Math 4 Fun ;)

This problem is in my discrete mathematics text book, don't get too excited Andrea.

Four friends have been identified as suspects for an unauthorized access into a computer system. They have made statements to the investigating authorities. Amanda said "Anna done it." Andrea said "I ain't done it." Anna said "Melodee done did it." Melodee said "Anna done lied when she told I done it."
1) If the authorities also know that exactly one of the four suspects is telling the truth, who done it?
2) If the authorities also know that exactly one is lying, who done it?

I'll post the answer next week.

Here is another fun puzzle you might have seen before. Go ahead and use more disks for a more challenging game.

Have fun!@

Hi Jen. I'm Ed.

I’ve been trying to construct this story in my head all week because it is a perfect candidate to test my creative writing “skills”. I would rather have someone more talented then myself to share it with y’all, but no one knows my sister like I do, so they would surely get it wrong. Sorry for the length, but you have to hear the whole thing. :)

There is something you have to know about Jen, my sister. She is the one of the bravest and most adventurous chicks I know. Ever since she got her “traveling speech therapist” job, she has taken advantage of every free weekend in the city that she is just so happens to live in at the moment. Last weekend, she decided to pack up and spend a long weekend in New York City, since at the moment she only lives a couple hours away. On Friday, she called exactly 10,307 times (while I was at work!) to tell me precisely what she was doing so as to make me jealous. Ain’t she sweet? One time she actually had me look up the Yankee’s schedule so that she could find out what time she had to be at the stadium to see the game. Now, it doesn’t really matter if you are a baseball fan or even a Yankee’s fan. Seeing a game at Yankee Stadium would ROCK. But I digress.

The coolest thing that she did was being able to attend a free street concert that featured none other then Collective Soul. Yeah, I’m talking about THE Collective Soul. I’m talking about one of my favorite bands of all time. I own every CD they have produced. Yeah, you heard me – EVERY CD. So, my sister, being the sweet non-gloating girl that she is, calls me in the middle of the concert while she is staring adoringly into Ed’s face and he is singing Shine. Well, it might’ve been cooler if I could have heard HIM sing instead of her. (Jen, next time hold the phone AWAY from your face when you call me from a concert.) After this wonderful phone call, she calls back about ten minutes later to tell me that the concert was shut down by the NYPD because the crowd was too rowdy. So, I was pretending to be sympathetic while she was talking to me when all of a sudden, I hear this, “Oh my gosh!! Hang on hang on………CLICK”. Line is dead. Now remember she is in New York City by HERSELF. This is at about 11:00, her time. She was just at a concert that they shut down because of rowdiness. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? My first thought is that she is being mugged and drug into an alley by some thug. So, I wait for her to call me back. And wait. And wait. About ten minutes later, my phone finally rings. I have dialoged our conversation, but you need to imagine her voice in a pitch so high that only dogs can hear it and speaking all in run-on sentences and faster then her brain can process.

Me: Hello? Are you dead??
Jen: Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I can’t believe it.
Me: What?? What happened? Are you ok?
Jen: I just totally met them!! I can’t believe I met Collective Soul!
Me: You MET them??
Jen: I am totally Star-struck. Dude, I MET them.
Me: What? How?
Jen: I was in this hotel lobby because I heard that they were staying here and then they just totally were walking down the hall and I saw them and just went up to them and I was like, “Oh my gosh, I love you guys!” And then they were like, “Oh, sorry the concert got shut down.” And I was like, “No, I’M sorry.” And then I didn’t really know what to say. And then I finally said, “Oh, my gosh. I love you guys!” And then I asked them for their autographs and they asked me for my name and I was like, “My name is Jen.” And then ED was like, “Hi Jen. I’m Ed.” And then I was like, “Um, I KNOW you’re Ed. You spit on me!” And he was like, “Oh, sorry about that.” And I was like, “No, it’s COOL!”
(sidenote: When Jen attended the Collective Soul concert here in Billings, her story that she loves to tell is when Ed spit on her while he was singing. Yeah, she’s a freak.)
Jen continued: And then I told him the story about how he spit on me in Billings. I’m such a dork!! And then I couldn’t find a pen and I was like, “Man, I don’t even have a pen!” But then we found a pen and I got their autographs and then, DUDE, Ed touched my hair.
Me: HE TOUCHED YOU???
Jen: Yeah, dude. He touched my hair and he was like, “Oh, you have the same color hair as Julie, my sister. And we just love Julie.” Oh my gosh! I can’t believe I just met Ed!
Me: You suck.
Jen: I know!! I can’t believe I hung up on you. I should’ve let you talk to him!
Me: I KNOW!!!
Jen: And I didn’t even get a picture. I had my camera the whole time and I didn’t even get a picture.
Me: You didn’t get a PICTURE?
(sidenote: My family is notorious for carrying our cameras everywhere and getting pictures of simply everything we see.)
Jen: I can’t believe I didn’t get a picture of them!
Me: You’re so dumb. I can’t believe you just met Collective Soul, and didn’t take a picture. No one’s going to believe you.
Jen: Oh my gosh, I know.
Me: You suck.

The dialog continues with her freaking out because the marker they used is not drying onto the paper they signed. Then more talk about how she didn’t take a picture or let me talk to Ed. Meanwhile, she is so giddy, she is walking 8 blocks in the WRONG direction to the subway to get back to her hostel. Did I mention it is about 11:00 and she is alone in NEW YORK CITY?? And then she got the freakish paranoia that someone on the subway is going to steal her autograph. So, I finally told her to hang up, grab her Mace and settle down! I hear that she did finally make it back to her hostel unmugged and with one of the coolest stories I’ve ever heard.

Thursday Links

Quiz of the week: Find the man's head in the coffee beans.

iPod news: Andrea got an iPod! Oh, did I tell you that already? Ok, well it's a good thing that I didn't get that iPod nano that is full of flaws! (via Slashdot)

Geek news: Susan sent me this link of the coolest Swiss Army knife ever! I want one.

Attention Aerosmith fans! Watch this really cute parody of Cryin. And for the rest of you, here's another fun dog video. This dog needs a barking lesson.

25 ways to save at the pump. We need all the help we can get now-a-days.

Amanda sent me this video yesterday. We can't decide if the guy is serious or not. Half the time he looks like he's trying not to bust up. You guys decide. Is this a joke?

Christian has a cool story on See Life Differently today. Check it out.

Look out!!. I like the guy with the gum in his mouth. :)

You don't want to make whoever did this mad at you. Yikes!

This is for you Amanda. Google saves lives.

I have oh, so many more! But, I'll save them until next week! :)

Science & Snakes

I know, not some people's favorite subject! But I'm writing about them at work for a newsletter, so I have lots of tidbits.

Snakes have a lot of backbone, literally. Depending on the species, a snake has between 180 and 400 vertebrae and almost as many ribs. To put that in perspective, we have around 30 vertebrae.

Andrea, about 4/5 of the world's snakes aren't poisionous. What a relief.

There's one known species of snake (the Brahminy blind snale) that can reproduce "parthogenetically," without fertilization by the male. All the snakes that hatch this way are females with identical genetic code to their mother.

Ok, there's lots of fascinating things about snake senses, but I don't want to torture anyone...

Happy Birthday!

My favorite search engine is seven now...check out the homepage today to see their b-day logo. It makes me want chocolate cake.

This would be more of a tribute post, but I'm tired and a little busy. ;)

Note: I'm talking about Google if anyone wondered...

Update: Google has now picked up Brooke's crocodile post, which means all sorts of random people are finding us. I should figure out how to put a "no follow." But the obsessed Googlite in me is pleased that tons more visitors are coming from Google than MSN!

Who'd of thunk?

I was going to wait until Thursday to post about this in my "iPod news" section of my links, but I just can't wait. I've already made for myself an idol, and I need to tell the world :)

You know those annoying "Click here for a free iPod" ads that pop up when you are surfing around trying to find cool links to post on Thursdays? Well, I know them only too well!! One day I was thinking, "I am going to try and click on this and see just how big of a hoax it is." So, I clicked. I completed this 3 hour-long survey. Then, I was told to apply for a few credit cards, order a few free trials of the diet patch, subscribe to Netflix and an iPod will be ALL mine. Piece of cake, huh? I'm not sure what kept fueling my curiosity, but one by one, I started completing these offers. Soon, I was in too deep to quit and a few months later, I had a few more credit cards and various samples of diet patches, botox-in-a-bottle and multi-vitamins. But, yesterday, something happened that I never thought would. My "free" 60 GB color display iPod showed up on my front step. Ahhh, ye-ah. That's right. Andrea is an iPod owner. So, I foolishly was ripping and copying late into the night last night. So, 5 of the 60 gigs are full! So far, so good! But, I keep expecting the it's-not-really-a-free-iPod-you-idiot Police to show up to take my car or dog away or something. I'll keep you posted if it happens.

An Idea and Monday Quote

Carissimae,

I've been enjoying Andrea's Thursday Links so much, and it gave me an idea. Why don't we each post something particular on a day of the week? For example: I could do Monday's Quote of the Week, Annie could do Tuesday's Picture of the Week, Amanda could do Wednesday's Science Fact of the Week, Brooke could do Friday's Math Puzzle of the Week (she has a ton of them from teaching in Co-op!), and Sarah could do Saturday's Teacher Story of the Week. Obviously, those are just brainstorm ideas for each of you :)

If you don't want to do this, no problem; I'm not married to the idea. But it did occur to me that it would get each of us posting at least once a week so Andrea and Amanda wouldn't have to carry the whole load. It would be no big deal if you missed your turn.

What do you think?

Well, whether you like it or not, I'll give you a quote for the day:

They say that faint heart never won fair lady; and it is amazing to me how fair ladies are won, so faint are often men's hearts! - The Warden by Anthony Trollope

Amanda's Vocabulary

Amanda, apparently your vocabulary isn't as unique as we all thought! Andrea noticed at dinner the other night that the fruit spread (remember So Rie's favorite strawberry stuff?) said

"Boss on Bagels."

Padrisimo, no?

But I guess you're still unique - I haven't seen "Swell on Saltines" anywhere recently . . . :)

Enough

I'm reading Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner* right now. Most of the people that read this blog have probably already read this book, but I wanted to post this excerpt anyway. The trait that I love about this author is her embarrassing honesty. She says things that most people would be too proud to admit. I was especially struck by this honesty in these few paragraphs. I was embarrassed and relieved at the same time because I saw my reflection in her words.

Context: She is spending Christmas morning by herself. She finds herself falling into a pity party of loneliness while she thinks of ex-boyfriends and married girlfriends and how they are spending their Christmas mornings.

So much for celebrating Jesus' birthday. I am more like the child who spends Mother's Day demanding to know why there is no Children's Day, not understanding that Children's Day is every other day of the year
I pick up one of my icons. It is Rublev's Christ. Its official name is "The Savior," but I have never heard anyone call it anything other then Rublev's Christ. Andrei Rublev, a monk and iconographer, painted it in about 1420, one section of a seven-part icon for a church in Zvenigorod. It is a very simple picture, just Jesus with a massive mane and a flat beard staring out at you. Rublev's Christ is the Jesus I always talk to when I am most upset. He manages to look stern and sympathetic at the same time. "OK, Jesus," I say, "I'm in this because you came to Earth, and because you came to Earth I can somehow deal with my wretched loneliness and whatever comes along besides."
"You are supposed to be enough," I tell the icon. "That you came to Earth is supposed to be enough. Even if I never go to New England again, even if I never plan another trip with somebody, even if I never feel happy for one more minute, that you came to Earth is supposed to be enough." I glare at my icon.
"And," I say after a minute, "it is enough. It actually is. If this is all I ever have, this glimmer of knowledge that you were born in a manger, that really will sustain me.”
"But," I add, "I really hope it doesn't have to sustain me." I really don't want it to be just me and the icons for all these Christmases forever.

*I also recommend Real Sex by the same author. It's the only book on chastity that I've read that keeps single women in mind and not just single men. It too contains great honesty in her writing.

By the way, thanks for your encouragement, Amanda!

Amanda adds...
I'm really glad you posted that, Andrea!

I just came across this blog post that ties in Real Sex and some results of the feminist movement, basically how "sexual liberation" has in some ways been really bad for women.

Melodee says:
Thank you for linking that blog post, Amanda. I appreciated the way she dealt with several different books on the topic. It also gave me motivation to pick up Real Sex again. I've been in the middle of it for a long time. I was enjoying it so much and then it just dropped off the radar screen . . .

Happy First Day of Fall!

In honor of the season, check out this link to pictures of gorgeous fall leaves.

Found on Ask.com...but no, I'm not converting from Google! :)

Thursday Links

Here's another one for Lola (previously Jude). Lola Lo-lo-lo-lo-lolahaaa. May the cutest kitty win!!

This is quite another approach to Rock-Paper-Scissors. I gotta try this.

Amanda is obsessed with Google. Even more then I am. She sent me this article among others this week. Working for Google really does look like a sweet deal. Check out the 10 reasons why you should work there.

Ok, this one is for Susan. Except, she may not want to click on it...cuz it involves a screaming frog.

The weekly quiz: Test your senses!

Many of you don't know this, but I too have these kind of mad parking skills. Really....I do!

iPod news: Australians are breaking the law with their iPods.

As you may have noticed, I'm not really a dog person. I'm more of an super-ultra-obsessed dog person. I'm really digging this Retro Dog Art. This is for Cache (and Migo!). This is for Bailey. This is for Beau.

Now, THIS is a personal ad. He ain't foolin' around.

Since Random Mind passed this on, I'll keep on passing. Way too hilarious! Britney Spears could take a choreography lesson or two from these guys.

Have a lovely Thursday. In less then 24 hours, it will be Friday!!

Hey guys

Today I received an email from my mother boasting that a 21 ft., 4500 lb., 80+ year old crocodile was captured and killed(buy the army) in New Orleans. So I thought cool I get to see a pictures of a gigantic crocodile. Wrong. The pictures wouldn't come up when I open my email. Ruined my day. ;) So I Googled it and found that the Crocodile was really found in Pointe-Noire, a city in SW Republic of Congo AFRICA! hmmmmmm.
See how easily things get distorted even on the internet. So if you want to see this huge croc just check out http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_pointe_noire_croc.htm
Now if for some reason this doesn't link up could you fix it Andrea. thanx

Rediscovery

One of the greatest things in the world is when you rediscover a CD or song that you have had for awhile, but haven't listened to in awhile, and you realize how awesome it is. It's like you have a brand new CD again. I did that today with Caedmon's Call's song "Table For Two". I remember listening to it in college and not ever being exposed to reformed theology (ie. predestination), I couldn't help thinking how comforting the words were. The last verse is my favorite. I included the lyrics below and if you want to listen to it, click here.

Table For Two

Danny and I
Spent another late night over pancakes
Talking about soccer
And how every man's just the same
We made speculation
On the who's and the when's of our futures
And how everyone's lonely
But still we just couldn't complain

And how we just hate being alone
Could I have missed my only chance
And now I'm just wasting my time
By lookin' around

But you know I know better
I'm not gonna worry about nothing
Cause if the birds and the flowers survive
Then I'll make it okay.
And given a chance and a rock
See which one breaks a window
And see which one keeps me up all night and into the day.

Because I'm so scared of being alone
That I forget what house I live in
And that it's not my job to wait by the phone
For her to call

This day's been crazy
But everything's happened on schedule
From the rain and the cold
To the drink that I spilled on my shirt
'Cause You knew how You'd save me
Before I fell dead in the garden
And You knew this day
Long before You made me outta dirt.

And You know the plans that You have for me
And You can't plan the ends and not plan the means
And so I suppose I just need some peace,
Just to get me to sleep.

The Blue Whale

Interesting fact I just discovered. The heaviest land mammal is the African Elephant, weighing in at 14,000 lbs, or 7 tons. Big guy, huh?

Yeah well, how about the heaviest marine mammal, the blue whale? This creature generally weighs about 150 tons. That is not a typo. 300,000 lbs. As much as 25 elephants. 2000 people. My house.

More facts:

• The blue whale's tongue weighs as much as an elephant
• Its heart weighs a half-ton, and it has 7 tons of blood in its body.
• The baby gains 8.5 lbs an hour while drinking 130 gallons of its mother's milk a day (ugh.)
• Its whistle is the loudest animal sound ever recorded, at 180 decibels (that equals the noise made by a navy cruiser.)

And here are some pictures.

Well, we humans are tiny creatures, aren't we!

Too true...

I can't count the number of times I wish I had this kind of courage... (click to see bigger version)

It ain't so bad

My day today started off pretty crumby. Well, the work part of it did anyway. But the in-between work parts made up for it all. I had lunch with my favorite guy in the world. I had a nice chat with a good friend and mentor of mine after work. I headed home to a puppy that is always happy to see me. I picked the HUGEST zucchini out of my garden to make some zucchini bread. I watched the prez while I cooked (and recorded survivor). Then, to end the evening I watched the first episode of Survivor-Guatemala with Amanda while enjoying steamy gooey zucchini goodness. That ain't half bad, huh?

In case you didn't believe the "HUGEST zucchini ever" claim I made earlier, I included before and after pictures. I had to put my cell phone next to the beast just to show you how big it got. Ok, maybe it wasn't the HUGEST ever, but it is still the biggest I've ever grown. And I SWEAR to you that it it was still too tiny to pick (about 2 inches long) a few days ago.

BEFORE














AFTER

Thursday Links

Ok, I've been really busy this week, so I haven't had my normal amount of time to compile cool links. Forgive me if they aren't as original or unique as usual. They are still good though!!

Dennis at LB Imaging has had some excellent Montana Fall pictures. It seems that no matter what color Montana grass is, it still is beautiful. My favorites are this and this. Earlier this week, he also had the greatest link to this adorable puppy picture.

A while back, Ainsley posted a link to this site. My favorite parts are the photoshop contests. The Forks and the Hairy contests are my favorites.

Survivor - Guatemala premiers tonight. Whoo hoo!! So, set the VCR, watch the president speak and then follow it up with some good ole' fashion reality TV.

iPod news: Review of the new Nano iPod. (hat tip: Slashdot) Also, watch this homemade flash film of a bear dancing with his iPod. Slightly cute.

Kiera Knightley was not allowed to use her "sexy pout" in the new P&P movie. Uhh....sexy pout??

This guy is amazing. A backwards bowler??

Remember the Google Whack post awhile back? Well, Amanda sent me this interesting article about Google and it's expanding indexing. Quite geeky. Quite interesting.

MSNBC has a cool hurricane tracker flash thingy. I think hurricane Ophelia is a little drunk.

Cheese doesn't cause nightmares!! Whew! I'm so relieved!

Donate to hurricane relief without spending a dime! I wonder if this guy is for real.

Ok, back to work. Have a great day-before-Friday. :)

Susan, re-send me that link you emailed! I got your message, but not the link.

Work today...

has been pretty exciting so far. I've dissected an owl pellet, which I thought might be kind of gross but was actually pretty fascinating because I found a rodent skull complete with miniature teeth, and other tiny bones. I also made an "airfoil" to try out one of Melodee's science experients before we sent it out in the newsletter, but I need a blow dryer so I'll have to wait till I get home to finish it.

In other news, Starbucks' Java Chip ice cream is pretty good...

Afternoon note...
I was just reading the back of a snakes field guide and discovered the following:

This [guide] illustrates in full color the most common, widespread, important, or unusual representative snakes from each of the 18 families of Lepidoptera.

Hmm...maybe they're part butterfly, part reptile? (See this Lepidoptera site.)

Love and Peace or Else...

I am on a big U2 kick (How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb particularly), and this is my work song today. Check out a sound clip (you really, really should listen to the whole thing, though!) and lyrics.

You can't get a much better way to start a U2 concert off either, can you, Melodee? :)

Some good advice...

"One should never rub bottoms with a porcupine" --Akan, Ghana

A helpful saying from Ananse Village (my new favorite African shopping site, if only I could bring myself to spend the money...but check it out).

Thursday links

I could totally teach Cache how to do this!

Amanda sent me this link a while back, but I didn't have room to post it. It is too funny. I, personally, am thinking of ordering the Akh 500 Sports Edition Mummy Case.

This hand art is pretty cool. My favorite is the elephant.

Ipod news: Introducing the new Nano iPod!!

This guy deserves a job just for his creativity. I know some people that could use this sort of innovative thinking. (hat tip: Every Blog Needs a Title)

Attention Metallica fans. And I'm not talking about you lame-o's that jumped on the "Load Wagon".

The British are way too serious. By the way, you are not allowed to laugh at this article.

This friend tester website is pretty fun. You can create your own quiz for your friends to take to see how well they know you. If you want to see a sample one, I threw a short one together. (hat tip: Bored.com)

Google maps is posting the latest satellite images of New Orleans. Just click on the red 'Katrina' button in the upper right hand corner.

Geek news: Mazda Replaces Keys with USB Drive

Melodee says:
Your second link reminded me of a "commercial" I wrote for an assignment when I was in elementary school:

Want To Be Preserved Well?
Come see the Mummiefiers!
Just sign up now
and you will be preserved
PERFECTLY
at the time of your death.
THE PRICE? Just 3 bushels of figs, just 3 bushels!
And, on top of that we’ll throw in a decorated casket FREE,
absolutely FREE.
REMEMBER, come see the Mummiefiers!
223 Flood Area Rd.

Sale ends at the begining of the Inundation.

Another reason to like Google...

if you're a computer science major, at least. They deliever free pizza to you at your computer!

Andrea is drooling...
Suh-weet. Just what pasty geek people that sit on their butts all day need - a greasy mess of saturated fat. Thanks for the coronary, Google! *wink*

The Last First Day

Well, ladies, today is my last first day of school as an undergraduate. I have now had 7 first days at this school. . .and I was certainly the least prepared for #7. I went to school this morning to

a) Sign up for a class (yes, the day school starts). It's an independent study, so I had to get all these forms from the instructor (he filled them out with a typewriter) and take them to the admin building, etc. etc.

b) Get my parking permit. Mint green, this year.

c) Get a Fall 2005 sticker for my student ID. Dark blue.

d) Buy books. Two half inch spiral bound and one quarter inch paperback for *drumroll* ONLY $116!!! What a steal! Pun intended. (Silver lining: that's at least $200 less than it could be, thanks to friends, the Parmly Billings Library, and Amazon.com.)

e) Attend class. Day one of Musics of the World. Not much to report.

That was my agenda. Added bonuses were seeing friends and eating free buttery, salty popcorn in the SUB.

Now, I know you are all gloating that you don't have to go to school anymore (all but Brooke, who is still in my boat!), but just reflect, people. It's the middle of the day and I'm blogging. Andrea, you can take the "poor slob workforce" tag off my profile name now :)

Amanda says...
I was going to write a "back to school post" for you and Brooke and Sarah, but it's a good thing you beat me to it. I think it would've been mostly gloating. ;-)

Who's teaching Musics of the World?

Aiyaiyai, $116 for three books...sorry. That is the # 1 thing I DON'T miss about school. Well, maybe # 2 or # 3. Homework and going to classes that I didn't really care about would be at the top of the list. (Um, and of course I tried to avoid both of those as much as possible.)

I hope you have a rewarding last semester as an undergrad...then on to Scotland!!!

Andrea is confused...
Posted by Melodee?? Who is this Melodee?

Just kidding, buddy. It's good to have you back in the blogosphere. Now it's TRP's turn!! (by the way, I updated your profile tag)

Check it. Ch-ch-check it.

Check out Ainsley's post from yesterday (Much Better than what the Today Show is saying). Good stuff.

Black flowers

...are so romantic! I kid you not: here's some flowers to show your girlfriend you really care. Actually, they look pretty cool - I love the black tulips.

And yes, "here's" is grammatically incorrect, but it sounds so right. Sorry, Melodee. ;-)

Andrea is intriqued...
I like 'em.

What would you do??

Imagine...
You're home and your vehicle were just washed away by flooding. You have nothing....NOTHING, but the clothes on your back. No food. No water. No help in sight.

Now imagine...

You are a diabetic and you have no insulin, which you NEED to survive.

or...

You have a small baby, but nothing to feed it. No formula...nothing.

Would you steal? Would you join the looters of Rite-Aid and Walmart?

I'm only hypothetically asking because I truly don't know what I would do. I watch the looters with distain and shame, but then, I put myself in their place. What if it wasn't TV's and Stereos, but instead medications and things you need for survival? What if it was for the survival of your family? What if help was just not getting there fast enough?

Amanda says...
Like I told you, I don't exactly believe this is looting - taking enough food to get you through a few days is a lot different than stealing electronics equipment that you can't even use. So it's possible that I would take what I needed, although I hope I wouldn't...I really don't know. But anyway, I obviously can't blame the people who do it in this situation!

What if the only way you can get what you need is by shooting the shop owner, though? Or what if you're so terrified of being without, you take more than you need and ignore other people going hungry? Either one would be easy to fall into in this kind of situation. Still understandable, knowing our human nature (including my own!) - it's easier to hurt people rather than suffer for a while yourself - but in these cases it's not so easy to overlook.

Anyway, this is why America need to help the people of New Orleans and all along the Gulf Coast where lives have been severely affected by the hurricane.

Katrina

First of all, I think this whole naming hurricanes with people's names system sucks. Who is going to want to name their kid Katrina now?

I found this New Orleans guy's livejournal page (he's working in law enforcement, I think)...there's quite a few pictures and stories of conditions there. Of course you can get that on the news, but it's sort of a different perspective from someone who's in the middle of things.

Andrea adds input...
This site of New Orleans Metroblogging is also interesting and from an insiders perspective. I am just so blown away by all of this. My heart goes out to all the victims of this disaster. Having just visited the city this year, I feel bizarrely close to it. I think of all the wonderful people that my sister and I met while we were there and I just feel sick. I wonder how they are. I wonder if they are safe. It breaks my heart to see such a culturally rich city devastated like this. Although it's not the most wholesome town in the world (what town IS wholesome anyway?), it is truly one-of-a-kind and it is heartbreaking to see any of that culture disappear.

Reptiles

I know how you feel about snakes, Andrea, but there are some cool reptile video clips on this site. I like the boa constrictor best. Annie, wanna go in with me to buy one?

Thursday links on THURSDAY

You'd let me know if these links are getting annoying, right??

This story may beat your Karamoja spider story, Amanda. Eww... He thought it was a MOUSE.

This Hurricane Watch is one of the better sites I've seen with updated coverage on Katrina. There are some amazing satellite photos today.

Some more sweet NP fun. (hat tip: Every Blog Needs a Title)

Ipod news for this week. Gotta get me one of these.

Fun t-shirts:
I want one - Get a job that has anything to do with computers and you'll understand what I mean.
Evangelism in Ebonics - I'm not sure whether to laugh or be disturbed.
I'm sorry, but I find it funny - For those that don't know, the I.P. 127.0.0.1 is always your "home" computer's address.
Be careful what you do - I know some people that need this shirt. :)
Physics can be funny - For my nerdy engineer friends.

When you have some time, read this amazing story. I got goosebumps. (hat tip: The Banty Rooster)

Foxie! This is for those of you that cannot decide between Internet Explorer and Firefox. Get the best of both worlds! (disclaimer: I'm not recommending this, I just find it interesting. I myself appreciate BOTH browsers for their differing and varied abilities) (hat tip: Slashdot)

Is Google really evil? (hat tip: Amanda)

Check out this guy's world records. Who DOES this stuff?? (hat tip: Every Blog Needs a Title)

Ok ok ok. I'll quit.

It's gonna be a long day...

The first thing I thought when I got to work this morning and had a drink of water from my Nalgene was, "It stells smale." If this keeps up, I hope I don't have to answer the phone much today!