notorious upc
Friday, January 6th, 2006Scan, then bag. Repeat.
Self-serve is so much faster …
wait, clerk must clear screen.
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Archive for January, 2006
Our dude’s on ‘Jeopardy!’
Thursday, January 5th, 2006
Growing up in Birmingham, did we dream of a more peaceful world, free from nuclear devastation and racial strife? As idealistic teens, did we yearn for the end to hunger, poverty, disease?
Heck, no. We wanted big bucks, big bucks, no whammies. (Stop!)
Which may explain why so many of my high school classmates have tried out and appeared on game shows. Earlier tonight, Craig Smith of Maylene joined this elite club, going braino a braino a braino on “Jeopardy!”
Answer: How Craig did.
Be sure to phrase your recap in the form of a question.
(Thanks to Biff for the tip on tonight’s ep.)
unseasonably warm enough for you?
Thursday, January 5th, 2006Heads and tales: Dixie and the geek
Wednesday, January 4th, 2006
Red blogs vs. blue blogs: Our pal Taylor Bright has a story on political blogs based in 'Bama. Our savvy readers already have their faves, but you gotta bring the geezers up to speed. At least Wade on Birmingham is apolitical — apolitical, asexual, ahysterical …
• Blogs join partisan fray on state political scene [Huntsville Times]
You must remember this …: A physics professor at Alabama has published a paper detailing the workings of a new type of memory chip. “Unlike the DRAM used in today’s computers, MRAM would be non-volatile, so work would not be lost if the power failed. MRAM also would not require the power-draining boot-up process of DRAM.” And it will also know why humans cry. Because they can’t figure out their digital cameras.
• Computer memory advances create buzz [Tuscaloosa News]
Punch ALT-CTRL-%-J for outside line: A Birmingham-based phone company is expanding into a second company to handle VoIP. More and more people are using the Internet to make their calls. It reminds us of the telecom boom of the early '90s, the one that gave us WorldCom. Uh, oh.
• New phone company to tap Internet [Birmingham News]
Wiki cool: A Huntsville native is the founder of Wikipedia, the encyclopedia so simple even you can write and edit it. Addictive stuff — for instance, did you know Birmingham has 11 sister cities?
• Alabamian is brain behind Wikipedia [Birmingham News]
Dixiepædia Hicktannica: Historians across the state are creating an online Encyclopedia of Alabama, to launch in 2007. Noted historian Wayne Flint is editor-in-chief for the project. Finally, we’ll settle the debate over who was the best governor, Wager Swayne or Chauncey Sparks.
• Encyclopedia of Alabama to be online [Montgomery Advertiser]
Also:
- Recruiting season begins to thin out footballer herds
- Limestone quarry to be turned into dirt pile, then Starbucks
- Downtown building sign indicates building’s sign is on
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conference panic room
Wednesday, January 4th, 2006Heads and tales: Being Bobby Bowden
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006
Orange you glad I didn’t say Bowden?: Tonight’s Orange Bowl features two ol’ salts for coaches: Penn State’s JoePa and Florida State’s Bobby Bowden. Born in Birmingham, Bowden played at Woodlawn High School, Alabama and Howard College (now Samford University). Both he and rival Joe Paterno share much in common, prompting Bowden to observe, “There’s a lot of similarities with what we’ve done. About the only difference between us is he’s a … Yankee.” The game airs at 7 on ABC 33/40. Or just download the game for two bucks Wednesday on iTunes.
• More Than Age Binds Paterno and Bowden [New York Times]
Murder, y’all: The final toll for Birmingham homicides in 2005: 105. That’s compared to 64 in 2004, and 108 in 1997. The most glaring insult: 43 remain unsolved. Among the open cases are three teenagers, Rodriquez Lovejoy, Lemane Edwards and Jeffrey Reynolds. In Shelby County, only one of the six homicides from '05 remains unsolved.
• 43 slayings unsolved in city this year [Birmingham News]
Wednesday bloody Wednesday: Hoist a pint for others. The 20th annual Alabama’s Biggest Blood Drive takes place Wednesday at the Wynfrey Hotel at the Riverchase Galleria. Supplies can be low during the winter, so step forward and roll up your sleeve, either one. It runs from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• 20th Annual ‘Alabama’s Biggest Blood Drive’ [NBC 13]
Also:
- Bessemer family competes to log most hours not exercising
- New sticker features Calvin peeing on blue dot
- So far, black-eyed peas fail to deliver lucky or lucrative 2006
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catching up
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006Heads and tales: Jock scraps
Monday, January 2nd, 2006
Bowling for camcorders: In bowl game action today, Alabama won and Auburn lost. But don’t fret. Those players in their post-season appearances will not only get a little more glory, but also DVD players, camcorders, watches, luggage and thousands of dollars. Every bowl game has its payoff to student-athletes, even as colleges make millions from bowl apperances. And it’s all NCAA-approved.
• Bowls of money [Birmingham News]
Enemy mine: According to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, two people will die from landmines within the next hour. And 285 more will be planted in that same hour, say students at the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science. They’ve developed a landmine detector using an infrared camera on a toy jeep, at 1/100th the cost of current detectors. Eureka, indeed.
• Students convert toy into life-saving device [Mobile Register]
O Christmas trash: Driving down the street, you may notice the discarded Christmas trees still sitting at the curb. That’s because the nearly 20-year-old tree recycling program in the county has reached a successful end, building reefs for fish habitats in state lakes. So now what to do with that once majestic spruce? Maybe those roadside firewood merchants can take it off your hands.
• Birmingham Christmas tree recycling program at an end [Birmingham News]
Also:
- City’s moped district awaits urban rebirth
- Jocks, nerds reach tentative peace accord
- Buzzing in my head? Yep, still hung over from New Year’s
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calendar con
Monday, January 2nd, 2006Happy 2006!
Sunday, January 1st, 2006
Happy New Year! And thanks for reading Wade on Birmingham in 2005, its debut year. More fun on the way for the next 364 …
