Current Read: Zen Flesh, Zen Bones

Here, in one volume are four original sources for Zen 101: Zen Stories, The Gateless Gate, Bulls, and Centering Together serve as a desirable volume of source readings for one already familiar with Zen.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/books/1570620636/reviews/qid=1028221778/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-4289166-7212945

Calculate Your Real Hourly Wage

So your boss told you that you were getting paid $10 an hour? Dont believe it! This calculator will show you how much youre REALLY profiting (after-tax, after work-related-expense takehome) from each hour you devote to working -- both paid and unpaid. But wait! Before you approach your boss with this startling computation, make sure you see both sides. You know, your bosss "side" and the "outside!" ;-)
http://www.cheapskatemonthly.com/member_tools_calculator_calc_rhw.asp

Canada Going To Mars?

In a speech on the 40th anniversary of John F. Kennedys famous pledge to put an American on the moon, the Canadian Space Agencys Marc Garneau put a challenge to the Canadian space exploration community: "Lets go to Mars." Fourteen months later, Canadian scientists are responding with a resounding "Yes!" The Mars buzz is in response to NASAs Mars Scout 2007 Mission, a call for innovative, cut-rate Mars science projects that can include a foreign component. Piggybacking on the U.S.-led project, Canadian space researchers are submitting a total of nine potential Mars projects, including an ambitious plan for an all-Canadian Mars lander and mini-rover."We believe we can do it," says Ben Quine, a University of Toronto atmospheric physics professor and space technology entrepreneur whoís the project leader for the all-Canadian lander project, dubbed Northern Light.
http://www.canada.com/national/story.asp?id={07ACFC93-6908-4AAC-8812-830F9C1FBDF6}

Boeing Doing Antigravity Research

Researchers at the worlds largest aircraft maker, Boeing, are using the work of a controversial Russian scientist to try to create a device that will defy gravity. The company is examining an experiment by Yevgeny Podkletnov, who claims to have developed a device which can shield objects from the Earths pull.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2157975.stm

Red Hot Chili Peppers Album, By the Way, Is Excellent

The Red Hot Chili Peppers eighth studio album finds the California foursome exploring the more melodic freeways of harmony and texture, contrasting the gritty, funky side streets of their early days. Luckily, with this more sophisticated sound, the Peppers have not sacrificed any of their trademark energy or passions for life, universal love, and (of course) lust. Although they recorded the spiky Abbey Road E.P. in 1988, this album actually sounds a lot closer to the Beatles Abbey Road, with a little of Pet Sounds and elements of Phil Spectors lushest arrangements all distilled through the bands well-travelled funk-pop stylings.
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Aos821vs3zz9a&uid=FTRALBUMS

Debate On Nearness Of ET

My prediction is that the nearest alien neighbors live in feces and food scrap left on the Moon by the six Apollo missions. Even though it?s been three decades, there is a good chance that hearty bacteria live and can reproduce inside encapsulated small damp places and survive the monthly cycles of heat and cold as well as the effects of solar flares, ultraviolet light, and hard vacuum.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/rare_earth_2_020717.html

Japanese Dragon Mythology Lives On

The concept of dragons was probably brought to Japan around 2,000 years ago, along with the technology for paddy agriculture. Their images have been found on the walls of barrow tombs dating to the late sixth and early seventh centuries. Out in the countryside, the Chinese images were combined with indigenous snake-spirits to form deities called ryujin, or "dragon-gods." Ryujin are common guardian spirits inhabiting lakes, marshes, rivers, and also bays and straights along the coast. Fishermen and farmers pray to them for rich harvests, big catches, and favorable weather, and legends like that of Imba Marsh can be found just about everywhere.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020723wo72.htm