Posts from — October 2006

The village people were out tonight, parading their costume-clad children through the streets of Candyland. (Or something equally prophetic.) But, at least we got trick-or-treaters, unlike the great candy debacle of 2003. The one missing piece was C³, of course, but I suppose he was off collecting ears of corn or something down in Farmville.
Is it just me or is it more than a little ironic that Merrin got her stitches taken out on Halloween? Hmmm…..

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This has probably made the rounds more than once, but it's new to me, so….

From the Dennis Leary special, Happy Jihad, Charlie Brown.

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I know everyone is focused on the annual setting of the clocks, but I think someone at Brookstone missed like… I don't know… maybe an entire month. Why? The Brookstone at Vista Ridge Mall is playing… ((wait for it))… yep, Chrismas music.

WE HAVEN'T EVEN WAITED FOR THE GREAT PUMPKIN YET, BROOKSTONE!!! MUSIC OFF NOW!!!

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I'm nearly three weeks into my Google Reader trial, having given up NetNewsWire. (More here & here). Long story short: Google Reader is outstanding. Start using it now. Do not pass go. Etc, etc.

Google has been making regular improvements, but - the one flaw of Google Reader remains - you cannot search your current or past feed items. How does a search company not offer search?! It's a tragedy, I tell ya.

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Here's a tip for those of you who are looking for Angelina Jolie - esque lips without the collagen injections: jab shards of glass into your upper lip, just below the nose. The resulting stitches will give you the sexy, pouty lips that are so en vouge.

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We had to say goodbye to our dog, Abby, today after sharing 14 years together. She was the brave defender of food and fence, a gifted snorer, and a nonstop tail-wagger. Above all, she was a good friend and she will be missed.

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Frank J @ IMAO:

After listening to the numerous opinions on the Iraq War, it has become quite obvious that something is happening in that country. The current state of affairs will most certainly be detrimental to the Middle East's future unless it is beneficial or of no effect whatsoever. This goes doubly for Iraqis themselves. And I can say that with great certainty as it the opinion of the numerous pundits who have been to Iraq or read a book on Iraq or saw numerous news stories on Iraq as well as the numerous pundits who have listened to those pundits. While some (or many) may argue that some (or many) of those opinions are based more on biases than facts, it is important to remember that that doesn't mean those opinions are wrong. Unless they are wrong… but they may not be. So keep that in mind.

Read the whole thing at IMAO, via Instapundit

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Salman Rushdie on Islamic extremism and Al Queda - its about the Talibanization of the world.

“If tomorrow the Israel/Palestine issue was resolved to the total happiness of all parties, it would not diminish the amount of terrorism coming out of al-Qa’ida by one jot. It’s not what they’re after,” he adds, his foot tapping against mine as he leans forward. “Yes, it’s a recruiting tool, rhetorically. Many people see there’s an injustice there, and it helps them to get people into the gang, but it’s not what they want. What they want is to change the nature of human life on earth into the image of the Taliban. If you want the whole earth to look like Taliban Afghanistan, then you’re on the same side as them. If you don’t want that, you’re not. They do not represent the quest for human justice. That, I think, is one of the great mistakes of the left.”

Rushdie has never been much of a fan of the United States, Britian or Israel, but his insight on Islamic extremists is probably spot-on.

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I'm a relatively hardcore Azureus bittorrent user. It's the gold standard and there are a lot of resources for how to use/configure the client.

That said - it isn't very "Mac-cy". So, with some fears that I'm trading style over substance (yikes!), I'm kicking the tires on the Xtorrent beta.

After a little experimentation - Xtorrent is defintiely substance with style.
[Read more →]

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If you're married and 25-34 years old, you're in the minority, according to the US Census Bureau. 49.7% of US households (25-34) are comprised of married couples, down from 52+% just five years ago. So, why the shift? More 20 & 30-somethings are shacking up before marriage rather than maintaining seperate households.

The New York Times article is a little hard to follow, jumping in and out of statistics without a frame of reference. For example, the NYT doesn't reveal that the statistical decline is only among 25-34 year olds until sometime on page 2. So, I don't know if the rest of the statistics are marriage overall, or 25-34 year-olds, or what exactly, but it is interesting nonetheless.

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Since I upgraded my MovableType install a week or two ago, my del.icio.us links have not been posting properly to MT 3.33. I'm using the daily blog posting feature (always have - haven't changed it in a year or more), but it has simply stopped working. I'm wondering if maybe I don't have a setting correct in Movable Type. Anyone having this problem? Solutions? Anybody?

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Well, it looks like we've finally descended to the point where FSU is not even being shown on satellite. Joy. I know we "only" have two losses, but it sure feels like this season is over. But, standing here at the train station, it sure is a relief to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

So, in the spirit of "chin up", here's my FSU sign contest entry:

This is FSU
We don't settle for "okay", mmm-kay?
I hope we kick Duke
in their Vajayjay

(elvis) Thank ya very much (/elvis)

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Ford has confirmed a diesel F150 for 2008/2009, using a modified version of the Land Rover's 267-hp, 472 pounds-feet of torque, 25MPG 3.6L diesel V-8.

472 pounds-feet of torque AND better gas milage! Ah, yes! And there was much rejoicing in Truckville!

I think I'll let them work the new engine bugs out a little before I run out and buy one. By that time, my 2005 will be ready to consider a trade for a 2011 model.

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I've made a conscious effort to throw off my NetNewsWire/NewsGator Online addiction and spend three days with Google's new RSS reader offering, Google Reader.

First impressions? Google Reader is absolutely slick. It's to RSS readers what Gmail is to web-based mail. They've gotten just about everything right. So much so, that I'm ready to anoint Google Reader as my newsreader of choice.

That's not to say that there aren't some shortcomings - both obvious and subtle.

First and foremost, it is inexcusable that you cannot search feeds within Google Reader. I have 258 subscriptions and I ought to be able to search my new (unread) and old (read) news items. If I want to find items about Florida State, I ought to be able to search all my feeds for "seminoles". As best I can determine, there's no search feature at all. That being said, I have faith that Google - a search company - can come up with something very soon.

A second (and more subtle) shortcoming is the delay in refreshing items in the expanded view. As you scroll past the first 20 or so feed items, Google Reader has to pause and update the items. That isn't a big deal — all web-based readers have to pause and reload items. However, Google Reader, in all it's web 2.0 / ajax-iness, pauses in mid-scroll, leaving you wondering for 2-3 seconds if your browser has crashed or what exactly is going on. Again, it's a small gripe, but I'm wondering if there isn't a way to further minimize the delays on the auto refresh.

Long story short - Google Reader is going to be the best newsreader in the game, after the search functionality is there. In the meantime, it is one of the top options. I'm a convert.

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Have you seen the new Chevy ads with John Mellencamp singing and images of Rosa Parks, 9-11, Hurricane Katrina, MLK, Vietnam, Nixon, etc? Are those offensive?

I think I'm borderline offended.

Supposedly Chevy cut out a scene showing a nuclear bomb test and additional 9/11 scenes. At least that shows they have sense, but… damn.

I mean, I get it… this is America - right-o. But more than half of the images they've chosen deserve a little more… respect? reverance?

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