Si Tu Veux Surfer Sur Le Net En Italie....

Well, now you're going to need to produce some identification to use the 'net at an internet cafe or to make a phone call at a call center. The owner of such a business must now be licensed and must hand over the information to police. Why? Well, the idea is that there is some connection between these types of centers and terrorism.
Not unsurprisingly, businesses are losing business from people who forget to bring, don't have, or are unwilling to show, their identification.
Article here.

Les Mots du Jour

Here are some vocabulary words for this week's French class. See if you can guess what the theme is for this chapter. P.S., if anyone can tell me how to get characters with accents in html, I'd be much obliged.

la garderie = daycare center
le bourrage de crane = cramming of the brain
la banlieue = suburb
l'enseignement = teaching
passer un examen = to take an exam
rater a un examen = to fail an exam
assister a un cours = to attend a class
l'emploi du temps = schedule

Photos from the Wedding

and here are a select few photos from Meghan & Eric's recent wedding. As usual, the Custis crew made a fine appearance.

The happy couple enter the reception. 

What is Josh thinking right now? 

Matt & Neena 

Sam and Colleen dancing 

Steve, Lydon & Osterman 

Photos from San Diego

It's been a while since I've updated the photos. So, here are some from my August trip to San Diego. As I look through these, I realize my selections are heavy on the animal side. Ah well. Enjoy!

Flamingoes 

Deep thoughts... 

San Diego's panda 

Sage advice from the San Diego Zoo 

La Jolla Cove 

Pelican at La Jolla 

Biking on Coronado Island 

Sacrifice

Hurricane Katrina is one of the largest natural disaster in this country's history. The cleanup and reconstruction will be massive. How will it all be paid for? The president has assured us that increasing taxes won't be necessary; the money will come from cutting existing government programs. You know, like cutting health care for members of the military.

I Want a Wrecking Ball!

So the former office building across the street from us is being demolished to put up (what else?) more new unaffordable condos. It's amazing that in this day & age, you still have to use a wrecking ball, one strike at a time, to do this. I guess given the close proximity to other buildings, they can't implode the building like they did the oldconvention center. Anyway, it's just fascinating to watch, especially since I can't help but hear (and feel) every strike. Equally amusing is to watch all the employees of a certain conservative think tank on the other side of the building glued to their windows watching it as well. Of course, the wrecking ball is closer to them, so their interest may be more in self-preservation.

Memo to Mitt...

Mitt Romney, governor of Massachusetts and presumptive Republican candidate for Pres '08 is coming under fire for some statements recently made at the Heritage Foundation. Apparently, he thinks that surveillance on mosques and on foreign students isn't a bad thing. Mitt, you're not supposed to say that out loud. Article here.

And We Thought Our Mouse Problem Was Bad...

Courtesy of my roommate Scott, here is an article about missing mice. Yes, these mice are missing from a lab, and running around somewhere and the scientists can't find them. Or maybe they just misplaced the mice.
Actually, the lab suspects that the mice, if they did escape, are probably dead because they were infected with the Bubonic plague. Fabulous. Well, we'll put our mice traps out and call Biohazard if we catch any.

Product of the Month

For some friends' wedding this past weekend, I got them a subscription to a wine of the month club that delivers a bottle of wine to their door once a month. Which got me to thinking of all the other "...of the month" clubs there are out there:
Salmon of the Month. I like salmon; probably more than most people. But 12 differnt ways to flavor smoked salmon?
Jigsaw Puzzle of the Month. Man, I just never really got into these puzzles, but I know there are people out there who would.
T-Shirt of the Month. This one actually looks kinda cool--the twelve designs are printed up only for the members.
God of the Month. For the seekers and questioners, I suppose.

And last, but not least, Sock of the Month! This one sends out yarn and instructions to make a new pair of socks each month. My sister is soooo getting this for Christmas.:)

Any more interesting "of the month" clubs? Or ones that should be started?

Fact or Fiction?

We've all heard the tales of the rapes, murders, violence, gangs, helicopters being shot at, etc. in the Superdome and at the Convention Center in New Orleans? But is any of it true? As two articles point out (The Guardian and Reason), the vast majority of these rumors cannot be substantiated. the FAA can't confirm that any aircraft was ever shot at. There are no corpses of babies with their throats slit. With the lack of accurate information (probably particularly in the Superdome itself), did rumor prevail in the absence of availability of facts? And, perhaps most disturbingly, why did we, as the public, so easily believe all of these rumors? Part of it, I am sure, is that this was a horrible situation. It's not beyond the realm of believability that those, with no food or water and access to accurate information about when they would be able to leave, might resort to desperate measures (although slitting the throats of babies did always seem somehow beyond that.) So, who to believe? There are lots of apocyrphal tales on the 'net of survivors...how many are true, or even mostly true? (See, e.g., Denise's take.)

Surreal Assignments

Firefighters from across the country who volunteered to help with rescue and recovery efforts are being used as "community relations officers" and are being sent to Atlanta for training rather than out in the field. The article is here. Included in the community relations job? Standing beside President Bush for photo ops.
Daily Kos is a bit more ticked off, but just from a purely resource standpoint--couldn't these firefighters be used better?

Sponge Bob Checks In

Looks like Exodus International has finally convinced Sponge Bob Squarepants to enter its program.

New Orleans

Jessica sent me this really interesting National Geographic article from October 2004 about New Orleans. A good read.

And in somewhat related news, Augustana and Lenoir-Rhyne Colleges, Lutheran colleges, are offering free tuition to students displaced by the hurricane. Info here. Very cool. I suspect many other colleges are doing the same.