Can government balance civil liberties, security? -- the American people would be glad to give up many more of their liberties if they believed that would protect us from further terrorism.

Why Do Lights "Burn Out" and Go Black?... Ever wonder why lights only function for just so long and then go black? Well, after extensive research and expense, Bell Labs has found the answer. And it may not be what you've always thought it was.

Font Island... where you'll find an island full of FREE FONTS! All of the fonts are neatly categorized for easy searching, or you can view the fonts alphabetically. When you find the font you like simply click for a free download.

Unfortunately you'll find zillions of pop-up ads too.

Joe Burns, Ph.D.... And remember: Do you know why Marines are sometimes called "leathernecks?" It has nothing to do with sunburn, as I have heard before. It's a name given to them by Navy personnel. Marines used to have a piece of leather sewn into the back of their uniform collars to deflect sword strokes.

Here's another military fact. The name of the "Jeep" automobile came from the fact that the original versions were delivered to the Army with the letters "G.P." painted on the side. The letters stood for "General Purpose." It was simply shortened to Jeep.

And one more...the acronym SNAFU is a military term. At least that's where it originated. It stands for "Situation Normal, All Fouled Up."

Of course, young men in the military tend to change out one of the words on occasion.

StarDate ... Do all planets orbit the Sun in the same direction?

CNN.com - Anti-terrorism proposals worry civil libertarians... Advocacy groups, legal experts and some members of Congress are voicing strong concerns that a proposal to expand law enforcement powers in order to ratchet up the fight on terrorism could end up treading on civil liberties enjoyed by all Americans.

Guardian: Attackers did not know they were to die... FBI investigators have officially concluded that 11 of the 19 terrorists who hijacked the aircraft on 11 September did not know they were on a suicide mission

Peggy Noonan: ... It is not only that God is back, but that men are back. A certain style of manliness is once again being honored and celebrated in our country since Sept. 11. You might say it suddenly emerged from the rubble of the past quarter century, and emerged when a certain kind of man came forth to get our great country out of the fix it was in.

Anthrax

Educate yourself about anthrax... Tim Paustian has a FAQ on anthrax. He's a microbiologist at the University of Wisconsin.

FACT:

1. Anthrax is not contagious. The only way to get the disease is to be exposed to spores of the microbe.

2. Not much will kill these spores. Microwaving, baking, and disinfectant have no effect. If you burn your mail, that will work, but then you can't read that letter from Aunt Marge.

3. Getting spores in an envelope is not a real threat. Anthrax spores need to be dispersed in the air with very advanced equipment to become the dangerous form, pulmonary anthrax, that is lethal. Since whoever is doing this is mailing the stuff, it's obvious we are dealing with amateurs who really don't understand what they are doing. In that you can take some comfort. If you do recieve a suspicious package report it to your local authorities and consult your physician. However, it will be very unlikely that you will recieve one of these letters. Think about how many pieces of mail go out and how many people there are. Your chances are very low.

4. Cutaneous antrax only occurs when the spores encounter broken skin creating an easily recognized boil. Even then the illness is rarely fatal.

5. Anthrax is easily treated with antibiotics if it is caught early enough. The only time I would be worried about this is if everyone around you is coming down with the flu at the same time. Believe me the government will be all over something like that and has a stock pile of antibiotics for such an occasion.

6. You should not try to get vaccinated nor buy antibiotics just in case. First, your chances of contracting the disease are less than getting hit by lightning or winning the lottery, so you would be wasting your money. Second, you are depleting the stores of antibiotics that are available to treat people who may end up having the illness. Finally, the antibiotics will go bad over time and not be effective anyway. No responsible physician should be filling prescriptions to people who have not been exposed to anthrax, just in case. If you find a doctor willing to do this, can you trust them? What's to say that they are not just selling you sugar pills or something worse?

7. The disease is caused by a bacterium not a virus as reported by some news agencies. (By the way some journalists are woefully ignorant of medicine and microbiology - be careful what you believe.)