I’m always fascinated and often amazed by sandcastles. Not the kind we all built as children - primitive creations made at the beach with wet sand, a bucket and maybe a Dixie cup - but those produced by what I’ll call “professional” sand castle builders. They sometimes create their works of art at the California State Fair but are more often spotted drawing a crowd along popular beaches.

I happened across this image the other day of a comparatively modest but very romantic sand castle built as a marriage proposal to “Sarah”. I couldn’t help wondering if she answered “yes” (how could she not?) and so I did some ‘net surfing to try and find out. Sadly, I didn’t find an answer about Sarah, but I did learn that sandcastle proposals are a staple in many castle builders’ portfolios. Who was first? I wonder…but I digress.

In the process, I came across a really nice collection of notable sand castles at Travelburner. Surprisingly, it includes the wedding proposal (There are still romantics in the world!) along with nine others. Check them out. Like I said… I’m often amazed!

By the way, if you’re “Sarah” (or know her), I’d love to hear your “story”…

Hugh Atkin sent this spoof based on the David Bowie tune “Changes”.

John sent this from Disney World! (He’s on vacation…I didn’t ask.)

It’s important to be able to communicate with the help, especially if you didn’t pay attention in high school Spanish class…

NSFW around people who understand Spanish.

Here’s some good news for AT&T broadband subscribers: Free Wi-Fi at AT&T’s 10,000 or so Hot-Spots! I haven’t read all the particulars yet but it appears that Premier and Basic service levels benefit. Key for me will be learning what “additional” locations are included since I don’t spend a lot of time at Barnes & Noble or McDonald’s. But hey, anything that adds to the puny number of free HotSpots in my area is a bonus!

Measuring almost 3,500 feet long, covering 20 acres and holding 66 million gallons of water, the San Alfonso del Mar Resort’s seawater pool in Algarrobo on Chile’s southern coast was just named the world’s largest outdoor swimming pool by the Guiness Book of World Records. Story and more photos.

How three graphic designers re-created D-Day on a shoestring budget for the Timewatch program “Bloody Omaha”. Due to interest in the “making of” video, the complete program will be repeated January 27 on BBC television. In the U.S., the full production of BLOODY OMAHA will be shown on the Smithsonian Channel HD in May, 2008.

Amazing what can be done with just three actors, some props, a camera, four days and some amazing cgi (computer generated images), isn’t it?

It’s refreshing to see a major news source take issue with the way the Clintons are twisting the words of Barack Obama, their primary political foe in the primaries. It’s certainly not a new tactic for the Clinton camp, but it seems as though most mainstream news media rarely call them on it, not wanting, it would appear, to rain on their parade. It helped get Bill elected and it’s probably helped Hillary to this point in time.

I’m not surprised that Obama told South Carolina’s The State newspaper that former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, are lying about him and his record purposefully. “There is a concrete strategy by the Clintons,” Obama said.

What surprised me was the response by ABC News Senior National Correspondent Jake Tapper. In the article, he writes, “Any objective review of how Bill and Hillary Clinton have been twisting comments Obama made about Ronald Reagan and the Republican party would concur.”

Tapper provides a link to the interview of Obama by the Reno Gazette-Journal that, though lengthy, is well worth viewing. Listen to what Obama said. Contrast that to what the Clintons claim he said. It leaves little room for doubt that Hillary (and Bill) will say anything to win.

Just a few instances where having the “World’s Thinnest Notebook” could save the day…

For those of you lamenting that Apple didn’t include voice recognition in its latest iPhone software release, your prayers may have been answered. Makayama is offering a free trial of its VoiceDial application with a $5 discount ($28) if you buy before February. Sounds good, especially for iPhone users facing California’s “hands free” cell phone law taking effect July 1. According to Makayama’s web site:

“Record voice samples for any contact in the address book. Just speak to dial the number. Open any application with your voice. So you can check your emails or start Google Maps by just saying it. And you can even surf to your favourite websites by assigning voice tags to your Safari bookmarks.The software uses a modern speech recognition algorithm which gives excellent results in real life situations.

The software works with all languages. It does not depend on a dictionary or vocabulary, but it stores your speech samples and links them to contacts, applications or bookmarks. When you’re on the go, VoiceDial lets you keep in touch even when your hands are full. It’s as easy as saying, “John Smith” or “Mail”. And you’ll be automatically notified of free updates via Installer.”

I hope Apple will address this issue before July. But if for some reason they don’t, we may be taking this route with Dawn’s iPhone (as long as we don’t have to schlep that big honkin’ microphone around…) However, we’ll wait for Apple to release the announced SDKs so that the folks at Makarama can port the app to run on factory iPhones. We’re not ready to hack ours… yet.

Due to rising domestic wages, many American parents are saving money by using unregulated overseas workers. Michael D forwarded this shocking report.

Got this from Grouchy Old Cripple. I suppose it was inevitable.

When you spend your life in the water, you tend to develop a good intuition for its subtleties. Dolphins have been observed creating bubble rings by, among other techniques, carefully exhaling air in the middle of the vortices caused by the motion of their fins through the water.

Besides being fun to watch and an impressive demonstration of fluid mechanics, the phenomenon may throw some light on dolphin cognition since the skill to create the rings is subtle and tends to be passed from one dolphin to the next by careful observation and practice.

Also intriguing is a report that dolphins appear to be using sonar to locate the vortex in the water, an impressive feat of audio analysis. More

Scuba divers have long blown bubble rings for fun, watching them rise to the surface. Some I know are quite good at it although I’ve never quite grasped the technique. But dolphins have learned to control the direction of their rings and even divide them into smaller segments. It’s fun to watch them at play!

I finally got around to addressing the various technical hurdles (the server I use doesn’t host domain names) required to associate this blog with its proper domain, so now you can simply key in the actual domain name - inessentialmusings.com - to reach this blog. Makes it easier to remember and easier to tell all your friends!

I have to say that the process was easier than I had imagined. Had I realized how simple it would be, I would have done it long ago! But it’s done now, so bookmark it for easy access, and change it in your news readers. The old (temporary) domain - dougarrington.squarespace.com - will remain active for a while but will eventually be dropped.

I hope you find using the new domain name more convenient.

Today we celebrate Martin Luther King Day. I ran across a well written article by Carolyn Garris that I recommend everyone read in its entirety. Take a few moments and remember, if you can, how racism once so divided our nation that we were, quite literally, at war with ourselves, and how King carried the banner of unification that ultimately led us to the better America we enjoy today. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

Martin Luther King, Jr. was no stalwart conservative, yet his core beliefs, such as the power and necessity of faith-based association and self-government based on absolute truth and moral law, are profoundly conservative. Modern liberalism rejects these ideas, while conservatives place them at the center of their philosophy. Despite decades of its appropriation by liberals, King’s message was fundamentally conservative.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott, triggered by Rosa Parks’ refusal to abide by local segregation laws, sparked King’s rise from ministering a small church in Montgomery to national renown. King’s primary aim was not to change laws, but to change people, to make neighbors of enemies and a nation out of divided races. King led with love, not racial hatred. From a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, his message inspired the nation. And his message and achievements inspire us today.

Dr. King believed in the principles of the American Founding. He maintained, “We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom.” Throughout American history, racism has posed a peculiar obstacle to the achievement of that goal. However, Dr. King believed that the Founders had set the nation on the right course. He did not reject the principles of our nation because contradictions existed; instead he hoped that racial groups would put aside their differences and acknowledge the principles that unite all Americans. Today, it is conservatives who seek to unite. In a nation divided by cultural diversity, conservatives defend and celebrate the characteristics that we share as Americans. As America drifts from the ideas and ideals of the Founders, conservatives stand with King as believers that the principles of the American Founding are as relevant today as in 1776…More

Remember that today isn’t just another day off. It stands for something important in our nation’s history, a time when we made a wrong turn and yet managed to find our way back. It’s a day to celebrate just how far we’ve come since then.

When getting things done involves making phone calls, you want to spend the least amount of time and money on the horn as possible — and several tricks and services can help you do just that. For example:

I’m usually tuned into Google’s innovative new services but I guess I missed this one. It’s a free 411 service! Instead of calling regular telco or cellular 411 services for information (and an extra charge on your bill), use Google’s new 411 service by calling 1-800-GOOG-411 to get a street address or phone number, even a map of the area via text message. It’s free, fast and easy to use. We’re adding the number to our cellphone, home and office speed-dials! Watch the video, then give it a try!

Lifehacker has compiled a list of Top 10 telephone tricks to help you skip through or cut off long-winded automated voice systems and humans, access web services by voice, and smartly screen incoming calls. I haven’t tried the other 9 but probably will in the near future. Let me know how they work for you!