- 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      
 

- Politics! Politics! Politics! Despite the increased (and necessary) military action in Iraq, the 9/11 hearings, and the Richard Clarke book, GWB's polling numbers have gone up. I have found three websites that try to predict the current electoral count. Here are the links:
http://home.comcast.net/~gerrydal/
http://www.electionprojection.com/
http://www.federalreview.com/compositepoll.htm

- Who says that conservatives arent funny? Most of my friends are Republicans, and they make me laugh more than anyone on television. A group of right-leaning comedy writers are setting out to prove that conservatives have a sense of humor too. Lord knows that madmen like John "ribbons are the same as medals" Kerry gives them enough comedic ammo. Lets hope this troupe somehow gets their own TV show in the future. Here is an article detailing their exploits:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/bal-to.right28apr28,0,4956640.story?coll=bal-features-headlines

- "Your eyes can deceive you, dont trust them." - Obiwan Kenobi. Its amazing how our optical senses can play tricks on us. For example, look at the circles in the following webpage. I promise you, none of them are actually in motion, but they sure seem like they are:
http://www.snafu.com/Rotation.html

- The #1 reason why we dont have flying cars, robots who do our laundry, and colonies on Mars is energy. Humanity simply cannot generate enough energy to accomplish these innovations. Twenty years ago, the big push from scientists was cold-fusion. In 1989, a couple of jokers from the University of Utah got the scientific community in an uproar when they claimed to make cold-fusion in a bathtub. Alas, it was a hoax, and a cruel one at that. Scientists are still trying to create a reliable, efficient form of fusion. Here is a link that describes their latest progress:
http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/wo_hecht042304.asp?trk=nl

- Every day I read the website, RealClearPolitics.com. The website posts articles from major columnists each day, but that is not the true value of the website. The best part of this site is the polling data. The right side of the website provides links to all of the major national and statewide polls for the 2004 election. Its the best website I have found for determining where the electorate currently is, and where it is heading. Here is a link:
 www.realclearpolitics.com
 
- I am a big Everquest fan. Some of my friends are big Everquest fans. Lots of people play Everquest. Everquest currently has over 400,000 people paying a monthly fee. One of those people is the Boston Red Sox pitcher, Curt Schilling. Here is an interview at ESPN.com with Curt Schilling, talking about his online gaming. Sounds like he is really into online gaming:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espngamer/story?id=1774053
 
- Yesterday, Arizona Governor, and she-male contestant Janet Napolitano, signed a bill allowing all bars in Arizona to stay open until 2:30am. Last call for liquor will be 2am. This new law will go into effect 90 days after the Arizona Legislature disbands for the year, so it will probably start this fall. This is welcome news indeed. I have always felt that bars in Arizona close too soon. Oh sure, my liver wont thank me, but my liver has never done anything good for me anyhow. If you could compare all of the organs in my body, to cities in Iraq, then my liver would be the dastardly town of Fallujah! Here is a link to an article in the Arizona Republic, describing how the new law will work:
 http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0413closingtime13-ON.html
 
- Water that wont get you wet? I dont believe it! This is as likely as the Detroit Tigers winning their first five games. What!?! The tigers won their first five games of the season? Armageddon is here! Woohooo! Below is a link describing how scientists created a new kind of water that doesnt make things wet, and its practical applications:
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/news/04132004_bb_sapphire.html
 
- Having trouble taking over the galaxy? Cant seem to slaughter humanity fast enough? Having trouble motivating your henchmen to do the truly dirty work that is required to dominate the globe? If this sounds like you, then the website, villainsupply.com might be able to help. Here is a link:
http://www.villainsupply.com/index1.html 

- Found an article describing the 100 most underrated movies of all-time. Some of these I agree with, and some I do not. Here is the link:
http://www.chud.com/news/mar04/mar22underdog1.php3
 
- Going to Vegas soon? Want to play a game that gives you at least a fighting chance of keeping your hard-earned money? Blackjack is the game to play. Out of all the popular casino games, Blackjack gives the best odds for your investment, if you know what you are doing. Here are some links for becoming good at Blackjack, practicing Blackjack, and becoming too good at Blackjack (counting cards):
 http://www.how-to-play-blackjack.com/html/bjstrategy.html#
http://www.hitorstand.net/game_s.html
http://casinogambling.about.com/library/weekly/aa120400.htm
 
- A hurricane in the South Atlantic!?! Impossible you say? Not anymore. Since 1960, when human beings first put satellites into orbit, no one has seen a hurricane form in the South Atlantic. Hurricanes frequently form in the South Pacific, Western Pacific, North Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. A hurricane formed off the coast of Brazil a few days ago, and smacked into the country yesterday. Here is a USA Today article explaining the incredibly rare phenomenon:
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/hurricane/2004-03-26-brazil-hurricane_x.htm
 
- For the next few weeks, the five planets that are visible to the naked eye (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter) will be in the same sky, at the same time. This rare event wont happen again for 32 years. During the next several days, the moon will be amongst these celestial bodies, making it very easy to spot them, when you use the moon as a marker. Here is a link explaining when to look, where to look, and just how rare this occurrence is:
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/planet_panorama_040305.html

- Ever wonder how Saint Patrick's day got started? Who is Saint Patrick? Why do we dress in green attire? Why does everyone get so damn drunk? Here is a link that explains it all:
http://people.howstuffworks.com/saint-patrick1.htm
 
- With each passing day, humanity gets closer and closer to developing a RoboCop, Terminator, or an Iron Man. If I had a dollar for every time I have day-dreamed about donning the Iron Man armor, I would be a very rich man. Here is an article describing how some university scientists have created a robotic exoskeleton that helps a human-being lift and carry objects over long distances:
 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/03/040304195437.htm
 
- New information about the next Star Wars movie is hitting the internet at record speeds. Here is an illustration of how Anakin turns into Darth Vader, an actual photo of how Anakin looks before he becomes Darth Vader (possibly fake from the neck down), and another picture of the new villain, General Grievous:
 http://cgi.theforce.net/theforce/image.cgi?Image=/episode3/newspics/anakin_uk_paper.jpg
http://paizo.com/image/product/magazine_issue/swinsider/75/cover_500.jpg
 
- I read several blogs each day. One of the new blogs I have discovered is "The Corner." Its the blog for National Review magazine. The writers of the magazine have access to the blog, and they post their daily readings and thoughts. It gets updated very quickly, so you can get commentary on many news items the moment they happen. Here is a link:
http://www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/corner.asp