Well the rain finally came in the form of a thunder storm and in the middle of the storms an electric substation was struck by lightening putting almost 22,000 people out of electricity for almost 2 hours. I decided it was a good time to start reading a book. So, I started reading Dan Brown's "Deception Point" I'm hoping it's a bit better than "The DaVinci Code" unlike most people I wasn't that impressed with that one, it was okay but not fantastic. Anyway, I'm off to read some more and I'll check in again later...
29 January 2005
26 January 2005
Waiting for the rain
It's been really hot here in Tasmania (32C) and because it usually is a temperate (20+ C) we have really been feeling the heat. Lucky for us the humidity isn't to bad which would make it so much worse. We are supposed to have a thunderstorm this afternoon and it is trying to build as I type. I hope we get a fair bit of rain as we need it. We have also been doing a lot of domestic stuff around the new house like planting rose bushes and we even had to repair a wall on the outside as a cement fixture the old owners had attached to a garden wall fell down the other day and put a hole through the existing wall. We have found that we can both be very "butch" so to speak. The whole repair experience made us both feel really good and a gave us a real sense of accomplishment. On another note I'm still going to the gym every other day and I guess it is starting to pay off as I have lost 4kg since starting 7 weeks ago. Yeah me!
22 January 2005
PEP for all
In a move in the forward direction the CDC has recently updated it's guidelines for the use of PEP (Post Exposure Prophylactic), a 28 day course of 3 antiretroviral medications that needs to be started within 72 hours of possible exposure of HIV. Until now PEP was only available to health care workers. A few states have/had individual policies. Countries like Australia have providing PEP for some time. This move by the CDC aims to make PEP available to all people that may be exposed to the virus. More here...
The Bush inauguration by the numbers
This list was provided by Kos in relation to the recent inauguration of one George Bush. What a waste of money when there are so many other things around the world that need urgent attention and could have put that money to much better use. What do you think?
$40 million: Cost of Bush inaugural ball festivities, not counting security costs.
$2,000: Amount FDR spent on the inaugural in 1945...about $20,000 in today's dollars.
$20,000: Cost of yellow roses purchased for inaugural festivities by D.C.'s Ritz Carlton.
200: Number of Humvees outfitted with top-of-the-line armor for troops in Iraq that could have been purchased with the amount of money blown on the inauguration.
$10,000: Price of an inaugural package at the Fairmont Hotel, which includes a Beluga caviar and Dom Perignon reception, a chauffeured Rolls Royce and two actors posing as "faux" Secret Service agents, complete with black sunglasses and cufflink walkie-talkies.
400: Pounds of lobster provided for "inaugural feeding frenzy" at the exclusive Mandarin Oriental hotel.
3,000: Number of "Laura Bush Cowboy cookies" provided for "inaugural feeding frenzy" at the Mandarin hotel.
$1: Amount per guest President Carter spent on snacks for guests at his inaugural parties. To stick to a tight budget, he served pretzels, peanuts, crackers and cheese and had cash bars.
22 million: Number of children in regions devastated by the tsunami who could have received vaccinations and preventive health care with the amount of money spent on the inauguration.
1,160,000: Number of girls who could be sent to school for a year in Afghanistan with the amount of money lavished on the inauguration.
$15,000: The down payment to rent a fur coat paid by one gala attendee who didn't want the hassle of schlepping her own through the airport.
$200,500: Price of a room package at D.C.'s Mandarin Oriental, including presidential suite, chauffeured Mercedes limo and outfits from Neiman Marcus.
2,500: Number of U.S. troops used to stand guard as President Bush takes his oath of office
26,000: Number of Kevlar vests for U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan that could be purchased for $40 million.
$290: Bonus that could go to each American solider serving in Iraq, if inauguration funds were used for that purpose.
$6.3 million: Amount contributed by the finance and investment industry, which works out to be 25 percent of all the money collected.
$17 million: Amount of money the White House is forcing the cash-strapped city of Washington, D.C., to pony up for inauguration security.
9. Percentage of D.C. residents who voted for Bush in 2004.
66. Percentage of Americans who think this over-the-top inauguration should have been scaled back.
$40 million: Cost of Bush inaugural ball festivities, not counting security costs.
$2,000: Amount FDR spent on the inaugural in 1945...about $20,000 in today's dollars.
$20,000: Cost of yellow roses purchased for inaugural festivities by D.C.'s Ritz Carlton.
200: Number of Humvees outfitted with top-of-the-line armor for troops in Iraq that could have been purchased with the amount of money blown on the inauguration.
$10,000: Price of an inaugural package at the Fairmont Hotel, which includes a Beluga caviar and Dom Perignon reception, a chauffeured Rolls Royce and two actors posing as "faux" Secret Service agents, complete with black sunglasses and cufflink walkie-talkies.
400: Pounds of lobster provided for "inaugural feeding frenzy" at the exclusive Mandarin Oriental hotel.
3,000: Number of "Laura Bush Cowboy cookies" provided for "inaugural feeding frenzy" at the Mandarin hotel.
$1: Amount per guest President Carter spent on snacks for guests at his inaugural parties. To stick to a tight budget, he served pretzels, peanuts, crackers and cheese and had cash bars.
22 million: Number of children in regions devastated by the tsunami who could have received vaccinations and preventive health care with the amount of money spent on the inauguration.
1,160,000: Number of girls who could be sent to school for a year in Afghanistan with the amount of money lavished on the inauguration.
$15,000: The down payment to rent a fur coat paid by one gala attendee who didn't want the hassle of schlepping her own through the airport.
$200,500: Price of a room package at D.C.'s Mandarin Oriental, including presidential suite, chauffeured Mercedes limo and outfits from Neiman Marcus.
2,500: Number of U.S. troops used to stand guard as President Bush takes his oath of office
26,000: Number of Kevlar vests for U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan that could be purchased for $40 million.
$290: Bonus that could go to each American solider serving in Iraq, if inauguration funds were used for that purpose.
$6.3 million: Amount contributed by the finance and investment industry, which works out to be 25 percent of all the money collected.
$17 million: Amount of money the White House is forcing the cash-strapped city of Washington, D.C., to pony up for inauguration security.
9. Percentage of D.C. residents who voted for Bush in 2004.
66. Percentage of Americans who think this over-the-top inauguration should have been scaled back.
21 January 2005
Sponge Bob promotes homosexuals???
Christian conservatives in the US are criticizing a new Sponge Bob video and claim the video is promoting homosexuality. Of course the creators of the cartoon character deny these claims.
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