weekend reading

[den4]

It was announced today that Canada is now prepared to help the United States in its war against Iraq. They have promised to commit 2 of their largest battleships, 6,000 armed troops and 60 fighter jets.

However, after the exchange rate, that comes down to a canoe, two Mounties and a flying squirrel.

high fat diet reduces seizures: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2836491.stm

money and happiness: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4619934,00.html

US uproar over sloppy dna testing: reminds me of some fast food places I've been to: http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,912213,00.html

health news can be hazardous to your health....YES! Finally the truth comes out!!! http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15121

ADD and diets:
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15315

robots walking in japan: http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=LJS3WZUZBG0U0CRBAEOCFEY?type=worldNews&storyID=2335185

Drivers On-Line
http://drivers.on-line.net.nz/
{Download drivers} No, you can't get your driver's license at this site. You still have to go take the written test and the road test in your local area to get that. Statistics: 23,245 devices, 3106 vendors, 52,489 files. With numbers like that, it's easy to believe the site's slogan, "Welcome to the only device driver site you'll ever need." Drivers On-Line finds the software to match your hardware. You can use the Driver Wizard to quickly find the right drivers instead of going to a product's vendor (and getting lost on their unusable Web site in search of the needed drivers). All the drivers and software available from this site are stored as ZIP files, so you will need to have software to extract the individual files from them. If you're using Win9x/NT, there is the option of downloading any driver as an executable file, thus avoiding the need to install any additional software. The Web site has a free Driver Wizard available for downloading and running to identify the components you have on the PC. After it completes the evaluation, click on the link to go to the Web site and get a list of the latest drivers available. This site had a driver for all of my components except for one. Note: The first time I ran the wizard, my system froze. I rebooted and ran it again, and had no problem.

DrugDigest
http://www.drugdigest.org/
{Health and drug information} DrugDigest is a resource of non- commercial, fact-based health and medical information to keep you informed about the medicines on the market. Its information is not limited to prescription drugs, as it provides details on vitamins, herbs, medical research, health conditions, and disease management. Learn the details about the medicines, vitamins, and herbs by using the drug library. Ginseng is said to be useful for improving memory; reading information on the herb indicates there isn't enough evidence to support its therapeutic claims. The Check Interactions tab is for checking drug interactions. Fighting a cold, I entered all the off-the-counter medicines I'm taking (none of which are helping, of course!) along with my prescription medicine, and I received a report stating that there are no issues. We have many choices on medication by class for allergies, asthma, migraine headaches, and others. Look in the Compare Drugs section to find out how the drug you're taking compares to others like it. You can also compare side effects of similar drugs. The site produces a chart with every symptom and its incidence rate. The Senior Corner keeps seniors informed about topics most important to them. I've seen other Web sites offering drug information, interaction information, and other similar data; this site is very neatly organized and easy to use. However, we must be responsible and remind you that it's wise to let your doctor know what medicines you're taking (including herbs), rather than rely on a Web site alone.

MS is spying on you....(so what else is new?) http://www.spywareinfo.com/newsletter/archives/march-2003/10.php

Omniglot
http://www.omniglot.com/
{Guide to written language} Here's a place where language lovers, Trekkies (or Trekkers, so that no one will beat me up), font lovers, and J.R.R. Tolkien fans can unite. Omniglot is a resource containing over 200 alphabets, syllaberies, logographics, and other writing systems. So what does this have to do with Star Trek, Tolkien, etc.? Klingon, Romulan, and Tengwar (Elvish) languages fall under the Alternative Writing System. The site offers free foreign font downloads. Under links, you can find your name in the various languages. Go figure, "blackbird" isn't a word in the Elvish language. Ah, the pains of having an uncommon first name. My name showed up in none of the name converter dictionaries. As for the site's name, the word omniglot comes from the Latin omnis ("all") and the Greek glotta ("tongue") and means "proficient in all languages" or "having knowledge of all languages." All tongue? Sounds tongue- tied to me.

jupiter's dark spot http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/12mar_darkspot.htm?list635374

Sometimes you've just got to admire the Texas judicial system... http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Southwest/03/13/doghouse.sentence.ap/index.html

Liquid Crystals Puzzle v1.1 [881k] W9x/2k/XP
http://www.puzzlelab.com/liquid.html
{Puzzle game} Gotta quickly tell you about this game because I'm in the middle of playing it and can't get to bed until I've made further progress... and I can't go to bed without having completed the write-up! The 37 crystals have been smashed in seven pieces each. For every crystal, you need to put the seven pieces back together by rotating, moving, and flipping them into place. Sketches provide a guide to help you restore the crystals. If it's past your bedtime, you can save the current game and play again later when you have more time. It's a catch-22, because I can't go to bed without completing the puzzle, but staying up late will make me miserable the next day. Tangram and jigsaw lovers, be prepared to lose sleep or avoid coming into contact with the game, as there is no antidote once you touch it.

Microfilm Follies
http://www.lileks.com/oldads/index.html
Adverting has always held a certain fascination for me. I love to look at what it is that marketers think will make us react. To that end, this site contains a collection of Minneapolis Tribune adverisements from the 1920's through the 1960's, rescued from microfilm and preserved for the masses as ones and zeroes. From testimonials to product pitches by well known comic strip characters, an interesting cross-section of mass media print advertising is well represented. Commentary on the ads is provided as well adding personal perspective to an otherwise random collection of ads.