Lynn and I are watching recorded television programs on our ReplayTV and see an ad for a show we want to watch. It says, "premiering tomorrow!" Lynn says, "I don't know when tomorrow is." (Turns out tomorrow was last week.)

Later: Lynn turns to me as and says, "I'm reading your blog. I now get your RSS feed, and I'm reading myself." I reply, "I'll blog that!"

Can you crystallize blogging any further than this post? I doubt it. And it being April Fool's Day just adds to the experience.

It's hard to explain why I'm so sad hearing about the death of Mitch Hedberg. He was my age, sure, so there's empathy and selfishness in hearing about his death. But he was a damn funny guy, and very talented and charming. My wife and I saw him perform in Seattle a few years ago and left a little depressed: he had been pretty hilarious, but it was so clear that he was an alcoholic. He was stealing drinks from tables adjacent to the stage (with the drinks' owners' permission). They don't know whether drugs or alcohol were involved in his heart failure, but it's just damned sad.

I just came up with the perfect tagline for the new Hitchhilker's Guide to the Galaxy (HHGG) movie for which the preview is now available based on that preview:

A film almost entirely but not quite unlike the book.

That's a compliment by the way.

This is not a doctored screen capture.

For true Christian spirit, turn to this press release from the United Church of Christ who welcome SpongeBob Squarepants with open arms and no judgment. It brings a tear to my eye, it does, that these folks are using the springboard of ridiculous intolerance as a tool to stress their interest in extending love and redemption to everyone. People of good will everywhere, unite around this message. My beliefs don't coincide specifically with the UCC, but they behave as I wish all humanity does. And it seems genuine.

"Absolutely, the UCC extends an unequivocal welcome to SpongeBob," the Rev. John H. Thomas, the UCC's general minister and president, said, only partly in jest. "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we."

It's finally happened. Eggs can be fertilised (that's an "s" because the report comes from Britain) without a man's involvement. Gender had a good run, but it's over. While the article states "The 'embryos' do not contain any paternal chromosomes, so could not develop into a baby," I'm not sure this is entirely correct. Ova contain two full sets of maternal chromosomes which in their journey down the fallopian tube emit two distinct polar bodies: the first gets rid of most of one and part of another of those sets, reducing down to one full chromosome set with some recombination; the second polar body gets rid of half of the remaining chromosome. So there's already some recombination before the ovum meets Mr. Sperm.

We've already read reports that the male Y chromosome is in terrible shape, like a beaten-up shantytown, full of junk and limping along. So, give it a

Too much death and threats of death in a kiddy film. King Neptune was flat. Extended ice cream bar scene was extremely awesome, especially sugar-drunk SpongeBob behavior. Broken framing mechanism involving pirates abandoned by end. Scary parts which were unappealing. All major characters from series given cameo or highly limited roles--missing Sandy, especially, given that she's a sea monster fighter. David Hasselhoff rocked, especially the long scene on his back, butt, and legs. I give it 3 chum buckets or 1 1/2 krabby patties.

To cheer woes this November day, here is the greatest bad translation of a product manual ever created. I have a hard time believing the translator had more than a passing familiarity with English, or was viewing the entire project as a giant joke. The manual is for a bikestand that holds up to four bikes. It includes these gems:

• You don't climb or hang from BIKE TOWER-3100. And keep out small babies from BIKE TOWER2.
• It is your duty that you always adjust the degree of the Frame Hook Beam when you hang another bicycles.
• If you felt any troubles about your BIKE TOWER-3100, you must stop using soon.
• When you waste metal parts, keep away from small children to prevent from some injuries by them.

And my favorite sequence of three signs indicating various safety problems:

• This sign means most dangerous things as death or serious injury or

My wife took this picture of her friends D.J. and Ken while skiing at Grand Targhee several years ago, and she's prized it ever since because of the middle sign.

I mean, losing your life, okay, you're a triple-diamond black skier, so you laugh at that because you can ski anything. But they're going to rip my ticket! Well, that's serious.

I know that I'm sleep deprived from my new baby, but this story about Siemens cell phone flaw made me incredulous. Wow. A cell-phone low-power sound that's so loud it might damage your hearing.And now back to loud baby crying.