Top Albums of 2006

I am not saying these were the best CDs of 2006. I am just saying they were my favorite to listen to.

1. Modern Times - Bob Dylan

2. Eyes Open - Snow Patrol

3. Ray Lamontagne - Till The Sun Turns Black

4. Foo Fighters - Skin And Bones

5. John Mayer - Continium

6. Tool - 10000 Days

7. David Gilmour - On An Island

8. Corine Bailey Rae - Corine Bailey Rae

9. Josh Ritter - Animal Years

10. Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam

11. The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers

12. Nelly Furtado - Loose

Merry Christmas from Washington

Twelve Malls of Christmas

Every year I spend a lot of time and money Christmas shopping. I love Christmas and I love giving that "special gift". I live in Northern Virginia, so there are a lot of shopping malls within a short driving distance. I call them the "Twelve Malls of Christmas".

1. Fashion Center at Pentagon City - one of the nicest and my favorite

2. Ballston Common Mall - use to work close by but don't go there much anynore

3. Crystal City Shops - unique speciality stores

4. Tyson's Corner Center - big and every store you can think of, great for "power shopping"

5. Fair Oaks Mall - has great Christmas displays of zoo animals

6. Springfield Mall - has gone down hill over the years

7. Potomac Mills Mall - lots of discount "designer" stores but still has good merchandise

8. Old Town Alexandria - outside shopping in quaint specialty stores like days of old

9. Georgetown Park - beautifully decorated at Christmas in red and green

10. Landmark Mall - not as nice as it used to be, use to have a 60 foot Christmas tree

11. Union Station - unique and has the neatest electric train layput

12. Tyson's Galleria - window shopping only with expensive stores

Arenas Has 60 in Wiz Win

Gilbert Arenas got on quite a roll, putting up the most points in franchise history and more than anybody, except Wilt Chamberlain, has scored against the Lakers.

In a Kobe-like performance, Arenas had 60 points and outscored Los Angeles' Bryant by 15 Sunday night in the Washington Wizards' 147-141 overtime victory.

Arenas had 16 points in the 5-minute extra period, including 14 in a row for the Wizards during one stretch. His scoring total was the most against the Lakers in 40 years.

Asked how the Wizards' guard scored so many, Bryant said, "First of all, he shot 27 free throws. We as a team shot 30. Think about that." Bryant added, "Some of the shots he took tonight, you miss those, they're just terrible shots, just awful. You make them and they're unbelievable shots." Little sour grapes there Kobe?

Goodbye Tower Records

Tower Records is (and has been) "going out of business". I have been going to Tower Records for the past twenty years. It was a great place to go and "listen" to new releases on their "listening station". This was way before Napster, file-sharing and "streaming audio" on the internet. I can remember bying records(later CDs) having heard just one track of the album and then was so disappointed int he album I never listened to it again. But Tower Records allowed me to "preview" the CD before buyin it. I could(and would) spent hours in the store listening to new releases.

But, the internet(mainly) has brought Tower Records to an end. I wanted to make it to the store one last time to just say "good-bye" to an old friend. So, today I made the trip(I no longer pass right near the store as I did for most of those twenty years) to the nearest Tower Records. It was so sad to see all the bins so bare. I did not think I would find any bargains, since the store has been "selling everything" for the past two months, but I was plesantly surprised. Cds were selling at 85% off, so you can't expect much to be left at $2-4 a CD, but I found the following CDs:(And I got change back from my $20)

1. The Long Winters - Putting The Days To Bed 2006

2. Daniel Powter -Daniel Powter 2006

3. The Stills - Without Feathers 2006

4. Ray Lamontagne - Trouble 2004

5. As Tall As Lions - As Tall As Lions 2006

6. Augustana - All The Stars and Boulevards 2006

Getting Good Grades

Getting good grades in college these days is supposed to be easier than ever. But there are signs of grade deflation in the future. Princeton announced in spring 2005 that it planned to limit the number of A's awarded in any course to 35 percent of all grades, down from the old 50 percent rate in some courses. Other schools are talking tough about grades. Even in grade-inflated times, many students find that success in this part of the learning process is a mystery.

What is the secret? Experts say good time management, careful selection of courses, avoiding wasted effort and inquiring into what the professor really wants. Here are 10 ways to get college A's, as suggested by professors and former students who consider grade-grubbing an unfortunate label for the honorable effort to master the material. They say many of these methods will also work in a growing number of high school classes offered in the Washington region that aim for college-level rigor.

1. Go to class and take notes yourself.

2. Don't major in engineering.

3. Make a big event out of your most-feared academic tasks.

4. Speak to your professors frequently.

5. Don't shy from courses with lots of papers.

6. Study in an isolated place as early in the day as you can, and do a five- to 10-minute break every hour.

7. Use section meetings for more than getting to know attractive classmates.

8. Don't do all of your reading. This is the most shocking piece of advice. There are not enough hours in the day to cover all the reading that professors assign. Instead, focus on the reading that appears to be most important -- material written by sources the professor mentions often, material that makes an argument (crucial for exams) and material that can clear up points you find confusing in the lectures.

9. Before you start work on a paper, do the analysis in your head.

10. Let experts look at drafts of a major paper.

Suitland Is Maryland Football Champ

Suitland High School, Maryland trailed by three touchdowns one play into the second quarter. With less than seven minutes left, it was a two-touchdown margin and every time the Rams crept closer, it seemed a special teams miscue derailed them.

Somehow, though, Suitland found its way, completing the biggest comeback in Maryland championship game history. Quarterback Carlos Fields scored a game-tying touchdown on the final play of regulation and linebacker Travis McCain burst through the line of scrimmage to snuff out Sherwood's potential game-winning two-point conversion run in overtime as Suitland defeated Sherwood, 39-38, in the Maryland 4A title game Friday night at M&T Bank Stadium. in Baltimore.

"It's unbelievable," Rams Coach Nick Lynch said. "It's a miracle."

It was the second title in three years for Suitland (13-1), which lost its season opener before winning its final 13 games.

The Rams had watched the football-themed movie "Friday Night Lights" on the bus ride to the game, as Lynch tried to motivate his team. "You can make your own 'Friday Night Lights,' " he told them.

Katherine McPhee's Album

'American Idol' runner-up Katharine McPhee is eyeing a January 30 release for her RCA debut, tentatively titled 'Never Saw It Comin'. "It's rhythm pop," McPhee told Billboard. "It's not like really R&B or really poppy, but there are a couple of tracks that are really good for the 'American Idol' fans who voted for me and knew me as the 'Over the Rainbow' girl."

As for the significance of the tentative album title, she said, "I never saw this coming into my life as big as it did, and you never saw this kind of a record coming. You thought I was going to make a Streisand record."

Oops - Britney Spears

Her necklines have plunged, she's plying the all-night party circuit with new best pal, Paris Hilton, and she has even ditched her panties.

As if to prove, as she once sang, that she really is "not that innocent," newly separated pop star and mother of two, Britney Spears, is letting it all hang out - shocking her fans, causing concern among friends and making herself the butt of jokes on late-night TV.

"Girls Gone Wild!" Us Weekly magazine blared in its cover story this week, charting a manic two weeks in which Spears was seen gambling all night in Las Vegas, spent time nightclubbing and shopping with "celebutante" Hilton, and was photographed on several occasions climbing in and out of cars without panties.

The latest media frenzy over Spears comes two years after she put her recording career on hold for motherhood and three weeks after filing for divorce from husband Kevin Federline.

"Lately, I hear things and see things, and I'm just wondering, 'girl, what is up?' Please stop acting like someone you're not. Wear Underware!!" pleaded one longtime fan on Spears' Web site on Thursday.

Talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell, who has jokingly offered to adopt Spears and her two baby sons, on Thursday offered her a gift - a pair of red panties inscribed "No Peeking."

Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD

The fight between Blu-ray and HD-DVD, reminiscent of the 1980s battle between Betamax and VHS tape formats, isn't just vexing consumers. It's shaping up as a business disaster for movie studios, electronics companies and retailers that had counted on a robust holiday selling season for the fancy new players - which cost $500 to $1,000 - and movies to play in them.

Technology companies have divided into two warring camps, each backing one of the formats. Attempts to come up with a single format collapsed last year, so the two sides decided to duke it out in the marketplace. As they do, consumers are mostly staying on the sidelines, causing sales to fall far short of initial projections.

A winner could still emerge, but some experts say it's just as likely that consumers, fearful of buying an expensive player that will turn out to be worthless, will just say no to high-definition discs altogether. In the best case, analysts predict, the format war will go on for another year or so before a clear winner emerges, delaying an industry switchover to the improved discs.

Sony's PlayStation 3, released last week, doubles as a Blu-ray player, and Microsoft's Xbox 360, released last year, can play HD-DVDs with an accessory component. Sony expects to have shipped 2 million PS3s by the end of the year, trailing Microsoft's total shipments of 10 million Xbox 360s.

Movie studios Disney, Fox, Miramax and MGM have sided with Sony's Blu-ray technology; Universal and Warner Bros. have chosen to produce movies in Toshiba's HD-DVD format. Paramount and Warner Home Video are releasing movie titles in both formats, an expensive undertaking when consumers are reluctant to buy either. New Line Cinema has put off releasing titles on the new DVDs until next year.

New $1 President Coins

Can George Washington and Thomas Jefferson succeed where Susan B. Anthony and Sacajawea failed? The U.S. Mint is hoping America's presidents will win acceptance, finally, for the maligned dollar coin. The public will get the chance to decide starting in February when the first of the new coins, bearing the image of the first president, is introduced.

Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison are scheduled to grace the coin in 2007, with a different president appearing every three months.

The series will honor four different presidents per year, in the order they served in office. Each president will appear on only one coin, except for Grover Cleveland, who will be on two because he was the only president to serve nonconsecutive terms. To be depicted on a coin, a president must have been dead for at least two years

For the first time since 1932, the phrases " E pluribus unum" and "In God We Trust," the year and the mint markings all move to the edge of the coin, to free up more space on the face of the coin for the design - presidential visage on the front, Lady Liberty on the back - big and bold, gold and splashy. ...Read more about the coins here...>

Monday Morning Quarterback

A little Monday morning Quarterbacking.

First, the Washington Redskins(3-7) look lost as a team. I just never thought a Joe Gibb's team would look so bad. But, Jason Campbell is the quarterback of the future and he is going to be a good one.

The Maryland Terps(8-3) football team lost ugly to BC, but they can still have agreat season with a win at home against Wake Forest this Saturday and a shot at a good post-season Bowl Game.

Congrats to the Maryland Field Hockey team which repeated as National Champions with a 1-0 win over Wake Forest. Maryland, which finished the season 23-2, entered the game ranked No. 2 in the country but was facing the nation's top-ranked team on its home field. The Demon Deacons' only two losses this season were to the Terrapins; the first was a 3-2 decision on Sept. 23 in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest beat Maryland, 1-0, to win the ACC tournament championship two weeks ago.

Both Maryland basketball teams(men and women) are off to great starts(both at 5-0) and look good for the year. The women's team is ranked #1 in the country and has all five starters back from last year's National Championship.

And lastly, Alphonso Soriano is to leave the Washington Nationals for the Chicago Cubs for a $136 million contract. It's the fifth-largest contract in Major Leagues Baseball history. In his only season with the Nationals, Soriano hit .277 with 46 home runs and 95 RBIs. He became the first member of the 40-40-40 (home runs, steals and doubles) club. Soriano balked at the idea. After he returned from the World Baseball Classic and missed a Spring Training game against the Dodgers on March 20, Soriano faced the possibility of being put on the disqualified list and losing his $10 million salary. But after an off-day, Soriano decided to play left field. The move worked out well for Soriano and the Nationals, as he led the Major Leagues in outfield assists with 22 and was the National League's starting left fielder in the All-Star Game.

Times Top 100 Albums

Time magazine has made a list of the Top 100 albums. The list is aranged by decades and not in numerical order. Makes for some interesting discussion and comments.

"So here's how we chose the albums for the All-TIME 100. We researched and listened and agonized until we had a list of the greatest and most influential records ever - and then everyone complained because there was no Pink Floyd on it. And that's exactly how it should be. We hope you'll treat the All-TIME 100 as a great musical parlor game. Read and listen to the arguments for the selections, then tell us what we missed or got wrong. Or even possibly what we got right". ...Read here for article and list

Terps Beat Miami, 14-13

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Sam Hollenbach connected with Darrius Heyward-Bey twice, including a school-record 96-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, as the No. 23 Maryland Terrapins outlasted the Miami Hurricanes tonight, 14-13.

The Terps (8-2, 5-1 ACC) earned at least a share of the ACC Atlantic Division lead, pending the outcome of the Wake Forest-Florida State game later this evening. Miami falls to 5-5, 2-4 in the conference.

With the win tonight, Maryland becomes the first team in 21 seasons to defeat both the Hurricanes and the Florida State Seminoles in the same year, a feat last accomplished by the Florida Gators in 1985.

Despite only recording six first downs, the Terps staked an early 14-0 lead and the defense prevailed, with a key interception by Trey Covington on the Hurricanes' final drive. Although Miami would force a punt, Isaih Gardner swooped in to cause Bruce Johnson's fumble, which was recovered to seal the victory, Maryland's fifth in a row.

Hollenbach, who threw for over 200 yards for the second straight game, finished with 202 yards on 11-of-16 passing. Heyward-Bey eclipsed the century mark in receiving yards for the second time in his career, with five catches for 175 yards.

The duo connected on the Terps' then-longest play of the season, a 65-yard strike for the opening touchdown with 11:45 remaining in the first quarter. It was the first time Maryland had scored a touchdown on its opening possession since Middle Tennessee on September 9. Overall, the Terps are 6-0 when scoring first this season.

However, they eclipsed both the season and all-time marks with the 96-yarder down the right sideline in the second quarter. The play broke the previous record of 92 yards (Stan Levine to Ed Bolton vs. South Carolina), a mark that stood for 57 seasons. In addition, it was the longest play ever given up by the Miami defense in that school's history. ...For more on the Terps go here...

Veterans Day and the Marine Museum

Open to the public on 13 November 2006, the National Museum of the Marine Corps is a lasting tribute to U.S. Marines -- past, present, and future.

Situated on a 135-acre site adjacent to the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, the Museum's soaring design evokes the image of the flag-raisers of Iwo Jima and beckons visitors to its 118,000-square-foot structure.

World-class interactive exhibits using the most innovative technology will surround visitors with irreplaceable artifacts and immerse them in the sights and sounds of Marines in action.

From the Interstate 95 highway, the National Museum of the Marine Corps beckons to visitors, its 210-foot-tall steel spire cutting through the sky, evoking the historic flag-raising at Iwo Jima.

The $90 million facility features a fast-track timeline on the Marines, exhibits on World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and an area dedicated to what it is like to ship off to boot camp to become a Marine.

Terps and Redskins Win on Last Play

Maryland Beats Clemson 13-12

Dan Ennis kicked a 31-yard field goal as time ran out, lifting the Terps to a 13-12 victory Saturday over No. 19 Clemson and extending their winning streak to four games. Maryland (7-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) remained very much in the hunt in what's become a crazy conference championship chase.

This time, it looked like Friedgen and the Terps would leave disappointed. Clemson overcame a sluggish performance with a fourth-quarter rally -- thanks to a key reversed call from the replay booth -- that led to Jad Dean's fourth field goal and a 12-10 Tiger lead with 2:25 left.

But Sam Hollenbach drove Maryland 54 yards to Clemson's 12 -- converting a fourth-and-inches with his sneak -- to set up Ennis' game winner. "We've been in that situation before at practice," Hollenbach said. "We just tried to do what we did a hundred times before."

The Terps jumped and hugged Ennis in celebration. "I thought Dan was going to be sick, so I thought I'd talk to him later," Hollenbach said, smiling. Hollenbach led the Terps, completing 23 of 34 passes for 247 yards. ...Read more on Terp win here...

Redskins Beat Cowboys 22-19

Joe Gibbs watched his Washington Redskins go from blowing a chance for a last-minute victory over the Dallas Cowboys to preventing a last-minute loss to, somehow, pulling out a win with no time left on the clock.

"Gosh," the Hall of Fame coach said, "I don't know if I've experienced anything like that."

In a finish as crazy as they come, Washington's Nick Novak got two chances to try a winning field goal, missing the first from 49 yards with 31 seconds to go before barely making the second, a 47-yarder after time expired that lifted the Redskins past the Cowboys 22-19 on Sunday.

"It's a short walk from the outhouse to the penthouse," (Maryland Terp)Novak said. "This is what a kicker dreams about. There are ups and downs, and this was the up." ..Read more on Redskin win here...

Happy Halloween!!!

Studio 60

I like the new TV show "Studio 60". I Think it is one of the best shows on TV this season. Unfortunately, most viewers and some critics don't agree. The show has not done well in the ratings and has lost viewers instead of gaining new viewers.

I have always enjoyed the writing of Aaron Sorkin, especially the "West Wing". I just hope this show can be "saved", so I can enjoy his writing for a few more seasons.

I do agree with some of the "changes" suggested in both of these articles on "Studio 60" and what needs to be done to make the show have a continued life. ...Read a USAToday article... and ...Read another opinion from Slate...

A Few Thoughts Today

Just a few thoughts. First, I am glad that neither New York baseball team made it to the World Series this year, after all that talk about a "subway series" in September.

Second, I can't beleive all those stories about my favorite Beatle, Paul McCartney, regarding his divorce with second wife, Heather Mills. Drinking and drugs, maybe. But not the physical abuse - just don't beleive that.

And thirdly, I can't beleive that a lot of schools are prohibiting kids from playing tag during recess anymore. What are they suspose to do during recess - take a smoke break? What is the world coming to?

Frese Nike's Coach of Year

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland's national champion women's basketball coach Brenda Frese was recently named Nike's Coach of the Year, the corporation recently announced. As part of the award, Nike will make a donation of $10,000 to the Jimmy V Foundation on behalf of Frese.

Frese was presented with the honor last weekend in Cleveland, Ohio, at the Nike Coaches Clinic, Oct. 6-8, 2006. Frese led the Maryland Terrapins to the program's first-ever national championship in 2006 in just her fourth season at the helm in College Park. The Terps, who had no seniors in the starting lineup, defeated Duke, 78-75, in overtime in Boston to claim the title. Along the way, the team defeated two No. 1 seeds, including North Carolina, who had been the consensus favorite to win the crown, and the Blue Devils. Maryland ended the season with a 34-4 record, the most wins in school history.

Frese has been regarded one of the profession's top recruiting coaches, signing four-straight top 10 classes, including the No. 2 and No. 4 classes in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Six former high school All-Americans are currently on the 2006-07 roster. Among those All-Americans are three-time All-ACC performer Shay Doron, All-American Crystal Langhorne and ACC Rookie of the Year Marissa Coleman.

The Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research was founded by the late Jim Valvano and ESPN in 1993. The foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to saving lives by helping to fund a cure for cancer.

Maryland returns its top eight scorers from last season's championship squad, as well as 98 percent of the offense and 95 percent of its rebounding. The team officially started the basketball season with Maryland Madness on Friday, Oct. 13. Maryland plays its only exhibition game of the season on Thursday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. against LTL All-Stars. The Terps then open the regular season at Middle Tennessee State on Friday, Nov. 10, before returning to College Park for the home opener on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. against George Mason.

Air Force Memorial

The dedication of the nation's newest memorial, the U.S. Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va., will begin the service's 60th Anniversary Commemoration, "From Heritage to Horizons - Commemorating 60 Years of Air & Space Power," on Oct. 14.

The Memorial, composed of three bold and graceful spires soaring skyward to a height of 270 feet, will be dedicated and given to the nation by the Air Force Memorial Foundation at an official ceremony Oct. 14 at 1:30 p.m. on the 3-acre promontory adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery and a short walk from the Pentagon.

The Memorial honors the millions of men and women who have served in the U.S. Air Force and its predecessor organizations, including the U.S. Signal Corps, the Army Air Corps and the Army Air Forces. It pays tribute to the dedication, sacrifice and contributions of those who pioneered the skies, those who shape the air, space and cyberspace victories of today, and those who will continue to do so in the future. ...Go here for more on the memorial...

100 Fearless Forecasts

PC World lists "100 Fearless Forecasts". I picked my "Top 10" from their list of 100. These are the 10 things I look forward to.

Superfast Boot-Ups Adding flash memory to the motherboard could lead to PCs that boot up and load applications more quickly. We expect to see systems with such technology in 2007.

The Day That Gigabytes Become Passé In 2007 you'll be able to buy 1 Tera-byte hard disk drives says Bill Healy of Hitachi. Drives will grow to 2 terabytes by the end of 2009, and to an immense 8 terabytes by the end of 2013.

Memory That Doesn't Forget Your existing PC memory gets amnesia when the system power goes off, but NRAM (nanotube nonvolatile RAM) remembers everything, and is as fast as modern memory. With NRAM, your PC could turn on and off immediately, dispensing with all of its tedious booting up and shutting down.

50-Terabyte DVDs Researchers at Harvard Medical School have produced a prototype of a light-sensitive coating that they believe will eventually store up to 50 terabytes on a DVD-size disc. NEC, which has been codeveloping the technology, hopes to have a USB thumb-drive version a year from now, and a DVD-size disc a year after that.

Quad-Core Processors Dual-core processors have given PCs a big speed boost, but the advances won't stop there. Quad-core systems from Intel will arrive before the end of the year, and AMD's quad-core chips will hit the market in mid-2007.

An Entire MP3 Collection on a Flash Player The capacity of MP3 players that use flash memory keeps on growing: Apple and Sandisk now have 8MB models. We're looking forward to a small flash MP3 player with enough capacity to hold an entire music collection. About 30MB, say, would do nicely

TVs Out of Thin Air The Helio display can create a TV out of nowhere, projecting an image onto a curtain of compressed air. Right now it is prohibitively expensive (around $20,000), but the price will fall as the technology matures.

WiMax in the Wild The wireless technology WiMax has been "coming soon" for some time, but it looks like it's finally here: Sprint is using it as the basis for the Fourth Generation Wireless data network(4G). Let's hope the other cell phone networks follow Sprint's lead and roll out similar services.

Fiber Everywhere Fiber-optic broadband service is currently available in 17 states, providing up to 50-megabits-per-second downloads and 5-mbps uploads to the lucky few subscribers who happen to have access. But companies such as Verizon are continuing to pull more and more fiber, and the latest equipment could enable even faster access. How does 200 mbps down/20 mbps up sound to you?

Thousands of Photos on One Memory Card New technologies (such as the experimental atomic force probe tip technology that companies like Nanochip are working on) can store tens of gigabits on a single chip. It's a few years away from being ready, but one day your digital camera's memory card could hold thousands of images, not hundreds. ...Read the entire list of 100 here...

New Washington Baseball Park

Well, at least the construction of the new Washington DC baseball park is officially under way in southwest Washington D.C.

Still can't tell it is going to be a baseball stadium, but we will keep checking on the development over the next two years it is going to take to build it.

Washington Nationals Tribute

Well the Washington Nationals baseball season is over and I didn't post one thing about the team this entire season. Maybe it is because the team just never jelled this year or "made a run" like last year's team did. The team strated bad anf finished bad. There were some outstanding stretches of games along the way and some great player stories. I would be remiss, if I did not acknowledge the great year Alfonso Soriano had. The guy came here as an All-Star second baseman but was "forced" to play left field against his wish.

So what did he do? He became a good left fielder and an All-Star at that position, also. He had 22 outfield assists which were the most in the entire Major League. He also became only the fourth player in the history of Major League baseball to hit at least 40 home runs(he actually had 46) and have at least 40 stolen bases(41). Soriano also became the first player to ever have more than 40 home runs, 40 stolen bases and 40 doubles in a single season. Since Soriano is a free agent this may have been his only year with Washington - but what a year it was!!! I just hope we can find the money to sign him for next year.

The other player that had a remarkable season was "rookie of the year candidate" Ryan Zimmerman. All he did was hit .286, hit 20 home runs, and drive in 110 runs. This is a great seson for anyone, but for a 20 year "rookie" it was amazing. He had several "walk-off" game winning hits, and he led the Major Leagues in total game winning hits. Zimmerman was also an outstanding third baseman, and he made some unbeleivable plays during the season, drawing comparisons to Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson, who many consider the best ever to play thrid base.

And last, it would not be right if I didn't give a big "hat off" to manager Frank Robinson. At 70, Frank still had "fire in his eyes" and got the best out of this team. The team was picked to finish last, as it did, but the team never gave up and played good and exciting baseball most of the two seasons he managed the Washington Nationals. He never had a "level playing field" to play on, and it is a shame he won't get a chance to manage the team next year when the team will have a full year with "real" ownership and a "real" budget. I hope the team keeps him in some capacity next year. Good luck Frank Robinson and thanks!!!

One Red Paperclip

One year and two months ago, blogger Kyle McDonald had a single red paper clip. With this paper clip, he would trade for bigger and better items, and track his progress on his blog (oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com).

Last July, in exchange for a movie role, McDonald became the newest occupant of a two-story home in Kipling, Saskatchewan, Canada. His success elicited admiration and disbelief, but most frequently: "Why didn't I think of that?" Read his Blog here...

Best Value Colleges

The new figures are in, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill once again leads Kiplinger's list of the best values in public colleges. Even though costs at some of the nation's top schools increased by more than 8% for the 2006-07 school year, you can still get an excellent education for less than $10,000 per year. And you have many great colleges from which to choose.

In our exclusive survey, we identified the 50 public colleges that combine high-quality academics and affordable costs. We first rated the schools based on several measures of academic criteria, such as percentage of 2005-06 freshmen scoring 600 or higher on the verbal and math components of the SAT or scoring 24 or higher on the ACT, admission rates, freshman retention rates, student-faculty ratios, and four- and six-year graduation rates.

Virginia schools had an excellent representation with the following:

3) University of Virginia

4)College of William and Mary

17)James Madison University

18)University of Maryland

20)Virginia Tech.

22)University of Mary Washington Read more here...

Hecht's Becomes Macy's

Every morning for the past few months, when the lights have flicked on at Hecht's in Metro Center, the store has looked a little bit different -- a little bit more like Macy's. Sometimes the changes have been small, such as new mattresses for the bedding displays or shiny new wood-and-chrome fixtures. Other times walls have been demolished. On a recent morning, mannequins were outfitted in Macy's latest back-to-school styles to kick off the season's promotions

Today, the transformation will be complete. When stores open this morning, the Hecht's nameplate, along with those of several other regional brands formerly owned by May Department Store Co., will have been replaced by Macy's, part of a plan to create a new national department store chain.

The changeover marks the end of an era in Washington retailing, with Hecht's following local icons Garfinckel's, Woodward & Lothrop and Hechinger's into the history books. "I think there's nostalgia from everybody," Kinton said. "We're sorry to see it go."

The bell began to toll for Hecht's a year ago, when Macy's parent company, Federated Department Stores Inc., acquired the May company in an $11 billion deal that changed the face of U.S. retailing. May owned several big-name regional department store chains with strong local ties, including Hecht's, Marshall Field's in Chicago and Filene's in Boston. Federated is converting more than 400 May stores into Macy's, while a handful will become Bloomingdale's.

In Washington, all but one Hecht's store has been renamed Macy's. The company is planning ribbon-cutting ceremonies and promotions at all local stores, along with special events at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The freestanding Hecht's store under construction in Chevy Chase will become a Bloomingdale's.

Perhaps no other store in the Washington area embodied Hecht's more than the one downtown. The chain was founded in 1857 by Samuel Hecht, a Baltimore furniture store owner. The downtown store opened on Seventh street in 1896, not the first but the most prominent Hecht's in the Washington area.

In 1985, it moved to its current $40 million marble-and granite location at Metro Center, helping to lead the East End renaissance.

The store is now Macy's flagship in the Washington area. It houses the chain's only Bobbi Brown cosmetics counter in the region and remains the only department store in downtown Washington.

While Hecht's and other May properties relied on coupons to drive sales, Macy's focus is on fashion. Aisles have been cleared and fixtures upgraded. Mannequins are staged on "runways," and jeans are displayed hung, not folded. Employees in Macy's East division must wear all black, an effort to cultivate a chic image and to make them easy to identify.

During one morning rally at Metro Center, a team manager gave associates a rundown of looks for men from Macy's private labels. There was a black zippered jacket and woven shirt from Alfani for "Jack," the neotraditional customer. Contemporary "Eric" might like the tan suit and rumpled lime green shirt by INC, while traditional "Ken" would go for Charter Club's red button-down shirt and striped suit.

Lori Evans, group sales manager for jewelry at Metro Center who has worked at Hecht's for 28 years, said her merchandise has gotten more expensive. The glass cases now display Gucci watches and diamonds. It's been a big culture shock for me learning about the higher end of the merchandise," she said.

Macy's hopes the strategy will reenergize the department store sector, which has been squeezed between specialty retailers and big-box discounters. Hecht's in particular struggled to find a niche, burdened by middle-of-the-road merchandise and customers who had grown used to perpetual discounting. Read more here...

Pretty In Black

"I Feel Pretty", the Nike commercial featuring Maria Sharapova has certainly come true. Wearing a glittery black outfilt that looked more like a cocktail dress rather than a tennis outfilt, the third-seeded Sharapova beat No. 2 Justine Henin-Hardenne 6-4, 6-4 in the U.S. Open final Saturday to add a follow-up championship to her breakthrough title at Wimbledon in 2004.

Sharapova began the U.S. Open with as much buzz about her sponsorships as her strokes, as much talk about her getups as her game. She's long insisted she's more about substance than style, though, and now she owns a second Grand Slam title to prove it.

After wiining the match, Maria ran into the stands to hug her father, Uri, who was wearing a a "I Feel Pretty - Relaxed" tee shirt. Maria then called her mom with a cell phone while waiting for the trophy ceremony, Sharapova leaned forward in her chair and said, "This is crazy!"

During her comments to the crowd, Sharapova thanked Billie Jean King for her work for women in tennis, including for equal prize money. Sharapova earned $1.7 million with her victory, although she makes far more from endorsement deals than prize money.

Clearly, she finds more gratification in trophies. "You can't buy a Grand Slam title, you know?" Sharapova said. "You can't buy it."

Back in Black

Maria Sharapova wearing black at the 2006 U.S. Open.

Rainy Days

Longest Commute

Residents of Washington's outer suburbs endure some of the nation's longest commutes, according to a U.S. Census survey released yesterday that also showed clogged roads and high gasoline prices are pushing a growing number of people onto mass transit.

The region's average commute is more than 33 minutes one way, ranking second to the New York area's 34 minutes among large metropolitan regions. In Calvert, Prince William and Stafford counties, however, the average journey to work takes 40 minutes or more, according to the 2005 American Community Survey of households.

These long commutes are fueled by new housing popping up rapidly in the region's outer fringes, where most residents travel to counties closer to the District to work, transportation experts say. Pushing up the numbers is the region's high employment level, which includes the parents of the vast majority of the region's preschoolers. The region also ranks high in the share of people who commute outside their home county, as more than half do.

As roads have jammed and fuel prices have soared, thousands of people have switched from cars to public transportation, the survey figures indicate.

The Washington area, where 13 percent of workers get to their jobs by bus or rail, ranks behind only New York and San Francisco in use of mass transit. The region has zoomed past Boston and Chicago since the 2000 Census. Two-thirds of workers still drive to their jobs alone, but that share appears to have leveled off since 2000. The popularity of carpools continues to fade. Read more here...

Dylan Says CDs are "Atrocious"

From Reuters:

Bob Dylan says the quality of modern recordings is "atrocious," and even the songs on his new album sounded much better in the studio than on disc. "I don't know anybody who's made a record that sounds decent in the past 20 years, really," the 65-year-old rocker said in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

Dylan, who released eight studio albums in the past two decades, returns with his first recording in five years, "Modern Times," next Tuesday. Noting the music industry's complaints that illegal downloading means people are getting their music for free, he said, "Well, why not? It ain't worth nothing anyway."

"You listen to these modern records, they're atrocious, they have sound all over them," he added. "There's no definition of nothing, no vocal, no nothing, just like ... static." Dylan said he does his best to fight technology, but it's a losing battle.

"Even these songs probably sounded ten times better in the studio when we recorded 'em. CDs are small. There's no stature to it."

Tower Records In Trouble?

The 89-store Tower chain -- like nearly every other specialty music retailer -- has experienced big setbacks recently. Just two years ago, the company went through a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing...

Tower Records is an anomaly: In an industry almost entirely dominated by mall operations (both specialized entertainment shops and mass merchants), it's the last free-standing deep-catalog chain. Over the course of its 46-year history, it became known as the place to go for the erudite record shopper. In its heyday, it was a pure reflection of the taste and intelligence of its founder Russ Solomon...

Those indie retailers recognized that if Tower goes away -- and that is a distinct possibility -- it will be one more gloomy signal to the American consumer, who knows the Tower brand better than any competing retail logo, that the music business as we know it is over. And that's bad news for everybody... ...Read article here...

How Baseball Cards Lost Their Luster

Last month, when my parents sold the house I grew up in, my mom forced me to come home and clear out my childhood bedroom. I opened the closet and found a box the size of a Jetta. It was so heavy that at first I thought it held my Weider dumbbells from middle school. Nope, this was my old stash.

Thousands, if not tens of thousands, of baseball cards from the 1980s. Puckett, Henderson, Sandberg, Gwynn, and McGwire stared back at me with fresh faces. So long, old friends, I thought. It's time for me to cash in on these long-held investments. I started calling the lucky card dealers who would soon be bidding on my trove.

First, I got a couple of disconnected numbers for now-defunct card shops. Not a good sign. Then I finally reached a human. "Those cards aren't worth anything," he told me, declining to look at them.

"Maybe if you had, like, 20 McGwire rookie cards, that's something we might be interested in," another offered. ...Read more here

Is Exxon Worth $3.00 a Gallon?

Exxon reported a profit of $10.36 billion for the second three months of the year, or $1.72 per share, up from $7.64 billion, or $1.20 per share, a year ago. Analysts polled by Reuters Estimates forecast a second-quarter profit of $1.64 per share.

The earnings were shy of Exxon's own record quarterly profit of $10.71 billion in the fourth quarter of 2005.

Putting it into perspective, Exxon earned $114 million per day in the second quarter. That's $79,000 per minute or $1,300 per second.

Lance Who??

American Floyd Landis was crowned Tour de France champion after Sunday's parade on the Champs-Elysees ended in a sprint won by Norway's Thor Hushovd. Landis sealed his victory having finished third in Saturday's time trial, beating his closest rivals to succeed compatriot Lance Armstrong in the race's roll of honor.

Landis, who will undergo hip surgery within the next two months, said: "My next goal is to come back here. Yes, that's the plan."

Bikini is 60

The must-have of every woman's summer wardrobe has just turned 60 -- and it has never looked so young and hip, or been as popular. It was not always so.

Invented by French automotive engineer Louis Reard, the swimsuit that took its name from the site of a nuclear test was a big bomb at first, though it eventually became the navel-bearing fashion that launched the careers of Ursula Andress, Bo Derek and Melanie Griffith.

But in 1946, even fashionable, daring Paris was shocked when Reard brought out a range of two-piece swimsuits.

"My bikini is smaller than the smallest swimsuit," he proudly declared.

Reard named his line after the Pacific atoll where the U.S. had just carried out its first peacetime nuclear test, figuring he'd set off a nuclear-sized buzz. Nude dancer Micheline Bernardini became the fashion's first model.

Elisha Cuthbert looking good in her bikini.

Who Needs Snow?

Ski Resorts Get Creative to Fill the Summer Slopes.

Ryan Locher, who has the enviable title of "mountain manager" at Virginia's Bryce Resort, was in Italy for an international grass-skiing championship when he saw pictures of a coming attraction: a snow-tubing ride that required no snow. Instead, the Italian system replaces the cold stuff with a long chute of molded plastic that is draped down a mountainside. Riders are pulled up the mountain in inner tubes by the same tow used for snow tubing, but once they get to the top, they barrel down the chute's fake grass.

"I gotta have a few of those," Locher thought. Last year, three of them arrived at Bryce -- the first ever in the United States, so far as Locher knows. Then the mountain manager at nearby Massanutten Resort got a look at them, and late this spring, they arrived on Massanutten Mountain.

It's all part of the never-ending quest -- from tubing on plastic to lifts that carry mountain bikes -- to bring you to area ski resorts long before, and long after, the ski season.

"The ski resort business is changing," explains Deanna Painter, a spokeswoman for Pennsylvania's Liberty Mountain Resort. "It's very costly to have a lot of land and a big facility, and there has to be a way to attract people all year long."

Thus the inventions: skiing on grass with tank treads attached to your boots; tobogganing on wheeled sleds; zooming down the mountain on a device that's a cross between a snowboard and in-line skates. And now, the latest, tubing down the mountain.

One of the off-season offerings at area ski resorts with summer lodging rates, is Massanutten Resort (1822 Resort Dr., Massanutten, Va., about 130 miles from Washington, 540-289-9441, Massanutten Resort holds numerous special events. Two 18-hole golf courses and a water park are the biggest and most obvious attractions. The resort also arranges rafting and tubing trips on a nearby river, and has a miniature golf course; tennis, basketball and volleyball courts; a skate park; chairlift rides; and horseback riding.

A wide range of classes is offered, including arts and crafts, yoga, couples massage and a healing herbs workshop. The mountain tubing ride is open only during the week. Double rooms begin at $96 a night. Condominiums are also available.

Another is Bryce Resort (1982 Fairway Dr., Basye, Va., about 115 miles from Washington, 800-821-1444, Bryce Resort offers swimming, boating and fishing on a 45-acre private lake and is a center for grass skiing -- you wear regular ski boots and use regular poles but attach something similar to tank treads to your boots.

Ski slopes are also used off-season for mountain boarding -- a cross between snowboarding and skateboarding -- and the resort claims to have the first mountain tubing park in the United States. (One of the tubing slides has banked curves, making a more exciting ride than a straight path down the slope.)

Among numerous other outdoor adventures: horseback riding, miniature golf, tennis and summer sports camps. Condos, townhouses and chalets are rented for a minimum of two nights by private agencies listed at the Bryce Web site and begin at $210 for two nights. ...Read more here

What Cola Wars

Coca-Cola and Pepsi are usually bitter enemies, but when PepsiCo Inc. got a letter offering to sell Coke trade secrets, it went straight to its corporate rival.

Six weeks later, three people face federal charges of stealing confidential information, including a sample of a new drink, from The Coca-Cola Co. and trying to sell it to PepsiCo Inc.

“Competition can sometimes be fierce, but also must be fair and legal,” Pepsi spokesman Dave DeCecco said. “We’re pleased the authorities and the FBI have identified the people responsible for this.”

Coke thanked Pepsi for its assistance. ...Read more here

Happy 4th of July!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Rain, Rain Go Away II

First it was Boston that had a record-setting rainfall over a four-day period(see my May 16 post). Now it's Washington DC with a record-setting rainfall. Maybe it is time to build that Ark!!!

From Friday morning through yesterday morning, 12.11 inches of rain fell at Reagan National Airport, according to unofficial tabulations.

"This amount of rain in four days should occur once every 200 years, and we just lived through it," said Jim Lee, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service. Forecasters warned that an additional couple of inches of rain would lead to even more severe flooding, debris and damage.

June will end being the second wetest month ever in Washington DC.

Iraq War Longer Than Most

The Iraq War has now lasted longer than the Korean War, War of 1812, Mexican War and World War I. The length of this war will pass both World War II and the Civil War if it continues into next year. The attached chart is from The Washington Post.

Motorola Q Is Top Must Have

According to CNET, the Motorola Q smartphone is the number one "Must have" gadget on their current top 10 list.

It runs Windows Mobile 5. It boasts a 1.3-megapixel camera. It's an on-the-go multimedia/productivity champ, with EV-DO support, solid call quality, a full keyboard, and Bluetooth. We only wish it did Wi-Fi.

Also on the top 10 list with the Motorola Q smartphone, are the TIVO series 2 video recorder, Slingbox, Sony PSP and Microsoft Xbox 360. For the complete list and specs on all go here

Zimmerman's Walk-off Home Run

Ryan Zimmerman hit his first career walk-off home run over the left-field wall to complete the come-from-behind victory over the New York Yankees 3-2, in front of a sellout crowd of 45,157 fans. It was the largest single-game crowd in RFK history. And the Nationals took 2 of 3 from the Yankees, which also included a 7 run comeback win the night before.

How ecstatic was Zimmerman? He took a page from Red Sox first baseman David Ortiz and flipped his helmet into the air after he rounded third base. The Nationals were like college kids as they mobbed the man they call Zim at home plate.

After touching home plate and being mobbed by his teammates, Zimmerman went in the dugout ready to go into the locker room, but some fans were hanging on top of the Nationals dugout asking him to come out for a curtain call. Four of his teammates, including catcher Brian Schneider, then told him to go out of the dugout. Zimmerman did just that. The crowd cheered and Zimmerman threw his batting gloves into the stands.

"It was fun. The fans here are great and the atmosphere this weekend was awesome. It was great to be a part of it," Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman, 21, is a legitimate National League Rookie of the Year candidate. He is on pace to hit 23 home runs with 108 RBIs this season and is currently batting .286. Go here to see a clip of Zimmerman's homerun

Ipods Better Than Beer

Move over Bud. College life isn't just about drinking beer. In a rare instance, Apple Computer Inc.'s iconic iPod music player surpassed beer drinking as the most "in" thing among undergraduate college students, according to the latest biannual market research study by Ridgewood, N.J.-based Student Monitor.

Nearly three quarters, or 73 percent, of 1,200 students surveyed said iPods were "in" -- more than any other item in a list that also included text messaging, bar hopping and downloading music.

This year, drinking beer and Facebook.com, a social networking Web site, were tied for second most popular, with 71 percent of the students identifying them as "in."

The only other time beer was temporarily dethroned in the 18 years of the survey was in 1997 -- by the Internet, said Eric Weil, a managing partner at Student Monitor.

World Cup 2006

It's World Cup time. Go USA!!!!!

The U.S. is in its fifth consecutive World Cup, and the expectations placed upon this squad have evolved greatly from the nonexistent ones for a team of college stars and players on low-level club teams that stunningly qualified in 1990.

The Americans enter this World Cup confident in their abilities to compete - and defeat - the best teams in the world, led by striker Landon Donovan, who has readily accepted the role as his team's offensive focal point.

But the Americans face a stern challenge in simply getting the opportunity to reach the knockout round as they open play Monday in Group E against the Czech Republic in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. For everything on the World Cup

'Kat' Gets Record Deal

Being the "American Idol" runner-up has its rewards, too. Katharine McPhee, who lost out to Taylor Hicks in the top-rated Fox show's finale two weeks ago, has signed a record deal with music mogul Clive Davis in conjunction with 19 Recordings Unlimited, the label managed by "Idol" creator Simon Fuller, it was announced Tuesday.

The 22-year-old California native's recording of two songs — "Over the Rainbow" and "My Destiny" — will be released in stores and through digital outlets on June 27.

Sharapova Advances at French Open

Maria Sharapova advanced to the fourth round of The French Open by beating Alicia Molik 6-0, 7-5.

Maria is currently seeded fourth in the World.

Madonna Back On Tour

Madonna launched her first world tour in two years last Sunday, delighting an enthusiastic Los Angeles crowd by hanging herself from a cross, insulting President George Bush and dusting off some of the sexy moves that have sustained her career for more than 20 years. The 47-year-old dance diva spent two hours churning out most of the tunes from her new album, "Confessions on a Dancefloor," as well as a few old hits such as "Like a Virgin," "Ray of Light" and "Lucky Star."

The meticulously choreographed Vegas-style routine began 50 minutes late when a giant mirror ball was lowered from the ceiling to the end of a catwalk stretching deep into the floor. Out popped Madonna, in S&M-styled riding gear and whip, singing the new tune "Future Lovers" as four bare-breasted male dancers writhed around with ball gags in their mouths.

Later on, she donned a crown of thorns and suspended herself from a giant mirrored cross to deliver the ballad "Live to Tell." Video screens showed images of third-world poverty and reeled off grim statistics. A disco segment near the end, where she dressed in a "Saturday Night Fever"-style white suit to perform "Music" thrilled the crowd, as did the "Like a Virgin" routine, when she climbed aboard a carousel-style black leather saddle.

There was no encore, and the lights came up as soon as she had completed a medley of "Lucky Star" and latest hit single "Hung Up" while sporting an illuminated white cape with "Dancing Queen" embroidered on the back.

'Kat' Has Bright Future

“McPheever” wasn’t enough to carry hometown girl Katharine McPhee to victory on “American Idol,” but fans predicted she would end up a winner in the music industry.

“It’s gonna happen. Everything that she dreamed or wanted is going to happen,” said Leesa Bellesi, a dance instructor and writer from Laguna Beach. “She’s going to be the next Clay Aiken,” said Stephanie Miranda, a bartender from Covina wearing a “Got McPheever?” T-shirt. ...Read more here

"The Da Vinci Code" Opens Big

Moviegoers gave their blessing to the "The Da Vinci Code" over the weekend, spending an estimated $77 million to see the Tom Hanks religious thriller.

While the film didn't set a domestic box office record, it was the largest weekend opening of the year so far and became the second largest worldwide release after "Star Wars: Episode III." It garnered some $224 million worldwide, according to Sony Pictures. The film also was the best domestic opening for both Hanks and director Ron Howard.

Sony Pictures took a risk in the marketing of "The Da Vinci Code," keeping the adaptation of the Dan Brown best-seller under wraps until a few days before its opening.

The film received mixed reviews and protesters picketed outside a number of theaters, upset over the story's suggestion that Jesus Christ was married and had a child. But the controversy did little to deter moviegoers, who packed theaters in almost every country the film debuted.

Book "Cerfing" the Web

It's odd to hear Vinton Cerf, regarded as one of the founding fathers of the Internet, to gush over ink-on-paper books.

The electronic pioneer and computer scientist, who now works as Google's chief Internet evangelist, is also a bibliophile who has a collection of about 10,000 hard-copy volumes lining shelves at his home in McLean.

These days, Cerf is busy promoting Google's plan to marry his two passions -- books and the Internet -- by digitizing millions of library books.

That's the stated goal of Google's library project, to create a massive electronic card catalog that will help people find information in published books, much as Google already does with Web pages. ...Read more here

Rain, Rain Go Away

Storm-weary New England residents waded out into a fifth day of rain Tuesday as the region's dams kept a tenuous hold against cresting rivers and evacuees wondered what remained of their homes after water filled their basements and surged over some rooftops.

It seemed almost Biblical," Gov. Mitt Romney said Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America." "We're sort of making jokes about Noah and taking two of each kind of animal because we haven't ever seen rain like this."

A prolonged rainstorm clobbered the region all weekend, dumping up to 17 inches along the coast north of Boston. With more rain and possible thunderstorms expected at least through Wednesday, weather records are likely to fall, forecasters said.

"This is a serious, dangerous weather event that probably in more than 100 years of recorded weather will enter into the top five of serious, dangerous events in terms of precipitation," said meteorologist Charlie Foley of the National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass. "What we have here is too much water in too short a time."

Sunday, more than 5,000 graduates from 17 schools and thousands of their guests attended the Boston University 2006 commencement. University staff passed out plastic rain ponchos to graduates and guests, many of whom had filed into the field under umbrellas, creating a colorful canopy. Sunday also made for a horrilble day to celebrate "Mother's Day".

Pink Bats

Major League Baseball granted special permission for players to use the colorful bats - baby pink, at that - for Mother's Day. They're part of a weeklong program to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Derek Jeter, David Eckstein and Marcus Giles are among dozens of players who intend to try them Sunday. This is the first time pink has been approved for bats - dyed at the Louisville Slugger factory, they're usually black, brown, reddish or white.

What a great way to show support on Mother's Day. Kudos to Major League Baseball!!!

Rolling Stone's 1000th

Congratulations to "Rolling Stone" magazine and their 1000th issue. The best magazine on music available and has been around since 1967. The magazine covers have gotten most of the attention over the years, but the magazine itself is a great read.

Stop by the Rolling Stone web site and see the magazine covers thru the years and which covers the readers have selected as the best....For more Rolling Stone go here

Washington Nationals Have An Owner

As word spread through the home clubhouse at RFK Stadium that Major League Baseball had chosen a new owner for the Washington Nationals, most players shared two reactions. The first was: Finally! The other was: What, exactly, will this mean for the team?

Pitcher Joey Eischen felt the most immediate impact of Wednesday's news, saying he was told by manager Frank Robinson to take his golf clubs - normally an everyday sight in the locker room - out to his truck. "Change of regime, change of everything," said Eischen, a reliever whose second stint with the franchise began in 2000. "Maybe some other people would gripe if they took their favorite toy out of the clubhouse. I'm excited about the change. What's in the past is in the past. Today is a day of new. It's going to be great for this team. I'm really glad the league doesn't have any fingers on us anymore."

Major League Baseball at long last picked someone to buy the Nationals, choosing a group that's led by Maryland-based real estate developer Theodore Lerner and includes former Atlanta Braves executive Stan Kasten. "This has been a long journey. ... While I do apologize for the time, I think history will prove it maybe was time well spent," commissioner Bud Selig said in announcing the $450 million agreement.

"Wow, it's been some kind of day," Lerner said at a news conference with a dozen members of the ownership group. "It's something I've been thinking about all my life, from the time I used to pay 25 cents to sit in the bleachers at Griffith Stadium."

"I always felt like without ownership we were at a disadvantage," current Nationals manager Frank Robinson said. "Major League Baseball has done the best they possibly could toward us, but it was a very unique situation and we were not able to do things that other organizations are able to do."

Kasten called Robinson, Tavares and Bowden "three terrific professionals who have had to work under the worst conditions I've ever seen. None of us would ever want to be in that position. We're going to spend money on the minor leagues, player development and scouting," Kasten said.

Remembering The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War ended 31 years ago Sunday. The Vietnam War was the longest military conflict in U.S. history. The hostilities in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia claimed the lives of more than 58,000 Americans. Another 304,000 were wounded.

The Vietnam War was a military struggle fought in Vietnam from 1959 to 1975, involving the North Vietnamese and the National Liberation Front (NLF) in conflict with United States forces and the South Vietnamese army. From 1946 until 1954, the Vietnamese had struggled for their independence from France during the First Indochina War.

At the end of this war, the country was temporarily divided into North and South Vietnam. North Vietnam came under the control of the Vietnamese Communists who had opposed France and who aimed for a unified Vietnam under Communist rule. The South was controlled by Vietnamese who had collaborated with the French.

In 1965 the United States sent in troops to prevent the South Vietnamese government from collapsing. Ultimately, however, the United States failed to achieve its goal, and in 1975 Vietnam was reunified under Communist control; in 1976 it officially became the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

During the conflict, approximately 3 to 4 million Vietnamese on both sides were killed, in addition to another 1.5 to 2 million Lao and Cambodians who were drawn into the war. ...Read more here

American Idol Choice

I said it early in the show and I am saying it again. Katherine McPhee should be the next American Idol. With five remaining, the competition gets tougher but I'm sticking with "Kat". She did a great job on Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing" Tuesday night and the judges finally admitted it on Wednesday night's results show.

"Da Vinci Code" follow-up Delayed

LONDON (Reuters) - Dan Brown's follow-up novel to his global bestseller "The Da Vinci Code" won't be ready by the end of the year as originally expected, his publisher said on Friday. The working title on the novel had been "The Solomon Key" though it was reportedly dropped.

Speculative books such as "Secrets of the Widow's Son" and "The Solomon Key and Beyond," as well as fan Web sites, have been trying to crack the plot, which Brown himself has hinted will deal with the ancient society of Masons.

Brown, 41, was vindicated earlier this month in a British court battle with two historians who accused him of plagiarizing their book to write "The Da Vinci Code." A U.S. appeals court on Thursday also upheld a lower court's ruling that Brown did not copy elements of another author's work.

"The Da Vinci Code" is one of the most successful novels of all time, having sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. Brown's earlier books, including "Deception Point" and "Angels & Demons," also have become and remain bestsellers on the heels of the theological thriller's success. ...Read more here

World's Best Art Cities

1. Berlin 2. Chicago 3. Florence 4. London 5. New York 6. Paris 7. Rome 8. San Miguel de Allende 9. Vienna 10. Washington D.C. ...read more here

Alexander the Great!!!

Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin("Alexander the Great") became only the second rookie in NHL history with 50 goals and 100 points when he scored against the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday night. Ovechkin scored his 50th goal at 13:01 of the first period with a shot from the top of the left circle.

Ovechkin picked up his 52nd assist in the second period, setting up a power-play goal for Darius Zubrus with a perfect cross-ice pass.

Teemu Selanne was the first rookie to reach the double milestone. He set first-year records that still stand with 76 goals and 132 points for the Winnipeg Jets in 1992-93.

With three games remaining after Thursday, Ovechkin had no chance of breaking either of Selanne's records. But he was just three goals behind Mike Bossy, who had 53 for the New York Islanders in 1977-78 to rank second on the rookie list. had Joe Nieuwendyk 51 goals in his rookie season.

With his 101st and 102nd points, Ovechkin broke a fifth-place tie with Mario Lemeiux on the rookie list and pulled even with four-place Joe Juneau, who scored 102 in 1992-93. The only rookies to score more points were Selanne, Peter Stastny (109 in 1980-81) and Dale Hawerchuk (103 in 1981-82).

Maryland wins Fourth National Title

The Maryland Terps won the 2006 National Cheerleaders Association Division I National Championship with a score of 9.31 out of a possible 10. They edged the five-time consecutive national champion Louisville Cardinals by .13 and scored higher than 28 other Division I cheer teams for the win.

The win is incredibly impressive considering the perennial powerhouse Louisville Cardinals have won the title for the past five consecutive years. Maryland won the title in 1999, but had not come close since last year's second place finish.

This was the Maryland University's fourth National title this academic year. The Terps won the Men's Soccer and Women's Field Hockey National tiltle's last Fall, and they have just won the Women's Basketball National title last week.

Maryland Terps Women Champs

Maryland's players celebrated on the court, laughing and hugging and bouncing up and down. Never mind that they still had overtime to play.

"Overtime is our time," Terrapins forward Marissa Coleman said. "What a better way to win a national championship than in overtime, which was our time all season long?"

Too young to fear the pressure and too experienced to succumb to it, the Terrapins won their first NCAA women's title Tuesday night, coming back from a 13-point deficit to force overtime and beat Duke 78-75.

Freshman Kristi Toliver hit a 3-pointer at the end of regulation, then made two free throws with 35 seconds left in overtime to give Maryland the decisive lead. Maryland (34-4) is 6-0 in overtime games this season — the first five on the road and the last in the championship to cap the second-largest comeback in a women's final. It was the first time the title was determined in overtime since Tennessee beat Virginia in 1991.

Toliver's 3-pointer at the end of regulation sent the Terrapins into a frenzy and deflated the Duke bench. But the real party came after Blue Devils guard Jessica Foley's desperation, well-covered 3-point attempt nicked the front of the rim at the overtime buzzer.

Piling up on the court, hugging and bumping chests, the Terrapins reveled in the youth that had been the biggest doubt surrounding them coming into the tournament. Even coach Brenda Frese, who was the coach of the year at 32 and a national champion at 35, is on the precocious side.

"Age is just a number," she said. "When you got kids that believe and they believe in each other and they've got that kind of confidence, you can accomplish anything as a team."

Toliver, who had 12 turnovers in the semifinal victory over North Carolina, brought the ball down and veered to the right. With Duke's Alison Bales in her face and 6.1 seconds left, she lofted the 3 that would spark the first of the Terps' two celebrations.

"And I even felt her fingertips as I was holding my follow through," Toliver said. "So, she did a great job contesting. I just had a lot of confidence. And I knew I wanted to take the big shot so I just took it."

Duke (31-4) opted not to call a timeout; Lindsey Harding brought the ball down the court and put up a desperation leaner from the right baseline that went off the rim. After that, the usually frenetic Frese just let her players take over.

"I didn't have to say a word," said the coach, who took over a 10-18 team four years ago after winning the 2002 coach of the year award with Minnesota. Maryland was a charter member of the Final Four 25 years ago but struggled before Frese took over the program in 2002.

"Who would have ever thought in my wildest dreams I would have gotten two rings this year?" Frese said. "One getting married and the other a national championship." Duke took a 75-74 lead before Toliver sank two free throws to put Maryland ahead for good. Coleman, who bounced back from Frese's furious first-half tongue-lashing to finish with 10 points and 14 rebounds, hit the last two free throws for Maryland with 13.4 seconds left before Foley's 3 barely hit iron.

Toliver had 16 points, four assists and just three turnovers in the title game. Final Four Most Outstanding Player Laura Harper and Shay Doron also scored 16 for the Terrapins.

Maryland also becomes the first school to win national titles in football (1953), men's basketball (2002) and women's basketball. It's the third NCAA title Maryland teams have won in 2005-06 (field hockey and men's soccer were won in the fall), and it appropriately comes during the 150th anniversary year of the university. ...Go here for slide show

Scientists Make Water Run Uphill

Toss water on a hot pan and it sizzles and evaporates. Toss water on a really hot pan, and the water beads up and starts roaming around. Now, turn your hot pan into a hot small staircase and watch the water climb the stairs. Researchers did just that, taking an everyday sighting in the kitchen to a new level in the lab.

When scientists heated a piece of brass with sawtooth ridges — a thing that looks like a ratchet — water drops traveled quickly, and in one direction: up.

With the newfound trick, drops could potentially pump themselves, using heat that's already there. "Pumps that don't use moving parts are simpler to make, cheaper and live longer," Linke pointed out. If the droplet pumps prove strong enough, Linke said they could be cooling computers in about six years. ...Read more and watch movie here

Kimmie Meissner Wins World Gold

Add Bel Air, Maryland's Kimmie Meissner to the list of teenage American champions. The 16-year-old Meissner pulled off one of the biggest upsets in World Figure Skating Championships history with the performance of her life Saturday. She joined Michelle Kwan and Tara Lipinski among U.S. teens who won a world crown, and Sarah Hughes, of course, was the 2002 Olympic champion at age 16.

"I am so happy with myself; it's an awesome feeling," said Meissner, who was sixth last month in Turin. "I really wanted to do my best at the last competition of the season — smooth sailing right through my program."

While Kimmie soared, Sasha Cohen hit rough ice from the beginning, adding to a distressing trend for the U.S. champion. Another free skate with an international gold medal in reach, and another flop for Cohen. "It's frustrating and disappointing," said Cohen, who landed only two clean jumps and fell on her final one, a salchow. She also was credited for a jump combination she never completed. "But I know I gave it my best effort. "A few years ago, I used to cry, but I used up all my tears. I am disappointed."

Meissner was as sensational as Cohen was weak. She landed seven triple jumps, including two triple-triple combinations — the only ones of the day — just a few minutes after Cohen self-destructed. Even before Meissner was done with her final spin, she was smiling widely, knowing she couldn't have done any better. She lingered on the ice, her arms raised to the rafters, where she was certain her mother was sitting "because she can't stand to be too close to the ice."

Meissner carried an American flag around the ice after receiving her medal. She stood at attention on the top of the podium and sang the "Star Spangled Banner," the smile never fading. Standing on the podium and watching the flag, it was such a proud moment for me." ...Read more here

Washington DC Baseball Stadium

Designs for a 41,000-seat ballpark for the Washington Nationals were unveiled Tuesday by District of Columbia officials, a glass-and-steel structure clad in pale stone chosen to complement the world famous skyline of the nation's capital. "The materials that we're using are those that in the monumental Washington, people see all the time," said architect Marshall E. Purnell, who also helped design the Verizon Center and the Washington Convention Center along with HOK Sport.

The ballpark's dimensions are 332 feet down the left-field line, 377 to left-center, 409 to center, 370 to right-center and 335 down the right-field line. The outfield fence will be 8 feet from left to the deepest part of the park, just left of center, and 12 feet high the rest of the way. An out-of-town scoreboard will be built into the right-field fence. The upper deck will extend almost to the fence. "We think there will be a lot of upper-deck home runs," architect Joe Spear said.

The final goal of the ballpark designers, of course, is the inside of the stadium -- the field, the seats and the ballpark experience. From this angle, you can see several important things. One is the round building beyond center field, which is a restaurant that can remain open all year, even on non-game days. Leading to it between the parking garages is a 200-foot by 250-foot plaza that fans access by walking down Half Street to the north of the stadium, from the Navy Yard Metro Station. Next to the round restaurant, on the left, is an open space to be used as a fan picnic or kids' area. Designers said they are trying to figure out a way to put some air under the stands so that they can shake and vibrate like they did at RFK last season and during all those memorable Redskins' games of days past.

There are about 68 luxury suites and 10 more party suites. (The glass at the top of the stadium behind home plate is the press box -- much higher up than at most stadiums.) Other interesting touches include lights that are attached to the stadium roof, rather than extended higher on light poles. This is to minimize the glare on the neighborhood. Also, the right field stands will be slightly lower than the main part of the bowl -- a trick that can be done because the right field area has no luxury suites that take up more space.

A separate restaurant and bar overlooking the outfield will include 10-thousand square feet of space. A six-thousand square foot conference center and a 10-thousand square foot picnic area will be available for group sales patrons. There will be a ten-thousand square foot youth training area and a two-thousand square foot arcade. Total of 28-thousand square feet of concession stands will provide refreshments to fans during events. Retail and novelty outlets will offer merchandise from 77-hundred square feet of space.

Planners hope the ballpark will open for the 2008 season, a schedule that may be overly ambitious.

Maria Wins Title at Indian Wells

Third-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova defeated fourth-seeded compatriot Elena Dementieva 6-1, 6-2 to win the WTA Indian Wells title. Sharapova, the glamour girl who shot to prominence with her precocious Wimbleton victory in 2004, captured her first tournament title since Birmingham last June.

Blustery winds on stadium court contributed to a stream of errors from both players. Sharapova, who will move up a spot to No. 5 in the world thanks to the victory, said she tried mostly just to keep the ball in court and await her chances to attack.

Dementieva, the world No. 8 who engineered a stunning comeback to beat top-seeded Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne in the semi-finals, won the first two games of the second set, but Sharapova squelched any thought of another remarkable rally by winning the next six games to lift the trophy.

Sharapova gave a sterling 6-3, 6-3 semi-final performance against Martina Hingis to reach the final against Dementieva, wearing her opponent down in long rallies, attacking the Swiss player's second serves and bullying her from the forehand side.

With her 19th birthday still a month away, Sharapova now boasts 11 WTA titles.

Dan Brown Defends "Da Vinci Code"

Dan Brown in a London courtroom acknowledged "reworking" passages from an earlier book for his best-selling novel "The Da Vinci Code," but he firmly rejected charges that he ripped off key ideas for his conspiracy thriller. The author spent a third day defending his work against a copyright infringement suit brought by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, authors of a 1982 nonfiction book, "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail."

The suit is not against Brown, but his publisher Random House, which also published "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail." Random House denies the claims, and Brown says the assertion that he copied is "completely fanciful." "I'm not crazy about the word 'copied,'" Brown testified. "Copying implies it is identical. It's not identical." Brown said "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" was "one of the books in the mix" when he and his wife, Blythe Brown, were researching the novel.He acknowledged "reworking" passages from the earlier book. "That's how you incorporate research into a novel," Brown said.

Both books explore theories — dismissed by theologians — that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, the couple had a child and the bloodline survives. The lawyer for the plaintiffs, Jonathan Rayner James, spent the morning citing passages from "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" that he said had near equivalents in "The Da Vinci Code." "I'm sorry, again, I have to disagree," said Brown, who appeared frustrated at the attorney's painstaking and sometimes repetitive questioning. "These are points of history that were available in a lot of other books we were using."

If Baigent and Leigh succeed in securing an injunction to bar the use of their material, they could hold up the scheduled May 19 film release of "The Da Vinci Code," starring Tom Hanks.

"The Da Vinci Code" has sold more than 40 million copies since its release three years ago, and has turned Brown, 41, into a literary superstar. Brown testified Tuesday that he was certain he and his wife, who conducts much of his research, had read "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" only after he had submitted his synopsis for the novel that would become "The Da Vinci Code" to his agent in January 2001. "I think it would be very unlikely that Blythe would be reading it without my knowledge," Brown said. "I'm very doubtful that she would buy it and I wouldn't know."

Brown has acknowledged that they read "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" while researching "The Da Vinci Code," but said they also used 38 other books and hundreds of documents, and that the British authors' book was not crucial to their work. But in cross-examination and his 69-page witness statement, he dropped a few handy hints on how to become a successful author of code-based thrillers.

You have to have a mathematically minded father, who, instead of leaving your childhood Christmas presents under the tree, makes you solve puzzles and anagrams to find them. You need a wife sufficiently enthused to undertake mountains of research, annotate her findings and put them on your computer. Blythe Brown, who is not in court, is that woman.

Then you have to find the right location. Brown once considered setting a thriller in Canada but found Nova Scotia lacking in mystery. He had been far more enthused, during a holiday in Rome, by a tour of the Vatican and by finding a secret exit through which a pope could escape from his enemies. The secrets of the Eternal City inspired his next novel Angels and and Demons. “Location is a character. After that trip I decided the Vatican would make a great character, ” Brown said.

After that, you have to have the Big Idea. In "The Da Vinci Code" , Brown said, that was the Sacred Feminine, or goddess worship, a notion he claims he first came across in a book called The Woman with the Alabaster Jar, and not "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" . Having had the Big Idea, Brown began to construct a framework for a plot. “The ideas are the easy part; ideas are everywhere. The hard part is getting the ideas to work as a novel,” he said. He sent a synopsis to his agent and suggested two more thrillers on the same theme, provisionally called The Botticelli Code and The Nostradamus Code.

Unwilling to give a precise order in which he consulted his sources, Brown explained that an author was likely to refer backwards and forwards between sources. Sometimes material emerged which set the plot in a new direction. Brown said that one of the themes of DVC was “secret history”, those parts of the past lost or twisted by historical revision or subversion. “I like to write in grey areas; I don’t like the idea of black and white, right and wrong.”

At first he had been unwilling to introduce the idea of Jesus’s bloodline into "The Da Vinci Code" because he found it “too incredible and too inaccessible”. But his wife persuaded him to adopt the theme, which he had read about in many sources before "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" . His statement added: “I remain astounded by the claimants’ choice to file this plagiarism suit. For them to suggest . . . that I have ‘hijacked and exploited’ their work is simply untrue.”

American Idol Dozen

American Idol is now down to the final 12, so it is serious from here on. It is also time to pick who I think the winner will be. The guys were hyped early as being the best this season and that the eventual winner would be a guy. Seems reasonable since the past two winners were girls and only one guy ever won.

There has never been a "white" guy(OK we all know Clay really won and not Rueben) win American Idol. So the best bet this year is either Chris Daughtry or Ace Young. Both are excellent and I could see either winning.

But, I think a girl will win again this year. And I think it could be Kellie Pickler, but I am picking Katherine McPhee to be the last singer standing. Will watch and see it unfold.

Intel Will Have Wi-Max This Year

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intel Corp. said on Tuesday it has moved up to this year its expected roll-out of cards that will let computers access the Internet using Wi-Max, a new long-range, high-speed wireless technology.

Wi-Max is seen by many in the field as a successor to Wi-Fi, which provides fast wireless Internet connections in homes and businesses but has a limited range of a few dozen yards.

Wi-Max has a much longer range, varying from a couple of miles in an urban area to 10 miles or more in open country.

Intel, which had previously said it expected to have Wi-Max products in 2007, now plans to have Wi-Max cards for laptops in the second half of this year, Sean Maloney, vice president of Intel's mobility group, told a company conference.

West Wing Reunion

A flock of alumni of NBC's "The West Wing" will return to reprise their roles one last time for the White House drama's final episodes, the network announced Tuesday. Rob Lowe will come back as Sam Seaborn, the senior political official he played from 1999-2003. Lowe was nominated for an Emmy for his performance in 2001.

Mary-Louise Parker, who now stars on Showtime's "Weeds," will return as women's-rights advocate Amy Gardner, who in years past has had an on-again-off-again romance with presidential adviser Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford). Also bringing back their characters: Anna Deavere Smith, Emily Proctor, Marlee Matlin, Gary Cole, Tim Matheson, Timothy Busfield and Annabeth Gish.

"The West Wing," starring Martin Sheen as President Jeb Bartlet, has five episodes remaining before going off the air for good after seven seasons. The program airs Sundays (8 p.m. EST). This year's story line has featured a presidential race between candidates played by Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits. NBC promises that the election will be decided before the series disappears.

The show's alumni will appear on one or more of the final episodes, but not necessarily the finale, which will air May 14. Aaron Sorkin, who created the show in 1999 and served as executive producer until 2003, will not be returning to aid in the finale, NBC said.

Ciao Olympics 2006

Across 16 topsy-turvy days in Turin, the U.S. Olympic team teetered somewhere between torment and triumph, each step up to the medal stand tempered by one step back somewhere else. There were unlikely Alpine golds from skiers Julia Mancuso and Ted Ligety. And the disaster in the mountains that was Bode Miller and his tattered reputation.

Speedskater Joey Cheek set a standard for Olympic class, winning two medals and donating his $40,000 reward from the U.S. Olympic Committee to a charity for children trapped in war zones. Teammates Chad Hedrick and Shani Davis typified something less than class, fussing and fighting like second-graders in a sandbox.

A kid dubbed "The Flying Tomato," Shaun White, sailed into the sky above Bardonecchia to claim a gold medal in the snowboard halfpipe. Another snowboarder, Lindsey Jacobellis, hot-dogged her way out of a gold medal in a still-stunning turn of events that typified a growing Generation X Games gap among the Americans.

No one came into the games with higher expectations than skier Miller and speedskater Hedrick, each entered in five events. Miller won nothing; Hedrick collected a gold, silver and bronze but dulled his wins by yapping with Davis. The U.S. medal haul came from their domination in men's long-track speedskating and snowboarding, with seven medals apiece. Short track skater Apolo Anton Ohno added a gold and two bronzes, one of the latter in a relay event.

The games' most enduring moment was also its most bizarre. Jacobellis, on the next-to-last jump of the first women's Olympic snowboardcross, grabbed her board in an unnecessary bit of showboating - and then crashed, blowing her gold medal. Her silver seemed almost insignificant. The stunt was endlessly replayed, with Jacobellis alternately cheered (by the snowboard community) and chastised (by everyone over 40).

The disagreement demonstrated a generation gap involving the age of the sports, not the athletes. The new wave U.S. Olympians on snowboards or skis wanted to put on a show ... and maybe get a medal, too. Take aerial skier Jeret "Speedy" Peterson. A seventh-place finish in the aerials couldn't wipe the smile off his face. "I came here to do the Hurricane," he said, referring to the difficult maneuver, "and I did the Hurricane." Never mind that he botched it. Or that an easier stunt might have won a medal.

Tanith Belbin, a Canadian who won American citizenship on Dec. 31, came to Turin and won a surprising silver medal with ice dancing partner Ben Agosto on Feb. 21. But Michele Kwan, plagued by a groin injury, never reached the ice and Sasha Cohen was lucky to win the Silver where the gold was in easy reach, if she had not fallen on her first two jumps in the long program.

The surprising U.S. men's curling team swept through the competition to grab a bronze - the first American Olympic medal in the sport - when skip Pete Fenson delivered a clutch shot on the last stone of the match.

Magnetic Tape Best for Storage

From "ComputerWorld"

Although opinions vary on how to preserve data on digital storage media, such as optical CDs and DVDs, Kurt Gerecke, a physicist and storage expert at IBM Deutschland GmbH, takes this view: If you want to avoid having to burn new CDs every few years, use magnetic tapes to store all your pictures, videos and songs for a lifetime. "Unlike pressed original CDs, burned CDs have a relatively short life span of between two to five years, depending on the quality of the CD," Gerecke said in an interview this week. "There are a few things you can do to extend the life of a burned CD, like keeping the disc in a cool, dark space, but not a whole lot more."

The problem is material degradation. Optical discs commonly used for burning, such as CD-R and CD-RW, have a recording surface consisting of a layer of dye that can be modified by heat to store data. The degradation process can result in the data "shifting" on the surface and thus becoming unreadable to the laser beam. "Many of the cheap burnable CDs available at discount stores have a life span of around two years," Gerecke said. "Some of the better-quality discs offer a longer life span, of a maximum of five years." Distinguishing high-quality burnable CDs from low-quality discs is difficult, he said, because few vendors use life span as a selling point.

Hard-drive disks also have their limitations, according to Gerecke. The problem with hard drives, he said, is not so much the disk itself as it is the disk bearing, which has a positioning function similar to a ball bearing. "If the hard drive uses an inexpensive disk bearing, that bearing will wear out faster than a more expensive one," he said. His recommendation: a hard-drive disk with 7,200 revolutions per minute.

To overcome the preservation limitations of burnable CDs, Gerecke suggests using magnetic tapes, which, he claims, can have a life span of 30 to 100 years, depending on their quality. "Even if magnetic tapes are also subject to degradation, they're still the superior storage media," he said.

Lay Off Lindsey

"Alone in the clear, Lindsey Jacobellis could have practically crawled to the finish line and won. After an Olympic-sized flub, she probably wishes she had.

Coasting to what should have been a runaway victory Friday, the 20-year-old American grabbed her board on the second-to-last jump before the finish line. Inexplicably — and some say inexcusably — she fell."

So get over it. Leave her alone. She won a Silver medal at the 2006 Olympics and that is more than a lot of other Americans. Several highly expected winners have not even medaled. I say congratulations to Lindsey Jacobellis.

Pandas Play in Snow

Our Washington National Zoo Panda and cub play in the 10" of snow that fell this past weekend in DC.

American Idol wins Grammy

Kelly Clarkson beat a few superstars - Mariah Carey, Sheryl Crow and Paul McCartney - to become the first contestant from "American Idol" to win Grammy awards on Wednesday, but she forgot to thank the wildly popular TV talent show that made her famous. Clarkson thanked Jesus, God, the radio, her fans and her mother when she picked up Grammys for best pop vocal album and for best female pop vocal performance, but in two speeches she omitted any mention of "American Idol," which aired on Fox against the CBS broadcast of the 48th annual Grammy Awards for part of the night. An overwhelmed Clarkson, who could not hold back tears during her first acceptance speech, could not believe her good fortune in winning the second. "I don't know what is going on but thank you Jesus and God and everyone else who supported my career," she said. Clarkson picked up the Grammy for best female pop vocal performance for her hit, "Since U Been Gone," and also performed her single "Because of You" on the telecast. When asked backstage why she didn't mention "American Idol" in her acceptance speeches, she said she had in fact thanked the show indirectly by thanking her fans. She said she also forgot to thank a lot of important people in her life. "I forgot to thank my dad and the rest of my family. I did thank the fans and that's 'American Idol,"' she said, noting that her omission had nothing to do with sharp recent criticism of her by "Idol" judge Simon Cowell. Irish rockers U2 upset the form book at the annual Grammy awards here Wednesday, hauling in five trophies, including the coveted Album of the Year award for "How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb." On an evening notable for performances by veterans like former Beatle Paul McCartney and funk pioneer Sly Stone - both in their sixties - U2's success came at the expense of the younger generation. "If you think this is going to go to our heads, it's too late," said U2 frontman Bono, who revealed that the main inspiration behind the album was his father, Bob, who died in 2001. "He was the atomic bomb in question and when he died it set off a kind of chain reaction in me," Bono said. "And I've been shouting about him and giving off about him and complaining about him and screaming about him for the past few years. Maybe tonight is the time to stop," he added. The other Album of the Year nominees were Mariah Carey for "The Emancipation of Mimi," Paul McCartney for "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard," Gwen Stefani for "Love. Angel. Music. Baby" and Kanye West for "Late Registration." Despite winning 13 Grammys, McCartney, 63, had never played the awards event. "I finally passed the audition," he said, before launching into a raucous version of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter." Madonna, who stole the 2003 show by smooching with pop princess Britney Spears, kicked off the evening with Gorillaz -- appearing alongside a 3-D colour animation of the four characters created by Blur frontman Damon Albarn. Go here for complete Grammy Awards

Super Bowl Wasn't Super

Super Bowl XL Sunday wasn't exactly "super". Not that much build-up or hype over this game and almost everyone wanted Pittsburg to win and almost everyone thought Pittsburg would win. So when the game started everyone at the game was cheering for Pittsburg to win. More about the game later. First the commercials. Not as good as all the pre-commercail hype. My favorites were the Budweiser commercails, especailly the "Magic Fridge", "The Game", "The Stadium" and the "Little Colt". I also liked the CareerBuilders "Bunches of Jack-asses". Though Fed-ex's "Caveman" was funny but not the best as a lot of people did. Did not like the Pepsi, Ameriquest and others I can't even remember(ads you can't remember are useless and wasted millions of dollars). Half-time show was good with the "Rolling Stones". Hard to beleive Mick Jagger is 62 - but he still rocks. Concer was just a tease. Would rather of had 60 minutes of the Stones and a shorter football game. The game itself was kind of blah. Had no real favorite in the game. But Seattle got totally "hosed" by the refs in this game. Too many bad calls went against Seattle. Really think Seattle should have won this game. But the final score says Pittsburg won 21-10. But who really cares, it wasn't the Redskins.