] Top investigators of the Columbia space shuttle disaster
] are analyzing a startling photograph -- snapped by an
] amateur astronomer from a San Francisco hillside -- that
] appears to show a purplish electrical bolt striking the
] craft as it streaked across the California sky.

I personally think it's just a camera problem.

S.F. man's astounding photo / Mysterious purple streak is shown hitting Columbia 7 minutes before it disintegrated

] In Louisiana, where searchers have found hundreds of
] items from the shuttle, sheriff's deputies have checked
] out animal bones and burnt rocks. A suspected piece of
] shuttle debris was found to be a truck mudflap. In
] Shreveport, communications officer Tracy Dossett said an
] elderly woman ("Bless her heart") called 911 after
] finding egg yolk on her porch. Were there eggs on the
] Columbia? she asked.

In the search for shuttle debris: Alternators, mudflaps, rocks

] "We're finding that there is a smaller volume, which
] would mean there would be fewer numbers of sperm," she
] said. "And also that the sperm get slower and less aimed
] at the goal -- they're not swimming directly to the egg."

Seems to coincide with men in general as they get older.. they act like their sperm, "slower and less aimed at the goal"

Study: Men have biological clocks, too

"I screened job applicants over the phone for a company I didn't work for. My favorite part: Arrogant middle managers who suddenly began to grovel when they realized I wasn't the receptionist."

Outsourcing rejection

] A few days before the Columbia shuttle disaster, NASA
] noted that debris that hit the left wing during takeoff
] created "the potential for a large damage area to the
] tile."

NASA seriously needs to get their shit together. I am sure that if they had gotten their act together, the astronauts could have done -something-, at least made a spacewalk to survey the damage. NASA and their damn memos.

NASA memo warned of 'potential for large damage'

] Farmer Donald Slater said: "After last year's devastation
] (of foot-and-mouth) we all needed cheering up and this
] might just do it."

I thought the cow poetry was cool but this is even cooler.

Woolly writing creates new poetry

] "I didn't like it at all. I think it's stupid," said
] William Parkway Cimilluca, who grew up in West Orange and
] now lives in St. Petersburg, Fla. "How would you like to
] be named after a road?"

How would -you- like to be named after a road??

] In Paramus, more than 100 doctors gave blood to
] demonstrate commitment to patients' health, said Dr.
] Thomas Ahlborn, director of surgery at Valley Hospital in
] Ridgewood.

Excellent, I'm glad some good can come of this. But I hope they were donating blood because they really care, not just to prove a point.

N.J. doctors scale back planned protests

] A gargantuan recovery effort turned increasingly grim
] today, as hundreds of officials, volunteers and
] homeowners combed the countryside of East Texas and
] western Louisiana, turning up remains of some of the
] astronauts aboard the space shuttle Columbia.

This article brought me back to the question that's been nagging at me ever since I was eight and a half years old and I saw the Challenger explosion.. did they ever find remains from the crew of the Challenger? If anyone knows, or finds an article about that, please let me know.

While on the subject, I remember years ago, having a conversation with a girl I worked with, we were talking about how our parents always told us the stories of where they were when numerous historical events took place (prime example: when they found out JFK was shot). We were saying how the only thing we could tell our kids is where we were/how we found out about the Challenger. A week after that conversation, Princess Diana died. I remember that, I remember when I found out that the Gulf War started, I remember Sept. 11, and now also the Columbia. I'm getting a bit tired of having things happen to tell my children about. But I guess that's part of growing up, and living history. I'm glad I was always curious about events around me, and I'm glad my mom made me watch all the coverage of the Challenger, and I'm glad she called me on Sept. 11 and told me to turn on the TV right after the first tower was hit, and I'm glad that ever since then, I put the news on first thing every morning. I'm glad I got up early on Saturday and saw everything.

Recovery Turns Grim as Remains of Some Victims Are Found

Children's Books That Will Never Be Published:

"You Are Different and That's Bad"
"Dad's New Wife Timothy"
"Pop! Goes The Hamster....And Other Great Microwave Games"
"Testing Homemade Parachutes Using Household Pets"
"The Hardy Boys, the Barbie Twins, and the Vice Squad"
"Babar Meets the Taxidermist"
"Curious George and the High-Voltage Fence"
"The Boy Who Died from Eating All His Vegetables"
"Start a Real-Estate Empire With the Change From Your Mom's Purse"
"The Pop-up Book of Human Anatomy"
"Things Rich Kids Have, But You Never Will"
"The Care Bears Maul Some Campers and are Shot Dead"
"How to Become The Dominant Military Power In Your Elementary School"
"You Were an Accident"
"Strangers Have the Best Candy"
"The Little Sissy Who Snitched"
"Some Kittens Can Fly!"
"Getting More Chocolate on Your Face"
"Where Would You Like to Be Buried?"
"Kathy Was So Bad Her Mom Stopped Loving Her"
"The Attention Deficit Disorder Association's Book of Wild Animals of
North Amer- Hey! Let's Go Ride Our Bikes!"
"All Dogs Go to Hell"
"The Kids' Guide to Hitchhiking"
"Garfield Gets Feline Leukemia"
"What Is That Dog Doing to That Other Dog?"
"Mr. Fork and Ms. Electrical Outlet Become Friends"
"Controlling the Playground: Respect through Fear"
"Daddy Drinks Because You Cry"
"Bi-Curious George"

We all need a bit of humor in our lives