Once again, Jon Stewart proves he is THE most trusted news source:

While wandering around the web today, I found out about the latest Titanic Expedition(via Gizmodo). The latest expedition to the wreck of the Titanic, is being undertaken by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and RMS Titanic. This is the most technologically advanced expedition yet, and plans to thoroughly map the site, and create the latest in high-tech images. They have an absolutely gorgeous website. You can visit the new site here!

If you find the story of the Titanic as interesting as I do, you will want to visit this site.

Click on picture to visit site.

As I keep coming across these stories, I get horribly depressed. I am pretty much convinced that the terrorists have won. We have willingly abdicated the principles that our country was built on. So, you know those wonderful full body scanners that are rapidly showing up at airports? Some folks call them virtual strip-searches. Well that well-managed government agency, the TSA, keeps insisting that no one will ever see them and they are deleted immediately, yada, yada, yada! Guess what… They Are Lying to you!

Feds admit storing checkpoint body scan images

For the last few years, federal agencies have defended body scanning by insisting that all images will be discarded as soon as they’re viewed. The Transportation Security Administration claimed last summer, for instance, that “scanned images cannot be stored or recorded.”

Now it turns out that some police agencies are storing the controversial images after all.

Yep, I can see it now, your body scan will soon be on the web, probably on one of those snarky sites like People of Walmart. Probably called People Who are Dumb Enough to Fly (commercial airlines that is!). Heck, a TV show is probably just around the corner, Americas Funniest Vacationers, or something like that. I’d worry about some nefarious government plot, except as we already know, there are so many government agencies and contractors spying on you that they can’t even coordinate their own efforts. Yep, your privacy is a thing of the past.

TSA's millimeter wave body scan (Credit: TSA.gov)

As Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook would say, “Get over it!”

Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander

From IFC News website:

The Girl With the Foreign Language Franchise

How “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” became the year’s surprise arthouse hit.

Here is a little demo that I certainly could have used years ago.

Of course now, I carry a corkscrew in my car at all times!

Well, I thought I would mention a couple of news items that didn’t seem to get much attention. Lets start with this one from Bloomberg:

Banks Financing Mexico Gangs Admitted in Wells Fargo Deal

We live only 45 miles away from the border and Ciudad Juarez, the current heart of the drug wars in Mexico. When we moved here, we made frequent trips to Mexico, to either Juarez or Palomas a smaller border town to the west. It was a fun outing. We would eat there, shop for goods, and always bring back some relatively cheap Tequila and Kahlua. Many local residents went there for inexpensive dental care, and prescription drugs. Sadly, in the last 2 and a half years, tourism to Juarez has ended. The drug violence there has reached unimaginable proportions. The latest high-profile incident was a bombing targeting police. While tourists per se are not being targeted, there have been plenty of US citizens killed in the violence. Some by accident, some intentionally. Thousands of Juarez residents have fled the city. In fact, the new Mayor of Juarez has a home in El Paso.

Now according to this Bloomberg Financial News report, American banks, Wells Fargo and Wachovia, have admitted to laundering BILLIONS of dollars in drug money. Combined with the billions in aid given to the Mexican government to finance Calderon’s war against the drug cartels, we, the United States, are financing both sides of the war.  So why isn’t this reported in the “mainstream ” media?

Feeling safe in the US? Well you should, or maybe shouldn’t.

A hidden world, growing beyond control

This recent Washington Post article chronicles the massive build-up in the spy business since 9/11. Sadly, the build-up has been so large and so fast, that coordination is non-existent and redundancy rampant! So not only are more people spying (on us!), 854,000 with top-secret clearances, but there effectiveness is no better than it was before 9/11. The article took 2 years to research and it is thorough and frightening.

And, if you are not depressed enough, check this out:

Billionaire Pedophile Goes Free

Once again, proof that in America, justice (or what passes for it) belongs to the rich! I’ll bet Michael Jackson would agree.

For 6 seasons now, I have been watching the Discovery Channel series Deadliest Catch. In case you haven’t heard about it, Deadliest Catch, puts cameramen aboard several Alaska crab fishing boats, and follows them as they fish the Bearing Sea for King and Opilio(or snow) crab. Of course the catch seasons are in the winter, on the Bearing Sea! That’s the coldest and worst weather time of the year. There is something fascinating about watching a bunch of men working at a job that most of us would never want to try. Yes, I had heard the stories about Alaska fisherman making a fortune for a few weeks of fishing. After watching this series you realize the truth, that it is hard, dangerous work, with no guarantees.

Part of the attraction of this series is that they have followed pretty much the same 4 or 5 crab boats over the seasons. As a result, you got to know the captains and crews of the boats. The camera work is breathtaking. And I’ve developed a strong respect for the (mostly) anonymous cameramen/producers who risk their lives and safety to get the shots The show has become a hit for Discovery Channel, and several of the captains and crew members have even appeared on TV talk shows. I’ve seen Captain Sig Hansen and his brother on Jay Leno.

One of the crab boats that has been a part of the show since season 1 is the Cornelia Marie, with Captain Phil Harris. Among the deckhands on the Cornelia Marie are Captain Phil’s 2 sons Jake and Josh. It was not a secret that Captain Phil died during the season. News of his stroke and eventual passing was in the mainstream media. It even was in the Local Las Cruces paper. Last night’s episode included Captain Phil passing away. Surprisingly, Captain Phil and his family allowed the cameraman/producer full access to the family, and the hospital. In real life, families are never polished and neat. They are usually messy and emotional. Phil’s family was no exception, and I find it amazing and brave that they allowed their emotional struggles to be filmed and displayed on the show. It was riveting TV. You can read an interview with Josh here.

Deadliest Catch is almost over for the year. I believe there is one more episode left. If you haven’t watched it, Discovery Channel usually repeats it, and you can watch full episodes at Discoverychannel.com. I strongly suggest you try to catch it.

EW.com recap here.

Let’s hope Apple takes this hint from The Onion.

New Apple Friend Bar Gives Customers Someone To Talk At About Mac Products

I love the Onion.

I found a funny new site, at least new to me… and funny to me:

The site is called GraphJam.com and it is just a lot of graphs that illustrate some funny truths and the silliness of graphs. Take a look. Oh in case any Apple cultists take umbrage at the graph, let me just say that I don’t have anything against Apple products or Macs except:

From Graphjam:

see more Funny Graphs

I found this video extremely funny, and dead on. Unfortunately, the author-creator appears to have lost his job (at Bestbuy) because he posted it. Small warning, contains strong language: