] After this year, they say, the stock-option party may be
] drawing to a close.
]
] The party pooper is an accounting standard change slated
] to take effect in 2005. The controversial rule, proposed
] by the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board, the
] standards-setting body for the profession, requires firms
] to record a charge on earnings statements to reflect the
] cost of employee stock-option grants.

This is a travesty in every sense of the word. The Bush administration has basically robbed every middle class worker the opportunity to EARN OWNERSHIP and participate in the wealth building process. It will make it harder for companies to recruit, retain, and leverage their workforces. And it will further exacerbate the already ridiculous pay packages given to executives and insiders.

Last Hurrah for Stock Options

] The playoff drought is not only the longest current
] streak in the league, but the second-longest in NHL
] history. Guy Charron retired in 1981 after 734
] regular-season games without a sniff of the playoffs.

OMG, you *know* he can taste it...

Walker longs for first playoff run

] So that she doesn't get bored with the look of the
] system, I set up cron jobs that change the desktop theme
] and widget set for her every day.

I thought this was funny.

Building A Linux System Even Your Grandmother Could Use

tee hee.....stupidity *is* painful afterall

Damn...that had to hurt

] Thanks to the GOP takeover of Washington, and the harsh
] realities of the Big Sort, economically lagging parts of
] the country now wield ultimate political power, while the
] creative centers--source of most of America's economic
] growth--have virtually none.

This is a very good article that gets off to a slow start. It resonates with a lot of the things we've been discussing here. The author is arguing that the migration of creative people from the midwest into the country's urban centers during the .com boom created the political situation which led to the Bush win in 2000. (The Democrats' political base is now concentrated into smaller geographic areas, cutting their electoral edge on the GOP.) Now the creative class is politically disenfranchised.

You can see this directly in the election. Bush is offering tax cuts to people who are handling multi-million dollar inheritances and who make most of their money from capital gains. Dean and the other Democrats are offering to help families who make less then $50,000 a year. They talk about manufacturing jobs and steel workers. This country's economic future is not going to be built by steel workers. It is also not going to be built by the bored and dull sons of sons of sons who have more money then you can count and no real ambition as a result.

This country's economic future has always been built by people who are both capable of building it and motivated to do so. This author is arguing that we might not see it at all. He is seeing brain drain out of the US to Canada, Europe, and Australia. We wouldn't feel that right now if we had it, as the US isn't using the people they have. What's cutting a little muscle when you aren't running at top speed? The authors suggest a serious risk that the next runner to the front of the pack is likely to be a country that creates opportunities for the creative class, and right now thats not us.

'Creative Class War' by Richard Florida

] A Danish biotech company has developed a genetically
] modified flower that could help detect land mines and it
] hopes to have a prototype ready for use within a few
] years.

I thought you'd appreciate this

Yahoo! News - Flower-Power Could Help Clear Land mines

] here are my top 10 reasons why I watch NHL hockey every
] night on my home theater system and why the game is great

Well put Bucci. There's nothing wrong with the game that just showing up to watch can't fix.

What's not to like?

] Fascinating stuff, I told the spokeswoman. She said
] Wal-Mart was simply trying to do the right thing by the
] war on drugs.

Yes Virginia, you can go too far.

Wal-Mart's ignoble war on drugs

This is the type of thing that Brad would've sent to me.

Imaginary Girlfriend from Canada

] It could be an entrepreneur's wildest dream or a
] bureaucratic nightmare. But one thing is certain: It will
] definitely be BIG.

Thankfully, I get to figure out HOW we're going to accomplish these things.

American Healthways gets Medicare boost