Tuesday, October 31, 2006
happy halloween
read some scary stories at google.“I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him.” -- Edgar Allen Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart.
Monday, October 30, 2006
i can't believe NN beat us out
How safe is your city? here's how HR cities stand [this is out of 371]:
74. Virginia Beach
132. Chesapeake
144. Hampton
174. Suffolk
244. Newport News
287. Norfolk
293. Portsmouth
357. Richmond
74. Virginia Beach
132. Chesapeake
144. Hampton
174. Suffolk
244. Newport News
287. Norfolk
293. Portsmouth
357. Richmond
Friday, October 27, 2006
friday bullets
Labels: crime and social justice
Thursday, October 26, 2006
speaking of ugly campaign ads
this ad running in Tennessee against Harold Ford is so bad tv stations are refusing to play it.
Labels: tv and movies
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
adorable photo of the day #16
on norfolk
the Wikipedia entry for norfolk is pretty interesting. here's some stuff i didn't know:
In 1955, Norfolk becomes largest city in state, with a population of 297,253.
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard could not be named the "Portsmouth Naval Shipyard," because there was already one of those in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
i thought this paragraph was funny:
i thought this paragraph was funny:
Chesapeake Boulevard does not go to Chesapeake -- it leads from Norfolk to the Chesapeake Bay; Hampton Boulevard does not now go to Hampton but it once led to the ferry terminal that connected Norfolk with Hampton; Norfolk Avenue in Virginia Beach does not go to Norfolk; and Virginia Beach Boulevard, while in Virginia Beach also, runs through most of Norfolk -- it was originally named Virginia Beach Boulevard because it was the road from Norfolk to Virginia Beach, at the time a relatively small resort town on the oceanfront.and then there's this List of famous people from Hampton Roads.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
me me me
look at this headline
fall is my favorite season
three recycled links
Saturday, October 21, 2006
freed inmate refuses to leave jail
A 59-year-old German man who has spent the last 34 years in jail has turned down offers to be let out, an official said on Saturday.
after 34 years i may not want to leave either. of course i have no idea what prison conditions are like in berlin.
after 34 years i may not want to leave either. of course i have no idea what prison conditions are like in berlin.
Labels: crime and social justice
something else i learn from j-walk
Friday, October 20, 2006
as much as we eat
campaign ad war
two days after i post about VA campaign ads making me sick, comes this article telling me that is the exact intentions of the cadidates.
If outlandish, misleading attack ads make you want to stay home on Election Day, the joke's on you. Political experts say that most negative ads are designed to do just that: target certain groups and discourage them from voting ... "Very few candidates can attract voters from the other side to vote for them. The next-best thing is to try to get potential voters for the other side to stay home."
if OJ did it
that's a big IF.
O.J. Simpson has been paid "$3.5 million to write about the double murder that shocked and riveted the nation in 1994 ... But Simpson is not actually confessing to the murder - rather, he's writing a 'hypothetical' book - which the Enquirer reports is tentatively being called 'If I Did It.'" [via j]
O.J. Simpson has been paid "$3.5 million to write about the double murder that shocked and riveted the nation in 1994 ... But Simpson is not actually confessing to the murder - rather, he's writing a 'hypothetical' book - which the Enquirer reports is tentatively being called 'If I Did It.'" [via j]
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
how did that happen?
how about this for a landslide
no, it's not football. it's poll results. but i think the actual race won't be quite this much of a win.
Should political calls be covered by the National Do Not Call Registry?
Yes.............. 93.52%
No.................. 5.7%
Undecided....... 0.78%
Total: 2054 votes
i have no basis of comparison, but i've thought that here in VA, campaign ads have been intense. not just this year, every year, and it seems to get worse. the last think i want is these nutjobs calling me. i'm excited about election day, just to make it stop.
Should political calls be covered by the National Do Not Call Registry?
Yes.............. 93.52%
No.................. 5.7%
Undecided....... 0.78%
Total: 2054 votes
i have no basis of comparison, but i've thought that here in VA, campaign ads have been intense. not just this year, every year, and it seems to get worse. the last think i want is these nutjobs calling me. i'm excited about election day, just to make it stop.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
making VA the first state to defeat a same-sex marriage amendment
53% of Voters Say They Back Va. Same-Sex Marriage Ban
interestingly, i had a conversation with a 12 year old yesterday that ended with my telling her i would buy a 'i support rainbow rights' bumper sticker if there was one.
"This is quite a surprise," said Daniel A. Smith, an associate professor of political science at the University of Florida. "In an ostensibly conservative state like Virginia, you'd expect to see the numbers up around 60 or 70 percent."yeah, but it's still enough to pass, should it come to that.
interestingly, i had a conversation with a 12 year old yesterday that ended with my telling her i would buy a 'i support rainbow rights' bumper sticker if there was one.
Monday, October 16, 2006
'The Innocent Man'
i wanna read this:
"An obituary in The New York Times led writer John Grisham to the subject of his new book -- and first work of nonfiction -- The Innocent Man. It's a tale of the wrongful conviction, near-execution, exoneration and tragic death of Ron Williamson -- a small-town sports hero from Oklahoma whose life didn't turn out the way he expected.i remember getting excited about it last year.
'Never in my most creative moment could I have come up with a story like this,' Grisham says."
Labels: crime and social justice
making history: the most Star Trek actors on a show
i'm assuming [only assuming] it's boston legal.
William Shatner
Rene Auberjonois
Ethan Phillips
Armin Shimerman
i'm so excited.
updated 10/18: star trek fan extraordinaire [we all know who he is] pointed me to the ABC.com - Message Boards that discusses this subject. that site led me to boston-legal.org that apparently has a whole section devoted to star trek characters on the show. i have not been able to get the link to work all day, though. maybe someone else will have some luck.
William Shatner
Rene Auberjonois
Ethan Phillips
Armin Shimerman
i'm so excited.
updated 10/18: star trek fan extraordinaire [we all know who he is] pointed me to the ABC.com - Message Boards that discusses this subject. that site led me to boston-legal.org that apparently has a whole section devoted to star trek characters on the show. i have not been able to get the link to work all day, though. maybe someone else will have some luck.
Labels: tv and movies
Saturday, October 14, 2006
not just for show
from SCI FI Tech: "It really is as much a piece of art as it is a computer."
it's a steampunk laptop. and it really works. cool.
Friday, October 13, 2006
the child will love this
10 Cool Things About Squirrels:
1. Squirrels belong to the order Rodentia. There are 365 species.
2. They mate twice a year.
3. Their nests are called dreys.
4. Their sweat glands are on their feet.
5. They can run 20 miles an hour.
6. Their teeth never stop growing. Gnawing keeps squirrels' teeth from growing into their necks.
7. When frightened, they dart back and forth to confuse predators. This doesn't work with cars, however, so most city squirrels don't live longer than a year.
8. Although considered granivores (animals that eat grains and nuts), they will eat almost anything.
9. Gray squirrels bury their acorns all over the place ("scatter hoarding"), then forget where. Forgotten acorns become trees. This forgetfulness is the main way oak and other hardwood forests grow and spread, scientists say.
10. Gray squirrels are called "living fossils" because they haven't changed much in 37 million years.
1. Squirrels belong to the order Rodentia. There are 365 species.
2. They mate twice a year.
3. Their nests are called dreys.
4. Their sweat glands are on their feet.
5. They can run 20 miles an hour.
6. Their teeth never stop growing. Gnawing keeps squirrels' teeth from growing into their necks.
7. When frightened, they dart back and forth to confuse predators. This doesn't work with cars, however, so most city squirrels don't live longer than a year.
8. Although considered granivores (animals that eat grains and nuts), they will eat almost anything.
9. Gray squirrels bury their acorns all over the place ("scatter hoarding"), then forget where. Forgotten acorns become trees. This forgetfulness is the main way oak and other hardwood forests grow and spread, scientists say.
10. Gray squirrels are called "living fossils" because they haven't changed much in 37 million years.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
statistic for the day
i read this in the child's scholastic magazine and just had to look up the source:
45 percent of american children under age 5 are minorities.very interesting.
any students want to go to iraq?
odu and iraqi university sign an international memorandum of understanding:
The president of Salahaddin University in the Kurdish region of Iraq was on the Old Dominion University campus Tuesday, Oct. 10, to sign an International Memorandum of Understanding to allow an exchange of students and faculty between the two institutions.
The exchange is the product of 20 months of work by an ODU nuclear physicist, Moskov Amarian, who is an Armenian Kurd. It is designed to bolster educational opportunities in a part of Iraq where suppression by Saddam Hussein and the unrest associated with the current war has made it difficult for universities to operate.
The president of Salahaddin University in the Kurdish region of Iraq was on the Old Dominion University campus Tuesday, Oct. 10, to sign an International Memorandum of Understanding to allow an exchange of students and faculty between the two institutions.
The exchange is the product of 20 months of work by an ODU nuclear physicist, Moskov Amarian, who is an Armenian Kurd. It is designed to bolster educational opportunities in a part of Iraq where suppression by Saddam Hussein and the unrest associated with the current war has made it difficult for universities to operate.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
catching up
we went to DC for the weekend. we had a good time. the little one got to touch the earth's oldest rock. she's into rocks. i'm putting pics up now. maybe i'll find something interesting to post up here as well.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
get yours
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
not all college students are liberal
i may have found two republicans in my class today.
talking about money always brings it out.
talking about money always brings it out.
adorable photo of the day #15
i love letterman
you made it down here?
what? you want a reward?
