoned on the drawing board along with the wireless washing machine. "There are a lot of good ideas that fail," said Danielle Levites, vice president of consumer devices research at IDC, a technology research company. "Either they're not really marketed or it's too much for consumers to get their brain around." "And then, some are just

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103856197168519312004-12-23T21:43:00.000-05:002004-12-23T21:43:17.166-05:00

hat tip: Michelle Malkin: HAVE A P.C. CHRISTMAS WHATEVER

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103856092655121882004-12-23T21:41:00.000-05:002004-12-23T21:41:32.656-05:00

Emboldened by his re-election victory and gains by Republicans in the Senate, Bush plans to resubmit 20 nominations for positions on key U.S. appeals and district courts, the White House said.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103812187041285022004-12-23T09:29:00.000-05:002004-12-23T09:29:47.040-05:00

Funny.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103736482449881862004-12-22T12:28:00.000-05:002004-12-22T12:28:02.450-05:00

Would you walk upstairs in one of these? This 2-legged, mountable robot was developed for three-dimensional mobility, with the ability to navigate staircases. The passenger climbs on and drives with a joystick. Toyota will present this proposal for a new type of mobility at EXPO 2005 AICHI, JAPAN. Design Concept The egg-shaped design of the “i-foot” that wraps around the passenger is meant to

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103732206848944792004-12-22T11:16:00.000-05:002004-12-22T11:16:46.846-05:00

Hilarious stuff from a Scrappleface poster, Norton Tierra (12/22/2004 8:05 am post on the ACLU Primordial Soup story). ... Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103730583469496322004-12-22T10:49:00.000-05:002004-12-22T10:49:43.470-05:00

Fascinating observation from Powerline in Time. 'The world is full of smart people who have information about every imaginable topic, and until the Internet came along, there wasn't any practical way to put it together.'

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103730368687641122004-12-22T10:46:00.000-05:002004-12-22T10:46:08.686-05:00

Hah!

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103724354423494872004-12-22T09:05:00.000-05:002004-12-22T09:05:54.423-05:00

And here I thought the term Chrismakwanzukah was a joke ... not an attempt at sensitivity. "Chrismukkah/Chrismakwanzukah" A variety of words that have been created to include all the major December holidays and thereby avoid offending anyone; also great for people who celebrate more than one holiday. Some say it's a major breakthrough for tolerance and inclusion; others complain that the PC

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103665722717706952004-12-21T16:48:00.000-05:002004-12-21T16:48:42.716-05:00

"each of us should, along with other wills, funeral plans, etc., leave a list of passwords with our next of kin or family lawyer. (You can always encode them and separately leave instructions on how they should be decoded.)" Read the context here.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103662943263439652004-12-21T16:02:00.000-05:002004-12-21T16:02:23.263-05:00

Zogby: "Santa Claus 'a Democrat', Ebenezer Scrooge, Grinch 'Republicans', New Zogby Poll Finds" A plurality of likely voters say that longtime Christmas fixture Santa Claus is a Democrat, a new Zogby International poll reveals. The same survey found voters even more sure of the political leanings of two other Christmas icons: Ebenezer Scrooge and the Grinch are likely Republicans. The

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103646360458685682004-12-21T11:26:00.000-05:002004-12-21T11:28:57.373-05:00

This book is absolutely hilarious. Got it for my dad for Christmas, but I don't think he reads this blog, so I'll post it in hopes of not ruining the surprise.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103646104544854772004-12-21T11:21:00.000-05:002004-12-21T11:21:44.543-05:00

"Igniting a public uproar, some Jewish settlers said Tuesday they will soon start wearing orange stars on their shirts in a provocative campaign comparing the government's Gaza withdrawal plan to the Nazi Holocaust."

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103548795213994912004-12-20T08:19:00.000-05:002004-12-20T08:19:55.213-05:00

More fun from Ott. The source added that Internet Explorer is a superior product because it allows computer experts, called 'hackers', to control your computer. 'Who would you rather have in control of your PC?' the Microsoft spokesman asked rhetorically, 'Do you want an expert who knows every line of the IE code, or some bozo like you who just walks into Circuit City and buys the cheapest PC

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103515531325069222004-12-19T23:05:00.000-05:002004-12-19T23:05:31.326-05:00

Funny. Sort of.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103514799044441102004-12-19T22:53:00.000-05:002004-12-19T22:53:19.043-05:00

An Italian tourist aboard a flight from Sydney to Vienna caused an international security alert after he sent a joke text message from his cell phone to his wife claiming his plane had been hijacked by terrorists, the Australian government confirmed Sunday. "Hey, this'll be funny..."

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103339457963253412004-12-17T22:10:00.000-05:002004-12-17T22:10:57.963-05:00

Taranto is great: "'San Francisco supervisors want voters to approve a sweeping handgun ban that would prohibit almost everyone except law enforcement officers, security guards and military members from possessing firearms in the city,' the Associated Press reports. Advocates of the ban present it as a suicide-prevention measure. Says Bill Barnes, an aide to Supervisor Chris Daly: 'We know

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103331668470218932004-12-17T20:01:00.000-05:002004-12-17T20:01:08.470-05:00

On one hand... "It seems to me that the incidents of violence were more severe and the district really wasn't dealing with it," Rumore said. "When I talked about this they said, 'You're making the district look bad,' and I said, 'No, the violence is making the district look bad.' " On the other... "It sends entirely the wrong message to students," he said. "It tells them, 'We expect you to

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103250287917510812004-12-16T21:24:00.000-05:002004-12-16T21:26:10.106-05:00

Absolutely hilarious. OshKosh ad from 1939.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103249145504631622004-12-16T21:05:00.000-05:002004-12-16T21:05:45.506-05:00

All you engineering students, have at it! The millionaire activist is so convinced of a government cover-up he is offering a $100,000 reward to any engineering student who can prove the World Trade Center buildings crashed the way the government says. ... at least he's putting his money whre his mouth is: "Walter has spent about 30 percent [more than $3 million!] of his net worth on his efforts

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103242114867621122004-12-16T19:08:00.000-05:002004-12-16T19:08:34.866-05:00

Parent outraged over Christmas pageant song she calls racist "This is not fun, this is not fun to me," she said. Somebody's grumpy...

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103193218985934022004-12-16T05:33:00.000-05:002004-12-16T05:33:38.986-05:00

20% is a huge number. Estimates of how prevalent click fraud has become since it appeared four years ago are all over the map. Jessie Stricchiola, the president of Alchemist Media, estimated that as much as 20 percent of all clicks on paid search ads are shams.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103192763833259042004-12-16T05:26:00.000-05:002004-12-16T05:26:03.833-05:00

Happened across this interesting article from an old Economist print edition (8/2/2001). Environmentalists tend to believe that, ecologically speaking, things are getting worse and worse. Bjorn Lomborg, once deep green himself, argues that they are wrong in almost every particular

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103192572121679182004-12-16T05:22:00.000-05:002004-12-16T05:22:52.120-05:00

Now I've truly seen it all. Severe weather caused by global warming can pose greater physical danger to women than men, a Canadian attending a UN conference on climate change said Friday. 'For instance, often women don't know how to swim, so in a flood situation that can lead to a higher instance of death or injury,' Angie Daze, a program manager with a Canadian group called Reducing

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103192437027869142004-12-16T05:20:00.000-05:002004-12-16T05:20:37.026-05:00

According to Cheney: "The tax code is 'thousands of pages long,' and so complex that America employs some 1.2 million tax preparers -- more than the U.S. Army. "

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103191923143706752004-12-16T05:12:00.000-05:002004-12-16T05:13:23.706-05:00

You definitely need one of these. Wouldn't want to make poor fido walk. In other news, Britney Spears has treated her pet chihuahua to a £93 [$175] steak. The singer ordered the prime cut of meat when she took Bitbit out for a gourmet meal at the Picasso restaurant in the Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103155766829627722004-12-15T19:09:00.000-05:002004-12-15T19:09:26.830-05:00

This is great. As Wonkette said: Nothing says "Woohoo, we lost!" like a quality shirt from BlueStateShirts.com

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103112194451421382004-12-15T07:03:00.000-05:002004-12-15T07:03:14.450-05:00

Hey, I've eaten here! :-) 'What they have in the cafeteria is not a lot better, and it's certainly not affordable,' said Donna Wilkison, a post-operative nurse waiting in line for her McDonald's salad with chicken. The cafeteria salad bar, priced at $4.64 a pound, 'gets very expensive. They need to bring in something else that's more affordable.' Yeah, but... Adjacent to the McDonald's is a

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103080491937307502004-12-14T22:14:00.000-05:002004-12-14T22:14:51.936-05:00

Practical jokes not to play on Costa Rican taxi drivers. Leonel Arias, 47, told police he was playing a practical joke by donning the Bin Laden mask, toting his pellet rifle and jumping out to scare drivers on a narrow street in his hometown, Carrizal de Alajuela, about 20 miles north of San Jose.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103042781157252972004-12-14T11:46:00.000-05:002004-12-14T11:46:21.156-05:00

Great stuff. "Easily offended people offend me." And much more serious commentary.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103035727068087372004-12-14T09:48:00.000-05:002004-12-14T09:48:47.066-05:00

This is not a joke. "A 10-year-old fourth-grade girl at Holme Elementary School in the Far Northeast was pulled out of class, handcuffed, and taken to the local police station in the back of a police wagon earlier this week after a pair of 8-inch scissors were found in her book bag, according to authorities and her angry mother."

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103035508074951672004-12-14T09:45:00.000-05:002004-12-14T09:45:08.073-05:00

Good on Taranto: "or that a good temperament is an important qualification for a seat on the bench but not a finger on the button"

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1103035320774437232004-12-14T09:42:00.000-05:002004-12-14T09:42:00.773-05:00

That's pretty cool.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1102975527566487252004-12-13T17:05:00.000-05:002004-12-13T17:05:27.566-05:00

Laughed out loud at this one... "including a windmill that runs on oil"

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1102975264488310222004-12-13T17:01:00.000-05:002004-12-13T17:01:04.486-05:00

This could get interesting. "We think he was a major player in this — a central figure," a senior law-enforcement official told The Post.

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1102969437888915772004-12-13T15:23:00.000-05:002004-12-13T15:25:46.746-05:00

Sort of funny. This site suggests Kerry might have been poisoned by the GOP - using Botox instead of Dioxin. In light of this, which is, of course, NOT funny ...

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1102964594157854622004-12-13T14:03:00.000-05:002004-12-13T14:03:14.156-05:00

Some interesting commentary from Steve Sailer, who seems to have a nack for writing about subjects which tend to be controversial or thought and not spoken. Funny (emphasis mine): That the president launched a war under false pretenses no doubt caused a few highly-informed constituencies, such as the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the CIA, and the subscribers to this magazine, to shift many of their

Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724729.post-1102954412262221672004-12-13T11:12:00.000-05:002004-12-13T11:13:32.263-05:00

The ultimate geek gift.

Ericnoreply@blogger.com