Try them out; don’t try them out but just look and go “Ooo”; or tell me never to send this stuff to you again cause you have waaay too much info overload as it is. There, that said, on with the show:

1) The Awesome Highlighter – http://www.awesomehighlighter.com/ - highlight text on a web page, add a note and create a URL link to send to anyone.

2)Kwout - http://kwout.com/ - Grab a screen shot of a web page, “cut out” any part of the page as an image with an image map. Then embed it or directly post it to Facebook, Twitter, etc.

3) Wolfram|Alpha –  http://www.wolframalpha.com/ - A “knowledge engine” – not a search engine as it won’t bring up a list of web pages but instead is like asking questions of an incredible reference librarian.  Try it out… I put in my first name and it gave back the rank of that name in 2007, a timeline of when the name was most popular, the number of people with that name in 2007 and then based on all gathered info, the current age distribution of people named “Rachel” (I was ahead of my time as most are in their 20′s!). 

4) Patients Like Me - http://www.patientslikeme.com/ - A community site where people share their detailed health profile/problems, find others with the same profile, and share symptom reports, med info, have “conversations”, support each other, etc.  This came into my radar not only because of the medical info/HIPAA aspect but because one of the “communities” around a specific disease actually had better clinical data on specific treatment trials than a leading scholarly journal…  Has some amazing visuals on various health problems and diseases.

Before and After:

Why We Drink: http://current.com/items/89048684/why_we_drink.htm

For anyone who likes weird museums like I do (the Mutter Museum anyone?): http://curiousexpeditions.org/?p=507

But my excitement is tempered by profound disappointment – I truly cannot believe Prop 8 passed.  I am utterly disgusted that specific religious beliefs are being foisted upon me and others in the secular world… I am not a member of a religion that follows the Bible and I do not feel that I should be governed by that book.  Are we also going to pass a proposition that adulterers should be stoned publicly? What about outlawing the eating of the flesh from animals with a cloven hoof?  Hell, if marriage is so sacred, are they going to outlaw divorce??

Sigh… OK, here’s a few links to ponder for those of us who do not want to let this civil rights issue go down with a wimper:

Three Lawsuits Ask State High Court to Block Proposition 8 -
http://www.kron4.com/Global/story.asp?S=9298587

Find out who financially backed Prop 8 and boycott their businesses -
At SFGate.com, there’s an easily searchable database of every donor above $100 both for and against Prop 8.  -  http://www.sfgate.com/webdb/prop8/

Sign the petition to reopen Prop 8 -http://www.petitiononline.com/seg5130/petition.html

And finally, if you’re in the market for a pink and blue unicorn oil painting then you must check out Archie McPhee’s site. See the “weirdest products” section for some faboo gift giving ideas. I was going to get Brandon the gummy haggis, seeing as he wouldn’t order the real thing in Edinburgh, but it is sold out (imagine that). Maybe instead I’ll get him the bacon air freshener.

California by Kevin Starr – It’s a history of our beloved state written by the former state librarian (so of course I had to pick it up and support the writing aspirations of a fellow ‘brarian).  I was a history major oh so very long ago and have taken my share of required American/California history courses…Unfortunately this book just seemed to be an extension of one of those courses – long on breadth and short on depth.  Starr’s writing is passable and accessible and he definitely knows how to research but I felt there was a lack of focus; no lynchpin for the history to connect to and revolve around.   The establishment of the Missions, the southern California water wars, and the minute details of the financing of the railroad are all told with the same intensity and passion (not much).  Starr spends an entire chapter on provincialism and the 19th century authors that promoted such regionalism and probably a mere 1/2 a page on the Chinese railroad workers.  The book was informative but I felt like I was reading a text book - a thin overview of lots of events strung together by a mostly un-opinionated voice.  I realize this is a “history” and not a memoir so maybe emotions are supposed to be left at the door but I for one like it when the author’s voice can be heard and the stories come alive.

Here’s some new pics from the Girl Scout Daddy/Daughter dance! The theme was the Ocean (hence the ocean colors and the sailors and pirates!), the music was very loud and the sugar rush was on!

Now, its on to sour dough bread and I think I will attempt a rosemary and garlic focaccia soon.  Scary ain’t it??

Disneyland is still a blast but more and more, the kids just want to ride the bigger rides over and over again while I make like my grandma and sit at the exit to the rides waiting and giving cues for food and bathroom breaks… Sam and Kate are perfectly matched and did their own thing and Jack, who’s 4 and a half, decided he was scared of most every ride, but went like a trooper on most anyway.  The live shows were Jack’s thing – he danced with High School Musical 2 and was chosen from the crowd of kids for Jedi training where he made sure to wear his Luke Skywalker halloween costume just for the occasion and then repelled Darth Vader with the force emanating from his hand… awesome.    

We always have such a good time with Jen and the family – its a tradition we’ve done since Sam and Kate were 3 and I hope to continue doing until they are too old to want to be seen with us… what is that, like 4 years from now maybe???

On the way home, Kate and I stopped at the La Brea Tar Pits and they are a lot smaller than I remember.  Maybe I’m just a lot bigger? The wall of Dire Wolf skulls is still amazing and the lab where you can watch the people cleaning the fossils is cool too.  It was a great ending to a great vacation and since Kate had just done a fossils exhibit for her school Science Fair, an interesting stop for her too.