Thankfully, I enjoyed one at Christmas (thanks Brian!)

Monks run out of the world’s best beer.

My good friend Mike’s birth is celebrated today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!

OUCH!

I have had a few skin things done over the last few days and have a total of 16 stitches in my back. I bring this up to just bring some attention to some important groups; not about me. (and no - I do not have skin cancer - the results were negative)

Check these places:

• American Cancer Society
• National Children’s Cancer Society
• Livestrong

Because I decided to not attend the Philadelphia show of Live 8, I was going to tune in via TV. With the expectations similar to the Live Aid concert broadcast, I expected a similar take. Sure there were more artists and more time zones so some tape delayed stuff was a given and not a “see every perfomance” kinda of vibe was expected. What I got is one of the biggest pieces of crap broadcasting EVER.

I did not get to watch the show. I got to watch the MTV/VH1 VJ’s watch the show and talk over the show and watch the Viacom executives line their pockets with ad revenues. HORRID!! And who cleared Denny’s as a sponsor. I mean come on, the whole thing is about impossible living conditions and the sorrows of the people of Africa and they talk about their existance on less than a $1 a day and then look — A meat lover’s slam at Denny’s for $4.99. WOW! With a weeks worth of money an African can get that and a cup of coffee. GEEZ! That of course is in addition to promoting all the latest and greatest VH1/MTV programming. Unreal.

Much to Catherine’s celebration, I am no longer watching VH1. They sunk that ship today. They were already headed down that road and today they cannonballed the dingy into oblivion.

And yes, I was aware of the aol online broadcasts. Much credit to them for putting it together the way it should have been done. But the TV broadcast represents the larger face as the online broadcasts are to a more restrictive audience.

Shame on you Viacom, shame.

The cause is great and valid. You should look into that. My cynicism at the broadcast is at the broadcast and not the cause. Check them out :

• http://www.one.org
• http://www.live8live.org

UPDATE:

Here is a link to criticisms of MTV coverage verses net coverage. NOTE. It is on AOL’s site, and they were the ones doing the net coverage so it is not unbiased in my opinion but it does point out some of the short comings.

OK more links on MTV/VH1 and their sucking:

• Kansas City Star
• phillyfuture.org
• boston.com

Here is an article that discusses the new evidence of global warming, not from an air tempature view point, but ocean temps. Check it out!

Sunday Argus: Here’s the evidence, Mr. President

I never cut and paste whole articles but this is too good.

Some cancers are caused by heterocyclic amines, DNA-damaging chemicals found in cooked meat and fish. When Sakae Arimoto-Kobayashi’s team at Okayama University in Japan fed these chemicals to mice, the DNA damage to their liver, lungs and kidneys was reduced by up to 85% if the mice drank non-alcoholic beer instead of water.

Arimoto-Kobayashi thinks as-yet unidentified compounds in lager and stout prevent the amines binding to and damaging DNA. If these compounds can be identified, brewers might be able to produce beers particularly rich in them, or they could be added to foods.

Heavy alcohol consumption is blamed for around 6% of all cancers in western countries (New Scientist print edition, 18 December 2004), though moderate consumption reduces the risk of heart disease. Since the mice drank non-alcoholic beer, the findings do not show whether moderate consumption of normal beer has any anti-cancer benefits. “The total benefits and risks of beer with alcohol are still under consideration,” says Arimoto-Kobayashi.

src: New Scientist

I know I am one to extoll the virtues of not doing things for Microsoft but here is a very good time to hed my advice. The Mozilla group have released the new Firefox browser as version 1.0 today. This is very important and will enhance everything about the internet for you. It will seemlessly import your Favorites (if you are an IE user) or Bookmarks (if you are a Netscape or Mozilla user). It is fast, light weight and more secure than IE. In the last 2 months it has gained enough significant share in the market place that the Browser Wars 2.0 has started. This is great news for people everywhere. You should download it. The switch is easy. Here are some links to some information. First the important ones - Firefox:

1. Get FireFox
2. Switching From Internet Explorer to Firefox
3. US Governemt Recommends switching to alterntive browser

And now the IE Flaws and Security Issues . By the way, do you know it has been since last century since IE had a significant upgrade?? Makes you wonder what the MS guys do all day.

1. 2004: Internet Explorer’s year of shame
2. IE exploits top web security threat list
3. Is It Time to Ditch IE?

Time to switch. Get a browser you can trust. Get Firefox.

My friend Scott posted this link on his web site. Considering the election and the end result and regardless of whom you voted for this article gives an interesting look.

Will We Be Led? by Mitch Albom