A daily dose beach

Webcam from Will Rogers Beach, Santa Monica, California.

Dubya & Condi, part 2

The President and his new secretary of state - a match in heaven.

One in four Californians consider moving

From the Associated Press:
A fourth of all Californians are thinking about moving–either out of state or just to another town–to bring down their housing costs, a new survey shows. High rents and rising home prices have residents, particularly younger ones, rethinking the value of the mountain views and ocean shores they say they treasure. Of the respondents under 35, for example, nearly half say they might relocate to somewhere cheaper.
California's traditionally high mortgage costs are also further discouraging renters, the survey reports. Only one in five who hope eventually to buy a house are confident they can do it.
The results dovetail with findings this month by the California Association of Realtors showing that only 19 percent of the state's households can afford the state's median-priced home of $465,000. That's a 5 percent drop from a year ago. Nationally, the median-priced home was $186,600 in September.

Southerners in the White House

According to the Washington Post John Kerry's liberalism had something to do with his defeat. By January 20, 2009, all the elected presidents for 44 consecutive years will have come from three Southern states – Texas, Arkansas, Georgia – and Southern California.

2001-2009: Bush 43 (Texas)
1993-2001: Clinton (Arkansas)
1989-1993: Bush 41 (Texas)
1981-1989: Reagan (SoCal)
1977-1981: Carter (Georgia)
1969-1974: Nixon (SoCal)
1965-1969: LBJ (Texas)

And, for the heck of it, here are the losers:

2004: Kerry (MA)
2000: Gore (DC/TN)
1996: Dole (KS)
1992: Bush (TX)
1988: Dukakis (MA)
1984: Mondale (MN)
1980: Carter (GA)
1976: Ford (MI)
1972: McGovern (SD)
1968: Humphrey (MN)
1964: Goldwater (AZ)

Bill is spam victim no. 1

Bill Gates, the man who praised once the convenience of the paperless office thanks to computers, gets 4 millions emails a day most of it spam. An entire department at the company he founded is dedicated to ensuring that nothing unwanted gets into his inbox.

Return of the Godfather

Bestseller author Mario Puzo always refused to write a sequel to his famous mafia saga. Now it happened withouth him. The 430 pages novel The Godfather Returns, written by Mark Winegardner, has just been published. The reviews are mixed.

A home for the Muppets

I'm a cyber frog now.

Disney relaunched the Muppets Wednesday with its own Web site. Kermit, Miss Piggy and crew were bought by the entertainment company last April, and will be teaming up with the company to create new TV shows, videos, and films. The Web site includes games, biographies of the Muppet characters, screensavers and news about current projects.

The Books Less Found

BookFinder.com has released their list of most frequently sought after out-of-print books for the year:
1. The New Soldier, edited by John Kerry
2. Sisters, by Lynne Cheney
3. Sex, by Madonna
4. The Holy Innocents, by Gilbert Adair
5. Disco Bloodbath, by James St. James
6. The World Crisis, by Winston Churchill
7. It Can't Happen Here, by Sinclair Lewis
8. Where Troy Once Stood, by Iman Wilkens
9. General Printing, by Glen Cleeton
10.The Curse of Lono, by Hunter S. Thompson (the King of Gonzo!)

A daily dose beach

Webcam from Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina (with sound).

For George

Straight ahead on highway No. 1.

Need to escape the nasty European winter? You haven't seen the horizon for a while? Are you in urgent need of sunshine, space and pure relaxation? Are you looking for the best and most pleasant way to beat the flu and strenghten your immune system? Then you should listen: CALIFORNIA IS CALLING YOU! We invite you to a "Fun in the sun journey' to the U.S. west coast! The weather is warm and nice, the autumn trees look beautiful and yes, if you really miss them, there are also snowy mountains close to the city. There are so many things we could do together: ride the bike on the beach (live webcam), get a massage at a fabulous SPA, rent a crazy, vintage car, drive to one of the most beautiful wine countries in the U.S., go to a wine tasting of one of the trendiest wineries, play Jack Nicholaus and caddy at one of the best golf courses (live course webcam). Or maybe we just go to the best steak house, have a drink later at the roof bar of the hip hotel and admire the fantastic panoramic view of L.A. downtown. (Or course we could also go to this and this place, but we won't publicly mention it..) If that's not convincing enough, check out this little teaser from our photo album. We're serious: We would be delighted if you come to see us - at any time of your convenience! It's very simple: Make a reservation, hop into a plane - and you're here.