12/13/2004

Mickey Mouse spoke with LBJ.

This is too funny. The Navy was experimenting with sending divers to deeper and deeper depths for longer and longer periods of time. One of these divers- the former astronaut Scott Carpenter- has just set a world record: he's spent thirty days in the ocean at a depth of 200 feet.


A pre-arranged phone call to the White House is planned. The idea is to have President Lyndon Johnson offer Commander Carpenter a formal congratulation. This is a purely ceremonial call. It should be cut-and-dried. But there's a bizarre problem. Commander Carpenter is no longer underwater; he's in a decompression chamber. He's breathing air in which nitrogen- the gas which can give people the bends- has been replaced by helium. Helium is harmless, but it distorts the voice. When he speaks, Commander Carpenter sounds like Mickey Mouse.

Via Boing Boing


12/10/2004

Continuación de la discusión del presupuesto

Con autorización de los autores Fabian Chang y Pedro Romero anexo para la discusión de estos últimos días esta tesis (cuidado archivo de 4 megas) sobre el tema del presupuesto en el Ecuador y una visión histórica de como se ha manejado el tema en el país.

12/01/2004

You want to know what the government is doing?

One of the great things about this country is that you always find ways to know what the government is doing with your taxes. Despite recent fears of more secrecy around government actions there are several people dedicated to keep this tradition of transparency available to the public. Now the internet technology put this in your hands. Check this Wired article about sources of information of the government actions