Ever wondered what a computer pro was talking about when he used some word? You need to remember what the word is, and then go to FOLDOC. It is an online dictionary of computer terms. By the way, if you want a super dictionary of all kinds of words (everyday, technical lexicons, etc.) then hustle on over to dict.org. Dict.org searches about 20 dictionaries - including popular ones of everyday words, technical ones, and even the uber powerful WordNet online dictionary. Online dictionaries and computer grammar systems have become really evolved during this decade.

MySpace is a popular social portal for tracking what people do in life. http://www.mydeathspace.com/deaths.aspx MyDeathSpace is a website that tracks - in a blog-like format - spectacular, tragic, and ironic deaths. Another site, Dead Journal is a gothically decorated social blogging site - sort of in the same vein as MySpace. http://www.deadjournal.com/ It is, however, a little more morbid. If you are going on vacation and you want to visit the grave of someone who lived - or died - nearby, FindAGrave.com can help. http://www.findagrave.com/ The site has a search engine to find the graves of famous dead people, has a compendium of deaths by year, and various other features. Every month eating disorders claim many lives. Human beings, with just a little luck and a safe/well-provisioned environment, can live for the better part of a century, easily. For some reason bound to psychology and social pressures, a fair number of people become ill and die due to a lack of food. These people literally starve. Not due to the food not being available but simply because they choose not to eat it. Not enough for them to survive, anyway. It is a perplexing death that is difficult for the same society that its victims try to please in some way. Voices - Not Bodies: In Memory pays homage to these unfortunate souls. http://www.voicesnotbodies.org/memorial.htm The image of a ribbon is given in death to those who were given too little of something in life. Some of the ribbons show an image of the victim when hovered over with a mouse. Death is all around us, but fortunately, we rarely see it. On the web, death sits down on the park bench and waits for us to visit.

Apple made an interesting announcement about their iMac line last week. The line is known for having relatively low prices and big, beautiful screens. Plus, it is pretty fast as far as the Macs of 2004, for instance, go. Here is what Apple did. 1. Slash the prices of the iMacs; the cheapest one is only $999 now. 2. Offer a bigger screen model - instead of 20-inches, this one has 24. 3. Drop the single core CPUs; all iMacs have dual core Intel CPUs now. 4. Speed up the CPUs. The new 24 inch model now goes over 2 GHz. So, there you have it. And why is a bigger screen announcement a few days ago interesting? Because, if rumors are correct, on September 12 Apple might announce it is going to start selling feature length films at the iTunes store. It sounds like terrific synergy. I just read a review of the new Amazon Unbox store by someone who tried it. They had lots of problems and they had suspicions about the behavior of the software as well. I am steering clear of that one.

but I am in Eastern timezone and have my preferences set accordingly, at least for TV schedules. What gives?

TiVo is offering people a chance to Sign up for info about TiVo Series 3 information as soon as it becomes available. http://www.tivo.com/series3hdDvr.asp

Wow, this is a pretty cool new feature. I have iMovie, a mini-DV cam, not to mention an iSight webcam. I might have to make a video, if I can think of a suitable subject matter. I am pretty boring (what, I am supposed to move my hands when I talk?) to watch but maybe I can intercut some graphics. I can program with lots of graphics libraries in lots of languages, and I own PowerPoint and Keynote. I still have to think of a topic though. Any ideas?

My cat woke me up at 5:30 this morning wanting food. This is regardless of the fact I gave her 3 tins of Iams yesterday and after she ran away overnight Saturday. So anyway, she hopped up off the floor onto my night stand, walked right across the head of the bed until she reached my head, and then bawled her head off right in my face. Good morning to you, too. Anyway, I have answered my email, posted some TV episode reviews, and had breakfast already. I wanted to go to work early this morning anyway, so I am not mad.

It is easy to find pics of whatever you want on the web. Until the past week or two, it has been a little trickier to find pics of wherever you want. Now you can. There is a new geotagging feature in Yahoo's Flickr.com website that many photographers have already taken advantage of. Pretty exciting. Wonder what someplace you have never been looks like? Now you do not have to! Hey, the geography and social studies teachers out there must be salivating. This seems like a great way to teach kids about other cultures, geography, architecture, and the natural and man-made wonders of the world. To say nothing of art, archeology, and history. Even travel agents, if there is still such a profession these days, will be delighted to see the images of these places. It is a big boon for everyone.

Cause of death: stabbed through the heart by a Stingray's tail. I kid you not. Only Steve Irwin, Australia's famous Crocodile Hunter, could suffer such an unusual death. The first time I saw him on TV, I remember thinking, "That dude is gonna get killed!". Today, he proved that initial impression correct. Sadly, all too young. He is survived by his American wife, his 8 year old daughter, and his 3 year old son. He was only 44. He probably had more excitement in his life in one month than most people have in their whole lives. He had his own zoo in Australia. Despite his high risk profession/lifestyle, it still comes as quite a shock that he should be casually killed by a member of the animal kingdom, a mere fish. Not it has its 15 minutes of fame.

I used to have this joke when I was younger about the "entropy crisis" (play on "energy crisis" term of the 1970s). Check this out. I called my Mom this evening to ask how she was doing with her new iPod I gave her for her birthday. Her phone was busy, so I hung it up. About 10 minutes later, I get a call. I run downstairs to answer it. It was my Mom. Turns out the reason her phone was busy was that she was phoning me. That is an eerie coincidence. See, I have not picked up my phone to call anyone at all in several days. What are the odds of two people calling each other at the same minute when neither has been using the phone that evening and at least one of them has not made a call in at least several days. Peculiar? Yes. Entropy Crisis? I do not know. What is the price of Entropy at the pumps these days, anyway?