Bloodstained Gary Bettman: 'I Have Taken The Necessary Measures To Ensure A Crosby-Ovechkin Final' | The Onion - America's Finest News Source:

NEW YORK—Addressing reporters yesterday in an unnervingly calm tone of voice, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman—his hands, face, and white-collared shirt covered in blood—said that any obstacle standing in the way of both Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin playing in the Stanley Cup Final has been "taken care of." "Sometimes you have to put the greater good of the league ahead of the fact that the [Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals] are in the same conference. Unfortunately for some, that point needed to be made...how should I put this...more clearly," Bettman said as he removed black leather crimson-splotched gloves from his hands and what appeared to be an ear from his jacket pocket. "Needless to say [NHL Players' Association executive director] Paul V. Kelly, [New York Rangers General Manager] Glen Sather, and Mario Lemieux will not be attending this press conference as was originally scheduled." When Bettman asked if there were any questions, no reporters raised their hands.

And apparently they follow hockey!

Americans Support Goal of Improved Relations With Muslim World - washingtonpost.com:

There is still a broad lack of familiarity with the world's second-largest religion -- 55 percent of those polled said they are without a basic understanding of the teachings and beliefs of Islam, and most said they do not know anyone who is Muslim. While awareness has increased in recent years, underlying views have not improved.

There are so many places to get your questions answered, if you stumbled on my blog and have a question about Islam, feel free to ask. I think the issue isn't so much that people don't know anyone to ask questions, but it is just easier to have a negative opinion without doing the research.

The White House - Blog Post - Crossroads in Turkey:

The United States is not, and will never be, at war with Islam.

Good to hear a sitting  President of the United States say it, though.

Museum finds secret message in Lincoln's watch | Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gold watch owned by Abraham Lincoln bears a message marking the start of the U.S. Civil War, but the president never knew of the "secret" inscription uncovered on Tuesday at the National Museum of American History. The engraving, by watchmaker Jonathan Dillon, is dated April 13, 1861, and reads in part:

Secret Civil War treasure hidden and only found by Nicolas Cage... OK, maybe not, but at first this sounded like a new National Treasure movie...

A pair of my wool socks just got a hole in it, and Yaty said it is way too tough to fix the hole, it's just easier to buy new socks. I remarked that there must be a guide to darning socks online, and while I agree that athletic socks aren't worth the time, my yummy REI wool socks just may be worth the trouble. Rants and Ramblings to the rescue with Just In Time How To advice:

Craftzine.com blog: Darn It!:

When you darn, you are essentially reweaving the textile; with modern knit items, it's a little bit trickier because you need a similar stretch as the base material, but still doable. The old adage "a stitch in time saves nine" is something everyone should pay more than lip service to: it's a lot easier to repair a small hole or threadbare fabric than a gaping vent! Repair your moth holes or tears right away and you'll thank yourself later.

Props to Rants and Ramblings.

White House enemy No. 1: Rush Limbaugh | Reuters:

The goal is to convince Americans that the popularly known "Grand Old Party" of Abraham Lincoln is a shell of its former self and in the grip of its most narrow, right wing, in hopes of making independents and moderates think twice about switching allegiance.

The goal is to convince Americans the obvious? Abraham Lincoln's party is all but formally the Libertarian Party, no?

Somewhere in the deepest darkest corner of the gaming behemoth we call Sega is a team of game developers devoted to producing games specifically for my 12 year old daughter:

I'm not sure what motivates them, as she doesn't have fabulous wealth, but clearly every meeting in development they ask the question: "Would Iman like this?"

iPhone features everywhere in rivals' new phones | Reuters:

The phone industry is envious of Apple's AppStore, which lets iPhone users download thousands of small software programs to personalize the way they play games, listen to music or find directions.

The Danger Sidekick had this long before Apple thought of making a phone. Anyone know if any other platform had a on-board, all-download store for purchasing phone apps?

Microsoft SQL Server 2008, 2005, 2000 and 7.0 Builds:

This unofficial build chart lists all of the known KB articles, hotfixes and other builds of MS SQL Server 2008, 2005, 2000 and 7.0 that have been released.