It’s amazing how just one simple omission can screw up so many things on a web site!

Apparently, some time during the last week or so (I’m not sure exactly), I inadvertently omitted a closing tag (</span>) for the “Support Our Heroes” badge I’d added to the sidebar. One little omission, but it really made a mess of the way this site displayed using Internet Explorer. I didn’t notice it because I was posting all week from a Mac using Firefox which displayed it just fine. But today I was posting from a PC using IE7 and noticed all sorts of irregular rendering and behavior. I spent all afternoon trying to isolate the problem before seeking the help of Crista, my able service administrator, who identified the problem in just a few minutes!

Of course, I had altered so much code trying to fix the problem before Crista stepped in that it took me another 20 minutes just to put it all back together again! There are still a few things I need to tweak, but I’m happy to report that we’re again running on all cylinders.

Of course, should you discover anything that doesn’t work or look right, please let me know…

Looks like G.W. still has a few things to check off on his “To-Do” list before his term ends…

Proving that prayers are answered and miracles do happen, Eric Volz, the Sacramento-born surfer and entrepreneur who was wrongly imprisoned in Nicaraqua 13 months ago for the rape and murder of his former girlfriend, is finally free and back with his family and friends on American soil. It’s a great way to start the new year!

Eric had a small army of supporters, many of whom regularly read this blog and wrote letters, sent emails and donated money toward Eric’s defense. His mother, especially, worked tirelessly to regain his freedom. Thanks to her efforts, Eric was never forgotten. And, thanks to the faith and support of those who believed in Eric’s innocence, Eric is home. A miracle? You bet!

If you’re unfamiliar with Eric’s story, please take a few minutes to read my earlier posts here, here, and here. And here’s an email address for Eric (via Friends of Eric Volz). Why not send him a “Welcome Home”. I’m sure he’d appreciate it.

Following a major storm that packed 70 mph winds, uprooted trees and caused major flooding, we’ve settled back into light but steady rain and fog like that shown in this image taken by Lois Heine at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

Those of you that know me know I’m a spring and autumn lover. I tolerate summers, at least when the temps stay below 100, but winter is definitely “not my friend.” Still, this image may be just the kick in the pants I need to pull out the camera and go shoot some, uh, rain and fog…

You may already be aware that the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has been running in Las Vegas this week (ending today). It’s a gigantic annual event for companies that want to introduce their latest consumer gadgetry and for consumers who love to drool over it. I keep saying I’m going to go one year, but the thing is so big, I know I’d have to fight huge crowds for four long days and that just isn’t in my genes.

But I’ve been following the “goings on” at technology sites like engadget, Gizmodo, TechCrunch and Wired (more on their respective sites), enough so that I thought I’d link, in no particular order, to a few of the things I thought looked and sounded pretty cool. See what you think:

• Optimus Maximus Keyboard - The oh-so captivating, completely configurable keyboard everyone’s been talking about. Watch the video hands-on…

• Panasonic’s 150-Inch Plasma TV - Movie theaters should start to worry! (Crap, I’m going to need a bigger house!)

• Panasonic’s 1-inch Thin Plasmas - Check out the photos! Thin is in!

• SHOGO - the World’s First WiFi-enabled, Touchscreen Digital Photo Frame.

• FlyTunes - Brings Internet Radio to Your iPhone.

• Avis’ Upgraded Where2 GPS - A customized Garmin Nuvi 780 that will replace the StreetPilot-based units currently in Avis’ arsenal…

• Pioneer Kuro Concept Plasma - Video Shows How Thin This Thing Really Is!

• Canon’s Flash Camcorders - New Vixia line of nine-ounce HD flash-based camcorders.

• Alienware’s Monster Wraparound Monitor - Humungous wraparound DLP rear-projection monitors aimed at gamers.

• New Apple Mac Pro - Eight Cores and support for eight 30-inch Cinema Displays. Not sure why they announced this a week or so before Macworld; I assume it’s because Intel announced the new chips…

• Control4 Home Automation - Centralized command over your media, home theater, lights, security system and temperature…

• New Apple Xserve - Most Powerful Ever…

• LG.Philips 52-inch multi-touch display - Watch the video and view the images. Very cool!

• Heineken/Krups BeerTender - This looks cool! Built to hold a 5-liter Heineken keg and keep it tasting fresh and cold for about 30 days. The LCD indicates temperature and lets you know when beer is running low…

• Panasonic/T-Mobile Wireless Lumix Camera - Integrated access to T-Mobile HotSpot and will give owners the ability to beam images directly to Picasa Web Albums…

• Linksys Wireless-G Internet Home Monitoring Camera - Pretty straightforward home monitoring camera system…

• iRobot Looj - A robot that treats gutters like an olympic event. Watch the video…

• iRobi Helper Robot - Another domestic robot designed to help around the house…

CES, as you’ve probably surmised, includes thousands of products. I grabbed just a handful that caught my fancy while perusing the technology sites that had reps attending the four-day show and reporting what they saw. It’s an amazing event, at least for those of us who really love gadgets.

Folks, Matt Davies says it’s up to us. We need to “Vote for Change!”

Thought I’d forgotten about the Nebraska Republican Presidential Primary? No, but that one surprised me, too. I know he was favored, but… CNN has an analysis.

Sen. John McCain’s victory in New Hampshire’s Republican primary Tuesday came with the help of critics of a war he supports and independents who gave him the edge eight years ago, exit polls found.

The result highlights a remarkable rebound for McCain, whose campaign was largely left for dead over the summer.

“When the pundits declared us finished I told them I’m going to New Hampshire where the voters don’t let you make their decision for them,” he told supporters in Nashua after his leading rivals conceded.

McCain had alienated the party’s conservative base with his support of a controversial immigration bill, his poll numbers dipped against his rivals, and his disappointing fund-raising prompted a shakeup of senior staff.

“I’m past the age when I can claim the noun ‘kid,’ no matter what adjective precedes it,” McCain said. “But tonight, we sure showed them what a comeback looks like.” …

Check out this amazing full-screen 360 degree interactive panoramic image of Times Square, NYC, from teltip.com. You can zoom in/out with the Shift/Ctrl keys and move up or down and left or right with the arrow keys. Great pano image. Listen for the sounds of the street, music to New Yorkers’ ears… (Requires Quicktime)

Be sure to view the other QRVR panoramics on the site. I especially liked the one of La Basilique Notre-Dame, Montréal, with Pachabel’s Canon in D.

If I had one wish this New Year, it would be for all the children of the world to join together in peace and love and sing in harmony.

If I had two wishes this New Year, they would be for all the children of the world to sing together and $1,000,000 tax free.

If I had three wishes this New Year, they would be for kids singing together, $1,000,000 tax free per year for life, and to have all encompassing power over the universe.

If I had four wishes this New Year, they’d be the crap about the kids, the $1,000,000, all encompassing power, and an extended orgasm to last thirty days brought about by two super-models. And, of course, my wife.

Let’s face it, the logistics of getting all those kids together is daunting, so let’s rearrange: All encompassing power, the orgasm, the money… Oh! I forgot to strike down my enemies. Okay, so add that in.

So, my four wishes this New Year would be the power, the striking down my enemies (may they die like pigs in hell,) the orgasm, and the money.

And for my fifth wish this New Year, I would like for all the children of the world to join together in peace and love and sing in harmony.

Amen.

It’s again that time of year when we get to chuckle at the supreme idiocy of some of our fellow man and marvel at their backward ingenuity.

Named in honor of Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, the Darwin Awards commemorate those who improve human genome by accidentally removing themselves from it. Here’s a compilation of the winners for 2007 along with those dating back as far as 1995.

Always good for some laughs, these tales of voluntary gene pool pruning demonstrate that there may still be hope for civilization. I can’t help but wonder, though, if there isn’t some way to speed up the process.

According to CNN, Hillary Clinton has overtaken Obama and been declared the winner in Nebraska.

Solid support from registered Democrats and women in New Hampshire were crucial Tuesday as Sen. Hillary Clinton rebounded from her third-place finish in last week’s Iowa caucuses, narrowly defeating Sen. Barack Obama in the New Hampshire primary, with 39 percent of the vote to Obama’s 37.

Forty-three percent of self-styled independents said they voted for Obama, and 31 percent said they backed Clinton. Independents made up 43 percent of all voters polled. But Clinton was ahead of Obama 45 percent to 34 percent among those who said they were registered Democrats. Those voters made up a majority — 54 percent — of all those respondents. Clinton also claimed the majority of women’s votes, according to the polling…

What can I say? I’m speechless.

Two boys in Chicago were playing baseball when one of them was attacked by a rabid Rottweiler. Thinking quickly, the other boy ripped a board off of a nearby fence, wedged it into the dog’s collar and twisted it, breaking the dog’s neck.

A newspaper reporter from the Chicago Tribune witnessed the incident and rushed over to interview the boy. The reporter began entering data into his laptop, beginning with the headline, “Brave Young Cubs Fan Saves Friend From Jaws Of Vicious Animal.”

“But I’m not a Cubs fan,” the little hero interjected.

“Sorry,” replied the reporter,” but since we’re in Chicago, I just assumed you were.” Hitting the delete key, the reporter began, “Barack Obama Fan Rescues Friend From Horrific Dog Attack.”

“But I’m not an Obama fan either,” the boy responded.

The reporter said, “I assumed everybody in this state was either for the Cubs or Obama. What team or person do you like?”

“I’m an Arizona Diamondbacks fan and I really like John McCain,” the boy said.

Hitting the delete key, the reporter began again: “Arrogant Little Conservative Bastard Kills Beloved Family Pet…”

Jim Cramer* listed his top 10 predictions for 2008 last week and seeking alpha reported on it, opining that some of Cramer’s forecasts seem more likely than others while a few appear to be wishful thinking:

1. Goldman Sachs (GS) makes more money than every other brokerage firm in New York combined and finishes the year at $300 a share. Not a prediction—an inevitability. In fact, it’s only January, and I think it’s already come true.

2. Oil goes much higher, maybe as much as $125 a barrel… We are running out of oil more quickly than people can imagine, and that means great returns for oil companies. Just buy the stock of the company you filled up at today or buy a driller (Transocean (RIG) is my favorite), then sit back and make money.

3. The Fed arranges an Arabic Heimlich maneuver on Citigroup (C), so the banking giant doesn’t choke on the worst mortgage portfolio in the country.

4. Verizon (VZ) becomes your cable provider.

   Cramer praised Verizon’s Fios, and predicted that the stock will be the best performing in the Dow Jones averages. Time Warner (TWX) and Comcast (CMCSA) will be hit hard, he adds.

5. Turning to private equity, Cramer predicted that Cerberus Capital Management will fail to resuscitate Chrysler (which he attributes partly on the choice of Bob Nardelli), and that Congress will agree to bail out the fund.

6. Cramer is bullish on Google (GOOG): Google stock reaches $1,000. The company becomes one of the top three companies in the U.S. in market capitalization… and successfully challenges Microsoft (MSFT) for operating-system dominance.

7. With the dollar weak, Cramer foresees European companies swooping in to buy up the likes of Merrill Lynch (MER), JPMorgan (JPM), Colgate (CL), Clorox (CLX), Whirlpool (WHR), and Black & Decker (BDK) which, he forecasts, will all see their stocks rise as a result.

8. Apple (AAPL), he predicts, will reach $300. He sees it successfully taking over the music business and, among other knock-on effects, he forewarns that Warner Music Group (WMG) will file for bankruptcy.

9. Turning to the media, Cramer posits that the cash-strapped New York Times (NYT) will accept a buy-out offer from Mayor Michael Bloomberg at $20 a share.

   Don’t be so quick to scoff: The cash is spare change for Bloomberg who, don’t forget, already owns a small media company. I’d say the $10 share price is even money. That’s how bad it is at the Times. The Bloomberg buyout is probably a 100-to-1 shot, but may be less if he decides not to run for president and needs something else to do this year.

10. Returning to his lament over governmental and Fed policies, Cramer predicts that the victims of foreclosure will lead a march on the White House and lay siege on the Fed. This, he says, will lead to Bernanke resigning, his replacement slashing rates, and the markets rebounding. As Cramer admits, this one’s a very very long shot.

    But if Bernanke or a future Fed chair does cut rates meaningfully, here’s a sure bet: That’s the time to start buying.

*Jim Cramer is an American television personality, former hedge fund manager, and best-selling author. In 2007, NewsBios.com named him one of the 100 most influential business journalists in the United States.

Bob Rivers’ spoof on Al Gore and “global warming”…

Got this from James…

Here’s a sterling example of how to win a Darwin Award; float a live surge protector on a pair of flip-flops in the pool… while you’re in it! Seriously, how did these jackasses not kill themselves? Hmmm… Maybe they did. Look for them in the 2008 Darwins.