So I was eating with some friends yesterday and somehow the show Empty Nest came up. After some straining and a few hints from my friends, I was able to pull the face of the main character and his gold retriever from the dark recesses of my brain. I didn't really recall much else about the show — I don't think I actually watched it very often. But I was struck by the fact that it was a show that I probably would have NEVER watched if Tivo was invented, you know, back in the day. Think about it. Before Tivo, you watched whatever happened to be on at the time when you decided it was a good time to "veg" in front of the TV… And if you parents didn't happen to think that cable was worth the bread… well then your choices were extremely limited. Now that I reflect back on THAT we actually almost had a TV for every channel. We had 3 TVs and 4 channels. PBS, ABC, CBS, NBC… (I can hear the gasps out there… FOUR CHANNELS????) Well we did get FOX but only on Mom's TV in her room, which meant we usually couldn't use that TV anytime anything worth watch was on. Technology is changing our lives and most of the time we barely notice. Tivo, 24 hour news channels, MTV2, ESPN6… how does Empty Nest survive with all of that? It doesn't. Then again, we do have a show called "Good Eats" on the FOOD network and one called "Emergency Vets" on a network devoted completely to Animals, so maybe the Golden Girl spin-off would thrive here. Ok thrive is pretty strong, we'll go with survive… On late night… And while were on the subject, I'd like to give a shout out to the DIY network since I worked with them on a project last week… great people to work with. Top notch. :D

The newly crafted Iraqi Constitution passes with an overwhelming vote of 79%! Voter turnout was also up from the last election with 25% more people voting in the constitutional referendum than in the elections for the provisional government. This is historic stuff man! Could this be progress it Iraq?… nah I'm sure it's a faze, I'm sure it'll pass, I'm sure nothing positive will come of all this democracy spreading around.

• Iraq Constitution Passes in Referendum

So the United States Congress has started an investigation into the lacking governmental response to Hurricane Katrina. Now that, on face value, seems great — until you realize who will notably be missed in such an investigation. That's right: Congress! We have heard a lot of lamenting about the error of adding FEMA to the huge bureaucracy of Homeland Security — by the very people that voted to place FEMA under HS. Who is it that created the regulations of how the various pieces of government interact? Congress. Who is it that controls the purse strings of the Federal budget? Congress. Here is a more specific example. One of the congressional panel to question Brown, the Former Head of FEMA, was Rep. William Jefferson. Jefferson used the National Guard to retrieve things from his home after Katrina hit. And it actually gets better: apparently there FBI is currently investigating Jefferson, and some surmise he may have been removing evidence from his home. Oh yeah. Let's let that guy question Brown about how he was deploying Katrina resources.

• Amid Katrina Chaos, Congressman Used National Guard to Visit Home
• Jefferson downplays stop at his New Orleans house

Rush Limbaugh takes on the much-hyped but not quite delivered Mega-Anti-War-Rally at DC! Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! See the millions of pissed-off Americans devouring support for the Iraq War! I read about the dang rally on my Yahoo news feeds for over a week before the thing even happened. Speaking of which why do we still call this a "war"? The war was pretty much over when we found Saddam Hussein hiding in a spider hole. Sure, Iraq is not exactly what I would call a Mecca of Peace, but if it is a "war" who, exactly, are we at war with? There was an official surrender quite some time ago. Our government is on friendly terms with the currently elected government in Iraq. Most of the insurgents are foreign nationals from Syria and other countries, but we're not at war with any of those other countries. Oh and I don't buy the whole "war on terror" as an actual war. I just have to shake my head when I pass the signs that say "No War In Iraq" — That's right: there's no war in Iraq… what's your point? Maybe I'm nit picky, but I just wish people could be more accurate in what they believe in/are fighting for. How about a sign that said: "I don't think Iraq will directly affect me one way or the other, and I don't want ANYONE to die… so let's bring the troops home." Not exactly brief and perhaps a bit naive, but ACCURATE. And for some reason that is important to me. Continue reading →

With 62 BILLION dollars already earmarked for Katrina aid, many people are begining to worry about how all those tax dollars will be spent. The government has never been good with money what with waste and corruption and all… well here's a story that will basically validate your feelings on the subject: PRAGUE (AFP) – A Czech town has built a 10,000 euro ($12,000) bridge to protect a handful of squirrels from a busy road, without knowing if they will use it. The seven-metre (23-foot) high cable bridge attached to two trees spans a road that divides a large park in the town of Sokolov in the west of the country, near the German border. "We think this construction is unique in the world. I myself witnessed two dead squirrels on the road in the space of two months and I felt we had to do something," Sokolov mayor Karel Jakobec told AFP Thursday. At the moment the park is home to just three squirrels. "The idea is that instead of going down trees and crossing the road to get to the other side of the park the squirrels will go up and across. But we don't know yet if it will work," he added. Most of the 290,000 koruna (9,920 euro) cost was met from a grant by Czech brewer Staropramen as one of 10 grants it awarded for ecological projects in the country. The remaining 40,000 koruna was funded by the town council. "We have already arranged for two more pairs of squirrels to be brought from an animal rescue centre and we are hoping that the squirrel population in the park will now grow," added Jakobec. Squirrels are a protected species in the Czech Republic.

Thanks Jeff