The White House finally has some good news to report regarding the oil spill, and despite their previous “do nothing” approach (which was infuriating to say the least) it looks like the gulf of Mexico may return back to normal within my lifetime.

Today, a panel of government scientists released a report which said that the vast majority of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has either evaporated or been burned, skimmed, recovered from the wellhead or dispersed much of which is in the process of being degraded. A significant amount of this is the direct result of the federal government’s aggressive response to the spill. [...]

These interagency findings were generated using a scientific tool called the Oil Budget Calculator, which employs a combination of direct measurements and the best scientific estimates available. The calculator is based on 4.9 million barrels of oil released into the Gulf, the government’s latest estimates of the flow rate from Monday. More than 25 of the best government and independent scientists contributed to or reviewed the calculator and its calculation methods. Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE), as well as academic scientists are continuing to work to refine these calculations. (Official White House Blog)

Although there still is a large amount of oil in the gulf (as you “lying eyes” will inform you), the fact that nature is dissolving the oil in spite of our pathetic attempts (or rather lack their of) gives me hope for friends and families in the gulf.

I probably still won’t eat any shrimp, fish, lobster (which I acquired a taste of) or seafood from the gulf for a few years/decades (depending on how fast BP and Obama clean up the gulf), although I do appreciate the fact that this whole fiasco is coming to an end.

As much as I love my iPhone 3GS (which I bought last year), I’m going to do something completely insane: I’m going to give away my iPhone 3GS instead of selling it.

I actually did ponder selling the iPhone 3GS, along with a battery extender from FastMac (which includes a built in flash light) which together are probably valued at $200 (I paid $300 plus for both items).

Apple is currently selling 8 gig iPhone 3GS’s for $100, although the one I have is 16 gig (double the storage baby!).

So why am I giving it away? Because I can, and (more importantly) I think it will be a great opportunity to introduce someone to the iCult.

So who am I giving the iPhone 3GS away to? Lets just say that their is a short list, but everyone on it has NEVER owned a smart phone before, so this will be a great opportunity for them to experience iBliss.

Since I won’t reveal who is receiving this gift until my iPhone 4 is activated (which I have to purchase near full price since I do not qualify for AT&T’s subsidy), it will be a few weeks until the person is revealed.

Either way, I hope they enjoy using the iPhone as much as I did (especially since they could REALLY use some of  the apps to help organize and improve their life), although hopefully they’ll keep it out of the hands of kids (as its fragile!!).