Blue M&Ms linked to reducing spine injury – CNN.com.

Apparently, the blue dye used in M&Ms and Gatorade can be used to reduce damage caused by spine injuries.

My take? Forget the medical benefits, I want this blue mouse!

(Blue mouse photo from CNN.com and University of Rochester Medical Center)

I took this shot from my front porch this afternoon. I was on my way out to do my grocery shopping when I saw that basically everyone in the neighborhood was out waiting for the President Elect.

Something tells me this will not be the last time we see the Presidential limousine in “real” DC, outside of the monuments and government offices. There is work to be done in the community and this seems to be right in the President Elect’s wheelhouse.

Here’s hoping, anyway.

Here are the rest of my Inauguration pictures, including the ones I got at the We Are One concert at the Lincoln Memorial yesterday

I mentioned in my resolutions post that I want to take pictures every day this year. I guess photography is my latest “thing”. I think my hobby is collecting hobbies.

Anyway, Mental Floss has a post about Jamie Livingston, a photographer, filmmaker and circus performer who took (or had taken) a polaroid every day from March 31, 1979 until the day he died on October 25, 1997. 18 years. I don’t even know if I’ll get through one year!

I’ll be posting my photos from 2009 in this flickr set.

Check out the huge aurora on Saturn.

Credit:NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Note the hexagonal feature in the atmosphere that Cassini found last year.

I took these outside the White House with my iPhone at night, so forgive the poor quality.

From the American News Project, via Huffington Post

It’s important that people understand that opening up these areas to production will do little to nothing to reduce our gas prices, and we’re talking several years down the line regardless. The oil companies already have access to acres and acres of drillable land and sea that they aren’t using. Why not force them to produce on those areas if we’re so concerned about drilling “now” and “here.”

We need more effort towards renewable energy. Let’s see the GOP stage a congressional sit-in for that one. I’m sure their buddies at ExxonMobil should have no problem with that. I mean they want to stop the “war on the poor,” right?

More than that, we need leaders who will lead. America has spent too much time being told what it needs to hear and misled down these dangerous paths… How about a little truth in government for a change?

Record Obama Crowd, the Size of a City (Washington Post)

PORTLAND, Ore. — Sen. Barack Obama has seen his share of large crowds over the last 15 months, but his campaign said they have not approached the numbers gathered along the waterfront here right now.

The campaign, citing figures from Duane Bray, battalion chief of Portland Fire & Rescue, estimated that 75,000 people are watching him speak.

The scene suggests this is not an exaggeration. The sea of heads stretches for half a mile along the grassy embankment, while others watch from kayaks and power boats bobbing on the Willamette River. More hug the rails of the steel bridge that stretches across the water and crowds are even watching from jetties on the opposite shore.

seventy-five THOUSAND.

More coverage, video and a slide show over at Huffington Post

I wonder if there are any “hard working Americans, white Americans” in the crowd.

There’s a new email forward circulating. New to me, at least.

It features this photo, reminiscent of President Bush’s binoculars-with-the-caps-on picture, and another one of the same phone theme.

Pretty embarassing, says the folks who will find any reason to dislike and/or mock the man, but here’s the real photo.

I expect much more of this.

Welcome to 2008!

A long weekend recap.

• Friends were down from the frigid north east for the weekend. Good times were had by all.
• Saw National Treasure: Book of Secrets
• Irish food was eaten and Guiness enjoyed with great company
• A bomb NYE dinner was made by the lovely Elizabeth
• New wine was tried
• Italian food was eaten and enjoyed with great company
• Saw Juno with two awesome people

Now I’m back to work, with hard drives failing, a cold and a feeling of general malaise. I’m about to head home though, and spend time with the kitties since I haven’t been home for a full night since before Christmas. I’ve got some cleaning to do, and some work to do on www.newindieartists.com. I’ll probably also work on a way to get my music stuff syndicated into this feed so people can get JUST the music stuff, or all of it. This will save me cross-posting.

An Apple IIgs! (and what appears to be a large can of baked beans)

I have no room in my apartment to collect crap like this, but I could probably eBay it for a couple bucks.

Probably not worth the effort to bring it upstairs.