Star Wars Humor

This site has up a humorous top X list. The idea is a bit more blue than usual for the stuff here at Mod-Blog: Top 176 Star Wars Lines Improved By Replacing A Word With "Pants".

Your pants, you will not need them.
You came in those pants? You're braver than I thought.49
Governer Tarkin. I should have expected to find you holding Vader's pants.
I sense the conflict within you. Let go of your pants!

Do You Have Unclaimed Money?

NAUPA (National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators) has a website where you can find out how to contact states to see if you have any unclaimed property that they are holding. Typically this happens when you move and a company doesn't have a forwarding address for you. You can also search for federal money here (Click on "Links" at the top). You should check each state that you have lived in. Some have a way to do it online, while for others you have to write or call.

Touching Photos of a Marine

I recently received a patriotic e-mail forward. While I typically don't do much with forwards, there were two very touching pictures that I wanted to share. The first picture shows Marines moving the casket of a fallen soldier (2nd Lt. James Cathey) and can be found here. The second photo I found more touching. It is the wife of 2nd Lt. Cathey wanting to spend one last night with her husband.

Giant Insect Invade Germany

It seems that a bug got squished onto a satellite photo of Germany that is available on Google Maps. (As a side note, it appears that this photo is within a few hours from where I lived when I was in Germany). The bug, as it appears on the scale, would be about 125 feet long! For comparisson with a real thrips, click here.

Still dropping

Still dropping
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

iTunes Store 99 cent songs, Microsoft Store 79... Microsoft points?

Microsoft has finally announced the pricing for the Microsoft Zune (the iPod competitor) and their music store. The Zune will cost about the same as an iPod - $249.99 for a 30 GB unit. But what is weird is the pricing for songs.

For consumers looking to own a song, the Zune Marketplace will sell tracks for 79 Microsoft points. A user can buy 80 Microsoft points for $1 and points will also be redeemable at its online video game store, Xbox Live Marketplace.
Microsoft said it will initially sell only music -- and no video -- at the Zune Marketplace. The company said it was negotiating with major record companies and labels.

Why exactly would Microsoft want to price their songs with their own funny money? To obscure the actual price they are charging for songs, presumable. Currently, this comes out to 98.75 cents per song (one quarter of a cent less than the 99 cents charges by Apple). But now Microsoft can "keep prices the same" but increase literal price by raising the price for more Microsoft points.

Gotta love it. Apple looks to empower customers by allowing per-song sales, where you actually own the song and can burn them to a CD. Microsoft looks to disempower customers by hiding their actual prices. Who said Microsoft was an evil empire?

"You don't believe in this cold fusion mumbo-jumbo?"

China recently tested a fusion device and is making strides in developing a fusion reactor for electricity. This is the Holy Grail of Science as I understand it. The ability to make cheap, semi-clean power for the masses.

Don't think one man can change the world?

This story may change your mind.

Anyway, at 40 minutes past midnight on the 26th Petrov looked up and saw a missile launch from a United States silo had been detected by one of his satellites....He knew the satellite had been reported as suspect and decided to hold off on informing the high command. Then a second missile launch was picked up, and shortly after another, and another and another. Petrov knew that if he waited until he could confirm the launches with ground radar it would be too late for his country and the Yankees would win the Cold War.

Of course, one could also argue it proves that God puts the right men in the right place at the right time.

This seemed TOO appropriate considering my first post today

What is the *BEST* GPS system?

I have had my Garmin iQue 3600 for quite a while now, and enjoy always knowing EXACTLY where I am and how to get where I want to go. Being a man born without a sense of direction, my iQue ensures that I am never truly lost. However, I have already replaced the battery once on this device, and the replacement appears to be starting to fail as well. So, I am starting to think about a replacement. This has lead me to scour the web looking for the best GPS system for me.

I am still not sure which way I will go - barebones or high end - but the linked article appears to bring together the details from most of my research elsewhere on the net. But if you are looking for a GPS, be sure to stop in a local brick-and-mortar store as well. You never understand how small a "3.4 inch" screen is until you see it in Best Buy next to a 7 inch portable DVD player.

Under 2.50!

Under 2.50!
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Will lower gas prices be a factor in the November elections?

Fallout 2006 Clips

I am not sure how many of our readers really have a sense for what Fallout (the event I posted pictures from last weekend) really was, and how much fun we had taking part in it. Well, here is another look with two short clips from the concert. IF you are at work, please be aware before you click "Play" that these two clips are with sound. And Pillar is not exact an "office safe" sound, even though the lyrics are 100% clean.

SANCTUS REAL


PILLAR

Can't Afford Toast? What about Burn?

I love Toast Titanium - the best software to burn DVDs, CDs, or anything else on the Mac. But a number of my friends in the academic world simply can not afford it. Well, they may want to try out Burn which is an Open Source application and 100% free. I have not tried it out yet. But it looks good and is being well-reviewed.

Electromagnetic Drives to Replace Rockets?

Maybe so. Scientists and engineers seem split on their opinions of this guy's research, but it should not be hard to build a working proof-of-concept. Perhaps it won't be long until "Impulse Drive" is a reality for the space program.

What do you get when you cross serialized books with an iPod?

PodioBooks.Com. You can use iTunes to get free weekly readings from new books. It brings back the idea of serialized books (as used to be popular in weekly magazines) and puts them into a form you can listen to on the way to work. I have not tried this myself, but it may be worth a look.

Why do employees quit?

It has been a tough month at my workplace. Tight deadlines, unhelpful vendors, and we have seen a number of employees resign for various reasons. Personally, I have no plans to look for greener pastures at this point in time, but it has gotten me wondering about why employees quit. This article contains one such analysis of typical exit interviews.

To do this, we reviewed notes from exit interviews, cross referenced annual reviews and ultimately came up with 178 voluntary terminations from people that would have been considered in the top 20%.

To try and keep focused on macro issues, we consolidated the responses and placed them into categories:
- Money
- Unchallenged
- Too Challenged
- Dead Company
- Watch your Levels (and the BS)

What makes this article even more interesting is that it is not a general survey of employees, but rather of the highest performers within organizations. This means that it is a survey of employees who are plugged in, working well, and generally would be expected to be among the best fits for their jobs and to be the most highly compensated.

'Spaceballs' cartoon coming to cable?

Well, the movie SPACEBALLS followed STAR WARS into the cinematic world, so I guess it is only just that it follows it into the cartoon world as well! Apparently, Mel Brook's space opera parody is headed for the small screen. I can not say I have heard anyone demanding this, but I also can't say that it is a bad idea. Especially if they can use it in some way to parody the prequels, games, comics, and massive marketing empire that Lucas's dream has become.

Master Locks Amazingly Easy to Pick

Sigh, first "bumping" shows that key locks are useless. Now this article shows that many common combination locks are useless! I guess I'll have to just buy a large doberman and have HIM protect my valuables. Eh, who am I kidding. I'll spoil the poor thing until it loves every human it sees. Our valuables are just doomed.

Office Slang You've Never Heard... But Might Soon

This site has up an amusing selection of office slang, mostly from the I/T world, that may be coming to an office near you very soon!

Beepilepsy - The brief siezure people sometimes suffer when their beepers go off, especially in vibrator mode. Characterized by physical spasms, goofy facial expressions, and stopping speech in mid-sentence.

Betamaxed - When a technology is overtaken in the market by inferior but better marketed competition as in “Microsoft betamaxed Apple right out of the market”

Blamestorming - A group discussion of why a deadline was missed or a project failed and who was responsible...

Idea Hamsters - People whose idea generators are always running.

Irritainment - Entertainment and media spectacles that are annoying, but you find yourself unable to stop watching them. The O.J. trials were a prime example.

It’s a Feature - From the old adage, “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.” Used sarcastically to describe an unpleasant problem you wish to gloss over.A

I am amazed how many of these I have used myself, though usually with a slight variation in the intended meaning.

Evening the next-gen DVD field

The debate has been raging for some time now as to what will be the format of the next generation of DVD players - BluRay or HD-DVD. Now some engineers at Warner have started to develop a triple standard disc. Basically one side would be both a BluRay copy of the movie and an HD-DVD copy. On the other side of the disc would be the good old fashioned DVD version of the movie. This is an interesting concept to make the market be able to handle the two new formats while maintaining the old format. I still think one format will win out and the other two will become obsolete, but until then this is a good solution.

Fallout 2006 - Pillar, Tait, Sanctus Real, and More

This past weekend, we took the Bible Quiz Team that CRChair and I help coach to Fallout 2006 in Allentown, PA. The event is a day-long Christian Concert featuring a number of national and local bands, including some that I suspect have a following here on Mod-blog. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of our pictures of the event.
Click on the image below for my pictures.



Or click on this image to see CRChair's photos.

Feds: Eat no spinach. Popeye weeps, Bluto rejoices

In a move which is no hardship for me, the FDA has advised consumers to eat NO FRESH SPINACH until further notice. They are investigating multiple cases of E. Coli outbreaks that have been linked to spinach.

Dr. Robert Brackett of the FDA told CNN, "We've expanded the warning actually to all of the fresh spinach. That's because we learned that some of the companies that produced the consumer bag spinach also produced larger food-service size.

Brackett said another concern is that restaurants or stores may use consumer-size bags of spinach to stock their salad bars or bulk bins.

"We want to make sure consumers are aware that they don't consume any of the fresh spinach. We don't know whether it came from the bag or another state. We just don't have the focus down that much yet," he said.

This is no problem for me, but I know a number of people who use Spinach to supplement their iron-poor diets. And one wonders whether Olive Oyle will now be doomed to marry the wrong man, if Popeye is dying of E. Coli infection.

Microwaved Leftovers: the 2004 Election

Apparently, in the light of the coming 2006 elections, the Democratic machine feels a need to revive the allegations of irregularities of the 2004 campaign. Not matter that the experts gave it a clean bill of health, no matter that John Kerry did not challenge the results, no matter that America agreed as a people that George W Bush won. Rolling Stone has decided it is time to rehash the allegations over again. I post it here, because I want Mod-Bloggers to be aware of the conversation. I doubt that it is going to reach the main stream media news shows - it has already been hashed and rehashed ad nauseum. But the Democratic base is likely to be full of it, and thus Democratic friends are likely to be eager to discuss it.

Pope angers Muslims

My love affair with Pope Benedict XVI continues. Finally a pope that is not afraid to speak truth! The current uproar is due to a lecture the pope gave on Tuesday. In this lecture the pontiff quotes a 14th century text that says:

Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached

Ironicaly the response to the quote is exactly what the pope was speaking against. The main point of the lecture (which is quite good, though very academic) is that spreading faith by the means of violence is against the nature of God. He spends a good deal of time dealing with what "rationalism" is and the nature of how Greek philosophical thought has affected Christianity. It's a good lecture and it's unfortunate that the Muslim world is focusing on that one quote rather than listening to the rest of what he was saying. Then again as one person said,

The message he is sending is very, very clear," Taft said. "Violence in the name of faith is never acceptable in any religion and that (the pope) considers it his duty to challenge Islam and anyone else on this.

Perhaps this is the pope's way of entering the fray of our overly PC world - particularly the European world that he spends most of his time in. Either way it's nice to see a Christian leader willing to point out the inconsistencies in Islam to the world and hold the Muslim leaders accountable.

Who are the "Mythbusters"?

This article has provided a nice profile of the stars of my current favorite TV show: Mythbusters! It shows how the diametrically opposed personalities of the hosts form a unified whole, proving that opposites can attract... at least for the purpose of staging compelling television. They do admit they don't hang out much outside of the show.

How Philosophical Ponderings and DEET Comingle

Chapl'n Chat

This second week of chaplain training is over. I'm on-call....again. But who, in this biz isn't?? Alongside learning how to fill out the many forms involved in hospital/medical record documentation, I was able to begin making rounds on my units. These first visits are also a little difficult. You have "management" pressure to get your quota done, but then you have real relationships to begin and build on, too. Initial visits are all about obtaining personal information, spiritual assessment, and gaining initial rapport. I don't really consider myself an evangelist (as a verb) so my agenda is not about soul-winning. I guess it's about trust-gaining instead. I like to listen as people tell their stories. The way people tell the stories of their lives really reveals a lot. I have to listen with an unbiased ear, so that if there are issues imbedded there, then perhaps I can help tease them out. Some of my visits this past week gave me great fodder as a counselor-chaplain, but I have to keep in mind that this means people are really hurting, and it's much deeper than physical. As a chaplain-in-training, I walk a fine line between using experiences for my own education, and being used to help people with their issues. I hope that I err on the side of the patient, even if my learning objectives are not met.

The Zune Way and the Right Way

Microsoft has announced the "Zune", as their competitor to the iPod. Like the iPod, it will be integrated into future versions of Windows and be primarily be an MP3/Music player. Like the iPod, it is designed to be high portable and stylized to complement ones own personal sense of fasion. Like the iPod, it will work with a proprietary music store owned and operated by Microsoft.

Unlike the iPod, Microsoft is trying to integrate music sharing directly into the device. Using a WiFi signal, it will allow the connection of two Zune players to beam a song from an owner to a non-owner. Then the non-owner will be able to listen to the song up to 3 times in 3 days, and flag it for purchase the next time they log onto the Microsoft Music Store. There are concerns about the impact on battery life of such a design (keep in mind the new iPod Nano has a 24 hour battery life - as in 24 hours of playing music continuously!) but overall, it is seen as bringing something new to the marketplace.

The question is not whether enhanced song sharing is the Golden Goose of the next wave of digital music player sales. It is. It is exactly the technology that made Napster huge, and keeps many of the quasi-legal peer-to-peer networks operating today. People want to find new music from friends and trusted family, no longer trusting radio to play the best music (as opposed to the music they are most bribes to play). It is why "headphone sharing" has been huge among iPodders. In NYC it is not uncommon for an iPod user to swap out his headphones for a friends, to hear what is playing.

The question is whether Zune has the right method. The good: it appears to be simple to use, it protects music companies right (at least until it is hacked), and it does enable sharing. The bad: It won't be hard to hack to enable illegal sharing, and the "three time only" limitation will annoy more than it will "enable" and will not allow viral spreading of new music (i.e. I tell a friend, who tells a friend, who tells a friend, etc.) My gut says this is not the final solution, though I had to give Microsoft credit for trying something new and different.

What is the right way to share? Not sure. But I suspect it has to do with staying analog, rather than going digital. Imagine, if you will, an iPod with a built-in FM transmitter. The iPod broadcasts the open transmitter via a digital technology (maybe bluetooth, maybe something less power-hungry like RFID). Other iPods in the vicinity can sense the open transmitter, and request to hear what the listener is hearing. The iPod broadcasts in FM, the other iPod recieves in FM. Analog all the way. As it plays, the track info is passed via a digital medium (encoded in FM perhaps, or again that altenative I mentioned). The other iPodders can then record the stream in analog form, and play it back. They do not get digital quality, they do not get track names and artists embedded into the file, but they do get shared music. Then as they listen again and again, they can transmit to other iPods. And if the track names/artists are recorded as they play, they can be synced to i!
Tunes to flag them for later purchase. The music studios get a sudden proliferation of "radio stations" pumping out their tunes (free advertising) but still incentives for customers to buy the real thing.

Your thoughts?

Cancer Stick Fashion

I am a single man. A portly single man. A portly single man with no sense of fasion. So I have absolutely no right to judge anyone else for having something which detracts from their appearance. But I can't resist this morning.

I am also a non-smoker. And I have to ask out loud if smokers understand exactly what a cigarette does to the perception of a non-smoker. Do they understand that it completely transforms them in our sight, and that it completely destroys any appearance of beauty or dignity they may be trying to project? I was driving to work this morning, and got stuck in traffic on I-84. I looked to my right and saw a beautiful woman enjoying the music on her radio/cd player/iPod/whatever. She was having fun, she was beaing herself, she was unguarded, and truly enjoying the moment. This is the kind of scene in which I find a woman is most beautiful - the shields are down and she is simply letting her inner beauty shine through. It is when you get a glimpse of the spirit within a person.

Then, she raised a cigarette to her lips, drew in a lung-full of smoke, tapped the ashes off, and casually flipped it out the window. It bounced off the door of the car next to her,and smoldered in the oily rain-slicked street.

Instantly, the spell was broken, and she has transformed from a beautiful creation of the King, to something else entirely. First, she is abusing her own body with the carcinogenic effluvia of tobacco. I have seen many family members die of cancer (though not lung cancer) so this is the first image that rampages through my mind. Second, she is polluting her body. This vision of beauty is surrounded with a foul-smelling cloud which is sensible even when it is not visible. Third, she is littering by tossing the spent thing onto the ground, showing a complete disregard for others and for the potential risks of her actions. Fourth, by bouncing it off of another car, she has shown a disregard for another's space and property. Fifth, she has shown herself to be enslaved by something which is more important to her than life. The addiction of tobacco is not something to be discarded lightly.

Now, before I am tarred and feathered by tobacco-loving readers, I know this is an extreme reaction. Even unreasonable. I try to overcome my all-too-human reactions. Especially as a "portly single man with no sense of fashion."

But I think it is only fair to make sure they understand exactly what they are doing to their own image.

To Red Bull or Not to Red Bull

CBS.Sportsline has up a good article on professional athletes use of the energy drink Red Bull before games. It does a really good job of explaining what is in Red Bull and what it is meant to do. I have never had a Red Bull and always wondered what was in it, so this article was helpful. Red Bull has been rested by a major sports testing company and does not contain any substances that are banned by the major American sports leagues.

Where has BASIC gone?

I remember with great affection my childhood days playing with BASIC on Timex Sinclar, TRS-80, Apple II, and Commodore 64 computers. It was a great way for me to learn how to program, and to be able to bring along my knowledge from operating system to operating system. Salon.Com is noting that today, BASIC is gone and nothing else has taken its place. At one time, I would have scoffed and said that PASCAL/C/C++ has replaced BASIC. But the fact is that if you want to program today - even on a VERY basic level - you need to install development software, do builds, do linking, etc. before having a working program. Even the simpler options like PHP require you know HTML before you start learning how to program.

Are we shortchanging the next generation of potential programmers?

Do you have a nemesis?

I guess today is comic day for me here at Mod-Blog. I was sick yesterday and am still running on less than a fresh oil change. I guess this is my way of giving the brain a rest for today.

How often do you get a joke that mixes obscure historical and astronomical references?

Top Digital Cameras on Flickr

This site has crawled Flickr to identify the top 10 cameras in use by their users. The list is skewed toward Digital SLRs, but shows what we all already knew - Canon, Nikon, and Sony are tops.

1. Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT
2. NIKON D50
3. Canon EOS 350D DIGITAL
4. Canon EOS 20D
5. NIKON D70
6. NIKON D70s
7. Canon PowerShot S2 IS
8. Canon EOS 30D
9. Sony CYBERSHOT
10. Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL

It is annoying that apparently all Sony Digicams identify themselves the same way, so we have no way of knowing if Sony's small cams are the top ones or if it is their monster SLR-replacement units.

Hands-On the Apple iTV Unit

Engadget has up the first hands-on review of the iTV prototype revealed by Apple yesterday. Again, this is the set-top unit for your television that will wirelessly stream iTunes content from your Airport network to your TV. In High Definition. In 2007.

Personally, the one big problem I see with the unit is the price. At $299, it is a bit expensive when you can simply hook your iPod directly to your TV from many sources, and when your laptop can output to HDMI. Of course, the convenience of not tying up your computer to watch a downloaded movie is worth something. But $179 would be a better price point.

Apple Showtime Event: In Text-Based Form

If you are too cool to want to see Apple's Showtime event in full-color, high definition video by going to their website (or are in an office where triumphant music and Steve Jobs's smirks might be frowned upon), you may wish to check out MacRumors.Com live webfeed of the event. It is a little AJAX app which will post the up-to-the-second news (without need to hit "refresh").

And for those NOT in the know (who have not been reading Mod-Blog faithfull), it is expected that Apple will announce the new Movie downloads store, and possibly a new movie-centric iPod (bigger screen than the current vPod).

The Simpson Character Generator

This could prove to be a colossal waste of time, but it is a lot of fun.

UPDATE: You may need to refresh the page a couple of times for it to actually work.

UPDATE 2: If that link doesn't work for you use this one.

Tower of Death

I took this picture while doing a service call at a local University. It was in a little accessed tower of an old building on campus.



Sometimes, found nature is the most interesting kind.

Under $2.70!

Under $2.70!
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

In Memory of the Fallen, after 5 Years

Our prayers are with the families of those who fell on 9/11/01. We have not forgotten, will never forget the victims nor the heroes who gave their lives to save those who could be saved.

"Don't Download this Song" - The Music Video

Somehow watching this video, even in YouTube form, makes me mildly ill. Still, it is brilliant in its own way.

Canon Digital Rebel XTi Review

DPreview has up a pre-release review of the Canon Digital Rebel XTi. Looks like they are fairly positive about the camera, but can find no really compelling reason to upgrade from the current XT unless you have a major problem with dust on your camera's innards.

This is why dogs are superior to cats

Electoral-Vote.Com

Wondering what the Senate will look like in 2007? Well, a leftover from the 2004 election is back in Electoral-Vote.Com which tracks polls from all over the country to give an idea of which party is stronger in national sentiment. At the moment, it appears that the GOP is winning, but just barely.

Happy Birthday Star Trek

Yesterday the Star Trek franchise celebrated the 40th anniversary of the premier of the first episode of the original series. 5 series, 9 movies and countless rip offs later the series is a pop culture/sci fi icon. So happy birthday Star Trek.

Striving for Equality or Obsessed by It

Michelle Wie is a very good golfer - she's among the best female golfers out there, and she's only 16 years old. Granted, she's never won a tournament in the LPGA, but she's come close many times. Yet for some reason there are many people that think she's capable of winning a men's tournament. I think that in time Wie could be among the best women's golfers of all time, but at this point in time she's not. In the golf world there is this thing about women (not) being able to play with the men. Several women have played with the men in high profile matches and none of them have done very well. Wie made the cut once earlier this year but lost by 10+ shots, but as far as I can remember that's the best anyone has done. This week she once again stumbled against the men.

With all the focus on a woman being successful in a mens tournament I'm wondering if it really is striving for equality or an obsession. The biggest difference between a mens tournament and a womens tournament (other than gender) is that the men play longer holes (the tee box is set back further). Men, generally speaking, are naturally physically stronger than women, which is why they play longer holes. I have no doubt that if the women played from the women's tee box and the men played from the mens box that the women would do quite well - perhaps even win. Striving is to prove that women can play just as well as the men - which they can, just watch them. But the obsession is to say that the women can play equal to the men, which they can't (184 men have a higher average driving distance than the highest woman). If those obsessed with the equality of women to men in golf want a fair match, then a man should play in a womens match, then things will be equal and here's why. In the womans match the tees are set to a distance appropriate to the strength of women and if the man is that good then he'll be able to compensate for the shorter holes. Asking a woman to do well - not to mention win - in a mens tournament is like asking me to win a wrestling match with Hulk Hogan. It has nothing to do with skill, it has everything to do with physics: bigger & stronger > smaller & weaker.

I feel sorry for Wie, because she's a genuinely good golfer with great potential. Unfortunately much of that potential is being wasted on the spectacle of a girl playing in a mens tournament, when it should be being nurtured in order to find the full potential much like what was done with Tiger Woods.

When comics go cruel...

For the record, Mod-Blog does far better than 2 hits every day. Some days we get six.

Apple Mac Easter Eggs

Apple has long been known for cool features in its operating systems, but even long-time users like me do not know them all. This article lists several lesser-known tricks that you can make your pet Mac perform.

Another function that not too many Mac users know is “Invert screen”. Just press Ctrl-Option-Cmd-8 on your keyboard and see your Mac invert it’s colours.

The other tricks are quite fun as well. My favorite is the screen capture trick, which I have used many times to capture images of problems for other people.

Chapl'n Chat-introduction

Muse here. Haven't really posted anything for just about an eon, so I figured with the advent of my new residency as a chaplain, I'd give a few thoughts here and there. My group and I just finished our first week of orientation, with one more week to go. Then we'll be out on the floors, making our way through the trials and traumas of people's lives. As far as the group goes, we are two Caucasian women, two African-American men, one African-American woman, and an African woman. In order to keep confidentiality and privacy, I won't reveal where I am working or what city. Also I will not and would not ever divulge any personal information that could be linked back to a specific individual, so as to not violate current HIPAA guidelines and other federal regulations.

What happens if you try to leave AOL?

Remember a month or so back when the press broke a story about AOL refusing to cancel a customer's account? For a time, when the press was watching closely, AOL amended their ways. But now that they have switched to a free service, it appears they are looking to make a real cancellation as difficult as possible. Buyers beware. If you do not completely cancel your AOL account, they retain the ability to debit your account at their discretion.

And of course, this is a good time to remind AOL members with separate broadband accounts, to stop paying AOL for unused dial-up service.

Back Pain is always there

Dog Quote

From The Quotations Page

Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in? I think that's how dogs spend their lives.

- Sue Murphy

Tony Blair to Step Down Within a Year

As many news sources are reporting, Tony Blair, who has long not been on party message with his own party, has announced that he will step down within the next year. This is a big blow for GWB and the US as one of the reasons Blair is not that popular is his support of the war on terror. An article over at MarketWatch claims that Blair is a good moderate who would do well if he were running in US politics. As the article points out, Blair has been in charge during a very good economic cycle for the British, but some say that it is more the doing of Chancellor Gordon Brown, the assumed successor to Blair. The British do have to worry about the growing radical move in the UK to make the UK an Islamic state, but I don't see a waning of the war on terror making things better. They've just shown that they're willing to back down in order to feel "safe".

Playstation 3 Delayed, Shortages Expected

Remember last Christmas when there were not nearly enough XBox 360 units to go around? Remember when we were all saying it would go down as one of the most horrible mistakes in the history of gaming? Remember how we said that the Xbox 360 would be swept away by a great Sony Playstation 3 launch?

Well, get ready to live through it all over again, but this time on the Sony side. Sony has announced that (1) only America and Japan will be launched in 2006, (2) Europe would be launched in 2007, and (3) there will be horrible shortages for Christmas 2006. Get ready for another round of parents killing each other to get the last PS3, and for a lot of disgruntled gamers ready to abandon the platform altogether.

GWB Admits Secret CIA Prisons

It appears that in light of the upcoming elections, the President has decided that the "secret" part of "secret CIA prisons" is no longer a good idea.

President Bush has transferred 14 key terrorist leaders from secret CIA custody to the U.S. military-run prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to be prepared for eventual trials, a senior administration official said Wednesday...Bush said such detainees provide essential intelligence to prevent terrorist attacks and to stop key terror suspects from again taking up arms against the United States. "We have a right under laws of war and an obligation to the American people to detain these people and prevent them from returning to battle," Bush said.
"They are in our custody so that they can't kill our people."

I admit to being somewhat disconcerted by this. I know that much is permissible in time of war that is not reasonable in peacetime. But can detaining anyone without trial, without counsel, and without possibility of appeal (even secret appeal) be allowed under our Constitution?

Apple Releases new iMacs, Mac Minis

Apple has quietly released upgraded iMacs, now up to 24inches and all Core 2 Duos as well as a speed bump to the Mac Minis which bring even the lowest level to Core Duo. Prices remain the same, which means you can now get a lot more bang for your buck.

I am just hoping the Core 2 Duos (significantly faster than the Core Duo chip, and uses less power at the same speeds) make it into the MacBook and MacBook Pros soon. Perhaps at the September 12 event.

Under $2.80!

Under $2.80!
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

iTunes MOVIE Store on September 12

It appears that the Apple Event scheduled for September 12 is being tagged with the motto: "It's Showtime!" Insiders indicate this means that the event will be the formal announcement of the release of movies on the iTunes Music Store. Rumors seem to indicate that most films will sell for $9.99, and this site claims to have the list of movies that will be released in the first six month to a year including...

From Disney/Pixar: Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3 (?), A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars

This could be the start of something VERY exciting. Especially if the quality of movies exceeds those of the television shows currently up there.

Barbra Bush Interviews Brad Meltzer

To be honest, I don't have a clue who Brad Meltzer is, other than what I read in the intro to this article. Nonetheless it's a pretty candid interview conducted by none other than Barbra Bush. But I mean, common it's Barbra Bush - the nation's grandma. My favorite part:

Bush: I have an iPod and a Blackberry. I know how to go to websites, Brad.

Barbra Bush uses a Blackberry - how cool is that.

The Wisdom of Homer Simpson

This MSN article is chock full of one writer's analysis of the "philosophy" of Homer Simpson. It is what be believes would be the distillation of all of the great yellow man's "thoughts." My favorite is...

Sometimes I think there's no reason to get out of bed . . . then I feel wet, and I realize there is.

Click through, but be aware that some of these may make you laugh out loud.

Down another cent

Down another cent
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

No we're not drinking gas like water. CRChair was filling up this time.

Free Mac Virus Checker

ClamXAV, the free Macintosh virus checker, has been updated to 1.0.4. Of course, no true virii exist for MacOS X, but this scans for trojan horses as well and other kinds of malware. And being free, the price is right. At this point, it is a far better deal than Virex or other competing products.

Ohio ends "Innocent until proven guity"

Several years back, I was disturbed by the establishment of the national sex offenders registry. Not because of all future sex offenders who would be tracked, but because it also put all past sex offenders - essentially a retroactive punishment for crimes. An ex-post facto law which is forbidden by the Constitution. But the courts upheld it, and it is now established law. And advocates defend any unusual measures because sex offenders are much more likely to offend again.

Now, the Ohio legislature is taking this train of thought to another level of problematic law and ethics. They now passed a law which would require even accused sex offenders to be tracked on a registry which is publicly available, and would require public notification when they moved. This means a bitter ex-girlfriend could simply accuse a man of a sexual offense, and he would be marked by the scarlet A for at least six years. It means suddenly that "innocent until proven guilty" has become "guilty until proven innocent" for one kind of crime.

And how long until this is extended to other crimes?

The Crocodile Hunter Is Dead

It is an ironic twist of fate that Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter has died not at the hands of a crocodile or alligator, but rather from a Stingray's barb.

He was swimming off the Low Isles at Port Douglas where he had been filming an underwater documentary when it occurred. Ambulance officers confirmed they attended a reef fatality this morning at Batt Reef off Port Douglas. Mr Irwin, 44, was killed just after 11am, Eastern Australian time....It is understood Mr Irwin was killed instantly. A source said Mr Irwin was already dead when his body was brought onto the Isle.

We should be praying for Steve Irwin's wife who no doubt will have to deal with the media mob, and a number of people who will be laughing at his death, when all she will see is the passing of the man she loved.

Gas prices still dropping

Gas prices still dropping
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Woot! DIVX-playing DVD Player

Woot is a great little site which has tech deals every day. One deal per day, which expires at midnight (or whenever they sell out). Today's (Sunday's) deal is for an 8" portable DVD player that plays DVDs, DIVX disks, and MP4 disks, and has a built-in card reader for $89. If you need portable video and can not afford a video iPod, this is the way to go!

But you must act TODAY (Sunday). Tomorrow, Woot will have moved on to a new deal.

Yes, I literally have had this conversation with a manager

Google Image Labeler

Is it a tool or a game? Check it out and at the very worst, you will at least help Google to learn how to better rate and classify images for their searches.

If you think YOU'RE having a bad day...

"Extreme" Origami?

I enjoy doing a little (very simple) origami now and then. At my job, a lot of paper is produced and if it is not folded into something useful, then it is simply thrown out, shredded, and ultimately ashed. Well, I am amazed to see just how far some true origami experts have taken the art in their quest for greatness. It is now considered a "sport".

These days patterns requiring more than 100 steps are common. Some of that competitive acceleration is due to Lang, who transformed the art by writing a computer program that can generate the blueprint for ultracomplex origami sculptures. Even with digital assistance, figuring out the sequence of folds that will create a beetle and all its ornaments is a mathematical problem of staggering complexity. Still, the reigning champion of intricate origami is a 23-year-old Japanese savant named Satoshi Kamiya. Unaided by software, he recently produced what is considered the pinnacle of the field, an eight-inch-tall Eastern dragon with eyes, teeth, a curly tongue, sinuous whiskers, a barbed tail, and a thousand overlapping scales. The folding alone took 40 hours, spread out over several months.

Check out the article. Some of the designs shown there are truly amazing. It makes my silly little swans and balloons look even more juvenile than they are.