This site lets you compare your height with the heights of famous people, everyone from Abraham Lincoln (6'4") to Woody Allen (5'5").

This Times Online article discusses an attempt by the Herculaneum Society to reexcavate an ancient Roman villa buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. They believe they may find a library of ancient books in the villa. According to the Society, “We can expect to find good contemporary copies of known masterpieces and to recover works lost to humanity for two millennia. A treasure of greater cultural importance can scarcely be imagined.”

Despite getting NBC's worst rating ever, the American version of the Office premiers on Tuesday, March 22 at 9.30pm.

In rememberence of Johnny Carson, who died this week of emphysema, the New Yorker posted this profile of Carson from 1978. Here's Johnny.

This New Scientist article discusses new research and theories on black holes. "Researchers on the quest for a more complete understanding of our universe are finding that black holes are not so black, and perhaps not holes either. Furious debates are raging over what black holes contain and even whether they deserve the name."

This NPR interview with Daily Show Senior Correspondent Stephen Colbert shows why he is the fake newsman's fake newsman.

Now that President Bush has been inaugurated for the second time, the Bush presidency is more than half over. To find out how much longer Bush will last, go to Backwards Bush, The Official George W. Bush "Days Left In Office" Countdown.

In this New Republic article, Peter Beinart asks "Why is President Bush having more trouble (so far) trying to partially privatize Social Security than he had cutting taxes in 2001?" Although Beinart see several possibilities, he explains why he thinks, "It may be that the GOP's victories in last November's elections, the very victories that Bush says give him the "political capital" to push through partial privatization, are actually making the effort harder. By killing off the Democrats most susceptible to his influence, Bush may have created a political dynamic that works for his opponents, and against him."

The Free Fall Research Page tells the stories of people who have survived a fall of thousands of feet without a working parachute. The page includes information on Free Fallers, Wreckage Riders, Unlucky Skydivers, and other Amazing Stories.

The three Free Fallers are perhaps the most amazing. These three men were all World War II airmen who fell at least 18,000 feet without a parachute and survived.

According to this International Herald Tribune article by Frank Rich, "One day after Tucker Carlson, the co-host of CNN's "Crossfire," made his farewell appearance and two days after the network's new president made the admirable announcement that he would soon kill the program altogether, a television news miracle occurred: even as it staggered through its last steps to the network guillotine, "Crossfire" came up with the worst show in its 23-year history.

This was a half-hour of television so egregious that it makes Jon Stewart's famous pre-election rant seem, if anything, too kind. This time "Crossfire" was not just "hurting America," as Stewart put it, by turning news into a nonsensical gong show. It was unwittingly, or perhaps wittingly, complicit in the cover-up of a scandal."

You can read the whole article here.

In this New Yorker article, Seymour Hersh explains the Bush Administration's plans for the next four years. The War on Terrorism will "be expanded, and effectively placed under the Pentagon’s control. The President has signed a series of findings and executive orders authorizing secret commando groups and other Special Forces units to conduct covert operations against suspected terrorist targets in as many as ten nations in the Middle East and South Asia."

Hersh also explains that, "According to a former high-level intelligence official, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff shortly after the election and told them, in essence, that the naysayers had been heard and the American people did not accept their message. Rumsfeld added that America was committed to staying in Iraq and that there would be no second-guessing.

“This is a war against terrorism, and Iraq is just one campaign. The Bush Administration is looking at this as a huge war zone,” the former high-level intelligence official told me. “Next, we’re going to have the Iranian campaign. We’ve declared war and the bad guys, wherever they are, are the enemy. This is the last hurrah—we’ve got four years, and want to come out of this saying we won the war on terrorism.”

Adam Gopnik discusses the life of Leonardo da Vinci in this New Yorker article.

I haven't blogged much lately because Mrs. Blogenheimer and I have been busy with our new daughter. Mary Elizabeth was born on Sunday, January 2nd at 2:28PM. We will call her Molly.