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"Murphy was an optimist!"

Heroes Txt Message February 5, 2007 7:53 pm

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Heroes, Of Interest, TV / Movies
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Heroes’ SMS text message came in at 5:04pm today. It reads:

Get 2 kno Ted 2: Go 2 primatechpaper.com, find helix. Same place as b4. Usrnme: bennet Pwrd: claire. Ted’s code: TSntz14b. Rembr: Usrnme always bennet

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Tonight’s Heroes Txt January 29, 2007 9:28 pm

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Heroes, Of Interest, TV / Movies
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I’m in & so r u. Go to primatechpaper.com, find helix, key to rabbit hole: Username: bennet Password: claire Get 2 kno me: HGghx11a. Mre 2 come

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Because self-esteem is important January 29, 2007 7:11 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Health, Mental, Of Interest
, 1 comment so far

Have you shown your children the evolution film lately? Campaign For Real Beauty also has interactive quizzes and tools to facilitate communication with your child.

Too many girls develop low self-esteem from hang-ups about looks and, consequently, fail to reach their full potential in later life. So, we’ve created the Dove Self-Esteem Fund as an agent of change to educate and inspire girls on a wider definition of beauty. [Source]

Here are some fantastic examples! The interface is a little slow. You click a picture and it will enlarge then click the large picture to see the original version. Click the pictures showing legs to see how artists remove fat, raise the hips, and shorten dresses. Some are quite dramatic. I found the bike to interesting as I thought the before picture of the child’s dress was fine and do not understand why they felt it needed shortening.

Update: Here’s another filmnow private but not as good as the evolution film.

Update: Some pictures showing the power of makeuporiginal link material missing.

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Lost Final Episode Leaked January 26, 2007 5:22 pm

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Lost, Of Interest, TV / Movies
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From a hand held video camera at a theatre showing during CES.

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And what’s the name of that soooong? January 26, 2007 3:55 pm

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Music, Technology
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It goes la de da de da, la de da de da… Can’t remember? Just hum or sing at your monitor and Midomi will tell you. Seems to work ok.

midomi.com makes it fun and easy to find and discover music and people. For the first time, you can use your voice to instantly connect to your favorite music, and to a community of people that share your musical interests. Listen to voices, see pictures, rate singers, send messages, buy music, and more. [Source]

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Good Comedy Tonight: “The State of the Union Show” January 23, 2007 10:20 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Health, Of Interest, Politics, Touchy Subjects
, 7comments

US Canada health care comparison

I know the comedian’s punchline to his best joke has already been leaked: "Your privatized health care system gives you too many benefits" so I thought I would give you some additional background to make the humor even greater.

…most Americans are unaware that the United States is the only country in the developed world that doesn’t already have a fundamentally public–that is, tax-supported–health care system.

That means that the United States has been the unwitting control subject in a 30-year, worldwide experiment comparing the merits of private versus public health care funding…

Source

So, instead of getting on the air tonight and saying that we are spoiled with our lousy health care, shouldn’t Mr. President get on the air and declare that we are going to begin moving toward Universal Health Care?

There are many common arguments for and against universal health care. Those in favor of universal health care often point out that it would provide health care to the people who currently do not have it. Opponents of universal health care often argue that universal healthcare may require higher taxes. These opponents also claim that the absence of a market mechanism may slow innovation in treatment and research, and leads to rationing of care through waiting lists. Both sides of the political spectrum have also looked to more philosophical arguments, debating whether or not people have a fundamental right to have health care provided to them by their government. [Source]

I wonder how the 50 million uninsured Americans are going to respond to the president’s "Gold-plated health care plans".

I wonder if they realize some people have to pay more just to get some basic coverage because they are identified as uninsurable by health insurance companies. [Source]

Hmmm. Canada? I wonder what the education is like up there. Let’s see. Socialized health care. Less infant mortality and longer life at less cost. Legalized marijuana. Oh! I get it. Isn’t Canada where all the hippies went instead of Vietnam? Eh?

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Heroes Website January 23, 2007 8:26 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Heroes, Of Interest, TV / Movies
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So Heroes blatantly promoted a website in the show. In case you missed it, the url was for the Primatech Paper Company and the code on the back of the business card can be entered under the Jobs link. (If you want to cut to the chase the code is MT36) More at Digg.

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Have your PI and understand it too January 20, 2007 9:02 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Education, Health, Mathematics, Of Interest
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If you never understood PI then this animation will help you visualize it.

This number is real but irrational, transcendental, and cannot be constructed with compass and straightedge. [Source]

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The Ice Cometh Sunday January 19, 2007 9:02 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Environment, Of Interest, Transportation, Travel
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You know…when you come down to it, doesn’t matter how well you know how to drive in the snow and ice. What matters is how well the other drivers know how to drive in the snow and ice. I present Portland Pinball:

And a well edited video (good music choice):

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More Online Educational Resources January 17, 2007 11:08 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Education, Health, Of Interest
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The Internet is packed with more than just information for your children’s education. The Internet has plenty of free online learning resources for adults too! Berkley web and pod casts.

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Watered to death January 14, 2007 9:03 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : News, Of Interest
, 3comments

A woman drank so much water trying to win a Wii for her 3 children that she died. The coroner’s office called it "water intoxication." A radio station had a "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest. I wouldn’t believe this bizarre story if it was by anyone other than the Associated Press (and I still have my doubts). Strangely, the 28 year old woman’s name was Jennifer Strange. Nothing on Snopes yet.

Can you drink too much water?

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Heed this caution! January 13, 2007 11:48 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Cool Sites, Games/Puzzles, Of Interest
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Don’t play this game! You’ll lose days! (let me know if you need hints)

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Knoxville Asperger Support Group January 12, 2007 8:39 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Announcements, Aspergers, Of Interest
, 1 comment so far

The upcoming meeting dates for the Knoxville Asperger Support Group are:

The support group has a Yahoo Group which can be found on http://groups.yahoo.com/ by searching for Knoxville_Aspie_Support. It meets the third Monday of every month unless there is a conflict or holiday (such as this month) at the West Branch of the Knoxville Public Library (map) at 100 Golfclub Rd from 6pm to 7:30pm.

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Stars Wars IV after seeing I, II and III January 12, 2007 6:30 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Of Interest, TV / Movies
, 1 comment so far

If you are a Star Wars fan then you might enjoy this writeup about the continuity of the story. When we watched the first Star Wars movie we made assumptions about what preceded the story. Eventually, George Lucas let us see the back story. Now, Keith Martin has laid out exactly what that back story means to the first, er fourth, movie and how things change in light of those revelations.

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Today’s Woot Rocks! iRobot’s DirtDog $99 January 11, 2007 9:31 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Bargains, Of Interest
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I so wish the timing were better on this. I love my Roomba. The garage and our downstairs craves a DirtDog!

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