When discussing the sidewalk grass yesterday with my buddy Devicer, he mentioned that my original thought on this was actually a reality, and that they sell flame throwers for just such an occasion!! These things are cheap, propane-powered, and some put out in excess of 1,000,000(!) B.T.U.s. The neat thing is that they can also be used in the winter on icy sidewalks (and I'm thinking they can also melt glass or provide heat for group camping trips to Pluto).

I couldn't recall the ad that was making the sound that needed to be killed, it's the noisy backpack ad... I'll look at getting the kibosh on that today. I'll also follow-up on the noisy Telco ad (since that is local in Canada I'm not sure how readily that can be addressed).

Link of the Day:	Hollywood Is Calling. Thanks Bronco.
Stories of the Day:	Comic's New Album Blasts Telemarketers. Thanks Peter Binazeski. U.S. Bimbo Defeats Spanish Challenger in Web Bout. Thanks dakslf. What's 50, Curvy and Full of Air (registration required). Hillary?
Wild Science:	Simple fixes could bring water to millions. "12 million die of diseases caused by poor water quality each year." FDA approves wheelchair that climbs stairs.
Weird Science:	Genome hunt shows humans closer to rats than cats. Prehistoric iceman put up a fight, scientists reveal.
Image of the Day:	FoxTrot. Thanks WarPig.
Follow-up:	Arctic ice cap facing meltdown. Telemarketers seek ways around do-not-call list.
	Thanks Mike Martinez.