If you live in an area like my neck of the woods of New England, tis certainly the season for mosquitos and black flies. Lots of people I know have gone the route of the Mosquito Magnet, but according to this article (NYTRRYY), a man by the name of Donald Hall has come up with some rather simple ideas that start at the source of the problem -- mosquito eggs.

"I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We've created life in our own image." -- Stephen Hawking

The Gadgeteer has a review up for the Brando Workshop USB 2.0 to IDE Cable, allowing you to attach any IDE device externally to any system running Windows or MacOS with a USB 2.0 port. I think I may have to add one of these to my toolbox. They just need to get it to work with Linux now.

According to Coming Soon, FX's The Shield has been picked up for a full-order, 15-episode season four for next year. While I might consider the show a little difficult to pick up without watching previous seasons, this is one show I simply do not miss week-to-week -- It puts The Sopranos to shame. If you have the time, pick up previous seasons of the show -- You won't be disappointed.

A recent study blames corn syrup for the rise of type-2 diabetes in the United States. So put down that F'ing Sobe/Red Bull/Snapple/Cola and drink water, fercryinoutloud! And people wonder why kids are becoming more obese, people are getting sick for seemingly no good reason, and generally don't feel well to begin with. Down with soda! Beer and coffee...they don't count.

This morning on the Howard Stern Show, Stern called Sammy Hagar at his CA home to confirm the tour "rumors". Sammy immediately confirmed that the rumors are indeed true -- Van Halen is going back on tour and he'd be with them.

Sammy also indicated that he and the Van Halen crew have been jamming and writing together for the past three months. The first song expected to be released is titled "It's About Time".

Stern of course played back several tapes of Sammy bashing the VH brothers, vowing he'd never return to the band, but Sammy just laughed them off as being "a long time ago" and that they've worked out their differences in the past three months.

Really no mention of David Lee Roth was mentioned.

Sounding almost too Star-Trek-like, a Hungarian architect named Áron Losonczi has combined concrete with optical fiber from Schott to create LiTraCon -- essentially translucent concrete! A wall made of this material is said to have the strength of traditional concrete, but thanks to the embedded array optical fibers, it can display a silhouetted view of the outside world.

An open letter to the Grass Roots from Tim Minear, Executive Producer of "Wonderfalls":

Hi. My name is Tim Minear and I write television. Usually. Right now I guess I'm writing SPAM. But I'm not asking you to donate to some shady or even worthy cause. I'm not offering to enlarge any of your body parts (though I haven't ruled it out), and I make no claims of miraculous cures for exotic diseases. What I can offer you is sixty minutes (really about forty five, minus commercials) of quality entertainment if you do one thing: turn on your TV to Fox this Friday night at nine.

For the last year or so I've been working with a bunch of really talented people to make a new show for Fox called "Wonderfalls." We've made 13 episodes so far, and I really want you to see them.

Some of the folks at the network are telling me that "Wonderfalls" is the best reviewed new series they've had in ages -- maybe ever. I'm currently sitting on a stack of raves from all over the country, from major magazines, newspapers, small dailies, internet sites, etc. They seem to be doing me no good. Also, uncomfortable because of the sitting.

The big brains at the network, while happy with the reviews, tell me that good reviews don't bring in an audience. Guess they were right. We premiered on Friday, March 12th to less than great numbers.

There are several things stacking the odds against us. Our time slot, charmingly known as "The Fox Friday Death Slot" is quickly living up to its name. There has been much confusion and differing opinion over just how to promote this odd little series. Maybe the unique charm, heart and volcanic snark aren't coming through. I dunno. Fact is, I have no power over network promotion, I can't force Fox to air "Wonderfalls" on Monday nights, I don't have a Nielsen box or know anyone who does.

But I do have this keyboard, my cable-modem and a relationship with genre fans all over the world because of the internet. All of the shows I've worked on in the last several years have had loyal internet followings. From "Lois and Clark" to "The X-Files," from "Angel" to the short-lived but much-loved "Firefly." Ever since I've been associated with genre television I've had the extreme honor and pleasure (and sometimes hair-pulling madness) of interacting with fans of these shows via the internet. You are the most dedicated, passionate and, frankly, smartest fans around.

And I'm turning to you now because I believe you're a huge untapped resource.

I know that every one of you is connected to many others that I can't reach. If you can give a hand here, you might be keeping us afloat long enough for us to catch the tide. Worth a shot, anyway.

I know the network wants this show to work. They're willing for it to work. And if there's any way that my plea now will help Friday's numbers tick up just a touch, I think that would be a tremendous sign to them.

The next new episode of "Wonderfalls" airs Friday, March 19th at 9:00pm on Fox. Please tune in and mention it to someone else. Preferably someone with a Nielsen box.

So anyway, I thought I'd mention it. Oh, also, the network is going to repeat our pilot on Thursday, March 18th at 9:00pm after "Tru Calling." So if you missed it last Friday, here's your chance to catch it.

Thanks --

Sincerely,

Tim Minear

PS - I know the conventional wisdom says that good reviews don't mean anything to potential viewers, but here's a taste of them anyway:

TV GUIDE (3/13-19), Matt Roush "Ironic and romantic, WONDERFALLS is a true original. Surrender to its charms."

PEOPLE (3/22), Terry Kelleher "The reason to watch WONDERFALLS is Dhavernas. With a star like this, a series doesn't really need a gimmick."

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY (3/19), Ken Tucker "A-" "...a revelation - a blessing, even.... Each of the four episodes I've seen is better than the one preceding it."

USA TODAY (3/12), Robert Bianco "WONDERFALLS is such an unexpected treat"

LOS ANGELES TIMES (3/12), Robert Lloyd "WONDERFALLS is so well done, so fresh and unpredictable, and so little in thrall to conventional virtues as to make the weary reviewer prostrate with joy... everything clicks here"

NEW YORK TIMES (3/12), Virginia Hefferman "Beautifully shot and written with wit... Dhavernas is delightful."

NEWSDAY (3/12), Noel Holston "the best pilot of the 2003-2004 season... Dhavernas is a find, a marvelously understated comic actress and her supporting cast is impeccable"

CHICAGO TRIBUNE (3/12), Steve Johnson "the series looks and feels like nothing else on television... it all remains, almost magically, in balance, a delicate, roadside-attraction wonderland where mysteries of the cosmos, lowbrow popular culture, family dysfunction, longing and, mostly humor can coexist."

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (3/12), Tim Goodman "unquestionably the best new drama series of the 2003-04 season... this is your time to love TV"

WASHINGTON POST (3/12), Tom Shales "WONDERFALLS is wonderful... a prime example of risk-taking originality, a brassy blast of fresh air any way you look at it."

BOSTON HERALD (3/12), Amy Amatangelo "Executive producers Todd Holland, Tim Minear and Bryan Fuller have created a show unlike any other on television."

THE GLOBE AND MAIL (3/12), John Doyle "WONDERFALLS is the best new drama in ages... Caroline Dhavernas is impeccable"

US WEEKLY - John Griffiths "The writing is deliriously clever, the plots strangely Zen and uplifting, and Dhavernas is beyond winning as the loser-stamped Jaye. A fun, wild free fall."

POPGURLS - Allyson A Popgurl "...get together with some friends, order in some Chinese, watch Wonderfalls at 9pm on FOX this Friday, and then go out to your favorite dive bar and snark with each other. Make it a regular Friday thing. You'll be happier for it."

Is Jordan's seemingly neverending Wheel of Time series fit for the screen? Red Eagle Entertainment seems to think so. Variety (subscription req'd for further viewing) is reporting: "Red Eagle Entertainment has optioned worldwide feature rights to Robert Jordan's 11-book series "The Wheel of Time." Deal includes all ancillary rights. Red Eagle will initially work to produce an adaptation of the first novel, "The Eye of the World." Once that's achieved, adaptations of the others will follow."

Lucasarts has sadly decided to stop development of the anxiously (at least by me) awaited sequel to Sam & Max: Hit the Road. From the brief press release: "'After careful evaluation of current market place realities and underlying economic considerations, we've decided that this was not the appropriate time to launch a graphic adventure on the PC' says Mike Nelson, Acting General Manager and VP of Finance and Operations. There is currently no plan to reduce staff."

"Why don't smart kids make themselves popular?" is just one question asked and addressed by the author of an article, Why Nerds are Unpopular . It's an interesting read on some theories as to why smart kids in seconday school are relatively unpopular, while in earlier or later years, that simply doesn't matter. An interesting read.

Hippofilms, a Los Angeles-based film production company, has announced a worldwide casting call for the roles of the young members of Monty Python, the famed British comedy troupe. They're looking for "the perfect six people to portray the young members of Monty Python (age range: 18-35) in GIN AND TONIC - a theatrical film bio of the late Graham Chapman, founding member of Monty Python - set to begin shooting in London later this year.

From my bro-in-law: "According to Mattel officials, Barbie and Ken have broken up. This isn't going to help any of those rumors about Ken..." Thanks Bob.

PalmSource announced today that the previously known "Palm OS 6" will be released instead as "Palm OS Cobalt", while "Palm OS 5" will be renamed/retooled as "Palm OS Garnet". Garnet will be geared more towards Palm Powered handhelds and smartphones, while Cobalt will have much awaited features such as multitasking, multithreading, memory protection, support for more memory and larger screens, industry standards-based security, and capability of handling multiple connections simultaneously. What's even more interesting is that Cobalt's graphics and multimedia features are derived from Be OS, which Palm acquired in 2001.

In yet another disappointing setback for Indiana Jones fans worldwide, George Lucas has expressed his dislike of the current draft of the Indiana Jones 4 script, ordering yet another rewrite. It's now looking like a 2005 production start at the earliest for release in 2006.