[UPDATE] - An update on that "Coincidence Design" website which I mentioned earlier. The Register has this article on it: Get your future wife stalked for just $78,000. Julie mentions that her company's web software blocks access to the site and Bob S. noted that although the site claims to be a company in Chicago, the domain is registered to someone in Texas. Here's the whois info:

Registrant:
Coincidence Design Inc.
2001 Bryan Tower Suite 3915
Dallas, TX 75201
US

Registrar: Dotster (http://www.dotster.com)
Domain Name: COINCIDENCEDESIGN.COM
Created on: 10-AUG-00
Expires on: 10-AUG-02
Last Updated on: 10-AUG-00

Administrative Contact:
Bourne, Jason bourne@coincidencedesign.com
Coincidence Design Inc
2001 Bryan Tower Suite 3915
Dallas, TX 75201
US
916-441-1300

It may be of interest that "Jason Bourne" is the main character in a series of Ludlum novels about a man who has lost his identity. An upcoming Matt Damon movie is based on these novels. Is there some weird movie marketing thing going on?

[HUMOR] - Collecting and distributing the most bizarre stories which appear in news publications,This is True by Randy Cassingham reads like a weekly dose of Reuters' "Oddly Enough" along with Randy's own comments. I've been a free subscriber by email for years now. This is the online version of his syndicated newspaper column.

[HEALTH] - The CDC reports 17,730 cases of Lyme Disease in 2000. That's up 8% from the previous year. Salon.com News | Lyme disease reports hit new high

[COMICS] - Get Your War On is a web comic by David Rees - a man who apparently vents his frustration with Enron and the war on terrorism using clip art and a heavy dose of gangsa-rap style profanity. Viewer discretion is advised.

[NEWS] - "...a troubling disregard for accountability in government..." That's how this Chicago Tribune editorial describes the Bush administration. Is this a partisan criticism? Ask Republican Rep. Dan Burton, chairman of the House Government Reform Committee. When Bush recently issued an executive order to prevent documents regarding mob corruption in Boston from seeing the light of day, Rep. Burton responded "This is not a monarchy."

Site updates! I got rid of the garish colors from the default template and made some other visual adjustment.

Also, I've added a Yahoo! Groups Forum to the site. It's a place to make publicly viewable comments regarding the weblog, rather than just emailing me. Use the >>post to forum link (it's up there on the left) to send an email which will be logged to the forum.

[OUTRAGE] - DynCorp Executives and their Sex Slaves - Does DynCorp have a corporate culture which allows its employees to buy and sell local children as sex slaves? This company was sent to Bosnia to support and maintain military hardware. But apparently they are doing much more than that, including trading in weapons and girls. Insight on the News has the story. This quote from the attorney or a man who was fired, ostensibly for blowing the whistle:

"...you've got employees of U.S. contractors in bed with the local mafia and buying kids for sex! That these guys have some kind of immunity from prosecution is morally outrageous. How can men be allowed to get away with rape simply because of location?"

More references to DynCorp's troubles appeared in the Guardian Unlimited last July. Considering some of the stupid news stories that make the headlines, what happened to this story? ABC, NBC, CNN, hello?

[FRIENDS] - Chuck's aging but fun website (Chux Pages) has been added toNew England Wow - The Portal to New England. As "Today's site just added" for 1/17/02. Chuck put a lot of work into his site, and it's got a lot of depth, so I'm never surprised when someone notices it. This is where they put the link.

[REF] - What? You have a question you're afraid to ask? Try afraidtoask.com

[MONEY] - What's the best credit card? Our old card is cancelling its rewards progam so it is time to go card shopping. My criteria are:

1. No annual fee
   
2. Long grace period before purchases incur interest (at least 25 days)
   
3. Decent rebate program (cash back, or rewards toward purchases. Anything above 1% is excellent)
   

I'm currently looking at The Amazon/NextCard, and The L.L. Bean Card. Both have rewards - Amazon's got 1% on purchases and L. L. Bean gives .5%. If you know of a better card, let me know.

[ENTERTAINMENT] - New Wallace and Gromit films to appear on the Internet reports boston.com. (thanks Mike) I still remember seeing the first W&G at the Avon with Brian. Anyone want to cross Thayer street with me for a Spike's Junkyard hot dog? [UPDATE: Further info available on the Aardman website.]

[NEWS] - (Reuters) - At least five people were shot on Wednesday at a law school in Grundy, a small town in southwestern Virginia, apparently by a male student who opened fire in a student lounge.

[BORED?] -Galilea online Hosts a number of interactive flash cartoons. You have to click or drag things to further the storyline. It looks like some of them are supposed to be edu-tainment, but some of them are just plain strange. Particularly, The Grons. Check out that first short Grons animation; but watch out for phlegm.

[NEWS] - Facts Find Sept. 11 Myths Misleading. This A.P. story shoots holes in some of the popular post 9/11 myths like Laura Bush's "families have come together, marriages are up and divorce is down.''

[ANTI-SPAM] - Why do spammers forge someone's domain name and use that domain to send their spam? It's a good way to cover their tracks. But what happens if the person who owns the domain name finds out? What happens when he is a security expert and hacks into the spammer's computer?

Chuck sent me a link to such a story a couple of weeks ago. The original link is dead, but this site contains links to some mirror sites where the hacker documents all of the spammer's activities. It's some interesting reading: Behind Enemy Lines. (Warning: the domain name hosting this page uses profanity in its name).

[ENTERTAINMENT] - For the heck of it, here are 3 of my favorite reasons to visit Providence, RI:

• The Avon Cinema : Great theatre near the Brown Book Store and College Hill Book Store on Thayer street. Great place to see animation, cult classics, late night double features, and indy films. Once saw Nosferatu there with a live band doing the soundtrack.
  
• The Cable Car Cinema: Another great cinema, with armchairs and couches. Saw Mulholland Dr. there recently. It's small, but there's a nice cafe there and it's very cozy.
  
• Wings To Go: Best buffalo wings around.
  

Michael Moore's new book was under consideration to be scrapped?

Publisher's Weekly reports that Moore's book - which was all ready for it's September 11 release, is rotting away in the warehouse and will probably never see the light of day. Is it that the criticisms within are not valid (or no longer valid)? I doubt that's it.

With the collapse of Enron and the ensuing mess, it appears to me that Moore's brand of corporate and government scrutiny has its case ready-made. Why, when we perhaps need it most, is it no longer appropriate to point out the flaws of these powerful organizations?

Perhaps Moore has had enough of riteous criticism after the tounge-lashing he received following the blame that was wrongly laid at his feet (and Ralph Nader's feet) in the aftermath of the election fiasco. All the more shame on those short-sighted people who blamed anyone but Gore for his presidential loss.

I'm told that the book will be published after all. Good news, but really! Are we better off pulling a flag over our heads and hiding than trying to shed some light on the subject of corporate greed and imcompetence?

Is this a joke? : Welcome to Coincidence Design

Purports to be a service that will stalk a woman for you and engineer a "coincidence" so that you happen to encounter each other. You have been provided information about her life so that you can start a meaningful discussion with the woman and take it from there until she is smitten with you. The rates are sky-high.

It has the feeling of a student web project to me. What do you think... real, or fake? Lemme know.

The Fox Network TV show The Tick has been cancelled. I'm sorry to see it go, but I have to admit that it helped to introduce me to The Family Guy which was in an adjacent time slot and was much funnier. I like Patrick Warburton, but The Family Guy is a tough act to share the stage with. Check out some Family Guy Episodes online.

Maybe I'm a little slow when it comes to stuff on TV, but I just recently noticed Adult Swim on Cartoon Network. Sunday and Thursday nights from 10PM to 1AM they're showing the non-kid cartoons like Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Cowboy Beebop and SeaLab 2021.

I got this via the MOVEON.ORG mailing list: PATRIOT'S ENERGY PLEDGE

It's meant to be an effort to get together enough people who pledge to save enough energy to conserve the equivalent of a million gallons of oil. I think some of their reasoning is flawed.

For instance, they ask you to pledge to keep your car tuned and running smoothly and I have to assume that they calculate an "oil saved" value based on that promise. But of course they have no idea whether you would have done that anyway. But its heart is in the right place (I guess) and if it merely reminds people of the importance of conserving energy - and some of the ways we generally waste energy - it's worth something.

Clever bit of web-hosted interactivity and a little stress-relief. Care to Spank the Monkey?

Also, something Chuck sent my way, a funny parody of Microsoft Windows. Check out Windows RG (Really Good). Requires Flash.

Someone at the New York Times will not be unhappy to see three notorious Republicans go. I give you: Mr. T., Mr. G. and Mr. H. (New York Times requires a free signup to read their stories)

Here is my first post to the blog, Aces Full of links. I chose the name because it seemed a little distinctive. Let the fun begin.