People find inspiration in the strangest places. Even, in this case, the periodic table of elements. Click on an element to read a poem.

Via Digg.

Storm stopping for a nibble of grass.

Yesterday was a sports fan’s appetizer - the NBA draft. With the championship over, I tuned in to the ESPN coverage for a quick glance at what next season will bring. To my relief, Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison went to Charlotte as the #3 pick. Disappointingly, J.P Batista wasn’t drafted at all.

Why am I glad to see Morrison go with a year remaining on his eligiblity? Because now Gonzaga will go back to playing team ball instead of being a “supporting cast,” as they were often described by the national media. I wish Adam the best of luck in the NBA, but I’ll be happy to watch Gonzaga without him.

Afraid that party spirit might get a little out of control? LG Electronics has the cell phone for you. The LP4100, due to go on sale in the US later this year, has a built-in breath analyzer that shows an animated car swerving and crashing as a warning not to drive if the user’s alcohol level is too high. But best of all, you can set it up to block certain phone numbers if you fail the test. No drunk driving, no drunk dialing.

Now if only they could get it to block drunk wrong numbers ….

Via C|net

What if King Arthur had met Darth Vadar in the forest instead of the Black Knight?

MSNB has a sample 20 question test drawn from the exam immigrants must pass to become US citizens. I got 19 out of 20. How well did you do?

Billionaire Warren Buffett made the news this weekend with his announcement that, instead of waiting until his death, he’s giving away the vast majority of his enormous wealth now. Of the 85% of the stock he’s donating, 5/6th will go to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on the condition that the foundation’s giving continue at its previous levels. The Gates Foundation focuses primarily on world health issues, fighting such diseases as malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis, in addition to technology grants to schools and libraries. Whatever my feeling about the Microsoft machine, I have great admiration for their charitable works.

But another sixth of Buffett’s fortune, $7 billion, will go to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation which was named in honor of his late wife, whose focus is reproductive health, family planning, and pro-choice causes, and on preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. With public funds for women’s health rapidly becoming extinct, this donation could make the difference between forced pregnancy and self-determination for women.

While other members of the financial elite are spending their money to insure their own interests, Buffett is exhibiting applaudable social conscience. I hope he lives to see the fruits of this endeavor.

“Ordinary people sometimes do bad things. A wrong-headed business decision, a romantic encounter in a late-night bar, a rivalry with a neighbor over the placement of a fence, any of these seemingly insignificant moments can initiate a series of events that, like a rusty nail in the sole of the foot, can systemically poison a normal law-abiding person’s life and propel him into a world he thought existed only in the perverse imaginings of pulp novelists.”

James Lee Burke
The Last Car to the Elysian Fields, page 156

This priceless piece of prose is almost throw-away to Burke, he does them so easily. But never have I heard a better encapsulation of what makes a character-driven novel.

I don’t usually do quizzes, but …. Hat tip to Cynthia at Sierra Sage.

Where was your soul born?[pics + detailed answeres]

Your soul was born in the Shadows.Your soul was born in the shadows of the moon at night. You’re all mystery and enigma and your element is the Moon. No one really knows who you are, but they might think they know you. You only tell people fragments of who you are and never show your true personality. That doesn’t have to mean that youre being someone you’re not though. You’re always yourself and you never do something just because someone else does. Some might think you’re a little cold or dull, but you’re just hiding your true self for some reason. Maybe only a couple of selected people have ever seen the true you. You are loyal to these people and it will take time if anyone else wants to gain your trust. You let people think that they know you and that you trust them. But sooner or later they will realize that they never really knew you. Be careful. Someday you might need someone who knows what you need. Trust people. You prefer silence and tranquillity. You’re calm and collected and a nice person most of the time.

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Since I feel funny posting updates on my diet, I’ve added a running tally to my sidebar. That way anyone who is interested can glance at it, but it’s unobtrusive for those who aren’t. I’ll be updating it on Sundays for as long as it takes.

Jeez, just mention “diet” a few times and the comment spam starts flowing in. Thank God for Akismet.