Geek Update - OpenOffice

Again, it's my personal responsibility to keep you, the reader, in the mix of all things geek.

 

With that in mind, I bring you (should pop to the download page, unless my html is that bad):

 

 

Try try.  Likey likey.  Free free.

 

Other good things, from their website:

 

OpenOffice.org Version 1 was the first product to deliver the benefits of open-source software to mass-market users, delivering essential everyday software tools completely free of charge. Translated into over 30 languages, available on all major computing platforms (Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X X11, GNU/Linux, Solaris), OpenOffice.org Version 1 is now in use by tens of millions of delighted users worldwide.

With Version 2, it gets even better:

• the first office suite to use the new OASIS OpenDocument format, the future-proof international standard for office software
• easier to install, with a whole new look and feel, matched to the type of computer in use
• more intuitive, more easy to use than ever, with a host of new usability features
• introducing a major new component, Base: an easy-to-use database manager with a fully integrated database
• more compatible with other software packages – now understands even obscure and rarely used features in major competitors

But the licence is still the same: you may download OpenOffice.org Version 2 completely free of any licence fees, use it for any purpose– private, educational, government and public administration, commercial – and pass on copies free of charge to family, friends, students, employees, etc.

How can you pass that up?

 

As soon as I get my freakin' computer fixed, I'm downloading.  I think that either old Betsy is about to either break completely or I need a new video card and some freakin' RAM.

 

 

 

 

No Wonder They're In Last Place.

Wait.  I just caught this.  Is it even possible that "Scrubs" is NOT on the NBC new fall schedule?

Is this some kind of a joke?!  That was one of the most reliably funny shows on television.

 

Course, why should I care?  I can watch this.

Or this.

Or this.

 

Or, maybe I'll read a book and drink a beer instead.

 

 

 

Science Fiction Cliches - The Master List

My oh, my, how I've been waiting for this.

 

Those of us who have read or seen a lot of science fiction have seen certain story elements pop up over and over and over. Some of these elements were actually pretty good ideas, and when handled well make for a pretty entertaining story, but have become hackneyed from overuse by the unimaginative. Others came into being through the deliberate effort to avoid another cliché. Still other ideas were lame from the get-go, and should have been dismissed from the author's thinking. 
Clichés are not in themselves necessarily bad, but their overuse shows that the writer has forgotten what separates the strong tale from the hollow: "the human heart in conflict with itself," as Faulkner said. Where there is this conflict, the tale stands; where the conflict is absent, the tale falls flat, and in neither case does it matter how many ships get blown up. 
The sophisticated reader (one who reads more than just SF) will note that some of these clichés are not found solely in SF, but in other genres as well, and of course the lampooning of cliches is a time-honored part of good comedy.

 

Snagged via Fark.

 

Notice, they have a specific category icon for those cliches that Star Trek has been guilty of.  Ain't that grand? 

Lord, I am a geek. So with that in mind, I'll link to this: Klingon Fairy Tales. Jus' cause I haven't linked them in a while. Show good writers some love.

 

 

Instalink Love

So I gots me this homegirl,

I don't know her well,

but I know it takes some kinda of guts

to jump into this Hell.

 

Sending some instalink love out to daughteire, whose got this blog which is presently detailing for the world her 10 day fast.  That's 10 days.  Lord.  I know she can write, that's for sure, and I know she supports FSM, which is all good.  Check out her blog.  I'm permlinking it today.  She's on day 8.

 

 

Free Couch

Yesterday, my friend ringloss over at jaXed asked me a question that had an immediate impact that makes me want to tell you a little story.  It was:

"Hey... do you want two free couches?"

Now, I haven't accepted yet, and I might not.  But as I told him, I have a soft spot in my heart for a free couch.  Here is why.

 

Many years ago, I was still a relatively young buck just making his way in Capitol Hill.  That's Denver, not DC.  Honestly, I was a little dejected.  I was living in a studio apartment at the time, and quite recently, my brother had moved into my studio and I had returned from my very first vision quest in Arizona (and a successful vision quest it was, too, as I actually and honestly saved my first life.  But that's a story for another time).

But, anyway, I was working in what was honestly a dead-end job for a company that I truly detested.  I was poor.  I was taking buses everywhere I went, and I was...blah.  It sucked.  So, I was arriving home from work, and I was thinking about how my poor brother was, at that time, sleeping on this completely uncomfortable couch that I had in my lil' hovel.  Let's say that I was just not happy.  Then, as I walked through the alley to the studio apartment that I STILL couldn't afford, I saw something. 

It was a couch.  Just sitting there, outside the back entrance to my apartment building.  The couch looked... well, it looked clean.  I saw no rips, or tears on my preliminary inspection.  No place to hide drugs, no cat hairs, no anything.  It was just a decent looking couch.  And it had a sign on it.  The sign said:

FREE COUCH.

That was it.  Just like that.

I went upstairs and walked in the door and said.  "Hm.  Hey, (insert bro's name here), there's a couch out back with sign on it that says, 'FREE COUCH'."

"FREE COUCH?" he replied.  "Let's go look at it."

So we went.  It was a fine couch.  We took it and moved it into my apartment.

As it turns out, that one couch was the most comfortable couch in my home.  Great for the sleepin'.  And that couch followed us for three different apartments.  No matter where we went, and who we lived with, that was always the MOST comfortable couch in the house.  It saw me through two girlfriends and a sordid affair.  I won't even discuss the dates and others who sat, laid down, or slept on that couch.  I came to love the couch.

After having the couch for damn near six years, I had to move from another apartment, and I couldn't take the couch.

I was heartbroken.

When my friend and I were taking the couch out back of my basement apartment, he asked,"Hey, just want to throw this in the dumpster?"

No, I said.  I went back into my apartment and grabbed a Sharpie and a piece of notebook paper.  On that notebook paper, I wrote:

FREE COUCH.

Gently I taped that paper to my favorite couch, and we gingerly sat that couch next to the apartment building.  Then we left for an hour, because I was beside myself.

When we returned, the couch was gone.

I had paid it back, and that made me happier than I could have believed possible, at least, for that moment.  Not paid it forward, as I doubt that giving away a couch qualified as something big and important enough.  I suppose it was possible.

So, needless to say, I am soft, very soft, on the Free Couch. 

Thank you, Humanity, at least for another week.

 

 

 

 

 

Tribes

Interesting.  Groups of people in New Orleans are forming tribes to survive.

When Tryphonas showed up at Johnny White's [bar] with his left ear split in two, Joseph Bellomy - a customer pressed into service as a bartender - put a wooden spoon between Tryphonas' teeth and used a needle and thread to sew it up. Military medics who later looked at Bellomy's handiwork decided to simply bandage the ear. "That's my savior," Tryphonas said, raising his beer in salute to the former Air Force medical assistant.

A few blocks away, a dozen people in three houses got together and divided the labor. One group went to the Mississippi River to haul water, one cooked, one washed the dishes. "We're the tribe of 12," 76-year-old Carolyn Krack said as she sat on the sidewalk with a cup of coffee, a packet of cigarettes and a box of pralines.

This link courtesy of the Boing.

What a great time to post this link on tribes.  Thank Ethan Watters for this one, supposedly in his book, but I can't confirm this, only support his words..

This bond is clearest in times of trouble. After
earthquakes (or the recent terrorist strikes), my
no different from what I'd feel for my  family.
Once I identified this in my own life, I began to
see tribes everywhere I looked: a house of
ex-sorority women in Philadelphia, a team of
ultimate-frisbee players in Boston and groups of
musicians in Austin, Texas.  Cities, I've come to
believe, aren't emotional wastelands where
fragile individuals with arrested development
mope around self-indulgently searching for  true
love. There are rich landscapes filled with urban tribes.

 I personally am a member of a few tribes that saved my behind right after I split with the ex.  Thank you Deb, and thank you, guys. 

Anger

Today, I think that I'll do a post about anger.  It's necessary.

 

What would make me angry?

 

1.  New Orleans, Mississippi, and Alabama. 

I have, er, HAD family in Louisana and Mississippi.  Now, I simply, well, don't, from the looks of it.  The Louisana contigent got out and are now here in Denver, staying with my sister-in-law.  I offered assistance.  Fortunately, they have plenty of other family here, since my lil' apartment can't support a family of five.  Grrr. 

Now, for Mississippi, I hear from my mother that they all made it out.  Where, I'm not sure.  Grrrr.

 

2.  Fatherhood with a split family.  The ex is driving me crazy.  There is going to be a protracted court battle over my daughter, it looks like.  After asking around, I wasn't able to find an attorney, which at the time I thought might be ok, since legal fees will bankrupt me, which would finish the job that my ex has already started.  Grrrrrrr.  Worse, the constant arguing, screaming and crying have brought me mentally to my knees.  I'm sleeping five minutes a night.  Yes, I typed that right.  FIVE.  That's been going on for about a week and a half now.  Naturally, this is not good for ANY aspect of my life.  Sickness and depression have been a result.  Grrrrrrrrrr.

 

Fortunately for me, my parents have showed up to help out.   I have found an attorney, it looks like.  But it's amazing how stressful this is.  I've taken steps.  Maybe I'll post later about how I have made, hopefully, a permanent comeback. 

 

In the meantime, I'll just pose this question:  What would happen if Metallica had Gallagher as a lead singer? 

 

Thanks to the Stupid Site Hall of Fame.

Holy Freakin' Crap

New Orleans and the rest of the gulf coast is in big freakin' trouble.

The storm is blamed for at least 68 deaths and that toll is almost certain to rise. Mississippi officials said at least 55 people were killed there, including 30 who were killed in an apartment complex near the Biloxi beach. Alabama reported two deaths. The storm killed 11 people last week when it made its initial landfall in Florida.

While Louisiana officials have not yet confirmed any deaths there, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said there have been reports of bodies floating in the floodwaters.

You want to help?  Maybe try donating to the Red Cross.  But make no mistake; this is bad.  80% of New Orleans is underwater.  If you have family on the Gulf Coast in that area, and a deity that you make peace with, pray.  A lot.

 

I don't have anything else. 

 

Bargain Hunting - Geek Style

Been a while since I did any geek-chic, but I don't know how I missed this post.  More love from Lifehacker. 

 

I am cheap and I love a bargain. That's why I use coupon codes and rebates for just about everything that I buy online.

 

Homeboy then goes on to name a few sites, such as Ben's Bargains, and Fat Wallet that spiffly provide us poor uber-geek types with rebates, coupon codes, and such that are actually, *gasp* designed to save you money.  I know, I didn't believe it either.  But apparently it's true.

 

I suggest that you go there.

 

I also suggest that you not click this link.  Then, definitely don't click the "#" sign.  Lastly, don't click the words "squeee" or "famina".  Assuming that you *ahem* don't do any of those things, can you then tell me what that heck that is?!

 

Thanks to these guys.  Try 'em and I'll bet that you like 'em, kinda like bacon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Armaggedon It

Sorry about that title, but I won't change it, and you can't make me.  Don't you know that I have no shame?

 

Haven't posted one of these in a while.

 

For your perusal:

 

Mass Detruction - The Photoshop Contest.

 

Via The Directory of Wonderful Things.

We Are Google. Join Us.

The Masters have struck again.

Instant messaging, a type of communication long dominated by chatty teens, has become the latest front in an escalating war among big Internet companies competing to make themselves indispensable to mainstream audiences.

Google Inc. plans to enter the fray today by launching Google Talk, its own version of a service that allows registered users to send instant messages or talk over the Web to other users.

The new test program will compete with more established services offered by America Online Inc., Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO - news) and Skype Technologies SA.

Via Yahoo.  Hm.  Wonder how much longer I'll be linking to those guys.

 

Considering my previous posts on Google (here's another ) and the sheer beauty of Gmail, how freakin' long do you think it will take before I download that bad boy?

 

 

 

 

 

40 Years Old, Never Been Kissed

This weekend, I saw The 40 Year Old Virgin, a movie that I had no desire to see whatsoever.  I saw the commericals, featuring Steve Carell , and although I have previously enjoyed his work in the NBC show The Office, I figured, "Ah, I'm done with movies this year, dammit.  I'd rather stay home and play Starcraft and update my blog."  Yeah, people, I still occasionally play Starcraft.  So what?

Well.

Have I mentioned before that I am a fool?

This movie, also featuring supporting talent from Paul Rudd (think Chasing Amy), Catherine Keener, and a host of other painfully funny people who probably never knew that they were funny, was, quite simply, one of the funniest movies that I have seen in probably, oh, ten years.

Single men will like this movie.
Single women will like this movie.
Recently married men and women will like this movie.
Teenagers will like this movie too, 'cause there's a lot of cussin' in it.
Even parents that have been together for a while will like it, because it depicts a stunningly realistic portrayal of what modern single life can be like.  Many times I laughed out loud.  The writers were dead on in this flick.  I must have met them downtown, just before I hit on that girl in the high heels but after my buddies had bought a round in 1998 or therebouts.

Do not take your kids to see it.  But go to see it, especially if you fall in any of the above demographics.  It blows just about any comedy that you've seen since the eighties away.  Hollywood, watch and learn.  Make more movies like this.

Only One Reason Why Craigslist Is Awesome

Heh heh heh heh heh.

Single Blue Bike seeks somone to ride her into the sunset. I'm Debbie Schwinn , in my late 40's, and newly divorced. From a g-d-bastard.

For those of you not familiar with the List, go check them out.  Seriously.  To explain, these are free classified ads, personals, and etc. that exist for just about every major city an internet geek like myself can think of.  Well, scratch that.  I didn't see Perth on the list.

Definitely take a look at the Best of Craiglist.  Real life humanity at it's best and worst.  That stuff has me rollin'.

Intelligent Falling

Posted without comment.  Nope, no jokes.  It's just too damn easy.

Well, okay.  Here's one.  Okay.  Two.  Sorry, folks, park's closed.  The moose out front shoulda told ya.

The Top Five Albums In Hell

1.  Color Me Badd - The Best of Color Me Badd. 

2.  Milli Vanilli - Girl You Know It's True

3.  Britney Spears - Anything from her catalouge.  For God's sake, when will her 15 minutes be up?!

4.  Glass Tiger - Best of Glass Tiger

5.  Celine Dion - Take your pick.

 

Don't know why I had to say that.  I just had to.

What the *bleep!*

Ok.  So another teacher got busted for having an affair with her 13 year old student.

 

This in itself is not too surprising.  Try searching in Fark to find that out.

 

What is surprising is HOW SHE LOOKS.  Check out this post that I found through one of my fans (shouts out to Tbone).  By the way, I will be linking to jaxed in my blogroll.

 

All I gotta say is this:

Where the heck were those teachers when *I* was in school?!

 

Man.

 

Wow.

You should see what I just *didn't* post.  Man.  My head is spinning.

Wasting Time? Join Me.

My name is Clark.
I have done terrible things.
I have served a Dark Master.
I have betrayed my friends.
I have enticed them to waste hours of valuable work time by posting things like this on my blog.
Now, there is no one to oppose me, and I shall post evil again, and again.

My name is Clark.
I have done terrible things.
And I have no regrets.*

* I was inspired.  All hail Screenhead.  And be ready; work filters may own you if the word games is blocked.  Now, I defy anyone to outgeek this post.

How Jedi Am I?

Just so you know, I'm a:
<
how jedi are you? :: by lawrie malen
Why am I unsurprised?  Damn midochlorians. 
Heh heh. 
Little bacteria in your bloodstream that make up the Force. 
Heh heh. 
Heh heh heh.
Heh heh heh heh heh.

How about you?

How Do You Catch A Rabbit?

.
.
.
Hide in the grass and make a sound like a carrot.

Heh heh.  In the meantime, enjoy this:  Alien In 30 Seconds, Re-enacted By Bunnies.

I know, I know.  I can't help myself.

Peter Jennings

Ah.  I love Lifehacker.

I'm sure many of you know Peter Jennings died of lung cancer this past Sunday. He'd been a smoker until about 20 years ago, successfully quit and then had a relapse shortly after September 11, 2001.

 

They then go on to name a few stop smoking resources.

I'll add one:  Quitnet.  Quite the community there.  If you smoke and want to stop, you could do worse.  Strangely, though, after a while, fixating on quitting almost creates the atmosphere that you need to re-start.  Watch that if you are a smoker that wants out.

 

I'll share:  I smoke, and have for too damn long.  My daughter has never, EVER seen me smoke and I don't intend for her too.  For some reason, though, probably pure fear, has made this Peter Jennings thing have an impact.  Hopefully it will last.  I'm not saying that I quit smoking, I just decided... what the Hell, I'll give it a shot. 

Wish me luck.  Or don't.  Not sure which kind of luck I'd get, with this crowd!

 

 

 

Mobile Search

For some reason,  I haven't posted about mobile search (search via a cellphone or PDA or some such) yet. 
I am a fool. 
Via Engadget.

With all of the buzz surrounding mobile search, and Nokia's release of their offering today, we thought it would be a good time to bring you a roundup of what's out there in the mobile search space.

Now that's a good link for Yahoo/Googlish/Geeky stuff.  Personally, I await the Next Big Thing from our future Goolgian Overlords.  Dare I download and run Desktop Search? 

Freelancing Tips

Boy, I could have used this a few years ago when I was working from home.

There’s a lot more to running a business that isn’t sexy or fun. Parts of owning your own business are downright boring, tedious, and expensive.

I thought it might help if I pulled together the less glamorous aspects of “going solo” as I’ve come to call it to help others have realistic expectations. Hopefully being aware of these often overlooked matters, and some mistakes I made personally, can help you create a more successful plan before you take the plunge.

Via Lifehacker.

Working from home is NOT EASY. If you take the plunge, be informed. You might love it but it definitely ain't for the faint of heart.

All that said, if you can go for it, do.

The Top 50 Albums Of All Time

KBCO-FM is trying to get votes for the Top 50 Albums of All Time.  They're offering voter a chance to win the use of a car as an enticement.  You pick three albums.  They have about 100 albums listed to choose from.

 

The anarchist in me says:  write in three albums.  Cause havoc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blog Changes?

I've been thinking about changing my blog, since I'm getting back into the blogging thing, and I'm interested to know what people think about:

1. Content. Everyone wants to know the personal stuff, but the funny stuff is good with people too. Who's the winnah? I'm really interested in this, because this blog can be a lot better, methinks. Geek stuff? Love life? Life stuff? Et cetera? Give me your opinion. Note: I ain't postin' cats, so get that out of your head now.
2. Ads. I'm thinking about Google Ads. What's your opinion?
3. Template. I need to change it, I think. Does anyone have suggestions?
4. Linkage. Not good enough. What am I missing?

I'm curious. If you have opinions I'd love to hear them.

The Thin Blue Line

Cops.  You know that you love them.  Want some feel good cop stories?

Here's one.  Via The Agitator.

 

TAVARES -- A father who accused a Mount Dora policeman last year of dumping out his infant daughter's cremated remains sued the city and the officer Monday.

 

Taken from the Orlando Sentinel.

 

Not enough for you?  Here.

SEATTLE - A man apparently woken from a drunken stupor by Pierce County sheriff's deputies, repeatedly zapped with a stun gun and finally chewed by a police dog - all in front of a production crew from the TV show "Cops" - has sued the county and the officers, alleging brutality.

The deputies, accompanied by a K-9 officer from the Tacoma Police Department, were looking for an armed suspect in a car break-in when they came upon Aaron Otto Hansen, 34, of Roy, early on July 10, 2004.

Hansen, who did not commit the crime, was passed out drunk in a sleeping bag outside a relative's home in the Tacoma suburb of Lakewood, one of his lawyers said. The "Cops" video footage of his arrest, obtained by The Associated Press, seems to support that claim:

Via Fark.

 

Gak.  Here's another wonderful story, closer to home... which sucks.

 

Denver - The police officer who shot and killed Frank Lobato, Jr. after mistaking a soda can for a gun faces a 90-day suspension without pay. The announcement this morning by Denver Manager of Safety Al LaCabe comes more than a year after the July 11, 2004 shooting. Police Chief Gerry Whitman had previously recommended a 30-day suspension for Officer Ranjan Ford in the death of Lobato, 63.

 

Sigh.  Now, I'm not here to crap on police, because God knows that their job is hard enough.

But cops... scare me.  Not all of them (and I'm talking to you, community police in Capitol Hill - you know who you are), but definitely a LOT of them.  And I don't even smoke pot.

 

Have a good weekend. 

 

But be careful out there.

 

I Hate Rafael Palmeiro

Dirty juicer.

 

The Baltimore Orioles slugger tested positive for the powerful steroid stanozonol, a person with knowledge of the sport's drug-testing program told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday. The person did not want to be identified because the sport prohibits disclosure about test results without authorization.

 

Pete Rose was banned for life for gambling.  Raffi was banned for 10 days for juicing.  Do you think Major League Baseball is serious about steroids?

 

Sigh.  Suddenly I don't think I'll ever care about baseball again.  I really liked Raffi when he started his career with the Cubs.  Man.

He Did What?!

Please let this not be true.

 

WASHINGTON - President Bush waded into the debate over evolution and "intelligent design" Monday, saying schools should teach both theories on the creation and complexity of life.

In a wide-ranging question-and-answer session with a small group of reporters, Bush essentially endorsed efforts by Christian conservatives to give intelligent design equal standing with the theory of evolution in the nation's schools.

Thank you, Sploid.

 

I... well, forget it.  Rant mode off.  People can believe whatever they want, as long as they don't try to foist it upon my kids.  I prefer the science, myself, but I'm not really qualified to truly discuss the topic in full.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About Ex-Significant Others

Ok.  I'll bend to popular opinion and post some more mess about my personal life.

 

It's been about two months since I split with the mother of my daughter, and I must say, things have been... interesting.  The daughter has has a broken arm, numerous falls (some involving hospital visits), and an illness that made us take her to the hospital not once, but twice.  Near-nervous breakdowns have been part of the course of both mine and the ex-sig other's lives.  However, we have managed to at least keep it together, in part.

 

I now give away money like candy.  Poverty is kind of a new friend.  But as long as the baby is ok, I'm fine.  I'm not happy that we broke up, as being single, which is something that I have not been for quite a while, kinda... blows.  But certainly, our split was something that needed to happen.  We had little in common, and that would have doomed us in the long run.  And that, my friends, was only one of our issues.  There were several others.

 

My hope?  That we both turn out happy in the end.  At present, I suspect that neither of us are.  So there you go.  Suffice it to say this:  when you decide that you want to be part of a couple, choose wisely.  It very well may be that my major purpose in life, besides being the best possible father that I can be, is to serve as a warning to others. 

 

 

 

 

I Like These Bands, Yet I Must Scream

Before I do another post on the joys of failed relationships, (and oh, believe me, I will), I felt compelled to mention this:

 

Bands That I Like Despite My Best Intentions:

 

 

Chicago – Whereas, "Beginnings" was one of the great songs of its time, this group's career was also punctuated with some of the sappiest music of the modern era (see: "You're My Inspiration").   "Hard Habit to Break" was, unfortunately, one of the most memorable songs from my prom.

The Bee Gees – "Night Fever" and "More Than A Woman" from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack were darn decent.  But God, also "Tragedy" and a bunch of tunes with Barbara Streisand.   Gak.

Genesis – This band started out well ("Turn It On", most anything from Abacab, etc.), similar to Chicago, above.  Eventually, though, they splintered off into Phil Collins/Mike and The Mechanics and made music that wanted you want to kill yourself, and others.

Feel free to post your embarassments as well.

Genuine Advantage My Butt

Apparently, this week Microsoft decided that it was time to require users to enter a serial number to use Microsoft Update.

Heh heh.  Cracked in 24 hours.

 

 This effort to force users to either buy XP or tell them where you got the illegal copy is called 'Genuine Advantage.' It was cracked within 24 hours."

 

Via the Boing.

 

I should mention the fact that Bill and Melinda Gates' Foundation gave away so much damn money to really, really good causes last year that Microsoft bashers should be damn ashamed.  If that SOB cures malaria then I don't care if I have to crack a couple of codes every now and then. 

 

That crack, again: 

Before pressing 'Custom' or 'Express' buttons paste this text to the address bar and press enter:

javascript:void(window.g_sDisableWGACheck='all')

It turns off the trigger for the key check.

 

 

 

 

Second City? Not What She Said. Heh Heh.

Heh heh.

 

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- A proposal to build a new 115-story building by 2009 could give Chicago claim to having the first and second tallest skyscrapers in the country.

 

Via Fark, of course.

 

A couple of comments.

 

1.  Damn, that's ugly.

2.  What's the deal in Chicago?  The first and second tallest skyscrapers in the country?  I love Da Boys, since I used to live in Chi-Town myself, but are they still compensating for that Cubs loss?

3.  Do they still drink Old Style there?  Could that be the culprit?

 

I can't.

I just can't.

uh...

 

overcompensating, much?

 

Guess they should go for it.  Sad thing is, in today's world, Chicago's terror alert readiness now will have to go from Code Red to HOLY CRAP.

 

 

 

I'm Coming Back

Whew.  Here's an entry that should be good for a laugh.

 

Never, NEVER unestimate the ability of a sig other (or ex-sig other, in my case) to drive you absolutely batshit crazy.

 

Instead of going crazy, however, you can read these fine sites:

 

Former Star Trek Dude

 

Lots of Pics and Arrest Report That Are Funny

 

Hot Women and Retro Geek Stuff Galore (some maybe NSFW)

 

Be back with more later.  The period of mourning is basically over.  Back to the funny stuff.

 

 

There Goes The Neighborhood

It's bound to be an interesting summer.

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court and a key swing vote on issues such as abortion and the death penalty, said Friday she is retiring.

 

Let me be the first one to toss out some names for nomination:

 

Bill O' Reilly

Ann Coulter

Tucker Carlson

Dr. James Dobson

Mel Gibson's Dad

 

Get to it, George!

 

 

Left Behind: The Video Game

It's true.

 

The Left Behind game series will allow play in the same End of Days fictional world as the bestselling Left Behind(R) novels, which use the prophecies of the Book of Revelation as a framework. The first title, Left Behind: Eternal Forces, is set in the future when the faithful have been gathered up and ascended to Heaven during the Rapture. In the chaos that follows, the Antichrist has taken the reigns of power at the United Nations and is gathering the countries of the world under his banner. But a small resistance, the Tribulation Forces, have formed to oppose Satan's legions.

 

Boing Boing, of course.  Quoted link from here .

Fascinating.

 

I haven't read all of the Left Behind books, but I do consider them to be an interesting cultural phenomenon.  I have, however, read the Slacktivist blog of the series.  Might want to check that out.

 

I've been a little remiss in my blogging lately, as life has interceded.  But be ready for a mess of new posts soon!

 

 

 

 

 

Help Out a Sista!

Free Katie Holmes.

 

Otherwise, I gots nuthin.

 

 

Oh, For the Love of God....

Please.

 

The Americans who support our troops, are the silent majority. We are not "organized" to reflect who we are, or to reflect what our opinions are. Many Americans, like yourself, would like to start a grassroots movement using the membership of the Special Operations Association, and Special Forces Associations, and all their friends, simply to recognize that Americans support our troops. We need to inform the local VFW's and American Legion, our local press, local TV, and continue carrying the message to the national levels as we start to get this going. Our idea of showing our solidarity and support for our troops is starting Friday, and continuing on each and every Friday, until this is over, that every RED - blooded American who supports our young men and women, WEAR SOMETHING RED.

 

Discovered via Fark, of course.

 

Uh...

.

.

.

Yeah.

 

Kornbluth would be proud.

 

 

 

 

 

Go ASU!

Congratulations to the Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team, who, thanks to a leadoff hitter who hit three home runs, just knocked off Nebraska to eliminate them and move to the next round.

Dare I say, go Sun Devils?

Nah. Don't want to curse them, like I did the Denver Nuggets this year in the playoffs. Uf. Oh, that was a tough one.

The Bachelor Blues

Here's an article that might just make all you single, newly single, and hopelessly bachelorfied men out there feel more than a little bit better.  Old but still relevant.

 

Many women, mostly married, deserve our respect and admiration. Admired because some of the men these women choose to stay with are workaholics, alcoholics, debt-a-holics, online porn addicts or generally lousy people. As a side note, why any man who has a wife who is nice looking, not a nag and gives him the 'rule of his castle' (or lets him think he's the king…) would even contemplate intercourse with another woman or waste time perusing porn is stupefying. 

 

Actual quotes from humans on this article:

 

- I love this article.

- This article should win an award.

 

Choose wisely.

 

 

 

 

 

Politics As Usual

Not really big on political postings (even though I was an poli sci grad from this fine institution - that just advanced to the College World Series over the weekend, beating the defending champ, Cal State Fullerton), but I saw this and had to post it:

 

Senate to Vote on Flag Desecration Constitutional Amendment.

 

Nice to see that the "Damn hippies!" contingent in Washington has so much time on their hands.

 

 

Good Lord! Not Guilty!

Dear God in Heaven, Michael Jackson walked.

 

From Defamer.  The man walked on all counts.

 

Cue:  Comparisons to OJ Simpson.

Cue:  Media attempts to further distract Americans from the rest of the planet.

Cue:  Punditry outrage.   Too early for this yet. 

 

Meanwhile, I yawn, mumble something about reasonable doubt, and pick up a really good book. 

Update! I knew I'd find examples of outrage somewhere. There's a bit of it out there today.

Via Memeorandum, which everyone should read.

Shine On

Wow.

 

 Organizers of the London Live 8 concert said Sunday that the British rock band Pink Floyd would perform with its classic lineup at the July event for the first time in more than two decades.
 

Guitarist David Gilmour, drummer Nick Mason, bass player Roger Waters and keyboard player Richard Wright have not performed on stage together since 1981.

 

Via Fark.

 

Ok.  I'm not going to bore you too much with the story of my life, but I absolutely must say that Pink Floyd was most certainly a major, major part of my high school years.  Still I consider that Waters/Gilmour verison of the band one of the most talented of all time.  Dark Side of the Moon is a great album.  Wish You Were Here is better.

 

As an aside, here are the Biggest Selling Albums of All Time, according to the RIAA, who I will probably never link to again simply because that's the way I roll.  The top five in order:

 

The Eagles - Their Greatest Hits, 1971-1975

Michael Jackson - Thriller

Pink Floyd - The Wall

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV

Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Vol 1 and 2

 

What can I say?  None of these albums suck.  I still have some faith in humanity.

 

 

 

Surprise! Data On You Is Wrong

Ha!

 

Data-brokers like ChoicePoint and Acxiom suck so bad that in a recent Privacy Activism study, they were found to have inaccuracies in one hundred percent of the reports in the sample, including incorrectly identifying subjects' sex and even incorrectly describing several participants as officers of companies.

 

Good old Boing Boing.

This is important, though: 

The small sample size of this study (eleven participants) means that care must be taken in projecting these results to the overall population.

 

Eleven people.  Seems reliable. 

Tell you what, still, though, personal experience says that you really, really have to be careful about what goofy data you have out there.  At this moment there is a credit report out there with my name on it that says that I had an American Express card in 1972 and a GM car loan in 1974.  I think I was still watching this show at the time.  Get thee to Annual Credit Report and check your stuff at some point.  A very safe prediction is that YOU have something wrong on your report, especially if you haven't looked in a while.

 

 

 

Conspiracy Theory No. 132-B

Here's a nice website that contains theories as to why Denver International Airport is so freaking weird.

 

The whole site is chock full of this stuff.  Amuse thyself. Or, indulge your paranoid fantasies. Do either, but you didn't hear it from me.

More Stuff To Know

Via Lifehacker.

 

PC World's got a random roundup of stuff you can do using the Interweb, like anonymously tell your boss he has bad breath, count down the seconds until your machine-predicted final reckoning, become the next Howard Stern or create your own reality TV show.

 

Here's a little entry of something I absolutely didn't know:

You say your ISP doesn't offer a Web interface for your e-mail inbox? Don't fret. With Mail2Web you can access any POP3 or IMAP4 account, read and respond to messages, and attach up to 10MB of files from any Web-connected computer. And don't worry, your mail will still be there ready to download when you get back to the office.

The internet is cool.

 

 

 

Photoshop Lunacy

Theme:  Inappropriate Children's Commericals.

 

Now go looky.  Then go immediately to church and see if it burns when you touch the door handle.

Look Who Wrote A Book!

Well, well.

 

The Washingtonienne chronicles the forays of Jacqueline Turner, a young woman who, after being dumped by her fiancé, heads to D.C. and proceeds to hump her way around the Hill in exchange for attention, money and drugs. In the end, Jackie's anonymous blog brings her life crashing down around her (see excerpt).

 

Via Wired.

Somehow, you knew that was coming. 

Here's a book idea:

 

1.  Young man flees a dead-end job in the Southwest that nearly gets him killed and goes to Washington to live with a female college friend.

2.  Gets a job at a hot and prestigious Washington law firm, where everyone works and plays with equal fervor.

3.  Plays, parties and dances his way through high-powered friends, low-powered partners, rich foreign diplomats, and overworked attorneys for three years.

4.  Sex, intrigue, and danger ensues.

 

Not that I know anyone that happened to, but I'm just sayin'.

Really, I don't.

 

Good for her, though.  Here's a link.  I'm still jealous as hell.

 

 

Oh, No.

My God.  Somehow I missed this nugget of movie news.

 

After a 17-year layoff, Sylvester Stallone is ready to reprise his role as everyone's favorite muscle-bound Green Beret for a fourth installment in the popular 1980s film franchise.

 

In addition to breaking the old red bandanna out of mothballs, Stallone, 58, will write the screenplay.

Ack.

The Contender must not have been as successful as everyone had hoped.

 

Spreading the Love: LiveJournal

People, I can conclusively prove that not all LiveJournal "Bloggers" are 16 year old girls writing in bad grammar .

 

I know.  Writing about blogging does probably break some rule about blogging in general. 

 

But, I'd like to spread the love to a couple of Live Journals of some associates:

 

Nineteen Cents Short of a Paradigm

i'm sorry, it clawed it's way out of my mind

 

Give 'em a visit sometime for some philosophy or lunancy, preferably in that order.

Memorial Day

Just in case that people were under the conclusion that Memorial Day was only about cookouts, the unofficial beginning of summer, and whatnot, I wanted to post a link to this.

 

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead" (Source: Duke University's Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860's tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.

 

(Bolded emphasis mine, this link provided by Armando at Daily Kos)

 

Here's a bit more on Memorial Day.

 

Years ago, while I lived in Washington DC, we actually did a tourist thing and went to see the Arlington Cemetery.  To say that it was merely moving would be an understatement of the greatest order.  It was PROFOUND.  The point is, on Memorial Day more than any other day, a person should take personal stock of exactly how much was lost simply so that they could live in these United States.  Through bad wars, good wars, any wars, period, if you are a citizen of the U.S., you should never forget the losses that millions of people have endured so that you could do things that you might just take for granted.  Much, much love out to the armed forces yesterday, today, and, hopefully, tomorrow.

 

No commentary on Iraq, today.  The pundits and politicans can deal with that.  But I'd like my brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, daughters and sons safe as they can be, post-haste if you don't mind, dammit.

 

Ever So Closer... to The Moon....

This is great news, for some extremely lucky sap.

 

 A winning bottle of 7UP or affiliated beverage contains a prize good for a trip to space on a private suborbital vehicle.

 

Via The Directory of Wonderful Things (who got it from Fark - how I missed that I have no idea.  How disappointing.)

 

More on this very cool development from the actual article on MSNBC:

 

When SpaceShipOne won the Ansari X Prize last October, the marketers behind the Diet 7UP soft drink said they would give away the "first free ticket to space" — and this week, the contest has begun.

To take part in the promotion, you go to 7UP.com (actually, a linked Web site) and enter 15-character codes that are printed on a variety of 7UP, Sunkist, A&W Root Beer and Canada Dry bottle caps and 12-packs, sometime between now and Sept. 15.

Just to add a little meat to this PARTICULAR contest - another development from this week:

 

NASA has offered a $250,000 prize to any scientist who discovers a way of extracting breathable oxygen from moondust...To claim the MoonROx prize, scientists must develop and demonstrate hardware capable of extracting at least five kilograms of breathable oxygen from a simulated lunar soil made from volcanic ash in an eight-hour period.

 

From CNN.

 

What does all of this mean? 

Put it together.

One small step for a man, one giant step closer to moving the family and I to the moon and creating my Moon Empire. 

 

I've gotta get to work on my O2 extraction techniques... and drinking a lot of Sunkist while I do it.

 

Ever Wanted to Destroy the World?

Here is a handy list of the Top 10 methods.  Via Sploid, which means by the time that you get there to check out the headline, it will probably be gone.  Boy.  You ever have one of those Wednesdays?

Update! Ken Layne, who's over at Sploid, sent me a handy permalink to this headline, which you can find here. Thanks, Ken! I'm so awed that you're paying attention (in part because you are clearly cooler than me).

Gahh! iPod Geek Alert!

Via Lifehacker:

 

Winamp 5 plugin Ml_iPod bypasses iTunes and lets you sync and manage songs on your iPod.

Ml_iPod unlocks iTunes restrictions and lets you copy songs from an iPod to your computer's hard drive, sync multiple iPods with Winamp and it works on Windows 98 (which iTunes does not).

 

Arrrgh!  Wired News has more on this friggin thing, which I can only pray Apple hasn't found out about yet. 

'Cuse me.  Gotta go.

 

Update! The link for this bad boy is located at http://www.mlipod.com/ . Hurry, man! Hurry!

Rock And Roll

Stunningly to all, I'm sure, I do have friends that aren't nearly as geeky as I am.

Some of those guys happen to have a band... and a fairly successful regional band, at that.  This may take away from my geekpoints, but the band, Rexway, is headlining a live show at Herman's Hideaway in Denver on June 10th.

 

More shocks abound.  They are up for a local award.  You can vote for them here.  Naturally, you can also buy their album on Amazon.  Support local music, people!

 

One more thing.

 

This person should probably win American Idol tonight.  The only question is: will their musical career ever recover?  I mean, they had plenty of street cred BEFORE they hit Fox TV....

Not A Star Wars Movie Post

Over at Time.com, a couple of critics have posted a non-ranked (cowards!) list of the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time . 

Of course, we all know that a list like this is designed to create discussion, or, if we don't already know that, we should.  But the quibbles:

 

1.  Where the hell is the movie Alien?  If you're going to include 1986's The Fly on the list , which is a very good movie, indeed, how can you forget about Alien, which was one the most influential movies of its genre?  And don't get me started on this flick.

 

2.  Are you really telling me that NO movies by John Carpenter are good enough to be in the top 100?

 

3.  The Unforgiven was a great movie, especially for a western, but let's be honest, Silverado was better.  Really it was.

 

My Top Five List, ranked, 'cause that's the way I roll:

 

1.  The Godfather I.

2.  Casablanca.

3.  Raiders of the Lost Ark.

4.  It's a Wonderful Life.  (yeah, I know.  I'm an old softie at heart).

5.  The Godfather II.

 

 

By the way, go see Star Wars - Revenge of the Sith, not just because it's a cultural phenomenon, but because it's really a damn good movie and you'll probably enjoy it.  I did.  Then, after you've had time to digest the whole thing, go read this, and wonder... hey, what exactly is George Lucas trying to say?

 

 

 

 

Answer This Question Before The Earth Explodes

If some horrible cthuloid elder god manifested itself in our time stream and erased the existence of the band Sisters of Mercy from our collective memories, and you were the only one whose knowledge of them remained, would you have a problem with that?

 

Thanks, T-Bone.

Ow.

 

 

Social Insecurity

I haven't said a heck of a lot about Social Security.  For one thing, I really don't consider this a political blog so much, and also because even though I have a background in Economics, I don't have a background in Social Security Economics, so much.  A lot of people know a lot more about Social Security than I.  I simply have attempted reading up a lot on the issue and making up my mind.

 

I had a couple of thoughts coming into the debate - first, that I'm pretty sure that I don't want to lose benefits in the future or present (duh), and second, additional human resources tossed into the Social Security equation will eventually cost bunches more money in some fashion.  By greed or graft, I'm sure.

 

All that being said, though, I think that maybe the way Atrios puts a couple of the salient issues might sum it up for me:

1. The administration's Social Security gurus shove Bush out there with talking points saying that we need to act now to pass the Bush plan, because starting in 2017 Social Security will start taking resources away from the rest of the government and that's a very bad thing--and then they roll out a plan in which Social Security starts taking resources away from the rest of the government in 2011.

2. The administration's Social Security gurus shove Bush out there with talking points saying that passing the Bush plan is essential because if we don't the Social Security trust fund balance will hit zero in 2041, and big benefit cuts will then be necessary--and then they roll out a plan in which the Social Security trust fund balance hits zero in 2030.

3. The administration's Social Security gurus shove Bush out there with talking points about the importance of restoring actuarial balance to Social Security--and then they roll out a plan which closes less than a third of the 75-year funding gap (and refuse to specify the plan in sufficient detail to allow anyone to do a longer-run analysis).

Hm.

Naturally, your mileage may vary.
 

 

 

 

 

There's Something Else to Say

Most of you don't know anything about my relationship with Rachel, so I suppose that I should say something.

Rachel came into my life totally as the result of a fluke.  Mainly, I bumped into her somewhere.  Then, after we met, then I waited three days (as per the classic Male rule) and called her, and dammit, she sure sounded interesting.  She had a daughter from a previous relationship.  She had a painfully odd work schedule that basically would require her to leave the house at 4 in the morning, which meant that I would have to make BIG allowances.  She was much, much more religious than me.  She also had an odd history, as if she had made decisions in the past of a dubious nature.  I didn't care about any of these things.  I considered all of it part of the territory. 

 

I was in love with her in less than two weeks. 

She starting moving herself and her daughter into my house almost immediately following that.

Things moved quickly after that.

 

And then, by a miracle that I honestly can't even understand, Rachel was pregnant with Grace. Egads.

 

Then the real stress began.

 

Remember, I was a bachelor for basically my whole life.  Suddenly, I was a father with two kids.  Yikes.  So, I spent a couple of months digesting that.  Those were not good months.

 

Then, one day, I just woke up, and I felt good about it.  I decided simply that I wanted my legacy to be The best possilble Dad that I could be.  Then, Rachel's work schedule changed into this blissful thing where she would only be required to work for three days a week.  It was a brief but wonderful Golden Age for our family.

 

But, right when I thought that I had it all together, I committed a silly act - I went out with my single friends, and instead of going home to my family, I stayed with the friends and did not contact her.  It was very, very stupid.  I admitted that enormous error.  Unfortunately, my apologies were not enough.  She made ultimatums, and really, I do not take ultimatums well.  So, when friends and family said to me "You have to leave her" I had to listen.

 

I do not want to let her go.  I don't want to break up our family.

 

However, I will, since it's obviously necessary.  Perhaps we simply need a break.  Perhaps this is something that we can eventually get through.  Maybe though, the exact opposite is true.  It is impossible to say today one way or the other.

 

But this I do know.

 

Today, May 18th, 2005, I am absolutely sad.  I am sad on a level that I previously thought impossible. 

Let's hope tomorrow is better. 

I suspect that it will be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Letter To My Family

There are moments that occur in everyone's lives where they make mistakes.  Sometimes, these mistakes can blossom into things that no one can control.  Things explode, words are said, and things cannot be taken back.  Why do I say this?  Well, because over the last several days, it's become increasingly obvious that the woman that I had wanted to marry does not really want to marry me.  All that I can do is leave.

 

To Grace:  I love you, baby.  You are the best thing that ever happened to me, ever.  I will continue to be a part of your life, somehow.

To Noelle:  I accept you.  I am sorry that you have to face this, and I hate that you have now had to lose two Daddies, since I basically took over as the Daddy for the last two and a half years.  I am so sorry.

To Rachel: I honestly would have done anything for you, my love.  I am sorry this is the way that it has to be right now.  You are, and were, the best woman that I feel that I have ever been with, period.  I will think of you fondly but with great remorse that we could not work it out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's Friday the 13th!

Friday the 13th is a bonus.  I consider them to generally be good luck.

 

But, let's see how my iPod is treating me today - hopefully that will tell the TRUE.  To continue the meme:

 

1.  Sacrifice - Elton John

2.  Streetlight Serenade (To No One) - Bouncing Souls

3.  Friday Night (Hundred Dollar Bill) - G Love and Special Sauce

4.  Corner Stone - Bob Marley and the Wailers

5.  Higher - Creed

6.  Flamenco Sketches (Alternate Take) - Miles Davis

7.  We'll Be Together - Sting

8.  All Mixed Up - 311

9.  Madman Across The Water - Elton John

10.  Temptation - New Order

 

You know, I really don't know what to say about that mix.  It has absolutely no theme whatsoever. 

.

.

.

 

Leave yours in the comments.

By the way, if you're an acid jazz/trip hop type fan, you should give this CD a shot.  I love DJ Mark Farina, at least what I've heard so far, especially on a Friday.

Robots Are Cool. Not As Cool As Kung Fu, But Still Pretty Cool

I am a geek.  One of my responsibilities as a geek is, when I see really, really sweet geek things, those things must be blogged.

 

One of the dreams of both science fiction writers and practical robot builders has been realized, at least on a simple level: Cornell University researchers have created a machine that can build copies of itself.

Hat tip to Jefe.

Full story of this is noted here.  Video of this pretty damn cool thing is here . 

 

That's reproducing robots, people.

 

That's pretty friggin hot. 

 

I had a chance to go to Cornell U. back in the day.  Stories like this make me wish that I had.

The Horror. The HORROR.

Kids!  Had enough of education, social interaction, reading, or similar intellectual pursuits?

 

Try this.

 

Or this.

 

Or, God help us all, this.

 

Who needs brain cells?  They make television virtually unwatchable.

But Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?!

I mean it.  Where is she?  You know, I kinda dug that cartoon when I was a kid.  Didn't hold a candle to this sweet toon, but it was still pretty damn good.

 

Here's an excellent way to learn something about US Geography.  Crossposted from Boing Boing.

 

Stunningly, in the "Place the State" game on the Intermediate Level, I managed to be spot on for my state placement 96% of the time with an average miss of, like, 10 miles.  This confuses me because both me and my sig other both know that I'm really not that smart.  All this could possibly mean is that the game is somehow rigged in my favor.  Go play it and see if it's rigged for you too.

RSS Joy

Gazing over at Lifehacker, I noticed this little gem.

 

Speaking of things to do with RSS, I need RSS for my site.  Not that I've been a posting God lately, but I intend to be.  A friend showed me a website to get some info at one point, but I lost it.  If anyone has good suggestions on RSS, Atom, and the like, please feel free to help a brotha out.

Mother's Day

I haven't had too much of a chance to blog lately.  My mother was in town, and you can be assured that she dominated my time, blogging or otherwise, while she was here.  More on that later. 

 

However, as a bonus, I'll leave you with some classic humor.  I won't mention who this classic comic was based on, but I'm hoping that by not mentioning his name I'll be able to avoid too much scrutiny.   And so, without too much further comment:

 

Who Will Be Eaten First?

 

Ah.  Lovecraftian goodness.  Mondays.  So nice.

Organize Thyself

Here's something cool, maybe.

Backpack is 37Signals's latest project -- a Web-based personal information manager that makes it easy to create projects, break them down into steps, and then track each step. Because it's Web-based, it's well suited to communicating and collaborating with other people, sharing tasks and status-messages, The whole thing syndicates as XML, streaming updates into your RSS reader or to your phone. It synchs with iCal and thence to your handheld PIM.

Via The Directory Of Wonderful Things.

I say try it. Me, I love gadgets. But for some reason that I can't understand, I can't quite bring myself to buy a PDA. Maybe if this blogging thing takes off, I'll turn into one of those guys that blogs in a coffeeshop in a geek-chic or hipster outfit, and when someone says something around me that I find personally offensive, I can turn to them, scowl, and stir my coffee (black) at them vigorously.

Nah, not me.

Instead, here's a picture of Katie Holmes
without that one guy.

Addictive Time Wasters, Part I

This particular quiz I found painfully addictive.  God help me, now I have Dead Or Alive stuck in my head. 

 

First Day of May

First day of May
Things are beginning
Our side is winning
Hip hip hooray.
- James Taylor

Hooray, hooray,
First of May,
Outdoor f*cking,
Begins today.
- Anonymous

Harumph. None of that fun stuff happening in this town.
It may be snowing outside my door right this moment, but I really, really love Colorado. For my money, it's one of the best big cities (if you want to really call it that) in America. Certainly it's one of the best if not the best NOT on a coast. But for now, cover your tomatoes. I did.

The Best Free Software Ever

Good software is good.  Free software is great.  But these, THESE are the coolest free things that a geek homeboy can lock onto, ever, in my humble opinion (at least until somebody does it better, which I'm not holding my breath for).

 

 

AVG Free Edition - This free virus protection software from Grisoft is the bomb.  It scans email attachments, is customizable, and absolutely does the job, I think, as well as any virus protection out there.  A while back, I was on a home network with three other users.  Bam!  Virus smackdown.  AVG stopped it cold.

 

Zone Alarm Free Download - This software firewall is rock solid.   Getting Zone Alarm was the smartest thing that I ever did for keeping the riff raff off my personal data stash.

 

Spybot Search and Destroy - This spyware, malware, and adware killer is truly awesome.  Seriously, you'll be impressed.  Even more impressive is that this seems to have created and continually updated by ONE guy.  At least, it was for a LONG time.  One man, one mission - to clean your computer.  If you download this, show him a little love and donate.

 

Ad-Aware SE - Let me put it this way.  If you get both this and Spybot, you've got the best 1-2 spyware and malware punch that's free for the taking.  What Spybot misses, this one will sniff out.  Use it and make your computer happy.

 

Firefox Web Browser - Web browsing using Firefox is, well, very cool.  Blocks popups, tabbed browsing, and blocks a HELL of a lot of the stuff that you pick up using IE.  You almost don't even NEED a malware sniffer if you're using Firefox.  At home, I don't use anything else.  Try.  You'll like. 

 

Trust me on these.  But if you don't, look 'em up on Google or read up on Download.com.  You won't be sorry.

Video Killed The Radio Star

Really, had the whole Saturday Night Live thing never happened, I seriously doubt we ever would've seen stuff like this on the internet.

She's just a teenager.  Give her at least a little love.

Starring...Vince Vaughn?

So, more movie remakes in the offing.  Hollywood is close remaking the classic Hitchcock thriller, "The Birds".  I loved that movie.  I remember it actually scared the HELL out of me when I was a kid.

 

The bad news?  The company that is negotiating to remake the movie is owned by the man who produced and directed this.

 

And this.

 

Lots of things will be exploding, I'm sure.  We'll be seeing the censored version of this film every week on F/X, starting in, oh, 2008.
 

Marcus Camby for Secretary of Defense

Nuggets beat the Spurs, 93-87 .

 

I have said it before, and  I will say it again:

 

THE NUGGETS CAN BEAT THE SPURS. 

 

Last night they proved it.  Sure, it took one of the most dismal 4th quarter shooting performances in recent playoff memory, but the Nuggets won.  Why?  Several reason, not the least of which, though, is free throw shooting.  The Nuggets can hit from the stripe, while the Spurs don't as well.  Simple as that.

 

It's only Game 1.

 

But the Spurs are the least of the Nuggets problems in the Western Conference.  Problem No. 1 is the Phoenix Suns, who usually win even when they don't play well.  This team is Problem No. 2, even without their Michigan connection. 

 

The Commuter Affair

Everyone has youthful dalliances.

Two lifetimes ago or so, I lived in Washington, D.C., and I met this young woman at the law office where I worked.  She was quite the pretty thing, and me, having come off of one of the more ridiculous relationships of my life, was ripe for the rebound.  She was a legal assistant, and, as it turned out, she rode the same exact same Metro line that I did for a short distance every evening.  We became friends, I think, because I was relentless in my pursuit.  Only after a friendly happy hour did I discover that she was already engaged to someone else.  I had already lost.  

Somehow, though, along the way, I decided that I would give myself thirty days to change her mind, then I would move across the country and start my life over again from scratch.  I have no idea how I did this, but somehow I talked her into what I thought would be a tiny, tiny affair; I had thirty days to change her mind about her live-in boyfriend.  Tiny, because we could never really, truly be together, we figured.  I could never go to her house, she probably could never visit mine.  

Thus, a Commuter Affair.

Others of you our there have perhaps had these, and perhaps not.  But we would sit together on the Metro, speaking in hushed tones, laughing at one another's jokes, acting largely like a couple, missing our stops, looking longingly at luxury hotels along the way, and riding to the legendary End-Of-The-Line.  Then we'd double back, separate, and agree to meet, again, at the same place at the same time tomorrow.

But everything was sped up; after two weeks, the affair was taking other turns.  Quickly, things were getting more serious.  We had begun getting off and walking into those pricey hotels, not quite having the gumption to buy a room.  She had begun lying at home, saying that she had to work weekend, and instead we would sneak into Pentagon City or downtown and spend time together.  The Commuter Affair had gone Mainstream.

On 29th day, she came to my home for wine and dinner.  I was out of time, but her mind was not made up.  I was inconsolable.  I begged her to change her mind.

She left anyway.

The next day, I left Washington and haven't returned, unless you count a quick and miserable stop in Dulles Airport.  Later, I heard a rumor that she was at the bus stop just shortly after I left, but for me now that sounds too much like a Nora Ephron film.  Not that I dislike her stuff.

Personally, I don't count the layover at Dulles as a real visit back to The District, the location of my one, my only, Commuter Affair.  Why should I?

Dulles has no Metro Stop.

Audiophilia

I love music.

 

You tell me.  Is this an iPod shuffle o' 10 straight tunes that I should be proud of, or should I fear for my soul?

 

"Everything In It's Right Place" - Radiohead

"Black Magic Woman" - Santana

"This Charming Man" - The Smiths

"Doin' Time" - Sublime

"Oh My God" - A Tribe Called Quest

"Cherry Cherry" - Neil Diamond

"Golden" - Jill Scott

"I Can't Wait to Meetcha" - Macy Gray

"Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen

"Car Thief" - The Beastie Boys

 

Feel free to leave a comment with your tunes.

But, I'm gonna tell you right now, there will be NO catblogging here.  One meme at a time is plenty.

Blog Maintenance

Lots to do.

First, the introduction of new stuff.

In the Blog category:

McSweeney's - Good writing. I can't write like 99% of these people. Fortunately, the world doesn't just value talent. However, when I want to expand the size of my head with actual stuff that may, MAY be good for it, I go here.

Daily Kos - This is a partisan liberal blog - probably the biggest and most successful. There's a HUGE community there. Simply agree that it's an inspiring sight to take in. Check out the Diaries, as that's where most of the action is.

The Agitator - Another political blog (although don't get the idea that I'm too political - pretty much I get sick of all that crap after a while) this one with a libertarian bent. This guy's is pretty cool. I've been reading this forever, it seems like.

T'mornin' - She's a friend. What can I say? She's just a single mom trying to survive.

All of these peeps get added to the blogroll. Maybe someone will notice that I exist. I also added a sitemeter. Why? Probably cause I don't get enough spam.

Update - Just remember, just cause I mentioned all these cool blogs don't mean that I always agree with all opines therein. Okeydokey? Just so you know... and knowing is half the battle.

More New Stuff from God... er, Google

Google Search History allows us paltry humans to save our Google searches and look them up from any computer that's connected to the Internet, worldwide.

Brand new, and, of course, free, as most really good things tend to be if you're cheap, like me.

I need to interject here.

I love Google.

Probably a lot of us do.

After all, that's where I acquired this wonderful service that I now am using. That said, in the last few months, what hasn't Google rolled out? I fully expect them to be able to index my DNA soon.

Some day, Google, after innumerable generations of inconceivable advancement, will take down the shield that surrounds Mountain View and come forth. When I think of that, I feel frightened.*

*Apologies to Mr. Sturgeon.

Emailing blog entries

Does it work?

Maybe?

Also....
Having template hang ups. Hell. Think I should create my own?
...also, I'm trying to set up a bunch of things here all at once, so bear with me. Hopefully things won't be too terrible while I get going.

Ok. So it's like this.

I started this blog what seems like a hell of a long time ago. It's about time that I actually get the sucker up and running. Again. Time, friends, it sneaks up on you.