Dignified Exercise!

"There must be some kind of movement I can do standing up, with the dignity of a human being,"

http://www.shovelglove.com/

How to Make and Use a Shovelglove

Take a sledgehammer and wrap an old sweater around it. This is your "shovelglove." Every week day morning, set a timer for 14 minutes. Use the shovelglove to perform shoveling, butter churning, and wood chopping motions until the timer goes off. Stop. Rest on weekends and holidays.

I do 50 shoveling motions, 50 right then 50 left; 15 to 20 butter churns, right then left; 20 woods chops in both directions; and then 5-8 curl like movements for which I haven't thought of a good name yet. Then I repeat the cycle until the timer goes off.

Hilarious... caught cheating!

When people saw this in Chicago, they thought "oh.. don't miss with a Chicago woman!"

Some even followed the unfolding story on Emily's blog, AS IT HAPPENED! (http://thatgirlemily.blogspot.com)

But then... this same billboard appeared in 5 different cities in the US! which slowly proved to be dram-vertising for Court TV!
the details:
http://www.snopes.com/love/revenge/emily.asp

amazing... what is next in advertising land?

Nice poem, to Children of Palestine by I. Tamimi

it's not a great poem in the classical sense, but its brilliance is in its sincerity. These are not the crafted words of a dreamy poet, but are the true words from the heart of a real person.

http://www.maktoobblog.com/iqbaltamimi?post=83033

"price-tag" on the UN Security Council Seat

from (Freakonomics blog)

Consequently, it comes as no suprise that now, as a Ph.D. student at
Harvard, she is producing cutting-edge economic research. With
co-author Eric Werker, she has written a paper entitled “How Much is a Seat on the Security Council Worth? Foreign Aid and Bribery at the United Nations.” In this paper, they find that when a country takes over one of the rotating seats on the UN Security
Council, U.S. foreign aid jumps by almost 60%. When the country leaves
the Security Council, the aid falls back to the old levels. The impact
on aid is even larger when there are important international events
(like invasions of Iraq) that put the Security Council in the spotlight.

Skeptic Magazine on AI interesting article

oh ye of little faith!

Skeptic: The Magazine: Featured Article (why Artificial Intelligence won't make it)

I actually highly disagree with the article. I hope to get to write a response soon.

Dear Lebanon, Thanks God

Dear Lebanon,

It seems absured to say Hamdellah Ala Assalameh (Thanks God for your safety), but in a way, it does have a meaning. War is like a disease; stopping it is the first step, and next is the recovery.

Yes, I see your scars and broken bones, but you have brave children, who believe in you and love you. They are smart and hardworking, and I believe in them, and I believe in you, and I believe you will be glorious again.

Regardless of who claims "victory", you have been the real loser. The ceasefire decision seems to have focused on "securing Israel." I hope that more decisions and actions will be taken on healing your scarred limbs and rebuilding your strength.

Sorry I did not write you during this month. It has been real hard to read the news, or even the blogs, every morning. I tried to isolate myself and just read history - hoping to see what has brought us to this state. I promise I will write you more often now, and I hope to visit you soon.

I heard an interview with an Israeli professor on NPR (national public radio) this morning. He said that there's a wide-spread feeling in Israel that this is not over. I think I can see how the Israeli army still wants revenge. Allah Yostor. Allah yjib elli feh elkhair.

ma3afah ya Lobnan.

Like your son,
Muhammad