Digital Photography. I am now the proud owner of a Canon Digital Elph S300 with a 256 MB memory card! Now if only this battery would charge faster! Photos will be forthcoming!

Crazy Cleaning Christians. By God's magnificent hand the Christians have invaded our dorm room and started cleaning it! As part of their capus outreach service, volunteers are serving others by cleaning rooms of whoever signed up. I'm not sure who signed us up, but these Christians sure know how to clean a bathroom! My roommate Evan will be so mad he missed the excitement! I'm Catholic and I've never heard fo sch a thing as the Christian Cleaning Team or whatever they call themselves, but it seems like a great idea to me!

Ready for Wi-Fi? A Wi-Fi world: "Wireless Lans, also known as Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) and based on a standard with the less-than-appealing name, 802.11, are proving hugely popular in the US. They are increasingly being installed in kindergartens, offices and homes as well as so-called "hot spots" - public locations including airports and cafes. The Starbucks in Montgomery Street is one of 600 outlets where the service is available in collaboration with Voicestream Wireless, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom."

Bye Bye Beeper: Cellphone convergence is happening. The Bell Is Tolling for the Beeper: "The one-way pager, which first became popular among doctors and drug dealers in the early 1990's, is an endangered species these days. The number in use in the United States has declined about 20 percent since peaking in 1998, and few new customers are signing up for service. Among those who still have a pager, one-quarter use them very little if at all. And Motorola (news/quote), the dominant beeper manufacturer, announced last December that it would no longer make one-way pagers.

...Beepers became "virtually obsolete" when cellphone carriers introduced pagerlike features like voice mail and caller ID..."

Largest Palestinian Rally Yet. Thousands Turn Out for Rally to Show Palestinians Support: "few thousand demonstrators rallied along Broadway near Times Square yesterday in the most highly visible display of support for Palestinians in the metropolitan region since the latest round of violence erupted in the Middle East.

Several thousand officers carrying riot helmets surrounded the crowds along Broadway from 38th to 42nd Streets, while a police helicopter hovered overhead. Traffic was snarled for hours as pedestrians clogged intersections in a steady drizzle and the section of street along the rally was reduced to one lane.

The demonstration grew tense only a few times as some passers-by exchanged heated words with protesters."

More wackiness. Eight-year-old drives to school after missing bus. What more can I say? Kids and cars don't mix. :)

More on Warblogs. I just came across an Online Journalism Review article which discusses warblogs: Let Slip the Blogs of War. Its an interesting companion piece to the article I wrote for NYU's newspaper.

Phone number Internet addresses? The Internet: Listing Again: "A way to turn telephone numbers into web addresses is proving controversial. Few things cause more trouble in the online world than lists. The body overseeing the Internet's domain-name system, ICANN, keeps making unfortunate headlines; recently, one of the group's own board members sued it to open its books. Now another electronic directory has become a bone of contention: ENUM, a way of turning telephone numbers into Internet addresses by converting the numbers into domain names ending in .arpa." I don't really understand the purpose of this system. Any ideas?

New Conservative Newspaper to Challenge New York Times. Right-wing readers in New York: "The soon-to-be-launched New York Sun, named after a deceased publication famous for whimsically proving the existence of Father Christmas, will be a 12-30-page broadsheet—a form of newspaper that, apart from the Times and a handful of other publications founded in the 1800s, has largely ceased to exist. The Sun's pitch is that it will be more conservative than the Times and write more about the city. Its managing editor, Ira Stoll, has spent the past two years running a website, Smartertimes.com, that amusingly skewers the Times for its allegedly leftish views and questionable knowledge of New York outside Manhattan."

Give peace a chance. Israel and Palestine: "By accident, Ariel Sharon may have created an opportunity for peace. ARIEL SHARON invaded the West Bank in order, he said, to uproot terrorism and isolate Yasser Arafat. In the casbah of Nablus, the Jenin refugee camp and other towns and villages, Israeli soldiers appear to have killed several hundred armed Palestinians, and by most accounts many unarmed ones too. But it is Mr Sharon, not Mr Arafat, whom this onslaught has isolated. By defying the demands to withdraw issued by the United Nations, the United States and almost everyone else, Mr Sharon has enraged Israel's enemies, alienated its friends, and blackened its name in the court of world opinion."

As time flies by... I just realized it has been 7 months since the September 11th attacks. As the successfully brilliant "Towers of Light" tribute will soon be shut off for the last time, I wonder how many more "11th's" I will recall the sheer horror of the events that rocked everything I believed in. More importantly, I wonder whether the world is any better off now form the whole experience. It seems the majority of the world has long forgotten about what happened, besides those actively involved with the "War on Terrorism," who use the tragedy as a chess piece in their game of world strategy. Yeah, tragedy = strategy. How unfortunate. I wonder how the families of the thousands lost feel seven months later. I can only hope the world can learn something from what happened and how we all came together after the towers came falling down.

Anthrax: unusual coating found. Official: Unusual coating in anthrax mailings: "Scientists have found a new chemical in the coating on the anthrax spores mailed to journalists and politicians last fall, a high-ranking government official said Wednesday. The discovery of the unnamed chemical, something scientists are familiar with, was surprising, the official said. Previously, officials had reported that the coating on the anthrax included silica, which helped the spores not to clump.

The purity, fineness and potency of the anthrax -- particularly that mailed to Sens. Tom Daschle, D-South Dakota, and Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont -- makes it highly unlikely that the sender of the letters made and treated the spores in a makeshift setting, according to officials involved in the massive investigation."

Blog Review! As part of Acutecut.com's Peer-to-Peer Blog Review, I reviewed Indigoblog. Here's my review:

Indigoblog is a lot of things by a Wisconsin woman who has a lot to say. Using her excellent design skills and thoughtful commentary, Leann manages to create an experience that's both visually and mentally stimulating, with a good amount of fun on the side.

The content of Indigoblog is pretty general and pretty good, especially from someone who says they never really liked the idea of a personal site, yet was caught up in the whole blogging phenomenon. Leann links to many funny and thought-provoking websites, which the reader will definitely enjoy.

Keep up the great designs and good content. Both make Indigoblog a must-read!

Stare into the palm of my hand. The Program Board had a return-engagement of Hypnotist-extraordinaire Michael C. Anthony this Wednesday! Although a lack of advertising led to a half-capactiy crowd at Schimmel for the show, the Comedy Central critics seemed to really enjoy the show. Lori was the tech for the show, popping her head up from behind the podium every once in a while. Only Evan, Julie, and I helped Ellen and Lori work the show because PB also had a lecture at Thompson. Michael C. Anthony was great as always and even got the "missing 6" and the "safety belt" hypnotisms to work excellently this time!

Bad flush. Woman in shock after rat in toilet ordeal: "A Norwegian woman was shocked as she sat on the toilet when a rat popped its head out between her legs. Marit Graeter jumped off the loo seat in shock and the rat disappeared back down the plumbing.

The woman from Sandnes says she can't bear to use the downstairs toilet again. She used one upstairs but always checks in the bowl first. Her water company advised her to pour boiling water down the toilet. The rat has not made an appearance since."

Leno vs. Letterman Ever wonder who is winnign the late night ratings war? TV Guide looks at The Hardest-Working, Least Talked About, Most Popular Man in Show Business: "Sometimes it seems like Jay Leno can't win. It's funny, because he does win. NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno is the most popular late-night show in television. Seven years running, it's tops in the ratings. It beats David Letterman'sLate Show. It beats Ted Koppel's Nightline.

But a decade after assuming Johnny Carson's chair (a 10th-anniversary special airs April 30), Leno is still searching for respect."

I'm not too sure the writer likes Leno that much, though.

Oh, Hasselhoff, how you sing! I think David Hasselhoff is hooked on a feeling! (Java movie)

Aye Carumba! Brazil Has a Cow Over "Simpsons": "Looks like Bart Simpson will never be a diplomat. The spiky-haired brat of Fox's long-running The Simpsons and his animated clan are being decried by Brazilian officials for an episode they say sullied the reputation of international party destination Rio de Janeiro. In fact, not only are they decrying, they're crying lawsuit.

According to reports out of the South American country, Rio's tourism agency, Riotur, has asked its legal counsel to file a civil lawsuit (in a U.S. court) against the network over the March 31 Simpsons installment, "Blame it on Lisa."

...Rio's O Globo newspaper says Riotur took exception to the parts of the story where: (1) Homer is held for $50,000 ransom by a cab driver; (2) Bart is swallowed whole by a boa constrictor; (3) Marge is "helped" by unhelpful Brazilian police; (4) Lisa, et al, are attacked by mad monkeys; and, (5) Teletubbies is parodied as Teleboobies."

[via evhead]

When is your Kilobirthday? Kilobirthday: "A Kilobirthday occurs once every thousand days after the day of your birth. Arguably as arbitrary as any other isochronal celebration, the Kilobirthday allows you commemorate the day of your birth during every season of the year..." My 8K birthday is May 28, 2003!

This will blow your mind! Submitted for your enjoyment, its Bea Arthur wrestling dinosaurs!

Car Show 2002! Evan and I went to the Auto Show at the Jacob Javits Center for FREE, courtesy of Melinda Wasserman at YouthStream Media Networks. We went on Sunday, the last day of the exposition. This was my first NYC car show and it was pretty exciting. While all the cars were extremely powerful and expensive, the concept cars really stood out, especially one that was an electric-gas hybrid. Mike from Brooklynkid.com also went to the show (yet I didn't see him) and took these car show pics.

Ashcroft refuses to sing. On his appearance on the "Late Show with David Letterman" this evening, the Attorney General refused to sing his now-famous "Let the Eagles Soar" much to Dave's dismay. He did leave us with an interesting quote concerning security measures after 9/11:

"Prevention and information are the best of friends."

Tighter Immigration Laws. U.S. Immigration Tightens Rules on Foreign Visitors, Students: "The U.S. will reduce the time a foreign tourist may stay in the country to six months from a year and will require foreigners seeking to attend U.S. schools to get a student visa before attending classes, the Immigration and Naturalization Service said.

In addition, the U.S. plans to require those holding a tourist visa to declare whether they plan to seek a student visa before they enter the U.S. Foreign nationals in the U.S. on a tourist visa have previously been allowed to seek a student visa without returning first to their home country.

``These new rules strike the appropriate balance between the INS' mission to ensure that our nation's immigration laws are followed and stop illegal immigration and our desire to welcome legitimate visitors to the United States,'' said INS Commissioner James Ziglar."

Evil tyrants understand economics. Crude Oil Rises After Iraq Calls a One-Month Halt in Exports: "Crude oil rose for the first time in four sessions after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ordered a 30-day halt in the country's oil sales to protest Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory.

The announcement came after Libya said it would support an export halt by Islamic oil producers to countries that back Israel. Iran made the proposal on Friday. About 12 percent of U.S. oil supply comes from Middle East producers."

Catholic Church in Crisis? Clerical error: "The Catholic Church is in a crisis, the scale of which the Vatican has yet to grasp. The US is scandalised by the revelations of sexual abuse of children committed by Catholic priests. Senior clergy stand accused of wilful ignorance, inaction and suppression of the truth. Ireland is still coming to terms with similar outrages. Two weeks ago, the archbishop of Posnan, Poland, resigned after being accused of sexually abusing trainee priests.

Pope John Paul II recognises that the scandals are damaging the Church's credibility. In his annual Maundy Thursday letter to priests last month he lamented the "dark shadow of suspicion" cast over the priesthood. But his penitence was less than fulsome, and he demonstrated little resolve to root out abuse or punish those in the Church hierarchy that tolerated it."

Indiana Jones and the Butterfly. Harrison Ford asked to name butterfly: "Ford has made several requests for biological and environmental data from the scientists who discovered the butterfly. There's no word on why Coleman asked Ford to pick the name."

Hugh knows thighs... Hugh Grant tells Britney to do less exercise: 'Grant told The Sun: "I wish Britney wouldn't go on exercise machines so often, it can give women big thighs."'

Got a kidney? Students willing to sell body parts to fund education: "Students are willing to sell body parts to help pay for their education. A survey found more than one in four would sell a kidney on the black market for £13,000. One fifth would have one of their toes cut off for medical research and then sewn back on for £2,000."

Send in the Clones. Outrage over first cloned baby case: "DOCTORS and medical groups yesterday reacted with outrage to news that an Italian fertility specialist is on the brink of cloning the first human baby. Dr Severino Antinori, who runs a fertility clinic in Rome, has been quoted in an Arab newspaper as claiming that one of his patients is eight weeks' pregnant with a cloned embryo. He refused to comment, but in March 2001 said he hoped to produce a viable cloned embryo for implantation within two years. Seven species of mammal have been cloned, including sheeps, cats and most recently rabbits."

Anthrax was weaponized. A Sophisticated Strain of Anthrax: "Last fall FBI profilers announced that the person who sent deadly anthrax-laced letters to news organizations and Capitol Hill was probably a grudge-bearing, sociopathic male laboratory nerd with knowledge of the geography of Trenton, N.J. But a new scientific analysis sent to top government officials suggests the anthrax attacker may be a scientific whiz so smart that he succeeded in making a “weaponized” form of the bacterium more sophisticated than any previously known."

Pizzeria Uno (again). Okay, we all lost an hour of sleep last night due to that Daylight Savings Time scheme. Although more daylight hours couldn't hurt me, I suppose. Evan and I went searching for a new restaurant to conquer, but ended up down Third Avenue at Pizzeria Unos. Kimberly was our attractive waitress again.

Your dad is Osama. Man attacks father, claiming Dad is bin Laden: "A man threatened to kill his father with a carving knife because he thought his dad was Osama bin Laden, prosecutors said." See what the air pollution in New Jersey will do to you?!?