Convert Your Car to Burn Hydrogen……for Just $130! – Get hydrogen for your car on the cheap. Hydrogen the wave of the future. It’s the most abundant element in the universe. Might as well put it to good use. As with it is with most new fangled technology it will be a while before we see it in actual production. The company is trying to pitch the idea to the auto-makers. The device described won’t make your car completely hydrogen fueled. Think of it as more of an enhancement to the gas the car is already burning. If properly implemented this could be a cheaper alternative to pricey hybrid vehicles with fuel cells, battery regenerative brakes and such which is definitely something to keep an eye on. A product that is environmentally friendly yet affordable is right up my alley.

Sneezing – When I sneeze here at work nobody says bless you. It’s a bit disconcerting because they say it when other people sneeze. Why not me? It can’t be because they don’t hear me. I happen to be a very loud sneezer. Maybe they don’t wish me to have continued good health. I say bless you whenever they sneeze. It would be nice if they could return the courtesy. I thought about mentioning it or even demanding it but that seems counter productive. Why would anyone want to beseech God for a blessing on behalf of a person who just berated them. I guess I’ll have to sneeze on without a blessing. Sure hope I don’t catch the plague.

First photos of giant squid show it very active – Interesting article out of Japan. I’ve never given much thought to the activities of giant squid but I found this intriguing nonetheless. Props to the scientists from the motherland. *Update* – Here are some actual pictures of the squid mentioned in the article.

‘Boondocks’ Bounced Back to November – Well it looks like I’ll have to reset my countdown timer for the premier of The Boondocks on Cartoon Network. The premier has been delayed for another month. I knew something was up when I went home for lunch today. When I went to set my PVR to record the show it wasn’t listed the program guide. I’ve had October 2nd engrained in my head for a couple of weeks since I found out about this wondrous event. I agree with the article though. Based upon the long, long road they’ve traveled to get this production off the ground what’s another month. Of course, if they don’t have enough episodes in the can to make a solid first run I don’t see how another month is going to be enough time. The creation of each episode is fairly time intensive. The results, based on the screenshot I’ve seen, should be well worth the wait though.

Windows Vista to boot in 2-3 seconds – According to this Microsoft propaganda page Windows Vista, the long delayed replacement to Windows XP, will boot in only 2-3 seconds. They compare it’s boot time to the boot time of a typical TV. To this I say, YEAH RIGHT!!! This is Windows we’re talking about. I’m calling BS right now. Unless you’re going to completely change the fundamental process that a computer goes through to boot up there’s no way your computer is going to boot up in 2-3 seconds. You’d have to modify the POST process for starters not to mention how the computer interacts with the bios and several other key components of the computer. I’m sure if you read the fine print (if there was any) it would say that this 2-3 second quote refers to bringing the computer out of sleep mode or hibernation. If that’s the case then that is a little closer to the realm of reality but should be stated as such. When you say the computer will boot up in 2-3 seconds most people (meaning the typical user that I speak to every day) would think that that means you hit the power button on the computer and BAM! you’re sitting at your Windows desktop. I’m sorry but that ain’t happening. I’ll believe it when I see it.

IGN Interviews Billy West – Check out this interview with Billy West, the voice of various characters on the hit animated series Futurama. Futurama is no longer on the air in prime time but lives on in syndication on FX, Cartoon Network, and other channels. I wasn’t a big fan of the show until about a year and a half ago. My co-worker, Jonathan, started bringing the first and second seasons of the show to work. We worked 3rd shift so the nights proved to be long and boring. To break up the monotony he and I would watch a couple of Futurama episodes. On really slow nights we could fit in 3 or 4 episodes easily. I was mesmerized. Futurama is very funny. I admire Matt Groening’s humor, wit and sarcasm. It has become one of my “must watch at all cost” television events joing the ranks of Rocky 1-4, The Godfather 1 and 2, and a couple of others. If Futurama is on and I’m flipping through channels I have to stop and watch no matter what else I’m doing or watching.

It turns out all the Futurama fans are in for a treat. According to the interview a new DVD, Futurama Monster Robot Maniac Fun Collection, will coming out soon. Think of it as a kind of fan selected Greatest Hits collection. That will be cool it’s kind of a rehash of old material. The real gem of information comes at the very end of the interview. It turns out plans for two direct to DVD Futurama movies are coming down the pipe. Fox has contracted Billy West to reprise his voice acting duties. There are no real details as far as when they will come out or anything but this is very exciting news. If you haven’t checked out Futurama be sure to give it a look see. You can catch several episodes a week on FX. If you like those go out and rent the season DVDs or if you really like it buy them outright.

My Livestrong bracelet broke this morning. That made me sad until I remembered that I had 9 more where that one came from. You can only order them from the Lance Armstrong Foundation in packs of 10. At first I was a little miffed because I only wanted one but then I thought contributing 10 dollars instead of just 1 dollar to cancer research is a good thing not a bad one. Plus when one breaks you’ve got a brand new replacement ready and waiting. Of course if they break every 2 1/2 months like this one did it won’t be very long before I’ll need to buy some more. I’m sure the breakage was caused by undo wear and tear on the bracelet on my part. I take it off at night along with my other two before I go to sleep. I also take them off before soccer games or other exercise activities. When I’m sleeping or playing I like to be as unencumbered as possible. I don’t like having anything on my arms (with the exception of my lucky wristband when playing co-ed soccer). It just feels weird. Very hard to describe. I hope the other ones don’t break. I don’t have extras of those.

Quick note: Don’t buy counterfeit bracelets!! If you want to support the cause go and buy them directly from the source. The source in this case being either LAF or Nike. That’s the only way to ensure that you’re getting the authentic article and that your money is going to the correct place.

It’s become “cool” to bash the bracelet wearers on blogs and other places online because the bracelets aren’t cool anymore. Frankly I couldn’t give a flying flip about them being cool or not. I have never at any point in my life been particularly cool. I don’t forsee that changing any time soon. Honestly I feel that people who wore them just because they were “cool” are stupid and totally missed the point of wearing them in the first place. I choose to wear my Livestrong bracelet and the other two that I have because I believe in and want to support the causes that they represent. There’s some actual research and thought behind the process for me. Plus they’re great conversation starters. Since I started wearing mine this past summer I’ve had several people at church and other places ask me what they represent which in turn gives me the chance to spread the message. That’s what it’s about. Spreading knowledge. The more informed people are about the various ills in this world the more they’ll hopefully be spurred on to action. Knowledge is power.

If you don’t want to wear the bracelet(s) because they’re not cool any more you can still support the cause. Buy them anyway and come up with other creative uses for them. Put one on your rearview mirror. Attach one to your gym bag. Put it on your backpack. Do whatever. I’ve got 4 bracelets total. I only wear three of them because frankly any more than that is not cool even for me. My wrist is only so big. I’ve got the 4th one attached to my keychain. It makes an excellent handle/hand grip thingy. Fishing my keys out of my pockets has never been easier. Just grab the bracelet and pull. Anyhow I guess what I’m saying is you don’t HAVE to wear a bracelet. The important thing is to find a cause that is near and dear to your heart and dive in with all you can muster. That’s the important thing. Get involved.

George W. Bush, Louis Vuitton, China, Katrina, Strippers, and Tax Cuts – Funny, pointed, and thought provoking blog post and article about government spending under Republican rule. I believe the blogger is British. The author of the article, Gerald Baker, is definitely British. He writes for The Times and the title of the article is Vote Republican For Free Lap Dancing. Hilarious. Both Brits offer an interesting perspective on American government spending from the outside looking in. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the oncoming onslaught of Rita the Bush Administration and Congress have promised and allocated billions upon billions of dollars in federal aid. I think that’s great. The people on the Gulf Coast and the surrounding states who are helping them need all the assistance they can get both monetary and otherwise. But Mr. Baker asks the question, where is all this extra money coming from? For years the GOP platform’s rallying cry has been tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts. Don’t raise taxes. No new taxes. Which is all well and good but again begs the question if we keep cutting taxes but those tax cuts don’t coincide with a decrease in government spending (in defense spending thanks to Iraq and now disaster relief alone spending has gone through the roof in the last couple of years) where will the money come from? Deficits that’s where. We’re talking deficit spending at its finest and it’s only going to get worse. The system is unbalanced. Basic math (which is all I’m half way decent at in the math department) would dictate that this kind of system can’t last for very long. Logic (or basic common sense as my momma would say) dictates that as well but when has Washington ever been accused of being logical (on either side of the isle)? The title of the article and the post is derived from reports of how some evacuees (I prefer that term to victims) are spending the money on their FEMA sponsored debit cards. Let’s just say it involves some “adult entertainment”. The last time I checked, going to a strip club, cracking a few beers, and enjoying the show didn’t constitute necessities. Food, toiletries, clothing = necessity. Titty bar and beer = entertainment/luxury. But since there was no restriction placed on how the cards were to be used (how would they enforce such restrictions anyway?) I suppose people are free to use them however they see fit. Best quote from the article, “In fact, the FEMA sponsor-a-stripper exercise was entirely of a piece with an outburst of fiscal incontinence proudly presided over by government-hating Republicans in the last decade.”

Anybody out there remember a short lived show on the WB called Young Americans? This just came to me as I was posting a comment on Inkling’s blog. It was an awesome show but when I say it was short lived I really mean it was short lived. The poor thing clocked in at a miniscule 8 episodes. Episode guide here. The epitomy of a summer replacement show. Young Americans was a poster child for one of those shows where you say, why did they cancel that? I usually agree with most cancellations because lets face it, most of the stuff that passes for TV nowadays is total crap. But this show was different. I was very sad to see it go. One of the many highlights of the show was a young Kate Bosworth (of Blue Crush and Win A Date With Tad Hamilton! fame). One word: HOTTIE!!!!! I may have to pick up the bootleg DVD’s from this “company”. You can tell they’re bootleg because of the fine print. What reputable company do you know that sells stuff in DVD-R format? If that doesn’t scream “I burned this yesterday on my computer with Nero Burning Rom” I don’t know what does.

I got the new Switchfoot album over the weekend. I’m just now finding time to listen to it. After one time through I like it over all. It seems to be better over the entire disc than their last album, Beautiful Letdown, was. I really liked the first 4 or 5 songs on Beautiful Letdown but things kind of tailed off at the end. This new release has quality songs throughout. There are a couple of duds (Daisy comes to mind off the top of my head) but overall not bad. Highlights for me so far are Stars (first single I believe I read somewhere though I haven’t heard it on the radio yet) and Politicians. I’m on my second listen now. There’s more to like on this album than their breakout hit, Letdown. Could these guys be the new dc Talk? Could they be the next platinum selling Christian artist that crosses over to achieve success in the mainstream market. Time will tell but they are well on their way.