The word evolved from “kawabonga,” a word used by the character Chief Thunderthud on the United States children’s television program Howdy Doody in the 1950s. “Kawagoopa” was an all-purpose exclamation of the Tinka Tonka Indians, the fictitious tribe of Princess Summerfall Winterspring and Chief Featherman, and “kawabonga” was the equivalent exclamation of Chief Thunderthud, who was of the Ooragnak Tribe. By the 1960s, surfers who had grown up watching Howdy Doody adopted it for surfing use, turning it to “cowabunga.”

[ Cowabunga - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ]

Why, you may ask, did I look this one up? Oddly the reason is also on the Wikipedia page:

Cookie Monster of Sesame Street, began to exclaim “Kowabunga!” in the 1970s. (Note the “K” spelling. He used it during a Letter of the Day segment as an example of a “K” word. When challenged by Prairie Dawn that it was not a word, he replied: “Kowabunga too a word. It esoteric, but it poetic in its own right.”)

So Cookie Monster is a surfer? Or just loved the Howdy Doody show?

Korean Air has 22 special needs meals plus 2 or 3 choices for the standard meal and 2 or 3 for the first class passengers. That includes 6 types of vegetarian meals (one is listed under Hindu).

We prepare a selection of special meals, catering to a wide variety of tastes as well as ethnic, religious and dietary needs. Special meals will be available in the flights with meal service only. Orders for special meals should be made at the Korean Air reservation center at least 24 hours before your scheduled flight.

[ Welcome to Korean Air ]

You are part of the problem. Apparently some news sources don't get it. When covering horrific acts of extremist fringe groups most if not all news outlets will not discuss or publish the goals of those groups, and for a good reason, to help them get their message out, or lend credence to their movement, would be a crime by assisting those who perpetrated the horrible acts. However US news outlets don't seem to understand that is exactly what the do when covering stories like the recent bombing in Hyderabad, India.

First a little background of the city:

Hyderabad is a unique cosmopolitan city and home to people practicing Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, and Zoroastrianism. Hyderabadis have developed their own distinctive culture, which is a mixture of ancient Hindu traditions of Telugu people and the centuries old Islamic Culture.

...

The cities population is estimated at 3.6 million or more in 2006 while the population of the greater metropolitan area is estimated at over 6.1 million. Religiously and culturally, the city is united with Christians, Hindus and Muslims. The main languages spoken are Telugu, Hindi,Tamil,Urdu and Deccani.

[ Wikipedia ]

Basically Hyderabad is a true success story of a people of different cultures and religions working together for the common good, just the sort of thing that extremists who pretend to have an Islamic bent, just can't stand. How to deal with this "blemish" in their rhetoric of the "two worlds"? Simple, drive a wedge between the Muslims and their neighbors with a terror act. If people die, and it's determined that the "Muslims" did it, the other communities will trust them less and withdrawal from cross-cultural and cross-religious engagements where they can.

So then, what are the voices of reason to do to fight this? Don't highlight the cause of these extremists by labeling this a "Muslim" or "Islamic" act. If we treat these vile extremists as just that, and make sure to use labels that aren't divisive, we hopefully act against their desires and help to invalidate their actions, and at least we don't assist them with their evil intentions. So who can we rely on to just not "get it"?

But, you may say, some of these sources are just quoting Indian officials who are saying that themselves. It's a tricky game these militant extremists play and just because the Indian government has fallen for their trap, doesn't mean news organizations should follow. Does this act make any more sense to anyone by using the self proclaimed label of the organization responsible? And certainly does this act represent, in anyone's mind, what any self-respecting, honest, Muslim from the majority of Muslims ever consider acceptable behavior? This linkage of the words "Muslim" and "Islam" to acts like this is the goal of these organizations. They want you to believe that this is what Islam stands for so that you will distance yourself from the Muslims of the world. Then they will have a much easier time to recruit additional followers and create a larger and larger rift between the decent people of the world, and we're helping them.

And before you jump all over me for this rant, ask yourself why a story like this one on CNN.com doesn't refer to these bombers as "Christian Terrorists".

Note: my survey was very unscientific I simply picked the first story about the bombings in India that I found on each site. Oh, and I was very surprised by the Washington Post and Reuters.

The astronomical New Moon is on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 12:44 Universal Time (3:44 pm Makkah time). Sunset at Makkah on September 11 is 6:28 pm local time, while moonset at Makkah is at 6:24 pm local time (4 minutes before sunset). This does not meet the new criteria adopted by Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) and European Council of Fatwa and Research (ECFR). On Wednesday, September 12, 2007, sunset at Makkah is 6:27 pm local time, while moonset is at 6:55 pm local time. Therefore, first day of Ramadan is Thursday, September 13, insha'Allah.

[ Announcement Detail About Ramadan 1428 AH ]

And if you don't believe me, just ask Crayola, American Greetings, Blue Mountain, or Wikipedia. It wasn't so long ago that my blog was one of the few places you could see this announcement; what a long way we've come.

Update: I am actually surprised by the Crayola page. It is clear that they've done their research and actually understand the holy month. They have activities to share with children to impress important lessons upon them, not just stupid coloring activities based on trite symbolism, but actual activities and exercises designed to educate and enrich. Kudos Crayola, and color me impressed.

Last night was the first of a three part series on CNN by Cristiane Amanpour about modern warrior traditions in the 3 major Abrahamic faiths of our day. What does she think she knows? (You may ask):

"My experience has been steeped in all the faiths," says Amanpour. "My mother's a Catholic -- I've been to Catholic schools where we said prayers all the time. My father's a Muslim, I grew up in Iran -- I suppose my pivotal turning point in my adult life was the Iranian revolution. And my husband's Jewish.

[ Miami Herald ]

They've split up the 6 hours into three 2 hour shows, one for each faith: first Jewish, then Muslim, then Christian. I have to say that so far I guess it seems fair, there is little praise or condemnation in the piece, it's mostly just the facts portrayed, and by the people involved when possible. No suprises for me in the first 2 hours, it was all information I already was aware of. I don't expect to learn much on tonight's show either, but tomorrow when we get to Christians I hope to learn a bit more about non-Catholic traditions that I'm none-too-familliar with. 

CNN chose their language for the first piece quite well, and left it up to the viewer to reflect on how they feel about the revelations within it. If this continues through the next two nights then perhaps this series will educate and expand the conversation about how all peoples can turn their back on hate and violence and share this little rock we live on.

You may think me the freak, but today the weather was just perfect:

So I should probably figure out where this type of weather is a regular thing, say 2/3rds of the year, and move there...

Of course it also needs to have all the benefits of where I live now:

• Great restaurants
• Top schools
• Lots of diversity
• Large Muslim community
• Plentiful Internet

My Aunt mentioned this today during our visit, and it looks like a blast:

The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad round trip excursion is an exciting mix of mountain scenery and rich transportation history. It’s an entertaining and educational experience riders of all ages and interests with interpretive history and lively Main Street Districts at both ends of the trip!

[ Western Maryland Scenic Railroad ]

The three and a half hour round trip includes 90 minutes in historic Frost burg and for $48 bucks you get a meal too. There is no menu page, it looks like menu might change, so I picked a day at random and this is what they're serving:

The following menu is available on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. If you purchase train tickets that include a meal, you will be asked to select your preference of one of the meals below:

• Roast Beef and Gravy on Texas Toast served with Mashed Potatoes and Summer Blend Vegetables.
• Turkey Club with Chips served with sides of Carrot and Celery Sticks and Macaroni Salad.
• Macaroni and Cheese served with a cup of fruit.
• Vegetable Lasagna served with a Salad
• Hot Dog on a bun served with chips and a cup of fruit.
• Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich served with applesauce and a cup of fruit.

Not exactly gourmet, but most likely tasty. After returning to Cumberland at 3pm, there is certainly a ton of history to see, and a good number of attractions and a few places to eat.

Now I just have to set a date, and get my tickets!

How to build a Mosquito trap.

Materials Needed:

2000ml (2 liter) bottle
50 gram (brown?) sugar
1 gram yeast
Thermometer
Measure cup
Knife
Black paper

[ DIY:happy Quick and Dirty Mosquito Trap ]

That looks pretty darn easy. And would last much much longer than the crappy repellents I've tried so far. Plus, unlike a repellent, this gets rid of the buggers.

New onesie: Poopsmith, originally uploaded by Yaty Yasir Kearns.

That's my daughter sporting a Poopsmith Onesie.

Larry Wilmore is one funny cat. Did a piece on the Daily Show about Obama and his blackitude, and ended the piece with a bit of Parliment's Chocolate City. I think it's genius and Obama should use it as his campaign music from this point out.

Tell 'em to make sure they got their James Brown pass
And don't be surprised if Obama is in the White House

[ Lyrics for Parliament's Chocolate City ]

Frequent lunch companions of mine will know that I've been sour on Cosi for quite a while now. My big complaints?

• Only one kind of bread
• Only about a dozen sandwich choices
• The coffee isn't so good

What's changed?

Two kinds of bread! They've added a kind of whole wheat bread that I found quite yummy today.

Much bigger menu! More sandwiches, some are "melts", pizza and individual casseroles in the evenings, and for a limited time? The "Cosi Lobster Roll", mmmm yummy.

And still the same coffee. But 2 out of 3 ain't bad, eh?

Tomb Raider Anniversary Sony PSP Eidos Teen B

I have been on the verge of giving up on my PSP ever since starting Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters. To say that the controls suck is a bit of an understatement. Kooshmoose, who is a total R&C fanboy, says it took about two thirds of the game for him to get used to it. In my book that equates to between sucks and unplayable.

Apparently, however, it is not my fault or the fault of my PSP. Otherwise how can you explain how the controls on Tomb Raider Anniversary took me about two thirds of a second to get used to. I didn't even play the mansion level, I just launched into the game, and it just works.

The game is, of course, a re-hash of the original, but since I never finished the original it will be "new to me". They've added some cinematics and a bit more level to make it a better playing experience, and bumped up the quality (though not too much on the PSP, since it is a PSP). I'm looking forward to playing more than the first few minutes, and may actually finish this one (unlike the aforementioned R&C:SM that I just couldn't take anymore).

Here's a great place to start:

With moderating your consumption. You can dramatically reduce the size of your footstep on the planet just by making smarter choices in the things you buy and the amount your household uses. It's not something you have to do all at once: just commit to steady, incremental change. Small steps become big journeys over time.

[ Lighter Footstep - The Dirty Dozen: 12 Products You Should Avoid ]

Over the past couple of years Yaty and I have shifted much of our purchasing in the direction highlighted in this article, and none of it has been difficult.

Plastic-wise this article should have pointed out that you need to see what plastic is recycled in your area, for example #5 isn't shown to leech BPA's and isn't Styrofoam (#6 PS) but in our area #5 isn't recycled so we avoid it. Odd that #1 isn't on their list when it seems to be the most easily recycled and hasn't shown any BPA leeching, as far as my research has indicated...

It occurred to me recently to check what the dryer sheets were made of, now I know and it's something else to no longer consume. I think I prefer the Mrs Meyer's liquid fabric softener anyway, much "yummier" flavors...

Plastic Utensils, oddly enough, are tough to avoid. There don't seem to be any other options when it comes to disposable utensils except for chop sticks, and non-Asian restaurants don't tend to have chop sticks. I've tried to figure out how to get take out without utensils, napkins, sauces I won't use, etc. but they tend to be in a groove where each bag gets the same thing, and they'll just throw it in there without thinking.

Cleaning-wise I just switched to vinegar (props to Liam and Holli) with a touch of oil so it's not so vinegar-stinky, and in some cases that even works better than the chemical cleaners.

Maybe it all seems a bit extreme, but it all comes down to sustainability (unless you don't care about your grandchildren or grand-nieces and grand-nephews...)

how i'm skinned

Clockwork Orange w/Vista Substyle by vStyler

Stardock is pleased to officially announce that the beta of WindowBlinds 6 is now available for users of Object Desktop. WindowBlinds 6 represents a whole new generation of Windows skinning with advanced new features such as animation overlays, blur glass effects on both Windows Vista and Windows XP, user created sub-styles, full font control, explorer backgrounds, complete Windows Vista skinning, faster performance, and much more!

[ Stardock News: WindowBlinds 6 Beta Released ]

I haven't used WindowBlinds since I upgraded to Vista, WB5.5 just didn't work well enough for me and I actually was a bit down on the WindowBlinds due to it's poor handling of Vista. Well Stardock, please forgive me, 'cause you guys are back!

WindowBlinds 6 beta works tremendously better than WB5.5 did on my Vista Laptop, and I'm back to messing with the general look and feel of my OS on a regular basis. I'm hoping that soon it will be clear which skins have made sure that they work well on Vista, with all the pretty trimmings I've been used to on Aero, but for now I'm just happy to be able to "paint the walls" whenever I want.

Update: I should mention that it wouldn't install happy-happy at first, and I had to follow the guidelines here and then reboot twice before it would work. But that's what "beta" means, right?

Is Barak Obama "black enough"?

She disputed the notion that Obama's upbringing in Hawaii was much different than hers in Chicago's predominantly black South Side.

"We are not that far apart," she told the Sun-Times. "He was raised in his grandmother's home, and his grandmother is from Kansas, eating tuna with pickles in it. The same conversations that we had around my kitchen table, we have at her house on Christmas. We are not that far apart. It's just that it feels like people have benefitted from us feeling and believing that we are far apart."

[ Forum Puts Obama's Heritage in Focus | The Trail | washingtonpost.com ]

Ah, so you can tell if the childhood tuna has pickles in it. But doesn't everyone put pickels in their tuna fish salad? Or am I "black enough"?

I saw an advert for this last night:

The Pancake Puffs™ pan is made from durable, non-stick cast iron which evenly distributes heat over each of the 7 Pancake Puffs™ wells for golden-perfect puffs every time. Simply pour your favorite batter into the wells of the pan, add your filling, turn and enjoy! Each Pancake Puffs™ pan comes complete with the Quick & Easy Recipe Book to get you started making some of the most delicious pancake puff treats you have ever tasted.

[ Pancake Puff ]

But you can't fool me, that's a Takoyaki pan! I assume that marketing an Octopus Dumpling pan to a western market requires a bit of a change in product claims. I can't find one reference to "Octopus Pancake Puffs" on the Pancake Puff website. In the commercial, and I'm assuming the video on the site, they flip the little cakes exactly how the Japanese flip their Takoyaki at a Takoyaki joint, so I'm sure they know exactly what their selling here.

Tyler Florence is a genius. Witness his Ultimate Steak Sandwich:

Gruyère bechamel:

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups grated Gruyère
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

Arugula mayonnaise:

• 1 bunch baby arugula
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

Steak sandwich:

• 12 soft hoagie rolls
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 pound rib-eye, finely sliced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

[ The Ultimate Steak Sandwich Recipe: Recipes: Food Network ]

And yet no where to be seen on the Applebee's new menu. Personally I've never been a fan of Applebee's, and even less so with the new acquisition, but the Tyler Florence thing did peak my interest, unfortunately what Applebee's has allowed him to style for them leaves much to be desired. If you were smart, Applebee's, you'd get him to give you some of his "Tyler's Ultimate" recipes for your menu.

And welcome to solid foods.

First Meal - Rice Cereal

Second Meal - Peaches!

Windows is certainly not the platform for doing anything with video. The second video needed some cropping, so I converted the video to something I could edit, and cropped it, but in the process it sped up the video, haven't a clue why. I'm sure there is some program I could buy that would make it all easier, but that seems stupid. Score one for Steve Jobs...

Oh, wait that's October 9th, today is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day!

Ice cream sandwiches are handheld desserts consisting of a slice of ice cream (usually vanilla), with a small layer of a soft cake-like pastry (usually chocolate) on the top and bottom.

[ Ice cream sandwich - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ]

And it looks like this:

Or this:

But not this:

'cause that's just weird... (Sorry Sweetie) Unless that roll is like Hawaiian bread...

...but I didn't know about Ben Franklin:

Ben Franklin, the founding father of many important institutions in Philadelphia, a key diplomat and a framer of the US Constitution, wrote in his Autobiography concerning a non-denominational place of public preaching he helped found "so that even if the Mufti of Constantinople were to send a missionary to preach Mohammedanism to us, he would find a pulpit at his service."

[ History News Network ]

Interesting and well stated article, it would seem that much thought was put into freely accepting Muslims in the fabric of America even way back at the beginning.