Babbage's design could evaluate 7th order polynomials to 31 digits of accuracy. I set out to build a working Difference Engine using LEGO parts which could compute 2nd or 3rd order polynomials to 3 or 4 digits.

At one point I wrote a program to evaluate polynomials of up to the 4th order to 31bits of accuracy. But that was in lisp, not legos. This is really impressive.

In the latest twist in the debate over presidential powers, a Justice Department official suggested that in certain circumstances, the president might have the power to order the killing of terrorist suspects inside the United States

I'm a bit wary about the slippery slope of this argument. If you can order torture, why not order a killing? Where are the limits drawn? Can anything be justified?

Instead of shoring up the conservative base, Bush's bland rhetoric and ticky-tacky domestic initiatives -- more switchgrass, less malaria -- only confirmed conservatives' ever-growing concern: Far from an heir to the legacy of Ronald Reagan, the president has become just another free-spending, big-government politician.

This is what I've been saying about Bush for years now. I don't dislike him because he is a conservative, I disapprove of his administration because is totally devoid of conservative values. The standard GOPer defense is to say he is a non-traditional conservative as if that is something other than a oxymoron.

It turns out that the chimp was just kidding when he said that we need to reduce our dependence on Mid-East oil imports. This is coming directly from members of the chimps senior staff.

An this is exactly what the administration wanted. The addicted to oil quote got a lot of press. The budget cuts to programs devoted to promoting energy independence got almost no press.

Overall, core funding for energy programs at the Energy Department would decline by more than $100 million, or about 18 percent from spending this year, according to an analysis by the American Council on Energy-Efficient Economy.

Once again the administration says one thing loudly for the press and does the opposite quietly when they think no one is looking.

Really cool, um warm idea. Winter clothes with heating coils woven in them.