Dataman55

A compendium of great sites, a bit of humor, and some intriguing information. Dataman is surfing the web, so you don't have to. I don't ask you to agree with what you read here. These are just my opinions. I could be wrong. This site is only meant to provoke thought and conversation. Feel free to send me your favorite articles and sites to share. (Tell your friends. Let's spread some knowledge)

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

The DaVinci Code Lawsuit


The Da Vinci Code may have been copied from an earlier book. Here are side by side comparisons of the DaVinci Code and two other works that show just how much plagiarism has occurred. To say that the books were developed independently is just about impossible. The similarities even occur (in some cases) on the same pages in the different books! It makes me want to write a novel based on, oh, let's say a pirate ship in the Carribean.

http://www.davincilegacy.com/Infringement/expert-report.html

Monday, February 27, 2006

How much does that Starbucks coffee cost you?


Here is a calculator to tell you just how much drinking a high priced latte every day will cost you over time. Would you believe that you are drinking the equivalent of a wide screen TV every year? Now, I love Starbucks, but this is eye opening:

http://www.hughchou.org/calc/coffee.cgi

Raise a Glass


It's with sadness that I note the passing of a true comedian. Don Knotts passed away over the weekend. He had been sick for a while. He brought many great hours of entertainment, without resorting to vulgarities or obsceneties. He was a gentle man and a truly funny guy. I remember a great quote from Barney Fife, expounding on the glories of the bachelor life, "We'll be wearing suede shoes and eating Chow Mein every night!" Here's to the deputy with a single bullet in his pocket!

Here's an Obit:
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20060226/D8G0QQEO1.html

Here is his Wiki entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Knotts

While we are raising a glass, lift one for Darren McGavin. He was great as "The Night Stalker", and as the dad in "A Christmas Story". He was also in "The Natural". My father-in-law told us about sitting on the Queen Mary in between shots while making he movie, he shared a Wall Street Journal with Mr. McGavin. He said he was a very nice guy. He made the movie a lot of fun.

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20060226/D8G0UQ2G0.html

Here is Darren's Wiki entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darren_McGavin

Friday, February 24, 2006

Do the Arithmetic on Global Warming


The image on the right shows the additions and subtractions from the Greenland ice sheet annually. The web page claims that there is a net decrease of 53 cubic kilometers of ice per year in Greenland. They are talking about 53 cubic kilometers out of 4 million cubic kilometers. The idea that anyone could measure 53 cubic kilometers of net ice melt per year (.00001, one hundred thousandths of the total) is absurd.
The further idea that this incredibly insignificant amount of ice from the net melt of Greenland could create a trend of .005 inch per year rise in the oceans is even more absurd. That would be .5 inch in a century. Half an inch increase in a century in oceans that already vary with tidal action by 45 inches twice a day every day is quite hard to picture as a global danger.

http://phillips.blogs.com/goc/2006/02/_do_the_arithme.html

Bush was right.

WMD: The quote above is that of a former UNSCOM member after translating and reviewing 12 hours of taped conversations between Saddam Hussein and his aides. So what's on the covers of Time and Newsweek? Certainly not news about Saddam and his WMD programs.

http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=20&artnum=2&issue=20060221

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

The Three Stooges


On the lighter side of things, how about the official Three Stooges web site? Happy Valentine's Day! Nyuck, Nyuck, Nyuck.

www.threestooges.com

The site is run by C3 Entertainment, the company that owns the Stooges name and likenesses. No word on their site if the families share in any of the royalties. I hope they do. Thanks Boys.

http://www.c3entertainment.com/index.asp

Bugs Could Be Key to Kicking Oil Addiction


President Bush calls the nation's oil addiction could very well lie in termite guts, canvas-eating jungle bugs and other microbes genetically engineered to spew enzymes that turn waste into fuel.

It may seem hard to believe that microscopic bugs usually viewed as destructive pests can be so productive. But scientists and several companies are working with the creatures to convert wood, corn stalks and other plant waste into sugars that are easily brewed into ethanol — essentially 199-proof moonshine that can be used to power automobiles.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060212/ap_on_bi_ge/bug_juice

Monday, February 13, 2006

Creationism Arguments


"Creationist claims are numerous and varied, so it is often difficult to track down information on any given claim. Plus, creationists constantly come up with new claims which need addressing. This site attempts, as much as possible, to make it easy to find rebuttals and references from the scientific community to any and all of the various creationist claims."

There are two sides to every story. Here is one of them. There is a link on the site if you want to pursue the creationist side.

http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/index.html

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Napoleon Dynamite

I should have done this a long time ago. Many people don't get it at all. Some of us find Napoleon Dynamite one of the funniest movies of all time. You decide. It is certainly the funniest Mormon movie of all time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_Dynamite

Here are some of the mistakes from the movie:

http://www.moviemistakes.com/film4428

Here is Jon Heder (Napoleon) on the David Lettermen show with the Top Ten Signs You're Not the Most Popular Guy in your High School:

http://www.nearlygood.com/video/napoleontopten.html

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Brokeback to the Future


It was only a matter of time before the satires started about Brokeback Mountain. Well, someone edited together a pretty funny trailer based on the Michael J. Fox movie. Here is a link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfODSPIYwpQ




If you liked that, you might want to see a trailer for a heart warming family film called The Shining:

http://www.youtube.com/w/The-Shining---Re-Cut?v=8sNiVQMvb4E&search=the%20shining

Opus Dei - The Work of God

Here's a chance to learn a bit about one of the focal points of the DaVinci Code, that is Opus Dei. This is a "private prelature", responsible to a bishop in Rome. The organization is said to help Catholics live a holy life in a secular society. Here is their site, with their take on the book and the upcoming movie:

http://www.opusdei.org/art.php?w=32&p=7017

Here too is the other side of the discussion, those who believe that Opus Dei is a too strict orgranization that is more cult like in its organization and discipline. This is the Opus Dei Awareness Network. As always, the truth is somewhere between. If you are a fan of the Code, it might be an interesting topic.

http://www.odan.org/

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Has BYU prof found AIDS cure?

Now here is something that would be worth a couple of Nobel Prizes:

Researchers, including a BYU scientist, believe they have found a new compound that could finally kill the HIV/AIDS virus, not just slow it down as current treatments do. And, unlike the expensive, drug cocktails 25 years of research have produced for those with the deadly virus, the compound invented by Paul D. Savage of Brigham Young University appears to hunt down and kill HIV.

http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_3482712

AIDS as Biological & Psychological Warfare


Here is a wild theory that HIV was purposefully developed as a weapon. I don't believe a word of it, but it sure makes for interesting reading:

"Despite repeated denials from Defense Department officials, allegations persist that AIDS is a genetically altered virus, which has been deliberately released to wipe out homosexuals and/or non-whites in the U.S. and reduce populations in third world countries. "

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/pages/aids.html

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

It's cold in Buffalo


THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN WHEN NIAGARA FALLS WAS COMPLETELY FROZEN IN THE YEAR 1911. .....A VERY RARE PHOTO.

OK, it's not that cold here... yet.

Scientist predicts 'Mini Ice Age'


Speaking of cold, here is yet another take on the junk science theory called Global Warming:

A Russian astronomer has predicted that Earth will experience a "mini Ice Age" in the middle of this century, caused by low solar activity.

Dramatic changes in the earth's surface temperatures are an ordinary phenomenon, not an anomaly, he said, and result from variations in the sun's energy output and ultraviolet radiation.

http://upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060207-041447-2345r

Monday, February 06, 2006

Nothing's Turning


I just love this one. This looks animated, but the title says it all.

Europe from Space


Europe. Space. I think that just about covers it.

Lousy Christmas Present


This is the last time I join in the office Secret Santa group.

Sunday, February 05, 2006

No Dhimmitude


http://nodhimmitude.blogspot.com

Saddam's WMD

Last week a man who had been deputy chief of Saddam Hussein's air force claimed Iraq moved weapons of mass destruction into Syria before the war began.

Those who have bet their political futures that Saddam had no WMD may be starting to sweat. Find out why here:


http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060204/COLUMNIST14/602040352/-1/COLUMNIST

Ask yourself why you haven't heard about this story in the Main Stream Media. This story was reported two years ago by the Debka files. This is a site out of Israel that has been linked to their intelligence service. Interesting reading here, although not necessarily completely trustworthy.

www.debka.com

The Last Telegraph

As you may have heard in recent news stories, Western Union has just sent their last telegram message. From the Western Union website: "Effective January 27, 2006, Western Union will discontinue all Telegram and Commercial Messaging services. We regret any inconvenience this may cause you, and we thank you for your loyal patronage. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact a customer service representative."
No word on the content of the very last telegram.

But, did you know?? The world's first telegram was sent on May 24, 1844 by inventor Samuel Morse. The message, "What hath God wrought," was transmitted from Washington to Baltimore. In a crude way, the telegraph was a precursor to the Internet in that it allowed rapid communication, for the first time, across great distances. In the following year (1845), the first commercial telegraph line in the USA completed at Lockport. On May 1, 1844 the inventor of the telegraph, Samuel F. B. Morse sent the first message over the first telegraph line strung from Baltimore to Washington (announcing the nomination of Henry Clay for President). This was an experimental demonstration line. The first commercial line in the USA was built from Lockport to Buffalo the next year and was activated on November 6, 1845. George H. Boughton was the early telegrapher who, from his Express office in downtown Lockport (just west of today's Municipal Building on Canal Street) sent a message to Buffalo giving the results of the Lockport election. The wire went south out of Lockport along Transit Road to Williamsville and then into Buffalo. By 1849 the line was extended east out of Lockport to Rochester and another line from Lockport hugged the south shore of Lake Ontario and extended east eventually reaching Montreal, Canada. Lockport was an early communications hub!

Western Union Telegrams
http://www.westernunion.com/info/osTelegram.asp

Era End: Western Union Stops Sending Telegrams: http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060201/sc_space/eraendswesternunionstopssendingtelegrams

Lockport's Points of Pride
http://www.lockport-ny.com/Tourism/pride.htm

Cool Weapons Part 4

New weapon could mean the end of collateral damage
"The U.S. military has been developing a gunship that could literally obliterate enemy ground targets with a laser beam.

The military plans to test the Advanced Tactical Laser, a laser weapon mounted on a C-130H air transport that could destroy any weapon system without collateral damage.

The laser could have tremendous repercussions on the battlefield, particularly in urban warfare in such countries as Afghanistan and Iraq. "It's the kind of tool that could bring about victory within minutes," an official said."

I'm glad we're the ones working on this technology. My tax dollars, hard at work.

http://www.insightmag.com/Media/MediaManager/laser.htm

Space Daily


Like it sounds, daily news about space. Very interesting stuff here, including sections on Space War, Terra Daily, Mars Daily, and Sino Daily (info on China).

http://www.spacedaily.com/

Chemicals in Plastics Harm Baby Boys

I first heard about this ten years ago. At the time, we dismissed the person telling us this as a crackpot. It appears that I need to look him up an apologize. Put down those water bottles boys!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,11381,1493570,00.html?gusrc=rss

Can a Virus Make you Fat?

"A University of Wisconsin-Madison study “found that the human adenovirus Ad-37 causes obesity in chickens. The finding supports evidence from other studies that two related viruses, Ad-36 and Ad-5, also cause obesity in animals.”
Don’t dismiss out of hand this line of research. The article points out:
other diseases once thought to be the product of environmental factors are now known to stem from infectious agents, such as ulcers, once thought to be the result of stress, the bacteria, H. pylori has now been found to be implicated.
The study says the simultaneous increase in the prevalence of obesity in most countries of the world is difficult to explain by changes in food intake and exercise alone, and suggests that adenoviruses could have contributed. "

Let's hope for a little blue pill that will counteract it.

http://www.austinbay.net/blog/index.php?p=868

Saturday, February 04, 2006

Spot the Black Dots


Well this is cool.

  • Today's Day By Day Cartoon