Events

MSNBC is reporting this hour that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has suffered a "significant" stroke: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a “significant” stroke Wednesday after being brought to the hospital from his ranch in the Negev desert, a hospital official said. Minutes later, a hospital official said Sharon had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, director general of Hadassah Hospital, said Sharon was put under general anesthetic and was receiving breathing...

My cousin Matt just sent me information about a portable power meter that you can use to see how much electricity your appliances are actually using. It's pretty cool. It might be interesting to see how much power things use when they're off.

Forecaster Avila at the National Hurricane Center had this to say about Tropical Storm Zeta: ZETA AS A WEAKENING CYCLONE SHOULD[...]MOVE BETWEEN THE NORTHWEST AND NORTH-NORTHWEST UNTIL DISSIPATION. AS YOU CAN SEE...I RAN OUT [OF] THINGS TO SAY. 'Nuff said.

The National Hurricane Center reports this hour that Tropical Storm Zeta, only the second January tropical storm ever recorded, may become a hurricane. It probably won't, but it's already so close as to make the distinction irrelevant to any ships in the area. I'm putting this in the Politics category as well as the Weather category because I believe it's one more example of the increased tropical activity predicted by the global warming hypothesis and ignored by current U.S. policy. For those of you...

Our stupid Webcam fell again:

As promised, here is the world's ugliest menorah:

Welcome to another year of the Blog. Anne and I wound up at the Majestic Hotel right in the middle of our old neighborhood, and then we rang in the New Year at a (relatively) new bar on Clark Street, whose name escapes me. Lots of fun. Forgot the Champagne, though. New Year's Resolution: 1024 x 768 (I'm using my laptop). Complaints about the weather: None from me. It's 4°C (40°F) right now, which for a Chicago New Year's Day is delightfully warm. However, this guy that I saw on the way home from the El...