It seems that the Xmas season hits the market as soon as the Halloween decorations can be pulled down, and one modern-day Scrooge didn't want to be left out of the fun.

This from betanews.com:

SBC has made it clear that no one will receive free access to its broadband lines. In an interview with Business Week, CEO Edward Whitacre said that some companies like Google, MSN and Vonage have pushed for free usage of the pipes owned by telecom and cable companies like SBC, which will soon become AT&T.

"I ain't going to let them do that because we have spent this capital and we have to have a return on it," Whitacre said in the interview, adding that anyone who thinks the Internet should be free in that sense is "nuts." The opinionated CEO went on to say that he was not pleased with SBC's growth, calling it "terrible."

I don't have SBC (I have Comcast) so I'm not going to worry (yet). But this guy's greed annoys me, and I hope this is not the start of an ugly trend. I pay over $40 a month to my provider as it is. DSL may be cheaper, but it ain't free by any stretch of the imagination. They ARE getting a return on their capital. I am also already paying additional money for Skype In and Skype Out. Just how much does this guy, and folks like him, want us to fork out? If my provider decided to charge me even more, directly or indirectly, for the privilege of using VoIP, I would get another provider. I hope that a significant number of SBC/AT&T customers do the same to send Whitacre and CEOs like him a message.

I just got back inside. The building fire alarm had gone off which sent everyone in my neck of the condopolis outside -- not out of any sense of safety or "setting a good example," but to escape the deafening noise. I wish I had some way of measuring the decibel level of this beast. I bet it well exceeds OSHA standards....

So what triggered the alarm, you ask? Fog machine gone awry with no ventilation. Brilliant....

After writing Better Living Through Chemistry?, I concluded that maybe I really should do a trial without Ritalin and see how things go. It's been nearly two weeks, and I'm not all that surprised at my findings: On the positive side, I'm more energetic and creative -- two things I want to be and sometimes need to be for work. I also seem to be falling asleep before 2 AM, which is nice. On the negative side, I say a lot more and hold onto thoughts a lot less. It reminds me of a joke my friend told me -- twice, because I forgot it the first time:

Friend: "How many people with ADHD does it take to screw in a light bulb?"

Me: "I dunno. How many?"

Friend: "Hey, what's that?"

What did surprise me is how much happier I feel. I wasn't depressed before, but things seem a lot more amusing now -- which may be a problem on those occasions when I cannot telecommute since I'm pretty sure the staff meetings are not meant to be funny.

Anyway.... I brought up my findings Friday at my regular pill-pusher appointment. Fortunately, the doc agrees with my desire to go a longer trial period being mostly off Ritalin, taking it only when it is necessary for the tasks at hand. I think he -- and I -- also got a feel for one of the reasons why I find this medicine beneficial: to prevent thoughts from coming out of my mouth before my brain can decide what to do with them. When he asked me how my short-term memory has been, I figured it was time to admit that I didn't take his trial of Aricept. His terse response: "I asked you how your short-term memory is." My response to that: "You know, I get the impression that sometimes I annoy the hell out of you." I didn't mean to say it, and I didn't say it tersely or confrontationally -- in fact I'm pretty sure I had a pleasant smile on my face. I wasn't angry. I do get that impression from him, but it doesn't hurt my feelings. I'm sure he enjoys talking to me as much as I enjoy talking to him. I was merely making an observation -- an observation that I shouldn't have made; the sort of observation that in another context (like a meeting at work) could get me into trouble. I am definitely taking Ritalin on those days I go to the office....

Today I had another Cat scan. This time of the liver and with contrast. I was supposed to have it with and without contrast, but apparently insurance only approved the test with. I can't say that I blame them: Cat scans can't be cheap. By the same token, if the doctor thinks that doing both is medically necessary, I wish the insurance company wouldn't deny it -- not that I want to spend any more time in that blessed machine. Oh well. With any luck the results from this one will also cause my doctor to say those beautiful words, "Don't worry," and then one more Cat scan in January and, fingers crossed, I'll be all set!

While I was waiting to be checked in, I looked on my form and saw "NRP" under religion. I assume NRP stands for "no religious preference" and not "no religion please." Since I put "secular humanist" down this go around, even though secular humanism is not a religion per se, I was a little bummed to see NRP. To me, NRP means that I don't have a religious preference, which is not the case. I do have a religious preference: no religion. But now I am curious about what it will take to get them to change NRP into something else. Secular Humanism struck out -- even when I asked the woman who registered me to change it. She simply smiled and said that I didn't have a religious preference. Okay, thank you for clarifying that for me, ma'am. Silly me for thinking I had one.... After the fact I noticed that she was wearing Christian jewelry around her neck....

Next time I will try something more along the lines of an actual religion that somewhat agrees with my outlook on life, such as Buddhism. Or maybe Taoism or Confucianism, although I'd have to read up on them just in case someone asks me a question. I toyed with the notion of putting paganism or wicca just to see the response, but decided against it as it might offend the folks at St. Joe's who seem quite nice (not to mention the fact that they control the amount of radiation that gets pumped into my body....)

Under normal circumstances, gaming is not how I come across the music I listen to. And I feel silly saying, "Check out these songs from the Civilization IV soundtrack." But I'm going to say it anyway. If you like instrumental music with some vocals and/or "new age music" and/or "world music," go to Christopher Tin's site. On the Samples page, listen to "Baba Yetu." I love that song. "Coronation" is also cool. Actually, I enjoyed all of the music on his Samples page. It's a shame (for me) that his focus seems to be on compositions for movies and other commercial endeavors as I think I would enjoy a Christopher Tin album.

Today I went to the local natural/health store seeking some insurance against the findings from my last CAT scan. I got a mega multi-vitamin with all sorts of whole foods and herbs, something called "liver defense," and, at the advice of the gentleman who runs the store, Beta-Glucan and super strength vitamin C. I was feeling pretty positive about all of this. I mean, the doctor said not to worry, and I am taking his advice in that regard. But just in case, I'm trying to exercise more, eat better, get a decent amount of sleep, and take all the vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements I can to ensure that my immune system is at its very best. After all, it can't hurt and it might help....

The gentleman at the store approved of my choices. Since he's been around for years, has a degree in.... I forget what exactly, but it's related to health and nutrition.... and seems quite knowledgeable, I was encouraged when he told me that my immune system would be ready to do battle with whatever came along. "That's great!" I replied happily, adding that it would be just in time for avian flu. It was a joke, but this gentleman suddenly stopped smiling. I figured he didn't find the possibility of a pandemic all that amusing. But rather than giving me a lecture about why one shouldn't joke about widespread pain, suffering, and death, he told me that scientists had recreated the Spanish flu virus of 1918. I answered that I had seen that in the news. Was I also aware that "they" modified it and made some enormous number of doses? I wasn't.

"To make a vaccine?" I queried.

"No. To spray us."

"Spray us?"

"With contrails. Millions will die."

"Contrails? Really?"

"The government's been doing it for years. They've already been spraying us to make us dumber."

"I've been feeling dumber," I responded with a smile hoping desperately for one in return, "but I didn't think it had anything to do with contrails."

"12th graders today are testing lower than 9th graders in the rest of the world."

I decided that, seeing no punch line forthcoming, it would be best to refrain from further attempts at humor as well as from questioning the validity of his statement. Instead I found my mind questioning the validity of his product recommendations. Can someone who believes his government is about to wipe us all out with contrail-delivered reconstituted Spanish flu know what's best for me and my immune system? Maybe he does and maybe he doesn't, and his belief in conspiracy theories is probably completely irrelevant. Still, I wish the topic hadn't come up. I guess I want the people in whom I put my trust to share the same belief system that I do -- and to not tell me if they don't.

When I got home, the first thing I searched for was information on the supplements I bought to make sure that they are indeed things I should be taking. Having satisfied myself that they were, I searched for "contrails flu." In Yahoo, there were 7,780 results; in Google, "about 12,000." It appears that this guy isn't alone in his beliefs....

Well, I just got back from the doctor. He said not to worry and that if it were something bad, they'd be ordering biopsies rather than more CAT scans. He also said that "bad things are dense," and that what they found on my liver is not dense. Not dense is good.

I wasn't jazzed to get the entire test results, though. I had misunderstood the nurse. They didn't merely confirm the presence of the granuloma in my lung: They confirmed it, found another smaller one, and also spotted something else in the space between my lungs. I think he said that the stuff spotted was "probably residual thymic tissue" and told me again that this wasn't stuff to worry about. Not worrying is good. There is something very reassuring about a skilled medical professional saying the words "don't worry."

So one more CAT scan soon, then another in 3 months to check on the guests that have taken up residence in and around my lungs, and hopefully I'll be told that I am as healthy as I thought I was prior to complaining about my cough.

Days like this, I have very mixed feelings about modern science. If it turns out that these little things in my lungs and liver are going to get worse, then I'm awfully glad they were found early when something can be done. By the same token, my overall stress level was lower a few weeks ago when I didn't know that these things were present. And if these things are nothing, then I would have preferred never to have found out about them. Ignorance is indeed bliss. Oh well, what can you do? I guess what I'm going to do is take this as a prompt to do something constructive: get off my butt, exercise more, and give up my quest to shatter the myth that all vegetarians are healthy, non-junk-food eaters.

It seems that I have become what you would call "a regular" at St. Joseph's Hospital. It started with a persistent cough that I got sick of having. I've had it forever. Allergies or asthma was always cited as the source. But theoretically I'm much better in those departments, thanks to shots, yet the cough remains, so I mentioned it at my annual physical. Based on some other symptoms, my doctor thought it could be acid reflux, suggested Zantac, and sent me to St. Joe's for routine blood work. A month later at a follow-up, he sent me back to St. Joe's, this time for a barium swallow. That was fun.... I was told it was normal, but to keep taking Zantac and come back in another month. When I came back, he ordered a chest x-ray. Said it was "routine" -- that I should have one every few years. Fine. One week later I get a call informing me that they found an "upper right lobe granuloma" (whatever the heck that is) and that I had been scheduled for a chest CAT scan early the following week. Fine. Today, just under a week later, I am told that I get to have a follow-up chest CAT scan 3 months from now to monitor the progress of what they called a "nodule," but in the meantime I get to have ANOTHER CAT scan, this time on my liver where they spotted something while looking at my chest. (That doesn't sound quite right. You know what I mean, though. ) I asked some questions of the nurse who gave me this news over the phone and was told that I needed to come in so that the doctor could explain it all to me in "a way that would make sense to me." That appointment is first thing tomorrow morning. I'm not sure what to expect. Guess we'll have to wait and see. Fortunately it's not too long a wait.

So I'm sitting here, suddenly very motivated to get healthy, drinking a couple of glasses of the extremely green Odwalla Superfood Micronutrient Fruit Juice Drink and planning on getting up early tomorrow to use the treadmill.

I was a lot happier when it was "just a cough."

Some bad news from ReMARKable Palate:

Unfortunately, the (Environmental Working Group) study found that washing doesn't much help to eliminate the residual pesticides. While you should always wash your fruits and vegetables, it's still best to choose locally farmed, sustainable produce that has been grown organically.

The Dirty Dozen: The 12 Most Contaminated (Buy These Organic, if possible)

• Apples
• Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Cherries
• Imported Grapes
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Potatoes
• Red Raspberries
• Spinach
• Strawberries

Last night I had potato leek soup with lots of inorganic taters, and peppers (not bell peppers, though) stuffed with, among other things, spinach that is probably not organic.... I wish there were more organic veggies available in the local supermarkets since it's a 30-mile hike to the nearest Whole Foods. In the meantime, I'll try to take comfort in knowing that any insects I inadvertently swallow won't stand a chance.

Our very own senator Judd Gregg, who happens to be a millionaire, just won $853,492 from Powerball. Good for him! So what does a millionaire senator who wins the lottery do with all of that cash? According to the AP, some will go to charity and the rest will be spent by his wife. I applaud the decision to give some to charity, but why not all of it? In particular, why not send it up to his home state and give it to low income residents who need assistance paying their heating bill this year? The cost of natural gas and oil is skyrocketing, and it gets pretty cold up here. There are already residents who cannot afford to heat their homes without assistance -- and there will undoubtedly be more this year. And it's not like he needs the money.... So what do you say, Senator?

A while back, I was complaining about the practices of some businesses to harass their customers into doing things like purchasing the latest upgrade or signing a new contract. Well, today I discovered that it pays to hold out. ScanSoft -- well, now they're Nuance -- called this morning and said that if I upgraded to OmniPage Pro 15 for the discounted price of $99, they'd send me a free copy of Dragon Naturally Speaking Preferred version 8. I asked the rep if that was an upgrade because I owned Preferred version 7. The rep said it was not; it was a full version. Okay, what the heck. They win. I won't be harassed but I can be bought. Does that make me a sell out? You bet -- but one with some extra free software!

Here's a show I am definitely steering clear of:

David Copperfield says he plans to impregnate a girl on stage - without even touching her.

The utter goofiness of this is beyond belief. The show itself will be dull: "Behold this girl who is not pregnant. Now I will wave my magic wand...." (There's a phrase with a whole new meaning) "Poof! Now she is pregnant. Thanks for coming folks! You've been great!!" And what is he going to do to convince us that the trick is genuine? Find the volunteer well in advance and keep her under surveillance for months before and after the show? And no matter what he does, I think the audience will have a very hard time suspending disbelief long enough for him to do it.

A while ago, I was in an apple martini mood. My friend had introduced me to a concoction that he'd come up with, and it was quite good. So I went to the local liquor store in search of Sour Apple Pucker, at his recommendation, but couldn't find it. Instead, I settled upon Manzanita which contributed to a decent apple martini, but it wasn't the same.... Today I found Sour Apple Pucker at the store. Much better -- if you are after an apple-flavored martini rather than a vodka martini with a hint of apples. The recipe is the same:

2 parts apple liqueur (in this case Sour Apple Pucker), 1 part Stoli Vanilla Vodka. Shake over ice. Enjoy.

Last night, iPodder downloaded an unexpected but welcome item: Haunted New Jersey's podcast #6. They had said that other commitments required that they go on hiatus until "late in 2005 or early 2006." But they're back already.

Yesterday I blogged about an issue I have been having on Technorati, where I am signed on, but not as me. I asked if I was the only one having this issue. No one has replied yet, but I don't think that I am. Here's why: Today when I signed on, lo and behold, I discovered I had a watchlist of my very own. I am apparently on the lookout for "Dogs in NYC". I have no interest in dogs or NYC -- let alone dogs in NYC. I haven't searched for either topic on Technorati or anywhere else for that matter. I haven't come across anything about dogs in NYC recently. So how did I manage to add "Dogs in NYC" to my watchlist? I don't think I did. I think someone who is interested in dogs in NYC was logged on as me, didn't realize it, and added it.... Yeah, yeah, I know.... But, hey, the fact that you're paranoid does NOT mean that people are NOT out to get you (or give you watchlists). And, no, I wasn't using a public computer and forgot to sign off. All of my Technorati use is on my personal home computers of which I am the sole user.

As an experiment, I think I'll tag this dogs in NYC. Maybe the person who wanted this in his/her watchlist will find it. If you are that person, add a comment.

Day after day, I've been staring at this shiny little trial package of Aricept. Day after day, I debate what to do with it, every time concluding that I could worry about it later since the every-other-month appointment where I "check in," and field questions about how I'm doing with my Ritalin is still over a month away. Well, weeks away. Oh crap: It's next week, and I still cannot motivate myself to try these little white circles of anti-Alzheimer's joy that my pill pusher insists will help my short-term memory.

Ya know, life was better before the pill pusher. I used to have a very nice primary care physician who, at my request, had talked to the very nice psychiatrist I used to see for ADHD treatment, and the two of them agreed that I really didn't need to continue seeing a separate doctor for the sole purpose of getting the same ol' script month after month. Then that very nice doctor retired, and I now have a doctor who will not prescribe Ritalin. Not to me. Not to anyone. Period. End of story. I think I can see where he's coming from: Prescribing drugs that have a reputation for being over-prescribed and abused, when the condition for which you are prescribing them isn't even your speciality, sounds like a headache to me. But his position means that I now have to see another doctor every other month for 20 minutes and have the same conversation over and over again. It's like the movie "Groundhog Day," only with more tedium and fewer groundhogs.

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Today was the fifth time, in a period of around two or three weeks, that I went to Technorati and saw that I was logged on as someone other than myself. The first time I thought it was a fluke and dismissed it, signing out and then signing in as me. The second time I followed the Account link just out of curiosity and was immediately brought to this other person's Account page. It sure looked like I could unclaim his blog, change his profile or picture, and do all of the other accounty stuff you can do when you are logged on. I didn't try, however, because I feared I'd be successful. And what did that person ever do to me? So instead I reported it via Technorati's feedback/help form. A few days later it happened again: I was signed in as some other person -- but not the same person as before. And, again, it sure looked like I could modify that person's account settings, but I didn't actually try. And again, I reported it. A few days later, I had yet another identity. That time I blew it off -- I didn't want to be a noodge, and I figured Technorati was surely on the case.

But it just happened AGAIN. I was going to report it AGAIN using their form, but I have to wonder if I am being heard. The fact that I still periodically find myself signed in as someone other than myself and can access the user du jour's Account page makes me suspect that I am not -- at least not by the right folks. So instead, I figured I'd blog about it, tag my post, and ping Technorati. They may be swamped with feedback form submissions, but my guess is that they monitor what is said about them in the blogosphere. It's worth a try anyway....

And, by the way, in case you are wondering: This is NOT occurring on a public computer where some poor soul forgot to sign out. This is occurring on my personal home computers that only I use....

Am I the only one who is experiencing this?

It's funny how it just takes a friend, a farm stand, some hungry and sociable goats, and a proper (non-processed) meal to make the big, crappy things in life seem quite trivial.

Super-easy pesto sauce:

• 3 cups fresh basil
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• Salt, pepper, and garlic to taste

Pulverize in your favorite blender/food processor. Tastes great on the pasta of your choice and topped with asiago cheese.

At CleanWaterNotWalmart.org:

ATTENTION RESIDENTS OF NASHUA & AREA TOWNS

Wal-Mart Corporation will soon be appearing before the Zoning Board seeking approval for a massive new 150,000 square-foot "SuperCenter" on Amherst Street.

It will be located at the site of the current "Building 19" store, and only 4 miles from the existing SuperCenter in Amherst (which will remain open).

Unfortunately, they have chosen the worst possible location to attempt to build this store. Due to factors unique to the site, this project is guaranteed to:

• pollute our drinking water
• gridlock the busiest section of Amherst Street with thousands of additional cars a day
• and create a hazard for pedestrians - especially area children

And the simple fact is, this store isn't even necessary. There are two Wal-Marts and a Sam's club already serving our area - every resident of Nashua is less than 5 miles from one today!

There's an online form you can fill out to add yourself to the petition asking the Zoning Board not to approve this new store.

JibJab productions are always incredibly well-done, not to mention hilarious. And Wal-Mart is always up to no good. So it just made my day when I found out that JibJab has taken on Wal-Mart.

I'm pretty new to tagging posts. Two days ago I installed a plugin to add Technorati tags -- and I think Technorati is ignoring my tags even though I did everything they suggest to make my blog Technorati-tag-friendly. But anyway, let's for a moment assume that Technorati isn't ignoring me. What tags should I use?

Before posting my note about the approaching release of Civ 4, I ran over to Technorati and did some tag searching. There are:

• 2 posts tagged civ4
• 10 posts tagged civilization 4
• 3 posts tagged civilization iv

So which do you pick? The most frequently used? All of them currently being used? All of them currently being used, plus any other variations that you might think of?

What I like about tags is that the author gets to decide what labels should be applied to each entry. What I don't like about tags is that the author gets to decide what labels should be applied to each entry. Well, that's not entirely true. I guess what I don't like about tags is that fact that the search engine does not currently seem able to detect variations and to propose something like, "I see you searched for civ4. I think you might also be interested in the results of civilization 4 and civilization iv." Now that would be cool...

UPDATE/CORRECTION: Ok... Sometimes Technorati already does what I suggest. For instance, search for the tag technorati and it will indeed point out

Related Tags: Tags, Blogging, Blog, Blogs, tagging, Search, wordpress, Del.icio.us.

at the very top. And I suppose Civ 4 is new and not all that popular a search.... But if you search for, say, the tag vegan, couldn't it suggest veganism, and vegetarian and vegetarianism? Similarly, if you search for the tag ADHD, you will find things like the tag ADD, but you won't find the tag attention deficit disorder which has quite a few posts associated with it. And if you search for attention deficit disorder you won't find any related tags.

So I take back my original suggestion since they've clearly already thought of -- and implemented -- that. Revised suggestion: Expand it so that other related terms and word variations are associated with one another.

UPDATE #2: Technorati is no longer ignoring me and my tag plugin! Yea!!

I'm not what you would call a gamer, but I do enjoy Civ 3. Civ 4 is almost here and it looks great!

I've seen the slide show version of the video. I've even seen the actual video on television news sites. But the former doesn't do this masterpiece justice, and the latter is predictably prefaced with ads and has reporters talking over it. But, bless the BBC, I have now seen Smurfageddon in all its uninterrupted animated glory!

I was listening to Hometown Tales show 35, when I learned of something very sinister: crack addicts terrorizing London. But these aren't just any crack addicts. They're young and small. No, no, not children. Worse than that: SQUIRRELS! I couldn't find this news in the show notes, but I did find this at the Guardian:

If they are not launching themselves at you in drug-fuelled desperation, their bloodshot eyes are searching for their next fix, pink paws scrabbling in the ground. Sometimes they seize upon a rock of crack hidden in front gardens, and scarper to feed their addiction.

Squirrels in south London could have become addicted to crack cocaine, say residents of Brixton, who suggest the rodents have dug up drugs buried by dealers or nibbled residues of crack on pipes and vials discarded by addicts.

I guess this is another example of why I'm not vegan: As a non-vegan vegetarian, I'm allowed to find the notion of strung-out squirrels funny.

Being an insomniac is a real drag sometimes.... I went back to bed and something occurred to me. It may be obvious; it may be insane (or perhaps inane). Regardless.... Here's what occurred to me:

OPML by its very nature is close to pure information. It's structured, but that structure does not define what the information is. That information just is what it is -- in outline form. I don't think this is true when working with other applications, such as the Microsoft Office suite. When you use Microsoft Office, the first step is not creating content/information; the first step is pre-determining what that information is. If you determine that it is a presentation, you use PowerPoint; if it's data, you use Excel or Access; if it's text, you use Word. Having made that decision, THEN you create the content/information which cannot help but be influenced by the environment in which you are working. Sure, you can move your information from one Office app to another and thus turn what used to be text into a presentation, or what used to be a presentation into data. But you are turning one thing into another. Again, not so with OPML because the editor doesn't define what your information is. At least that's how it seems to me at 4:30 AM.

The ability to create and manipulate information outside of the constraints of task-specific applications was something that I had hoped OneNote would provide. But it hasn't really. I'll have to do some actual work in OPML and see....

But OPML alone is not going to give you the tools you want/need to refine and deliver your information to its intended audience; the Microsoft Office suite will. So, not only do I want to be able to import OPML files into PowerPoint so that I can deliver my information as a presentation, I want to be able to import them into Excel so that I can work with the information as data. And I want to be able to import them into Word so that I can work with the information as text. And I want to be able to import them in Outlook so that I can work with it as posts or as calendar entries or journal entries or....

Maybe OPML support is already planned for Office 12. Maybe the Scobleizer has already talked about it, and I missed it. I'll look after a brief nap.

Sleep-deprived, insomniac thought for the (wee hours of the) day:

Since Dave Winer's OPML editor makes constructing and manipulating outlines quite simple -- simpler and more elegant than accomplishing the same task in PowerPoint -- I wonder how hard it would be to create a tool to automatically convert an OPML file to a PowerPoint presentation.... I wonder if PowerPoint in Office 12 will be able to import OPML files.... Perhaps not what Dave had in mind, but it would sure be cool.

Back to bed now.

I've been meaning to play around with OPML for a while now, but it just hasn't happened. This morning, while bored with the rainy holiday weather, I was checking out podcasts.yahoo.com and getting caught up on Morning Coffee Notes when Dave Winer's voice hits me loud and clear: "You don't have to be a technical guru to get this OPML stuff; you just have to use the damn editor." Alright, already. I'll use the damn editor. And use the editor I did. This is pretty powerful stuff -- and at the same time beautiful in its simplicity for the user -- which I guess is what Dave's been saying all along....

I keep thinking of new tasks that I can apply OPML to, both for personal use and as a way to share information. The thing about sharing information, given my admittedly very limited experience with OPML, is that it seems that all those taking part must also share the same view/perspective -- OR they must manipulate the information on their end so that it fits their view.

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From Boing Boing:

UNICEF has produced a short Smurfs movie in which the Smurf village is bombed into rubble, leaving behind dead and dying Smurfs in a scene reminiscent of an Hieronymus Bosch painting. The video is part of a public education campaign on the ravages of war.

Man, oh man, I hope this video hits the net.

A few weeks ago, I bought a couple of pieces of furniture from Pier 1. As usual I was asked if I wanted to open an account to save money on my purchases, and this time I said, "sure." After all, I was buying furniture -- and doing so on the spur of the moment -- so paying 10% less sounded great.

I never read the fine print on things like credit card applications, but for some reason I did this time and was surprised to read the following:

To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money-laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. What this means for you: When you open an account, we will ask you for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow us to identify you. We may also ask to see your drivers license or other identifying documents.

What struck me was not that federal law required this. I would expect federal law to require this given all the identity theft and fraud that seems to go on. I don't want others to be able to get a credit card in my name, and therefore want applicants to have to prove that they are who they claim to be. Instead, I was struck by the mention of terrorism. If this information is required not to protect the consumer or the creditor, but rather to fight terrorism, there was probably more to this fine print than met my squinting eyes.

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2 parts Manzanita, 1 part Stoli Vanilla Vodka. Shake over ice. Enjoy.

This morning I was listening to the 4th show of Vegcast which included an interview with Dr. Michael Greger. During that interview, one of the things Dr. Greger tossed out for the listener's consideration was that honey hurts the vegan movement. And for many vegans, it seems that veganism is indeed a movement and not merely a personal decision -- a difference from non-vegan vegetarianism that I would argue is far greater than what members from each group will or will not eat.

Dr. Greger recounts:

It's happened to me over and over. Someone will ask me why I'm vegan -- it could be a new friend, co-worker, distant family, or a complete stranger. I know I then have but a tiny window of opportunity to indelibly convey their first impression of veganism. I'm either going to open that window for that person, breezing in fresh ideas and sunlight, or slam it shut as the blinds fall. So I talk to them of mercy. Of the cats and dogs with whom they've shared their lives. Of birds with a half piece of paper's worth of space in which to live and die. Of animals sometimes literally suffering to death. I used to eat meat too, I tell them. Lots of meat. And I never knew either.

Slowly but surely the horror dawns on them. You start to see them struggling internally. How can they pet their dog with one hand and stab a piece of pig with the other? They love animals, but they eat animals. Then, just when their conscience seems to be winning out, they learn that we don't eat honey. And you can see the conflict drain away with an almost visible sigh. They finally think they understand what this whole "vegan" thing is all about. You're not vegan because you're trying to be kind or compassionate -- you're just crazy! They smile. They point. You almost had me going for a second, they chuckle. Whew, that was a close one. They almost had to seriously think about the issues. They may have just been considering boycotting eggs, arguably the most concentrated form of animal cruelty, and then the thought hits them that you're standing up for insect rights. Maybe they imagine us putting out little thimble-sized bowls of food for the cockroaches every night.

He's got a point. True vegans don't eat honey. And, yes, the fact that vegans take their cause to that extreme does make me chuckle -- as did Dr. Greger's well-told tale. But, realistically, I don't think that the issue of honey from the insect-rights perspective is what keeps people from becoming vegan. Or from boycotting eggs. Nor do I think it fills the would-be vegan (or egg-boycotter) with relief that they don't have to think about issues after all. C'mon.... It's certainly not what keeps me from going vegan. And I DO think about the issues of consuming animal products. But to be perfectly honest, the reason I'm not a vegan is because it's massively inconvenient.

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