- I was hoping to avoid writing about politics this week, but I cannot help myself. The news is just too good for Georgie. Although a few polls this week showed the race a tie, the major polls have GWB increasing his lead after the convention. In my opinion (most internet junkies abbreviate it IMO), Bush has a 7 to 8 point lead right now, which is monumental considering the current state of the electorate. Here are links to several websites that try to predict the exact electoral count, and which candidate wins which states. If the election were held today, I have the vote percentage at Bush 53%, Kerry 46%, and the electoral count at Bush 331, Kerry 207.
http://www.electoral-vote.com/
http://www.dalythoughts.com/ecb.htm
http://www.electionprojection.com/
http://www.federalreview.com/compositepoll.htm

- So, did "Gunga" Dan Rather purposely try to hurt the Bush campaign? Hell yes! Unfortunately for Mr. Rather, it did exactly opposite. It probably gave Bush a point or two in the polls. Rather, who has always leaned left, hates the Bush family. He had a major spat with Bush Sr. on national television 16 years ago. Do I think that CBS News purposely created those documents? No. Do I think that CBS News knew those documents were fake? No. Do I think that CBS News did not check the validity of those documents? Yep. They are desperate to find anything that will stick to Georgie. The major news outlets lost their credibility over 12 years ago. Their politics drive their news. They could care less about the truth. They know they have no credibility, so why worry about ruining their own reputations? Getting politicians elected is much more important to them. Did the Kerry campaign send these documents to CBS? It's unclear right now, but reporters (legitimate ones) are looking into it. Here is what they have found so far:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&u=/ap/20040918/ap_on_el_pr/bush_guard_questions&printer=1

- A few nights ago, I watched a PBS documentary about Archimedes. He was an ancient Greek mathematician, who found some very clever ways to solve intriguing problems. He created a system for closely approximating Pi. He also found that putting an object in water can reveal its volume (hence the term "eureka", which is Greek for "I discovered".) Perhaps most importantly, he stumbled upon integral calculus! Unfortunately, the manuscript in which he noted many of these discoveries was written over during the Middle Ages, and disappeared for a thousand years. The manuscript, called The Method, was discovered in 1906, and in 1998 scientists finally have the technology to unravel its secrets. Here is a link to the PBS website about Archimedes, and his discoveries:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/archimedes/

- Calculus wouldnt evolve for another 1900 years after Archimedes. Imagine if his discovery of calculus had not been lost, and scientists had been using his ideas for the past 2000 years? We might be living on Mars right now, or telling robots to clean our yards. Speaking of Mars, here is an article about how humans could travel to Mars one day, and what we need to get there:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6013385/

- 1939 was a wonderful year for movies. Gone with the Wind, the Wizard of Oz, and Mr. Smith goes to Washington were all released in 1939, but the greatest year for movies was 1989. Here is a list of all the movies released in 1989. When you think about the movies you have seen this year, or want to see later this year, compare those movies to the movies on this list. It's no comparison. Look it over carefully, and I guarantee you will see over a dozen movies you enjoy:
http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/index1989.html

- The Republican convention is over. Between C-SPAN and Fox News, I tried to watch as much of it as I could. I thought Arnie, GWB and Rudy gave the best speeches, in that order. George's speech was good, but not his best speech. His best speech was before congress, after 9/11. I think Georgie will get a 2 to 3 point bounce out of this convention, and considering he is currently up 2 or 3 points, that should give him a lead of 5 to 6 points. That doesnt sound like much, but let me offer you these two points:
1. There are not many undecided voters left this election year, so any shift in public opinion is important.
2. No modern presidential candidate, with a lead of 5 points or greater on Labor day, has lost the election.
Let me put it another way....who would you rather be right now, George Bush, or John "I am holding desperate, midnight rallies" Kerry? You would certainly rather be George Bush right now. Here is an article by Dick Morris, who has a nice take on the president's speech. I am not a fan of Morris's political musings, but I think he gives an accurate critique of the speech:
http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/28023.htm

- Have I already posted an article about futuristic, flying cars? I am too lazy to scroll down and see if I have. Regardless, here is a new article about how scientists want to end urban grid-lock, by introducing flying cars:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2004-08-30-flying-cars_x.htm

- I thought I would have trouble getting into the new Batman movie. After all, virtually the whole damn cast and crew is British. Well, I have been reading things that are changing my mind. Sounds like Bats is really screwed up in this movie. Check out this article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2004/08/28/bfbat28.xml&sSheet=/arts/200

- Football is back! Football is back! The dreaded Arizona summer-doldrums are ending. The first full weekend of college football starts this Saturday, and the NFL season kicks-off this Thursday. Here is an article previewing the big college football games this weekend. On a related note, anyone notice the high number of NFL players who are Republicans? Jim Kelly, Lynn Swann, Jason Sehorn, and Jack Kemp were all at the Republican convention. Tom Brady sat next to Laura Bush during the last State of the Union address. Joe Montana, Troy Aiken, and Roger Staubach have all campaigned for past Republican candidates.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=herbstreit_kirk&id=1873293

- I am thoroughly enjoying the Olympics. It makes for great late-night viewing. The Americans are expected to win more medals than any other country, and they better! If they dont come back with the most medals, and the most gold medals, I say we ship our American athletes to Najaf! Here is a link to the current medal count:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/medals/index.html?qs=1

- Here is a silly, unprovable, yet intriguing question. It's the kind of question Cliff might have asked Norm. What if Bruce Wayne, Indiana Jones, John McClane, and James Bond all fought each other, naked in a caged deathmatch! Only one person comes out alive. Who would win? I think Bruce Wayne would be the winner, followed by James Bond, Indiana Jones, and John McClane, in that order. Use the comment section to post your own opinion on the topic.

- I am not a big Star Trek fan, but Captain Kirk is, by far, my favorite ST character. His death in Star Trek Generations was a huge disappointment. Not only was it downright silly, but in Star Trek 5, Kirk said that he "would die alone." Well, Kirk didnt die alone! He had that absurd french-man sitting right next to him. Here is a website that is dedicated to bringing Kirk back:
http://www.bringbackkirk.com/

- On a related note...any article that mentions anti-matter, in relation to a current NASA project, gets my attention. Here is an article describing the latest propulsion techniques being designed by NASA:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/08/12/space.propulsion/index.html

- Microsoft is about to release Service pack 2 for their Windows XP operating system. This huge update will fix major holes in the OS, thus preventing hackers from doing all those dastardly things to your computer. The update has leaked onto the internet, so you can download the update before Microsoft actually puts it on the website. Here is a link to the update. I highly recommend that anyone who uses Windows XP download this update, and install it as soon as possible:
http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=846

- The democratic convention is over. John "my wife is going to cost me the election" Kerry received little, or no bounce. In fact, the Gallup poll, which is the oldest and one of the most respected polls in the country, has George Bush receiving a bounce during the convention, instead of Kerry! Here are links to several polls taken during and after the convention. When reading polls, there are two very important things to consider:

1. Who is being polled? Most polls sample likely voters, registered voters, or adults. The polls that sample likely voters tend to be the most accurate. The polls that sample adults tend to be the least accurate, and the polls that sample registered voters are in the middle.

2. The numerical break-down of the sample. Polls that sample too many Democrats can be biased towards Democrats, and vise-versa for Republicans. In the 2000 election, 34% of people who actually voted proclaimed themselves Democrats, 33% Republican, and the rest were independent. These are the type of numbers that the legitimate polls try to accomplish.

Before the convention, John Kerry was in a better position to win than any other modern candidate. Now the opposite is true. No challenger, who has gone on to become president, has been in such a bad position immediately after his convention.
http://www.gallup.com/content/?ci=12565
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/Vote2004/kerry_bounce_poll_040802.html
http://www.americanresearchgroup.com/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5568072/site/newsweek/
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/08/02/opinion/polls/main633546.shtml

- How fast can you read? Here is a website that will test you. I clocked in at 300wpm.
http://mindbluff.com/askread.htm

- Is the old cliche "some records are made to be broken" true? Why do we have such a fascination with sports records? Which records are truly remarkable, and which ones are merely mediocre? Here is an article all about sports records, and why we love them. My brother originally found this article:
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/Columns/?Article=sportsrecordsmain

- Humanity gets closer and closer to the sci-fi movies we love. Here is an article about how the military will soon use lasers in all kinds of combat situations:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/08/02/directedenergyweapons.ap/

- This is slightly old news, but I wanted to comment on it anyhow. The name of the new Star Wars movie has been revealed. It is "Revenge of the Sith." My favorite title rumor was Rise of the Empire, but the real title is my 2nd favorite. I think it's nearly perfect. After all, uncle George wanted to use the title Revenge of the Jedi for Episode 6, but thought it was too dark and violent. Now uncle George can use the word "Revenge" since it is clearly appropriate for the new movie. Remember, Darth Maul said in episode 1, "at last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi...at last we will have revenge." Well, now those wacky Sith Lords will get their revenge. For all the latest episode 3 news (including spoilers), follow this link:
http://www.theforce.net/episode3

- As you can plainly see, I have moved my web-blog to a new location.  Besides being easier on the eyes, there are two important additions:
1. I have added links on the right-hand side of the page to many of the webpages I read each day.
2. You can now post your own comments!  At the bottom of the postings for a particular day, you can leave a comment.  You can write anything you want, but remember that anyone on the internet will be able to read what you have typed.

- The Monty Hall paradox.  I hadn't heard of this mathematical problem until today.  The paradox is about the "behind the three doors" game that use to be played on the old Monty Hall show.  Follow this link.  Play the game, and then read the explanation.  It's a fascinating read:
http://math.ucsd.edu/~crypto/Monty/monty.html

- This week marks the 35th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.  I saw Neil Armstrong on TV this morning, and I nearly crapped my pants.  Neil is a well-known recluse.  He hardly ever gives interviews or leaves his home.  Not many people know the real reason why we went to the moon.  Neil Armstrong is the only being in the universe who can defeat the dreaded Frank Kush.  In 1969, Neil deposited Frank Kush on the surface of the moon, so he could no longer terrorize humanity.  Here is an article about the things Neil and Buzz left on the moon.  The article doesnt mention Frank Kush.  The cover-up continues:
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/21jul_llr.htm?list1192006

- The summer of 2005 could be an amazing season for movies.  We are getting the final Star Wars movie, and a new Batman movie!  This new Batman movie is being made by a whole new cast and crew.  It looks dark and nasty.  When I think of this movie, I am reminded of a quote from Frank Miller (the comic-book writer who re-invented Batman).  Frank once said "to me, Batman was never funny."  Here is a website that is dedicated to bringing you all the news about the new movie:
http://www.batman-on-film.com/b5news.html

- There is nothing worse than going to a movie theater, spending your 10 bucks, and then sitting through 2+ hours of gut-wrenching, vomit-inducing cinema.  You will never get those two hours back!  They are gone forever.  Sometimes before I see a movie, I go to the website rotten-tomatoes.com.  This website collects all the reviews for every future release, and compiles the good and bad reviews, so you can see how the critics, in general, are reacting to the movie.  For example, if a movie has received 100 bad reviews, and 5 good ones, its probably a wise decision to avoid that movie:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/

- John Kerry has picked his running mate. John "I sued my own mother" Edwards has given Kerry a slight boost in the polls, but no more than is typical when a nominee picks his running mate. Here are two articles explaining the Kerry-bounce, and what to expect in the next few months:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/Commentary/blog_7_12_04_0837.html
http://home.comcast.net/~gerrydal/Update-07-07-04.htm

- Ever heard a song while watching a movie, and wondered where it came from, or how you can acquire it? Here is a website that is dedicated to movie soundtracks.
http://qwato.com/scores/

- The yearly festival in Pamplona, Spain is well underway. During each day of the festival, perfectly sane people run through the streets of Pamplona with large, angry bulls. On a related note, this is how Walter Mondale picked his running mate. According to Fritz, the first person trampled by the bulls must surely have the intestinal fortitude to run as his vice-president. Poor Geraldine Ferraro. Getting mauled by stampeding mammals is child's play when compared to losing 49 of 50 states. Here is a link with all the details about the festival:
http://nm.essortment.com/pamplonarunning_rxjp.htm

- I present to you another list of pre-season NFL rankings. This time brought to you by sportsline.com. This website is a pale imitation of the splendid ESPN website, but it's owned by CBS, which has the rights to show AFC football games, so you occassionally get some good insight:
http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/powerrankings

- Lots of new polls about the presidential election have cropped up this week. Looks like Georgie has re-taken the lead against John "the Senate keeps stalling my vote" Kerry. Here is a link to a brand-new Fox News poll. I know what you are saying, "damn you Todd, Fox News is completely bias!" Well this is somewhat true, but their polling over the past five years has been deadly accurate. Their final poll for the 2000 presidential race was closer to reality than any other national poll. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,123679,00.html

- Remember how twenty years ago sociologists, historians, and other members of academia were screaming that the earth's population was exploding, and humanity would run out of resources? Well, that's no longer the case. Many countries, including the most successful ones in Europe, are losing population. Here is an interview with a person who wrote a book about the falling populations of various countries, and how it effects us: Population decline

- I think I already sent this link to some of my friends, but it is worth mentioning again. I found a poll of 78 "scholars" who ranked the presidents from best, to worst. I agree with almost all the rankings, although I would move Ronnie from #8 to #7. http://www.opinionjournal.com/hail/rankings.html

- In the summer of 1979, my family and I visited Toronto. At the time, Toronto had the tallest man-made structure in the world, the CN Tower. It stands at 1820 feet, and I was facinated by it. I am still fascinated by tall buildings, why we make them, and how we make them. Here is an article about the tallest structures right now, and the ones we will see in the future: http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/hadenius0704.asp

- I am thinking of moving this web-blog to blogger.com. The main reason why I would do this is because blogger.com has built in functions that make it easier to produce a blog, and it allows me to put my favorite links on the right-hand side of the webpage. I might not do this because I cannot store files at blogger.com. At freewebs.com (the current site), I can store all kinds of files. Here is a preview of what the new web-blog might look like: http://greymarch.blogspot.com/

- Here is an article about the top 20 rivalries in the history of sports. Such a topic is extremely subjective, but I do agree with many of the picks in this article. By the way, Woody Hayes really did push his car from Michigan to Ohio, but it wasnt to avoid buying gas in Michigan. He was actually in a hurry because he had robbed a bank, raped a woman, and tried to sell red-mamba heroin to school kids in Detroit! As we all know, none of these acts are illegal in Ohio, in fact, they are encouraged!
http://www.suntimes.com/output/sports/cst-spt-rival09.html

- I received my first speeding ticket on the way to my parent's home last Thanksgiving. Boy, I was pissed-off that day, but I got over it. Now that I look back on it, I deserved that ticket. I was going 80 to 85 MPH on a 55 MPH freeway. Here is an article that gives tips on how to speed, and not get caught:
http://www.maximonline.com/the_ride/articles/article_5779.html

- Another story on dark-matter. I am fascinated with dark-matter. I am convinced that dark-matter is a physical representation of "the force", and humans have yet to find a way to tap into it. Ugh...I am using scientific mumbo-jumbo to justify my obsession with Star Wars. Another silent cry for help gets published to this webpage. http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,63672,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_6

- The 2004 World Series of Poker finished last week. ESPN will show the whole thing starting July 6th. I think their poker coverage is more entertaining than the other cable networks. I accidentally caught a glimpse of the person who won this year's tournament. I hope I can lose the mental image before ESPN starts showing the tournament. Here is a link to the official EPSN/World Series of Poker website:
http://espn.go.com/eoe/wop.html

- Scientists can do anything to mice. They can turn them blue, make them twice their normal size, even make them live four times as long, but they cant seem to apply the same effects to humans. I know, I know...humans are much more complicated than mice, but every time I watch the news and they claim to make some amazing break-through in medical science by experimenting on mice, I always hope that the break-through can be applied to humans. Here is a link to an article that describes how scientists may have discovered why humans age, and how to stop it:
Modified Mice
 
- I hate to admit it, but if the election were held today, I believe John Kerry would win by 1 to 2 percentage points. I give John "I will/wont accept the nomination in Boston" Kerry about 290 electoral votes. However, I still dont believe that John Kerry will win. George Bush has two huge advantages: 1) He should get more of a bounce out of his convention than John Kerry, since the Republican convention is in New York, and will feature super-patriot, 9/11 related speeches. 2) George Bush is the president (duh), and accordingly, he can directly affect what happens in our crazy world. John Kerry has to sit on the sidelines, and hope the events that transpire in the next six months ruin George Bush. Here is an article explaining how, despite his drop in approval ratings, George Bush is doing better in states he lost in 2000:
http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20040526-085518-9861r.htm
 
- I read the TV Guide website every day for entertainment news. Even though their entertainment news has a slight left-lean to it, TV Guide is owned by News Corp (its virtually impossible to find un-biased entertainment news), so I dont feel quite as dirty after visiting it. On Tuesdays they post an article answering readers' questions about television trivia, and every Thursday they answer readers' questions about movie trivia. If you want to know where I find my goofy tidbits of entertainment knowledge, this is a good place to start:
http://www.tvguide.com/tv/televisionary/ http://www.tvguide.com/movies/flickchick/
 
- Oh sure, I am enjoying the NBA playoffs, like most other basketball fans (if you check-out the archives at www.phxsuns.net you will find that I picked LA and Detroit to meet in the finals before the season started. Libert'e la Kobe! Revenge for 1989!), but I need football dammit! The NFL season should be expanded to 20 games. The college football season should be 14 games (sans bowl games.) I need 8 games shown on regular cable television each Sunday, instead of two or three. Football! Football! Football! Here is a webpage at ESPN that ranks all the NFL teams during the preseason: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/powerranking

- The Cicada are here! The Cicada are here! Well, not yet here in Arizona, but they are springing up back east. Arizona Cicada have a two to three year life cycle, and tend to emerge any time from June to August. The Cicada you find in the Eastern United States stay underground for 17 years! This year's batch is expected to be extremely large. Here are two articles describing the Eastern Cicada, and the Arizona Cicada.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/tech/2004/may/11/051108416.html http://ag.arizona.edu/urbanipm/insects/cicadas.html
 
- I have a strange fascination with eclipses. I find it important to view each one, and I am disappointed if I miss one. I have no idea why I feel this way. After all, an eclipse is just a coincidence of the Moon either moving in front of Sun (Solar Eclipse), or the earth getting in between the moon and the sun (Lunar eclipse.) Here are two links with maps showing all the total solar eclipses for the next 25 years, and the all the partial solar eclipses for the next 25 years. I am not providing a link for lunar eclipses because they are much more common:
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEatlas/SEatlas3/SE2001-25T-2.GIF http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEatlas/SEatlas3/SE2001-25A-2.GIF
 
- Does God exist? According to one physicist, God has a 67% chance of existing. Here is a link to an article discussing his methods for arriving at this number:
http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/long022604.html
 
- Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks are going to do a Band of Brothers version for the Pacific theater. Here is a link with information about the new series:
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/949830/posts/%0D%0D