November 2004 | Archive

Technology advances

Posted on Nov 26, 2004 by jason.

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Derek's sister Dawn forwarded these to me the other day. I thought some of them were funny enough to share.

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I'd like to wish all Americans a happy and safe Thanksgiving. I hope we all pause long enough today to be thankful for what we have, what we've been given, what we must fight for, and what we stand for (some of which has been lost in recent years but can be restored through diligence and dedication to the American dream).

We are still a great nation despite having some of our greatness tainted and some of our moral fortitude corrupted. We may have temporarily lost our way, but it is not a permanent condition.

On a more personal level, take time to be thankful for family and friends and loved ones. We do not say "I love you" and "thank you" often enough in this country. Take today as an opportunity to change that.

In that spirit, I want to say "thank you" and "I love you" to all of my friends and family. You are my strength and joy and partners in life and crime.

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Ocean census still going strong

Posted on Nov 24, 2004 by jason.

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The Census of Marine Life, a ten-year initiative to assess the diversity and abundance of marine life, is turning up more than two new fish species per week. You may remember I mentioned this in October 2003. Since that time the project has discovered 106 new fish species, two new types of octopus, and a burrowing 20-centimeter worm.

Included in the 2004 discoveries were a growing understanding of the migratory habits of marine life. Bluefin tuna were found to traverse the entire Pacific, tagged off the coast of California before turning up off Japan — then returning to California waters. Tuna are known to travel across the Atlantic, but the Pacific is three times as broad!

Another surprise is that green turtles, tagged near the equator, go in huge loops around the Pacific. The data thus far indicates they may travel around the ocean up to three times in a lifetime (near perpetual movement).

Now finishing it's fourth year (with six to go), the census is finding new species everywhere, including in heavily studied waters like those off Europe.

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Abduction by cesarean

Posted on Nov 24, 2004 by jason.

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Columbian police reported yesterday that an unborn child was abducted by C-section. The mother, Sol Angela Cartagena, was apparently drugged while at the hospital cafeteria in Girardot, southwest of Bogota. She awoke in the countryside, her 2-year-old daughter still with her, but her unborn child was gone.

Doctors believe Cartagena is lucky to be alive. They confirmed she had been drugged before the operation but are unsure where it was performed.

Police captured the woman who had the baby after she was seen with it wrapped in a sheet by those who knew she had not been pregnant.

The baby was dehydrated but otherwise in good condition.

Although Columbia has the highest kidnapping rate (more than 3,000 per year), authorities believe this is the first time an unborn child has been abducted.

How's that for bizarre?

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Expect a brief site outage this Tuesday

Posted on Nov 21, 2004 by jason.

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My hosting provider will be performing some circuit and router upgrades Tuesday morning (November 23) beginning around 1:00 AM CST (UTC-06:00). You can expect the site to be unavailable for up to 30 minutes sometime that morning as the work is performed.