Morning Roundup: Once you go Blackle edition

Good morning, Houston. We've seen various incarnations of Google, but this one was new to us. Blackle is a search engine that is very similar to Google, but with a darker color scheme. And it's not just Google for the depressed - it's meant to save energy. A predominantly black screen requires less energy to display than Google's white background. One blog said that Blackle could save 750 megawatt-hours a year (or $75,000), if it has Google's popularity. It's a nice idea, but we don't exactly see this taking the internet by storm.

>> No longer at your fingers: Robert Finger, prominent member of the Houston chapter of the Ridiculous Furniture Store Commercial Society, died on Sunday after a bout with cancer. Finger was a native Houstonian, CEO of Finger Furniture Co., and well-known for his "at your fingers!" commercials. He was a successful businessman, as well as a philanthropist, athlete, and proud Texan. Finger's has six locations in the Houston area and are planning to open a seventh next year. We'll miss Robert, but we're sure he'll live on in our television sets for years to come.

>> A challenge to Madame Speaker: Outspoken anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan has announced that if Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi doesn't move to impeach the President in the next two weeks, she will run against her as an independent in the next election. We can't imagine Madame Speaker's exactly shaking in her boots - or low-heeled pumps, as the case may be. Sheehan had announced in may that she was leaving the anti-war movement, stating that she wanted to "change course." It sounds to us like she's veered a little further in the direction of crazy.

>>The danger zone: Our city saw a dangerous Saturday this weekend: eight people died in six incidents on Houston's streets over the course of just one day. The incidents included a drunk driving incident that killed two seven-year-old twin boys as well as a two-year-old accidentally being run over by a minivan in a church parking lot. Charges are not expected to be filed over what has been called a "tragic accident."

>> This week's weather: We wish more than anything we could tell you it's going to be sunny, but Houstonist is committed to bringing you the straight-up facts: there are more clouds and thunderstorms on the horizon. Chances of rain are between 20% and 40% this week, but at least it's keeping the temperatures relatively low - we shouldn't see anything higher than 90.

More cold, hard facts behind the jump...