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I read an editorial about the current marketing presentations of Sony and Microsoft, specifically the actual human beings behind press conferences for the PS2 and X-Box. The guys from Sony are "disturbingly 'business as usual'". They read the corporate-sanctioned script with little enthusiasm and then get the hell out. Meanwhile the guy from the X-Box arm of Microsoft was very excited and enthusiastic and "waxed lyrical on some of the things HE'D love to see in an online game". Well I know which one I'd buy if someone held a gun to my head...

AOL now comes in a special tin. Like it's Castle Wolfenstein or something...

I wonder if I'm one of the more prolific updaters on Diaryland. Oh I don't have brilliant prose and poetry to post, but I put a lot of bytes down.

I wonder if JC Penney will have a 9-11 sale.

Please, please, spare me the arguments against bumping up CAFE 50% on the basis that more people will die on roads if SUVs go away. I'm partially with your basic position, but you just sound like a fool when you try to follow THAT particular line of reasoning. My eyes are rolling so hard I'm going to tear a nerve.

Somebody made Doomed Hero. And Blanka. And David Dunn. And Little Boy. And Rorschach. And Dangermouse.

These folks are amazing. My "hello" thread is here. My "first salvo of questions" is here. "Why Hero Games is good #1" is here and '#2' is here. Check out all the products they have on the way here (each one is a link). And this supporting site.

Can Hulk fly?
Why is SpiderMan so tough? (this thread rocks!)
Favorite in-game quotes (hilarious)
Worst hero origins
Creating Jesus
Funniest memories (non-stop giggling)
Consequences of saving the Titanic (for counterfactual buffs)
Mechs

It seems that aging is just the increasing build-up of imperfect copies of cells created by mitosis. We don't just 'get old', the messenger RNA gets senile and sometimes forgets what it's doing, sometimes drives 30 in a 60, sometimes gets a bad back. The thing is, if we can discover what hormone or protein or proteomic combination is signalling the RNA to start slacking off, maybe we can prevent it. Maybe we can prevent organic aging. In 100 years will our descendants have the option to halt their aging at 30?

Road & Track has a long article (but not a track test yet) on the RX-8. I'm less than enthused. Love the engine, don't love alot of other things about it. Actually, the engine would probably be fun, but it's down 91 cranktorq to the similarly-priced and equally heavy 350Z.

Let's start with some LOCAL news. My friggin' school is going to build a new stadium in my backyard while pulling a couple hundred extra a year from my wallet. They've already torn down a very large section in the west end of campus. I have no idea what's planned for that spot, but it's a huge plot of dirt now. They demolished several apartments, two parking lots, trees, grass, the police outpost, etc. I'm trying to think what crying need the place has that warrants all that. But this stadium. Let's face it. UNT SUCKS for sports. A new stadium isn't going to do squat. They never come close to filling Fouts Field. They don't have the money and can't raise it... so they're just going to take it by force. Best of all, I'll get to experience months of construction equipment right outside my window. My lease is up in August (which means another rent increase) and I'm thinking of moving.

Moving on. Andrea Yates, cold-blooded murderer, was found Guilty. Duh. It's a strange thing. OF COURSE she's guilty. What the hell other verdict could the jury come to? And yet, I was so expecting the unexpected here. She thought about it for weeks. She chased her kids all around the house and dragged one kicking and screaming. She forced their heads under water to die terrible drowning deaths, one by one. Then she called the police to inform them of her deeds. Still waiting on whether she'll get a lifetime of solitary confinement or lethal injection. Either way she'll spend over 23 hours of each of her remaining days in a tiny metal cell with no sound but the voices in her head. Let this be a lesson: don't drown all your children in the bathtub.

Moving on. Mohammed Atta's Visa came in. Exactly six months after he piloted a giant plane into a giant office building, his student Visa was approved and sent out. It just warms my heart to see how efficient and sharp our mega-bloated government really is. Kudos guys, keep sending those student Visas out. Keep doing those great background checks as well. And some people want the government to be involved in MORE things? What crack are they smoking?

Moving on. The House passed the Amnesty Bill. WTF? Not law yet. But close. I blame this man (Dick Gephardt, the most vile of all Congressmen). I don't understand. Why don't we build a big bridge with a long red carpet and a sign that says 'Come On Over!'. What the hell is the point of having immigration laws when we just reward people for blatantly disregarding them? Oh wait, wait. I know. It's all about VOTES. This is nothing but a pathetic power play.

Aaargh. You know... sometimes I really wish I'd taken that BLUE bill, if you know where I'm coming from.