Straight out of Toronto:

The National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players' Association have reached an agreement in principle on the terms of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

[ NHL.com - News ]

Next step: learn the roster for the Washington Caps, since I think they traded away every player that I knew.

Or something like that. I'm still not completely sure what is being said, but I do know that the game is addictive:

Control the stone frog idol of the ancient Zuma in this thrilling action puzzler. Fire balls to make sets of three, but don't let them reach the golden skull or you're history!

[ PopCap Games - Zuma ]

Not just addictive, but addictive everywhere you go. There are versions for:

• Windows
• Web (via flash)
• Pocket PC
• Palm OS
• Cell Phones

And, as with all of these color matching and shape sorting type of games, you don't realize how addictive it can be until you find yourself thinking that you are a giant marble spitting stone frog in real life...

The battery to be specific. I can't find anyone who carries them any more, so I can't get a replacement. Or at least not easily. So why not take it up a notch:

Ryobi HP472K

SPECIFICATIONS:

• Voltage: 7.2 volts 
• RPM: 330/520 (no-load speeds) 
• Chuck: 3/8” keyless 
• Clutch: 24 position 
• Weight: 2.96 lbs.

FEATURES:

• Keyless chuck – enables quick and easy bit changes 
• 24 clutch positions – virtually eliminates screw stripping by adjusting for various materials and driving depths 
• Compact center handle design with power grip overmold – maximizes user comfort 
• Variable speed switch – controls drilling/driving tasks from a slow start to a fast finish 
• Built-in bubble level – improves drilling/driving accuracy by identifying the proper 90 angle 
• Forward/Reverse selector – conveniently located for inserting and removal tasks 
• On-board magnetic storage – for quick access to your driving bit

[ Ryobi ]

Didn't cost much more than the B&D tool I bought before, but has quite a bit more power. Plus it has 30 levels of torque to avoid stripping screws but still allow for the power necessary to get the job done. Didn't have a hex driver bit, but my B&D bits fit in the adapter just fine. And a tool like this is required for any Ikea project...

Look for it in future conversations.

In 1995, McArthur Wheeler walked into two Pittsburgh banks and robbed them in broad daylight, with no visible attempt at disguise. He was arrested later that night, less than an hour after videotapes of him taken from surveillance cameras were broadcast on the 11 o'clock news. When police later showed him the surveillance tapes, Mr. Wheeler stared in incredulity. "But I wore the juice," he mumbled. Apparently, Mr. Wheeler was under the impression that rubbing one's face with lemon juice rendered it invisible to videotape cameras ( Fuocco, 1996 ).

[ Unskilled and Unaware of It ]

Props: Gibson.

One of DC's true gems.

The Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C. are open every day of the year except December 25. Unless noted otherwise, museums are open from 10am-5:30pm; the Anacostia Museum is open 10am-5pm, except during exhibition installation. The Smithsonian Information Center, located in the Castle, is open 8:30am-5:30pm.

[ Smithsonian: Hours ]

In fact I was at least 18 years old before I "discovered" that museums aren't usually free...

On Netflix's recommendation page, they tell me what is popular in my city. Since they know how I've rated over 1000 movies, do you think they can tell where I should live based on the movies I like?

Yaty and I went to the Aquarium on our last trip to California, and I picked up a few Seafood Watch wallet cards:

A program of Monterey Bay Aquarium designed to raise consumer awareness about the importance of buying seafood from sustainable sources. We recommend which seafood to buy or avoid, helping consumers to become advocates for environmentally friendly seafood. We're also partners of the Seafood Choices Alliance where, along with other seafood awareness campaigns, we provide seafood purveyors with recommendations on seafood choices.

[ Monterey Bay Aquarium: About the Seafood Watch Program ]

The display they made in conjunction with this was quite informative. For example I figured the best salmon was farm-raised because it wouldn't impact the wild salmon. In fact it's quite the opposite. Farm-raised salmon actually damages the wild populations.

The more you know... and of course, Knowing is half the battle...

My PC seemed always have issues when I was away for a time being. It would be slow to "revive". Granted, I am a bit of a "power user". I have my wallpaper cycling every 15 minutes, which I suspect is a large part of the problem. It likely forces much of my system onto the scratch disc, which then requires a bit of work to pull back. Recently, Rhapsody has made it worse. It seems to like sucking quite a bit of RAM too. I had tried out some RAM freeing up program with mixed success before, but thought I'd try one again. This is what I found:

Our first and very popular product, FreeRAM XP Pro, optimizes computer RAM (Random Access Memory). Our software is available for download from CNET and Simtel, among many other sources.

[ YourWare Solutions: Quality freeware and home of FreeRAM XP Pro ]

After one day, I am still pleased. Sure that's not much time, but this morning it was much easier to log into my machine and get to work.

Visited the US Botanical Gardens today, Yaty read this and thought of Tom:

Join us for an exploration of tropical fruit botany. We will get to taste and experience some of the more unusual fruits of the world. Would you like to try a lychee? Will you be brave enough to sample the durian? A short tour of the USBG’s tropical fruit plants will be included in the workshop.

[ Longing for Longans and Loquats ]

Sounds yummy to me, and only $5!