http://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/01/18/36540.aspxThe best thing I clicked all day is this video of a water buffalo being purchased for a Chinese family. PLUS: writing like clockwork, American Idol MySpace pages, cancer cured again and other "book" links.en-USCommunityServer 2.0 (Build: 60608.1)http://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/01/18/36540.aspx#36648Fri, 19 Jan 2007 15:31:54 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:36648Bianca, Lafayette INI love reading Clicked at work. But, we have a surf control program that doesn't let us get to a lot of entertainment sites (esp YouTube). It would be great if you could include in your links if they are a video or come from a video site. You know...just so big brother doesn't think I'm trying to circumvent the rules. Thanks! :)http://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/01/18/36540.aspx#36664Fri, 19 Jan 2007 15:41:49 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:36664Brian, Omaha, NEI hate to say it but I was morbidly curious and decided to look up the pictures of the girl in the crash after seeing the same story on Digg. A warning to others; massive head trauma doesn't begin to convey the horror of these pictures. I wish I had never looked.http://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/01/18/36540.aspx#36716Fri, 19 Jan 2007 16:21:39 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:36716Ky;le Garrett, Overland Park, KansasWill - I don't think you're being fair to Heifer International. They really do get animals to families who need them, even if my own gift may not go for any particular animal to any particular family. How is this any different than a gift to, for example, the Red Cross? Do I expect to know what kind of food or medicines are being given to which particular family? How arrogant it is when we make a gift for the sake of making us feel good about ourselves! If truly given because there is a need to be fulfilled, the giver would not care to whom or where the gift goes. - Kylehttp://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/01/18/36540.aspx#36747Fri, 19 Jan 2007 16:56:49 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:36747Kazre: "Supposedly real people in commercials" I've noticed some of these commercials of "local" people are exactly the same when I visit my parents' house, just with different names and towns. What really makes me chuckle these days is the Jeep commercial where they show the Jeep driving through various snowy locations.. the very last one shows "Tonawanda, NY" and a Jeep driving through a snowy expanse with a huge lodge in the background. I used to live near Tonawanda, and have driven through most of it... I can't recall any area of the town looking like this. If someone knows where it is, let me know...http://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/01/18/36540.aspx#36753Fri, 19 Jan 2007 17:02:10 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:36753Will FemiaKyle, while I don't doubt that Heifer International does good things with the money it's given, the site definitely gives the impression that donations are purchasing animals in a 1-to-1 relation. If it said "here's a breakdown of our costs. We buy 50 buffalo in a year along with other expenses both administrative and charitable and your donation will help meet our budget so we can buy these buffalo" then that'd be one thing, but the impression they give is that you're really buying a buffalo with a 250 dollar donation. A quick look at the site would make one think that a donation of 500 bucks gets two buffalo when in fact it gets probably just one plus assorted other costs for the charity. I don't agree that the guy in the video wanted to make himself feel good. I think he wanted to make himself feel effective. It's funny you use the Red Cross as an example because even though they don't make promises as specific as this, they did make a promise with regard to the 9/11 cause and when it came out that they'd used 9/11 money for administrative purposes and other causes it was a huge scandal. When Katrina hit they had to be very clear about how donations for that cause would be used.http://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/01/18/36540.aspx#36956Fri, 19 Jan 2007 19:30:22 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:36956Kitty, OregonWill, I agree with Kyle on the Heifer thing. While giving someone a water buffalo is a tremendous gift, as the video began to fade to a close, I found myself wondering, "How will that animal survive? How will a single animal improve their lot? Does this impoverished family have access to the necessary land, feed, and shelter that are necessary for EFFECTIVE farming?" That is what Heifer provides in addition to actual agricultural animals. Effective farming is more than a beast of burden. Heifer is trying to provide long-term solutions to hunger. Perhaps they should be more clear about what their donations mean on their home page. But I found enough information with but two additional clicks to feel better about the Heifer gift I received this holiday season. Click a little deeper Will.http://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/01/18/36540.aspx#37035Fri, 19 Jan 2007 20:26:01 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:37035Will FemiaKitty, I had a similar thought, actually more along the lines of what I wonder when is see those extreme makeover shows. Can they afford the upkeep? I also wondered if they'd even keep the buffalo at all since their story makes it sound like their biggest burden is the bank nagging them for loan repayment. Maybe they'll sell the buffalo instead. I wonder if Heifer started out just buying animals and learned the hard way that more than that is necessary. Anyway, I didn't say you shouldn't feel good about a Heifer gift. On the contrary, I'll repeat, I'm sure they do good work. But the livestock catalog is a little misleading.http://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/01/18/36540.aspx#37064Fri, 19 Jan 2007 20:57:22 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:37064Alex, Lawrence, KSAlthough that massive touchscreen was pretty cool, the problem is it requires too much elbow grease to use. Those guys' arms are flailing all over the place in that video! A keyboard and mouse allows us to slouch in our chairs and move nothing but our fingertips and wrists, while performing basically every task exhibited in the video.http://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/01/18/36540.aspx#37176Sat, 20 Jan 2007 00:24:26 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:37176Paul, Alamo, CAThe touchscreen is probably more interesting for the idea of having a giant screen. Let's face it, most of it us have 19" or less screens, and you just cannot see that much. Although that touchscreen would be good for a few applications (many already exist, such as the Digg swarm), most of those would get tiring pretty quickly compared to a mouse/keyboard. I do note that they had some nice applications, I have not seen before; but, these would be good without the touchscreen. But, again, a giant screen is what really would make all the difference. One big problem with touchscreens is the lack of tactile feedback (the feel of a button or physical thing). If you could "feel" those objects, it would make you far more effective, since your vision and touch-sense would coordinate.http://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/01/18/36540.aspx#37247Sat, 20 Jan 2007 05:29:38 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:37247Lee, San Diego, CAThe idea of giving a water buffalo to a needy family will be hard to comprehend for Westerners. I grew up in the Philippines and there are some areas where they still rely on them as the "beast of burden". A man can till ten times more land with a water buffalo and a plow than just using a hoe or shovel giving him more time to do other things. The water buffalo also provides milk and a mode of transportation with a sled. It does not require much upkeep like cows since they can graze on grass, rice stalks or whatever is locally available. Stealing one is tantamount to depriving a family of its means of livelihood and survival. There are still a lot of places in Asia and Africa which have not been touched by modern technology and they have survived for thousands of years without depending on outsiders. http://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/01/18/36540.aspx#38833Tue, 23 Jan 2007 19:45:09 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:38833Zeke, Springfield, MOI can see a couple of problems with the guy shipping items through FedEx. One problem is that sugar is subject to FDA restrictions. The other items of the Nitrogen, Neon, and even the tap water are all subject to the Toxic Subtance Control Act. So even if he did have the paperwork for the FDA, and he had the TSCA form, it still doesn't matter. The "Rocket Fuel" is mislabeled. No where on it does it state what it contains. In the blog it states "You know that we originally ordered these empty cans and jars from a company, and *they* shipped them to *us*.", my question is did they have those labels on them when they were shipped. It is not the empty packages that are the problem, it is the labels.