i think we've found it

right now we've been in queenstown for five days. first we stayed at the Peppers Beacon right in town and were terribly disappointed in the accommodations. there was a kickass heated bathroom floor and free laundry, however this did little to make up for the $185 / night rate, lack of in-house dining (read: no room service) and nightmarish parking/check-in situation. we loitered around queenstown for three days, getting haircuts, going off-roading and eating the best burgers in the world from locals Fergberger (HIGHLY recommended). On day four Andy was feeling up to par (after and completely rocked shoulder due to the crazy uneven sidewalks around here) and we got back to researching.

i really dig queenstown. it makes me think of places like sundance; funky mountain town full of skiers and young people. however, i get the impression it's more a corporate-ised / american-ised shell of what it may have once been. there's a starbucks and a louis vuitton if that paints the picture clearer for you. (FYI: just about every major city has McDonald's, Pizza Hut and KFC.) but the tourists love it. did you know queenstown is the home of bungy jumping? remember that scene in the first lord of the rings movie where they're canoing up the river and they pass between those two huge statues of kings? that's right by the bungy birthplace. also, queenstown is the number one destination for adventure tourism in the entire world. that's da whole of de earf, yo.

but i still like the vibe of the place.

today we left our fancy pants lodging and headed out to arrowtown - about 25 minutes northwest of queenstown. we'd booked three nights at this place called Shades of Arrowtown on account of their having wheelchair accessible lodgings and internet (our two must-haves) at the attractive rate of $95 / night. this is cheaper even than the local "campground."

we woke up and stuffed the luggage in the Subaru Forrester (our new favorite touring car) under the hoovering eyes of the housekeeping staff - something that will never, ever, never happen at our establishment - and headed out to have breakfast in arrowtown. we'd intended to kill the morning exploring the very small historic village but those plans were cast aside while looking through the local real estate publishing. it would seem Shades of Arrowtown is up for sale. we hurried over and checked in.

we were the first to check in and took advantage of the down time by falling to chatting with Anne, one of the property co-owners. the three of us chatted about the business and our lives for a good part of the afternoon until more guests started arriving. it would seem that the owners are a family from the UK. they moved here as a temporary stopover while their Australian VISAs got processed - seven years ago. Anne's brother bought the property in partnership with Anne and her husband. The husband and brother then built the entire lodging facilities themselves and have run it ever since. Eventually the brother bought out the whole lot and now everyone is moving on. this property really has everything we're looking for:

- minutes outside a major city
- self contained cottages
- potential for growth (we want to put in a fancy pants cottage and convert the manager's cottage in to a backpackers barracks)
- protected atmosphere / setting

we haven't talked price yet but we're planning to have dinner with Anne and her husband and brother. we're thinking if we can get a taste for it that would help. perhaps running the place while the family goes on holiday. i reckon they're not terribly excited about simply handing over the business to two yank strangers for any amount of time.

wish us luck. if this works...well...don't hate us alex, we love you bunches. and tom and tessa, pack up your stuff and welcome to indentured servitude! muahahahahah!

also, there's a cafe for sale in town. perfect for someone to open up a burrito / tequila joint or a stellar internet cafe. (*cough*tom*cough*estebanbringyourmom'stortillarecipe*cough*)

best. day. evar.

1. wake up next to my honey and not be in a rush to check out
2. take advantage of the day's short two hour drive from Haast to Queenstown by taking an off-road, muddy, cow-poop-filled detour along the sea shore
3. pull off the freeway for an hour to drive down to the banks of a very large, very shallow and unrealistically clear river in order to fill up the water bottle and take the risk of drinking right from the earth (it was really good and really cold)
4. decide the river bank is a great spot for a midday break by making a small fire in the stone and smoking half a j
5. pull off the freeway to investigate "Thunder Creek Falls" only to find the entire path is wheelchair accessible, the sub-tropical/alpine (yes, you heard right) forest is breathtaking, to find a brilliant waterfall that makes you wish it's summer and you can wade across the river and sit under the waterfall. after watching the water fall down the cliff for what turned out to be twenty-five minutes we realised we were completely stoned.
6. consume an entire large bag of apricot oatmeal yoghurt cookies in five minutes
7. take in the river views of haast pass
8. pull off the freeway to witness brush fires being tended to by a helicopter. the copter would dip his ginormous bucket in to the lake, fly over us to the fires and dump the lot. he gave up about fifteen minutes after we started watching. the poor guy hadn't accomplished much.
9. arrive in to queenstown just as the sun is setting against the mountains, check in to the lovely peppers hotel and enjoy our lake/mountain view.
10. have a delicious supper of "wengyu" (the new zealand version of kobe) and porterhouse accompanied by the world's best potato salad at Beefeater Steak House
11. take in a screening of the most excellent action extravaganza Bourne Ultimatum 
12. hurry home in the freezing wind to curl up in snuggly bed comfort with my honey

shoot me now

photos found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaearhart

christchurch

we were supposed to be in christchurch for a few days. we arrived on the 28th i believe and it's now the 1st. looks like were' here till the 3d. going to check out akaroa tomorrow - IF we doint stayo ut too late again. we've lost two days here on account of that!

not much going on these days. with tom here we are mostly doing touisty things like flying downhill in giant plastic bubbles, taking ferry rides and hitting local markets.

i was pretty grouchy - well, out of sorts - the day we went zorbing. there were two sorts of zorbing one could do:

wet: you get in the ball with a bit of water. enough to slosh about in, but not enough to drown you.

dry: you sit inside the ball in a harness-style contraption

tom went wet, i went dry. it was freezing that day and the notion of sitting in public water like that, well, it didn't appeal to me. besides, with the dry balls (giggle) you got tossed around more. upside down, sideways, bouncy, etc. with the wet balls (giggle) you kinda slide the whole way. slosh about like.

i wasn't too excited about it at first, but i'm glad i ended up going.

the perfect meal

View Larger Map
so we had a kind of quiet day today. we're settled in to wellington, new zealand for a few days and slept in till eleven. after dumping the washing on the hotel staff, we headed out on a mission:

tom wanted some cool shoes
andy wanted a sweater
i wanted some of the trendy skinny jeans all the kids are wearing
check out the local photography supply place's stash of crumpler bags

so we headed out down cuba street in search of coffee and brekkie. found both along with a fantastic lemon meringue pie at revive. after bowls of flat white we were ready to brave the freezing wind.

i'd forgotten how fat shopping for pants in new zealand makes me feel. back in the states i am a size eight. here, i am a fourteen - twelve if it's stretchy. it's enough to drive a girl to cut. i tried explaining this to the boys by saying, imagine someone's given you a box with a hole cut in the side. they expect you to put your dick in the box, filling the hole cause that's the same size hole everyone else your size uses. however you find your dick barely fills it at all. no go be happy with yourself and that knowledge. i take solace in the fact that there are very very few women with slender builds and big round asses here.

:: sigh::

so i find a pair of stretchy size twelves at jay jays and go merrily about my day. andy finds a great sweater and some shirts at Hallister, tom buys a jacket there but never scores on the shoes.


around five the shops begin shutting down (on a saturday even) and we begin the trek back to the hotel. we'd noticed the Floridita on the way out and stopped to peruse the menu posted out front. while discussing wether to go in or head up to the sushi joint three doors away, a passerby enthusiastically recommends we eat at Floriditas and further that we order up an elderflower martini. that was enough for us so we headed in.

yeeeee ummmmmm!

the atmosphere was great. kind of french provincial meets diner decor. and there it was at the top of the menu
Elderflower and
Rose Martini
$14

"One, please."

the boys ordered a starter of a sharp goat cheese, mustard fig and homemade crackers. the goat cheese was predictably repulsive but the boys loved it. the fig was soaked in honey and mustard grains, very nice. the crackers reminded me of pita chips.

andy ordered up an $8.50 bottle of organic apple juice - no added anything, just pure squished apples - and let me tell you it was worth every penny. kind of like apple water only lighter. tom had a local cabernet and then my martin arrived.
2 parts bombay sapphire
1 part elderflower cordial
1 part dry vermouth
the smell of it was incredible. a sparse sprinkling of dried rose petals gave it a very light fragrance that was superb if you smelled it up whiles sippin. i don't particularly care for martinis and i despise gin so you can bet i was surprised when i found out what was in it.

i ordered another when the entrees came. for dinner i wasn't too hungry. i ordered a side of wilted kale in garlic ginger and a dessert of eccles (a sort of phyllo cookie with fruit mince inside) and irish cheddar. after the meal i ordered up some candied orange and dark chocolate macaroons and a muscat. i didn't feel terribly stuffed but very satisfied.

best meal in a long while. thank you, floriditas.

---

Elderflower Cordial and Other Elderflower Drinks by Andy Hamilton

Sky City Casino Story

So we were really sleepy Friday night and although we'd talked about walking over to Sky city's Casino, it looked as though we would stay in and wow. but around ten i'd gotten bored killing mages and elementals in Dalaran and said, Yes, I want to go over to the casino now. so we rallied and got freshened up. the walk over was chilly without my parka, but not enough to pout about it.

Sky City was a freaking zoo. even at ten thirty. I was so glad we didn't stay there as per my initial suggestion. we hit the atm up for $400 and took the lift up to the casino. the place was flooded with japanese ladies and maori kids. andy sat at one $25 blackjack table that i didn't really like - i wasn't feeling it, as we say. too many sour faces. no one having fun. he lost $150 in about fifteen minutes. so i encouraged him to move on. doing so, we found a better table. one japanese dude in the last seat and two drunken australians in seats one and two. we sat at three.

At Sky City blackjack you have some "Perfect Pair" options. If you get two of a kind off-suited, it pays out 6 to 1 - IF you bet on it to hit. If you get two of a kind suited, it pays out 25 to 1. again, IF you bet on it to hit.

when we sat down, the two aussies were down and eventually out. i'd asked them if this "Perfect Pair" thing had ever hit. they said they'd never seen it. shortly they left. shortly after that, our japanese fellow at the last seat hit the suited perfect pair on a $25 bet. raked it in. he hit it again about five minutes later. a crowd was starting to gather. the off-suited perfect pairs started rolling in for him. about one every sixth hand. two other people were betting on his hand. after a string of losses we bought in for another $100 (yes, now in for $300) and our luck started to turn around.

they has the magic set up. andy was at seat three buffering the cards and the japanese guy was last and raking in it. we were having a ball and up $200.

then andy had to pee.

so i sat in for him, nervous as hell. first hand lost. second hand busted. third hand i bet on the japanese guy's perfect pair and my own hit with off-suited sixes. i hadn't bet on it. fourth hand blackjack, so i let that win ride and bet $50 on the japanese guy's hand and $25 on both perfect pairs. we both won hand five. andy was gone not five minutes and i'd turned his $500 in to $800. i quickly colored up that $300 profit before his return and shoved it in to my pocket.

when andy returned there was a reasonably sized group gathered around us betting on both our hand and the japanese guy's hand. we couldn't loose. i lost track of how much was being won by those around us when i downed my third jack n diet. the perfecet pairs kept coming and the dealer kept busting. when we had $1500 i convinced andy to walk away. we felt bad cause of all the money we were winning for everyone. but the japanese guy's luck had failed the last two hands and i knew we were next.

we won a lot of people a lot of money and we went out on top. turned $300 in to $1500. not too shabby.

Properties Spotted

Paihia Waterfront $110 800


Houhora Lodge and Homestay


Fantastic Property $2 700 000


Hideawy Lodge $


Paihia Surrounds: Tio Bay $


Mangonoui $


Paihia Surrounds


Paihia Backpackers


Russell Flagstaff Lodge $2 000 000


Russell Bay Lodge

hectare

 
1 hectare = 2.47105381 acres

Seatofour Pants Air, First Class

I had booked us to stay a week in Taupo [map] at the lovely Lakeside Villas. A bit of a bore aesthetically, but ideally located, allegedly accessible and an apartment-style suite. We are considering Taupo because it is a time-tested holiday destination already with local activities to suit our accessible needs. We'd pretty much be buying in to an already successful, tried and true venture. However, I find the whole thing very boring despite its proximity to Rotorua [map] where We had a great time taking in the smells and colors our last visit.

Champagne Springs of Wai-O-Tapu.

You may tell by my tone, I wasn't too excited about this. However, it was a sound destination, it was accessible and ... well, that's it. In true follow-up fashion, I phoned the Villas the day before our arrival. Actually, I attempted to phone them for an entire day, but their line was engaged so I sent off an email. A representative from the Villas phoned me the next morning, the morning of our arrival, and, long story short, we learned that not only was our suite not accessible, it was on the second floor. After struggling with schedules and the prospect of refunds, I was surprisingly unnerved by the whole deal whereas Andy was stressed to the max. After a few hours exchanging phone calls and speaking to many resort staffers, the resort liason called us back with an alternative. He asked if we'd be amenable to staying up in Paihia [more here for my reference] [map] at the Bishop Selwyn (link later).

Paihia is MUCH farther up on my list of Great Areas to Scout in New Zealand. Nearby is Kerikeri, my first love of the North Island, Mangonui and Russell. Also, the resort liason (Ken) got us a much better apartment at the Bishop Selwyn than we would have had at the Lakeside Villas.


All in all, I'm very happy with this bit of serendipity.

---

List of Cities Areas of Interest
and Why

• Northland - North shore area of Auckland. Close to airport, major city and countless attractions
  
• Bay of Islands - Reasonably priced property, more rural, more options for our own resort activities.
  
• Wellington
• Taupo/Rotorua - Established holiday destination, Volcanic and historic activities.
  
• Coromandel Peninsula - Beautiful. Remote and loads of outdoor activities.
  
• Perth
• Southwestern Australia - Wine country
• Sydney
• Melbourne
• Gold Coast - Great Barrier Reef
  

NOTE: Ask me about the "Gimp On The Go Alliance."
Yet to come: Photos so far at Flickr

potential fun

Thu 02/08/07 08:00 PM	Christina Aguilera	Find Tickets
Fri 03/08/07 08:00 PM	Christina Aguilera	Find Tickets

Tue 14/08/07 07:45 PM	The Cure (Allocated Seating)	Find Tickets
Tue 14/08/07 07:45 PM	The Cure (General Admission)	Find Tickets

Martinis for Monkeys
August 18: Auckland Zoo hosts Martinis for Monkeys, raising money for orang-utans through the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Project (SOCP). There will be special monkey cocktails, tiger beer, live music and an auction. Tickets $25 (includes glass of bubbles, nibbles and discounted cocktails), available from the zoo, ph 360 3805.

---

Minus 5 Degree Everything is made of ice the walls, the bar, the sculptures, the seats and even the glasses that you enjoy our famous vodka based cocktails in. Once commencing the tour, guests are kitted out into ice gear which includes sheepskin lined jackets, gloves and booties.

the flight went by incredibly fast. felt more like flying to cincinnati than the opposite side of the planet.

finally got to see hot fuzz and man did it bring the silly. i really like edgar wright's style of direction. edgar wright is to the quick-cuts montage as john woo is to slow mo and doves. i giggled and giggled. then i checked out pathfinder. while the sotry was very interesting (abandoned pale viking boy, the son of brutal savages, finds an adopted home among the peaceful brown natives. bloodthirsty vikings return years later to slaughter said natives and find a mighty warrior who knows their ways, language and weaknesses.) poor cinematography, really dark, high contrast filters and overused dramitc embelishments. oh and the natives speak a flowery english-as-we-know-it, yet the vikings speak, well, apparently viking. this should have been shot like the new world. would have been much more effective.

i flipped on the first lord of the rings movie and fell asleep before bilbo's birthday party. but then, that's precisely why i loaded the movie. sometime during my sleep, the steward tried to rouse me and get me to eat something in the way of a blueberry smoothie. while that sounded amazing, i couldn't be bothered. a bit later he came by with some eggs and bacon that smelled wonderful, but still, i couldn't be bothered. when the captain came on and insisted everyone wake up, sit up and collect their things cause we're about to land in auckland, i was quite surprised. felt like maybe four hours had gone by. i'd slept like a stone.

the spirit is quite different here. a sort of happy peace. almost a silly peace. the morning sky was beautiful. we got in around 7am and there'd been storms all night. the clouds were pink and the sky was gold and blue. the lights of the airport were brilliant and the lighting in general couldn't've been better. my camera was buried in the luggage.

done

1. Garmin nuvi received
2. pants picked up
3. billy litter boxes changed
4. medicines picked up
5. amelia all packed
6. andy allpacked
7. jessica visited the beach - and mexico
8. finally got a confirmation number for the rental in auckland
9. phoned our first hotel to request an early check in. our flight gets in at 6.30 am. boooo

got horribly terribly miserably frustrated driving home from rosarito today. after four reroutings we'd lost forty-five-ish minutes of driving time, wandering about tj. with all the accumulated stress, i freaked. it flet as though i'd never make it home again. i wanted to get out and walk.

lots of stress lately. crazy amounts of it, really. bringing me to fits, tears and general hysteria. the lack of sleep is the matter that cements all this insanity. never before in my life have i so looked forward to a twelve hour flight. i'm going to sleep so soundly for twelve hours. i get so wound up it feels like part of me actually leaves - checks out. i can't be reasoned with, i can't be forced in to anything, i don't even respond to andy being sweet. part of me shuts down and the rest of me freaks out. unpleasant.

i wish i could get a facial in tomorrow morning, just to get some calm before the trip.

maps

google: auckland
http://www.google.com/maps?q=Auckland,+Auckland,+New+Zealand&ie=UTF8&ll=-36.854042,174.764585&spn=0.02129,0.032358&z=15&om=1

Travel Notes

 Mobility for Independence

24 Jubilee Ave, Devonport, Auckland, New Zealand

Auckland, New Zealand
p.: + 64 9 4458401
f. +64 9 4458403
@. info@mobility.co.nz

The Monarch Mark 1 - A
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&geocode=&q=hotel&near=24+Jubilee+Ave,+Devonport,+Auckland,+New+Zealand&ie=UTF8&mrt=kmlkmz&start=80&mpnum=0&ll=-36.887859,174.830933&spn=0.340496,0.510864&z=11&om=1

Hertz Car Rental
Confirmation Number:  D7120494531
Pick-up: Auckland Airport
  Thu, Aug 2, 2007 10:00 AM
Return: Auckland Airport
  Wed, Aug 29, 2007 10:00 AM


Rydges Auckland
Accommodation in Auckland New Zealand
011 (+61 2) 9261 4929
011 649 375 5900

How to get here
From the Auckland Airport - 25 kilometres Northwest:
Turn left onto the George Bolt Memorial Drive which becomes the South Western Motorway.
Turn Left at the the Queenstown Road Interchange and then right onto Queenstown Road which becomes Pah Road.
Continue on Pah Road which becomes Manukau Road and then turn right onto Alpers Road.
From Alpers Road turn right onto Gillies Avenue and then left onto the Gillies On Ramp which places you on the Southern Motorway.
Turn left at the Wellesley Street Off Ramp and then right onto federal Street.
Rydges Aukland is on the corner of Federal Street and Kingston Street.

Google Map 

early morning

to do today: 
1. mexico for medications - back by 2pm
2. pick up pants from tailor
3. change rabbit litter boxes
=4. get UPS package= should be delivered around 5pm
5. work on andy's bearings w/ alex @ 2pm
6. long shower
7. sleepytime

http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

High school students laser-enable the disabled
The students on the Palo Alto High School InvenTeam arrived at the Stanford Cool Products Expo this year with a new system designed to allow quadriplegics to operate all kinds of gadgets and appliances. The user shakes his head to activate a glasses-mounted laser, which he can then point at sensors embedded in an array of custom triggers placed around the home. So far the team's nailed the basic on/off circuit needed for lights, fans, and a pet food dispenser (which is currently shelling out M&M's to Expo attendees), but the real noise is their plan to extend the system by building a small robot that will perform various tasks. According to the school, team captain Guy Davidson was only kidding a little when he said the team hoped "to have [the user] vacuuming in a few weeks." While this isn't the first time we've seen lasers used to assist the disabled, you gotta wonder what's going to happen to their altruisitic spirit when these kids realize they can also just headmount one of those crazy high-powered laser pointers











myGreenElectronics.org

What should you do when confronted with a gun-wielding madman?
Fight or flee, depending on the situation. Running away should be your first plan, when possible. At 20 feet from the gunman, you're still within a deadly range, but at 40 feet, you're a difficult shot. If he starts to shoot as you're making your escape, try to run in a zigzag or another unpredictable pattern. To escape through an upper-floor window, find a drain pipe or a ledge that can slow your descent or let you slide down part of the way. You'll likely hurt your ankles when you land, so be prepared to break the fall with a quick roll. Protect your body by rolling over one shoulder, diagonally across the back and onto the opposite hip.

Calorie Restriction, the Newest Eating Disorder
Scientists don't yet know much about the long-term consequences of calorie restriction for humans. As I explained yesterday, this makes it hard to distinguish between calorie restriction (i.e., "healthy" starving) and anorexia ("unhealthy" starving) on a purely physical level.

But the psychological aspects of anorexia and CR are easier to compare. I read archived e-mail exchanges of the Calorie Restriction Society and found five people to interview: Dean, a software engineer; Paul and Meredith, a couple who practice CR together; Al, a retired scientist; and Nerissa, a preoperative male-to-female transsexual. It was a limited survey but a revealing one.

Boris Yeltsin is dead at age 76 ...

Ethiopian Rebels Kill 70 at Chinese-Run Oil Field





Web Design 101: Positioning

Seven JavaScript Techniques You Should Be Using Today



Cross-Browser Scripting with importNode()



Combine Home Economics with Computer class through the Bernina Artista 730E sewing machine with Windows.





RSS Good Practices: Use Descriptive Auto-Discovery Titles RSS auto-discovery links

Panic has released Coda, a new web development app for OS X. Panic co-founder Cabel Sasser describes it thusly:

Paper Wallet

Video: RSS in Plain English

Summer ’07 Movie Mayhem!

The Office of Special Counsel will investigate U.S. attorney firings and other political activities led by Karl Rove

How the Wii is creaming the competition

60 best CSS directories you would die to watch

How U.S. farm policy makes us fatter and sicker

"Bye, Bye Honey", says the Honeybees. Scientists are worried
Billions of bees have done just that, leaving the crop fields they are supposed to pollinate, and scientists are mystified about why. "They're the heavy lifters of agriculture," Pettis said of honeybees. "And the reason they are is they're so mobile and we can rear them in large numbers and move them to a crop when it's blooming."

17 April 2007

Intel shows off ultraslim concept laptop at IDF







Can 5 Million E-Mails Just Disappear?How to erase a computer file, for good
Robert Johnson, who used to be the publisher of Newsday, was indicted on Tuesday for possessing child pornography and for attempting to destroy evidence. A pair of incriminating movies were found on Johnson's office computer, even though he had apparently used a program called "Evidence Eliminator" to wipe 12,000 files from its hard drive. Can you ever really erase a computer file?

How to get around while making less CO2

Now that new Macs will run Windows beautifully, people are considering Macs who haven't before (I've seen it myself around the office). They may install Windows, but I'm sure that once they play around in the Mac OS for a while, they won't all go back. Being Mac newbies, however, these users may not be aware of the Mac counterparts for some of their favorite Windows apps.
The good folks at Blather have compiled a nice list of popular Windows apps, and their Mac counterparts:
Outlook >Mail and iCal
HomeSite > TextMate
AppRocket > Quicksilver
FlashFXP > Transmit
SecureCRT > Terminal
SQL Manager > Navicat
Tortoise SVN > SVNX
OneNote > OmniOutliner
FastTrack Schedule 9 > OmniPlan
Visio > OmniGraffle
Internet Explorer 7 > Parallels
PHP Encoder > SourceGuardian





Logitech Noise Canceling Headphones $149.99 at Logitech.

California to Cut Welfare Safety Net for Parents
by Elaine Korry
All Things Considered, April 16, 2007 · California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has threatened to cut the welfare safety net for children whose parents aren't working, saying that the only alternative would force California to face federal penalties. But critics say the approach will not change things.



Lexmark X9350The Lexmark™ X9350 Wireless Office All-in-One with Duplex increases flexibility and productivity with wireless printing options.

Good Taste: Top 5 Foods to Prevent Bad Breath and Reality Check: Flossing

How to make a newspaper pot for starting seeds

Tellme brings voice-activated information to your phone


Video of two peacekeeping poultry breaking up a fight between two rabbits. Not animated.

Snoop Dogg recently explained the difference between the language used by old, white radio announcers and rappers:

It's a completely different scenario. [Rappers] are not talking about no
collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and
sports. We're talking about hos that's in the 'hood that ain't doing shit,
that's trying to get a nigga for his money. These are two separate things. First
of all, we ain't no old-ass white men that sit up on MSNBC going hard on black
girls. We are rappers that have these songs coming from our minds and our souls
that are relevant to what we feel. I will not let them muthafuckas say we in the
same league as him.

What Mr. Dogg is arguing here is that it's ok to refer to actual hos as hos in the service of artistic expression but it is not ok to refer to college basketball players as such for the purpose of demeaning people. As we're currently engaged in another go-round on the issue of speech, political correctness, and its potential enforcement, it's not hard to imagine that someday an argument like Snoop Dogg's will be deployed in a court of law. I wonder if anyone will buy it?



Review: AirPort Extreme 802.11n






Gorgeous Mac-like skin for Google Reader
Jon Hicks has created a gorgeous theme for Google Reader. Works in Safari/Firefox/Camino/Opera
Fast Food: Ads vs. Reality
How to Have a Business Conversation

contronyms

16 april 2007

Monday April 16, 2007
The Top 8 Techie Movies of the 1980s
As we celebrate our 25th anniversary over at PC Magazine, and pull together the best of the last two-and-a-half decades in technology, computing, and electronics innovations, it got me thinking that the '80s were not only a groundbreaking decade for personal technology. Like any great lifestyle shift, the dawn of PCs and video games, and the flood of home electronics, was reflected on the big screen. Scheming high school hackers, video game wizzes, and futuristic robots became staple characters and paved the way for countless tech-themed travesties (ahem, The Net) and cultural benchmarks (The Matrix) in the decade-and-a-half that have followed. So, fellow movie and techie geeks, I give you the Top 8 Techie Movies of the 1980s:
1. War Games (1983)
2. Tron (1982)
3. The Terminator (1984)
4. RoboCop (1987)
5. Weird Science (1985)
6. Superman III (1987)
7. The Wizard (1989)
8. Back to the Future (1985)

Clever title award:
Politico Lead Story Fails to Improve on 'Lorem Ipsum' Placeholder Text

Bill Watterson answers 15 reader questions

Why you should be using HTML 4.01 instead of XHTML
90% of People Believe Personal Finance Should a Required Part of School



http://almy.us/image/dungeon.jpg

101 Essential Freelancing Resources

MacGyver Tip: Clean the dishwasher with Kool-Aid
Forget fancy cleansers: Real Simple magazine says you can avoid dishwasher lime deposits and iron stains with a package of Kool-Aid:
Pour a packet of lemonade Kool-Aid (the only flavor that works) into the detergent cup and run the dishwasher while empty... The citric acid in the mix wipes out stains, so you don't have to.
Remember, lemonade only - the red stuff could be a disaster. — Gina Trapani


Obama Returns Donations After Discovering They Were From Lobbyist
Friday, April 13, 2007, 4:17:10 PM
Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign has returned more than $50,000 in political contributions after discovering the donors were lobbyists. Obama, who has pledged to change the ways of Washington, has repeatedly said he will not accept money from lobbyists or from special interests political action committees.

Top Conservatives Demand Bush Fire Gonzales
Today, April 16, 2007, 3 hours ago ADAM ZAGORIN
In what could prove an embarrassing new setback for embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on the eve of his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, a group of influential conservatives and longtime Bush supporters has written a letter to the White House to call for his resignation.

Smoking and Caffeine May Protect Against Parkinson's Disease[Duke University]

Merrill Lynch: buy on Apple weakness
Friday, April 13, 2007, 10:45:00 AM
Research analyst Richard Farmer of Merrill Lynch is urging investors to purchase Apple shares while the price remains low as a result of yesterday's announcement that the Cupertino-based company would delay its release of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard until October in order to devote more resources to its iPhone. "We recommend investors use the current sto...



Aluminium USB Casing (DIY)

Bookmark Bliss: 75 Free Font Resources


The Samsung and Intel PC design winner: the Egg

Q: Are there any societies where homosexuality is predominant?
A: Ah, this brings us to my favorite cultural sexual oddity, which occurs in Sambia, New Guinea. In the Sambia tribe, as early as age 7, young boys are expected to “suck the penis of a mature boy every night and swallow the sperm" (I'd make a joke if I wasn't terrified). Boys who refuse are forever treated as children within the context of their community, because “without regular ingestion of male seed, the Sambia believe, boys will never grow up into strong, mature men.” At the age of 15, the boys are considered mature enough to provide their own genitals for the younger boys to felicitate. Performing fellatio on a younger boy is strictly forbidden; as it is considered stealing his manhood because it results in a loss of semen from the growing boy (makes me wonder if they replace their “Got Milk?” ads with the tagline “Got cum?” No? Awww shucks). As soon as the boys marry, they cease to engage in homosexual contact, but often times, since they are so estranged from female sexuality and coitus, they ask their new brides to wear a bag over her head and fellate them on their wedding night. Interestingly, according to Loving Boys Vol. 1 (haha, cum again?), “After 10 to 15 years of exclusive homosexual activity carried on by 100 % of the Sambia population, the incidence of adult homosexual orientation is only 5 % - exactly the same as in Western society.” So...short answer, yes, long answer, no. Source: Brongersma E: Loving Boys Vol. 1. Elmhurst. New York.: Global Academic Publishers, 1986. Source: Crooks, Robert L. & Baur, Karla (2004) Our Sexuality 9th edition. Wadsworth Publishing Company, 276.

Al Jazeera English Hits YouTube

Tell us something we didn't already know: According to a new survey, the number of uninformed Americans remains the same despite ever increasing news sources, however, those who are informed "were likely to be viewers of" fake news shows like Jon Stewart's Daily Show, and Stephen Colbert's Colbert Report. Meanwhile, "those who knew the least watched network morning news programs, Fox News or local television news." We swear, we're not faking this stuff up. [NYT]
Stewart, Colbert Viewers Better Informed Than Fox News Viewers
Today, April 16, 2007, 4 hours ago
A new survey of 1,502 adults released Sunday by Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that despite the mass appeal of the Internet and cable news since a previous poll in 1989, Americans' knowledge of national affairs has slipped a little. For example, only 69% know that Dick Cheney is vice president, while 74% could identify Dan Quayle in that post in 1989.

In child-arrest case, the adults are the ones out of control






Global warming threatens U.S. security, report says

Are Mobile Phones Wiping Out Bees?

Thanks to Mailplane, Gmail can replace your desktop email client
Mailplane integrates your Gmail account with a handful of applications including iPhoto, Firefox, Safari, and Address Book among others acting as your default email solution. Rest at ease knowing that your desktop email client + POP3 account is no longer a requirement for enjoying a seamless email experience on OS X.