On My Outdated iPod

A very long, long time ago, I bought an iPod. 

 

And hit shuffle.

 

It's the end of 2006, and my iPod has reached obsolescence, but still I shuffle on.  Here are the last ten songs on my iPod.

 

In The Waiting Line - Zero 7

More Than A Woman - The Bee Gees

Head Over Heels - Tears For Fears

Round Midnight - Miles Davis

G. Love and Special Sauce - I-76

The Cure - The Caterpillar

Moby - Natural Blues

Black Eyed Peas - Head

The Beatles - Revolution 9

Ray Parker Jr. - Ghostbusters

 

Two comments.

1.  There's a definitive theme there.  Really.  If you give it a good, good look, you can see a them.  I'm just too much of homebody to tell you what it is.

2.  ...except for this.  Ghostbusters?! 

 

I've got to pick up some new CDs.  From the used CD shop.  Without DRM.

 

Wha...! I've been TAGGED!

It was bound to happen.

 

First, I have to shout out to Tart Sarah, whose tagged my homie in the first place.  The one she got it from?  Here: The Traveler's Lunchbox.  The real blame for my tagging, however, goes to my homeboy over at Ringloss.  Damn you!  Damn you to Hell!

 

And.... here's the list.  No particular order.

 

1.  Tortilla Soup from El Mirador in San Antonio, Texas.

Dear God, what can I say about this soup?  I discovered it while attending school there, and quickly it rose to the ranks of Personal Food Legends.  Already, it was a local legend, but WOW.  If you were my date, and got to dine at El Mirador on a late Saturday morning, stand in line (because there always was one) and get some iced tea, some gooey, veggie nachos, and that freakin' soup, you KNEW you were in and we were at least partially serious.  Good Lord, that was good stuff.

 

2.  Just About Any Dish from Carmine's On Penn, Denver, Colorado

I love good Italian food - sauces thrill me.  However, Carmine's has some GREAT Italian food.  Seriously.  You should eat it soon - especially this shrimp/sausage/pepper/chicken thing that I can't pronounce (but I know it when I see it), and it is basically defines this particular category to a T. 

 

3.  Vanilla Ice Cream with a Licorice Coating, Sweden

I... have never had this.  I have a reliable source that says that it is one of the most wonderful things on the face of the planet.  I know her well and trust her at her word.  Worse yet, I don't even like licorice that much, but damn, this sounds good.  Take thee to Sweden.

 

4.  Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, California

It's been a while since I've been there, I'll admit.  However, if memory serves, you can't go wrong with just about any seafood you pick up right there on the Wharf.  It's here, now, and fresh as a man or woman can get.  And, now, this has probably changed... but it was cheap.  Seriously.  One must go there and feast.  Nature Viewing Bonus:  If you go the right time of year, you might, just MIGHT, see a whale.  I did.  Whales are big.  Very big.

 

5.  Swiss Chocolate.

This is a shout to all of you chocolate lovers.  I know you're out there; you know who you are.

Rich.

Creamy.

Decadent.

Good on almost anything.

Zowie.

 

Eateateateat!

 

Ok.  Now that food has been served, I will tag off.... right... now!  Hi, L!

 

P.S.  Get a cheeseburger with onions, mustard, lettuce and tomato at Griff's in Denver.  Ye, Gods.  You can't miss.

Does Politics Remove The Memory Portions of the Brain?

Apparently, it does.

 

A memo received by United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice shortly after becoming National Security Advisor in 2001 directly contradicts statements she made to reporters yesterday, RAW STORY has learned.

"We were not left a comprehensive strategy to fight al Qaeda," Rice told a reporter for the New York Post on Monday. "Big pieces were missing," Rice added, "like an approach to Pakistan that might work, because without Pakistan you weren't going to get Afghanistan."

Wait!  There's more.

However, RAW STORY has found that just five days after President George W. Bush was sworn into office, a memo from counter-terrorism expert Richard A. Clarke to Rice included the 2000 document, " Strategy for Eliminating the Threat from the Jihadist Networks of al-Qida: Status and Prospects." This document devotes over 2 of its 13 pages of material to specifically addressing strategies for securing Pakistan's cooperation in airstrikes against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Kudos to the Raw Story.

 

Seth Brundle : You have to leave now, and never come back here. Have you ever heard of insect politics? Neither have I. insect People don't have politics. They're very... brutal. No compassion, no compromise. We can't trust the insect human.

 

There.  Quote from Jeffery Goldblum.

 

Now fixed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Get My Coups Above The Waistline, Sunshine

Uh-oh.

 

Tanks have taken up position around the Thai government headquarters in Bangkok blocking traffic, eyewitnesses have told Reuters news agency.

An army-owned TV station has altered its programming to broadcast images of the royal family and songs associated in the past with military coups.

BBC!  BBC!

More to come, no doubt.  This news makes a hard man humble.

 

 

Google Shows Some Love to the UNCF

Not surprised.  Google has started a scholarship for African-American students.

 

As part of Google's ongoing commitment to advancing computing and technology, we're pleased to tell you that the United Negro College Fund and Google have partnered to create the UNCF/Google Scholarship Program. We hope this program will encourage students to excel in their studies, inspire them to become role models and leaders, and help remove the financial barriers for African-American students wishing to pursue an engineering degree.

 

Courtesy of the GoogleBlog.  But the deadline is October 5, so hurry, now!  Here's the info.

 

Here's the part where I say:

I hate the term "xxxxxxxxxx-American".

 

Mexican-American.

African-American.

Latino-American.

Irish-American.

Polish-American.

Chinese-American.

 

Please.  At what point do you stop using the "-American" part in your identity?  How many generations are required until you go from "Dash-American" to "American"?  Two?  One?  Five?  How ridiculous.  It's like you're an American-In-Training, or instead of being on the American Team, you're on the practice squad, because obviously you need a season or two of training, although you can travel with the rest of the squad on Sundays.  Diversity should be celebrated; however, hyphenating one's nationality or ethnicity with "American" is not the way to do it, thanks.  I never thought that was a good idea.

 

With that, I will link to this blog:  The Assimilated Negro.  Seems like I've linked to this before, but I can't remember.  I must be a Forgetful-American.

 

Expect a permanent link to follow.

 

Computer Geek-Americans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another Blog Explosion

Darn.

 

Looks like I've had another blog explosion; all of my archives and such have been pushed to the bottom of the page.

 

No worries - the links are still there.  I've just got to adjust a couple of things to make everything fit.  Personally, I blame the O RLY owl.

Update: Fixed. And not a moment too soon. That's what I get for not reading my own blog.

Hello, World!

Thought I'd shout out to a few places that have been visiting lately.

 

Hello to: Beijing, Morocco, Raleigh - North Carolina (hello, North Carolina State), Phoenix, Boston, Florida, Denver AND Parker, Colorado, Northern and Southern California, New York City, Germany,  Falls Church AND Herndon, Virginia (waves to the Feds), Cincinnati and Maumee, Ohio, Hong Kong, and the home of the Simpsons (pick a Springfield).  Happy 18 years!  God, that's a long time for ANY show.

 

Thanks, everybody! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another Of The Addictive Time Wasters

Oh, no!

 

It's a Time Waster!

 

And it's addictive!  It's the hardest riddle on the Net!

 

The goal of the Antiriddle project is to not only entertain those that enjoy intellectual challenges, but also to teach a certain degree of computer literacy and to foster a sense of cooperation in solving an issue.

Please advertise this site as much as possible so that the developers can afford to invest their time into improving this project.

Enjoy.

Forgive me, and good luck.

Freeware Wonders

I honestly don't know where I found this link.  However, it's damn useful:  10 Unknown Windows Freeware Applications You Should Know About.

 

There are dozens of well known freeware applications out there. From web browsers to word processors to anti-viruses, there is freeware everywhere. Take a look at these 10 great Windows freeware applications you have probably either never heard of or never fully looked into.

 

Homeboy is using Blogger.  Good deal.  Show 'em some love.

 

 

 

...And Speaking of Google...

Ok.  Last Google post today.  But it's a Google day.

 

Guess what this week is?

 

Banned Books Week!

 

And who is celebrating?

 

Google.  Again.

 

Google Book Search is our effort to expand the universe of books you can discover, and this year we're joining libraries and bookstores across the country to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Banned Books Week – a nationwide initiative to help people learn about and explore banned books. You can start by browsing these 42 classics – books we couldn't be more pleased to highlight.

 

It's true.  Google never stops.  They are relentless.

 

Do yourself a favor and read some really good books today.

 

I've read 27 of those books listed.

Beat it if you can.

Googlerrifc

Wow.  These Google folks, they don't play around.

 

The Internet search juggernaut's senior vice president of engineering and research was describing a new and urgent reality facing Google. "Can you build global products with a workforce that is only in Mountain View, California?" Eustace asked, posing a rhetorical question to the several dozen assorted Wall Street types in attendance, some of whom were dozing off as he spoke. "The answer is, no you can't. The technical talent that we need to solve the next generation of problems in search does not all live in Mountain View, California."

Eustace left out the part about the 300,000 square feet of space that Google plans to occupy in the heart of the city. It's a poorly kept secret that the company will soon open a huge new office and networking facility at 111 Eighth Avenue. Google's new base in the city will dump a sizable influx of Google employees into the social and professional environment of Chelsea and the West Village.

 

Where found?  The Village Voice.  Ah, Voice.  It's been too long, indeed.

 

No, folks, I swear that Google isn't building Skynet.

 

But I bet that they will build the biggest computer network in the world.

 

Just a guess.

 

Where can I get a chip for my brain?

 

 

 

 

 

Well Dunn

Only vaguely interesting is that Patricia Dunn, one of the most powerful women in corporate America, has quit.

 

HP Chairwoman Dunn to Step Down in January, to Be Succeeded by CEO Mark Hurd; Shares Up

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. said Tuesday that Patricia Dunn will step down as chairwoman of the computer and printer maker in January amid a widening scandal involving a possibly illegal probe into media leaks. She will be succeeded by CEO Mark Hurd.

 

Via Yahoo News.

 

Much more interesting?  The analysis in the comments from Fark.

grunge

14.92 for 5ml of ink
14.92 / 5 = 2.98
2.98 for 1ml

1 US gallon = 3785.4118 ml

2.98 x 3785.4118 = $11298.668

Printer ink costs $11298.67 per gallon.

 

Sweet Mother of GOD.  $11,298.67 A GALLON?!

Now THAT'S expensive paint.

 

 

 

 

 

Katherine Harris Wins

Well, well, well.

 

MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris overcame a campaign ridiculed even by her own party to easily claim the Republican nomination for the Senate on Tuesday, and Rep. Jim Davis held a narrow lead in the race for the Democratic nomination to succeed popular Gov. Jeb Bush.

Harris next faces an uphill battle against the Democratic incumbent, Sen. Bill Nelson, who had no primary challenger.

"Tonight is great victory for our party and for Florida," Harris said. "It's a great victory because it shows each of us we can overcome adversity to achieve extraordinary victories."

Via CNN.

 

You might remember Katherine Harris.  She's the former Florida Secretary of State that basically sealed the 2000 election for George Bush.

 

Not surprising.  Yet another I weep for American politics as a whole.  A recent gem from Ms. Harris:

 

MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris told a religious journal that separation of church and state is "a lie" and God and the nation's founding fathers did not intend the country be "a nation of secular laws."

The Republican candidate for U.S. Senate also said that if Christians are not elected, politicians will "legislate sin," including abortion and gay marriage.

Harris made the comments -- which she clarified Saturday -- in the Florida Baptist Witness, the weekly journal of the Florida Baptist State Convention, which interviewed political candidates and asked them about religion and their positions on issues.

Separation of church and state is "a lie we have been told," Harris said in the interview, published Thursday, saying separating religion and politics is "wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers."

Electing non-Christians a 'legislative sin'

"If you're not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin," Harris said.

Also from CNN.

 

I do not believe that the word 'sin' means what she thinks it means.

 

For that particular (and amazing) bit of nonsense from one of our elected officials (see:  Deist ), I simply must drag out an old, but beloved, cliche: