Newley Purnell

WSJ:

A novel plan to develop a $100 laptop computer for distribution to millions of schoolchildren in developing countries has caught the interest of governments and the attention of computer-industry heavyweights.
…
Although no contracts with governments have been signed, Mr. Negroponte says current plans call for producing five to ten million units beginning in late 2006 or early 2007, with tens of millions more a year later.

This weekend I went to see my friends Mike and Angelica — two pals from my Ecuador days. Mike and I taught English together (and traveled all over the country) while I was there between 2003 and 2004. He and Angelica got married after I left; they’ve got a delightful six-month-old daughter named Sabine and are living in Salisbury, Maryland now.

I had a great time catching up with them — I hadn’t seen Angelica in over two years; I also got to meet her nephew Diego, who’s staying with them for a while. (Both Angelica and Diego are from Cuenca, where we lived.) Angelica treated us to some excellent Ecuadorian food (including an exceptional seco de pollo), and we even broke out the dreaded sugar cane-based Ecuadorian firewater, Zhumir. And I got a chance to play my first-ever game of Frisbee disc golf.

It was fantastic to see them and relive the aspects of what I loved most about Ecuador and Ecuadorians: food, friends, and laughter. (And Zhumir, of course.)

Today’s Washington Post travel section has a great article on motorbiking in Northern Vietnam — and doing so on fabled Minsk bikes, no less.

Dustin Roasa describes the two-week journey he took with his girlfriend; he does an excellent job of conveying both the cultural and historical details of the trip along with the unique sensations of this incredible part of the world.

Interestingly, Jill and I took nearly the same route last year; my buddy Chris and I also undertook a similar sojourn back in 2002.

(Chris has recently unearthed some pics from our trip, by the way, that are worth a look. I especially like this shot of a precarious “bridge” we navigated. I’m proud to say that I made it across the thing during what was the first full day I’d driven a motorcycle in my life; I was too young and dumb to know any better, I suppose…)

Then perhaps you’d be interested in these first class airplane seats. They’d look cool in your livingroom, perhaps, but at 1500 bones, the comfort-to-price ratio might be a bit skewed (which is not unlike actually flying in first class, if you ask me).

BoingBoing:

“Oak Island, part of Nova Scotia, is home to the legendary ‘Money Pit,’ a pit supposed to contain buried treasure but also ingeniously booby-trapped to flood with sea water. The Money Pit site and history are famous amongst treasure buffs and cryptology buffs alike, because the site was famously discovered after some encoded maps and documents were deciphered. Lots of info out there, of course, but the new detail is that the current treasure hunters who own the site are selling it off.”

This one’s for you, Becky*:

“Stuff + Cats = Awesome.”

*Animal-related posts have proven quite popular here at newley.com. Not only did Becky recently make a special plea for more animal kingdom-related content, but in one of the best comments on this site to date, one Teri R. elaborated on her domestic squirrel-rearing habits.

Thanks to Charles M. for passing along this sweet photo. Do these kids have the coolest parents ever? Heck yes!

Napoleon+Dynamite

Dear Meatheads at My Gym:

Yes, I’m talkin’ to you, fellas: you guys who talk loudly and incessantly and enthusiastically about your fantasy football teams:

Please view this graphic and let me know if you have any questions.

Best,
Newley
P.S. Thanks for the inspiration and the image, Mr. Sun.

Ryan Clancy, in a USA Today op-ed: “Che Guevara should be scorned — not worn.”

BBC:

Aerospace giant Boeing is attempting to break the world record for the longest non-stop passenger airline flight.

A Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner jet is due to take off from Hong Kong at 1030 local time (1430 GMT) and will arrive in London on Thursday at 1330 GMT.

The 23-hour flight will cover about 12,500 miles (20,300 km), taking the plane over North America rather than the shorter route to London via Russia.

Boeing hopes to challenge arch rival Airbus with its new long-haul jet.

The map above shows a sampling of 100 selected visitors to newley.com today. I’m happy to see that my incoherent ramblings are being enjoyed by readers on all six of the earth’s habitable continents.

But while I see the fine folks in North America, Europe, and Australia are well-represented, there are lessons to be learned: I need to do a better job of reaching out to the citizens of South America, Africa, and Asia. I shall try. I shall certainly try.

In my most recent Gridskipper post, I point out a harDCore couple on a mission to visit every Starbucks in the DC area.

Gridskipper

By popular demand, here’re some photos from Heartburn Fest 4 that Wendy and I took. (If you missed my earlier post about the party, here’s an explanation.) I had a fantastic time.

Here’re some delightful photos of Mexico City wrestlers. My favorite of these Lucha Libre stars is either Super Porky (pictured), Super Raton, or Maximo — though Maximo could really use a longer skirt. (Sadly, La Liga Mexicana doesn’t feature any cholitas de Bolivia.)

Check out this Japanese game show — women wear hats of meat and test their courage in the face of a hungry lizard!

(Via BoingBoing.)