Hmm... I'm pretty sure I had a brilliant thought about work on the subway, but now I can't remember what it was. And in fact, I'm a little afraid it came in a dream. Darn it!

Happy Birthday, Jon!

If we can't have Buffista Island, maybe we can have Buffista Cave?

Cave house for sale in Festus, MO

$300,000 is the starting bid on this eBay listing for a three-bedroom home built in a 15,000 sqft cave in Festus, MO, formerly a roller-rink/concert venue that entertained the MC5, Ike and Tina Turner and Ted Nugent. Sounds like a hell of a place to live (and you gotta feel for the family that's losing their dream). It's got three freshwater springs and there are fourteen waterfalls on the property. Yowza.

On May 19th, 2008, the City of Festus approved our occupancy inspection for the cave. Officially, this completed our project. There are still projects that can be started, completed and developed. Plenty of room in our 17,000 square foot home.

This is now where we live, work, raise our family and celebrate life! Here are a few of the details about the place: Historic, regionally famous cave: 15,000 square feet, divided into three main chambers.

The front chamber houses the main part of the 3-bedroom finished house.

The middle chamber holds the laundry room, storage, and a spare bath. The middle chamber made a great party room. 80 feet by 80 feet.

The back chamber still has the stage where Ted Nugent, Bob Seger, Ike and Tina Turner, the MC5 and many other bands performed.

Property: 2.8 scenic, partially wooded acres provide excellent privacy and the feel of the country right in the middle of town, just several blocks from shopping, dining, and other conveniences.

Energy efficiency: Geothermal and passive solar keep the home comfortable year-round without a furnace or air conditioning. In spite of the vast size of the home, our energy costs here run about the same as they did in our 800 square-foot starter home. The home naturally stays a little cooler than the average above-ground home, but we found that we acclimated quickly and easily.

Happy Birthday, Jon!

Happy Birthday, Jon!

I got the notice today that the university approved funding for me to go present a paper at a conference in Kentucky, and I just booked the flight. Will book hotel tomorrow. Eek. (And actually, I'm not sure I've got funding for everything -- I can get up to $500, but flight is $250 and hotel will be about $150, which leaves $100 for meals, which will be cutting it close, but at least I won't be paying much out of pocket.

Hil, remember that food costs are likely to be lower in Kentucky than in NYC. If you're going to be there for about 4 meals (and one of them breakfast), $100 should do the trick nicely.

Ha-ha!

Anti-gay American cleric banned from UK for inciting hatred

A homophobic American cleric who runs a website called God Hates Fags and was allegedly planning to picket a play showing in the UK has been banned from Britain by the home secretary, Jacqui Smith.

Fred Phelps had vowed to come to Britain with his daughter, Shirley, to picket a school play in Basingstoke, Hampshire, that promotes tolerance for gay people. The play, The Laramie Project, depicts the murder of a homosexual teenager, ­Matthew Shepard, in the Wyoming town in 1998. It will be staged tomorrow evening at Queen Mary's College.

Phelps, who runs the Primitive Baptist Westboro church in Topeka, Kansas – most of whose congregation are members of his family, including his 13 children – has bought a plot of land in Laramie where he plans to build a memorial celebrating the murder, despite local opposition.

He and his family cause outrage by picketing the funerals of American personnel killed in Iraq, on the grounds that they were serving the godforsaken US. They wave banners and sometimes trample on the Stars and Stripes to show their contempt for their country. His publicity-seeking behaviour and vehemently expressed views are condemned by all mainstream denominations in the US.

A posting on Phelps's companion website God Hates the World this week stated: "God hates England. Your Queen is a whore. You're going to hell."

There was no evidence that the Phelps family, who tour the US spreading their message and have expressed a wish to come to Britain to preach at Speakers' Corner in London, had made arrangements to carry out their threat of picketing the play, but the Home Office said Phelps and other members of his family would be banned from entry if they arrived.

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: "The home secretary has excluded both Fred Phelps and his daughter from the UK. Both these individuals have engaged in unacceptable behaviour by inciting hatred against a number of communities.

"The government has made it clear it opposes extremism in all its forms. We will continue to stop those who want to spread extremism, hatred and violent messages in our communities from coming to our country … regardless of their opinions and beliefs."

The move follows last week's Home Office decision to refuse entry to Geert Wilders, a rightwing Dutch politician accused of Islamophobia. Wilders was due to show his 17-minute film Fitna, which criticises the Qur'an as a "fascist book", in the Lords but was turned back at Heathrow.

awesome.

does anyone know of a good website to research salaries in a region/city - not average salary, but actual salary examples of what is available?

I want Fred Phelps to end up in a British prison. Then have the American embassy say, "I thought we were a god-forsaken country, surely you don't want help from evil ol' us."

Aren't they depicted in the play?