The human clock

Great idea! A photo for every minute of the day.

Afer the winter storm

Photo by Associated Press.

Right, Mr. Hammond - it never rains in Southern California. We just experienced 15 consecutive days of record rainfall. The horrible winter storm which hit Southern California and caused over ten deaths and $100 million damage, is finally gone. And we're happy to see some rays of sunshine and experience a clear view over the city. A snapshot from today shows downtown Los Angeles skyline with snow capped San Gabriel mountain range.

Google without advertising

Feeling annoyed by all the ads when you do a Google search? There is an alternative - the search engine Scroogle offers relief. It was launched by Public Information Research, Inc., which describes itself as "the nonprofit public charity" which also runs a Google watch site. It's worth checking it out. (Via PaidContent)

Great reviews for Mac Mini & iPod Shuffle

Apple's introduction of the Mac Mini and the iPod Shuffle stirs major response
in the press. (Business Week has a great analysis of Steven Job's latest move.) All in all the new products got a warm welcome. Tech guru David Pogue from the New York Times - author of several Mac books - has high praises:

The iPod Shuffle and the Mac Mini are bold attempts to shatter the common wisdom that Apple makes gorgeous, expensive things. For the first time in its history, Apple has begun to make gorgeous, inexpensive things.

Other positive reviews, among others:
Zdnet
eWeek
MacObserver
New York Daily News

Negative reviews:
InfoWorld
MotleyFool
Globe and Mail
Plus: The Apple shares jump.

Bush knew

From the Financial Times:

For months, the U.S. Congress has been investigating activities that violated the United Nations oil-for-food program and helped Saddam Hussein build secret funds to acquire arms and buy influence. President George W. Bush has linked future US funding of the international body to a clear account of what went on under the multi-billion dollar program. But a joint investigation by the Financial Times and Il Sole 24 Ore, the Italian business daily, shows that the single largest and boldest smuggling operation in the oil-for-food programme was conducted with the knowledge of the US government. “Although the financial beneficiaries were Iraqis and Jordanians, the fact remains that the U.S. government participated in a major conspiracy that violated sanctions and enriched Saddam's cronies,” a former UN official said. “That is exactly what many in the US are now accusing other countries of having done. I think it's pretty ironic.”

No comment necessary. (Via Americablog)
Update: The Bush administration, which earlier backed Secretary-General Kofi Annan in the U.N. oil-for-food scandal, demanded he be held accountable for mismanagement in the program.

Rumor of the day

Pop star Britney Spears apparently wants to exchange the stage with an big executive chair - her new goal is to get into production and become 'a major music mogul'. That's why she also wrote a letter to her rival Christina Aguilera suggesting to end their feud and become friends, the Scoop writes. According to an insider, “she figures that a shrewd businesswoman needs all the friends she can get — and there’s no point having Christina as an enemy." (I'm glad I could share this valuable piece of information...)

No WMD, but Iraq war was "worth it"

Psssst! Don't tell anybody. The United States quietly ended the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Result: zero. According to estimates more than $1 billion and countless man hours were spent looking for the weapons. When President Bush was asked in a TV interview if the Iraq war was worth it even if there were no WMD - cited as justification for the invasion - , Bush responded: "Oh, absolutely."

Rumor of the day

From the Chennai Online News:
The rumour that a human finger was found in the stomach of a fish paralyzed the sale of fish at Keezhakarai in the district today. The fishermen, who had been affected by the poor sale of fish since the tsunami attack last month, said the sale of fish was slowly picking up in the last two days. However the spread of the rumor about finding a human finger in a fish again affected their sales. The fish heaped in the shops could not be sold following the rumour said Jayaraj, a mechanized boat owner.

20 Year archive on Google Groups

Impressive. Google has fully integrated fully integrated the past 20 years of Usenet archives into Google Groups, which now offers access to more than 800 million messages dating back to 1981. This is by far the most complete collection of Usenet articles ever assembled and a fascinating first-hand historical account.

Record costs for inauguration

That makes me feel so much better:

President Bush's second swearing-in, the nation's 55th inauguration on January 20th, will be marked by unprecedented security that will "leave nothing to chance," With the projected costs of $17 million the security will be the most expensive in U.S. history.

Of course that's a piece of cake compared with the expenses for the coronation itself:

Even dyed-in-the-mink Republicans have to be wincing a bit at the $40 million price tag for the three-day exhibition of excess that will mark the second inauguration of President Bush next week in Washington. Everything is bigger, more lavish, and more costly than any of the 54 presidential inaugurals that have gone before. For those who can afford them, tickets to the various events - a diamond-studded package of receptions, concerts, fireworks, three candlelight dinners and nine official inaugural balls - come hitched to sponsorship costs of $100,000 and $250,000. (...) The nuclear energy industry's contribution is part of a record-breaking outpouring of corporate cash to next week's inaugural festivities. At least 88 companies and trade associations, along with 39 CEOs and top executives - all with huge stakes in administration policies - already have donated $18 million. Wall Street investment firms seeking to profit from private Social Security accounts; oil, gas and mining companies pushing the White House to revive a stalled energy-subsidy bill; and hotels and casinos seeking an influx of immigrant labor are among the 44 interests that have each given $250,000 and the 66 that have donated $100,000 to $225,000. And the money keeps pouring in.

Backlash burger

Food porn: the 'Monster Thickburger" by Hardee's.

For all those who secretly hate all the diets, the low-fat products and the whole weight watching mania - go to the closest branch of the fast food chain Hardee's (part of the same group as Carl's Jr.) and order the newly added Monster Thickburger:

While many of its competitors have downplayed traditional burgers in the last two years while scrambling to add lower-fat salads and grilled chicken offerings to their menus, Hardee's has taken a different approach. With two one-third-pound beef patties, four strips of bacon, and three slices of cheese, the 4-inch-tall burger has 1,417 calories and a whopping 107 grams of fat. McDonald's Big Mac, with 560 calories and 30 grams of fat, doesn't even come close. According to CEO Andrew Puzder, the sales results for this "politically incorrect burger" have been "encouraging". (...) A college student wrote in an email to Puzder: "While other restaurants became low-carb cowards in the face of moronic 'they made me fat' lawsuits, you did the AMERICAN thing."

I know it's not cool. But I went to the website CalorieControl and checked what it takes to burn the calories of this monster burger. It takes 1.9 hours of running, 2.4 hours in a aerobics class, 4.8 hours of walking - or 18.3 hours of watching TV. Plus: Hardee wants you (male fast-food lover) to forget your fashionable South Beach Diet right away. That's way they created this sexy commercial with model Cameron Richardson riding a bull - and bet that you will beg for a Thickburger after watching it. Some people think this is just all food porn...

Regret the error

I love this blog! Regret The Error 'reports on corrections, retractions, clarifications, and trends regarding accuracy and honesty in North American media'. This is a good one - a correction from the Wall Street Journal:

A drawing of former Riggs Bank Chairman Joe L. Allbritton, which accompanied a Politics & Policy article Friday, was incorrectly identified in some editions as Prince Bandar bin Sultan.

Yes, the confusion is understandable, because rich people look all so much alike...

Rumor of the day

After the the wine connoisseur comedy "Sideways", one of my favorite movies of 2004, bestowed five prizes (best picture, supporting actor and actress, acting ensemble and writer) during the 10th annual Critics' Choice Awards on Monday, the buzz is getting louder that the low-budget road-trip saga will win some well-deserved Oscar Awards on February 27. Director Alexander Payne would have definitely deserved it, but I think Martin Scorsese deserves it even more and will get his first Oscar this year.

Two great new Mac products

He did it! At the Macworld conference Steven Jobs introduced a couple of great new products. Among others the Mac Mini and the iPod Shuffle. The Wall Street Journal tested the "Shuffle and is full of praises:

In our tests, it fulfilled - and even exceeded - Apple's claims for convenience, battery life and song capacity. Sound quality is so good you can barely believe the music is coming from something so small. This is a good product that will enlarge the iPod's appeal, especially with kids, people on low budgets, or people who work out. We imagine some existing iPod owners will also buy Shuffles as sort of add-on players. And the iPod juggernaut will roll on.

The WSJ found that the tested iPod shuffle's battery lasted 15 hours and 44 minutes, a good deal longer than Apple's 12 hour claim. They was also about to store 188 songs on the device, 68 more than the 120 Apple suggests, without having to down sample any of the tracks. Cutting out the screen also has enabled Apple to undercut the pricing of its competitors. Also other experts are convinced the new products are going to be hot sellers. Yeah - PC users are finally getting a taste of the cult of Mac....

US torture worse than Sadam

Horrible. Awful. US Beyond any human decency:

A former inmate at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison forced by U.S. guards to masturbate in public and piled onto a pyramid of naked men said on Tuesday even Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein did not do such things. The inmate testified at the court martial of reservist soldier Charles Graner, accused ringleader of guards who engaged in the abuse, which prompted outrage when pictures of the sexual humiliation were published around the world. "I couldn't believe in the beginning that this could happen, but I wished I could kill myself because no one was there to stop it", Hussein Mutar, who was sent to Abu Ghraib accused of car theft, said in videotaped testimony.

Devastating winter storm in California

Flooding in California: A firefighter saves a woman who was trapped on top of her pickup (photo L.A. Times).

At least 11 people have been killed in the storms so far that started in December in southern California, which meteorologists said were particularly damaging because they came one after the other with no break in between. The deaths came as drenched Californians reeled from the latest winter storm to pummel the state, burying homes in mud and closing schools and major roads. Flights were delayed at Los Angeles International Airport.
Meteorologists say Southern California since mid-December has been pounded with 40 percent more rainfall than the area typically gets all winter, saturating the soil so that it can no longer absorb the downpour. Rivers and flood control channels were also full or overflowing. As many as 12,000 people in Los Angeles were without electricity after felled trees disrupted power lines.

Huge mudslide destroys houses

Destroyed house in Laurel Canyon after a mudslide (photo L.A. Times).

A huge mudslide furiously crashed down on homes in a coastal hamlet today as a deadly Pacific storm hammered Southern California for a fourth straight day, boosting rainfall totals to astonishing levels. At least one person died and several were injured in the mudslide that pummeled a four-block area of homes in tiny La Conchita, damaging 15 to 20 homes. The hillside cascaded down like a brown river as authorities were evacuating about 200 residents from the area. Trees and vegetation were carried away, leaving huge gashes of raw earth on the bluff.From the start of the latest wave of violent weather on Friday through midday Monday, several mountainous areas in Southern California had recorded more than 20 inches of rain, including 26 inches in Nordhoff Ridge in the Ventura County mountains.

Rumor of the day

Pop diva Jennifer Lopez is said to be in final deal-making stages for for one of the penthouse pads in the new Icon building in Manhattan designed by celeb architect Phillipe Starck. Pad includes 6,000-square-foot balcony on which is set a "private pool". The price for JLo's new home: $9.9 million.

Forehead for rent

Stupid or clever? A 20-year-old man Omaha, Nebraska, is selling advertising space on his forehead to the highest bidder on website eBay. He said he would have a non-permanent logo or brand name tattooed on his head for 30 days.

Hopelessly macho

"I only take Viagra when I'm with more than one woman." Jack Nicholson, actor, age 66.

All eyes on Apple

Yep. And it's all about Steven.

Steinbeck's hometown to close libraries

Facing record deficits, the City Council of the Californian city Salinas voted to shut all three of libraries. Salinas is the 1902 birthplace of the Nobel Prize-winning writer John Steinbeck, author of "Cannery Row", "Of Mice and Men" and "East of Eden." The blue-collar town of 150,000 inhabitants will become the first U.S. city without a public library.

Spin movie revisited

Tonight we watched the political satire Wag the Dog on DVD. We have seen the movie before, but with the current President and the war in Iraq the satire couldn't be more real. What a great film - the incomparable David Mamet is one of the script writers - of course. I especially like the 'motto' at the beginning: "Why does a dog wag its tail? Because a dog is smarter than its tail. If the tail were smarter, the tail would wag the dog." Plus: the full script.