Drew Berry: Animations of unseeable biology

I just watched a video on TED.com about the structure of DNA and it's very fascinating. I was given this link via an email to the "Brewer Surname Project Members". This is a genealogy project of grouping people by their DNA on the Familytree DNA web site. If you are studying your family tree, I strongly suggest that you become a member of this. I have found my roots back to the first settlers of Manhattan Island (aka New Netherlands).

Touched by a Wild Mountain Gorilla

I think I'd be running for hills!!

Why people go south in the winter...

Bill Moyers with Jacob Hacker & Paul Pierson

I was listening to NPR (Northeast Public Radio) today to the Bill Moyer show Moyers and Company. In this show Bill was interviewing Jacob Hacker & Paul Pierson on Engineered Inequality. It's very eye opening and I think that everyone that lives in the U.S.A. should listen to it and find out what has been happening with our political and economic systems over the last 30 years.

You can listen to this show on Bill Moyers web site using this link.

The Spy

I'm reading a great book right now. It's The Spy written by Clive Cussler.



In it, the main character Isaac Bell owns a Locomobile. I had never heard of this car and looked it up. In the book, it's a racing car from the early 1900s and true to his word here's a video of one on Youtube.
Locomobil Old 16

It's an international spy story of the Dreadnought race. What is a Dreadnought, you ask?
This is a Dreadnought:

You can find more information about them on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreadnought

Enjoy :-)

Great BBQ

I went to lunch yesterday with a good friend of mine, Judy. We went to a local place called Billy Bob's BBQ. I had been there before and the waitress had highly recommended one dish. It's called Piggy Pie. She said to arrive real hungry and plan on taking a long nap or plan on taking a doggy bag home. Well, let me tell you I thought I had died and gone to BBQ heaven.

You take pulled pork and put into the bottom of an over safe bowl, over it you cram lots of Macaroni and Cheese (heavy on the cheese) over it, put some bread crumbs on top and pop it into the oven. WOW, was it ever good.. :-). My wife, Linda, that doesn't particularly like BBQ really liked it, as she had the left over doggy bag last night for dinner.

How to turn the page

New music jukebox

Well, I finally did it!!! I actually bought an Apple product, an iPad 2.



Here's my reasoning. I used to have my music stored on a computer and used a program called MediaMonday as the jukebox. It was connected to our stereo via audio cable. All this worked fine until the hard drive containing the music died. Well, I didn't do anything about it for quite a while, but finally started thinking that we own all these CDs but they're diffiecut to manage and store in the living room. I started looking around for some sort of small device (computer) that I could use for this purpose. Hopefully putting it on a shelf along with the stereo equipment. Finally I ran across an ad for the iPad and started thinking or wondering if it could do the job for me.

I investigated quite a bit, even calling Apple directly, but couldn't get a definite answer if it could work for me or not. I finally had to drive an hour to an Apple store where this cute little french gal convinced me that, yes it can do that. Note, her good looks, etc. didn't have any baring on my decision. :-)

I got it home and started playing and after several calls to Apple tech support it is finally working. I have it setup like this:

All music (250 CDs) are stored on a Windows computer using iTunes
My stereo is plugged into an Airport Express (Apple device)
The Airport Express has an ethernet cable to my existing network (to the PC)
The Airport Express has a wireless network to the iPad.

Using the Music app on the iPad, I can play all of my iTunes library on the PC through the wireless connection to the stereo. It's pretty slick.

My only real complaint is with the Music app on the iPad. If you display the music by genere, it gives you a list of ALL songs in that genere. I think it should give you a list of all artists and then albums in that genere. You see, in 250 CDs we have a LOT of songs in an individual genere and then all get listed. :-(

Now I need to find out what else this little thing can do..

Throw Them All Out by Peter Schweizer

I am reading a book called Throw Them All Out that was written by Peter Schweizer. It is the story of our political system at work and getting RICH while doing it. :-( I think everyone should read this one.

The link above points to it on www.amazon.com and below is the description of it as quoted from Amazon.
"One of the biggest scandals in American politics is waiting to explode: the full story of the inside game in Washington shows how the permanent political class enriches itself at the expense of the rest of us. Insider trading is illegal on Wall Street, yet it is routine among members of Congress. Normal individuals cannot get in on IPOs at the asking price, but politicians do so routinely. The Obama administration has been able to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to its supporters, ensuring yet more campaign donations. An entire class of investors now makes all of its profits based on influence and access in Washington. Peter Schweizer has doggedly researched through mountains of financial records, tracking complicated deals and stock trades back to the timing of briefings, votes on bills, and every other point of leverage for politicians in Washington. The result is a manifesto for revolution: the Permanent Political Class must go."

Photographer shows us the world

You should view this in HD and full screen...

Bill Cosby

I can't remember if I have posted this, but I recently saw it on EO's blog and it's extremely funny... :-)

100 Years of our history

I'm not sure if this is good or not. It certainly shows 100 years of our history in a very short time frame. It may be disturbing, so be forwarned.

My War - Andy Rooney

I recently finished reading a book that a friend recommended to me. The late Andy Rooney put together a real collection of his experiences during WW II. If you like Andy or are interested in that War, this is really a good read. It's called My War and is available from amazon.com. Below is a quote of the book description from Amazon.

"Book Description
Publication Date: October 15, 2002
My War is a blunt, funny, idiosyncratic account of Andy Rooney's World War II. As a young, naïve correspondent for The Stars and Stripes, Rooney flew bomber missions, arrived in France during the D-Day invasion, crossed the Rhine with the Allied forces, traveled to Paris for the Liberation, and was one of the first reporters into Buchenwald. Like so many of his generation, Rooney's life was changed forever by the war. He saw life at the extremes of human experience, and wrote about what he observed, making it real to millions of men and women. My War is the story of an inexperienced kid learning the craft of journalism. It is by turns moving, suspenseful, and reflective. And Rooney's unmistakable voice shines through on every page."

Seniors at a Florida Coffee Shop

A friend sent this to me and based on my recent experiences with my mother, I thought you all would get a kick out of it.. :-)

A group of seniors were sitting around talking about all their ailments.
"My arms have gotten so weak I can hardly lift this cup of coffee," said one.
"Yes, I know," said another. "My cataracts are so bad; I can't even see my coffee."
"I couldn't even mark an "X" at election time, my hands are so crippled," volunteered a third.
"Where the hell are my glasses?", said another.
"What? Speak up! What? I can't hear you!"
"I can't turn my head because of the arthritis in my neck," said a fourth, to which several nodded weakly in agreement.
"My blood pressure pills make me so dizzy!" exclaimed another.
"I forget where I am, and where I'm going," said another."
"I guess that's the price we pay for getting old," winced an old man as he slowly shook his head.
The others nodded in agreement.

"Well, count your blessings," said a woman cheerfully -- "thank God we can all still drive."