penniless

What a travesty. Why isn't she just thrown out like a low level failure would be? Bloomberg News Published February 12, 2005 PALO ALTO, Calif. -- A filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission details the $21.4 million severance package given to Carly Fiorina, ousted chief executive officer at Hewlett-Packard Co. Fiorina will receive $14 million of that in cash, Hewlett-Packard said. She was paid $8.15 million in 2004 in salary, bonus and options, a jump from the $6.64 million compensation package she received in 2003. The package is down from the $10.7 million total in 2002. Hewlett-Packard asked Fiorina to resign Wednesday after her $18.9 billion purchase of Compaq Computer Corp. failed to produce the profits she promised. Fiorina also will receive a $7.38 million payment related to bonuses and $50,000 for outplacement and financial counseling. Between fiscal 1999 and 2003, Fiorina was paid $159 million in cash, stock, benefits and options. Fiorina, recruited from Lucent Technologies Inc. in 1999, staked her reputation on the 2002 Compaq purchase. The acquisition failed to boost profit and Hewlett-Packard lost its lead in the personal computer market to Dell Inc. The company struggled to make money on storage devices and report consistent gains in sales of servers.

One of the 911 commissioners was interviewed on the radio yesterday and said that while most of the redactions were to preserve national security, some of them were to prevent embarrassment to the administration.

Yes, but that's not the only way the eco-terrorists do it in the book. The have a "gizmo", disguised as a portable radio, that attracts lightning. However since it can be used as a handheld radio without the user realizing there's anything unusual, it (presumably) isn't a high voltage generator or ionization source, both of which would be giveaways. On the whole I thought it was not one of his best.

Maybe it's time to export some of that "freedom" and "liberty" we heard about in the SOTU address to the good ole US of A, where constitutional protections appear to be disappearing fast.

Quantum Leap in MO, and a whole bunch in IL (see www.uspa.org/dz/states/IL.htm

Anyone read it? Once you get over the basic impossibility that any government agency could ever carry off a deception of this magnitude without it leaking all over the media, IMO it's a good story.

What about those Viking women in Eaters of the Dead? Didn't he write that when he was a college student?

I was disappointed in it. The absurdity of the plot was hard to overcome. Bill, you're an electronics wiz. Tell us how to make a portable electronic device to attract lightning strikes (no, not a kite).

Most people have no idea how to change any of the settings on their wireless access points and if they did would not understand what they are doing. I have had to set up wireless for quite a few of these clueless people. We are a capitalist society. Take advantage of clueless people.

Since DH Otters are so good, I'd try a few other DH's, like a Tiger Moth and a Mosquito. B24, B17 or Avro Lancaster too. DC3 (oh, did that already). Harrier?

What a WEAK plot line. Some super special agent has no backup to save the world except for a lawyer and a woman whom he picks up more or less by chance. Flying in and out of Antarctica as if on a scheduled airline. Attracting lightning with an electronic gizmo in the back of a truck. Trying to give global warning a bad name by triggering a tsunami... I thought it was the worst Crichton book I've read (and I've read most of them).

Agreed. The commercial for the Daytona 500 said it was the world's fastest sporting event. So what about speed skydiving and the Reno Air races?

I was under the distinct impression (from talking to an NCO) that traveling in uniform was not currently permitted.

What, no viagra ads?

AIDA32 (freeware) gives all that info.

abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=463499 Don't get sick.

Superbowl XX

The Commandant of the Marine Corps was quoted as saying "He could have chosen his words more carefully". Yes, I can agree with that!

Not wishing to be mathematically pedantic or anything, but how does this poll tell you anything about an AVERAGE number of jumps? According to USPA, the median number of jumps of USPA members is less than 250.

Since he obviously thinks the defence lawyers are currently not competent, I wonder why he allowed so many to be put to death? Despite the view of many that the only good lawyer is a dead lawyer, executing defense lawyers for incompetence does seem a bit extreme, even for Texas.

So after warning "don't let anyone mislead you" Bush proceeded to make claims about Social Security that are unfounded and contradicted by the SS trust fund trustees. He made unfounded claims about the cost to the economy of malpractice lawsuits, and he mislead about the size of his budget cuts by excluding all military expenditures. Oh well, par for the course.

I memorized the periodic table of the elements when I was 14, just to outdo my brother who was a chemistry major in college at that time. I can still recite it xx years later (xx>>25), up to element 103 anyway. Absolutely useless clutter in my brain!

Chicago just convicted a guy who defrauded the city of $100million. Fraud and graft are alive and well in the USA.

Which GPS are you using? Can it "see" the satellites from inside the plane, or does it just reacquire more quickly after exit due to having been on previously?

Looks even more like a flying squirrel than the predecessors.