My little brother is 40 years old today.
Hey, I missed my name in the paper a couple of weeks ago! It's on the very bottom--
Houston Chronicle: People in Business.
"Fusion Petroleum Technologies has hired Walter Kessinger as vice president of reservoir geophysics."
Reuters: Photo may be first of planet outside solar system.
"Its mass is about five times that of Jupiter, the largest planet in our system. Instead of orbiting a star, the object is close to a brown dwarf, the first time a possible planet has been spotted around this kind of failed star."
> Our favorite poster girl for heroin addition --
LA Times (via Houston Chronicle): Courtney Love adds fear to her long list of troubles.
AP: Scientists study damaged Genesis capsule.
"The $264 million Genesis mission, meant to reveal clues about the origin of our solar system, appeared to be streaming home to a perfect conclusion Wednesday when the parachutes failed to open and the 450-pound capsule slammed into the ground at nearly 200 mph."
QuickTime news clip --
MSNBC: Practice love.
NYT: The Next Shock: Not Oil, but Debt.
"... the American economic ship, which has weathered the recent run-up in crude oil prices, may be more vulnerable to sudden surges in the price of money. If the rate on 30-year fixed mortgages were to rise from 5.4 percent today to 7.5 percent next February, homeowners could get walloped." ...
"From the beginning of 2001 to the end of 2003, the economy added $1.317 trillion in gross domestic product and $4.2 trillion in debt."
Hoosier Gazette: Having children significantly lowers parents' IQs.
"Dr. Hosung Lee, director of the study, was not surprised with the findings." ...
"‘This explains why every parent thinks their child is the smartest kid in class or the best athlete, even if that child is as dumb as a box of rocks or needs a calendar to time their forty-yard dash. People who before were intelligent and open-minded turn into raving lunatics who want to blame a teacher or coach every time their mediocre child fails,’ said Lee."
Get out your 3D glasses --
NASA: Phoebe in 3D.
Views of the Solar System: Phoebe -- Saturn IX.
"Phoebe [FEE-bee], one of the outer satellites of Saturn, was discovered by William H. Pickering from a photographic plate taken on the night of August 16, 1898.... "
That Solar Views site is worth poking around if you have the time.
Last word on the Russian tragedy. Yes, I know about Chechnya's history. But murdering children is completely loathsome.
The LSU game was a real nail-bitter last night. The Tigers were lucky to escape with a win. --
ESPN:
Oregon State kicker misses three PATs.
The Republican convention has really raised my blood pressure. It's also riled up the columnists at Slate. --
William Saletan, Slate:
Imperial President. Opposing Bush becomes unpatriotic.
"The case against President Bush is simple."
Chris Suellentrop, Slate:
I Love 9/11. The GOP convention's nostalgia for tragedy.
"If it's true that the better speech-giver wins in presidential elections, then it's going to be Bush in a landslide."
Time:
Bush Opens Double-Digit Lead.
I hate filling my blog with politics and bad news, but the Russian terror attacks of the past week have been particularly vile. It's hard to comprehend people who would attack schools and kill children in the hope that such atrocious crimes will lead to more violence and war. --
CNN:
Russia siege toll tops 350.
> I think I'll spend the rest of the day away from mass media sources.
Science News:
Super Portrait: X-ray telescope eyes supernova remnant.
"Trained on Cassiopeia A for viewing sessions totaling 11.5 days, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has now taken the most detailed portrait ever recorded of any supernova remnant.... At 10,000 light-years, it's the closest supernova remnant to Earth."
E-mail Addresses It Would Be Really Annoying to Give Out Over the Phone.
