Sci Fi Channel orders 'Battlestar' prequel 'Caprica' --The Live Feed

"Sci Fi Channel has given the long-gestating 'Battlestar Galactica' prequel 'Caprica' a series order.

The network has made a significant commitment to the project, ordering 20 hours, including a two-hour pilot. Cast members include Eric Stoltz ('Milk,' 'Chicago Hope'), Esai Morales ('Jericho,' 'NYPD Blue'), Paula Malcomson ('Deadwood,' 'ER') and Polly Walker ('Cane,' 'Rome').

' 'Caprica' will build on 'Battlestar Galactica's' acclaimed legacy of gripping drama and extraordinary characters,' said Sci Fi president Dave Howe. 'It's the beginning of a brand new epic saga that will appeal to both new viewers, totally unfamiliar with the 'Battlestar' franchise, as well as existing loyal and passionate 'Battlestar' fans.'"

MORE on The Live Feed by James Hibberd:

I just got this email from the Obama-Biden Transition Project

Transparency and engagement are priorities for the Obama-Biden Transition Project. Our success depends on not only opening up a process that has historically been inaccessible to most Americans, but also encouraging citizen participation.

Last week, we took an important step towards these goals by asking the public to participate in a discussion about health care on our website.

The result was fantastic. Started by a question from our Health Policy Team, thousands of comments poured in over a few days. Some people answered the initial question, but others engaged with one another debating and developing new ideas and approaches to health care reform.

Members of our Health Policy Team, including former Senator Tom Daschle, read through these comments over Thanksgiving weekend.

Yesterday, they sat down to record a special video response. Watch it and join the discussion:



This is just the beginning. These discussions are a valuable resource for Transition staff and an important way to ensure that everyone has a voice in the process.

Thank you,

John

John D. Podesta

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

Arlington Parade and Tree Lighting on December 6th

"Arrive early for the Holiday Lights Parade. More than 75 lighted floats, marching bands, vintage cars and Elvis clones on tiny motorcycles. New this year: Entertainment at the Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts. Beginning at 4 p.m., enjoy holiday performances by the First Baptist Church Choir and the Arlington Community Band. The Star-Telegram-sponsored parade starts at 6 p.m. followed by the lighting of the Christmas tree in front of City Hall."


More at the Newsletter for Arlingtonites

Rip, Mix, and Govern: "Barack Obama's transition site, Change.gov, is now under a Creative Commons license—specifically, the highly permissive Attribution 3.0 Unported license, which allows unfettered copying and remixing of content, subject only to an attribution requirement. Lest anyone worry that they're wild-eyed radicals, though, the copyright policy makes sure to assert the site's conformity with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act."

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Free Online MIT Course Materials | About OCW | MIT OpenCourseWare: "Unlocking Knowledge,
Empowering Minds.

Free lecture notes, exams, and videos from MIT. No registration required.

MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) is a web-based publication of virtually all MIT course content. OCW is open and available to the world and is a permanent MIT activity.

What is MIT OpenCourseWare?
MIT OpenCourseWare is a free publication of MIT course materials that reflects almost all the undergraduate and graduate subjects taught at MIT.

* OCW is not an MIT education.
* OCW does not grant degrees or certificates.
* OCW does not provide access to MIT faculty.
* Materials may not reflect entire content of the course."

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Bush's Last Days: The Lamest Duck - Yahoo! News:

Time.com - Bush's disappearing act during the economic crisis is a fitting coda to a failed presidency.

"We have 'only one President at a time,' Barack Obama said in his debut press conference as President-elect. Normally, that would be a safe assumption - but we're learning not to assume anything as the charcoal-dreary economic winter approaches. By mid-November, with the financial crisis growing worse by the day, it had become obvious that one President was no longer enough (at least not the President we had). So, in the days before Thanksgiving, Obama began to move - if not to take charge outright, then at least to preview what things will be like when he does take over in January. He became a more public presence, taking questions from the press three days in a row. He named his economic team. He promised an enormous stimulus package that would somehow create 2.5 million new jobs, and began to maneuver the new Congress toward having the bill ready for him to sign - in a dramatic ceremony, no doubt - as soon as he assumes office." more

Hey check it out! Here's a picture of my buddy Layne and his Chevelle from far, far away in a galaxy long ago, or something like that... ;-)

Here's an interesting little tidbit I saw on Digg earlier. It's a list of average IQ's by occupation. Not sure what to do with this little bit of info but here it is for you to enjoy....or not...

Kyle says ha ha ho ho ha ha hee hee ha ha ho ho in the bathtub!

Here's a website I have been a fan of for quite some time now. In these troubled economic times it's more important than ever to make your money go as far as it possibly can and here are tons of tips on how to do it. I've also been subscribed to their weekly newsletter for a few years now and I find all kinds of neat money saving tips whenever I get time to catch up on reading it...

The Dollar Stretcher

As part of my "day job" as a Plant Maintenance Man at American Airlines my co-workers and I occasionally have to replace the flexible material in the expansion joints in the building and outside on the walkways. This is usually a latex based material that goes in as a liquid and cures over time to a rubber like consistency. We usually try to schedule this kind of work on Sundays or late in the evening so as to impact as few people as possible. So today started out as a usual Sunday. We needed to replace an expansion joint on the second floor walkway between the building and the parking garage so we went up there and put up a nice, bright yellow caution sign and began cutting the old material out with utility knives and taping the edges off with bright blue painters tape. The mix we are using today is a product called Deck-O-Seal which is popularly used around the edges of swimming pools between the coping stones and plaster.

I already had my reservations about this because ordinarily this stuff cures in temperatures of 77 degrees and above and today's high was 67 but mine is not to question why mine is just to do or die as they say so we're out there mixing this goop up and nicely and neatly pouring it into the squeeze bottle to apply it. Everything is going fairly smoothly except for this one sinkhole that keeps needing to be refilled on one edge. We're not sure if the sealant is somehow working it's way past the batting underneath or if there is just a big air pocket below but after we manage to get the entire gap filled we move our work cart and a nearby disposal can over the area to join the nice bright caution sign and the bright blue painters tape.

Okay? So I'm trying to paint the picture here that the area is pretty well marked that something is going on around here so you might want to watch your step. We've even had a couple people come by while we were working and they even stepped over the 2 inch gap of grey goop on their way to the revolving doors like any sensible person would so I figure we're fairly safe. We go down below to the first floor to examine the area and see if perhaps some of the material had been leaking through causing the indentation we experienced above. No sign of leakage so that's good but what is that sound we're hearing from above?

Is that the sound of two people pushing a shopping cart across the walkway overhead? The walkway we just put fresh Deck-O-Seal down on? Surely not! Not on a Sunday! Why would anyone be out here on a Sunday pushing a shopping cart across the second level walkway. Well even if that is what's going on surely the people would have the sharpness of mind and consideration to see all the signage and see the fresh grey liquid, not to mention the smell of the stuff, and have the good sense to lift the wheels of the cart while going across the area right?

So up we go to see what has transpired and not only are there two nice rows of tire tracks leading from the expansion joints across the concrete and into the carpet in front of the doors but one of them even managed to stick their big clodhopper of a foot into the middle of it and track it all over the place as well.

Seriously. How dense does one have to be not to see so many signs that there is something going on here so it might be wise to watch your step? So I did what I should have done in the first place. I use caution tape and completely block off both ends of the walkway so no one can use it, unless of course they choose to break the caution tape. This of course inconveniences anyone who might want to use the second floor walkway but what other choice do I have? I tried giving people the benefit of the doubt that they might exercise some common sense and common decency and now I have a big mess to clean up later after the stuff has cured and I am able to scrape it off the concrete with a razor scraper.

A little consideration can go a long way folks. Not only do you inconvenience the person whose work you just messed up by doing such things but you also inconvenience others by causing precautionary measures to have to be taken to prevent further damage caused by carelessness.

Don't forget to go down to Ancient Traditions tonight for game night, or every Friday Night for Drum Jam or next Saturday for the Rummage Sale!

There are three kinds of people in the world. Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what's happening. Ask yourself which one you are.

PROTONJOE - Protons kill Cancer not People. I hope this information helps you, or someone you love. Joe is a co-worker of mine at American Airlines and he has personally undergone Proton Beam therapy to kill his prostate cancer. Now he wants to spread the word about this life saving therapy so others can benefit too. Go see the videos he has posted on his site for some real eye-opening information.

I've been putting in some major updates for one of my client's sites. Eagle Solar Screens. I know the owner, Tommy Sparks, personally and he's a good, honest, hard working man. He deals with everyone with a handshake and unyielding integrity. I highly recommend getting solar screens to help lower the summertime electric bills in your house and of course you should get them from:


EAGLE SOLAR SCREENS:
* Lower your utility bills
* Block up to 90% of the sun's heat
* Protect your furniture
* Increase comfort in your home
* Increase daytime privacy
* A variety of colors to choose from
* Custom grid work available
* Window washing available

TroyForge

TroyForge: "I do some freelance web design and internet promotion work these days for small, usually locally owned businesses, individuals and organizations. You might be surprised at how affordable it can be to get your small business an established internet presence and drive customers to your site. Most of my clients' websites cost $29.95 per month. Not only does that cover hosting and domain but I even build and maintain a website as well as help promote my clients' businesses by posting ads for them with links to their site in places like Craig's List and other promotional places online that are appropriate for their particular business. But this involves ABSOLUTELY NO SPAMMING! Like most people who have had their email boxes bombarded with junk, I hate spammers with a passion."

How to really start the Kitchen Garden:
First of all, draw a plan (to a scale) of the ground at your disposal. Make allowances for paths, borders, etc. It's fascinatingly interesting after you get started. Next, take inventory of your likes and dislikes in vegetables. Put down on paper every vegetable you wish to grow. Then go back to your plan and mark out a definite space or number of rows for the different vegetables. Select early, midseason and late sorts of these vegetables, which you like best. This will give you a constant supply of them. When garden operations start, be sure to follow your plan. A disregard of your carefully planned program may easily spoil results. I can not lay too much emphasis upon this point, since most gardens fail to yield satisfactory crops for lack of adherence to the original plan."

More from Backyard Gardener.com

Living a virtuous life in Hardships: - PaganSpace.net:
"Do we show each of these in our life: wisdom, piety, vision, courage, integrity, perseverance, hospitality, moderation or fertility? Do we live them in the good times and hardships?"

Container Gardens-The City Dwellers Guide to Fresh & Healthy Home-grown FoodThe best gardening teachers are gardeners themselves. Many people in inner-city areas have come from other areas where they had farming or gardening as part of their heritage. Look for these people to be part of the core group of initiators when starting a community garden.

Any group of people can create a community garden. Senior groups, youth groups, women's and men's clubs, civic associations, or just an informal group of friends, neighbors or relatives.

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Urban Food Gardening: Anna Bee is an urban farmer - and has been for the past 13 years. She is not self sufficient, but grows a lot of her own veg out the back in a fairly tiny space. This blog is the story of how she does it, what grows, and how she uses it. Urban farming/city gardening is great for lots of reasons - not the least of which is the delicious and healthy food that you can produce for yourself & your friends & neighbours. If only a few people reading this blog are inspired to trade flowers or grass for vegetables, then she will be happy.