Weather Sites
Weblogs
Other Sites
I'm getting a substantially higher number of hits since the .20 release of MythTV, clicking through from the User Manual, which I helped create (though MikeC and others wrote a lot of the guts of it). I don't work on the wiki as much as I did when it first went up -- there was a bit of a political disagreement over whether news on topics relating to MythTV was fit for the news section on the front page. It got a bit heated, and I decided that I had better things to do; other people had, mostly, picked up the load. I'm not sure I still think that, but no one's been burning up my mailbox to come back, either, so... eh...
In any event, if you're new to MythTV, I hope you have as much fun with it as my sister and I have; it really is, as someone on Slashdot put it, "friggin' awesome!". :-)
If you didn't vote in advance... which, despite my best intentions, I admit I didn't... it's too late now, but hopefully you got out and pretended to vote on a (very likely rigged) Direct Recording Electronic voting machine which doesn't produce a physical-object ballot. At the very least -- even though you can't really tell whether your vote will count for whom you think it will -- I hope you checked the summary screen at the end *very* carefully, as noted below. Oh: and Democrats vote on Tuesday, Republicans on Wednesday... unusually high expected turnouts, y'know. :-)
Older stuff below, and I'll be demoting it after Wednesday...
"Machine Politics" has a whole new meaning, with the spread of electronic voting machines that were designed to be capable of being skewed without evidence to throw elections in one direction or another. (Remember: the Chairman of Diebold promised "to deliver the State of Ohio for President Bush" -- when his voting machines were tallying that election. And sure enough, Bush got it.) But whether you're a Republican *or* a Democrat, being able to buy an election ought to appall you. Thanks to California, who are in the lead on this as they are on so many things (being the most populous state presses you...), there may be hope. Check out the Open Voting Consortium's website for more.
FLASH: Check your vote very, very carefully to make sure it's for who you think it's supposed to be for. Isn't it interesting that these misvotes aren't evenly distributed?
A bunch of good references are buried under the likely accurate, if somewhat overheated, rhetoric here.
And here's even more from Linux Weekly News
The Diebold TS voting machine has a switch inside: you can boot from the state certified code, in PROM... or whatever random code happens to be in the flash memory socket, just by flipping a switch inside the machine that no one can see. Really, folks; I'm not trying to be a crank about this, and neither is anyone else. If you're not old enough to remember Chicago machine politics from the 30s and 40s, go read history. If you let the Government take over, it will.
And, of course, as Time Magazine points out: "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." (Hanlon's Razor, which science fiction readers will attribute to Robert A Heinlein, and history readers to Napoleon.)
The elections are next week. I wouldn't trust a Direct Recording Electronic voting machine and you shouldn't either. So, today or tomorrow, I'll be driving over to the election supervisor's office, and picking up my RealVote
Cathy has written a nice piece about how it feels to be 'that homeless guy at the intersection'. I assume from the photo credit that she wrote it for her usual outlet, the Gulfport Gabber; glad they let her run it on her site as well.
Nothing I didn't expect, but as usual, written in her inimitable style, for which someone should be paying her more money.
Thursday, December 21, 2006 @ 01:02 p.m. - Comment
and a Merry Chris-kwanz-ukkah!
Thursday, December 21, 2006 @ 12:16 p.m. - Comment
What happens when you let two teenagers pick up your nice new black Audi S4 and drive it cross-country to you. [ From Geekologie; which comes from the same people as the Superficial. But I'm not ugly... ]
Thursday, December 21, 2006 @ 11:51 a.m. - Comment
Second, if you get the girl up on her tiptoes, you should kiss her. The electorate is on its tiptoes because Obama has collaborated with the creation of a tsunami of excitement about him. He is nearing the point when a decision against running would brand him as a tease who ungallantly toyed with the electorate's affections.
From George Will, quoted at Political Insider.
Friday, December 15, 2006 @ 10:33 a.m. - Comment
or, like Scott Adams, believe in affirmations, send some in the direction of Seymour Papert, inventor of Logo; in a coma in a VietNam hospital after being hit by a motorcyclist crossing a street.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006 @ 10:11 p.m. - Comment
4 year old hugs teacher; is suspended for sexual harassment.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006 @ 09:12 p.m. - Comment
"We are all players, until we find the right person."
Monday, December 11, 2006 @ 12:43 p.m. - Comment
There are *still* people who don't believe we landed on the moon?
Saturday, December 9, 2006 @ 12:31 a.m. - Comment
A omplete picture of Tommy Westphall's autistic mind -- all the TV shows that crossed over, in one fashion or another, to St Elsewhere.
Friday, December 8, 2006 @ 11:05 p.m. - Comment
Didn't really happen.
It couldn't have. :-) Good luck, Mr. Gorskii...
(Smug? Really? Is that what that looks like?)
Friday, December 8, 2006 @ 08:50 p.m. - Comment
The St Pete Men's chorus, for which I sing baritone, will be holding its inaugural benefit cocktail meet-the-singers mixer this Saturday night, from 7-10 pm, at Studio@620, which is located at 620 1st Ave S, in St Pete. Cocktails and (I think) munchies will be available, and the chorus will be performing several times throughout the evening. And any member of the chorus will be happy to accept your donation. :-)
We'll be drifting down the street after we strike, to Cafe Alma for an after-party, so if you can't get out until late, meet us there instead.
No singing, but still a bunch of cool singers.
And, of course, if you know (or are :-) any good male singers, hook us up, or bring them along.
Friday, December 8, 2006 @ 01:38 p.m. - Comment
I'm torn.
I've always liked and respected Jimmy Carter.
But now I find that a 23 year associate of his is leaving his foundation over the production and editorial quality of his new book.
Reportedly, he sent a letter to Carter saying as much, and received no reply. If all the facts are as reported, I shall have to re-evaluate...
Thursday, December 7, 2006 @ 11:26 p.m. - Comment
NASA TV here, launch blog here. Probably scrub for ceilings, but maybe not...
Yep; they scrubbed.
Why they didn't scrub at the beginning of the window instead of after, I don't know...
Thursday, December 7, 2006 @ 09:29 p.m. - Comment
Yesterday, December 7, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that Nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to the Secretary of State of form reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government had deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. Very many American lives have been lost. In addition American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our Nation.
As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.
Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.
I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces -- with the unbounded determination of our people -- we will gain the inevitable triumph -- so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December seventh, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
The White House, December 8, 1941
Oops.
Thursday, December 7, 2006 @ 06:19 p.m. - Comment
This oughtta keep the little bastards busy... >:-)
Wednesday, December 6, 2006 @ 05:17 p.m. - Comment
A *3* minute Hallmark ad that reportedly only aired once. Clearly it leaked out the back door of their agency, as it has a Leo Burnett slate/countdown on it.
Another long one. My ghod it must be nice to own your own network.
More to come here; I'm on a quest.
NSFW... unless you work somewhere where they don't *mind* you bawling your eyes out. Sister mine: do not click on any of these links. :-)
Wednesday, December 6, 2006 @ 03:37 p.m. - Comment
to Natal Horological Astrology, that the moon is in the seventh house right now.
And that, yes, Jupiter aligns with Mars.
Whether peace will guide the planets, or love steer the stars, she was less clear on...
Wednesday, December 6, 2006 @ 11:30 a.m. - Comment
too boring to run, or too good to check?
I particularly love the Peter Sagal quote, since I'm a major Wait Wait! fan.
Monday, December 4, 2006 @ 11:23 p.m. - Comment
"A priest, a minister and a rabbi walk into a bar. The bartender looks up, and says 'what is this? A joke?'"
Thursday, November 30, 2006 @ 04:42 p.m. - Comment
I will be; my chorus will be the anchor act in Sing Out For AIDS, presented by the AIDS Partnership, tomorrow night (Friday). Curtain is at 7:30 pm, donation is, I think, $15. We'll the last act; I expect we'll be singing between 10:30 and 11.
C'mon out and listen; you'll have fun.
Even if Judy B Goode *isn't* hosting. :-)
Thursday, November 30, 2006 @ 04:36 p.m. - Comment
of the 2006 US Atlantic Hurricane Season.
Courtesy of the Florida Hurricane Center, here's the recap:
As of 11:59:60 tonight, you may breathe your official sighs of relief.
Thursday, November 30, 2006 @ 11:51 a.m. - Comment
I guess I knew it would happen: Microsoft buys Firefox.
Well, it's been a good ride.
Thursday, November 30, 2006 @ 10:27 a.m. - Comment
Cathy isn't always snarky. :-)
And I will note here, for general consumption (except Cathy's, since I don't think she reads my stuff anymore), that I don't think there's anything wrong with her amusingly blogging the crap that inhabits her life; if that crap *were* as earth-shattering as rehab, it would be much harder for her to make it funny.
And she is. Oh, yes, she is.
Everyone's problems are big, to them, Cath.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006 @ 02:25 p.m. - Comment
why Windows operating systems suck so badly, this blog entry ought to explain it all to you.
Sheesh.
Joel Spolsky has something to say, as usual. He fundamentally doesn't understand the complexity/functionality tradeoffs, as usual. Amusingly, some of the original articles commenters expose the *right* way to disambiguate some of those options: hibernate *right up til the last minute*... and then after you're all written out to disk, *then* S3 suspend. Apparently OS/X already does this.
Monday, November 27, 2006 @ 06:40 p.m. - Comment
Cathy disses an older couple (twice her age is old, right?) for, well, being old. This would be easier to accept as amusing snark (which Cathy's very good at, or I wouldn't still bother to read her stuff) if she hadn't dissed me.
I guess the real answer to the question she asked on Thanksgiving is not "do I even remember how?", it's do you care?
I've done "be an anti-social hermit". It's a perfectly acceptable social stance, even these days -- and much easier to pull off, with help from the Internet, especially if you're a writer, as Cathy is -- in fact, it's almost a *requirement* if you're a writer, and mean to make a living at it.
But it does have its costs. And right there's where you start paying.
Yes, yes... "in sweat". :-)
[ I categorically didn't believe that those extra two words made it from the scene they originated in into the show open, until my sister not only played it for me, but played a clip of a talk-show host making *fun* of it. <le sigh> ]
Monday, November 27, 2006 @ 11:18 a.m. - Comment
in 7 parts; Real Media; downloads, about 17MBish a piece.
Sunday, November 26, 2006 @ 04:13 p.m. - Comment
Aw... shit.
:-)
Sunday, November 26, 2006 @ 02:37 p.m. - Comment
See my AxMe, particularly if you think you have an answer...
Sunday, November 26, 2006 @ 02:37 p.m. - Comment
Send this zip file along with an email message, and watch their virus scanner commit pretty bloddy spectacular suicide. :-)
Hint: don't do this, unless you know said email admin well; in particular, it will probably get your commercial ISP account yanked. Fun, though.
Sunday, November 26, 2006 @ 01:30 p.m. - Comment
I expect to glean something interesting from this AxMe thread.
Sunday, November 26, 2006 @ 12:56 p.m. - Comment
can I take a picture?
Candids are my favorites...
[ If you don't know who this is, I'm not telling -- though I don't have any reasonable expectation that this will keep me from getting yelled at. And I've had it pointed out to me that, no, perhaps if I can't be more careful about where the *license plates* are, I *can't* take a good picture. :-) I thought about editing it out, but I don't know that I can get close enough without it looking crappy, and I don't have a paint program installed just now anyway. ]
Saturday, November 25, 2006 @ 01:21 p.m. - Comment
They can, however, design a *damned* pretty website (albeit, one that doesn't scale horizontally to fill the monster 1400x1050 panel on my laptop); the site in question is Tommy Duncan's Tampa-focussed SticksOfFire. He dropped me a note asking for a back-link, and while I don't normally pay much attention to that sort of request, when it comes from people I don't know, I think I'm actually gonna give him one (aside from this) (magnanimous as hell of me, I know; right? :-) because not only is his site interesting... it's pretty. I wonder who the 10 million monkeys are, and if they've been introduced to the *other* 10 million -- the ones who wrote WebGUI. I may be in need of a page designer very shortly...
Wednesday, November 22, 2006 @ 01:51 p.m. - Comment
that not only am I *on MySpace at all*, but the other day I caught myself saying to me "Woo hoo! I got promoted to *sixth place* on $BUDDY's friends list!"
That's gotta be bad, right?
Isn't it a good thing I don't have a security clearance?
Saturday, November 18, 2006 @ 11:34 a.m. - Comment
no one was around this photo shoot with a bomb...
Friday, November 17, 2006 @ 07:23 p.m. - Comment
having to get Studio 60 written in a week.
[ Nice catch, sis. ]
Thursday, November 16, 2006 @ 09:37 a.m. - Comment
picture of Pam:
So far. :-)
Tuesday, November 14, 2006 @ 12:57 p.m. - Comment
in the English language than "There are no active tropical cyclones at this time".
No, not even "hey, honey? Want a blowjob?"
Weather has been *so* quiet this season that all three weatherblogs above are leading with a story about a hurricane... on Saturn. :-)
Sunday, November 12, 2006 @ 02:40 p.m. - Comment
as we say in the television-fan biz, 'the back nine'.
Those are the remaining episodes after the 13 that are the new standard for first-season orders.
It's nice to see that the show, which for my money is starting to find its feet, is going to get the chance to do so. Sorkin's material isn't for everyone, but I don't feel that to be a handicap, even in television. I gather the show is leading all of television in The Demo -- which for this category of show is "smart people and rich people".
More power to it. I, too, have a dual masturbation show in active development.
Sunday, November 12, 2006 @ 02:13 p.m. - Comment
is here:
If you didn't vote in advance... which, despite my best intentions, I admit I didn't... it's too late now, but hopefully you got out and pretended to vote on a (very likely rigged) Direct Recording Electronic voting machine which doesn't produce a physical-object ballot. At the very least -- even though you can't really tell whether your vote will count for whom you think it will -- I hope you checked the summary screen at the end *very* carefully, as noted below. Oh: and Democrats vote on Tuesday, Republicans on Wednesday... unusually high expected turnouts, y'know. :-)
Older stuff below, and I'll be demoting it after Wednesday...
"Machine Politics" has a whole new meaning, with the spread of electronic voting machines that were designed to be capable of being skewed without evidence to throw elections in one direction or another. (Remember: the Chairman of Diebold promised "to deliver the State of Ohio for President Bush" -- when his voting machines were tallying that election. And sure enough, Bush got it.) But whether you're a Republican *or* a Democrat, being able to buy an election ought to appall you. Thanks to California, who are in the lead on this as they are on so many things (being the most populous state presses you...), there may be hope. Check out the Open Voting Consortium's website for more.
FLASH: Check your vote very, very carefully to make sure it's for who you think it's supposed to be for. Isn't it interesting that these misvotes aren't evenly distributed?
A bunch of good references are buried under the likely accurate, if somewhat overheated, rhetoric here.
And here's even more from Linux Weekly News
The Diebold TS voting machine has a switch inside: you can boot from the state certified code, in PROM... or whatever random code happens to be in the flash memory socket, just by flipping a switch inside the machine that no one can see. Really, folks; I'm not trying to be a crank about this, and neither is anyone else. If you're not old enough to remember Chicago machine politics from the 30s and 40s, go read history. If you let the Government take over, it will.
And, of course, as Time Magazine points out: "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." (Hanlon's Razor, which science fiction readers will attribute to Robert A Heinlein, and history readers to Napoleon.)
The elections are next week. I wouldn't trust a Direct Recording Electronic voting machine and you shouldn't either. So, today or tomorrow, I'll be driving over to the election supervisor's office, and picking up my RealVote
Sunday, November 12, 2006 @ 01:41 p.m. - Comment
It was an episode of The West Wing, of course; one in which -- among other things -- the President has to Be A President, talking on the radio to a seaman on a destroyer in the middle of a Cat 4 hurricane at sea with "80 foot seas".
It's not a Funny or Happy scene... and yet I left the room after watching it with a broad smile on my face.
I haven't had that happen with 60something yet, though I do enjoy the show.
C'mon, Aaron... you're not there yet.
Thursday, November 9, 2006 @ 07:01 p.m. - Comment
Also, the Coolest use of Flash ever.
Thursday, November 9, 2006 @ 03:48 p.m. - Comment
Also, the Coolest use of Flash ever.
Thursday, November 9, 2006 @ 03:47 p.m. - Comment
porn!
Clemson University study shows internet access to porn reduces rape. So there. :-P
Thursday, November 9, 2006 @ 11:38 a.m. - Comment
Awareness Week last week, and I missed it.
Damn.
Here's an SFGate piece on porn and the Internet, with an amusing title.
[ thanks to Dan at Flutterby ]
Thursday, November 9, 2006 @ 11:31 a.m. - Comment
this clip should cause people any concern...
[ entirely safe for work, unless you have a radically religious boss; there's really nothing bad going on here at all. No, really. ]
Thursday, November 9, 2006 @ 11:23 a.m. - Comment
I'm pleased (now that I heard us sing last night) to be able to announce the premiere performance of the St Petersburg (Not Entirely Gay :-) Mens' Chorus as the anchor act for The AIDS Partnership's Sing Out For AIDS at (wow, what a cool place to premiere) The Palladium in St Pete.
Tickets are $15, and a sellout is expected, but we'll also being performing in Ingleside on the 3rd, and having a benefit cocktail mixer on the 9th at Studio@620, so if you can't get to this show, you can still come out and be impressed. :-)
More details here.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 @ 03:55 p.m. - Comment
News.
One seat left to go to a Democratic Senate; Virginia will likely go to a recount, if not a statutory one.
[ Courtesy of the Newseum; spotted at Drudge. ]
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 @ 02:02 p.m. - Comment
Geek Girls. Now if I can just *find* one. Oh, wait: maybe I have...
[ thanks to sis ]
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 @ 12:31 p.m. - Comment
for "Democrat Party" control at 11:04 ET.
Tuesday, November 7, 2006 @ 11:25 p.m. - Comment
And their format is *much* better than it was last year, though I'd still be happier to see it be easier to see which party a candidate is at a glance, in addition to the call.
Perhaps color code the boxes, and put a 2-3 pixel gold box around called winners?
Tuesday, November 7, 2006 @ 11:21 p.m. - Comment
negative campaign ad voice-overs -- this will be especially amusing to Veronica Mars fans. :-)
Tuesday, November 7, 2006 @ 10:57 p.m. - Comment
One data point amongst millions...
I voted at Pinellas County, Florida precinct 261, on Sierra Voting Systems terminal 10 of 10 (one machine, #5, was down -- from before the start of voting, I was told -- due to an intractible screen misalignment problem, I was told).
I waited about 3 minutes to sign in, using a 20 year old voc-ed ID card, which was the only thing I had on me with both a picture and a signature. I got a card, and went to stand 9th in line for a machine, which took about 8-10 minutes. I voted, and all the votes I cast showed up on the summary screen -- though without party affiliations, which was annoying, because I voted primarily party-line, and did *not* have a written copy of the ballot with me. I did recognize all the names, though, in the major elections, and it got them all right.
How they'll be counted is, of course, anybody's guess... but at least it wasn't a Diebold machine.
More later.
Tuesday, November 7, 2006 @ 10:28 p.m. - Comment
wants you to know that HBO's documentary is riddled with errors... on a webpage riddled with errors.
So when the Repug's win...
[ Link, though not pointed opinion, courtesy my sister ]
Tuesday, November 7, 2006 @ 12:52 p.m. - Comment
who has apparently decided that I'm too high-mileagemaintenance to bother with, located a pretty cool website: Private Islands for Sale. They'll rent you one, too, if you can't affod to buy... but I saw 45 acres in Maine for $88K; hell, *I* can afford that. Course, you gotta have a boat...
Still, maybe John Clark had it right...
Tuesday, November 7, 2006 @ 11:55 a.m. - Comment
Yeah, Comedy Central won't be the only people covering the fiasco today, but they'll probably be the funniest.
Other sources include Electoral Vote.com (love that http port number, Andy), Pollster.com, National Journal's Hotline Blog and Campaign Tracker, ABC News, MSNBC, and of course, more that I'll come across during the day. Watch this posting for late updates, and I'll break maps out into a separate section.
If you don't really give a crap, go watch some funny videos instead.
And with Republican Dirty Tricks like these, why wouldn't you want to?
Tuesday, November 7, 2006 @ 11:14 a.m. - Comment
How often does that happen...?
[ from Drudge ]
Sunday, November 5, 2006 @ 01:34 p.m. - Comment
You put the voting machines on the critical trust path... and people will subvert them.
I'm shocked.
Shocked, I tell you.
Friday, November 3, 2006 @ 12:43 p.m. - Comment
They're gonna sentence Saddam to hang... 2 days before a US election that the Republicans, all other things being equal, were gonna lose.
Nice, guys.
Don't get fooled again, people...
Friday, November 3, 2006 @ 12:07 p.m. - Comment
We're all over the place, all of us. Try to remember that, even though the Republican Party would like you to think we're more divided than we are...? Did you get your RealBallot
[ Courtesy some guy at Princeton whose name I can't spell; these people, have some other interesting red/blue mappage as well... ]
Thursday, November 2, 2006 @ 01:30 p.m. - Comment
Lesbianism and teenage sex are bad, right?
[ Thanks to Greg House ]
Tuesday, October 31, 2006 @ 04:27 p.m. - Comment
Now I get it.
Cathy has lost the part that thinks I'm enjoyable to talk to. Along with her watch, Buffett tickets(!), bra, and a pair of flip flops she was wearing at the time.
It makes more sense, now...
Tuesday, October 31, 2006 @ 03:28 p.m. - Comment
UPDATE: Props to Nashville PD's Robbie Eggers, who apparently located the missing trailer today, minus one guitar and one bass, which were the only things easily reachable past the cases of T-shirts. Congrats to the band, and to everyone else: the secret is to pack the march *last*...
Ex-local band the Legendary Shack Shakers had their entire touring trailer boosted over the weekend, while on tour in Nashville. If you have an appropriate venue in which to repost this report, please feel free:
Around noon today our trailer was stolen in Nashville.. ALL of our gear was in it including my White Falcon and the weathered Orange 6120 Gretsch. Mark lost a red Kind Doublebass Road Kingand a Fender precision electric bass. Jd lost his 59 reissue Bassman and a hi powered tweed twin. I lost my blonde Fender Supersonic head/ 4 12 cabinet, my 55 watt Germino LV Head, and an Ampeg super rocket 2x12. I had a Fulltone OCD pedal, ibanez tube screamer, boss blues driver and sever boss tuners. The cab and ampeg were in R&R (anvil style cases) spray painted " destroyers". Ther germino was in an Anvil head case.
Mark's amps were Fender Pro 1200 head and two Fender 8x10 cabinets. His head and tuner were in a white Star Brand road case.
There was also a full double kick Pearl drum kit and tons of merch, cables ect ect.. Ill have all serial numbers later but 95% of this is one of a kind gear.. Please copy and paste this in any board you can to get the word out there...
I'm in in shock .. please help us find this!!
thanks a million..
big luv
david lee
myspace.com/legendaryshackshakers
Just on actual value, that looks like $15-20 grand, not figuring the value of a bunch of the classic gear involved. I'm sure they're pretty devastated, so if you know anything, drop a dime, 'k?
Monday, October 30, 2006 @ 10:41 a.m. - Comment
has long been my favorite CMS; I hope to move the blog to it Someday Soon<tm>.
But I always wondered how many people were running it in the Real World...
57,600, give or take a few...
Wednesday, October 25, 2006 @ 10:37 a.m. - Comment
(It's a detective thing)
What actually happened to Rocky Horror at Tampa Theatre last year. [More]
This year: Friday at Channelside, 10pm, and I may also make the Beach show, Saturday night.
Monday, October 23, 2006 @ 02:21 p.m. - Comment
For half a dozen reasons, good, and not so good, I've totally failed to make it to Jazz this year, and I probably won't make it today either. Drat.
On the other hand, I ran into an old... friend (?) this morning at Panera, who sat down to chat for a bit in the chair I strategically left open (ok... busted :-). She's having hubby trouble this week, and since I don't plan ever to reveal whom she is, even under threat of torture (which, this country, these days, you can never tell...), I can note that it involved too many Long Island Iced Tea's, getting out of a moving car -- twice -- and several threats of the sort that get you Baker Acted.
They did; she was stopping in for brunch before heading to PEMHS -- whose name is much stupider than it used to be, for reasons that have never been fully explained to me.
She seems to be dealing with it well, which is nice, because I've always liked her (though I'm never been entirely sure what she thought of me)... and no, it's not *solely* because of her figure.
Though it's a pretty nice figure.
(Adult, male, heterosexual, single, normal endocrine balance, not embarassed about it anymore; sue me...)
No, it's because she a) can actually carry a conversation and b) bothers to.
Sunday, October 22, 2006 @ 01:54 p.m. - Comment
Saturday, October 21, 2006 @ 12:21 p.m. - Comment
Every once in a while, I go a-Googling for web references to and comments on the RFC I wrote in 1997.
Friday, October 20, 2006 @ 12:45 p.m. - Comment
27th year gets underway tonight, as it has for 2 decades, in downtown's Coachman Park.
Highlights are local Mindi Abair and saxman Richard Eliot (who, hopefully, will play his absolutely kickin Somewhere Over the Rainbow) Friday, and the Cherry Poppin' Daddies on Sunday (is anyone really interested in tonight's headliner, Kenny Gorelick? :-)
But the big name; the head honchos; the main enchilada...
The Manhattan Transfer are playing Saturday night, people.
I will be at that show if I have to deputize someone to have my heart attack for me (which, the way I feel this week, may not be a joke)...
Great stuff; I'll have my laptop with me, as well as my camera, so look for pictures and reportage, such as it is or will be...
Thursday, October 19, 2006 @ 06:01 p.m. - Comment
Seems WCTQ -- to whom I don't actually listen much anymore -- fired the last original DJ they had when I discovered them by accident 5 years ago, Maverick.
Here's more, and thank ghod for local journalism...
Saturday, October 14, 2006 @ 12:21 p.m. - Comment
of a modern network drama hack.
That had *better* be the topic sentence of an SNL sketch in the next month... or else.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006 @ 09:39 p.m. - Comment
to Robin, on finding out that Ted has invited a hot blonde to Marshall's law school party (and if I have to tell you which TV show this is, to hell with you):
"What is wrong with you? God; I feel like I'm teaching 'love as a second language', here."
Wednesday, October 11, 2006 @ 07:42 p.m. - Comment
I only found looking up a punchline for my sister:
Monday, October 9, 2006 @ 12:15 p.m. - Comment
The Slep brothers, who founded Sound Choice (one of the top 3 labels in the karaoke business) appear to want us to believe they invented karaoke.
Course, from looking at them, I guess they're too young to remember Mitch Miller.
Sunday, October 8, 2006 @ 01:29 p.m. - Comment
7/7/7
---
For all but a very brief period at the beginning of our history, the word ship will mean space ship. Many will be named "Robert A. Heinlein."
Only one will ever be the first.
Saturday, October 7, 2006 @ 08:24 p.m. - Comment
Not Crazy On You, which is the riff that keeps going through my head when I see the title...
A month or so ago, I got the bright idea that it might be nice to assemble a collection of Jennifer Crusie's not-exactly-romance novels in hardcover (they're insanely cheap on eBay, as it happens) as a Christmas present for the friend who pointed the author out to me.
In the interim, that came to look like a dimmer idea; luckily -- because Media Mail moves at the speed of the Department of Motor Vehicles -- I like her writing enough to keep them myself.
This one's about a teacher at a small-town high school who's dating the baseball coach. And several of her friends. For all of whom the grass... over there on that side of the fence?... is looking more and more color-saturated. (Perhaps they use Photoshop.)
A couple of the relationships in question work out for the better (including her mother's unexpected affair), but hers, well... not so much.
The expected accusations from everyoneabout "breaking the coach" ensue, until it starts to become apparent to everyone -- even his ball players -- just how crazy for her the coach is.
As usually for Jenny, nice characters, well drawn; believable situations with reasonable (though not necessarily expected) outcomes. Fun was had by me. Read it.
Saturday, October 7, 2006 @ 06:40 p.m. - Comment
That I totally support Dennis Hastert as Speaker of the House.
Friday, October 6, 2006 @ 11:44 p.m. - Comment
a new asshole over it's "Dead DNS" service.
I guess markets are conversations, huh?
Friday, October 6, 2006 @ 09:30 p.m. - Comment
That is, how many people have to walk in front of a bus for it to go tits-up?
Thursday, October 5, 2006 @ 03:05 p.m. - Comment
It's that time of the year again; The Clearwater Jazz Holiday is this month, October 19-22, in Coachman Park, downtown clearwater; this year's headliners are Kenny Gorelick, Richard Elliot, and The Manhattan Transfer on Saturday night.
Their website, which *still* sucks, is here. They did get one thing right, though: The logos on the sponsor page actually link to the sponsor's websites, in general. Go give those people money, and tell them why.
Local hot-chick sax player Mindi Abair opens for Elliot on Friday, and she is good, so if hot women giving great sax does it for you, don't be late. I'm planning to be there again this year with the laptop, and perhaps I'll be able to file on-site for a change. Should have lots of cool pictures this time, too.
Gotta buy some comfortable shoes, first, though.
Tuesday, October 3, 2006 @ 12:05 p.m. - Comment
I've been pointing out this essay in the other place I have it posted a fair amount lately (which tells you everything you need to know in the first place) so I figured it might be time to put it up here, again...
Zero Tolerance.
They're words we hear fairly often these days. "Zero tolerance on drugs." "Zero tolerance on guns and knives at school." "Zero tolerance on seat belts and child seats."
The intentions behind zero tolerance policies seem good, in the abstract: people are prone to make up excuses when we try to bust them for things they shouldn't be doing -- to try and take advantage of the better natures of whomever it is that's busting them for whatever they shouldn't have been doing. ZT policies are an attempt to counter that; to make sure that "people get what they deserve".
Well, I think that as a society, if we continue to encourage, and indeed, to permit, ZT policies, we're going to get what we deserve, alright. It just won't be what we expect.
Or what we want.
It goes back to school, really. School-age children, and especially elementary age ones, are given rules to follow, and very little -- if any -- leeway in following them, because the younger you are, the less capable you are (and are considered to be, though they're not always in sync) to exercise good judgement.
That's the goal, right? Teaching kids good judgement.
So how, exactly, does not ever allowing them to break the rules to see if they've figured out what constitutes good judgement contribute to that? That's how you grew up, right? You decided you were "old enough" to break the "don't ever touch the stove" rule, or the "only cross at lights" rule, or the "don't have sex" rule, and you lived to tell about it, and the costs, if any, weren't too high.
But in a ZT environment, you can't do that. In fact "You Can't Do That" is the slogan of the zero tolerance movement.
But it's even worse than this.
Completely ignoring for a moment those ZT rules that apply to adults, the ones that apply to (let us say) high school age kids have their own problems -- you know, high school age kids like the valedictorian who was suspended, blew her perfect attendance record, wasn't allowed to walk at commencement, and lost her scholarship to college from the state because her Bright Future was tarnished by... a left over butter knife on the floor of her car (from a weekend move to her own first apartment).
She was almost arrested on felony weapons charges in the bargain.
And there's nothing the administrators can do about any of it, because they have Zero tolerance rules about weapons on campus.
Weapons.
A butter knife. Not even a sharp edge, there, folks.
What do these zero tolerance rules actually tell these kids?
Well, I think they tell them that their Adult Supervision... needs adult supervision. When we tell the kids we're trying to teach that we don't trust their teachers, administrators, and even the police and judicial system to exercise mature judgement, why should we be surprised when so many of them seem not only not to aspire to the things we aspired to as children... but not even to care much at all about anything in life.
We're getting exactly what we asked for. It's just not what we wanted.
Guess we exercised bad judgement, eh?
Lots more here and at Zero Intelligence ("Ladies and Gentlemen: It's The Pinellas County School Board!")
Saturday, September 30, 2006 @ 03:33 p.m. - Comment
Where's my damn Jet Pack.
Friday, September 29, 2006 @ 02:03 p.m. - Comment
(originally posted at Grey Matter)
"If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice."
-- Geddy Lee, singing about Meredith Grey.
Well, ok, no, he probably wasn't actually singing about Mere, but it's close enough for government work.
It's a whole shiny new season. I get beautiful blondes going topless on street sweepers in New York; Denny Crane noting that "if you were the new kids, you'd have shown up last week, in the season premiere" (which is a very funny bit, but Shonda and company, don't *you guys* dare try to pull it), I get Josh and Chandler, er, um, Matt and Danny (and Danny :-) trying to save Friday Night television (from itself)...
and we get you. Trying to make Thursday nights 'Must See' again. Or something like that.
Nielsen says you're succeeding.
Last night's fast nationals haven't made it to the Futon Critic yet, but let's assume you took the night again, and you're going to be top 5 two weeks running. I think we'd all have to agree that this doesn't suck much at all.
I'm pleased to see that lots of other former Callie-haters (or Callie-meh'ers) are coming around to what was my point of view all along; Callie really stepped up this time, taking credit for the panties (which was doubly funny cause, y'know, lives in the hospital). I was a bit disappointed that Meredith didn't see fit to *thank* her for it, and that's a scene I hope we see this month.
Katie. Katie? What do we say about Katie? Some of the best acting to date, on a show which -- let's face it -- isn't exactly bereft of good acting to begin with. And all without makeup. Pat Katie on the back for me, willya?
Justin too; his turn to step up was in Denny's room, and he's backed it up by giving a (possibly) dying woman what she so clearly wanted -- and of *course* Alex had a condom in his pocket. (Though it would have been nice to see him taking said wallet out of his pocket as he walked to the bathroom -- it's the little things...)
And the writing.
Oh, the writing.
People are finding things to complain about over at Studio 60 already -- though those of us who worship at the Church of Sorkin are probably a lot more tolerant. House MD came out of the gate on drugs, without even the benefit of a "Pam hears Bobby in the shower moment" -- which is what Shore gets for letting his premiere eps for the season be written by *four* people (eeediot).
But you.
You guys, you got it right. You got cupcakes, and you got shiv'ah (and who's Jewish? "Sitting" is what you do -- and Wikipedia explains why), and you got McSteamy, whom even I think is hot -- and I'm straight. And you have Finn saying all the right stuff.
And then you have the show running past 21:00:00.
You -- and I mean this in the nicest possible fashion -- *have got to freakin' do something about this*.
Yeah, yeah, ok, the network is scheduling encores on Friday nights -- so that you can have even more viewers that Nielsen *won't count* (unless you know something I don't -- sure, let's let those CSI fans watch *that* in the timeslot that Nielsen *does* look at). But the "runs a minute *past* when everyone's recorder stops thing is getting rapidly old.
Clearly, Tribune Media (who, so far as I can tell) supply the electronic program guide data for my sister's MythTV box and everyone else's TiVo's *will take* start and stop times that are at 1-minute granularity; ER has started at 9:59 for years.
BUT YOU HAVE TO TELL THEM. FAR ENOUGH IN ADVANCE THAT WE GET IT. That's 48 hours in advance usually. Is that *really* that hard to get done? We love the show. We hate missing the end. WWJFD?
Oh, and one last point while I'm ranting.
I see that some of your favorite phrases have turned up all over the place on mugs and T-shirts. Do Not Permit Your Lawyers To Screw With That. Lawyers are not *for* making business decisions, and the people in question are being careful to avoid actual trademark infringement.
Fox screwed this up last decade, and pissed off a lot of the paying customers.
You guys are smarter than that, right? You have the power. Use it.
/soapbox
Like everyone else -- though probably less effusively; I am 41, male and straight :-) -- I love the show; you're doing all the right stuff; don't change until next season.
Friday, September 29, 2006 @ 01:31 p.m. - Comment
this guy, for having the right answer to how I should adjust my client's SuSE 10.0 on his new super-tiny Sony TX750/p subnotebook with a 1366x768 (where *do* these people get these resolutions?) LCD.
It's running fine now, after SuSE having successfully resized the Windows XP partition down from 80GB to 12GB. One CHKDSK and it booted up like a top; found the wired and wireless ethernets on the first try, as well as the audio and it hibernated successfully on the first attempt as well.
I guess I can recommend this subnote for SuSE 10... if you have the 2 grand to drop on it.
We did *not* test Skype on it, but I expect it will probably work ok as well; newer versions have KDE audio handling built in.
Monday, September 25, 2006 @ 10:46 p.m. - Comment
That will power your electic car for 500 miles on a 5 minute charge?
I guess we won't have to walk 500 miles anymore... More here.
Monday, September 25, 2006 @ 03:58 p.m. - Comment
Well, then; check out the Real Book.
I love stuff like this...
Monday, September 25, 2006 @ 12:29 p.m. - Comment
but couldn't afford the $40K a year tuition -- and you're not Izzie Stevens, and cant pay off the loans by modeling :-) -- then have we got a deal for you. (Some restrictions apply... )
Monday, September 25, 2006 @ 11:49 a.m. - Comment
a helicopter landing zone. A guide for those with IQs of 140 or greater.
Sunday, September 24, 2006 @ 12:27 a.m. - Comment
knowing that our government is hard at work securing the nation's airports.
In Bizarro-world.
Sunday, September 24, 2006 @ 12:18 a.m. - Comment
and those who mind, don't matter.
Saturday, September 23, 2006 @ 11:55 p.m. - Comment
that works at ludicrous speed.
Saturday, September 23, 2006 @ 11:22 p.m. - Comment
"I've got a dual masturbation show in active development."
Aaron is Back, people.
I won't know what the overnights are like until, well, it's been overnight. But I'm betting it will pick up most of the West Wing's audience. It pretty much has everything. Interestingly, Aaron is poaching on David E. Kelley's territory: using network television to bite the hand that feeds him. David E. tied Les Mooonves to a chair and almost blew him up, though; I don't think Aaron will *quite* get away with that.
Monday, September 18, 2006 @ 11:08 p.m. - Comment
Everything CDCp knows is here.
Short version: don't eat (fresh) spinach until we tell you it's ok.
Monday, September 18, 2006 @ 05:29 p.m. - Comment
were talking about high-mileage Saturns, and on one page where 3 300K mi and 1 400K mi cars were mentioned, someone also mentioned the "Nordstrom takes back a tire they didn't sell" story.
Should you believe that story?
Monday, September 18, 2006 @ 11:17 a.m. - Comment
Well, *some* of them "log". I'm heartened by their neologism-free weblog title, and thoroughly enjoying the content thereof. Well, as thoroughly as is possible when you're as miserable as I am this week...
Sunday, September 17, 2006 @ 04:08 p.m. - Comment
Saturday, September 16, 2006 @ 04:18 p.m. - Comment
about computer software UI design, and why lots of the visionaries in that field suck at it.
Saturday, September 16, 2006 @ 03:49 p.m. - Comment
I'm going back the Bishop tonight, for the first time in about 23 decades (that was supposed to be 2, but it's so funny I'll leave it in... "as we proceed into the 321st century..." :-)
we're going to watch music videos, I guess, on Frank's 2000" TV -- with those 20,000 watts of Dolby sound.
I don't, actually, think that they're smart enough to include that song, but I will point it out to them; it's really too good to skip.
I haven't been to a laser show since... oh, the Police, I think, with Alison Smith, in about 1983 or 4 (based on which car I was driving at the time -- don't you do that? Remember when something happened by extraneous stuff like what car you owned? or where you lived at the time?); I always wanted to go see the extended-length all-4-sides-of Dark Side Of The Moon (2 shows on the weekend, instead of the traditional 3, because the album was so damned long)... but I don't remember that I ever did.
Laser Fantasy was The Shit, when I was in high school; it will be sociologically interesting to see who shows up tonight...
Saturday, September 16, 2006 @ 02:02 p.m. - Comment
I've come to the conclusion that they work best when they involve individuals who have a firm grasp on their own neuroses, and the others', and they're willing to tolerate those, and vice versa.
I described this once, WRT my best friend and his GF, this way: "They're finding the keys to each others' baggage."
Wednesday, September 13, 2006 @ 09:33 p.m. - Comment
of a business website where the clear intelligence of the copy -- the sense that they know what they're doing, over there -- outweighs the amateurish design of the site, check out Blue Jeans Cables. If you know cables, like I know Susie -- er, um, "cables" -- then you'll appreciate what I mean.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006 @ 04:55 p.m. - Comment
is just so much for you, Cathy. :-)
Tuesday, September 12, 2006 @ 04:34 p.m. - Comment
Well, the second richest man in America, apparently. Who knew?
Mitt Romney, the Mormon who would be President (thank ghod *that* ain't gonna happen) has a different view:
"The practice of polygamy is abhorrent, it's awful, and it drives me nuts that people who are polygamists keep pretending to use the umbrella of my church," he adds in his ornate office at the State House. "My church abhors it, it excommunicates people who practice it, and it’s got nothing to do with my faith."
[ First part spotted at Flutterby, second part at Druge; you get that, Beka? You're abhorrent! :-) ]
Sunday, September 10, 2006 @ 08:38 p.m. - Comment
Premium Petroleum is gonna help a scammer get all your money. But, if *you* short it too... :-)
Thursday, September 7, 2006 @ 12:32 p.m. - Comment
has happened to the industry.
That's the Statler Brothers' sad lament on the state of Movies You Can't Take Your Kids To, and the hook has been running through my head for years, though ghod only knows where I ever head the song (it's Old Country, and 1:54).
It was brought back into mind by a bit in Blazing Saddles, and thanks to Gnutella, I have my very own copy. Long Tail indeed...
Thursday, September 7, 2006 @ 12:55 a.m. - Comment
That's what NHC says -- the new 5 day is a clean miss, into NORTHLANT. If it turns that hard, even New England won't get it.
Wednesday, September 6, 2006 @ 12:36 p.m. - Comment
Appears, at the moment, to be headed about where Ernesto went after he piddled his way across Florida: the Carolinas and Virginia. Hope you're not there. I'll put up the StormBar when the 5-day touches mainland, and start a track. If you're interested earlier, see the CFHC, above.
Wednesday, September 6, 2006 @ 12:03 a.m. - Comment
I've really gone and done it now.
I've joined a chorus.
Oh, ok, I like to sing, and I've been doing it in public for oh, 17 years or so--but that's karaoke. They put the words right up there in front of you. And you don't have to sing insanely obscure, close-register 4 part harmonies to songs you've never even heard of.
It'll be fun.
If I survive it...
[ I'll let you know what it is when it becomes clearer if I'm still going to be involved long enough for it to matter. You know, my 5 faithful readers... ]
Tuesday, September 5, 2006 @ 11:38 p.m. - Comment
Someone in my Google searches wonders if Tampa Theatre will be doing Rocky Horror -- ever again.
I wish I knew, too. John Bell cancelled it last year, though it was a known sellout, for reasons which were never ssatisfactorily explained, and which I will therefore have to interpret as "he's insecure about his job as director; he thinks the cast thinks they have him over a barrel, since they know the show is a sellout; he'll be damned if anyone will have him over a barrel."
Whatever the reason, I believe it's unknown whether they're doing it this year, either, though we should be into rehearsals. I'll check around.
Tuesday, September 5, 2006 @ 02:19 p.m. - Comment
was promoted this morning. Way out east; the NHC 5-day track says South Carolina in a week, if it gets that far; we'll know more in the next 72 hours. Doesn't look like a Gulf hurricane, though, at the moment. Spaghetti models from CFHC, on the WeatherBar.
Tuesday, September 5, 2006 @ 02:13 p.m. - Comment
No, Alanis, none of those things are ironic. They *just* suck.
More Fun with Aspect Ratio, and I liked the overdriven audio track, too...
(Yes, yes, Pam; I *know*...)
Monday, September 4, 2006 @ 05:24 p.m. - Comment
And yet another entrant in the "I Don't Understand Aspect Ratio" sweepstakes, at that.
Monday, September 4, 2006 @ 05:22 p.m. - Comment
that no one ever goes to a Beethoven concert and yells out "Classi-cal!!!!"
As befits a fan of Savatage and TSO, I sort of have to like classical-inspired rock and roll, and that clip you've been hearing about everywhere on the net? The one with the Korean kid doing the heavy metal version of Pachelbel's Greatest Hit? It's here.
Additionally, check out this hilarious mashup of the Star Trek TOS and Simpson's themes.
Monday, September 4, 2006 @ 05:01 p.m. - Comment
No, not the campfire scene in Blazing Saddles... I'm talking bout gasoline. Petrol. Go juice; that stuff that makes your car keep carring along.
The "Don't buy your gas from Citgo" email seems to be making the rounds again... and while Chavez is an asshole, boycotting his gas stations isn't going to help the way the writers assert it will.
In fact, probably your best bet, if you are on the other side of the coin, and don't want to give all those baaaad Saudi's any money (and if you don't know why you shouldn't, go get Mike Moore's Farenheit 9/11 Reader and, well, read it...) you should probably get your gas where I do: Sunoco, who get most of their crude from Canada, Angola and Nigeria, it seems. My BMW likes their gas better, anyway...
Monday, September 4, 2006 @ 04:43 p.m. - Comment
"Any man who can honestly say he enjoyed a Jennifer Crusie novel is guaranteed to get laid."
A friend of mine said that, or, ok, something akin to it, a couple of days ago.
Be nice if she was right, but either way, Fast Women was a helluva ride. :-)
Nell Dysart just got a divorce. She feels like her life is falling apart, until she ends up getting a job as secretary to Gabe and Riley McKenna, private detectives whose former secretary, Lynnie Mason is out for six weeks. Nell sort of moves in, and takes over the place, cleaning up, repainting, organizing, and tussling with Gabe over his ugly, unprofessional business cards.
But she soon finds out that there is larger game afoot than ugly business cards, when she's thrown into murderous intrigue (ok, that's kind of melodramatic, but I've always wanted to say it) concerning both Gabe's family... and her own.
Gabe's dad used to be partners with her father-in-law (which is how she got the interview), and one sold the other his 1977 Porsche 911 Turbo for $1, for reasons which remain obscure until almost the final chapter.
Along the way, Nell's sister gets a divorce, Gabe's semi-ex-wife goes on a Eurail trip, 11 glass award statuettes pretty much demolish a very pretty office desk, and Gabe's daughter ends up dating Nell's son. Oh, and lots of people start turning up in freezers. Including our Nell. When she's not falling in love with Gabe.
Jenny Crusie writes a damn good detective novel -- and I'm not characterising this one as a 'romance', as her publishers seem to; there wasn't all that much sex or angst in there that I don't find in a good Spenser novel, and the writing's on a par. I found myself hoping -- because I *like* series novels -- that she (or someone like her) might grab these characters and run with them a little bit... but alas, I don't think that's likely to happen.
Which is a shame, because they're well defined and compellingly drawn; you actually give a damn what happens to them, and I found myself predicting how I thought they'd respond to stuff... and nodding approvingly when I was right (which was most of the time, which means that either she's a good writer, or I'm way too self-important :-).
Parker tends to describe people and their attire in detail in his books, Crusie does it to inanimate objects; either way, it contributes as much to e reader's enjoyment of the story as it does to word count... but this novel was longer than most of Parker's, and even denser; there are usually stretches in a Spenser novel I can gloss over with impunity. In _Fast_Women_, I found that if I tried to pull that, I got very quickly lost: the narrative is so densely packed, and moves so rapidly, that if you skip over anything, you'll lose track.
I read a lot, but I tend to re-read comfortable old favorites; it takes a bit of nudging one way or another to get me to pick up a new author.
Thanks for the nudge, Cathy.
Monday, September 4, 2006 @ 02:36 a.m. - Comment
who's trying to figure out how to get pictures onto his BlackBerry 7100i:
put them on a webserver somewhere, go there with the web browser (directly to the .jpg URL), and pick Save Image off the trackwheel menu -- they'll show up automagically in your Pictures app.
Saturday, September 2, 2006 @ 06:01 p.m. - Comment
(or Ted Geisel, for those of us who like popping people's magic balloons :-) is notable for lots of wonderful rhythmic poetry (I haven't a lot of patience for the other sort), but also the occasional thought which doesn't rhyme, but is still profound:
"Be who you are and say what you like. Those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind"
Which is a slightly different aspect of what a friend of mine, Cricket Spicer, used to say about her life:
I say what I mean. and I mean what I say, and I mean that.
Saturday, September 2, 2006 @ 04:28 p.m. - Comment
(and, by the way, if you like standup, and you *haven't* heard any Richard Jeni, hie thee hence to Gnutellanet and find some :-) that I'm fond of, which is about John Denver losing it -- he did, of course, but not like this -- and contains the classic phrase "let me fart on your breakfast"...
which is found, according to Google, 3 places (well, now, 4 :-) on teh Intarwebs, and the one that *isn't* me is...
someone at the TWoP forums who was kind enough to *transcribe* the bit.
Making it through the routine while still being capable of respiration was difficult enough for me -- the first three times -- that I thought it was *much longer* than it seems to be, here. Funny stuff.
Saturday, September 2, 2006 @ 03:24 p.m. - Comment
in the city.
That's what it felt like. I had to go to a client's in Carrollwood this morning. No later than 9, though he'd have been happy to have me there at 7, which as most of you know is "a time you sometimes stay up as late as", rather than a time you'd *get* up.
The really whacky thing, though, is that from Gandy and 28th in St Pete, I didn't hit another red light until Dale Mabry and Northdale, 25 miles NE, and *one light* from his office. If a guy in an Envoy hadn't stopped to wait to make a U-turn, I wouldn't have hit that one either.
Certainly cut down on the commute time.
Friday, September 1, 2006 @ 12:21 p.m. - Comment
It was in email, so you didn't see it, but take my word for it, she did. (Well, actually, her inquiry was "are you serious?", but I think that's a scoff, don't you? :-)
This is apropos because I was poking around through the Archives, and tripped over The Impersonals, which looks like an online dating site with a clue.
Thursday, August 31, 2006 @ 04:40 p.m. - Comment
That's the metaphor chosen by ACLU/St Pete Times columnist Robyn Blumner (who could really use a better head shot, BTW) for a column about how we might be better off if the Fatherland, er, excuse me, Homeland Security apparatus was run by womyn, which thesis is ridiculed by this piece, noted by my primary staff meteorologist over at Fresh Bilge.
Robyn then presents her own paradigm: "The Deadwood hero leaves bodies in the thoroughfare, while the reality hero tries to prevent bloodshed in the first place. ... The Deadwood hero is impulsive, aggressive and macho, while the reality hero is a rational consensus-builder with an intelligent plan of action."
Three thousand dead Americans? Well, why didn't you prevent the bloodshed in the first place! A Dark Ages theocracy pledged to wipe Israel off the face of the earth is acquiring weapons of mass jihad? Let's build a consensus! All of those Islamists not in favor of wiping Israel off the face of the earth, raise your hands.
Well, Mr. Feder, we tried to prevent three thousand Americans dying.
But Bush sent those troops to Iran and Afghanistan, anyway.
[ Not to dilute my punchline, but if you really have to drag the argument back onto your own, flawed thesis, Don, read the 9/11 commission's report, and Richard Clarke's book. Those 2663 lives are the Republican administration's fault, in large part, as well. And they're *fewer* lives than we've lost fighting a war we were lied to to sell. And Clarke, I feel the need to point out, is a Republican. ]
Thursday, August 31, 2006 @ 11:03 a.m. - Comment
or some such thing...
So, see, there was this blog entry, and it was preceded by 2 years of silence, a short burst of noise that (by inspection -- yes, as a matter of fact I *do* keep that much mail around) apparently didn't end as badly as I thought, and 16 years more silence... and about 2 or 3 months, I think, that were pretty good.
She's correct; I never quite got to the point of thinking of her as my "girlfriend", but I was perfectly happy with whatever she was.
And is.
And, if you're still reading, and interested, you can of course get the rest of the story.
[ And, just to clarify: in describing 15!Cathy as a Good Girl, my point was merely that her dad told her "I'm sorry, I'm afraid you can't do that", and she did what he said -- which is what you want 15 year olds to do, be they girls or whosoever. I wouldn't want to offend Cathy by implying that she was a Good Girl in any other sense of the phrase. :-} ]
Wednesday, August 30, 2006 @ 11:51 p.m. - Comment
.jpg){kind=link}