Linkee-poo is cold as ice

I'm sure there's some more great stuff out there, but I'm running as fast as I can.

Ever wonder what it would be like to fly in a U-2? Well, here's a video. The U-2 is still an operational program and they're still flying missions. Some people think flying with the Blue Angles or Thunderbirds would be a lifetime event. For me, other than taking a spin on the SR-71 (which, IIRC, is no longer operational), a U-2 flight would be my wish (since I can't go up on the Shuttle anymore). (Pointed to by Dan)

A commentary on the Windows GUI. So true. (Pointed to by John)

Also, because moving into new tech for display and demos are all the rage, friends are sending me cool links. Like this one foe Aurasma. A commercially available augmented reality program. It has a free "reader". Cool. (As a side note, life is easier when you have friends who are willing to help out this way) (Pointed to by Dan)

A woman in Philadelphia is fired after taking time off to donate a kidney to her son. Good thing we're rolling back all those worker protections to help out our struggling businesses so that we can keep this kind of thing (willy-nilly taking off work to save family member's lives) from happening. Granted, she had already used up all her vacation time tending to her sick parents and other family, so I'm sure the company was just tired of her not being at work. And there might be other extenuating circumstances… but, really? It's not like she just didn't show up one day. Personally, I wonder if she could sue under the family leave act (granted the time would be "unpaid" - unlike most other civilized nations). "It is estimated that the lack of paid sick leave costs the United States $180 billion annually in productivity, due to workers coming to work sick and infecting their colleagues." But we can't have paid sick time (our own Ohio bill was defeated last year) because that would put too much of a burden on our businesses. Note to businesses, you're already paying for it. You're just making more people miserable instead of doing the right thing. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

WWPRD, what would Pat Robertson do? Apparently, he'd bail. Or maybe he'd like to change the marriage vows (look, look, attack on "traditional marriage" and "family values") to add a line, "… in sickness and in health, except for that icky Alzheimers." Ah, Crazy Uncle Pat, don't you go changing to try and please me.

The GOP not telling the truth when it comes to Medicare and the new APA? Damn, I still need to find a replacement for the Casablanca quote. But then, the GOP has not been reality based, even when they have an expert tell them straight-up what the deal is for many a moon. FOrtunately, the American people are starting to catch on (Bloomberg poll - and yes, there's bad news for everybody in there).