Note: The older the entry, the unlikelier outside links are to work.

Last few days have seen some discussion on an email thread at NASA before the Columbia accident. Apparently the emails discussed the possible damages to the insulation tiles that might have caused the disaster. But it wasn't the only email discussion going on before the accident, as this one from the end of January shows. Let's leave it to the experts to decide what really happened. Chances are, by the time the investigation is over the general public's interest will have faded long ago, and their attention has been caught by the next "big thing", like a war in Iraq.
Speaking of which, a lot of people like to make the simplification that the US is going to war just because of Iraq's oil. Have you (if you're one of these people) ever considered that maybe the countries most against the war are doing so just because of Iraq's oil? Nothing's ever simple, the least of all in international politics.
Speaking of which, why is it "international? Or United Nations? Is the US a nation? Is China a nation? Is any state in the world a pure nation-state? And if it's international, why aren't nations like Kurds or Chechens allowed to participate in it? Join the People for Renaming International Politics into Interstate Politics. That should be easier to accomplish than the new 10-hour day, 100-minute hour, 100-second minute timing measurements I proposed we should all change to. If they can get a man to the moon, why do we still use 5000-year old measurements of time?
Speaking of which, will you already believe they really did get a man to the moon?

Yep, we were down for a few days, and if you happened on Kekkuli during those days, all you saw was this page. Looks to me like they're Serbian ('Croatian, Serbian, what's the difference?' I can hear Tero saying), so if any of you know any fun tricks to play on Viruskrew, give a punch for Kekkuli as well. Although, if we're ready to believe in the omnipotence of the US and its agencies, this message from our hosting provider should make those hackers tremble:

Hi,

The server that your site is hosted on was "hacked". This type of attack is rare, but is currently being resolved. We are also working to find the origin of the attack to consider opening a case with the FBI. In the meanwhile, your site will be viewable by day’s end. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me.

If movies are anything to go by, FBI and CIA will trample over each other and fight about "jurisdiction" before ending up in a shoot-out with the hackers, finally getting most of them (the rest having died in the shoot-out) behind bars in the good old US of A. Or perhaps Guantanamo? Unfortunately, in real life I don't think even the FBI can do much about a group of Serbs that hack some insignificant server somewhere in California, but maybe I'll be positively surprised.

You know, even though the hackers most apparently were Serbian, I can't stop wondering if there's some connection between this event and our dear enemy Hilkka? Too much of a coincidence...???

Another fun game to play to see how the war in Iraq might turn out.

Come now, sing along... to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It" (even if you're pro-war it's still damn funny!):

"If you cannot find Osama, bomb Iraq. If the markets are a drama, bomb Iraq. If the terrorists are frisky, Pakistan is looking shifty, North Korea is too risky, Bomb Iraq.

If we have no allies with us, bomb Iraq. If we think someone has dissed us, bomb Iraq. So to hell with the inspections, Let's look tough for the elections, Close your mind and take directions, Bomb Iraq.

It's "pre-emptive non-aggression", bomb Iraq. Let's prevent this mass destruction, bomb Iraq. They've got weapons we can't see, And that's good enough for me, 'Cuz it's all the proof I need, Bomb Iraq.

If you never were elected, bomb Iraq. If your mood is quite dejected, bomb Iraq. If you think Saddam's gone mad, With the weapons that he had, (And he tried to kill your dad), Bomb Iraq.

If your corporate fraud is growin', bomb Iraq. If your ties to it are showin', bomb Iraq. If your politics are sleazy, And hiding that ain't easy, And your manhood's getting queasy, Bomb Iraq."

As some of you might have noticed, kekkuli.com was hacked by some Croatian gangsters before the weekend and was un-operational for about three days. Then somebody did something (mainly Jani who succesfully pestered the hosting company) and the site is back in action. Also back in action seems to be George W with his neverending offensive moves on Iraq. I wonder where he gets all his new ideas from? Maybe he uses this device. Iraq must have a similar type of machine, for their writing is quite interesting too, to say the least. Just look at Iraq's original letter to the United Nations. Anyway, talking about the possible war, and I'm sure most will agree, it is quite hard to take sides on this matter actually. It's true that Saddam is a real threat, that cannot be denied, but on the other hand is war the way to deal with it? Or if we now stop the U.S. from taking action and some level of control, won't the Chinese or somebody else do it? By the way, out of two bad ones, who do you prefer to run the world? U.S.A. or P.R.C.? Also another one of my favourites is what makes Iraq so much more a threat than for example our dear friends the North Koreans? We may think they are but fools and have thus forgotten about them, but rest assured they haven't forgotten about us...

Somebody else back in action is our old pal Mr. Bin Laden. He has been apparently giving out statements at some hidden location, where he probably also drinks booze with Elvis and keeps the cave tidy. If you don't believe me, check out the secret memo that the CIA intercepted just weeks ago:

TEAM MEETING
FROM: BIN LADEN, OSAMA.
Subject: The Cave

Hi guys, We've all been putting in long hours recently but we've really come together as a group and I love that! However, while we are fighting a Jihad, we can’t forget to take care of the cave, and frankly I have a few concerns.

First of all, while it's good to be concerned about cruise missiles, we should be even more concerned about the dust in our cave. We want to avoid excessive dust inhalation. (a health and safety issue) so we need to sweep the cave daily. I've done my bit on the cleaning rota… have you? I've posted a sign-up sheet near the cave reception area (next to the halal toaster).

Second, its not often I make a video address but when I do, I'm try to scare the hell out of most of the world's population, okay? That means that while we're taping, please do not ride your scooter in the background or keep doing the "Wassup" thing. Thanks.

Third, Food. I bought a box of dairylea recently, clearly wrote "Ossy" on the front, and put it on the top shelf. Today, two of my Dairylea slices were gone. Consideration. That's all I'm saying.

Fourth, I'm not against team spirit and all that, but we must distance ourselves from the infidel's bat and ball games. Please do not chant "Ossy, Ossy, Ossy, Oy, Oy, Oy when I ride past on the donkey. Thanks.

Five, Graffiti. To whoever wrote "OSAMA SHAGS DONKEYS" on the group toilet wall, it's a lie. The donkey backed into me, whilst I was relieving myself at the edge of the mountain.

Six, The use of chickens is strictly for food. Assam, the old excuse that the "chicken backed into me, whilst I was relieving myself at the edge if the mountain will not be accepted in future. (With donkeys there is a grey area)

Finally, we've heard that there may be western soldiers in disguise try to infiltrate our ranks. I want to set up patrols to look for them. First patrol will be Omar, Muhammad, Abdul, Akbar and Dave.

Group Hug!

PS I'm sick of having "Osama's Bed Linen" Scribbled on my laundry bag. Cut it out! It's not funny anymore.

No, we didn't have any, even though it's been a quiet week on Kekkuli. It just seems that technology isn't what it used to be. With Shuttles blowing up and computer operating systems being what they are (I'm not generalizing, of course, I'm just talking about Windows), it's amazing they ever got a man on the moon in the first place. (I like the "if they can put a man on the moon, why can't they..." comparison especially for its applicability to any given situation, which is always equally poor). Of course, nostalgia's not the answer, since technology really has never been what it used to be. It's just getting more complicated so that fewer and fewer people understand even the minutest part of it. My take is that as long as humans are building technology, we'll always have faults that cause deaths or lost term-papers. But once computers start designing themselves we should be home-free. Except those designing computers were created by humans, which means they may be faulty, which means the machines they design are faulty, which means they'll most likely be killer robots with evil-looking grins that get pleasure from blowing up humans so that we have to start a hopeless resistance against them, finally getting our hands on a time machine so that one soldier can be sent back to the past to prevent the machines from ever getting too smart, only to have a machine also sent to the past to kill the leader of the resistance... almost sounds like a bad movie, except that it actually was a good one. Anyway, see what someone had to say about the Columbia shuttle in 1980, and when you've gotten interested enough to read through the whole thing, I'll let you know what's wrong with it (not that I'd know, but luckily I have knowledgeable friends).

Seems like our always so trustworthy and politically non-involved and unbiased news channel CNN has finally gotten its act together by putting their top guys on the investigative job. Although NASA is still puzzled by the disaster, clearly CNN already knows the reason why the shuttle broke up minutes before landing on earth...

In anycase we spacefreaks here at kekkuli.com are shocked by the tragic accident of the space shuttle Columbia (read all about it on Space News, on your right). Although many would disagree, I believe it is of vital importance to keep up the space program and if not for any other purpose, then simply to keep our minds busy with something other than quarreling here on earth about oil, borders, religion, politics, or any other we-will-never-agree-on-this-topic topic. If you feel too bad for the astronauts, then comfort your mind with the fact that they were probably able to witness such images from the altitude that was to become their last. The number mentioned in the subject line could indeed be the cost of the latest shuttle mission in millions, but actually it is not anything so lame. It simply indicates that I was the 5555th visitor on kekkuli.com! Whooppeee! Now I have the whole collection, 1111, 2222, and so on... Also, still, I have no life.