there is now a new marketing demographic category and it's called the "missing guys." the missing guys seem to be moving away from television, the traditional medium for 18-34 year old males.

Exercise guru Richard Simmons allegedly slapped a man who made a sarcastic remark about one of his videos, police said.

the following was read in a san diego union-tribune article about a new Jack In The Box restaurant called JBX:

"I used to eat cheeseburgers all the time when I was in college," said David Thornton, 25, as he ordered a salad at JBX. "But, as I get older, I'm more conscious of what I eat. I definitely eat less fast food than I used to."

Thornton said newspaper reports about a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encouraged him to stick to his health-conscious diet.

Earlier this month, the government organization revealed that poor nutrition and physical inactivity caused 400,000 deaths in the United States in 2000.

If this trend continues, more people will soon die from unhealthy diets than smoking.

want some great lunch ideas? this site offers ways to save money and eating healthy by bringing your lunch, versus buying everyday.

"in one study, women who ate at least five restaurant meals a week took in almost 300 more calories a day than women who ate out less often, with a larger proportion of calories from fat. over a year's time, those calories can add up to an extra 15 - 20 pounds."

five so-called naked-eye planets - mercury, venus, mars, jupiter and saturn - will reunite later this month in the night sky, giving us earthlings a unique chance to see our closest companions in one easy sitting.

the gathering will be visible every night for an hour after sunset, beginning around march 22 and lasting about two weeks.

to catch the planetary get-together, you'll need a good view of the sky, free of buildings and bright city lights (you should still be able to see the planets through urban light pollution). the show begins around march 22 and lasts through early april, when mercury fades from sight. the finest views will take place during the last 8 to 10 days of March.

begin by looking to the western horizon each evening just after sunset. seated in a row up and across the sky will be mercury, venus, mars and saturn. saturn will lie almost directly overhead. following the line of the planets, jupiter will be close to the eastern horizon. together, the planets will span about 135 degrees. about an hour after dusk, mercury will dip below the western horizon.

the moon will also be attending the festivities, mingling through the planets in an orderly fashion. on march 22, it will take a seat next to mercury, and then climbing up the night sky, it will end its tour on april 1 right above mighty jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. as the moon slides from planet to planet, it will grow in size from a slender crescent to a nearly full circle of white.

note that venus is currently brighter than usual because of where it lies in relation to earth and the sun.

The Moon and planets will appear to follow nearly the same path through the stars. This is because their orbits around the Sun occupy planes that are close to that of Earth's orbit. The plane Earth moves in is called the ecliptic.

from the patriotic posters section at whitehouse.org comes:


get big here


get big here

nasa scientist may have found a 10th planet in our solar system. the object, which is to be officially unveiled later today, has been named Sedna, after the Inuit goddess of the ocean.

The body is believed to be about 1,250 miles across, but may even be larger than the furthest known planet, Pluto, which was discovered in 1930 and has a diameter of 1,406 miles.

Scientists believe Sedna is 6.2bn miles from Earth, in a region of space known as the Kuiper Belt, which contains hundreds of other known bodies.

np: Kaze Wo Atsumete, from the album Lost In Translation by Happy End, which I rate: 5/5 stars

the charlotte observer reports that Lucinda Williams cancelled a sold-out show. what the article does not report however, is that the news is more sad. lucinda's mother died. that according to an email i received from lost highway records.

the hearts of all your fans, including this one, is out to you, lucinda. your mom is in a better place. r.i.p.

from nasa's jet propulsion laboratory, comes this, an item on the death and birth of stars in our universe. the above image, the nebula Henize 206,

"and the remnants of the exploding star that created it, are pictured in superb detail in a new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Henize 206 sits just outside our own galaxy, the Milky Way, in a satellite galaxy 163,000 light-years away called the Large Magellanic Cloud. It is home to hundreds and possibly thousands of stars, ranging in age from two to 10 million years old."

stars in Henize 206 were created when a dying star, or supernova, exploded, shooting shock waves through clouds of cosmic gas and dust. The gas and dust were subsequently compressed, gravity kicked in, and stars were born. Eventually, some of the stars will die in a fiery blast, triggering another cycle of birth and death. This recycling of stellar dust and gas occurs across the universe. Earth's own Sun descended from multiple generations of stars."

more can be found here.

Team 7 is the web site for my san diego co-ed softball team. we play every tuesday evening. can you believe i'm the team captain?

for your information: lentils

• Lentils require no soaking and cook quickly.


• They come in a range of colors, from basic brown to a brilliant orange. Most European lentils have a dark brown exterior and are stocked by many supermarkets.


• The green French "Puy" lentils are particularly flavorful.


• Yellow lentils and orange hued red lentils are sold in East Indian markets and whole food stores.

(more at: yahoo health)

steve squyres has just said rocks examined at meridiani planum were at one time "soaked with liquid water."

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

We found (evidence of) water (on Mars)!

Lundberg Survey: San Diego gas prices lead nation

lulu doesn't require much gas and so were not feeling the high gas price pinch, unlike my colleagues, who believe a conspiracy amongst gasoline marketers exists.

the ny times published an article on the size of americans: "older men have trimmer thighs than younger men. Black women are larger than other women, but they are also most likely to have the classic hourglass figure. Sixty-four percent of women are pear-shaped, and 30 percent are "straight," meaning they had little perceptible waist."

np: Divorce Song (original version), from the album Stretch Out & Purr by Sunday Morning Meow