Call me selfish, but there is no way I could ever bring myself to send Moosh to Dog Island.

Keep track of the stats with the Iraqometer.

Advertising that's not quite politically correct. Thanks to Bill G for the inspiration on this topic with his AYDS diet plan box siting this weekend.

Carol and I went to Ikea on a bit of a spree on Friday. I got a new desk, a CD tower, a new keyboard and an awesome bookshelf, we got a new table for the kitchen and some mirrors for the wall.

We spent the rest of the weekend putting furniture together and moving our rooms around. We changed four of them in total. We moved my office out of the storage room to the spare bedroom, moved our bedroom to the front of the house trading it for the sewing room. Still lots of work to do, but it looks great and it seems like we have way more room.

I love my new office. So much more room and a window too. :)

That says it all. Thanks to Enomis for the picture.

Ottawa set to offer Air Canada $500M in aid.
They drive smaller upstart carriers out of business by offering seats at below cost and then have the nerve to cry poor and ask for more of our money. My comment, "Grrrrr!"

Reporters have been having some difficulties during the Iraq war. Some have been killed, wounded or are missing. Others are constantly backpedalling on what they have reported as it turns out only to be rumour. Last week a Christian Science Monitor reporter was un-embedded for giving away too much information during a live broadcast. Today the notorious Geraldo Rivera (who claims it's not true and called MSNBC "pathetic" for spreading a "pack of lies") was given the boot for exactly the same thing. And finally, NBC has fired Peter Arnett for telling Iraqi TV that the American war plan has failed.

Could it be true? Are these reporters human? Are they truly imperfect and often wrong? You betcha they are. Remember, the news ain't necessarily an honest objective statement of what's happening. There's always that filter of human falliblity between the facts and the story we get. A live as-it-happens war sure does have it's pitfalls.

Engineer: Saddam's Bunker Should Survive

I used to collect buttons when I was a kid. My favourite was one that said, "dead people are cool".

This explains a lot.

I went to IGA on Burrard St today to pick up some Texas BBQ chicken wings and a bottle of water for lunch. Pathetic, eh? Anyway, I went to the regular check out to buy my stuff because the deli line up was too long. Who should be standing in line in front of me, but Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards. Mr Sheen was telling the cashier how he had just finished filming a movie here in Vancouver. It was most likely Scary Movie 3, they're both in that one.

I was going to ask for their autographs before they got into a waiting Yellow Cab and drove off, but someone else beat me too it and I didn't have the heart to irritate them further. They were grocery shopping for God's sake not out at a celebrity mixer.

Yahoo! Top Stories - 'TIME-TRAVELER' BUSTED FOR INSIDER TRADING NEW YORK -- Federal investigators have arrested an enigmatic Wall Street wiz on insider-trading charges -- and incredibly, he claims to be a time-traveler from the year 2256!

Thanks to Chuff for the link.

Top Ten Myths About the War in Iraq- War brings forth strenuous efforts to report what is happening and why. It also brings forth many persistent myths. Here are ten of them. There are more, but you get the idea.

There are US soldiers in Iraq who are posting to their blogs ad things happen. Hear about the war from the soldiers at: LT SMASH, A Minute Longer and Sgt Strykers Daily Briefing are a few of note.

Hackers replaced the English-language Web site for Arab satellite television network Al-Jazeera with a U.S. flag and the message 'Let Freedom Ring' as seen in this image taken fom a computer Thursday, March 27, 2003. Calling themselves the 'Freedom Cyber Force Militia,' the hackers briefly hijacked Internet traffic destined for Al-Jazeera's Web site and to a different Web page on computers operated by Networld Connections Inc., an Internet provider in Salt Lake City. AP Photo

These London Airport Announcements come up again and again. I had to post them.

I've had this site up before, but the archives have grown. Check out Cat-Scan.Com. Thanks to Elliot for the link.

Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War
Take special note of articles 13 and 14... it's not okay to execute POWs or treat them badly as the US and UK assert has happened in Iraq. Perhaps someone should send an Arabic version to Saddam.

Yahoo! News - Hack Attack Closes Al-Jazeera Web Site André Z sent this link with this quote "Funny how the US Government is now calling themselves hackers???"
Ain't that the truth.

MORE here

I've been listening to Virgin Radio: better music, more of it - listen online in broadband here at work. I'm getting it through a SHOUTcast MP3 stream using WinAmp v2.xx (none of that version 3 crap), not from the Virgin website where they only offer Real Audio or Windows media streams.

The Saddam Show - How to watch Iraqi TV on the Web. By Paul Boutin You can get more streaming ewar news and webcams here. Some are really busy, but they're there.
Thanks to Rick P here at work for the links.

I kind of like the MÅNEN computer table from IKEA.

CBC News: Report clears pilots in Swissair crash
I remember the Swissair crash very well. It happened in Peggy's Cove on September 2, 1998 exactly 2 days after Carol and I had been there on the first leg of our honeymoon as we had been married in Bridgewater, NS on August 29th 1998.

It was a horrible crash and I remember even the Nova Scotia coroner being traumatized by the mass of 229 bodies torn to bits. Even some of my mother's friends heard the crash as far away as Mahone Bay. They still talk about it. (Real Audio runs 3:31)

As Carol and I were leaving Halifax a few days later we were stuck in the middle of an Air Canada pilots' strike and all the coverage of the disaster. We saw CNN and other world news oraganizations at the airport. As well, from the gate we were leaving by, the Premier of Nova Scotia at the time awaiting the arrival of the families of the air crash victims along with ministers of various faiths. It was kind of disturbing seeing families clearly distraught at the loss of loved ones exiting a Swissair jet at the gate we were just about to leave by. I really didn't want to fly that day.

We have since returned and found that residents of the Peggy's Cove area have built monuments to the victims of the tragedy. The most moving of which was a solemn mass grave with a granite wall memorializing the people who died.

Finally the investigation is complete recommendations have been made and people can truly put this horrific event behind them.

Even Saddam has a Blog. Check out Iraq kicks ass. Especially of interest is his live journal bio. I didn't know he liked Avril Lavigne. Or maybe it's a hoax and this is really his blog.

Korea's Kim Jong Ill has a blog too...

"Bzzzpeek presents a collection of onomatopoeia from around the world, using recordings of native speakers imitating the sounds of animals and vehicles."

I've often wondered what other cultures children thought a sheep sounded like.

Go and play MINI Air Hockey for a giggle. I found it too easy.

Oh no! It's another game. Play The Lander!

BMX was rad! Rollerblading was cool! Skateboarding was sick!
Now, Wheelbarrow Freestyle iz da shiznit!

Here's proof that things haven't always been bad...


Thanks to Paulie for the picture.

Go and check out Frosty Welcome. If you're really bored you can play with online refridgerator magnets.

Here's an apology (Real video stream) to the US on behalf of Canadians from Colin Mocherie of This Hour has 22 Minutes.

Premier ordered to pay $913 US fine. "Campbell says his Hawaiian drunk-driving episode will never be over."

National Geographic: Iraq and Middle East Maps, News, More An interesting and informative site. I love this magazine. Dad has been getting it for years and I get a subscription for Christmas every year. Growing up with this kind of thing around was definitely a good thing. Prior to the Internet we had to use National Geographic magazines and Encyclopedias to get information for our school projects. I still cherish the beautiful photography and tight wrinting in them. Pick one up, they're not just for kids.

Now that we're doing the Atkins thing we've been eating a lot of MEAT!

Japanese people can now learn english on the web.

Check it out. I got an email from the artist who did West Hollywood Lifestyle Whatever.

CBC News: B.C. sells fast ferries Someone got the $454 million ferries at a $19 million steal. That's $19 million total folks - a $435 million or 95+% firesale! Argh!

Where is Glen Clark, our former Premiere, hiding today?

Although Chicago, a film we haven't seen yet, won best picture and 6 other Oscars, "The Pianist" won some of the biggies. The coolest of which was Adrien Brody's for his protrayal of Jewish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman in "The Pianist," win in the Best Actor category.


His acceptance speech was especially moving alluding to the timing of his recieving the award for this particular role and this point in time. He said, "It fills me with great joy, but also great sadness, because I'm accepting this award at such a strange time. Let's pray for a peaceful and swift resolution," to a standing ovation, and paid tribute to a friend from Queens serving in Kuwait.

"The Pianist" also won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Ronald Harwood's adapatation of Wladyslaw Szpilman's harrowing tale and Roman Polanski, also a Holocaust survivor, (absent dues to legal issues over his statutory rape of an underaged girl in the 1970's) won Best Director.

Here's the complete list of winners. Note especially Eminem (also absent) winning the Oscar for Best Song with his Lose Yourself from the semi-biographical 8 Mile.

Some U.S. POWs ID'd by families "Red Cross trying to get access to prisoners on both sides of war."

Since we've been doing the low carb/high protein diet I've been eating a ton of eggs. I used to be able to say Iloveegg, but have frankly tired of them fairly quickly. Ugh!

Even if you don't read arabic Al Jazeera TV is an interesting site with a different perspective on the war in Iraq. Have a peek at the pictorials. They tell a different story than what we're seeing. Far less sanitized so if you've got a weak stomach don't bother.

It's a new season for Boo and Cari
Their internal clocks aer synced up just right with the seasons. The first full day of spring was yesterday.

More like minimus penis...
National guardman changed his name to a toy | wkyc.com
Thanks to Lance's friend Shauna for the link.

"Ecuadorean demonstrators carry a Ronald McDonald statue to be burned in front of the U.S. Embassy during a rally protesting the war against Iraq in Quito, March 20, 2003. The demonstration were held to protest against the military strike on Iraq launched by the U.S.-led coalition." REUTERS/Franklin Jacome

'Shock and awe' under way. More like Death and Horror if you ask me.

Here's the CBC coverage (Canadian coverage). Especially interesting is the Canada's Perspective section in CBC's complete coverage.

Some people are keeping a very close eye on the war and posting what they see on their blogs. One of note is The Command Post. Never in history has there been such ways for us all to communicate our feelings about and share information on a war with such immediacy.

This a definitely positive use of the web and high tech.

With all the attention to the Middle East right now and the war in Iraq people are taking notice of some of the strangely interesting architecture. Take for example Water Towers, Kuwait City, Kuwait

Reuters AlertNet - Zimbabwe police on guard as strike enters day two. Yes there are more places than Iraq and the US in the world.

CBC News:Douglas, Zeta Jones spend thousands for ad praising Celine Dion Thanks to Bill G for the link.

Britain investigates rumours Iraq's deputy PM Aziz defected

UPDATE: Aziz alive and well and still in Baghdad on Iraqi TV as of 9:34am Pacific Time.

Why on Earth did you wait to tell us this?: CBC News: Bush cites al-Qaeda link to justify Iraq attack

I sure hope we get to see the Oscars this year. Thanks to this looming war we may not get to see them at all.

Thanks to Carol for the link.

'I can dream bigger now' "Brenda Martin, who picked up $17million in B.C.'s biggest lottery win, plans to buy herself a new SUV, fully loaded." says the Vancouver Sun."

Colour me green. That's my money she won. ;)

dtoy_vs_byokal Ooooh! Look at all the pretty colours.

CBC News: Chrétien restates opposition to Iraq war Chretien: "If we change every government we don't like in the world where do we start? Who is next?"

Directed by Michael Moore of Roger and Me fame. See it here. (You need real player {choose the free player download} to watch it).

What I Have Read Since 1974 How in the hell did he keep track?

Tobey Maguire may pull out of Spider-Man Looks like Donny Darko star, Jake Gyllenhaal (seen below), may take his place. A good choice for sure.

Calgary born Elisha Cuthbert bitten by mountain lion during filming.

Carol and I watch 24 every week, but it hasn't been on for a while. We need our fix of 24. In reality, if half of what these folks go through in the run of 24 hours happened to any actual person they'd have a heart attack and keel over.

"Sydney Opera House personnel inspect the slogan 'No War' painted on the Sydney icon Tuesday, March 18, 2003. Protesters daubed the slogan on the building shortly before Australian Prime Minister John Howard announced Australian troops would join any U.S.-led military strike to disarm Iraq."

Here's a list of what presenters and nominees get in their "little" goody bags this weekend. Apparently the total value is up around 20K! I'm so in the wrong business.

Check out keaggy.com's grocery list collection. A sad commentary for sure. Who would scan weird stuff like that? Hey wait a minute... My lunch...

EXX who sent me the link said I should try someone else's grocery list once a week to spice up my life. Question: What happens if I don't need a shower curtain?

By the looks of this simulator it seems as though the American pilots poised to attack Iraq have flown there already.

BBC NEWS | Americas | 'Talking fish' stuns New York

Thanks to Rick P for the link.

Happy St Patricks Day

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back,
The sun shine warm upon your face,
The rain fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

--An Irish blessing

Grind up a pig! Put it in a can! Scrapple!

At long last, here's one for lunch fans. Thanks Carol for this one.

Beer Is Good For You (not me). It does tend to cloud my judgement slightly as illustrated above.

Thanks to Matt EXX for the link.

Streaming Audio:

West Hollywood Lifestyle Whatever...

Bush Whatever...

Thanks to my pal "A Calculus Teacher" for the links.

UPDATE:

I got an email from Tedd Schermerhorn, the artist who did West Hollywood Lifestyle Whatever ....

Hey Mike,

First of all, I just wanted to say thank you for
posting a link to my song on your site. I was shocked
as hell when I did a google search and your site came up. Second, I noticed that anyone who attempts a download on your site would have to have windows media player to
download the song.

I've attached a link to my website where there are 2
versions of "W.H.L.W". There's an edited version that KROQ in LA (and a few other stations around the country are playing)is on top of. There is also the original, longer version.

Again, thanks for the push on the song.

Tedd Schermerhorn
AKA T-Ball
of T-Ball & BJ "West Hollywood Lifestyle..Whatever"

Download Here
http://www.cantataentertainment.com/teddstuff/mp3/

It can be downloaded using quicktime.

CNN.com - Man accused of spiking child's juice - Mar. 14, 2003

Thanks to Lance for the link.

Police under fire over search for teen. It does look like the cops farked this one up good. Sounds like they thought they had the guy and when he ended up a corpse they just gave up.

Weight Watchers recipe cards, circa 1974 One word, "Yuck!"

No it's not another spelling mistake Home Despot is a real website. Carol and I have been calling Home Depot, the angry Home Despot for quite some time. Finding out that we're not the only ones doing it makes it even funnier. There has to be some truth to Jung's collective unconscious. Not much there but a funny concept.

Hey Lance, go play Spacerunner. I'll get you canned yet.

Thanks to Ric D for the picture.

People in Vancouver were stymied by a huge snowstorm over the weekend. A whole two inches had the local news and weather people preaching apocalypse and the inexperienced BC drivers were careening into one another at a horrific rate. Thank God it stopped before it hit three inches.

On the other hand, as some of you know, the hearty folks in Newfoundland are used to a bit of snow. Following are some pictures that my pal Big Al Mac sent me of people happily digging out after a snowfall in NFLD:


Drift bank St Anthony ... East Side St Anthony ... Ken Loder digging out ...
Ken Loder's House ... St Carol's ... Top of roof St Carol's

Now that's a winter.

WILLARD looks like fun. Crispin Glover is finally back on the big screen. He did a bangup job in River's Edge with Keanu Reeves. He was also excetionally creepy as Cousin (I'm making my lunch!) Dell in David Lynch's Wild at Heart. But, he's best remembered as Marty McFly's dad in Back to the Future.

Cathy the cat keeps police busy.

Ah well. Only in Nova Scotia.

If you're an alkie who hasn't quite hit bottom, perhaps the reviews at Bum Wines will help you to find the poison you need to bring the bottom up just a little faster.

"What's the word?"
"Thunderbird!"
"What's the price?"
"Thirty twice!"

Check out Stupid Computer Tricks. Duh!

Family wants to know who was buried in mom's grave. Cemetery support group formed after several grave mix-ups and plots sold twice at Schara Tzedeck.

This happens morew often than people would like to believe. In my grave diggin days I was once a part of an exhumation crew who had to rectify one such problem. Mr Cooper was buried beside someone else's wife. We had to move him after he had been in the ground for a number of months. Not a pleasant smell at all.

||| Girls Eating Sandwiches!!! Lookie Wow! It's more lunch related weirdness.

When I was a youngster I was a World War 2 comic buff. I read Sgt Rock and GI combat as well as some others. GI Combat was based around a crew riding around Europe in a Sherman tank. To bad I didn't have the plans for a 1/5 Scale Sherman Tank. My dad probably would have built it for me.

I like to eat fish. But not RoboTuna. I might break my teeth on a bolt.

Just because ...

Carol sent me this one.

I played Max Payne. It was fun, but MAX PAYNE: Kung Fu Edition looks even cooler.

If you want to be able to talk through your ass you have to learn how to breathe through it.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Net speed record smashed
The world needs to stay tuned for Internet2, the sequel - bigger, stronger, faster!

How Model Rockets Work - model rockets

Thanks to Rick here at work for the link.

Hey...Mikebrowne.com is 725,464 at trafficranking.com
LOL! I'm in the top 3/4 million of the busiest sites on the web. Waahh wahh wahwahwah.

But on a cooler note I just discover that if you type LMAO into google my blog comes up on the first page of results. See here.

I'm listening to the new MINISTRY CD, Animositisomina. It's pretty heady stuff; Heavy, with their neo-cyberpunk feel. Not as good as Psalm 69, but i kicks ass all the same. They're playing in Seattle on March 18th, but I don't know if I want to be doing the border thing this month. As the Iraq thing looms, US border security gets a little tighter. I don't think the hassle is worth it.

Holy Snikers... what a scoop. Too bad the Leafs still suck. Leafs acquire forward Owen Nolan from Sharks | CP

If you're at all sqeemish don't look here.

Go and check out the Retro Robots at COMET TOYS. When I was a kid I used to dream of having my own robot. So much so that I was constantly taking apart my toys and cobbling them back together as crude robots using boxes, tinfoil and electrical tape. My folks were somewhat P.O.'d that they would be spending so much cash for me to have the latest Star Wars toy and I'd take it aprt for the green LED light inside. Whoops! Oh well, I had some fun.

Yahoo! News - Hussein Translator on CBS Used Fake Accent? I don't get it. Didn't they know that someone would rat them out eventually? I mean, come on. Why on Earth would using a fake accent in such a critical interview be a good idea? I would have believed someone with a french accent just as much. This goes into the DUH-files.

And I'm really into the Hercules Digifire 7.1. This card kicks ass. On top of the sound there's also the added bonus of it's having 3 firewire ports. So when I buy my MiniDV cam I won't need an extra card.

Neil Patrick Harris remakes his image from M.D. to Emcee Good Lord! Doogie's insane!

The Koran -- Apparently what all the fuss is about.

Play the Rainman Game

"Disco Sauna" So gay!

What's really up with these two? Check out Read My Lips (Streaming Real Video).

How many times have I seen people driving like boobs while living in Vancouver? Usually it's Asian women. I know it sounds racist, but wait a minute. The A-Safeway Asian Womens' Driving School (quicktime movie) might be the answer. Even Asain women think they're bad drivers. I feel better.

If you were a kid (as we all were) and loved breakfast cereal (as we all did) you'll remember a lot of the stuff you can see on Topher's Breakfast Cereal Character Guide. There's characters as far back as the 1900's. Wow!

Just walk down memory lane on a Monday.

Mutilated body found in N. Phila. house.

The man's lung, heart and liver were missing. Police are unsure whether the organs were taken before or after his death.

Good Lord. There are some real sickos out there.

What an amazing film. Carol and I saw The Pianist, a Roman Polanski film, on Saturday. No wonder it's been nominated for a Best Movie Oscar. I was blown away and moved to tears a number of times.

A brilliant pianist, a Polish Jew, witnesses the restrictions Nazis place on Jews in the Polish capital, from restricted access to the building of the Warsaw ghetto. As his family is rounded up to be shipped off to the Nazi labor camps, he escapes deportation and eludes capture by living in the ruins of Warsaw.

The Pianist himself, played by Adrien Brody has been nominated (and rightly so) for Best Actor. This is one to watch.