tweedler

You're Too Old for Frat Hazing!

2007-04-05T16:07:00.000-05:00

People, especially people in positions of authority, do some really stupid things. Wow.

Kennedy Elisabeth Dixon

2007-03-10T18:26:00.000-06:00

I would be remiss not to post about what has happened in my life almost two weeks ago. Kennedy Elisabeth Dixon was brought into this world on Monday, February 26, 2007. She weighed in at 8 lbs., 4 oz. at a length of 19 3/4". Ashley is doing as well as can be expected post-c-section, and Kennedy continues to amaze me every day. Sleep is harder to come by, but I love what this child has added to my life. I thought I understood the "your life will never be the same" idea before now, but I truly did not, and I expect that my understanding of it will continue to evolve as the days, months, and years come and go. Thanks to all my friends and family for being so supportive and helpful to me and Ashley over the past several months.

For pictures of our little angel, go here.

Ryan vs. Dorkman 2 - What Great Fun!

2007-03-10T18:22:00.000-06:00

This is uber-geeky, but it is a wonderful example of what folks are doing with video technology that is available on the consumer level.

Great Quote of the Day from Penn Jillette

2007-02-20T08:08:00.000-06:00

"Technology adds nothing to art. Two thousand years ago, I could tell you a story, and at any point during the story I could stop, and ask, Now do you want the hero to be kidnapped, or not? But that would, of course, have ruined the story. Part of the experience of being entertained is sitting back and plugging into someone else's vision."

I see four QOTDs every day on Netvibes, courtesy of the QOTD RSS feed.

Amazing HDR Photo of Korean Shipyard

2007-02-14T12:44:00.001-06:00

Holy schmoly, this is absolutely incredible.

read more | digg story

Photograph of a Lightbulb Burning Out

2007-02-05T12:08:00.001-06:00

Bulb - Unedited
Originally uploaded by LeggNet.

This is too freaking sweet. Go see the entire Flickr set for more cool photos.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Causes Bomb Scare

2007-01-31T17:47:00.000-06:00

Are you serious? Really, why on earth people think that this resembles anything approaching a terrorist plot, unless Mooninites are the next terrorist threat. Please.

Cool Web Tools Time

2007-01-23T14:57:00.000-06:00

It has come to my attention that some people are not aware of three of the coolest web-based tools ever. But first, what makes a cool web tool? It has to meet three criteria for me to consider it cool:

1.) It must be useful for everyday tasks, such that it will be utilized at least once a week.
2.) It must be simple and easy to understand the application for which it is intended.
3.) The website must respond very quickly without nasty, annoying pop-ups. :)

These may only meet two of the criteria for some of you, but I find all three to be extremely useful on a regular basis. So without further ado...

+Babelfish, everyone's favorite translation tool for short snippets of foreign language or complete (often butchered) translations of websites.

+TinyURL, the absolute bestest thing ever for shortening up those dastardly long eBay auction links, Google search links, and web-based catalog links. My good friend Ken sent me a link today that took up a full 6 lines of text in a normal-sized IM window; Trillian didn't like it and did not consider the entire link to be part of the same text string, so I asked Ken to tinyURL it and voilà! problem solved.

+Windows Alt Key Numeric Codes, an absolutely brilliant page courtesy of Penn State University's "Teaching and Learning With Technology" website. Would you like to know how I figured out how to add the à to voilà above? This site explains it all, including how to add letters with symbols, other foreign characters, currency symbols, math symbols, and other punctuation, such as ©, ®, and §. Sure, you could use character map, but why scour through that annoying chart if you don't have to?

I have all three of these tools listed in my links toolbar in Firefox. I suggest you do the same; there is nothing worse in online life than to get stuck trying to figure out how do something so seemingly simple.

The Most Clever Use of Post-It Notes Ever

2007-01-19T23:04:00.000-06:00

This is probably really old news by now, but oh well, I thought it was worth blogging. I have seen some pretty creative things done with office supplies, but very little has been on this scale or had this many co-conspirators involved. Bravo, InPhonic!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ableman/sets/72157594421824427/

Alltel CellTop

2007-01-19T17:30:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I am guilty of pimping something for the company I work for, but I think it's pretty cool. All two of you who read this ;) have already seen the CellTop website and have conversed with me about it, but here is a pretty nifty YouTube preview of it done by Phonescoop.

Crave: Thirteen reasons to doubt the iPhone hype

2007-01-17T05:55:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the short post, but here is a blog entry giving 13 very good reasons for why owning an iPhone may not be such a good idea.

Saw "Children of Men" Tonight

2007-01-12T22:04:00.000-06:00

No spoilers, so don't worry. What a fantastic movie. It really has me lost in thought. I can't stop thinking about the questions posed by it. I also can't stop marveling at the cinematography and set design and overall production; simply outstanding. Be warned though, if you do not like handheld camera action, this probably isn't for you; at no time did I feel as if I were being intentionally distracted or confused by the camera work, but it definitely has a gritty, front-line news camera feel to it. Great stuff.

Choose Your Own Adventure on iPod!

2007-01-11T23:06:00.000-06:00

I loved the CYOA books when I was a kid; I think I enjoyed guessing the alternate paths more than the actual stories after awhile--they just became so formulaic. That being said, I will have to download the free one referred to in this iLounge article.

"Religion is a good thing for good people and a bad thing for bad people."

2007-01-09T08:07:00.000-06:00

My education fails me when reading about or discussing political movements in an historical or philosophical context. Damn you, Hendrix College, for only requiring that I take one basic history class and one basic philosophy class (I took logic, which is not very helpful when discussing philosophy :) ).

This interview with Chris Hedges, the author of "American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America" gave me a serious case of the heebie jeebies. Hedges does not back away at all from his comparison of the Christian Right to fascism at its worst. I have personally witnessed some of the characteristics of the Christian Right alluded to in the interview, but it is hard to swallow Hedge's entire theory because it so damn scary to me.

Is our nation on the verge of a revolution I do not want? Am I really naïve to think that Democracy is on my side? Is the culture I cherish (good and the bad) in jeopardy? Should I swallow the blue pill or the red pill? The questions continue to erupt in my head.

All of these feelings are becoming more amplified as fatherhood draws nearer. Coincidence? Doubtful.

Articles That Caught My Attention Today

2007-01-08T17:54:00.000-06:00

These are seemingly random articles, but they all were on my Netvibes front page today. Netvibes is the coolest RSS web 2.0 ajax-based portal ever. Go sign up and use it now! I command it! Ok, now on to the articles.

Farm worker attacked by herd of pigs. Wow, what a pisser. Seriously, what does one do to prompt a herd of pigs to go all Mike Tyson on one's ass?

The Preteen: Betwixt and Bedeviled. As a father-to-be I am finding myself becoming entirely too interested in every article and study related to babies, childhood, and adolescence. This is a great article, and along with a segment on today's Talk of the Nation about public education, it heightened my awareness of just how early the drive to learn has to be instilled.

In Obesity Fight, Many Fear a Note From School. Repeat after me: "My daughter will not have an eating disorder. My daughter will not have an eating disorder. My daughter will not have an eating disorder."

Why Our Hero Leapt Onto the Tracks and We Might Not. I am still stunned by this story of heroism. I am hopeful that the hero-lauding period ends smoothly and we do not witness some sad backlash story that results from some over-eager journalist digging into Mr. Autrey's past for some mistake. God forbid we crucify the uncommonly common hero.

That's it for today folks. Lots of words from other people that made me feel as if I had learned something today.

Christmas Hibiscus

2007-01-06T23:26:00.001-06:00

IMG_0858
Originally uploaded by twd3lr.

Here is a photo of a hibiscus plant blossom I took on Christmas Eve at my in-laws' house. I was surprised with how well the photo turned out, but pleasantly so. Here is a link to the entire set:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/twd3lr/sets/72157594438876836/

William Rhenquist: "It's only in my head."

2007-01-04T12:16:00.000-06:00

This is the stuff that feeds conspiracy theorists. I love it!

Oh, and Happy New Year and all that shit.

Dude, Seriously, How Do You Confuse Montana with Australia?

2006-12-29T09:55:00.000-06:00

I don't know that I would have admitted this.

Pan's Labyrinth

2006-12-29T08:13:00.000-06:00

I really must go see this movie. Here is today's New York Times review.

Chelsea beach

2006-12-27T10:25:00.001-06:00

Chelsea beach
Originally uploaded by eyecatcher.

This is an excellent photo from one of my favorite Flickr photographers. Flickr RSS feeds are the devil when it comes to time-killers.

Blu-Ray DVD

2006-12-27T09:46:00.000-06:00

I understand some of the points made in this blog post, but I get so tired of the elitist DYI attitude that Linux disciples project. Note that I am not a fan of DRM, particularly the way that Microsoft and Sony try to shove it down our collective throat, but if this guy is really that ferociously defensive of his privacy, what the hell is he doing writing a blog?

Everyone Loves Goals!

2006-12-24T15:26:00.000-06:00

Here are Fox Soccer Channel's nominees for soccer goal of the year.

I'm still searching for Paul Scholes' goal in yesterday's game vs. Aston Villa. It was a spectacular goal hit on the volley from about 30 yards out. Alas, it hasn't made its way to YouTube yet.

Less than 2 Months of Pregnancy to Go

2006-12-23T21:44:00.000-06:00

I guess I haven't mentioned it yet, dear random reader, but my wife is just over 7 months' pregnant. We are super-excited and ready for the delivery day to get here (Ashley especially). Planning things and thinking about what it will be like to be responsible for bringing a life into this world has been too cool for words. Ashley has had it pretty rough, battling nausea, a kidney infection, and other pregnancy-related afflictions, but she has been a real trooper; I am so proud of her and l look forward to embarking on this next step in our relationship.

Last week some of our friends threw a kick-ass baby shower for our little 'un (oh yeah, we're having a girl and her name is Kennedy Elisabeth). Here are some pictures I took at the party.

Friends' Travel Blog - Tokyo

2006-12-23T21:11:00.000-06:00

My friend Amy (really close friend of my wife's) and her fiancé Don are traveling to Tokyo for 19 days. They are renting an apartment that is, get this, 140 square feet. No, that is not a typo--one hundred forty friggin' square feet. But that's just Japan for you. Needless to say, Ashley and I are quite envious, but at least Don is all about the blog; check out Tokyo kara no aisatsu! I have also added the link to my friends' blogs list to the right.

Geotagging, or How to Have Hella-Fun With Flickr

2006-12-20T19:17:00.000-06:00

Geotagging in Flickr is pretty damn cool if people will just use it. By doing a search for Little Rock, AR I discovered other Flickr users' work and came across some pretty amazing photography. Yes, a lot of it is like my photography--just documentation of having been some place at a certain time and if some neat photos come out of it, great, but there is an awful lot of quality work out there and this is one cool way of finding it.

Go ahead, see for yourself what is tagged in Little Rock.

Castle Stroud Christmas Party 2006

2006-12-17T09:16:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures I took at last night's party. Great time was had by all, but it was a very odd transition year. People missing (and missed), new location, and feeling more "grown up" all contributed to the feeling. I had a great time, though, conversing, drinking, and cutting up with friends old and new.

Autumn Colors

2006-12-16T16:57:00.001-06:00

IMG_0601
Originally uploaded by twd3lr.

This is probably the best picture I took this past autumn. Ashley and I took a walk in the neighborhood and I tried getting some decent shots of leaves changing colors, but I was let down by my deficiencies as a photographer.

Out of Deference...

2006-12-16T14:14:00.001-06:00

...to Ken I have changed my template to something else. That way he can continue to feel 'special' or something. ;)

Flickr is Aggravating

2006-12-16T13:05:00.000-06:00

I have just about had it with Flickr. If you have had any experience with Google's online album, please let me know. I am tired of uploading sets only for them to not appear. Maybe it is just a latency issue today, but I expect an application to work correctly when I pay an annual fee for it.

UPDATE It appears that there is an issue that they are working to resolve, so I will not despair yet:

http://www.flickr.com/forums/bugs/30786/

Happy Holidays from the George Bushes

2006-12-15T18:44:00.000-06:00

This old Christmas picture/card is oh-so-very wrong. Props to Daily Kos for pointing this out.

First off, I had no idea that the Bushes elder had so many children. Yes, I had previously heard of Neil along with the other two more notable nitwits, umm, I mean, sons, but Marvin and Dorothy? What the heck? Secondly, what is up with the ties tossed over the shoulders and where did Dubya's belt go? Man, that grin gives me cold shivers.

Ahh, Verizon

2006-12-15T18:15:00.000-06:00

It's hard for me to like them, seeing that I work for a competitor, but they have been getting more clever lately.

Evil Chair

2006-12-14T17:58:00.000-06:00

I must have this now! I demand it!

Back in the Saddle

2006-12-13T21:53:00.000-06:00

I'm trying this thing again. Lots has happened. For a preview of what will be happening in my life (and my wife's) in a couple of months, check out my Flickr badge on the left side of this page. Also pay attention to the del.icio.us feed over there; links that I think are pretty cool but maybe not post-worthy will be there.

pantsketch: Battlestar Galacticsimpsons

2006-05-09T06:22:00.000-05:00

Pure genius! Thanks Ken.

Wow!

2006-04-30T08:52:00.000-05:00

I just realized I have gone almost an entire month without posting. Sheesh. To those of you wondering what is going on with my life, here are some details, in reverse order...

The weather sucked yesterday, and as a result, our custom-built (by my father-in-law) ginormous solid walnut entertainment center could not be delivered. Which is actually ok since we have a little bit of painting work yet to be completed in the living room. Three days to do it now...

Spam sucks, but I'm glad I have Gmail--over 130 messages in the Spam folder, and all I had to do was delete them permanently.

Last weekend Ashley and I went to Memphis Friday/Saturday for the INXS show at the Orpheum. It was hella-fun and they were better than I had anticipated. I knew the music would be good, but I wasn't so sure that JD's voice was going to hold up through a lengthy tour--I am very happy to say that it has. If any of you fair readers have reason to stay overnight in Memphis and want to splurge on the hotel, I highly recommend The Madison--beautiful architecture and decor and great service. This place is the quirkiest hotel I have seen. Pictures of our hotel room can be found here; I would have taken more photos, but I apparently broke the LCD on the camera and wasn't too sure that it was still working at all. As it turns out, I could have taken the camera into the concert and taken pics with reckless abandon . Must fix camera ASAP.

Three weeks ago I flew out to Charlotte mid-week for a quick business trip. Charlotte traffic sucks, and I mean sucks. I am convinced that I could never live in a big city unless I lived in a developed downtown/uptown and worked there, too. Driving in that kind of traffic would destroy my soul.

Before that Jessica and Ken had a fondue party. I got, well, erm, drunk, but I took some nifty photos.

Other than that, work, work, and, oh, work. I hope to blog more, but I am now a bit more limited about when/how I can post.

Wired News: 30 Years of Apple Products

2006-03-31T10:33:00.000-06:00

More Apple Fun from Wired!

Wired: Apple Ad History

2006-03-31T10:32:00.000-06:00

Courtesy of Wired comes this neat retrospective of Apple ads throughout their now 30 (!) year history. Even though I am currently not a Mac user I have always admired their innovative turns, even if some were absolute flops (see Newton and G4 Cube) or over-priced new tech (see Lisa). Apple has always been as much about the vibe as it has been the tech, and that's something that simply continues to confound the folks in Redmond; for that alone, I love what Apple has done over the years.

Nine Inch Nails Concert

2006-03-23T09:19:00.000-06:00

Tuesday night my wonderful wife and I attended the Nine Inch Nails concert in Little Rock along with our friend Bryan and a friend of his. Before the concert Ashley and I ate dinner at PF Chang's, which I am convinced is operated by the devil--it's been quite some time since I have had consistently good and unique Chinese-style food; I don't care if it's a commercial chain designed to appeal to American palates--they are good at what they do.

On to the NIN show... Saul Williams, a poet and hip-hop historian, opened up the show with his interesting blend of rap and slam-style poetry; his DJ was stellar. Saul seemed very down-to-earth and sensitive. I know that's an odd thing to write about someone who I have not met personally, but he really connected with the majority of the audience by sharing personal stories and thoughts about his travels through the South (he is from New York). The only problem with his performance is that it was too short. Incredible booming beats, too!

Next up, NIN. I have been a fan since the beginning; shortly after Pretty Hate Machine was released in 1989, I was at Wal-Mart purchasing it (back when Wal-Mart would carry a diversity of music, even if an album had "dirty" lyrics). PHM was instrumental in the development of my musical tastes, and I am forever grateful for that. It opened up my mind to accepting music outside of the norm; in that pre-internet era it was difficult to hear non-mainstream music in Hot Springs, AR, so I began buying tapes, sound unheard, based on what I read in Spin magazine and correspondence from friends in other parts of the state. PHM was the first such purchase.

Trent Reznor (the man behind NIN, if you didn't know) is seemingly an eternally dark person, but he has been clean and sober for about four years now, so his demons are a little different now. Sporting a buzz cut and looking like he's been hanging out at the gym a lot over the past few years, Trent took to the stage and immediately controlled it. Our seats were the closest to the stage without being on the floor, and that position allowed us to see behind the curtains that were holding in vast amounts of smoke during the opening songs (Pilgrimage and Love Is Not Enough). Even though he was hidden from the majority of the audience, it was clear from our view that Reznor and his band were focused and ready to perform; they delivered a show with emotion ranging from quiet vulnerability to unbridled fury.

The visuals were completely complimentary to the music; the back of the stage was dominated by LCD screens and LED strips that resembled city skylines, some of which were turned on their heads. The LCD screens displayed a range of images to match the mood of the music. About half of the way through the show, the front curtain dropped again and served as a film screen for some primal images of animal instinct and human destruction. The crowning moment for the crowd was a shot of George and Laura Bush dancing overlayed by the music and lyrics of Eraser:

need you
dream you
find you
taste you
fuck you
use you
scar you
break you
lose me
hate me
smash me
erase me

I can't get over how tight the band was and how strong Trent's vocals and performance were. He had a couple of minor screw-ups with lyrics, but considering how vastly different the set lists are from night to night on this tour, it doesn't surprise me, and they weren't so bad that performance was ruined. I also got quite a kick out of seeing Trent using a tambourine during several songs; he looked like he was having a lot of fun performing and interacting with the audience.

Here is the set list, with my favorite performances marked with asterisks; the album each song is from is in parentheses. Thanks to schwilj for posting this on echoing the sound, a Nine Inch Nails discussion board. The discussion pertaining to this show can be found here.

Pilgrimage (The Fragile)
*Love is Not Enough (With Teeth)
You Know What You Are? (With Teeth)
*Terrible Lie (Pretty Hate Machine)
The Line Begins to Blur (With Teeth)
*March of The Pigs (The Downward Spiral)--an extended version filled with venom
Something I Can Never Have (Pretty Hate Machine)--I did not expect to hear this!
The Big Come Down (The Fragile)
Closer (The Downward Spiral)--this had a different, more mellow feel to it at first, then exploded
Burn (Natural Born Killers soundtrack)--another I did not expect to hear
*Gave Up (Broken)
*Eraser (The Downward Spiral)--simply incredible buildup throughout the song
Right Where It Belongs (With Teeth)
*Beside You In Time (With Teeth)
With Teeth (With Teeth, duh)--with-a teeth-ah
Deep (Tomb Raider soundtrack)--the only song I don't own and don't really like all that much
*Only (With Teeth)
Wish (Broken)--loud, loud, loud
*Every Day is Exactly the Same (With Teeth)
*Hurt (The Downward Spiral)--I had gotten tired of hearing the NIN version, especially with how Johnny Cash turned this into his own song so very well, but the performance was raw and built slowly into the final last twisted chords
*The Hand That Feeds (With Teeth)
*Head Like A Hole (Pretty Hate Machine)--wow! This was an incredible way to end the show and it is great to hear how Trent and co. have rewritten and rearranged classic NIN songs to make them fresh and relevant while remaining true to the original idea of the song.

This was a great show; if I have the chance to see NIN again on this tour I will not hesitate to buy tickets.

The Importance of Math Education

2006-03-21T16:07:00.000-06:00

I really hope that this web page is seen by educators and parents. Our country desperately needs more engineers and research scientists, and math is the key to those career paths. Even though I am more right-brained and have a B.A. in English, math was an integral part of my education and has truly served me well in every aspect of my life.

The Brick Testament

2006-03-10T19:37:00.000-06:00

I'm sure The Brick Testament has been blogged about quite extensively by now, and many of you may have already seen it, but this is just to bizarre not to note on my blog. Frank, if you're reading this, you particularly will enjoy it. If you aren't willing to click the link yet, just let me write these two words:

LEGO
Bible

You do the logic.

The Hombre 2006

2006-03-03T09:08:00.000-06:00

Last weekend I, along with 12 of my fellow CAWS (Central Arkansas Warhammer Society) members traveled to the unlikely location of Killeen, TX for the Hombre, a Warhammer Indy GT tournament.

These tournaments are really just an excuse to play with little plastic and metal miniatures, ooh and ahh over the painting skills of some people, drink beer, and generally act juvenile. It is quite an interesting sub-culture; it's comprised of varying degrees of gamer geeks. Some of these guys are simply hardcore wargamers, some are enthusiastic modelers/painters, and some come to the game with a lengthy role-playing background. But we all enjoy rolling dice and having fun.

I played six games over the course of the weekend (1 pickup game and 5 tourney games), and went 4-2 (3-2 in the actual tourney). 3-2 continues to be my best showing at an Indy GT, which is getting a little frustrating, but I recently changed armies from Orcs and Goblins to High Elves in order to keep the game fresh and present me with a different set of challenges, both from the gaming and painting standpoints.

Here is a Flickr set of pictures I took during the weekend. I hope it helps explain the tourney scene.

The Future is Now!

2006-03-03T09:07:00.000-06:00

Courtesy of Wired News comes this little gem about flushless urinals. I know, I know, odd topic to be posting on my blog (well, maybe not), but the part that really cracked me up was a national plumber union's response:

"We oppose waterless urinals and feel that these fixtures are a step backwards in health," says Mike Arndt, director of training with the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters. "We understand there's a water conservation problem, but there are plenty of other options Â? such as dual-flush toilets or timed flushing devices."

Are you kidding me?!?!? Anyway, go read the article.

Hells Angels in Sweden

2006-02-22T09:31:00.000-06:00

I had no idea that the most notorious biker gang ever thrives in Sweden. Nice little scam they have going there.

TechEBlog » Top 10 Strangest MP3 Players

2006-02-21T11:42:00.000-06:00

Who needs/wants an iPod when you could have one of these?

TechEBlog » Top 10 Strangest MP3 Players

Or not.

Must See?

2006-02-17T08:15:00.000-06:00

I know I will probably be disappointed by Night Watch because of the story problems it supposedly has, but it really appeals to me visually. Any takers, should it hit Little Rock?

My Flickr Sets

2006-02-16T21:21:00.000-06:00

The title states it all; if you don't know what Flickr is, just click the link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/twd3lr/

Laughing Squid » Pillow Fight! New York

2006-02-16T20:54:00.000-06:00

All I can really say is "why?"

Laughing Squid » Pillow Fight! New York

IPod on the Tracks - New York Times

2006-02-13T11:18:00.000-06:00

This column scared the heck out of me. The $399 spent for my iPod wasn't exactly disposable income, and Beller's column is a solemn reminder of why I spent the extra dough on the extended warranty and a nicely padded leather case with a belt clip. Oh, and it is also why I don't wear coats with holes in the pockets. ;) Thank god I also don't have the opportunity to have to decide whether or not to jump down onto the subway tracks!

In the Words of Napoleon Dynamite, "Idiot!"

2006-02-07T19:12:00.000-06:00

This is a sure sign that some telecom execs are complete morons. Boo-freakin' hoo, someone else is generating revenue from utilizing Verizon's network. When are these guys going to learn that the cable/satellite TV paradigm does not work for the internet? It is pretty apparent that people are willing to pay what they do for internet access because of the sheer volume and diversity of choices available on it, otherwise AOL would be the model everyone else would have followed. Verizon should be more concerned with providing a stable, high-speed network; if they want more of the pie, they should become a content and/or ad provider themselves.

Web 2.0

2006-02-05T09:15:00.000-06:00

Over the last few months I have become increasingly obsessed with web 2.0 sites. If you aren't familiar with web 2.0, it is time you get on the bus; you probably are actually already climbing aboard, but may not know it. Do you blog? Do you use RSS? Do you use Ajax pages, such as Google Personalized Home, Microsoft's Start.com, or my favorite, Netvibes.com? Wiki addict? Like Pandora? Are you a Firefox user? Do you know what a tag is? If you answered yes to any of these you are already familiar with some of the advancements that web 2.0 brings. For most of us, web 2.0 is the next step of web-as-platform, giving us wonderful applications that run off the web, usually for little to no cost for us. Oh, and you can thank Google's advancements in web ads for that.

Here are some of my favorite (or need-to-check-out-now) web 2.0 sites, in addition to Netvibes, which totally rocks, by the way.

BillMonk is a site I have not really gotten into yet, but it is sure to appeal to the tightwad in all of us. BillMonk is billed as "making social money painless." Just go look at it.

del.icio.us is a social bookmarking site (the link is to my part of del.icio.us); it is just a site to compile all of your bookmarks, tag them, and access them from wherever you want. Tagging is just a way of grouping bookmarks using single-word tags to describe what the site is about, e.g. foxsoccer.com is tagged with soccer and sports; click the tag within my del.icio.us and you can see what other sites are tagged similarly--think of it as Six Degrees of Separation for the web. The social aspect of it is that your bookmarks are, by default, shared with the rest of the delicious community. Bookmarks also include links for other users who have saved the same bookmark, allowing people to discover the web in this manner. Where delicious really takes off is on the front page of the entire site, which lists the most recent posts, which aren't necessarily standard run-of-the-mill bookmarks, but links to hot topics and sites. Sites similar to del.icio.us include digg.com, which is very tech oriented and not as straight-forward as del.icio.us.

Airset.com is an awesome calendar site. I have my personal calendar, as well as a calendar for an organization I belong to, set up on this site. The flexibility offered by it is mind-boggling, and the folks running it are always working to improve it.

My favorite and the most useful 2.0 site, though, has to be Gmail. Let me know if you need an invite, I've got 100! ;)

iLounge Blog: Your senator needs an iPod

2006-02-02T08:50:00.000-06:00

From a post on one of my favorite iPod-related sites, this is an absolutely brilliant idea. For the sake of all of us who are techheads we need to support ideas like this, not so that lawmakers get a bunch of free swag, but so that we know an effort is being made to educate these people about how tech-related legislation affects us all. It's all about innovation, baby, not protecting outmoded businesses.

Is the saying "Beer before liquor, never sicker, liquor before beer, never fear" physiologically accurate?

2006-01-31T16:06:00.000-06:00

Awesome! I just knew that the idiots I went to college with were complete idiots!

Ahh, Eminent Domain Rears its Ugly Head Again

2006-01-22T09:35:00.000-06:00

Is this the wrong way to engage in civil protest? Sure, it is radical and, from far away, a bit comedic. However, the fact that this action helps bring the issue further into the spotlight, not allowing it to fade away, is positive. People living in areas bordering commercial properties, in particular, should work to ensure that state legislatures try to do the right thing for everyone.

Coffee of the Week...

2006-01-17T15:46:00.000-06:00

...for my coffee press at work is Ethiopian Harrar, courtesy (well, not really since I bought it) of River City Coffee and Tea. I made the first pot just after lunch; it was pretty good, definitely the dry-processed variety--pretty dry grounds, very earthy, some chocolate overtones, but not as much as I expected. I think I will chalk that up to the water not being quite hot enough, but I am afraid that the roast is just not dark enough to bring out the best in the coffee. We shall see.

The Quest for Democracy

2006-01-16T18:14:00.000-06:00

In tiny Arab state, Web takes on ruling elite | CNET News.com. It is refreshing to see some of the citizens of Bahrain have a go at creating a democratic movement, even in the face of a certain government's hypocrisy.

The RIAA Makes Me Laugh

2006-01-03T12:06:00.000-06:00

I was never a Grokster user, but the RIAA's feeble attempt at trying to threaten Grokster users makes me laugh and laugh and laugh some more.

So Wrong It Hurts

2006-01-03T10:48:00.000-06:00

Computer Monitor Jacob's Ladder. Good luck with this if you try it.

Wikipedia

2006-01-02T09:40:00.000-06:00

Joho has an excellent entry in the discussion regarding how Wikipedia has become the universal dartboard for traditional media in the us vs. them, finger-pointing campaign that some in the traditional media have embarked on lately. It really is sickening; from the reaction to Wikipedia's public statement about self-monitoring and self-correcting and the recent changes it has made to its creation policy, one would think these journalists work for good editors whose publications are monitored by truly honorable ombudsmen. But who are we kidding?

Finally!

2006-01-01T22:50:00.000-06:00

I freaking managed to dismantle the thick code that Blogger and Halo Scan conspired to create for my blog and now have everything working. Who cares that the Permalink link is permanently embedded on the page, even the permalinked page itself? Not I, though I could probably obsess about it like I did the Halo Scan commenting not appearing on my Permalinked pages. ARRRGGGGGGGH! I had forgotten how painful it can be to scour through web code. I thank my lucky stars every day that I am not a programmer/architect. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I Love My Coffee...

2006-01-01T18:40:00.000-06:00

...but seriously, some people go a bit too far to enjoy a connoisseur's experience. This is just wrong.

Now for some other coffee stuff. Thanks to my wife Ashley for getting me an iPod for Christmas, I have now officially become a podcast addict (I'll have to post on that later), but one of the podcast discoveries I have made is coffeegeek.com's podcast. Mark Prince knows his stuff and is pretty humorous and sarcastic at the same time, even if he is a coffee snob. I am just getting into the accompanying website, so I will let you know, faithful readers, if the snobbery is too much to stand. Right now I am happy with my pre-ground (gasp) Starbucks and my French Press.

Also, another site I will be checking out is coffeereview.com, a self-described "Wine Spectator for coffee lovers". The site is written and edited by Kenneth Davids, one of the pioneers of the specialty coffee industry in North America (I learned that from listening to episode 11 of the Coffee Geek podcast, which contains the first in a three-part series of interviews with Mr. Davids). He is a big proponent of home roasting, which does not really interest me, but the site is really devoted to reviewing different coffees that are commercially available in North America, which does interest me.

Hmm, time to make some coffee!

This Is Only a Test

2005-12-30T13:27:00.000-06:00

I changed out the template and forgot to add in Haloscan commenting. Hopefully this has now been resolved...

PCWorld.com - The 50 Greatest Gadgets of the Past 50 Years

2005-12-28T09:25:00.000-06:00

This is a pretty neat list of gadgets. Many of them were introduced during my lifetime, so either I am getting old or all the cool stuff has been created in the last 30 or so years. ;) A few of these are items I had never seen or heard of previously, but many of them are either items I or friends of mine have owned. A good time-killer nostalgia trip.

And the Stockings...

2005-12-26T20:59:00.000-06:00

...were hung by the chimney with care.

Christmas Bliss

2005-12-26T20:58:00.000-06:00

Is there any other way of describing this?

Louis...

2005-12-26T20:56:00.000-06:00

...the Christmas Demon, thinking of bad things to do.

Firefox

2005-12-26T09:54:00.000-06:00

Love it, until I notice that it gags on things that Internet Explorer digests properly. This one is minor, but the only reason I am posting right now is to add more length to the left side of my blog, so that maybe, maybe, maybe all of the things that are supposed to be on the right side of the page (instead of beneath my last post) will appear correctly. Grr. Bad Firefox, bad.

Christmas Weekend

2005-12-26T09:09:00.000-06:00

Good times with both sides of the family, and I didn't have to drive more than a few minutes, to boot (viva la Tom!).

Christmas Eve was spent with my side of the family at our house. I am extremely pleased that we all made it through the serious conversations without getting inappropriately emotional (except for one moment when I started yelling about McCarthyism and "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance). It was amusing seeing my aunt, mom, dad, and grandmother (!) getting schnockered on eggnog. Took lots of candids with my wife's new digital camera (score one for me), and came away with some good memories. Christmas Eve service would have been nice had we not all been packed in like sardines. Some jerkwad sat behind us with his two misbehaving toddlers, one of whom kept kicking the pew and grabbing Ashley. Not a fun time. All in all, though, it was a good day.

On Christmas Day we went over to Ashley's childhood home, all of roughly 5 blocks away from our house. Excellent food was eaten and gifts exchanged. After letting our food settle a bit, Gene (father-in-law) and I went through a storage room in his shop, searching through old boxes and miscellaneous items for two old arm chairs and an all-wood World War II era filing cabinet that Ashley wants to restore for our house. Along the way I saw/handled several pieces of furniture and "stuff" from the Moss and Gipson families' histories. I always get a kick out of this kind of backyard social anthropology.

I am off work for the rest of the week but I fully expect to receive a few phone calls related to a major project that is due for completion the first week of February. I hope I do not get sucked into any lengthy conference calls (ugh).

It's Been Awhile...

2005-12-18T23:59:00.000-06:00

...but I am posting once again. At the request of my good friend Ken (he who delisted me from his blog list--jerk! ;) ) I have decided to re-embark (is that a word?) on my quest for enlightenment through this writing exercise known as the blog. Changes shall be made to the blog; new words shall be written in new and exciting sentences. Erm. Hmm. Dunno about that last bit, but I digress.

Ashley and I ate dinner with friends Friday night at the Oyster Bar--good food, but perhaps a little less fried goodness will be better next time. Followed that up with a DVD rental--Batman Begins. I missed it in the theatre so this was my first viewing. It was also the first movie I have watched at full volume on the new stereo--very, very nice, but I really need a new TV--I have my eye on a 32" HDTV; we will see if it can be afforded in the new year.

Last night Ashley and I watched Garden Stateon DISH DVR--it had been recorded in mid-November, so it was about time. Heck, we have about a dozen movies that we DVR'd but have not watched dating back to May. Sheesh, you'd think we had a bigtime social life and never watched TV by looking at the volume of unwatched programming on the DVR. Funny how things work sometimes--

"Yeah, I think that would be good to record so we can watch it at a normal hour."

"Ok, sounds good."

"Hey, you know we still have to watch, right?"

"Yeah, I know, but I really want to see this."

"Ok."

Ahh, technology. Bliss.

2005-08-21T14:31:00.000-05:00

Hitting the giant reset button.

The Armstrong Williams NewsHour - New York Times

2005-06-26T10:33:00.000-05:00

Frank Rich may be espousing a Doom's Day prophecy in today's column, but it usually takes a little yelling to get people to pay attention.

Fight the good fight.

The Internet Will Eat Us All

2005-06-26T09:15:00.000-05:00

I am eating my breakfast (over-easy eggs, toast, coffee), listening to iTunes (party shuffle--old Peter Gabriel song is on at the moment), and reading through my morning's email, which includes my favorite email of the day, every day--New York Times Daily Headlines. My ritual is to read through the different sections' headlines and abstracts, picking the articles I would like to read by clicking on each link, opening new windows for each. Yes, I end up with a crudload of IE windows (no, I cannot bring myself to like the supposedly superior FireFox), but that isn't too bothersome. I sort of consider this to be the equivalent of writing out some goals for myself and then setting out to accomplish them, which is antithetical to how newspapers are/were read. It is amazing how lazy we are compared to my grandparents' generation; they would just pick up the paper and start reading, or so I was led to believe. Maybe they have their own news reader programs to selectively read what really interests them. ;)

But I digress from the original point that I had in mind when I started typing this morning. Why is it that just because more folks have high-speed access, every commercial website out there thinks that their readers want media-rich ad content displayed inline on seemingly every page? Here is what got me going this morning. I'm culling through the NY Times Daily Headlines, grooving to iTunes with a bite of toast in my mouth when I click on a link; within seconds, my groove is disturbed by some awful noise coming from an inline Flash ad for Mamma Mia! the musical, which is also advertising a contest for a trip to Las Vegas. Sure, there is a little stop button that I was able to click to cut the pain short, but the damage was already done.

I do not need this crap destroying my Sunday morning ritual. Dammit.

Bush the Head-Patter

2005-06-23T10:23:00.000-05:00

This is too, too funny not to link to, regardless of how you feel about the man. Damn, I'm still laughing.

Geo-Greens

2005-06-17T08:30:00.000-05:00

Today's Friedman column is something else. I have been a proponent of this type of fast-track technology for awhile; I do not understand why others who have no economic ties to oil companies do not as well.

On another note, I hope to blog more consistently now that things on the homefront are calming down.

Fight the good fight.

Great Column: Beyond Viagra Politics - New York Times

2005-06-01T08:36:00.000-05:00

Beyond Viagra Politics - New York Times

Color by Numbers

2005-05-25T08:52:00.000-05:00

Excellent op-ed column by Stephen E. Flynn in today's Times. This is the kind of approach I have heard advocated before; I can only hope that Homeland Security is paying attention.

Bush on Embryonic Stem Cell Cloning--Moron Alert

2005-05-20T14:34:00.000-05:00

I usually don't get apoplectic about anything Bush says anymore, just because it absolutely wears me out doing so every day, but this particular quote from this morning's article in the New York Times just fills me with vitriol because it displays, yet again, Bush's unwillingness to read and comprehend in order to gain a better understanding of the issues that he faces as President.

"I've made my position very clear on embryonic stem cells," he said. "I'm a strong supporter of adult stem cell research, of course. But I have made it very clear to the Congress that the use of federal money, taxpayers' money, to promote science which destroys life in order to save life is - I'm against that."

What the hell is he talking about? This "culture of life" madness has got to stop, or at least they need to grow some stones and quit being so damned hypocritical, e.g. the death penalty and the genocide in Darfur.

At least Reagan surrounded himself with people who had a strong desire to take facts and create policy based around their interpretations of those facts, even if the interpretations were often flawed. Bush, though, has to be the least curious and most presumptive President in our nation's history, and he has a political madman (Rove) who could less about anything but playing sock monkey with Bush.

Fight the good fight.

Piano Man

2005-05-17T11:06:00.000-05:00

This fascinates me, though I know it should not. Is this a media stunt or is the man mentally ill? Unlike most sensationalist crap out there that the cable news channels turn into "news" this is really interesting to me. I feel dirty because of it. Damn you, CNN, MSNBC, et al.

On The Border, off the menu....

2005-05-15T16:44:00.000-05:00

My better half and I decided we wanted to try a new place to eat (well.. new to us). We drove around a bit and ended up at On The Border, a Tex-Mex place. When we drove in it looked rather busy, and there wasn't much parking. The wait was surprising short, only 15 minutes on a Friday night at 8 PM. The overall look and feel of the place was nice. Decorations made it very festive and colorful.

Our waitress was pleasant enough, but not much past that. She provided average service, but nothing outstanding. The food however.. The food was not even average. When one goes to a Tex-Mex restaurant one would expect spicy food... So much for what I expected. I ordered a "Red Chile Steak" hoping it would be hot and spicy. My better half ordered enchiladas. When the steak arrived it looks like there was spice on it, but after one bite I was let down. This steak was dull, with no bite. No spices at all.. I've had better steaks at Chili's and quite a few other places. It was so bland I was forced to use A1 steak sauce to get any flavor from it. The veggies that came along with the steak were just barely average... The mashed potatoes with "hot" jack cheese were dull much like the steak. My better half ate some of her dinner before becoming sick. A quick trip to the bathroom and she was unable to eat any more of her food.

The one bright spot was the white cheese dip. It was actually decent, but couldn't save the rest of the meal. Overall, I would not recommend On The Border to anyone. The food was bland, service was so-so, and the prices weren't great considering the quality of food. It only gets a 2, and it was looking at a 1.5 but the cheese dips brings it to a 2 out of 5. Eat there at your own risk of being bored to sleep with their less than spicy food.

Kingdom of Boredom

2005-05-09T21:12:00.000-05:00

Well, I once again ventured out into the world on a Friday night with my better half to take in a high budget movie on its opening weekend. Aside from fighting the usual crowd of pre-teens and annoying prices (3.50 for a bottle of water?!), I was hoping to be entertained. We picked Kingdom of Heaven. I'm a fan of Orlando Bloom and Liam Neison is pretty good too (i enjoyed Rob Roy a lot). Alas, entertainment was not what this movie delivered.

The movie begins grimly enough with Bloom's character working at a forge while his wife is buried after committing suicide. Along rides a knight who just happens to be his father. Bloom suddenly finds he's the bastard son of a noble with a nice plot of land and title waiting for him once Neison's character dies. O-k... Sounds like a bad role playing game right off the bat. But I still have some hopes for a story or at least one character who has more than one dimension.

Through out the movie, I was let down. The characters are weak and never develop past one aspect of their characteristic (Bloom was noble and "knightly" through out). The story really never takes off and grabs you, nor do the characters who just spit out their lines and seem to be praying for the next time they can stop talking and start swinging a sword. Where there could have been more political intrigue, Director Ridley Scott left me hanging. The affair was barely explored between Bloom's character and a Templar Knight's wife.

You find yourself not sure if you should root for the wise and noble Saladin as he leads the Muslims to regain Jerusalem after the Templar Knights slaughtered Muslims, or if you should root for the noble to a fault Bloom. Where there was room for a story you're given a half-assed attempt at the banter between kings. The computer effects weren't nearly as impressive as The Return of the King. Scott tries to gives you a siege equal to Mordor assaulting the White City.. But you're left with lacking graphics and less inspiring speeches.

Overall it just wasn't that entertaining. It gets a 2.5 our of 5. Average acting, so-so effects, horrible character development left me bored and ready to write this review.

Corruption at its Finest

2005-05-06T08:36:00.000-05:00

Paul Krugman delivers a column that tears apart the notion that Congress has America's best interests in mind, unless your concept of America is one of a country of corporate citizens whose right to make money is more important than the same right granted to individual citizens.

baltimoresun.com - All the food in China

2005-05-05T10:47:00.000-05:00

baltimoresun.com - All the food in China Tales of culinary exploration from around the world always fascinate me. I long for future days when I have enough money to travel extensively.

"Preparing for the next pandemic." | MetaFilter

2005-05-05T10:20:00.000-05:00

"Preparing for the next pandemic." | MetaFilter This would be scary beyond reason.

Blog--Michael Bérubé, Anti-Horowitz

2005-05-04T13:30:00.000-05:00

Michael Bérubé Online This guy is good, especially his slam on David Horowitz, moron extraordinaire. God knows all those liberal professors are turning college students into a bunch of mindless liberal yahoos. I have so little use for people like Horowitz who use poorly constructed arguments to extend their "careers".

Fight the good fight.

Movie reviews

2005-04-28T19:43:00.000-05:00

Rented two movies this past weekend. "Saw" and "Finding Neverland." Got some short reviews that hopefully will move you to see one and consider passing on the other.

First, "Saw," a psychological horror/thriller. Cary Elwes, the main character, a a doctor who doesn't appreciate his family, and there's a twisted man who decides it's up to him to teach Elwes' character the love his family by locking him in an underground bathroom chained to a pipe. But he's not alone. There is a younger man, who's been taking photos of him, chained to the other side of the room. A dead body lays in the center, blood pooled around the head and a gun in hand. Things flash back often to explain how the "killer" works. He kidnaps individuals and places them in traps forcing them to try and work their way out. O-k..... Semi-interesting plot gets filled with too much blood and gore. Not very scary, and more disgusting. The attempts to scare end up being nothing more than just what is grosser than the last "scare." Acting is ok, with Danny Glover as a cop (not a stretch for him there. see Lethal Weapon 1-4). Over all, not an impressive movie and at best a rental. Shocking ending, but ruined by Elwes' character's stupidity.

"Finding Neverland," with Jonny Depp, Kate Winslett, and Dustin Hoffman. I had never heard anything about this movie except from critics saying it was good. And this time, I agree with the critics. This movie begins slowly, with Depp playing the role of James M. Barrie, watching one of his plays flop. His life is slightly sad and lacking. But his imagination inspires the children of Winslett's character. The acting is very good from all parties in this movie, even the child actors. The plot pulls you in, slowly and into Barrie's world where you can enjoy the thought of never truly growing up. Depp meshes well with the children actors and you can watch them inspire his own imagination to write Peter Pan. This movie should make you smile and laugh, especially the out takes. But there are some very sad parts allowing you to lose track of that star as you head on to morning. Gets a thumbs up from yours truly.

Rage returns..

2005-04-28T19:22:00.000-05:00

Ok, I've been on a break of sorts.. Letting the world settle and watching the vultures circle before I let fly with more verbal eviscerations (not a word known by blogger's spellchecker. go figure) . I've tolerated the annoyances of tax season, enjoyed (look up sarcasm if you think i actually enjoyed any of this) getting the news that I owed personal property taxes from 03. For the record.. You taxing me for something I own and already paid taxes on is rather crappy. Why am I paying taxes on a new car when I buy it only to keep paying year after year? To give money to a government who spends it hand over fist on less than useful items. I'm giving money to the same people who decided that there had to be a law your headlights must be on if your windshield wipers are on? Excuse me if I fail to give a vote of confidence to you half-wits in the Arkansas government.

On to my real rage.. There's a monkey on my TV and I can't get away from it. GWB has decided to interrupt scheduled programming to gives us more of his pre-cooked BS. My message to GWB: step away from the social security and find a issue we give a squat about. You wan to reform the UN? Get someone who isn't quoted as saying we could remove floors from the building (meaning we could remove nations) and no one would know. Mr. Bolton, remove the bad hairpiece, trim the stache and fade away so we can stop hearing about your bully tactics.

Why does he feel that Social Security should have "voluntary personal savings?" Umm.. Lets look at that.. Voluntary personal savings accounts. Mutual funds, bonds, stocks, CDs. Yup, those look like voluntary personal savings. You control when to buy or sell, how much to put in, and how much to take out. "You can go from bonds and stocks to bonds as you get older." I can't do that without it being part of social security? Lets move on...

I applaud the efforts going on Iraq (yup, I said it. i'm still a left leaning liberal independent though!). The ground work is being set for democracy. The way we went there, very wrong. The way we've conducted everything, not so great. But there has been progress. I don't think the government Bushco put in place will last, but maybe the system will take hold. Even with all the dreary nay-sayers in our Liberal party, we still must look at this as something we're in and we damn sure need to do what we can to make it better. I don't say lay down for the Repub thugs, but I say work on cleaning their mess up. Dude, it's still my country, damnit!

Nick Anderson, Pulitzer Prize-winning Political Cartoonist

2005-04-27T12:01:00.000-05:00

This is Nick Anderson's prize-winning portfolio. Very nice work. I listened to a few minutes of an interview that he did with Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air today. He is a very insightful person who is unashamed of being labeled a liberal. (Ooh, ooh, what a dirty word that is.) I could not imagine the amount of heat he takes from his readership; Louisville, Kentucky is not exactly like San Francisco.

Greenspan Back-tracking

2005-04-22T08:13:00.000-05:00

To be fair, I do remember the Chief invoking a warning that triggers should be implemented should certain budget goals not be met, but damn, it sure took him long enough to quit sounding like a personal campaigner for Bush's tax cuts.

Second thoughts / Fed chief acknowledges 2001 tax cuts encouraged deficit

House Update

2005-04-21T13:16:00.000-05:00

As some of you may know, my wife and I have recently come into ownership of a house that has been in her family for several years. For the last 15 years or so it has been a rental house, which means a lot of work to do before it is suitable for our high-falutin' lifestyle. It is extremely exciting and gratifying being a home owner, but damn, this is a lot of work!

Thus far I have destroyed a closet, pulled up hardwood flooring in order to use it to patch flooring in other parts of the house that were in need of repair, pulled up a crapload of old nasty carpet, and been a go-fer for my father-in-law, who is project manager extraordinaire for this remodel job. The next step is scrubbing several walls and painting them. After that the floors will be refinished (we are hiring someone to do that, thank you very much!), then some serious cleaning, appliance delivery, and then, finally, moving in to the house. We have finally set a deadline of May 27th for moving day.

This coming fall the major remodeling effort will take place. More on that later.

If anyone would like to donate a digital camera for me to use to record these events, please email me. ;)

David Brooks: Roe's Birth, and Death

2005-04-21T09:13:00.000-05:00

I wonder if Brooks thinks that the Equal Rights Amendment should remain buried, too.

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Roe's Birth, and Death

Boring Update

2005-04-12T19:36:00.000-05:00

Here I am, eating a Lean Pocket (yes, Lean) and some baked Cool Ranch Doritos, drinking a Sam Adams Boston Lager (it is always important to note exactly what beer one is drinking--Sam Adams in and of itself is not an adequate descriptor), listening to Interpol's "Evil" at the moment, and blogging.

This is night #3 alone with me, myself, and the cats. Ashley is in Benton, working on the new house. "New house?" you ask. Yes, new house. Well, actually it is an old house, built in 1931 (Craftsman brick), and it has been in her family for twenty-plus years now, but she and I now officially own it, so it is new to my ownership. I am extremely excited at the prospect of home ownership, especially of a house for which I do not have to have a mortgage, but at the same time it is rather nerve-wracking. We are currently doing some remodeling work that has to be finished before we can move in--painting walls, patching and refinishing the floors, buying and installing appliances, that sort of thing. We should be finished with our bit (the floors will be done by hired help) in a few weeks. Then it will just be a matter of living with orange Formica kitchen counter tops and without the services of our to-be-remodeled master bedroom and our to-be-built master bathroom for a few months. Then the real fun begins...

So far I have learned how to tear up a linoleum floor (kitchen) to find the treasured hardwood floor beneath, destroy a closet while salvaging the cedar lining, and pull up hardwood (the master bedroom will be carpeted--maybe a mistake) in order to use it to patch the dining room's bay window floor, the old floor furnace hole between the living and dining rooms, and part of the kitchen/breakfast room floor. I also just about broke my neck cleaning pine needles out of gutters and roof valleys.

The work has been delayed twice now. My father-in-law, master craftsman extraordinaire, is in charge of the project, but suffered for well over a week from a pinched nerve. About the time he started feeling a little better, my long-ailing grandfather died. Life goes on, however.

P.S. Blogger's spell check dictionary is just about worthless.

Housecleaning

2005-04-11T14:45:00.000-05:00

Or maybe this should be called culling. In an effort to keep things fresh I have deleted a few (and added more) BlogRolling links (to the right of the screen). The deleted links are effectively links to blogs that have gone dead. In an effort to avoid becoming a dead blog, I will rededicate myself to actual writing instead of just throwing up random links (or any other regurgitative matter).

EFF: Let the Sun Set on PATRIOT

2005-04-06T11:09:00.000-05:00

EFF: Let the Sun Set on PATRIOT

This is a great resource site for what needs to be eliminated from the Patriot Act ASAP. These provisions do little to prevent terrorism. It is up to law enforcement agencies to work within the framework of the Bill of Rights. It offends my sensibilities to think that there are citizens who believe we should live in a police state, and I hope the majority feels the same. Say no thank you to Big Brother and write your Congressional Representatives.

Fight the good fight.

The New York Times > Business > Hybrid-Car Tinkerers Scoff at No-Plug-In Rule

2005-04-03T19:36:00.000-05:00

Good for them!
Hybrid-Car Tinkerers Scoff at No-Plug-In Rule

Fight the good fight.

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: A Party Inverted

2005-03-30T12:26:00.000-06:00

Bill Bradley hits the nail on the head. Fortunately, this kind of effort is beginning with a group led by George Soros. I only hope that it isn't as cynical and devoid of real solutions to real problems as the Republican machine is.

Fight the good fight.

Danforth Writes of Sanity

2005-03-30T08:49:00.000-06:00

John Danforth's guest column in today's New York Times expresses what so many of us are asking for--a return of focus on the real issues that face our country. It is sad how every day shows how mainstream the once-extreme right has become in the Republican party and our federal government in general. Do these people live in a vacuum? I ask that because it sure seems like the Republicans at the state level (including here in Arkansas) realize that religion-based legislation tends to divide people while ignoring the real issues at hand. But the guys running the show in our federal government do not reflect the will of the majority.

Oh well, that just means the Democrats will make some serious gains in 2006 and 2008, which suits me just fine.

Fight the good fight.

Today's Kristof Column

2005-03-30T08:37:00.000-06:00

It is pathetic how some people let their own ideas of morality get in the way of being moral, but I suppose that is what happens when people cannot think outside of their own little lily-white corner of the world.

Fight the good fight.

MSNBC - The Culture of Each Life

2005-03-29T14:03:00.000-06:00

This is an extremely well-written column that sums up how I feel about the Terri Schiavo case, but it is written much more eloquently than I can write, so I will spare you the time.

Sorry I have been absent from posting lately, but my life has been a whirlwind. I will try to post some about it later.

Because Congress sucks..

2005-03-25T11:39:00.000-06:00

I'm beginning to lose faith in even our Democrat reps. After the Alaska drilling and the bankruptcy crap I'm not sure any of these spineless twits deserve our support.

Interesting cartoon over here.

Wolcott's still hitting that nail..

2005-03-22T21:03:00.000-06:00

He's hitting the nail on the head here.

Although it's about as subtle as using a sledge hammer pound a nail into your dry wall to hang a picture of the friend from college who would drink his beer from anything other than the can and light his farts.

I agree with him though (simply because the past week has just been one example of failure after another). America won't wake up as it sleep walks down the path of the Roman empire. We've got two countries we run, aside from our own. Democracy in the Middle East is great only so far that it's better than the government it replaced. When the leaders in these countries are placed in power by a foreign government they will probably fail.

Our dollar is sliding down hill faster than Greenspan's wrinkled claw of a hand can grasp. When you've out sourced, over spent budgets year after year, continued spending on a giant military budget going out of control, and proposed asinine reform to programs that aren't on their last legs.. Well.. You'll find a few problems. Since before I could vote we were heading down this path.. GWB has only furthered our decent with his policies. I wonder how long it will be before we wake up and see how we've painted ourselves into that corner.. Hopefully before it's too late, but I doubt it.

You can feel it in the air...

2005-03-22T20:46:00.000-06:00

That's right.. A rant. But this is a rant on professionalism. Recently I applied to a Public Relations job in Indianapolis, IN. The email I received was very promising. My resume was praised (thank you to the great individual who brought my jumbled thoughts together), and I was asked to come up to have an interview. I suggested a date (March 18th for those keeping up) to meet with what I was hoping was my soon-to-be-boss. She confirmed that the date would be ok and asked me what time I would be available. I set 1 PM and emailed her to make sure everything would be ok and set for this time. This email was sent March 10th to make sure there was plenty of time in case whatever.. I even called her the Monday before the interview (a full 5 days before the interview), I left a message. No response to my emails or call. We drove up to Round Lake, IL on the 17th (12 hour drive with no internet, but a cell phone that worked). Thursday (the 17th) night I finally reached a computer to check my email and low and behold.. An email. I quickly opened it only to find a serious disappointment and lack of professionalism. For all the world to read here is it:

"I will calll you this afternoon also, I had an internal candidate apply
for the position and I am going to offer it to him on Monday, I apologize for
the late notice, you had a very impressive resume with great experience."

The day before the interview, with no responses to previous contact, and still no phone calls even when told she would call? I was beyond mad.. This woman suddenly gets an internal applicant and brushes me aside at the very last moment. If only karma was real...

Add to the fact that Indy has a great amount of apartments, 90% of which really suck. We returned home to find great news in the mail.. Those useless sacks of rancid ferret dung we call our government decided it was time for me to pay my personal property taxes.. So now I owe those sick twisted assclowns another 300+ pushing the total to above $1000. I guess I'm the only one who didn't get the notice that if you're pulling a whooping 8.84 an hour you're on the IRS hit list. Bastards....