The game is in Japanese, but this "puzzle" game is pretty hard. I am very bad at it. It frustrates me. You should try it...lol! You don't need to download the character download...the game is self explanatory.

Posted at DodgerBlues.com:
Today is January 29, 2004. Dodger fans, however, will come to know it as 1/29. Obviously to compare is to 9/11 is both absurd and insulting, but on 1/29, things will change forever. On 1/29, Frank McCourt's purchase of the Los Angeles Dodgers will be approved by Major League Baseball owners, who are essentially being led to their decision by a jackass commissioner. Bud Selig isn't the only jackass, however. There are lots of them in LA, a city whose futile attempt to stop the sale has come far too slowly and far too late. It was painfully clear from day one what the Boston developer's intentions were (despite what he might say today), yet everyone continued to work toward finalizing the deal. Only in the past week or two have anti-McCourt efforts begun to materialize—far too late to have any impact. The only impact there'll be now is the impact of the top deck collapsing onto the reserved level below. And the reserved level collapsing onto the loge level. And the loge level collapsing onto the yellow seats. And an organization that was once a treasure collapsing into a big f***ing dust cloud that's going to kill us all. Sure, it's been no picnic the last few years under Fox, and even during O'Malley's final years, but we're entering new territory now. Enemy territory. And we don't have weapons. Just Fred McGriff bobbleheads. Hard-core Dodger fans have cursed and despised the team in recent years, but there's one reason for that: we care. After 1/29, however, it's going to be very tough to care. That's what's sad. When we know the owner has no aspirations to win, when we know the castle we call Dodger Stadium isn't long for this world, when we know even the guys on the team are dejected and uninspired... it's going to be very tough to care. Should we at least give McCourt a chance? Judging by the look of his weasel-like face, no. At this point, having any hope would only make the inevitable twice as painful. And while pain is something Dodger fans have become very accustomed to experiencing, the pain of watching it all go to shit is more than many of us can take. There are a lot of people, however, who are happy—most of them in the city of Boston. The fact that Boston appears thrilled to be getting rid of McCourt is a pretty morbid sign.

From Wired.com: The 101 Dumbest Moments in Business. Our fourth annual review of the most shameful, dishonest, and just plain stupid moments of the past year.
3 Don't hate the player. Hate the game.
In September, retail chain Urban Outfitters begins peddling Ghettopoly, a Monopoly knockoff. The top hat, shoe, and car are replaced with a machine gun, marijuana leaf, basketball, and rock of crack cocaine. Reacting to protests, Urban Outfitters pulls the game from its stores.
"We deeply regret that comments made by on-air personalities were misinterpreted. Clear Channel does not condone advocating violence in any form."—Clear Channel Radio CEO John Hogan, after disc jockeys at three of the company's stations urge listeners to attack bicyclists with tactics that include slamming on car brakes, throwing open car doors suddenly, and beaning riders with soda bottles.
8 Just to be on the safe side, let's also lose the jack, the fuel pump, and the four-stroke engine.
In Canada, General Motors is forced to come up with a new name for its Buick LaCrosse sedan after discovering that crosse is a slang term for masturbation in Quebec.
9 It then opens a new store in La Crosse, Wis.
In April, Swedish furniture giant Ikea explains that a children's bunk bed called the Gutvik is named for "a tiny town in Sweden." Announcing that bit of etymology becomes necessary when Germans point out that, in their neck of the woods, the word sounds like a phrase that means "good f***." Ikea yanks the Gutvik from its catalogs in Germany.

I've got wireless internet in my house...why not wireless cable TV? Pretty soon we won;t need any wires in our homes at all. I know this would be a welcome change for me. I spent last weekend running cable under my house and through my walls...wrenching my shoulder in the meantime...just so I could save the $200 installation fees!

In a follow up story to something I wrote about previously, the finals of the Master Lego Builder competition were this weekend. All told, three people were given their dream jobs of becoming the next "master lego builder." For the complete story, click here.

I've been arguing with a friend of mine over whether basketball or baseball is the better sport. This is the latest e-mail sent to me: I just finished conducting an unscientific polling and basketball is a 10-1 favorite over baseball so you owe me something.
My Reply: I think the selection pool was tainted. If I ran the same informal poll, I could come up with a 10-1 vote count as well. Basketball is, no offense here hopefully, a lame-brained person's sport...lol. Basically, you don't need to have much knowledge of the game or be a big fan to enjoy watching a game. Baseball, on the other hand, is really more for the "knowledgeable" fan. Someone who really wants to get to know the intricacies, strategies and rules of the game.

I'm NOT saying every basketball fan is lame-brained. What I am saying is the average person you ask IS much more likely to say they like Basketball because of the "action." When, in reality, they just don't know everything there is to know about the two sports.

Crackin' me up! The Dodger Blues Website has a classified ad for a new Dodgers hitting coach under the heading: Wanted: A sucker with nothing better to do.

The Raiders finally decided on a head coach: Norv Turner - Offensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins and failed ex-coach of the Washington Redskins. He coached teh first ever 100 million dollar payroll in the NFL when he was in Washington...and didn;t even make the playoffs. He's been the offensive coordinator in Miami for four years...with what many believe is one of...if not the...best running backs in the game...Ricky Williams....yet Miami ranked 12th out of 16 teams in total offense last year....ahead of such inept Offensive teams as Oakland, Cleveland, Buffalo & Houston. With the before mentioned Williams they managed a #8 overall rating in Rushing yards and yards per game....and, here's the scary part....12th in passing and passing yards per game. All tis adds up tonother wo or three years of misery in Raider Nation.

Remember the story about MikeRowesoft.com and Microsoft threatening legal action if he didn't give it up? Well, Mike Rowe has settled with Microsoft to give up the name...Microsoft would cover Mike's costs of changing to a new Web site and redirecting traffic from the old site. Microsoft also had agreed to help the teen get Microsoft certification training and other gifts, including an Xbox game console, he said, and has invited Mike to a technology festival in March at the corporation's headquarters in suburban Redmond.

Some of the "Best of the Worst:" A 101 Dumbest Moments in Business Retrospective from Business 2.0.

1 A gentleman named Mitch Maddox legally changes his name to DotComGuy and spends a year living in a house filled with webcams, using only the Internet to interact with the outside world, an effort that conclusively proves ... um, nothing.

6 With the slogan "Sometimes wetter is better," Kimberly-Clark introduces Cottonelle Fresh Rollwipes premoistened toilet paper -- or, to put it another way, baby wipes for adults.

8 Unilever subsidiary Lipton approves an ad in which a man standing in line for communion holds a bowl of onion dip, presumably to improve the taste of the body of Christ. Under protest, Lipton withdraws the ad.

10 Six months after Midas (MDS) hires marketing firm Cliff Freeman & Partners, lauding its "strategic insight into our business," that insight shows itself in the form of a TV ad featuring an elderly woman in a Midas shop. Told of the company's lifetime guarantee, the woman rips open her blouse and asks, "So what can you do with these?" Strategically and insightfully, the ad is quickly pulled.

11 In April, 2002, Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) starts selling a line of Asian-themed T-shirts with slogans like "Wong Brothers Laundry Service: Two Wongs Can Make It White." After a firestorm of outraged complaints, A&F pulls the line. "We thought everyone would love this T-shirt," A&F spokesman Hampton Carney says. "We are truly and deeply sorry."

So after backing down from it's threats against Mike Rowe and his website mikerowesoft.com, Microsoft corporation has again threatened another guy with the domain mikerosoft.ca. This one is even worse however because this guy runs a non-profit corporation from this website. Mike Morris' website contains updates of graphics-card drivers, a blog with information about his legal problems, and a disclaimer stating that the site is not owned by, endorsed by, or affiliated in any way with Microsoft.

Interesting review on the Christian Science Moniter webpage about a couple internet sites completely devoted to checking political facts. The story talks about websites called factcheck.org & Campaign Desk. FactCheck (online since December) monitors the accuracy of political speeches, ads, interviews and any other method that one candidate, party, or special interest group might use in promoting a specific view - and then posts, "clarifications," online. Campaign Desk is a searchable weblog which will be active throughout the pre-presidential and presidential election campaigns, with the objective of examining political press coverage as it happens rather than in the traditional form of a post-election post-mortem.

Another entrant in the, "I can't beleive this is a lawsuit" category: Legal Battle Over Chat-Room STD's: Health officials want to take AOL to court for refusing to warn its members about outbreaks of sexually transmitted diseases among gay men who use its service.

Are you kidding me? That's like suing the makers of the show Elimidate because the woman got pregnant! If you play the game you are responsible for knowing the rules. Don't blame someone else because of your ignorance!

Any Rotisserie baseball players in the Seattle / Snohomish County area looking for a league? My NL only, 5x5, auction keeper league is looking for new owners. I started this league as an internet based auction draft league & we are making the switch to a live auction league. So we have quite a few openings as most of the owners were from out of state. Cost is $50. The entire constitution is posted at this site. Give me a holler if you are interested & I'll send you some more info.

Just out of sheer embarrassment I thought I would post a picture of my sister singing Karaoke. She is second from the right (the shortest one).

It's time to vote for the 4th Annual Weblog awards. Check this site out for the best of the best.

Dogfighting in the USA? Think it's not a problem? Check out this story where 123 people were arrested in Georgia for gambling and attending a "winner-take-all" $50K dogfighting match over this past weekend.

"It's as important to our network as 'Survivor' is to CBS," said Gail Berman, Fox's entertainment president. "It's as important to our network as 'Friends' is to NBC. We need an engine."
Yes Folks, he's talking about American Idol which starts up again tonight on FOX. I'll be watching....will you?

This excerpt from Dodger Blues.com on the signing by the Dodgers of Jeremy Giambi:
The fun continues: Another crappy brother
Generally, the pain associated with being a Dodger fan comes from failure of the team to live up to expectations. Generally, they look good on paper. Now, however, it's safe to say that they don't. They don't look good on paper. Not notebook paper, not tracing paper, not wax paper. There isn't a piece of paper in the universe that could make the Dodgers look good. A blindfold might be the only trick. But get yours quick, because blindfold stores in the LA area are quickly selling out... especially after the Dodgers announced on Friday that they've signed crappy brother Jeremy Giambi (see other crappy brothers) to a minor-league contract and believe that he's got a good chance of making the team. When Jeremy Giambi has a good chance of making a team, that team is not good. Although, Giambi did hit .197 last season, which is about 20 points higher than the Dodger average. If you look at it that way, he's an improvement. After all, we prefer not to look at the glass as half empty, but rather half full—half full of big, chunky pieces of horse shit.

Just another example of a large corporation, with no sense of humor, picking on the "little guy" again!. Microsoft is telling Mike Rowe he has to rename his new web site design website....mikerowesoft.com.

Rowe registered the name in August. In November, he received a letter from Microsoft's Canadian lawyers, Smart & Biggar, informing him he was committing copyright infringement.
He was advised to transfer the name to the Redmond-based corporation.
He wrote back asking to be compensated for giving up his name. Microsoft's lawyers offered him $10 in U.S. funds. Then he asked for $10,000.
On Thursday, he received a 25-page letter accusing him of trying to force Microsoft into giving him a large settlement.
"I never even thought of getting anything out of them," he said, adding that he only asked for the $10,000 because he was "sort of mad at them for only offering 10 bucks."
"It's not their name. It's my name. I just think it's kind of funny that they'd go after a 17-year-old," Rowe said.
Company spokesman Jim Desler said Sunday, "Microsoft has been in communication with Mr. Rowe in a good-faith effort to reach a mutually agreeable resolution. And we remain hopeful we can resolve this issue to everyone's satisfaction."

NASCAR soming to Snohomish County, WA? What once seemed far-fetched is becoming closer & closer to reality. Man what this would mean for the local economy. Me, being someone who likes growth, thinks this is a wonderful thing!

A Seattle firm is preparing a study on the larger economic impact that a new NASCAR track would have specifically for the Puget Sound region. But reports on other areas with large race tracks look promising.

In Arizona, the ISC-owned Phoenix International Raceway injected more than $270 million overall into the state's economy in 1999, according to an Arizona State University study. That included more than $124 million in spending by out-of-state visitors.

Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit sets the record straight on whether George Bush said a strike by Iraq was "imminent" (Hint, he did not).

Seattle's influence on Mars!

Do not use profanity. Be very careful when discussing financial or business affairs. Avoid any mention of your private parts. Do not offer any guarantees, or refer to checks that may or may not be in the mail.
Refrain from describing anything or anybody as "free." Abstain from the exuberant use of punctuation marks. Shun simple salutations like "Hello," and opt instead to craft a detailed, personalized subject line.
Oh, and don't ever use the word opt, particularly in conjunction with the words "in" or "out."

This is the advice from a story at Wired referring to how SPAM filters are sometimes taking out real e-mails along with the junk mail.

Everyone knows San Francisco is a left wing town. Everyone knows the SF Gate is a left Wing paper/website. But why is it that most journalists need to make it so obvious they have political agendas? In this story about Markos Moulitsas Zuniga and how he runs a Blog as a paid consultant for the Howard Dean Campaign (www.dailyKos.com), the story online gives a direct link to his site. In the next paragraph or two it mentions the republican site, Instapundit, but no link to it. Oversite? I doubt it. While most people with half a web brain can figure out the site is at www.instapundit.com, that's not the point. Newspapers are supposed to be watchdogs for what's happening in the world. This is just another prime example of how that dog is allowed to poop on only one side of the yard.
In reality, this is a very good story about blogging and the role it can play in the media and in the political realm. I recommend the story, but take exception to the style.

Just an absolutely fantastic first-hand story about a soldier meeting the U.S. President in his visit to Iraq. A MUST read.

PETA's impotence ad a no-no with CBS
Animal rights group says network rejects $2M to air its meat/impotence ad during Super Bowl. According to PETA, eating meat causes impotence.
CBS spokesman Dana McClintock said the network rejected the ad because of its "general policy against airing advocacy advertisements.

PETA argues that's not true, pointing out that CBS had aired an anti-smoking commercial from Truth.com during the Super Bowl.

"CBS has no problem with airing commercial after commercial advocating the consumption of fried chicken, pork sausage and fast-food burgers, even though eating these products are making Americans fat, sick and boring in bed," PETA spokeswoman Lisa Lange wrote in an e-mail to CNN/Money.

From the "someone has way too much time on their hands" file: A blog devoted to nothing but Seinfeld. Complete with Scripts, videos & DVD's for sale. Everything you ever wanted to know but were afraid to ask about Seinfeld.

Vladimir Guerrero signed with the Angels...the Dodgers have signed off. Here's a good story on the subject from my friends at DodgerBlues.com stating: With Vladimir Guerrero going to Anaheim, it's clear that the Dodgers have no illusions of fielding a major league team—EVER again. WARNING: The folks at Dodgerblues hold nothing back...most writings are rated R for language.

IF you like Liberal Spoof Humor, Tom Burka over at Opinions You Should Have, writes some pretty funny stuff. Today's story deals with Prez Bush invading Mars.

The Yo-Yo car sales trap: A dealer calls you back after you've driven the car off the lot and says, "there's something wrong with your financing, we'll need you to come in." Usually thins means they are trying to get a better deal for themselves. Here is a good story on the subject. This actually happened to me back in 1997 at a Ford dealership. However, when I stood my ground and said, "Hey, if you can't get it approved, the car is right here. I'll just go look from something else." They backed down and "miraculously" got it approved.

Picture of Mars surface & tracks of the Rover leading back to the lander. See Full story of the Rover's successfull first roll out of lander here.

Cool link to someone test driving a Lamborghini: Click Here

Want to make sure you dream about that big game tomorrow? How about dreaming you are the President of the United States? A Japanese company has invented a product which, it says, allows owners to create their own dreams. The Yumemi Kobo, or "dream workshop" uses a voice recording, along with lights, music and smells, to help people direct their own dreams during periods of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

Ironic quote of the day: Windows is about choice - you can mix and match software and music player stuff. We believe you should have the same choice when it comes to music services.---Dave Fester, general manager of Microsoft's Windows digital media division, Responding to Hewlett-Packard's agreement to bundle Apple's iTunes music store on its computers at last week's Consumer Electronics Show. He went on to call the move "uncompetitive."

So let me get this straight....Microsoft has spent millions of dollars in court arguing that it is ok for them to bundle software, but when the competition does it - it is "uncompetitive?" All I can do is laugh!

Here's a site that shows the best innovations at the CES this year. This site lists the: 2004 CES Innovations Awards Honorees.

Survivor is back! Just another reason to love the Superbowl...it marks the beginning of a new Survivor series! I truely beleive this is the best show ever created. It takes peoples "true colors" and brings them out so everyone can see them.

PANAMA. Eighteen castaways, including four champions and some of the series' best personalities, will be stranded once again to compete for the million-dollar prize. Who will outwit, outplay, and outlast all others
(Backgrounds=Tribe Assigned To: Red=Chapera, Yellow=Saboga, Green=Mogo Mogo)

ALL-STAR STATS
Here's the SURVIVOR: ALL-STARS castaways breakdown: four from PULAU TIGA, five from THE AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK, three from AFRICA, two from MARQUESAS, one from THAILAND, two from THE AMAZON and one from PEARL ISLANDS PANAMA.

MARQUESAS’ Rob M. and THAILAND’S Shii Ann share the distinction of previously having been voted out the earliest. Both were ousted in the seventh episode.

Four All-Stars were Sole Survivor: Richard, Tina, Ethan and Jenna M.

The oldest All-Star is 76-year-old Rudy. The youngest is Jenna M., who is 22.

The median age of the 18 All-Stars is 37.

Some ALL-STAR tribemates have been together before. Whereas Chapera's Alicia and Amber were both on THE AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK, there are two sets of castmates in Saboga: Jenna L. and Rudy were on PULAU TIGA; Jerri and Tina were on THE AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK.

Today's featured item from the CES is the "Gadget Jacket." This is a jacket that carries everything from your Ipod to your cell phone & has solar power panels to charge their batteries!
Despite its gadget-oriented accommodations, the jacket's style resembles those worn at the slopes or on the hiking trails. Fashionista outdoorsy types are assured of cloaking their geek status as they lug Palms, iPods and cell phones into the wilderness without losing power.

More stuff from the CES (Consumer Electronics Show):
Samsung introduced an 80-inch plasma TV, the world's largest flat-panel home television. The Samsung monster is expected to debut next year. Pricing remains up in the air but such sets will cost in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Other TVs include Sharp's Aquos, a 15-inch LCD with Wi-Fi connectivity, which allows users to tote the TV from room to room like a laptop computer. The battery-operated set will retail for $1,800 when shipped in February.
Sharp introduced a line of LCD TVs with built-in TiVo-like digital video recording features and two PC-card slots. The slots let users record TV programming onto a portable hard drive or wirelessly connect to a home computer network. The 15- and 20-inch models will be available in the next quarter with suggested prices of $1,399 or $1,899.
Philips Electronics' MiraVision Mirror TV comes in a 17-inch, 23-inch or 30-inch LCD display, and the screen is set in a polarized mirror. In a test lab with hidden cameras, Philips researchers said, users enjoyed watching morning news shows and traffic reports while brushing their teeth or shaving.
Philips introduced a digital camcorder the size of a key ring, including a 1.5-gigabyte hard drive that can store up to 24 minutes of video. The device, roughly the size of a Pez candy dispenser, can also hold digital photos or MP3 songs.
"Voice Analysis Eyeglasses" provide real-time analysis on the inside of the lenses about whoever is talking at the time, says its maker, the Israeli company Nemesysco, which developed the technology for counterterrorism and government customers.
"A chip inside the glasses is able to read the voice frequency of the person you are talking to," said Beata Gutman, a spokeswoman for the company. "The voice is analyzed through that chip and there are lights that indicate whether the person is lying."

Finally! For those of us Survivor fans we finally get an official list of who is coming back on the All-Star Survivor starting In Super Bowl Sunday (Feb 1).
The contestants are:

• Richard Hatch, winner of the original "Survivor: Pulau Tiga," along with Rudy Boesch, Sue Hawk and Jenna Lewis.

• Tina Wesson, winner of "Survivor: The Australian Outback," as well as her runner-up, Colby Donaldson, and Amber Brkich, Jerri Manthey and Alicia Calaway.

• Ethan Zohn, winner of "Survivor: Africa," plus Lex van den Berghe and Tom Buchanan.

• From "Survivor: Marquesas," Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien and Rob Mariano.

• From "Survivor: Thailand," Shii Ann Huang.

• Jenna Morasca, winner of "Survivor: The Amazon," and Rob Cesternino.

• Rupert Boneham, from "Survivor: Pearl Islands."

Breaking with tradition, the 18 contestants will be broken into three tribes, not the usual two.

Some things you read and they just bring tears to your eyes. Like this story on cnn.com about the way they found the three girls who were abducted jsut the other day in Georgia. Here is an excerpt of the 911 call....
Caller: "I need to know the Amber Alert license plate number."

Dispatcher: "Georgia plate 730 YFV -- Have you seen the vehicle?"

Caller: ""Just one second," he said and paused. Moments later, he spoke again. "Yeah, that's it," he said. "We're right behind it."

"Are you still with the vehicle?" the dispatcher asked the caller.

"Yes," the caller said. "We're going to follow it. He just screamed at one of the kids."

Finally, the dispatcher reported that officers were on the way and asked the man to stay on the phone until the police had them in sight. Passing mile marker 338, the lead officer said he could not find them, and the dispatcher asked the caller to turn on hazard flashers.

The caller then saw the officer. "OK, he's got us," the caller said.

"Yes, awesome," the dispatcher said, the first indication of emotion during the entire conversation.

"I'm coming up behind him," an officer reported.

For several more minutes, the radio broadcasts crackled with conversation between officers and the dispatcher, heavily sprinkled with police jargon.

Twice, the caller asked if police wanted his car to pull over, and twice the dispatcher asked him to hold on a moment.

When the dispatcher finally returned to the caller, he reported seeing six or seven police cars. When the dispatcher asked for the caller's phone number and name in case authorities needed to call him again, the line went dead.

Minutes later, Georgia police chased Jones into Tennessee and bumped his car on the first exit ramp. He spun and crashed into a pole, police said. He then shot himself in the chin before officers could reach the car, police said.

The three girls were rescued safely.

Also from Wired.com: The 20 MAC's that matter most. This month is the 20th anniversary of Apple Computer's Macintosh. To Mark the occasion, Wired news picks a list of the 20 most memorable Mac models.

From the Be Careful What You Are Getting department...a new study reveals that 45% of the software/executable files downloaded from Kazaa have some kind of virus and/or trojan horse attached to them....I think I'll stick with music files!

"Some code was designed to infect every file in a computer user's Kazaa download directory with a virus. Other code would steal the user's AOL Instant Messenger password or install a program on their computer to allow the attacker to surreptitiously send spam through it or otherwise take over the machine remotely to steal personal data and files on the computer."

This from the Consumer Electronics Show via Wired.com...a future home featuring a toilet that make toilet paper obsolete (are you curious?)...How about an oven that refrigerates your food, then cooks it at a time you specify? And if your gonna be late...no problem, just go on the web abd reset the time!

This link is to a website written by a guy name Jamie from New England who went on a job interview to become a "master-builder" for Lego. It is a really cool story and a "must-read."

17 sneaky -- and fairly painless -- ways to build a nest egg

From Dollarstretcher.com

Here is a cool website which outlines, "How everyday things are made." They have things on here like Airplanes, Cars, Candy, Glass Bottles & more. Here is a little intro from the website:
If you've ever wondered how things are made - products like candy, cars, airplanes, or bottles - or if you've been interested in manufacturing processes, like forging, casting, or injection molding, then you've come to the right place.

AIM has developed an introductory website for kids and adults showing how various items are made. It covers over 40 different products and manufacturing processes, and includes almost 4 hours of manufacturing video. It is targeted towards non-engineers and engineers alike. Think of it as your own private online factory tour, or a virtual factory tour, if you wish.

We are able to cover only a small number of products and processes, but we believe it will give you a good introduction to the world of manufacturing.

Enjoy!

ESPN played out the college football national championship on it's computers. The simulation was doen by a company called WhatIf Sports. The final score? 24-21 LSU. After simulating 50 games, LSU came out on top, winning 52 percent of the time, while 60 percent of the games were decided by seven points or less. The average score was LSU 24, USC 21.

Being that I am a Junior Hockey Season Ticket Holder (The expansion & playoff bound Everett Silvertips) I would be remiss if I didn't mention the US Junior Hockey Team won it's first ever Junior Hockey Title over powerhouse Canada on Monday. The U.S., down 3-1, scored three straight goals to capture the title...allthough the last of the three was an "own-goal" in which the Canadian goalie ( Marc-Andre Fleury) bounced a clearing pass off one of his own skaters into his own net. "This rates right up there with the Miracle On Ice," said tournament MVP Zach Parise, referring to the 1980 Winter Olympics when the Americans won the gold medal." Fleury was the MVP of the 2003 tournament and the first overall pick in the NHL draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

January 8, 2004. A day you should have had marked on your calendars. When the first ball is struck in Kapalua, Hawaii it officially marks the beginning on the 2004 PGA Golf season. Judging from the ride we had last year (Annika playing on the tour, the "boycott" at the Masters, Tiger NOT winning a major) it should be a great 2004. Allready we had Justin Leonard break his rib while stretching & is out 6 weeks.
It's hard to remember Tiger is only 28 years old. Has he even hit his prime yet? And how does Tiger stack up to the great Jack Nicklaus? Comparing their first eight years, Woods has a leg up on Nicklaus in almost every category: eight majors compared to seven, 39 PGA Tour victories compared to 29. Nicklaus' start had been the best in the history of the sport...But, because Tiger didn't win a major (allthough he still managed to capture "player of the Year" honors) many on the tour believe it's not the Tiger Tour anymore.

Verizon to spend $3 billion on upgrades, offerings
Verizon this week said it will spend $3 billion over the next two years to bring broadband networking to the mass market.

The investment will include two network expansions and the rollout of a service and product to help businesses and residences integrate and manage disparate communications devices and applications.

The new service, called iobi, is designed to utilize the carrier's wireline, wireless, data and IP networks to link a customer's various communication devices into a customized personal communications network.

A new product called Verizon One combines a DSL modem and wireless router with a touch-screen computer and a cordless telephone, and is configured for the iobi service.

The network expansions involve both Verizon's wireless and wireline networks. Verizon Wireless will expand its third-generation (3G) mobile data BroadbandAccess network nationwide over the next two years. In addition to its ongoing annual capital investment, Verizon will invest an additional $1 billion over the next two years to further deploy its Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) broadband technology.

Verizon Wireless ... to build high-speed network for use in major U.S. cities by this summer.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Wireless said Thursday it will spend $1 billion over the next two years to build a high-speed wireless Internet data network that will be available for use in major U.S. cities this summer.

The network, which will use third-generation or "3G" technology provided by Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), will be fast enough to allow consumers to download video and music as well as send video messages.

The high-speed network, called BroadbandAccess, will be available to businesses and individual customers beginning in the summer of 2004. Since 2003, Verizon has operated wireless broadband networks in Washington, DC, in a partnership with Lucent Technologies and in San Diego with Nortel Networks.

The service, which will run at speeds of 300 to 500 kilobits, will cost $79.99 a month with a one-year contract, the company said.

With tax season coming up here is a good article about some of the many changes in the 2003 Tax laws.

Tech giant's new product links computer with TV
"In an address Wednesday evening to kick off the International Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates introduced technology that allows users to take their Windows Media Center PCs and any digital photos, music and video running on the platform, and display them on TVs or other entertainment devices.

"Manufacturing partners including Samsung, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Gateway are planning to incorporate the technology, dubbed the Windows Media Center Extender, into set-top boxes for sale later this year. The devices would hook up to a TV and connect to the Media Center PC through a wired or wireless computer network."

Some cool things being introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show this week.
Lightglove: wireless wrist remote that operates all the electronics in your smart home.
Planon Systems Solutions's DocuPen Scanner: pen-size scanner that can capture an entire page of text and graphics in four seconds and can store as many as 100 pages in 2 megabytes of flash memory
Sony Double-Layer DVD: Double--layer DVD drives and discs will ship this quarter. With nearly twice the capacity of standard discs, or about 8.5GB each.

The weather in the Northwest is getting National attention in this story on Cnn.com's front page. I wonder what those in the upper mid-west think of stories like this where 6-10 inches of snow paralyzes an entire part of the country?

MAJOR DEAL WITH NORTEL TO SPEED ROLLOUT OF NATION'S LARGEST PACKET-SWITCHED WIRELINE NETWORK

Verizon has selected Nortel as its exclusive supplier of voice-over-IP equipment for the near-term.

Nortel and Verizon have reached an interim letter of agreement (LOA) covering the initial terms of the arrangement. They expect to replace this LOA with a five-year agreement within the next few months but Nortel's exclusivity, for now, only extends 18 months.

As much as I was skeptical about Arnold leading California back to prominence, I have to say the people he has hired & his seeming dedication make me thing he has a real shot at pulling this off. I listened to a lot of his State of the State speech and just read this article at cnn.com and I am impressed by his plan.

An Ipod like device for DVD's...it can't get here fast enough. Seems every time they come out with something that allows me to copy my DVD's, instantly Hollywood responds with a block of some kind. This device seems liek a good alternative.

So..."Mahatma Gandhi used to run a gas station in St. Louis." Well, that is if you listen to Hillary Clinton. I know she was just joking...And I know we all need to just lighten up....But if this were a high ranking Republican politician making a joke like this, he/she would get vilified. Since it is Hillary I'm sure it will all blow over in a day or so. I don't know what it is out the Clinton's that they can lie, cheat, steal, insult & still people love them. I guess that's what makes them good politicians.

My Son and I attempted to make a bucket snowman!

Snow! Today is a snow day. There are a few inches on the ground with a few more yet to come. The office is closed & it is still snowing pretty good outside.

For those of you wondering what the new arrival looks like, here is a picture of new baby Logan: