How do you identify an unfamiliar flag? If you're driving on Massachusetts Ave in DC, you hop out of your car and read the sign on the front of the embassy displaying it. Otherwise, you go to the Flag Detective, a directory ordered by general design, shape, and color.

I found this site after surfing through a few references in an article about a survey of flag geeks that stated that the flags of DC and Maryland are among the ten best of North America's states and provinces (and territories without proper congressional representation, but I digress). For our readers reader in Pennsylvania, the survey ranked its flag near the bottom, along with the many other states who feature the state seal on a blue background.

Marney is two months old today! She had a check up earlier today and received four shots, poor little girl. Here's how she grows:

Month	Weight	Height
birth	7 lbs. 0 oz.	19.75"
1	7 lbs. 15 oz.	20"
2	8 lbs. 13 oz.	21.25"

A new name and one that I think will stick: Cognitive Overflow. Coincidentally, a search at Google for this phrase found a paper written by a guy who used to sit at the very desk I now occupy. I keep looking through the papers he left here to see if I stole this phrase from him, but so far I think I'm ok. It helps that my papers now cover most of the desk.

While checking for a new release of a piece of software for my Handspring Visor, I stumbled upon Space Trader. After looking at the screenshots and documentation a little, I've decided that it's a good thing that I don't have a sync cable at work. If I have to wait 'til I get home, I may go a whole week before I download it.

I'm glad I take Metro. On a day when Washington's high temperature is expected to be in the mid-90s...

The accident occurred about 7:35 a.m. when ... a red pickup cut off the truck on the bridge. The truck crashed into a guardrail and overturned, spilling tar across all southbound lanes of Interstate 95 [The Beltway] at the Washington Street overpass. That forced officials to shut down all lanes of the major commuter route just before the peak of morning rush hour. (full story)

Continuing on yesterday's aerial photos... Look at the US Capitol. Go to mapquest's latitude/longitude search page (that link will open in a new window so that you can copy and paste) and go to latitude 38.889982, longitude -77.008617. The aerial photo is in color on the east side of the building and black and white on the west side. Why? I wondered if they gave lower resolution to the government buildings in downtown DC for security reasons. But then I noticed that the Pentagon (lat. 38.870553, long. -77.055279) is in color. So much for that theory. Must just be differences in data.

This week's issue of The Rapidly Changing Face of Computing pointed out that mapquest.com has a new feature -- aerial photos. Look at a map in a major metropolitan area and then click on the "Aerial Photo" tab above it.

Is "Doug's Stream of Trivia" a better name? I'm not convinced either.

While driving last Friday, I heard a teaser for the next show of Fresh Air which would discuss the trouble with airline travel today and the prospects for a better system in the future. So, with a fast internet connection and the ability to listen to talk radio and code at the same time, I listened to the interview (real audio) earlier this week. The promo on the Fresh Air site says "In [journalist James Fallows'] new book Free Flight: From Airline Hell to a New Age of Travel he looks into the technological innovations which will change airline travel. For instance, smaller jet planes will ferry passengers from local airports, bypassing the crowded international airports."

The interview was interesting... I'm reading an excerpt of the book now (published in The Atlantic Monthly but not available online). It may lead to me buying the book and eventually learning to fly sometime after my last kid finishes college. Or maybe I'll start a mini-airline with the small jets he describes.

Welcome to wemmick blog. I'm not wild about the name, but it'll do for now.
Why am I doing this?

• I've been reading borklog and I want to be like BorkWare.
• I've typed enough stories into AIM chat windows that would be better related from a weblog such as this. It'll save me from copy/paste madness.
• I wanted a place to announce new photos, accomplishments and such of my little girl, Marney!

Enjoy!