I’m a good friend and strong supporter of Congressman Mark Udall (Colorado District 2).  I saw a note in today’s Rocky Mountain News that Mark got a perfect score on from the National Breast Cancer Coalition on his support of their interests in 2003 – 2004.

A close friend and former work colleague was diagnosed with breast cancer six months ago.  She’s young (under 40) and it shook us all up.  She had an incredible attitude, went through a full round of chemo and a double masectomy, and is now cancer free.  Amy and I had lunch with her on Thursday – she’s doing great and has a phenomenal outlook on life.  This was my first close encounter with breast cancer and as the more I learned, the more I realized how little I knew about a disease that each woman in the US has a 14% chance of getting in her lifetime.

Thanks Mark for your point of view, tireless efforts and support to help end breast cancer.

As an unrepentant Ben and Jerry’s worshiper (thanks to my dad for my ice cream addiction). I’m always sad when my favorite flavor disappears.  I like everything chocolate – the stranger the better – and they’ve had some strange ones (Makin’ Whoopie Pie or Reverse Chocolate Chunk anyone?)

These flavors got sent to the Ben and Jerry Cemootary.  I guess enough folks like me believe in ice cream resurrection so you can now vote to have them come back to life.  Vote now.

And – in a hat tip to Seth Godin’s Cow – it’s Purple!

I’m not, but if you are, try some virtual bubble wrap.

No – this is not porn spam.  This is an example of the how the web can be used to expose things.

As you may be aware, United is working with the bankruptcy courts to invalidate a portion of its guaranteed pension plans.  Five current and former United Airlines flight attendants – aged 55 to 64 – have joined forces and created a calendar called “Stewardesses Stripped (of their Pension?)”  The goal of the racey 14 page calendar is “to create national awareness to the naked truth that no retirement fund is completely secure and that there is a definitive crisis in the pension guaranty system.” 

The sexual irony of the calendar is clever – the picture on the site is captioned “Are your butts covered?  We thought ours were too!”  In today’s PC world, this is definitely a shot across the bow cockpit.

My mom step-sister just sent me a “Palmer for President” bumper sticker and a “Counter Terrorist Unit / USA” coffee mug.  If you don’t get the reference, you need to start watching 24.

A few months ago I bitched about my experience with the TSA at the San Jose Airport.  Today, I got to see a picture of two penguins being ushered through security by the TSA folks at DIA.  Brilliant.

I heard on NPR today during their series this week on income taxes that according to IRS calculations, American’s spend 6.6 billion hours doing their taxes each year.  We apparently also waste 6.6 billion gallons of gas annually while waiting in traffic, there is a 6.6 billion pound gap in AIDS funding, mail volume dropped by 6.6 million pieces in the month following the terrorist attacks in 2001, and the Pak Mun Dam cost 6.6 billion Baht (actually 6.507 billion, but the budget was 6.6 billion.)

Back to the tax thing.  According to the CIA, the current US population is 293,027,571 (estimate as of July 2005).  That’s 20.48 hours per person.  Eek (especially since all the kids under 12 in the US don’t do taxes yet.)  Now, it takes Windows 60 seconds a day to boot.  Assume there are around 200 million PCs in the US and they get booted on average of twice a day (yeah – I know – I (re)boot my various computers at least five times a day – you can have real fun with Windows Math facts if you want.)  That’s 8.30 hours per person.

So – annually, each person in the US spends 20.48 hours on taxes and 8.30 hours rebooting their computer.  Since the average household is around 2.5 people, this is 51.2 hours on taxes and 20.75 hours rebooting their computer per household per year, or three days / household wasted per year. Yeah – I know these numbers are just directionally correct, but they are the right order of magnitude. 

I love numbers – and these are just scary ones.  Good luck on your taxes tomorrow.

As a member of a quarter Jewish, half Atheist, and a quarter Theraveda Vipassana Buddhist household (there’s only two of us in my household – me and Amy – you figure out the math), I found the following email on Zen Judaism hysterical.  I post it as an ode to my favorite Buddha loving retired VC, Jerry Colonna.

If there is no self … Then whose arthritis is this?

Be here now. Be someplace else later … Is that so complicated?

Drink tea and nourish life. With the first sip, joy. With the second, satisfaction. With the third, peace … With the fourth, a danish.

Wherever you go, there you are … Your luggage is another story.

Accept misfortune as a blessing. Do not wish for perfect health or a life without problems … What would you talk about?

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single “oy.” … And a lot of travel arrangements.

There is no escaping karma … In a previous life, you never called, you never wrote, you never visited. And whose fault was that?

Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? … Bupkes.

The Tao does not speak. The Tao does not blame. The Tao does not take sides. The Tao has no expectations. The Tao demands nothing of others … The Tao is not Jewish. The Tao is also not your mother.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out … Forget this and attaining Enlightenment will be the least of your problems.

Let your mind be as a floating cloud. Let your stillness be as the wooded glen … And sit up straight. You’ll never meet the Buddha with such rounded shoulders.

Be patient and achieve all things … Be impatient and achieve all things faster.

To Find the Buddha, look within. Deep inside you are ten thousand flowers. Each flower blossoms ten thousand times. Each blossom has ten thousand petals … You might want to see a specialist.

To practice Zen and the art of Jewish motorcycle maintenance, do the following … Get rid of the motorcycle. What were you thinking?

Be aware of your body. Be aware of your perceptions … Keep in mind that not every physical sensation is a symptom of a terminal illness.

The Torah says, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” The Buddha says there is no “self.” … So, maybe you are off the hook.

The Buddha taught that one should practice loving kindness to all sentient beings … Still, would it kill you to find a nice sentient being who happens to be Jewish?

Though only your skin, sinews, and bones remain, though your blood and flesh dry up and wither away, yet shall you meditate and not stir until you have attained full Enlightenment … But, first, a little nosh.

Having watched Federer magically survive the onslaught of Rafael Nadal and eventually demolish him in the fifth set yesterday at the Nasdaq-100 Open (ok – I watch a little TV – usually tennis or 24 with Amy), it was with great delight that I saw Dave McClure’s post on Federer and Agassi fooling around a gazillion feet in the air on the worlds highest tennis court.  Jeff Clavier kindly added a comment with a link to Tiger Woods doing the same, but with a golf club.  Wow.