Fun with signs
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4.28.05 @ 12:30 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
destinations
present
past
books
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Dingo's HamsterWatch
Pogo Tips & Tricks
link o' the day (see all)
visit the Apple Store
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Trafalgar Square, London streaming
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'open' will launch your GEarth, or 'save' to your desktop to view later.
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design-hosting
The class project
Now that I once again have a visible means of support and because it's busy season in the world of stock market earnings results, I haven't been able to put much time in here writing up wonderful words for your reading enjoyment <koff>.. but I have been leaving extra-cool links & cams daily, and recapping some of the better mass mails and web finds over the years. Enjoy. 
A class of elementary students started a class project to make a plant pot to take home. Their teacher wanted to have plants in them that were easy to take care of, so it was decided to use cactus plants. The students were given greenware pottery in the style of a clown, and they painted them with glaze and had them professionally fired at a class outing so they could see the process.
It was great fun. They planted the cactus seeds in the finished planters and they grew nicely, but unfortunately the children were not allowed to take them home..
The cactus plants were removed and replaced with small ivy plants, and then the children were allowed to take them home.
The teacher said cactus seemed like a good idea at the time..
4.27.05 @ 12:34 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
Your tax dollars at work, part 2
4.25.05 @ 9:23 PM pdt [add 2 cents]
Your tax dollars at work, part 1
4.24.05 @ 2:03 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
So then um.. you know, who's uhh, sort of, running the uhhh.. you know, the economy?
Lately I've been working on financial transcripts - proofing, researching, correcting, etc. Many public stock companies hold telephone conference calls every few months, in which CEOs, CFOs, COOs and other acronym'd people report their companies' earnings & losses and other relevant data for interested parties and ultimately, their stockholders.
Prominent stock analysts phone in to these meetings, where they presumably listen to the data presented, which is then followed by a Q&A period so the analysts can then.. analyze! And determine their recommendations as to whether that company's stock should be bought or sold.
While the company numbers speak for themselves to a certain extent, these analysts are paid a good amount of money to take those numbers and make accurate predictions from them, and to provide sound advice for investors. So they are a driving force in the stock market to some degree and thus the economy in general. I don't know how much influence their recommendations carry, but obviously they do carry some or these folks would have to find new careers.
These analysts are smart people obviously, highly educated, and experts in their respective fields. And yet, when listening to these calls and the analysts' questions for the corporate execs, most of them sound like uneducated, inarticulate slobs. Granted, the subject matter of these discussions is usually very detailed and highly specialized, the kind of stuff that goes <whoosh> over most of our heads, but I've never heard as many um's, uh's, you know's, I mean's, and sort of's as when these analysts present their questions. Many of them have a minimum of at least two you know's and two sort of's in every sentence.
The corporate execs are only a bit better in their responses, but to be fair, they're unprepared as to which questions will be asked specifically, and in which context. The analysts on the other hand, follow these company results for a living, and come to the conference calls already knowing which factors interest them. They also usually know how those factors are performing for a given corporation, and have often received the numbers before the conference calls take place. Yet even taking into account that they're speaking off the cuff as opposed to reading from a script, these sort of ana- or, I mean umm.. you know, fi- fi- umm.. you know, finance.. financial analysts.. they umm.. you know they still uhh.. sound like sort of, uhh, you know the most umm.. I mean, you know sort of un- umm.. un-.. unaware? of.. you know, the uhh.. sort of, subjects they're, you know, speaking about.. I mean, you know, speaking on.
I'm not exaggerating here. It's been an eye-opener for me. It makes me wonder who's really in charge of stock market trends and the economy at large, and if subtleties such as the inarticulate speech of these highly paid analysts could be affecting more than just my quandaries as to how to treat their stumbling messes in the written transcripts.
Incidentally, anyone may dial in to listen to these conference calls, and even ask questions. Many of the transcripts are freely available to the public, and many are also available with paid memberships to financial services providers. I'm sure they're profitable (or the transcription companies wouldn't exist) so I'm amazed how cheap those transcription companies are when paying their transcribers and editors. I'm paid by the minute, literally: both the total minutes of the conference call recording and the total minutes it takes me to check every word factor into my pay. So the more time it takes me, the less I get paid.. but working a little bit faster to get a little bit bigger paycheck is a bad plan, as they also reduce my pay for errors. Every error, individually, no matter how small, is deducted from my pay, even if the meaning or context is unaffected. Two or three errors that do affect meaning in an hour-long call results in pay that's close to minimum wage, as do four or five relatively insignificant errors. Even if I've caught and corrected hundreds made by the initial transcriber.
I do understand the importance of accuracy in these transcripts though, so I go through every one with a fine-tooth comb. The quality of audio transfer onto the web varies from call to call, and the use of cell and speaker phones also adds to the challenge. So I take longer than I should doing Google research, replaying indecipherable segments over and over, looking up industry acronyms and spellings of analysts' names, company brands, etc. in an attempt to avoid getting knocked down to a lower pay tier for getting a word or letter wrong. Keep in mind these calls talk about numbers in the millions and billions of dollars: the irony of scrambling to avoid a couple penalty dollars for goofing up a company-specific acronym (spoken quickly over a cell phone) is not lost on me.
It isn't an easy job, especially given the uhh, you know, sort of rambling, and uhh.. you know, stuttering, umm.. you know, well.. sort of mess that I'm sort of you know, presented with.
4.22.05 @ 11:46 PM pdt [add 2 cents]
The finger points to jail
Anna Ayala, the finger-in-the-chili lady, is in jail. She's been charged with felony attempted grand theft, with a penalty enhancement for inflicting more than $2.5 million in losses on Wendy's. She was simultaneously charged with an additional rap, also felony grand theft, for allegedly selling a mobile home a couple years ago that she didn't own.
I don't know what's going on here - Ayala has a record of filing lawsuits as I previously reported, so it isn't looking good for her. However, El Pollo Loco, who settled for $30,000 in one of her prior suits, reports that they haven't paid her any of it. (What's up with that?)
Wendy's $100,000 reward for information about the finger could easily have contributed to some phony stories coming forth, including some pointing to Ayala, but officials claim to have enough circumstancial evidence to have put her in jail without bail. They aren't saying anything about where the finger came from, or if they even have a theory on that.. and let's face it, that's what we'd all really like to know.
I still find it more than interesting that forensics reports are now saying the finger hadn't been cooked (at least not the three hours at 170° that Wendy's cooks their chili) - but at the time of the chomp heard 'round the world, a county health officer said "the finger had been cooked at a high enough temperature to kill any viruses." Go figure. Ayala's roommate said as far as evidence, "They don't got jack shit."
I look forward to more facts unfolding - this is the kind of story that just keeps getting better.
Meanwhile, Bay Area Wendy's are giving away free milkshakes this weekend.
4.22.05 @ 7:34 PM pdt [add 2 cents]
When the gray smoke cleared..
..there was a new pope.
My first reaction to seeing Benedict XVI at the window was that he looked a little more triumphant than a pope should look. Maybe he was just caught up in the moment - maybe the cheering crowds didn't have anything to do with it.
There was something a little disappointing too, after watching all the centuries-old rituals unfold these past few weeks, that two days in a row they couldn't get the famous white smoke/black smoke to work right. Nobody knew what to make of the gray that originally came out both days. And now whoever makes it happen won't have another chance to get it right for who knows how long.
Joseph Ratzinger is the oldest pope to be elected since 1730 and the first German pope since 1522. He follows the last Benedict, who was pope from 1914 to 1922, during WWI. Ratzinger has been a Hitler Youth, a Nazi soldier, a Nazi deserter, and an American prisoner of war - now he's head of the Catholic church, and sovereign of the Vatican. He's conservative and orthodox; he speaks ten languages and plays classical piano.
He's also a best-selling author - at least as of today. Check out his many books
4.19.05 @ 8:22 PM pdt [add 2 cents]
How dishwashers really work
And here's something else to think about:
Why do mildew removers/repellants always say "use in a well-ventilated area"?
If the area was well-ventilated, it wouldn't have a mildew problem in the first place.
4.19.05 @ 12:23 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
Views: Winged Migration
Winged Migration 2001, dir. Jacques Perrin
This is simply an amazing film that showcases various migratory birds on their twice-yearly flights of one to two thousand miles or more. If that sounds dry and boring, look again. Not only is the movie beautifully photographed with very little narration, but much of it is filmed from within the flock in flight.
We travel with geese, ducks, swans, cranes, eagles, pelicans, albatrosses, penguins, and storks through cities, countryside, desert, tundra, rivers, glaciers, and forests. Along the way we run into local songbirds, colorful macaws in the Amazon jungle, some super-overpopulated nesting grounds, and a handful of people. Locations range from majestic natural scenery to filthy industrial zones, and even a warship at sea.
Far from boring, the birds' behaviors range from elegant to comical (with a few casualties along the way) as they're seen foraging or hunting, dancing, courting, raising their young, and flying.. always flying.
View clips: geese in flight - grebes dance
The movie begins by saying "No special effects were used in the filming of the birds" so I kept asking "how did they do that?" while flying alongside the flocks, sometimes just inches away. The "Making Of" included on the DVD provides the answer - and it's an astounding process! I won't give it away here - guess as you watch - but the "Making Of" is every bit as good as the movie, and in some ways, it's even better.
The stunning visuals are accompanied by a complementary and unobtrusive soundtrack from Bruno Coulais, with performances by Andrew Wyatt, Nick Cave, A Filetta, and the Bulgarka Quartet, among others.
Winged Migration took four years and over 500 people to make. Jacques Perrin describes himself on the audio commentary track as more producer than director, since he had 2 co-directors (Jacques Cluzaud and Michel Debats) and 14 photography directors. Over 240 hours of film were shot, but we're treated to the best: we get bird's eye views (literally) of locations on every continent, with incredible sights of glaciers breaking off into the sea, avalanches, impossible cliffs, rainforest canopies, and more. The stunning photography throughout rivals that of the Koyaanisqatsi trilogy.
It's coincidence that I watched this just after posting my rant about unoriginality in movies, but Winged Migration is a beautiful example of what film is capable of being, given some creativity, vision, and hard work.
4.16.05 @ 7:48 PM pdt [add 2 cents]
Originality isn't on the marquee
When television came along, Hollywood feared it would kill the movie business. Same thing when home video came along, but the movie business has continued to thrive in spite of tv, videotape, DVDs and the internet. It's surprising how well the movie business is doing really, when you consider that there's very little originality down at your local multi-screen cinema complex.
Right now the top ten moneymakers in theaters are Sin City (based on a comic book), Sahara and Fever Pitch (based on novels); Guess Who (sort of based on another movie); Beauty Shop (spun off another movie); Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous and The Ring 2 (movie sequels). After this weekend The Amityville Horror (movie remake) will probably climb onto this list.
Notice a theme?
Rounding out the top ten this week, only three have apparently original scripts: The Pacifier, Robots, and The Upside of Anger. I haven't seen any of these, but from what I've heard they don't sound very original at all..
So what's up with that? Either moviegoers don't want to see anything original; or moviemakers just can't be bothered to think of something new and audiences have no say about it. People go see what's provided, and the moviemakers think that equals approval for what they're doing plus demand for more of the same.
Maybe it's just me, but when I see a movie I haven't seen before, I want it to be a movie I haven't seen before. Sure, it's fun to go see a big FX extravaganza or even a "little" movie to escape reality for a couple hours, but it's kind of sad how most of the top movies anymore are just recycled versions of last week's top movies.
The summer blockbuster season promises much of the same. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was a book that's already been made into a radio and a tv series (although I am looking forward to that one). Other coming attractions are Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, Batman Begins, Fantastic Four, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Curious George, War of the Worlds, House of Wax, etc. etc. It's deja vu all over again.
"If these two are tired of having sex with each other, what hope is there for the rest of us?" - Tina Fey, SNL When Mr. and Mrs. Smith comes out we'll hear more about the Brad-Jennifer-Angelina triangle than we hear about the movie |
We know there are countless talented writers out there with new ideas that we haven't seen before, and countless directors and actors who could breathe new life and freshness into the movies, but most of them don't stand a chance of having their work seen. Hollywood and the movie industry at large just isn't too interested in originality anymore, and for whatever reason, audiences don't seem to mind plunking down $10 to watch another rerun.
4.16.05 @ 12:02 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
Another Friday, another funeral
Prince Rainier III of Monaco's funeral takes place today beginning at noon (10am GMT - 2am PDT). About ten thousand people have filed past to view his body in the chapel of the royal palace since he died on April 6 at 81.
Many hadn't heard of the tiny state of Monaco until 1956, when Rainier married glamorous, successful Hollywood movie star Grace Kelly. In the years since, Monaco (especially Monte Carlo with its Grand Casino, Grand Prix, and beautiful French Riviera harbor moored with luxury yachts) has become a playground for the wealthy. The royal family has had its ups and downs like any other, and the Rainiers' children - particularly daughters Stephanie and Caroline - often provided fodder for gossip tabloids over the years. Their son Prince Albert, 47, will succeed his father as monarch.
On April 10, Princess Caroline's husband Prince Ernst August of Hanover was rushed to hospital with an acute pancreatic problem and is reported to be in a coma, giving way to whispers about the legendary 700-year-old "Grimaldi Curse" which says the family will never enjoy long happy marriages.
French President Jacques Chirac, King Juan Carlos of Spain, and the UK's Prince Andrew are among the notables and dignitaries expected to attend the funeral. Prince Rainier will be buried in the evening in a private family ceremony next to Princess Grace, who died in a car crash in 1982. Coincidentally, they were also married on April 15.
click for Keyhole view of Monte Carlo's Grand Casino and the square that can be viewed on today's featured web cam
p.s. whoops, it looks like too much world traffic has taken the cam offline, at least for now - hopefully it will return!
4.15.05 @ 1:55 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
"Peregrine falcon hooded and flying"
We have at least four new precision flying/killing machines today - each made in just about a month, without tax dollars, delays, red tape, technology, or engineering.
Three eggs hatched on Tuesday in the peregrine falcon nest on the 33rd floor of Pacific Gas & Electric headquarters in downtown San Francisco: one pre-dawn, one in the morning, and one in the afternoon. The nesting pair (dubbed George & Gracie by their fans and observers) were busy all day taking turns flying off for food and bringing it back to the hungry chicks. There's one more egg in the nest that may or may not hatch.. though there was a lot of activity towards evening as one of the parents - Gracie, I think - was fussing with the clutch. Daylight and the experts will tell if there's a fourth chick.
George & Gracie greet their 3rd chick in the afternoon, and one (George?) heads out to hunt the evening meal:
Gracie seems to make sure we're watching, then feeds the hungry babies as dusk arrives:
Thanks to PG&E, the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group, and technology, the entire nesting cycle has been viewable on the web, along with answers to viewers' questions. Right now the chicks are usually tucked under whichever parent is with them, but the next couple of weeks should have some fun watching as they grow. Watch the peregrine falcon nest cam
Meanwhile on another bird cam in Massachusetts, the single egg of a pair of bald eagles hatched on Sunday. Parents and chick seem to be doing well there also. Coincidentally their nest and website is also being hosted by a power company (Northeast Utilities System). Watch the bald eagle nest cam
There are loads of other webcam-equipped predatory bird nests around - do a search and check some out. There are probably birds nesting in your neighborhood right now too.
We humans think we're so superior.. but we really aren't all that. This is an abandoned/"used" nest we found around here last year. It's middle-sized, about 5" inner diameter, packed with mud and moss on the bottom, with long flat dry reed-type materials woven into it for stability. It's surprisingly solid, with ever-decreasing sized twigs in the basket part, which is quite soft. I doubt if many people - if any - could duplicate it if given the raw materials and this photo. And the birds who built it didn't even have the photo. It's all truly amazing.
headline quote from Donovan Leitch's "Peregrine" - no, not the pop/movie star/brother of Ione Skye.. their dad. From the wayback machine. You old fogeys know who I mean.
4.13.05 @ 1:11 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
Eejits among us
Some people are just plain stupid.
Another2Cents.com got spammed today. Someone pushing an apparent gambling website registered to an "Igor Kulish" (likely a phony name) posted about 62 comments to various entries here. Each comment was a series of about 50 "play poker" text links, each one leading to the same site. It took them about 4 hours to post all those comments.. it took a whole lot less time to delete them.
The ability to post comments here has been disabled for the time being. Once again, the rest of us are inconvenienced because of a few moronic spammers.
Chances are this particular eejit expects to become wealthy overnight after his 4-hour spamming spree.. wealthy enough to buy a Dubai Palm mansion.
How dumb does someone have to be to expect anyone would click on such obvious spam in the first place? Let alone expect anyone to enter their credit card info to play poker once they got there?
Some village somewhere is missing its idiot today.
4.12.05 @ 3:35 PM pdt [add 2 cents]
Views: Last Orders
Last Orders 2001, dir. Fred Schepisi
Last Orders is a lovely movie about life, death and friendship, and how the passage of time affects all. The film follows a group of "greatest generation" friends through the course of a day as they set out to scatter the ashes of a friend, and it simultaneously covers a 50-year period of their shared history through flashbacks.
The title refers to their friend Jack's request to have his ashes scattered at the English seaside town of Margate, and also to the British pub call for "last orders" at closing time. The group's base and meeting place had always been their local pub, the Coach and Horses, and that's where they gather to have a pint before setting out with the urn of ashes.
Making the day trip from London to Margate are long-time friends Ray (Bob Hoskins), often called "Lucky" for his love of horseracing and placing the occasional winning bet for the others; Vic (Tom Courtenay), the local undertaker with a balanced perspective and more familiarity with death than the others; and Lenny (David Hemmings), a malcontent whose quick temper and passive-aggressive behavior is balanced by his wit and humor. Jack's son Vince (Ray Winstone) is also on board, driving the quartet in a used Mercedes-Benz from his car lot and reflecting on his troubled relationship with his father. Michael Caine plays the recently-departed Jack, an outgoing, flirtatious and well-liked London butcher, whose life is revealed to us through flashbacks and conversations, particularly between his widow Amy (Helen Mirren) and Ray (Hoskins).
Director Fred Schepisi adapted Graham Swift's novel for the screenplay, and he cleverly blends the one-day outing with a 50-year period to give us a good view of how these folks arrived where they are, and how their lives had unfolded differently than their youthful expectations. We learn - and we care - how their lives and their children's have been intertwined, and how each of them have dealt with their disappointments (or not), especially Jack.
The day's journey also gives us some vicarious sight-seeing through the streets of greater London, the countryside of Kent, Canterbury Cathedral, the War Memorial at Chatham, and Jack's final destination, Margate itself.. along with several pub stops along the way. The characters are subtly and remarkably well-developed, and, not surprisingly considering the cast, the acting is superb. Those playing the roles of the various characters in their youth also do a fine and believable job.
Last Orders is a realistic look at that stage in life when old friends begin to lose each other to death. These characters are all reflective about what Jack's death means to them, but their reflections are for the most part private: toward each other they carry on as always, cracking jokes and sipping pints, and toasting to their good friend Jack. The film is poignant without being sappy, thoughtful without being preachy, and it still manages to provide more than its share of smiles and chuckles.
4.12.05 @ 1:54 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
Red Lake begins to heal
Three weeks after Jeff Weise's shooting spree that killed ten including himself, Red Lake is working hard to get back to something approaching normal.
Healing ceremonies have been held in the small mostly-Ojibwe community, and classes and other activities including prom and graduation preparations will resume Tuesday at the high school - with armed guards in place. Homeschool and other alternative arrangements have been offered for those who aren't ready to return to the school yet. FBI searched the grounds again on Thursday, saying they had tips that weapon(s) were at the school, but they found none.
On Sunday, 15-year-old shooting victim Lance Crowe took his first trip to the Metrodome, where he was able to watch batting practice from the field and got autographs from members of the Twins. He said all the attention made him a little nervous but overall it was all "pretty cool." Crowe was shot in the arm and his hand remains in a cast with probable nerve damage.
15-year-old Louis Jourdain, son of tribal chairman Floyd "Buck" Jourdain, remains in custody. Although he hasn't been formally charged, he's suspected of conspiring in planning the massacre with Weise. Buck Jourdain maintains his son is innocent, and says that he'll continue to lead the community as he was elected to do, without mixing up his public and personal priorities.
Two students remain hospitalized in Fargo. Steven Cobenais was shot in the face, losing an eye and suffering severe brain damage, but doctors say he's showing signs of improvement that are "much better than anticipated." Jeff May was shot in the head and is partly paralyzed. He reacted to the news of Louis Jourdain's arrest by writing a note that it made him "mad." Jourdain has visited both boys and contributed to their families' hotel costs and related expenses.
Red Lake has not become another Columbine in the eyes of the media or the public. This may be partly because it isn't an upscale wealthy community like Littleton, and partly because close-knit Red Lake has turned inward for support, guarding themselves from media over-exposure and limiting press access to the reservation. They have been getting advice from experts such as Bill Bonds, who was principal of the Paducah, KY school that suffered a similar event and is now a school violence consultant. He advised they re-open the high school sooner rather than later, as originally planned.
Donations or care packages for families of the victims may be sent to:
Red Lake Tribal Council
C/O Leah Perkins
P.O. Box 574
Red Lake, MN 56671
4.11.05 @ 12:43 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
A royal stroll (past the toilets sign)
I know the latest royal wedding was a less than formal affair, but it isn't often you see this much royalty traveling together in a herd, let alone on foot. Under a sign pointing to "Toilets".
It's good to see Prince Charles looking happy, and Camilla (now Duchess of Cornwall) surprised her critics by wearing not one, but two designer outfits the fashionistas approved of, each topped off with a hat springing feathers tipped with crystals.
Now that those two are taken care of, it'll soon be time to turn the spotlight onto the next generation for royal shenanigans and scandals, and Saturday's spring outing gave us a chance to see their newly grown-up faces. We know William and Harry; here's a who's who of the others:
left to right: Charles' new stepkids Lara & Tom Parker Bowles; Princess Anne's daughter Zara Phillips; Prince Andrew's daughters Eugenie and Beatrice (their lookalike mom Sarah Ferguson didn't attend); and the one I'd put my money on to cause a stir if she sticks around, Tom Parker Bowles' girlfriend Sarah Buys
Ironically, it wasn't all that long ago that Charles' great-uncle Edward VIII gave up the crown so he could marry the woman he loved, Wallis Simpson. Well, technically he was never crowned - he'd only held the title of King for 325 days when he abdicated in 1936 and his brother - Queen Elizabeth's father - became King George VI.
In one of the great love stories of modern times, Edward gave up the title and the many perks of heading up the British Monarchy because his American bride-to-be was divorced. Twice. At that time it just wouldn't do for the head of the British Empire (and it was still an empire then) to marry a divorcée. He chose the woman over the throne; they married and lived happily - outside of England - until Edward's death in 1972. Wallis died in 1986. If social conventions had been different then and Edward been allowed to reign with Wallis as his queen, who knows how different things might have been for Britain and for the world?
Seventy years or so is just a blink in terms of royal history, but things have changed drastically in that time: Camilla Parker Bowles has also been divorced. Her ex-husband was one of the 30 or so guests at Saturday's wedding.
4.10.05 @ 5:20 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
Your tax dollars are at work in Dubai, part 2
There's much more going on in Dubai than the incredible Burj Al Arab, Palms, and World projects. Just across from the Burj is the unique wave-shaped Jumeirah Beach Hotel, which boasts 20 international restaurants, 618 extra-large deluxe rooms, suites, and villas (each with a Gulf view), banquet/conference centers, spa, driving range, tennis, kids' club, and a state-of-the-art water park. hotel website - virtual tour
Go inland a bit and you find Dubai's business center, the skyscraper-lined Sheikh Zayed Road. For now, the tallest buildings are the Emirates Towers, completed in 2000.
Tower One is 56 stories tall and primarily office space. Tower Two is 54 stories and houses the Emirates Towers Hotel. The upper atriums are 364 feet tall. The hotel features 400 luxury rooms and suites, adjoining shopping center, and 15 bars & restaurants - with award-winning chefs, of course. The hotel's web site says don't drink the water. hotel website - virtual tour
The Emirates Towers are currently the 12th and 23rd tallest buildings in the world; the Burj Al Arab is 18th. But plans have been drawn up and the foundation already laid for the Burj Dubai, a tower for homes, offices, shopping centers, and at least one hotel (think SimTower.) The Burj Dubai will take over the #1 spot on the tallest buildings list, topping even those still being built and planned in the Far East. Its state-controlled developer won't say precisely how tall it will be.
If you're still not convinced that Dubai has cornered the world market for catering to the lifestyles of the very rich and even richer, consider that these are just the highlights of the building boom going on there. A new shopping mall, pictured below under construction in March 2005, is being built with a ski slope. And for 2006, the first underwater hotel in the world: a 220-suite, bubble-like luxury hotel that will float just below the waters off the coast of Jumeirah Beach.
Skyscrapers on Sheikh Zayed Road, and more construction sites nearby:
The swanky Emirates Golf Club, and Za'abeel Palace:
More high-rises going up on the marina, and the mall being built with a ski slope:
All of this just begins to scratch the surface, but it gives us something to think about next time we buy a lotto ticket.. or fill up the gas tank.
Download the Keyhole overlay tour to fly over Dubai and check out some of these projects via satellite images, aerial photos, and plan drawings
Aerial photos by Brian McMorrow
4.9.05 @ 1:41 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
Finger food update
Uh-oh.
Now it turns out that Anna Ayala, the woman who found (bit into) a finger in her Wendy's chili, has a history of filing lawsuits. She sued an ex-boss in 1998 (sexual harassment, settled), a car dealership in 2000 (a wheel fell off, dismissed), another fast food joint - El Pollo Loco - in 2004 (her daughter got sick, settled), and several others.
Officials haven't said what they were looking for Thursday when they arrived at Ayala's home with a search warrant, but they don't have to. It's pretty clear that they were looking for bodies or parts based on what a resident of the household said: that officers searched freezers, a picnic cooler in the backyard and the belongings of an aunt who used to live at the house. (Ayala responded to "dead aunt" rumors yesterday, saying she didn't have a dead aunt.)
Meanwhile a San Jose Police spokesman stated the obvious: "The simple fact of the matter is that the finger came from somebody. Where's that person at?"
Ayala claims her former legal issues aren't related to her current problem. If that's true, let this be a lesson to the rest of us about crying wolf in the courts: wait to sue until you bite a finger.
This story gets better every day!
4.9.05 @ 12:30 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
"Poppa" is laid to rest
This is history being made.
There's something very touching about all the pageantry and ritual in Rome this week, whether or not one is Catholic or Christian or even religious. Of course a pope's death and funeral is going to draw a crowd, but to have such a tremendous outpouring of humanity and love - enough to basically close down a major city - says more about the man than his office.
And somehow there's something humbling for all of us that the focal point of the largest funeral in history is a plain wooden coffin. But that, of course, is the point.
One statistic really stood out for me from the many we've heard this week: in his lifetime, Pope John Paul II was seen in person by more people than any other person ever. Ever! And that was before the millions filed past his body this week. It isn't a surprising claim when you think about it considering his many world travels, but it's still a mind-blowing thing to consider.
Like Princess Diana, whose funeral was the last time we had anything even close to approaching this tone and this scale, I think the world will miss John Paul II long after the crowds have dispersed and gone home. We need people like them.
4.8.05 @ 3:37 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
Avoid the chili, part 2
Remember back on March 25 when a Las Vegas woman eating some chili at a San Jose, CA Wendy's bit into a human finger? Yea, of course you do. Not the kind of thing easily forgotten. Bleah.
Now the grisly find is being investigated from a criminal standpoint. And the prime suspect seems to be Anna Ayala, the woman who had the nasty chili. Yesterday officers arrived at her Las Vegas home armed with search warrants. She and her daughter say they were handcuffed with guns pointed at them while their home was ransacked. The daughter, 13, later said maybe she'd had some attitude when the police arrived. But still.
The police investigation is being carried out "with the full cooperation of Wendy's Restaurants". Well, that's hardly surprising. Ayala's sure-to-be-pending lawsuit will likely be for a huge amount, as well it should be.
Apparently authorities think this Vegas mom killed someone, chopped off her finger, cooked it, carried it to California, then calmly dropped it into her Wendy's chili and threw up. And she also would have had to put the rest of the body somewhere else: if a 9-fingered corpse was found at the Ayala household we would have heard about it by now.
Ayala says this is being turned into a witch hunt: "I just heard on the TV news that my son cut off my daughter's finger and I put it in the (chili)! It's just ridiculous." There are also rumors that the finger belonged to her dead aunt, but she says she doesn't have a dead aunt.
Officials say they have lifted a print from the female finger, and that DNA tests are underway. Oddly, they say that chemical analysis is underway "to determine if the finger was preserved or cooked." Huh?? Dr. Martin Fenstersheib, Santa Clara County Health Officer, said back on March 24 "the finger had been cooked at a high enough temperature to kill any viruses, including hepatitis or HIV."
I'm inclined to agree that a witch hunt is indeed going on, likely because they can't figure out whose finger it is/was and how it landed in Wendy's chili. And if the how-and-why is eventually discovered elsewhere, Anna Ayala may have a second lawsuit to file, this time against police who decided force was necessary to search her suburban family home.
Meanwhile, also on Thursday, Wendy's offered a $50,000 reward for information about how the finger found its way into their chili. I'm glad Wendy's founder and kindly adman Dave Thomas didn't live to see all this - he wouldn't have liked it at all.
4.8.05 @ 1:00 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
"A tide of humanity"
"The tide of humanity was clearly visible on pictures taken from space" 
Click for a Keyhole overlay showing the three queues through the Vatican, taken from space. It isn't a great quality photo but the immensity is clear.
An estimated 1 to 1.2 million people were in line when they closed it off today to prepare for Friday's funeral. The last ones have a 24-hour wait before they reach "Poppa".
In further mind-boggling news, when questioned about the hundreds of world leaders & dignitaries and millions (more) people coming to town for the funeral, the Vatican Security Commissioner said terrorists wouldn't dare do anything, and added "There is a special atmosphere here."
I'm sure that's true, and I'm sure it's a very real and very palpable atmosphere.
But I have to go look up the definition of terrorist now..
4.6.05 @ 7:15 PM pdt [add 2 cents]
Your gas dollars are at work in Dubai, part 1
Have you heard of Dubai? If not, you will.
If you thought the Persian Gulf was all desert and war zones, think again. There's a revolution going on in Dubai, the second largest city in United Arab Emirates. A building revolution, and this is its centerpiece, the Burj Al Arab Hotel:
At 1,052 feet it's the tallest hotel in the world and billed as the most luxurious. It's built on a man-made island and has 202 deluxe suites, each with laptop, fax, copier, 42" plasma tv, dvd, and 24k (that's pure) gold leaf fittings. It also boasts six restaurants and bars, and a helipad. No pets.
You may have seen the helipad in use recently when Andre Agassi & Roger Federer lobbed a few balls around up there during the Dubai Tennis Championships. They turned it into a golf green awhile back too for Tiger Woods to putt around on. These folks know how to do a publicity stunt! Just don't go running for lost balls..
The Burj Al Arab site is worth a look, even if you can't scrape together enough change to make a reservation. Don't miss the virtual tour section.
But that's just the beginning. 
Dubai also has some of the most spectacular buildings and building projects in the world. Four of them are man-made island communities for the very very wealthy and like nothing you've ever seen: the Palm Jumeirah will be completed late this year and the Palm Jebel Ali will be completed in 2007. Each resort community is a palm tree-shaped series of islands with luxury hotels, custom homes, villas, apartments, marinas, theme parks, you name it. We aren't talking a few dozen mansions here - we're talking thousands of homes. And if that wasn't enough to make you realize just how un-wealthy you are, get this: the Crown Prince of Dubai ordered a third Palm to be built as quickly as possible "in response to popular request by investors" in the other two Palms. The Deira Palm will have 8,000 villas! 
Work is well underway on all three Palms as well as the fourth and even more unique island project: The World. Instead of building the islands in a palm shape, The World will be in the shape of - you guessed it - the world, to be completed this year. The lucky residents of The World will have to choose which of the 250-300 private islands they want to call their own. Starting price: about $6.85 million.. I'm sure most will go for a whole lot more.
Official sites for both The Palms and The World are definitely worth the clicks, and you have to watch the videos for these projects! They won't help the time pass any faster in your dead-end job, but they'll give you something to daydream about while you're there. Video links are at the bottom of each page:
The Palms video (mostly Palm Jumeirah)
The World video (the better of the two)
All four developments are selling now, so get your bids in soon.
Here's the kicker: these artificial island projects are being built without ecological damage. I know, that was going to be your justification to get pissy about the whole thing.. sorry. You're just going to have to be jealous and leave it at that.
I've made (and revised since this post) a Keyhole tour with overlay satellite & aerial photos of these projects showing where they are. Now that it's done and Part 2 is posted, I can get back to eking out my meager living.. sigh.
Aerial photo of Palm Deira island-building by Brian McMorrow
4.6.05 @ 3:14 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
Rest in peace, ver. 2
Monaco's Prince Rainier III has died from lung, heart, and kidney problems at 81.
He and glamorous movie star Grace Kelly had the first fairytale "wedding of the century" that caught the world's fancy. Their son Prince Albert is now monarch of the world's second smallest state - Monaco is just a bit bigger than the Vatican.
Rainier and Pope John Paul II in 1997, and the 1956 Royal Wedding:
We've had two deaths of major world figures this week. These things come in threes..
4.6.05 @ 3:02 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
Marilyn was right
ABC news anchor Peter Jennings has lung cancer. He's starting chemo next week.
He will continue to anchor the evenings news.
I wish him well, but I also rest my case.
4.5.05 @ 1:11 PM pdt [add 2 cents]
Views: Super Size Me
Super Size Me 2004, dir. Morgan Spurlock
You should see this DVD if:
· you ever eat at McDonald's
· you ever eat fast food
· you have kids or grandkids
· you will ever have kids or grandkids
· you have ever been on a diet
· you should be on a diet
· you ever think about what you eat
· you pay taxes
But, you argue, I already know what it's about
Yea, you probably had to be in a coma or lost in an Everquest or porn addiction for the past couple of years to not know that Morgan Spurlock ate only McDonald's for a month and made a movie about it. But everyone knew the boat would sink in Titanic too.. there's more to it.
But, you remember, I think I saw it in a theater
The DVD extras are as good as the movie, possibly better
But, you whine, I don't like documentaries
Ok that's a legit reason to avoid seeing Super Size Me.. if nothing in the above list applies to you.
Spurlock presents a tremendous amount of information in this prize winning film - though robbed of the Oscar® - and much of it is technical and scary. But he's a pleasant & amusing guy, he isn't preachy, and he presents everything in an entertaining way - all the while chowing down on Big Macs and fries.
The movie isn't so much a direct attack on McDonald's or its food as it is a wake-up call about obesity in America, obesity in children, and a general lack of good nutrition and nutrition knowledge descending on our culture. Eating McDonald's for a month is just a cool way to keep our interest, which it does.
Spurlock gains a surprising amount of weight - over 24 pounds - from his month of McFastFood, and for such a relatively short time period, he has some alarming health issues crop up before the month's out. The team of health professionals overseeing his project can't explain some of them, and they all urge him to stop the madness. But Spurlock is there for us, and he keeps returning to the Golden Arches til the bitter end.
He does have some positive information for us too: a few school lunch programs that have banished fast and junk food successfully, in spite of the lost and needed fees the brands pay to be on campus; and the fact that the giant McDonald's Corporation reacted to this little documentary in a big way, by removing the "Super Size" menu option before the movie even opened as a result of the very bad (for them) pre-publicity. As recently as last week the momentum has continued as McDonald's unveiled its new Healthy Living Campaign. (Then again, they're also courting rap stars lately to plug their products..)
Traveling from McD's to McD's we meet Spurlock's girlfriend (a vegan chef), Jared the Subway guy, gym teachers, school cafeteria ladies, doctors, nutritionists, PR guys, an ice cream heir, some residents of America's fattest cities (Houston is #1), and lots of minimum wage counter help. We also meet Don Gorske, who's eaten Big Macs nearly every day since 1972 - usually at least two a day and often more. Gorske isn't exactly buff, but he has stayed fairly slim and doesn't seem to be suffering from any health problems as a result of his Guinness record-setting habit.. which is where the DVD extras come in.
The extras include audio commentary with Spurlock and his girlfriend (the vegan), additional interviews, deleted scenes (McDonalds memorabilia & Happy Meal toy collectors, psychological tricks in supermarketing, deep-fried Twinkies), and a lively, thought-provoking conversation between Spurlock and Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, the first big wake-up call about deep fat fryers and drive through windows.
There's also a segment that's equally hilarious and disturbing, in which Spurlock holds a little experiment in his production office. He buys several McDonald's sandwiches including a Big Mac and Fish Filet, plus fries, and at the same time he buys a "real" hamburger and "real" fries from a local restaurant. He places them all in separate bell jars and goes about his business. Within days, the "real" burger and fries begin to mold - not surprisingly - and are tossed out after a week or two when they've reached disgusting. The McD's sandwiches also change.. but not in a typical moldy bread/decaying meat kind of way: they grow bizarre fairy-cloud mushroom tops and worse, they leak and ooze the funkiest-looking, unnatural-colored, unidentifiable crud you've ever seen. They eventually get tossed when the smell reaches through the glass jars and overpowers Spurlock's interns.
But the really creepy part that may change your eating-out habits forever, is the jar with the McDonald's fries that everyone loves so much. Through days and weeks, as the McSandwiches are quietly decaying and eroding and metamorphosing into nasty, discolored primordial slime, the McDonald's fries do not change a bit. No change in shape or texture or color. Not a speck of mold. No bad smells. Even after a couple months when an intern mistakenly throws them out, they looked exactly as they had the day they were bought.
That's when you think back.. you've picked up McDonald's yummy fries at the drive through and who-knows-how-long-after when cleaning the car, you've found a stray fry or two under the car seat.. looking just like the day you bought it. WTF are they made of?? It can't be food.
Oh, and remember Don Gorske, the guy on the 30-year Big Mac diet plan? He never eats the fries.
Morgan Spurlock says on the Super Size Me official web site "I hope you enjoy it – a lot of pain and suffering (mostly by me) was endured to create it."
4.5.05 @ 12:15 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
History in the making
The procession carrying Pope John Paul II's body from the Apostolic Palace, through the great plaza, and into St. Peter's Basilica this morning was something. Whether you're religious or not, the pageantry and sheer human history that came to us live from the Vatican was awe-inspiring and moving.
Keyhole view of St. Peters Square
To get a sense of the history involved here: consider that these uniforms the Swiss Guard are wearing were designed by Michelangelo.
The funeral will be Friday - Charles & Camilla even changed their much-publicized wedding date to avoid scheduling conflicts for world leaders attending both. They're talking about millions of people coming to Rome, and over 100 heads of state will attend the event. It's a sad sign of our times that security has to be a huge concern for that. It takes years for cities to plan Olympics security - and still there are breaches - what kind of bait is 100 world leaders in one place to wackos and/or terrorist types?
I had CBS on for most of this morning's events, and they made the most ridiculous blunder during their coverage. As the Pope's body was being laid in state, the cardinals and choirs were chanting (beautifully) and the centuries-old rituals were playing out one by one.. CBS opted for dual coverage to also show us President Bush welcoming Viktor Yushchenko and his wife to the USA - with split screen and dual audio! I was working on something else and looked up to see what the heck was going on.. how freaking bizarre was it to have "W" chatting about visiting Keev with psalms and litanies chanting along like backup singers! Sheesh CBS, get your act together and make a decision.
4.4.05 @ 9:29 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
Tube: South Park, Best Friends Forever
Once again, "South Park" has had the last word, and the best word.
This week creators Trey Parker & Matt Stone and company took on the Terri Schiavo situation, cutting through all the politico-religious bullshit with a vengeance, and surpassing all the pundits and talking heads who've weighed in on the issue in the past several weeks.
Of course in "Best Friends Forever" it's Kenny who ends up in a "persistent vegetative state" and of course it's Cartman who finds a way to profit from the life or death decision. In this case, he wants to inherit Kenny's Play Station Portable.
In typical "South Park" style there are laughs and layers of pop culture references along with spot-on reflections of the Schiavo news stories, but as they did with their brilliant episode about September 11, the "South Park" guys handle the ethics questions sensitively, and point them right where they belong instead of toward everyone's self-serving special interests as the media did. And they remind us what a travesty it was, and what a disservice to that once-vibrant young woman, to have had her image continuously thrust upon the world in her unresponsive and brain-dead state. Whatever she would have wanted, that certainly wouldn't have been her choice.
It's amazing that "South Park" continues to be so original and timely in its ninth season, but it does, and "Best Friends Forever" is one of their finest episodes. Thanks once again, Trey & Matt.
4.4.05 @ 2:29 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
Reads: A Confederacy of Dunces
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Ignatius J. Reilly is one of the unlikeliest heroes in modern fiction: he's obnoxious, obese, lazy, and utterly self-centered. He's plagued by flatulence, a bad pyloric valve, and a bad attitude. He's also hilarious, and in spite of all odds, immensely likeable.
Reilly's odd adventures take him from his smelly bedroom in his mom's house, where he writes volumes about medieval history, rants, and unpublished magazine articles on every subject; to the Night of Joy bar with its sleazy characters and strippers; to the side streets of New Orleans, where he pushes around a hot dog cart in a pirate suit and eats all of the inventory himself; to the Levy Pants factory which he practically destroys single-handedly.
We're treated to a series of colorful and eccentric characters throughout, including Reilly's demanding and ever-complaining mother; the decrepid, senile secretary Miss Trixie, who's tried to retire from the pants factory for years (unsuccessfully); various French Quarter flamboyant gays and militant lesbians; and the mysterious sex-crazed New York bohemian who obsesses Ignatius' thoughts and haunts his dreams, Miss Myrna Minkoff.
A Confederacy of Dunces was first published in 1980, eleven years after its author killed himself at age 31, and four years after his mother began pestering author and Loyola professor Walker Percy out of the blue to read her dead son's manuscript. Percy's forward to most editions of Dunces is delightful.
The novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1981. Toole's only other work is The Neon Bible, which he wrote at age 16. It was published in 1989.
For some time there's been talk of a movie adaptation of Dunces, supposedly to star Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore, Lily Tomlin, Mos Def, and Olympia Dukakis, but it has yet to materialize.
4.3.05 @ 6:30 PM pdt [add 2 cents]
Views: Dead Man
Dead Man 1995, dir. Jim Jarmusch
"Do you have any tobacco?"
For a movie I'd never heard of, this one sure has a lot of big names in it: Johnny Depp, Robert Mitchum, Crispin Glover, John Hurt, Gabriel Byrne, Alfred Molina, Billy Bob Thornton, and even Iggy Pop, as a shabby frontier transvestite. But Dead Man is really Depp's and Gary Farmer's movie.
Depp plays William Blake, a young accountant traveling west to a new job in Machine - a gritty, hard-life town in the old west. He gets into trouble soon as he arrives and quickly has a bounty on his head, placed there by Mitchum in one of his last roles.
An injured Blake meets up with Nobody (Gary Farmer), an Indian who'd been exhibited throughout the eastern USA & Europe as a youth as the "wild savage", and educated along the way. He believes Depp is the William Blake, the poet and painter. Nobody tends to Blake's wounds and sets off into the wilderness with him, quoting cryptic Indian spiritualism and lines from Blake's poetry while a bizarre team of bounty hunters follow their path.
On one hand this is a straight-ahead Western about an innocent turning into a killer to survive, and it's also about the turbulent clash of cultures in early American history. But beyond that, it's a surreal mindscape of striking photography and brilliant, if subtle, comic dialogue from writer/director Jarmusch, who also weaves a labyrinth of layered symbolism that will have you wondering "what did that mean?" throughout.
Dead Man is stunningly shot in black & white, with a minimal but pervasive guitar soundtrack from Neil Young (who I think also appears in the film, in a pan-by cameo early on.)
I can't remember why I had this one in my Netflix queue - possibly for Gary Farmer who was so good in Powwow Highway and Smoke Signals. He is superb in Dead Man, which also gets added to the list of well-played and surprising Johnny Depp roles in "little" films.
DVD extras include deleted scenes, Neil Young "Dead Man Theme" music video, and trailer.
4.3.05 @ 1:35 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
Rest in peace
Karol Joseph Wojtyla - Pope John Paul II
1920 - 2005
4.3.05 @ 1:29 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
Soda fountain drug lords?
Well, this is interesting.
I was talking with a friend about whether Coca-Cola once had cocaine in it or if that's an urban legend. I was pretty sure it was true, so I went googling to confirm and discovered the strangest thing.
Coca-Cola was invented by John S. Pemberton, a cocaine & morphine addict, and it did indeed have cocaine in it from its beginnings in 1886 until at least 1903, possibly until 1914 when cocaine became government regulated (illegal). Not refined cocaine like you might find from your local street drug supplier, but in the form of an alkaloid in the coca leaf, which was one of the secret formula ingredients. Coke was first sold as a cure for "morphine addiction, dyspepsia, neurasthenia, headache, and impotence."
Keep in mind that (unrefined) coca leaves have been chewed by some South American people in the Andes for centuries to reduce fatigue. So certainly those early nickel Cokes did have some "pharmaceutical" effect..
Here's where it gets weird. According to Wikipedia:
Today, the flavoring is still done with kola nuts and the coca leaf. However, the coca leaves used today are "spent" leaves, the leftovers of the cocaine-extraction process, and the drink contains no trace of the stimulant.
What? Hello?? Who is growing and harvesting all these coca leaves for the Coca-Cola company? I don't think any of us regular folks would be allowed to grow coca plants! If they're grown in South America, how are they getting imported into the USA and other countries? Again, something us regular folks would likely be arrested for, with no questions asked.
And that leads us to the real question: Who is "extracting" all the cocaine from the coca leaves going into Coca-Cola, and where is it going??
It starts to sound like the Coca-Cola company might be behind the entire South American drug lord situation.. and in questioning that, you find out that there have been eight union leaders murdered in Colombia since 1990 - several in Coke plants while negotiating contracts - along with hundreds of human rights violations, and that the Coca-Coca company is thought by many to be behind it all. There's been an international boycott of Coca-Cola since July 2003 as a result of the company's denial of any responsibility and for not making efforts to fix the volatile labor situation in Colombia. And for alleged responses like "Hundreds of union leaders are killed every year in Colombia."
I don't know what it all means, but I sure would like to know how all those coca leaves got "spent" - and if that has anything to do with Coke's problems in Colombia.
Further info:
Colombia Solidarity Campaign
Coca-Cola's response to the allegations and boycott, March 29, 2005
4.2.05 @ 2:18 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
Works of wonder
Vatican City is not only the smallest independent state in the world, it's possibly also the richest per square foot with its countless works of priceless and historic art.
The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is one of the most famous. Its many panels depicting biblical events are frescoes: rather than just laying paint onto a surface, pigments are mixed with water and applied to wet plaster. The pigment forms a bond with the plaster when it dries that's virtually permanent. When the Sistine ceiling was painstakingly cleaned and restored recently, the colors became brighter and almost glowed from within - much as they looked in 1512 when Michelangelo completed the job. It took him four years to finish the ceiling which, incidentally, he didn't want to do at all.
And it isn't just the ceiling that's incredible: the entire chapel is lined with equally breathtaking frescoes - take a virtual tour
But the Sistine is just one small corner of the Vatican, which has more paintings and sculptures by Michelangelo as well as works by Raphael, Bernini, Caravaggio, da Vinci, and many, many others. It's not just a repository for religious art: it's a treasury of human history and some of mankind's most outstanding creative works.
Visit the Vatican Museums site, which has many virtual tours, close-ups, and a newly-added section about the Vatican's Secret Archives. (This & the Sistine link above are on the official Vatican site so they may be a bit slow these days.)
View from St. Peter's Basilica (see it in Keyhole):
4.1.05 @ 6:30 PM pdt [add 2 cents]
Fools among us
Terri Schiavo died and most everyone finally went home.
Pope John Paul II is close to dying. They've said that about him before, but it's looking bad this time. As popes go, he seems to have been a good one. I'm not Catholic, I don't follow papal events and proclamations closely, but I know he's travelled to more parts of the world than any previous pope and at least seemed like he was accessible. The Catholic church changed a lot and was involved in more than a few controversies during his time - as has the world - and aside from his health problems, he seems to have weathered it all well. He brought us the Popemobile and he put out a CD.. he's cute and likeable like a favorite grandpa, at least from here.
I just hope we aren't headed for a feeding tube controversy in Rome..
It'd be easy to say watch out for any April Fools on this day.. but there are so many fools everywhere..
4.1.05 @ 12:36 AM pdt [add 2 cents]
