Under the weather today so I am testing out that whole working from home thing. Mass transportation and Au Bon Pain are suffering as a result!

Did ya'll hear about the woman who auctioned off advertising space on her pregnant belly on eBay? I recall that she was paid several thousand dollars and had "Golden Palace Casino" painted on her tummy. They took her down to the Superbowl and everyone lived happily ever after.

Or not. Ms. Harp [owner of the aforementioned belly] is being sued by SunPoker.com, the high bidder for the advertising space. According to the rules on eBay, once bidding ends, a product must go to the highest bidder and that the auction is a binding contract. It seems that Ms. Harp had other ideas:

"The highest bidder at first was SunPoker.com but I decided after the auction ended not to go with them and decided to go with The Golden Palace Casino," Harp said.

"I guess his feeling was that it was binding that you went with them the highest bidder," the reporter said.

"No, even if I was selling T-shirts or anything else on eBay, as a seller, I have the right to decide who I want to sell to."

Well, actually, NO you do not. If you sell on eBay, you abide by the rules of eBay. But why would she prefer the lower bid from Golden Palace Casino rather than higher one from SunPoker.com? Perhaps she felt that Golden Palace casino was a better moral candidate for her tummy than an on-line poker room?

[*sheesh*]

We watched a program last night about aircraft carriers. We are both miltary buffs - Gary is more of an aviation fan whereas I like the ships. They were following the commisioning of the USS Ronald Reagan, an aircraft carrier, now based in San Diego. I wondered what the nickname of the ship is - from a couple of searches, I have found "The Gipper" [makes sense], "Ronnie Raygun", recognizing its formidable fire power, and "The Great Communicator". The slip's motto is "Peace through Strength".

A friend of mine had a brother who went to Annapolis and then served on the USS Cowpens, CG-63, a Ticonderoga class Aegis guided missile cruiser. It is named after the Revolutionary War battle at Hannah's Cowpens - there was also a WWII aircraft carrier of the same name. The nickname of the USS Cowpens is "The Mighty Moo" - and anyone who isn't serving on her has to smile when they say it. He told her that the motto of "The Mighty Moo" is , "Watch Your Step."

I figured that was the funniest ship's nickname I would hear - but no.

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy will commission its newest nuclear-powered attack submarine Jimmy Carter Feb. 19, during an 11 a.m. EST ceremony at Naval Submarine Base New London, Groton, Conn.

The attack submarine Jimmy Carter honors the 39th president of the United States.

The internet has been abuzz with potential nicknames. "Killer Wabbit" seems to be the most popular, after the former President's admission of being attacked by a bunny. Scrappleface has the low-down on the new submarine's mission:

(2005-02-16) -- The U.S. Navy on Saturday will commission its newest nuclear-powered attack submarine, the Jimmy Carter, with many new features, including multiple-warhead Nerf missiles.

President Carter, who brought peace to the middle east, vigorously defended America's right to give away the Panama Canal and, in 1994, convinced North Korea to abandon talking about its nuclear weapons, said he's honored to have his name on "one of the most powerful peacemaking devices on earth."

Jimmy Carter is the first of the American "Seahare-class" subs, featuring a high-tech sonar system which alerts enemy forces to its presence and a safety device on the Nerf missiles which allows firing only after an enemy missile impact.

"This new generation of nuclear submarines is designed to use trust in our enemies as our first line of defense," said an unnamed Navy spokesman.

President Carter has invited leaders from North Korea and Iran to the commissioning ceremony, during which former First Lady Rosalyn Carter, in a time-honored Navy tradition, will give the first order to "man our ship, bring her to life then park her over there by the dock!"

[Cheap but accurate.]

And in reponse to the thousands of e-mails asking about the Central Park Hawks [OK, so no one asked, but you still want to know, don't you?] - apparently they took Valentine's Day to heart:

The pair of red-tailed hawks have been spotted flagrantly mating all around the neighborhood of the ritzy Fifth Avenue apartment building where they were evicted, then restored to a brand new, architect-designed love nest last December.

"It's hard to miss them now. They're seriously trying to propagate," bird-watcher Marie Winn told Reuters.

[The phrase "love is in the air" takes on a whole new meaning.]

Quote du jour:

"Nicknames stick to people, and the most ridiculous are the most adhesive."

-- Thomas C. Haliburton

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