As a kid, I've got to say, i never actually liked Christmas--(i can hear the gasping)--even amidst the dazzling bru-ha-ha- i could never figure out why something you needed in April had to wait for December? Why we were nice to strangers for two days and then returned to normal suspicion status....I hated visiting and visitors...i hated having to do specific activities because of a date on the calendar---of course i was a very,very Asberger syndrome http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asberger_Syndrome like child and now a rain man like adult. There was no sense, no logic in any of it to me---and with hardly any family then and now zero family i am freed of the Christmas requirements that are chained to everyone by society...being free now is what makes the season bright to me---but since you all seem to truly adore it---happy holidays to you all--enjoy yourselves--

It must be bad out there economically--here's a story about a guy who is selling the original starship model used in the movie Forbidden Planet. Before I'd get rid of this item I'd really have to be hurting---http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_11180380

Here are acouple of just plain strange items that i ran across...first a Mexican beauty queen--Miss Mexico or something like that was arrested with 7 guys, machine guns and dope in an SUV---sounds like a party going somewhere to happen----http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/12/23/mexico.beauty.queen/index.html

The smarter you are the more likely you are to die in combat --the Scot's are the leader in IQ testing follow up and this is an interesting article on how IQ worked out for combat soliders...
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16297-intelligent-soldiers-most-likely-to-die-in-battle.html

It just keeps getting stranger and stranger---here's a good one that will make you put your X-FILES tinfoil hat on!The white house all through the Bush/Republican agenda has been using an independent email system. Independent from the official,standard, white house email system---- this independent system allowed the Republican white house staff to freely communicate on that all that tricky stuff---Bush has been resisting subpoena's to produce this independent email traffic in regards to several legal "problems" of his----such as firing federal prosecutors for political reasons...but anyway---the guy who was in charge of the email system and originally set it up worked for Karl Rove, Michael Connell -- get this---- he's turned up dead in an aircraft accident---amazing----you couldn't make this stuff up...oh-by the way he also set up email systems for John McCain

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Karl_Roves_IT_guru_Mike_Connell_1220.html Festivus for the rest of us...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivus_for_the_rest_of_us Festivus picked up this year as a celebration---in some places they even put up festivus poles near nativity scenes for equal time during the holidays....it's really apparently upsetting the christian ethic...http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/823440.html

Well, it's official---the future's turned out to be crap---the Nakagin building, (one of my favorite "buildings of the future") in Tokyo is in danger of being torn down--i can't stand it---to me this concept was wondrous. A building that could grow as necessary by merely attaching additional cube habitat's---i cannot believe that they are going to demolish this building!So many of the visions of the future from the 1960's and 70's were too hopeful, our future is actually going to be poor and lacking in vision i guess--what a bummer. http://gizmodo.com/5117473/nakagin-capsule-tower-looks-to-be-from-the-future-but-probably-wont-make-it-there

The Prius--it's not just for driving anymore---here's an article on an owner who used his prius to power his house during a multi-day power outage during a winter storm---I'm actually set up to do this as well, it really does not take much just a simply power inverter---when the zombie wars happen -----the geek will inherit the earth....

http://jalopnik.com/5118297/tech+savvy-prius-owner-uses-hybrid-to-power-house-during-snow-storm
I so want one of these---Toyota's finally going to display their electric vehicle prototype...the photo's show a very collio--small--urban vehicle--i have mentally waiting for toyota to save the western world---vehicle wise---i hope this does not become the standard crap of ---this vehicle will not available in north america----Gawd i hate that----

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/12/toyota-goes-ele.html

Go out and eat dinner with friends and talk of the future--make a wind chime out of stuff that is lying around the house--pick a day and sleep in not by accident but because you've decided to---listen to NPR on saturday mornings it will make you happy!