The White House - Blog Post - Crossroads in Turkey:

The United States is not, and will never be, at war with Islam.

Good to hear a sitting  President of the United States say it, though.

Museum finds secret message in Lincoln's watch | Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gold watch owned by Abraham Lincoln bears a message marking the start of the U.S. Civil War, but the president never knew of the "secret" inscription uncovered on Tuesday at the National Museum of American History. The engraving, by watchmaker Jonathan Dillon, is dated April 13, 1861, and reads in part:

Secret Civil War treasure hidden and only found by Nicolas Cage... OK, maybe not, but at first this sounded like a new National Treasure movie...

A pair of my wool socks just got a hole in it, and Yaty said it is way too tough to fix the hole, it's just easier to buy new socks. I remarked that there must be a guide to darning socks online, and while I agree that athletic socks aren't worth the time, my yummy REI wool socks just may be worth the trouble. Rants and Ramblings to the rescue with Just In Time How To advice:

Craftzine.com blog: Darn It!:

When you darn, you are essentially reweaving the textile; with modern knit items, it's a little bit trickier because you need a similar stretch as the base material, but still doable. The old adage "a stitch in time saves nine" is something everyone should pay more than lip service to: it's a lot easier to repair a small hole or threadbare fabric than a gaping vent! Repair your moth holes or tears right away and you'll thank yourself later.

Props to Rants and Ramblings.

White House enemy No. 1: Rush Limbaugh | Reuters:

The goal is to convince Americans that the popularly known "Grand Old Party" of Abraham Lincoln is a shell of its former self and in the grip of its most narrow, right wing, in hopes of making independents and moderates think twice about switching allegiance.

The goal is to convince Americans the obvious? Abraham Lincoln's party is all but formally the Libertarian Party, no?

Somewhere in the deepest darkest corner of the gaming behemoth we call Sega is a team of game developers devoted to producing games specifically for my 12 year old daughter:

I'm not sure what motivates them, as she doesn't have fabulous wealth, but clearly every meeting in development they ask the question: "Would Iman like this?"

iPhone features everywhere in rivals' new phones | Reuters:

The phone industry is envious of Apple's AppStore, which lets iPhone users download thousands of small software programs to personalize the way they play games, listen to music or find directions.

The Danger Sidekick had this long before Apple thought of making a phone. Anyone know if any other platform had a on-board, all-download store for purchasing phone apps?

Microsoft SQL Server 2008, 2005, 2000 and 7.0 Builds:

This unofficial build chart lists all of the known KB articles, hotfixes and other builds of MS SQL Server 2008, 2005, 2000 and 7.0 that have been released.

MTV Multiplayer » 30 Minutes With The American Nintendo DS-i:

The Nintendo DSi will be released in the U.S. on April 5 for $169.99. The device had been out in Japan since the fall, but until four Nintendo reps visited me this month — carrying the DSi in a small metal briefcase – I had not seen the system in person.

And it looks sweet:

Carrot History - Origins and Development:

It is said (with no documentary evidence) that the cultivated and edible carrot dates back about 5,000 years ago when the purple root was found to be growing in the area now known as Afghanistan.