The ESA's Beagle 2, currently of unknown disposition, is set to activate a distress beacon and is about to get some company.

Beagle to begin 'frequent calls'. Beagle 2 is due to begin automatic transmissions which could increase the chances of it being found. [BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition]

Increasing those chances is a shift in the orbit of the ESA's Martian orbiter:

Mars Express adjusts orbit around planet. ESA's Mars Express spacecraft maneuvered into a polar orbit around the Red Planet on... [spacetoday.net]

Maybe we could have one of Beagle 2's new neighbors drop by and check on the old boy when they get there:

Spirit tweaks course for Mars. Spirit, one of NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers, adjusted its course late last week... [spacetoday.net]

3:00:47 PM     leave/read comments []

'Most influential' websites named. The sites that have had the most impact on how we see the net have been chosen by analysts. [BBC News | Technology | UK Edition]

Of those sites listed, I've visited half of them (Google, eBay, Amazon, Blogger and Napster), heard of two (M$ outlook and AOL) and have no idea about Easyjet, Friends Reunited or Kelkoo.

I'm surprised that the loved/feared/hated/embraced Friendster didn't make the list. It made a huge ripple through my group of online friends and seemed to gather a lot of ink about it being the Future Of The Internet®!

I'll try to contain my disappointment at mediawench.com not making the list.

2:47:14 PM     leave/read comments []

George W. Bush's Resume [from an email sent to my pal Andy Axel.]

George W. Bush's Resume

Past Work Experience

* Ran for U.S. Congress and lost. Produced a Hollywood slasher B movie. Bought an oil company that couldn't find any oil in Texas; the company went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my stock. Bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that took land using taxpayer money.

* With father's help and name, elected Governor of Texas.

Accomplishments as Governor

* Changed pollution laws in favor of the power and oil companies and made Texas the most polluted state in the Union. Replaced Los Angeles with Houston as the most smog-ridden city in America.

* Cut taxes and bankrupted Texas government to the tune of billions in borrowed money.

* Set the record for the most executions by any Governor in American history.

* Became U.S. President after losing the popular vote by over 500,000 votes with the help of major Enron money and my father's appointments to the Supreme Court.

Accomplishments as President

Firsts:

* First president in U.S. history to enter office with a criminal record. First president in U.S. history to have almost all 50 states of the Union simultaneously suffer massive financial crisis. First president in U.S. history to order a pre-emptive attack and the military occupation of a sovereign nation, and did so against the will of the United Nations and the world community. First president in U.S. history to have the United Nations remove the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission. First president in U.S. history to have the United Nations remove the U.S. from the Elections Monitoring Board. Withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law. First president in history to refuse United Nations election inspectors (during the 2002 U.S. election). First president in history to have a majority of Europeans (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and security. First U.S. president in history to have the people of South Korea more threatened by the U.S. than by their immediate neighbor, North Korea.

Economic:

* Spent the U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S. Treasury. Shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S. history. Set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12-month period. Set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the U.S. stock market. Over 2-million Americans lost their jobs in my first year in office, and that trend continues every month. Set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period. Set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending increases, more than any president in history. Changed the U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts. Set an all-time record for the number of administration appointees who violated U.S. law by not selling their huge personal investments in corporations bidding for U.S. contracts. Entered office with the strongest economy in U.S. history and have turned every single economic category downward -- all in less than two years.

Security & Foreign Policy

* Set the all-time record for most days on vacation in any one year period. After taking-off the entire month of August, then presided over the worst security failure in U.S. history. Attacked and overtook two countries. Support development of a "Tactical Bunker Buster" nuke, a WMD. Getting our troops killed, under the lie of Saddam's procurement of Yellow Cake Nuke WMD components, then blaming the lie on our British friends. Cut health care benefits for war veterans and support a cut in duty benefits for active duty troops and their families -- in war time. Dissolved more international treaties than any president in U.S. history. Refused to allow inspectors access to U.S. "prisoners of war" (detainees) and thereby have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention. Garnered the most sympathy for the U.S. after the World Trade Center attacks and less than a year later made the U.S. the most resented country in the world, possibly the largest failure of diplomacy in World history. Failed to fulfill my pledge to capture Osama Bin Laden, dead or alive. Removed more freedoms and civil liberties for Americans than any president in U.S. history. Actively working on a policy of "disengagement" creating the most hostile of Israel-Palestine relations in at least 30 years. Failed to capture the anthrax killer who tried to murder the leaders of our country at the U.S. Capitol Building. Even after 18 months I have no leads and no credible suspects. Successfully prevented public investigation into the biggest security failure in the history of the United States.

Political:

* Set the record for most campaign fundraising trips by a U.S. president. Appointed more convicted criminals to administration than any president in U.S. history. Set the record for least amount of press conferences than any president since the advent of television. Signed more laws and executive orders effectively amending or ignoring the Constitution than any president in history. Presided over the biggest energy crisis in U.S. history and refused to intervene when corruption involving the oil industry was revealed. Presided over the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history and refused to use national reserves as past presidents have done. Set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously protest me in public venues (15 million people) shattering the record for protest against any person in the history of mankind. Made my presidency the most secretive and unaccountable of any in U.S. history. Members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in U.S. history. My "poorest millionaire," Condoleeza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her. Presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud of any market in any country in history. Created the largest government department bureaucracy in the history of the United States. Removed more checks and balances, and have the least amount of congressional oversight than any presidential administration in U.S. history. All-time U.S. and world record-holder for receiving the most corporate campaign donations. Spent more money on polls and focus groups than any president in U.S. history. In a little over two years, created the most divided country in decades, possibly the most divided since the Civil War.

Environmental:

Records and References:

* At least one conviction for drunk driving in Maine. My Texas driving record has been erased and is not available.

* AWOL from the National Guard.

* Refuse to take a drug test or even answer any questions about drug use.

* All records of my tenure as Governor of Texas are now in my father's library, sealed, and unavailable for public view. All records of SEC investigations into insider trading or bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view. All records or minutes from meetings that I, or my Vice-president, attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review.

~ Please consider my experience when voting in 2004. ~

1:45:32 PM     leave/read comments []