ARRRGGHH...ok how many of you spent a good portion of their high school/college beach days at Huntington. I know I did...well...you know that marsh just inland? The manmade one designed to provide wildlife habitat...it turns out that it is a HUGE fecal bacteria plant that routinely pumped levels of the bacteria to 1000's of times the legal limit in the waters at Huntington Beach...so when you got that mouthful of sea-water......damn that's nasty. Here's the whole article.

Wired swept up this cool article on smart dust. Nanotech rules!

For you home automation freaks. Joe sent me this link. I wish I had more free time...

Ran across this article on CNN that pushed me to this website. If you are worried about the data collected about you while you are surfing the web. This page gives you the option of turning off the tracking of many of the major profilers. Now I don't know how effective this is and it is done by the use of cookies. I completed the form and had to go to about half the advertisers sites to complete the "OPT OUT" process on their individual sites. If you are concerned about privacy this is one step you can take to protect it. Oh, and you will ave to do this on every machine you use to surf the net.

Some other notes. Two new signs on Myrtle Avenue in downtown Monrovia. "The Coldstone Creamery" a wonderful ice cream store and the "Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf" - good for you coffee and tea people. Also at the parade last weekend I noticed several signs that said "Welcome Krispy Kreme" on the corner of Myrtle and Lime. :-) I'm not sure I like the idea of having a Krispy Kreme " this close to my house.

This is a long post from Monrovia's website... Monrovia's Samson the Bear Put Down at Orange County Zoo Samson, the hot tub-loving bear, who became famous when his life was spared after capture in a Monrovia neighborhood in 1994, has been euthanized by the Orange County Zoo where he had lived a pampered life for the past several years. Samson was old and sick when he was captured. His advanced age, six years later, led to his being put down. "Samson was a wonderful symbol of exactly why we are working so hard to save our last remaining hillside wilderness," said Monrovia Mayor Lara Blakely. "Our bears, deer, foxes and other wildlife enrich our lives, and they deserve to live here safely and fully." Monrovia is working to buy up the last few hundred acres of developable hillside land to set aside as a wilderness preserve. Its residents have taxed themselves $10 million to help make it happen. "Samson helped raise the environmental awareness of our community," Mayor Blakely continued. "It is fitting that we are now dedicating ourselves to making those hills safe and secure for other Samsons who call them home." Samson had roamed the hills above Monrovia's northernmost neighborhoods for years, and was no stranger to residents there - rummaging through their garbage cans, feasting on fruit off their trees and taking occasional dips in their swimming pools and hot tubs. Video tape of Samson in just such a tub became well-known nationally, along with the story of his capture and reprieve. Samson had done some garbage-can feasting and hot-tub dipping one evening in September, 1994, but became seriously ill after ingesting a plastic trash bag. He was trapped by the California Department of Fish and Game, but deemed un-releasable because of his age, worn-down teeth and his affinity for human habitat. He was slated for euthanasia. An all-out effort by Monrovia to save Sampson, led by Mr. and Mrs. Gary Potter who had shot the now-famous hot tub video tape, resulted in then-Governor Pete Wilson ordering that the bear's life be spared. Orange County Zoo stepped forward at that point and offered Samson a home. He moved into the zoo in 1996. For the past year, Samson's home has been featured on the zoo's internet site, with a camera trained on his habitat during daylight hours. Samson's story was carried world-wide by the BBC shortly after its national exposure. Samson the Bear dolls, tee shirts and hats have appeared in Monrovia from time to time since 1994, and a book, "Samson the Hot Tub Bear," was published by author Wendy Tokuda. Since news of his death began circulating in Monrovia, residents have called City Hall to suggest tributes to the bear - a statue in one of the city parks, for instance, or a Samson the Bear Day declaration. I personally like the idea of a statue to Samson in Monrovia Library Park

Ed sent me this info on the LA to Pasadena (and ultimately including Monrovia) Blue line.

this is a really cool flash site...warning...this will be demanding on your computer...yugop

Can anyone possibly doubt that hot and spicy cheez-its are divinely inspired?

also added some new pictures to Conrad's page if you are following his growth...

I have update the hockey stats for the Spring season....we kicked everyone's butts except in the playoffs....but you know that. Guess who the goon was?

ok so I have been neglectful lately...we'll see if i can turn it around