Madonna faces her own music

Bowhunter pointed me over to this article that more or less speaks for itself.

In a grand twist of irony, Madonna — who posed nude for her "Sex" book, simulated a sex act on a water bottle in her "Truth and Dare" movie, passionately embraced an African-American Jesus in her "Like a Prayer" video and kissed Britney Spears at the MTV Video Music Awards — is having to tell Lourdes not to dress so provocatively, The New York Post's Page Six reports.

This of course brings to mind the current state of Brittany Spears - overreported to the max for her current problems recovering from drugs and Kevin Federline. This brings to mind a thought for me. Is it time to enforce child labor laws on the Entertainment Industry? Would all of these child celebrities have had a chance to grow up to be more normal people, if they were kept from super-stardom? I am generally not for government intruding in these ways, but I have to wonder.

Topps misprints Jeter

It is too bad the Dow Jones can't follow this example to raise the value of its stocks right now. Apparently, one of the people behind this year's Topps baseball cards found a way to add some value to the Derek Jeter card.

It's hard to Topps this one: The card company has issued a Derek Jeter baseball card with a smiling President Bush in the stands. But there's something very wrong with that picture: Bush wasn't really at the game that day. A not-so-careful analysis of the card makes it clear that Bush was digitally superimposed - his right arm extended in a waving motion and his left arm seemingly missing. The mischievous elves at Topps then played another version of Where's Waldo - sticking a picture of Mickey Mantle in the dugout. The Mick is depicted in uniform, holding a bat as though he were back from the dead and preparing to pinch hit.

OF course, the real question is whether this is a misprint or a deliberate attempt at guerilla marketting. Either way, it is sure to be a hot collectible, if any hit the street.

Heroes Parody

I am really enjoying HEROES this year. But somehow I could see Wacko enjoying this alternative show, and being the STAR!

Stucks Plunge

Wow, Greenspan predicts a Recession on Monday, and on Tuesday the Dow obediently drops over 400 points. Talk about a well-trained pet!

U.S. stocks plunged to their worst one-day performance since 2001 on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 200 points in one minute around 3 p.m. before recovering some ground by the close, after a sell-off in China fueled concerns about growth. Concerns that tighter credit conditions in China and Japan might dampen global growth first sent Shanghai sliding 9% overnight before the sell-off spread to other markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 415 points, or 3.3%, to close at 12,216, its worst one-day drop since September 2001.

More proof that the economy is more about psychology than reality. Nothing has actually happened yet. The economy fell on fears over what may happen. Sigh. Why do economists claim it is a science?

Gas prices still rising

Gas prices still rising
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

For the Physics Nerds among us.

This is NOT entirely family-safe. Be aware that there is a word at the end of the video we don't like having here on Mod-Blog unless it is used medically. But I have been resisting posting this for a few days, and just can't hold off any longer.

Normally, I really DO NOT like Conan, but I challenge any Physics Nerd NOT to laugh at this.

OpenCongress

OpenCongress.org is a new and interesting experiment in bringing together official and unofficial sources on actions in Congress. The idea is to try and provide a one-stop-shop for information on congress-people, bills, initiatives, etc. in one place. I have no had a chance to use it much in practice, but the idea is interesting and the format seems easy-to-use. It is worth a bookmark for future use.

Greenspan: Get Ready for a Recession

It has been a long time that the American Economy has wallowed in recession, but the nations highest economist is saying the cycle is coming around again and a recession is on the way. Like the climate (*cough*), the economy is cyclical, following the psychology of the people upon which it rests. Highs, lows, highs, lows, etc. The current long economy is an unusual high without a low to balance things out.

Of course, the biggest question is how a recession in late 2007 or early 2008 might impact the 2008 elections. Will it be viewed as "The Bush 2 Recession" or will it be slow to start and become associated with the newly elected president instead? The experience of George H. W. Bush reminds us that the President is held responsible for the economy, whether he or she had anything to do with it.

Ultimate in bad luck... sort of

CRChair pointed out this story to me of an Olympic wrestler who survived a plane crash. But what is more interesting is how many times he has cheated death.

Five years ago, he was snowmobiling in Wyoming when he became separated from a friend while trying to pass over a ridge in deep snow...He lost a toe to frostbite after that close call...Shortly before his final Olympics, Gardner was struck by an automobile while riding a motorcycle to practice. That time, he walked away with only abrasions and a sore left heel....When he was a kid, he punctured his abdomen while playing with a bow and arrow while his parents were out of town. The doctor said Gardner had just missed puncturing a vital organ.

How many lives can one man have?

Scholars begin anaysis - and scorn - of James Cameron's "Jesus tomb"

The reaction to James Cameron's evidence for the tomb of Jesus has begun, and so far it has not been kind. Even among friendly scholars, it appears the evidence is being ridiculed as lacking archeological credibility.

Pfann is even unsure that the name "Jesus" on the caskets was read correctly. He thinks it's more likely the name "Hanun." Ancient Semitic script is notoriously difficult to decipher.

Kloner also said the filmmakers' assertions are false.

"It was an ordinary middle-class Jerusalem burial cave," Kloner said. "The names on the caskets are the most common names found among Jews at the time."

Cameron himself also shows a surprising lack of understanding of what he is claiming. The director had working on the film indicated recently that he does not see how a tomb for Jesus Christ would be an attack on Christianity.

"But they're not necessarily the implications people think they are. For example, some believers are going to say, well this challenges the resurrection. I don't know why, if Jesus rose from one tomb, he couldn't have risen from the other tomb," Jacobovici told "Today."

I guess Hollywood does not understand that the Resurrection preceded the Ascension, which precedes the Return of Christ at the end of the age. It is dangerous to mess with things one so clearly does not understand. Especially when a trip to any local church in America, England, or the Holy Land would have been staffed by clergy more than willing to explain.

The first iPhone ad launches

Personally, I slept thru the Oscars, but Apple apparently figured the most important demographics did not. (Or figured my demographic would find the video on a sharing site... which I did.) It is a cute ad - a teaser really - but it may presage the campaign to come behind the iPhone launch in June.

Yes, Viriginia. Al Gore won an Oscar

A surprise to almost no one, former VP Al Gore won an Oscar for his film "An Inconvenient Truth. Now, I am of the opinion that much of the science he shows is... shall we say... dubious. However, having watched the film, I have to admit he does a masterful job of presenting it, and attempting to convince everyone in his audience. The film really is a good film, and worth a watch no matter which side of the aisle you come from to see a master showman at work, presenting something he truly believes in.

Plus, I really enjoyed the Futurama clip that he shows early on in the film.

Your Favorite Movies

With the Oscars being given out today, Nomad and I were having a conversation about our favorite movies. These are not necessarily the movies we think are the "best" movies, but they are my favorite. These are movies that I could pretty much sit down and watch anytime. Please include a list of your top 5 movies in the comments section. Trilogies don't count, but your favorite movie from a trilogy may. OK, here are my top 5: Field of Dreams, Thirteen Days, Gandhi, Josie and the Pussycats, and Can't Hardly Wait.

This is our Dog every time Mom stands up

This is NOT an Exaggeration of Corporate America

James Cameron vs The Resurrection

It appears that James Camerson has noticed the profitability of THE DAVINCI CODE, ans decided to take seriously the words of Paul.

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
1 Corinthians 15:14-19

Mr. Cameron is now claiming that he has found the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth and that his body is still there. The problem of course is the lack of evidence, and the fact that the Israeli professor who discovered the tomb does not think the body belongs to Jesus and his family. After all, could a carpenter afford an ostentatious tomb?

I am quite certain it will make for quite the profitable documentary. But I seriously doubt it will be any more successful at shaking the faith of millions than the many others who have come before claiming to disprove Christ and his resurrection.

Meetings = Less Intelligent Design

As a business analyst, a lot of my job involves organizing meetings for design of new technology. I have noticed that "victory" in these meetings is simple - whoever is the most prepared going in, wins. If I walk in and say "So what do you want?" then I am guaranteed to have an hour or 3 of useless debate which ultimately will lead to nothing but more meetings. But if I walk in and say, "I know you want X, what do you think of my solution?" AND HAVE HANDOUTS WITH SCREEN MOCKUPS, 99.9% of the time people will just go along. A new study confirms my informal conclusions. Essentially, what they have found is that humans are more creative alone, because they do not self-censor based on the percieved consensus of a group. Groups, on the other hand, tend to gravitate to a few solutions quickly, and ignore all other solutions because "if they are not talked about, they can't be important."

Not sure how to get around this. Human nature is political nature, and humans need to feel part of the process before they'll accept change. But if you want a good design, you are better off with one person alone.

Don't Go Joe

A number of publications are reporting that Joe Lieberman may be considering a jump to the Republican Party over his own party's stance regarding the Iraq War, and specifically their strategy to de-find it while the troops are still there. When Jim Jeffords switched parties during a 50-50 Senate, I criticized him harshly. I said that the people of his state elected him as an Independent, and he should remain one. Switching so soon after an election is not reflecting a long-standing change, but rather the worst kind of political opportunism. Now that Joe is allegedly considering a jump to my party I have to say my views are no different. Joe had a chance to run as a Republican, and had he run the odds are EXCELLENT that he would have been the nominee. He was actively courted by most of the political powers in CT. But now that he has stuck around as a Dem, he should remain a Dem. At least until the next Senatorial campaign.

Vilsack is out.

The first declared presidential candidate for 2008 is removing himself from the race. Iowa governor Tom Vilsack says he sees no way he can raise enough money to compete with the other better know candidates before the Iowa caucuses so he dropped out of the presidential race. This is probably a good thing for the final process as he pretty much never had a chance to win. Hey, he can always try to get the vice presidential nomination.

Circumcision vs. AIDS

I am trying to avoid commenting too much on this story, but I could not leave it unposted. A new study shows Circumcision cuts the risk of AIDS by up to 60%. Is it a coincidence that so many of the Theistic religions encourage this practice, if they do not outright require it? This is the strongest link yet shown between the two.

Why Hillary Clinton should NOT be our next President, and it has NOTHING to do with her views

I have been re-reading 1984 by George Orwell over the last week, and I was stuck last night by a line analyzing the Party of his imagined world. It made it clear that one of the main things that leads to "revolutions" (something the Party of that book has made obsolete) is the sense that government has become hereditary, and that there is no longer a means for smart, capable, ambitious men and women to rise. Locking any government into a hereditary ruling class is the surest way to bring about violence (see the man invasions of Rome, for an example) and discontent (see the French, English revolutions).

The current pattern of governance of the USA has brought us very close to a hereditary or family model. While it is normal for American presidencies to be reactionary to the one before (Nixon's scandals brought about Carter's rise of the ineffectual but honest man, Carter's lack of ability and strength brought about Reagan's rise as the man with apparent strength and manlyness), in the past it has largely been reactionary in the KIND of person who is elected next. Not the actual family structure. At the moment, we have Bush, Clinton, Bush as the pattern. Bush 1's lack of connection to the common man brought about the election of Clinton as the president who "feels your pain." Then the Clinton scandals did something different. Instead of simply bringing about the election of a man who could be free of scandal, American voters turned to simply a rejection of Clinton by annointing another Bush! (Yes, I am ignoring the question of the popular vote in 2000. Feel free to use the comments to lambast me for that. Or for having myself voted for GWB twice.) Now the Democratic Party is about to do the same thing by nominating Hillary Clinton as simply a rejection of George W. Bush.

The message this sends to the People is this: The system is becoming a family-based system. We go from A to B to A to B to A, and please forget about any chance for C to rise and change the dialogue. We are very happy with our current argument and need no new voices. The political class is sealed, and the gates to the palace are no longer open to anyone. This can only be bad for the country, and bad for any nation that considers itself in any way a democracy.

And yes, I am also asking Jeb Bush and George P Bush to NOT run in 2012 and 2016, if Mrs Clinton DOES become president in 2008.

Nomad is back

Okay, we can take this as a sort of declaration of intent. After the whole debacle with Anonymous in the Shoutbox, I took some time off of Mod-Blog. Our readers may have noticed the relative dearth of posts from me over the last week or so, as I have tried to get my head on straight after having been called just about every name in the book, and several that were cut from the book because they made no sense. After a week of soul-searching, I have decided this simply indicates that Mod-Blog is no longer the safe haven from the internet trolls that I had thought it was. One of the advantages of being a small blog - read mostly by friends, family, and long-time readers - is that we did not have to deal with people whose only reason for living is to cause ulcers for the sane. That advantage apparently no longer exists. My peacemaker nature immediately made me consider quitting Mod-Blog - is it worth my time and energy to be part of a blog where all I ever see or hear about is abuse? But I have decided that Mod-Blog is no less valuable or useful now than before.

So here is the deal. Nomad is going to return to posting. However, expect me to be a bit less responsive to comments and shoutbox than before. If I decide you are a troll or just trying to make me mad, I am not going to react. I am not going to respond to you at all. I am going to ignore you and move on. If anyone starts to try and take over the shoutbox with such comments, we will revoke it entirely. On the other hand, we are NOT trying to silence other viewpoints. Many times I have posted articles from BowHunter - some of which agreed with us, some of which opposed us - and if you are capable of putting together a well-written, insightful, and most of all reasonable article, send it to me and you also may be posted.

Apologies to anyone I was whining to the last week or so. I see now, it was just a hurt ego and I need to be a man and get over it.

I'm scared...hold me.

Yahoo has up an interesting article contributed by Men's Health on what men are scared of. I must say it seems pretty accurate to me. Of course men have differing levels of fear in each category, but overall I think they did a good job of analyzing men.

Gas prices rising

Gas prices rising
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

When is a fetus an independent organism?

One of the arguments that abortion proponents use to justify the practice is that a fetus is not an independent entity, but merely part of he mother's body. A case in Britain is challenging that argument as a baby born at 22 weeks has survived, and is doing well enough to go home. Check out the pictures in the article to get an idea of just how small this child was when born - smaller than a ballpoint pen.

Steve Jobs criticizes teachers unions

For many years the education market was the bread and butter of Apple's business. Education still makes up a good deal of Apple's business but no where near where it once was. Speaking at a conference Jobs said, "I believe that what is wrong with our schools in this nation is that they have become unionized in the worst possible way," He went on to criticize the way the teacher's unions tie the hands of principles. Personally I couldn't agree with him more. I think that unions were created for a good reason and served a great purpose for a time, but more often than not they're now ways of extorting more stuff from employers. I think that Jobs has some points that are worth discussing, when we talk about the future of education in the US.

Welcome to Winter

Judging from the snow piles up here in Bath, NY, more than a few families had this experience last week during the Noreaster.

For Those of You that Do Tech Support...

"Introducing the Book"

I've Had Similar Thoughts Before...

But then, we all knew I was weird.

Door Holding Etiquette

Romney Anouncement Video

I missed the Mitt Romney announcement that CRChair found so encouraging. But I beleve this video is it for any Mod-Bloggers who want to hear and decide for themselves.

Happy Valentine's Day

Proof That Some People Have Too Much Time on Their Hands

Vista Security Hole

I'm really not sure why people are moving to Vista. Aside from "Cooler graphics" (which in my mind means "slower computer"), there only seems to be bad things. Slashdot has up a post about a flaw in the new Vista UAC security. Vista assumes that all installers have administrator privileges. This means that someone could write a virus or trojan horse that installs on your computer and Vista allows it because, "hey, it's an installer program. It must know what it's doing."

Another big flaw is that Vista over-prompts users, effectively training them to always click yes.

Read this account from Slashdot user 787style

I had probably the most frustrating ten minutes i have ever spent on a computer before.

Start, typed in regedit enter.
Vista:Are you sure you want to run this program?
Me: Yes. I went OUT of my way, hit start, run and typed in the pogram name I wanted. Thanks for checking though. (click) ....
Edit the registry, close it. That was easy. ....
double clicked on setup. Stupid shield on my icon, what does that mean?
Vista: are you sure you want to run this? it's a program, you know.
Me: Oh that must be what the shield is for. Vista feels like it should protect me from software!
Vista: This is from AMD. Do you trust AMD?
Me: yes, they pay me. I trust them. (click) .....
Install......that was easy. ....
Oops, there's a problem. Well, let's grab the correct file from the build server and copy it over ...
Open my computer, go to program files ....
Vista: Are you sure you want to go there?
Me:Yes (click) ...
open up the application folder ....
drag a file from a network share to the application folder....
Vista: Are you sure you want to overwrite this file?
Me: Yes (click)
Vista:A program wants to write to the Program Files folder. Is this ok?
Me: Yes (click)
Vista:You are trying to copy from a network share to the program files folder. This isn't allowed. Hit ok.
Me: (Pounds head) (click) ....
Drag to Desktop. ....
Drag from desktop to application folder. ...
Vista:
Are you sure you want to overwrite this file?
me: [censored] yes
Vista:A program wants to write to the Program Files folder. Is this ok?
Me: Die.Die.Die.Die.

Follow Up #1: I apologize. There was a phrase I should have censored to make it family friendly. It has been censored now.

My Vibe Restored

My Vibe Restored
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

$175 later, and before the snow storm hit. Thank you, Lord!

Obama's Walking The Fine Line

It will be interesting to see how the Democratic candidates walk the fine line of being anti-Iraq and yet not angering those whose family members have served there or are serving there. Just recently, Barack Obama said in a speech, "We now have spent $400 billion and have seen over 3,000 lives of the bravest young Americans wasted." In the article, he claims that he knew he shouldn't have said it, but then also says, "I would absolutely apologize if any (military families) felt that in some ways it had diminished the enormous courage and sacrifice that they'd shown," a non-apology at best.

My Man Mitt

Mitt Romney is one of the Republicans I could see supporting in the 2008 Presidential election. He is giving his formal announcement today of his intention to run. Here are some of the important bullet points from his speech.


"I love America and I believe in the people of America.

"I believe in God and I believe that every person in this great country, and every person on this grand planet, is a child of God. We are all sisters and brothers.

"I believe the family is the foundation of America – and that we must fight to protect and strengthen it.

"I believe in the sanctity of human life.

"I believe that people and their elected representatives should make our laws, not unelected judges.

"I believe we are overtaxed and government is overfed. Washington is spending too much money.

"I believe that homeland security begins with securing our borders.

"I believe the best days of this country are ahead of us, because…

"I believe in America!

New Airport Extreme + Work VPN = Problems

This support article over at the Apple forums indicate a problem with making the new Airport Extreme (802.11n) work with external VPNs, like the one I use for my work network. I hit the same problem today where I could log into the VPN, but then not access any devices on it. If this is an issue for any of our readers, my workaround gleaned from the linke article:

1. Open a DOS windows on the Windows laptop
2. Type "ipconfig /all"
3. Note your IP address and MAC Address (Click on that link to see what a MAC address is. It has NOTHING to do with Apple)
4. Open the new Airport Utilty
5. Log into the base station
6. Go to "Base Station/Manual Setup"
7. Click in [Internet] button, then [DHCP]
8. Set up the Windows MAC address with the IP addres you noted under DCHP reservations
9. Click on [NAT]
10. Check "Set up default host at:"
11. Enter the IP Address you noted earlier
12. Click the [UPDATE] button
This will cause your Airport Network to reset, so don't do it if you are in the middle of any important uploads or downloads.
13. Wait for the Airport to restart and the LED on it to go green again

Now you are ready to enter the VPN. Or at least I was. I make no promises this will work for everyone, but it did work for me. It allows me to access my work VPN, and surf the web on my Mac laptops as well that are on the wireless network.

Perfect Ending to a Perfect Day

If I needed something to put the whole thing with Anonymous in the Shoutbox into perspective, God certainly provided. I got home from work at about 5:30 PM. I had an appointment to get to at 6:00 PM, so I left my car out in front of our house with my GPS inside. I went inside, used the bathroom and grabbed my laptop, I went back outside to find the passenger window of my car smashed in and my GPS (Nuvi 660) yanked out. That was all they took, and all they damaged. No one was hurt, either.

I called the police and gave them the info including the serial number of the GPS. They indicated there have been a rash of such thefts, and they are hot on the heels of the thieves. I called Geico and they were helpful, even though my deductible is likely to be more than the cost of replacing the window.

I praise God for his mercy on this, and that all I lost was a thing that is easily replaced. And that I have enough money that I do not have to choose between food and fixing the window. Click on the picture to see the whole set.

The coolest USB drives yet

This is the coolest series of USB flash drives I've seen - other than the one that's part of your watch. They're your basic 1, 2 or 4 GB flash drives in the shapes of many of the characters from Star Wars. Here's hoping I can convince my wife to get me one for Valentines day. ;)

Gas prices

Gas prices
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Tension

Aleternative Theory for Global Warming Gains Stream

And this one claims that human activity has nothing to do with it. But it DOES predict that Antarctica should be getting colder while the Arctic gets warmer. Guess what? It is. Which is contrary the Greenhouse Gases theory.

A reminder that while Politics is about hubris, science is about humility.

Wal*Mart blocking Mac users as well as Firefox

I saw this on Slashdot and knew that I had to post it here, because of the inordinately large number of Mac users on Mod-Blog. It seems that Wal*Mart has decided that they are going to use a particular type of DRM that is only usable on IE for Windows on their video download site. Now, I am not a fan of Wal*Mart because of many of their business practices and because their isles are too small and crowded (claustrophobia and such). But even if I did use their services this would turn me off completely. If I did download movies I'd be more likely to do it via iTunes anyway, but I think that this is just a bad idea by the Wal*Mart web division simply because of the number of people out there who don't use IE and the number who can't use IE because they run a different OS.

Ever wonder how college grading works?

The secret is now revealed. I always wondered about why professors hung around the staircases after finals. I had thought it was to slow down students who sprint out of the building after handing in their exams, who might slip and tumble.

Return of the Muppets? (Again?)

Over the years, Mod-Blog has reported on innumerable attempts by the networks to revive the old Muppet Show. I am a huge fan of the puppet thespians and have faithfully and eagerly awaited their return each time. The problem is, there is a definite disconnect between what the audience wants (MUPPETS!) and what TV execs are willing to take a risk on (More American Idol!) Well, the latest attempt to bring Kermit and Fozzie back to the little screen is a Muppet reality show. Apparently a 10 minute pilot ha been shot for a series or mini-series set in the Mockumentary format following Kermit as he tries to get the old gang back together for a new Muppet Show.

It sounds like a lot of fun to me. Then again, I am not sure any TV station is really willing to take a chance on a Muppet Show sans genius Jim Henson.

Some days I wish *I* knew what a "Cam" was

Other days, I just content myself with understanding the Pauli Exclusion Prinicple.

I have pointed this out to several friends who do REAL work...

...in the construction fields. New software that allows you to get measurements of any building automatically from a digital picture. There are currently no third-party reviews out there yet, so it could all be a hoax or vaporware. But if it works, I could see it saving contractors, builders, and similar trades thousands of dollars a year in surveying costs.

Love the Dock, But Stuck on Windows?

One of the more interesting developments of MacOS X has been The Dock - a combination task bar and launcher that most Mac Heads hated at first but have grown to love with time. If you are one of those who are forced to live with a Windows world, but wish you had the Dock, check out Rocket Dock a free application that brings the same functionality to WindowsXP and Windows Vista.

When God Says Wait

Well, I'm typing this post from my "upgraded" home office. It's "upgraded" because I've brought just about everything that I use from work from the work office to the home office. I would love to say that this is completely good news, but sadly, I can not.

For those that don't know, the big prayer request has been regarding funding for my company (which will remain nameless so as to try to keep bad press about the company off of Google, etc.). This funding was supposed to come around Thanksgiving and has kept getting put off. Various excuses were given, but the long and the short of it is that we don't have the money to keep paying the bills so we're vacating the office, we've let everyone go, and a few of us are basically giving whatever time and effort we can to keep the company going in hopes of getting said funding and having our stock be worth something.

Now, some might say that I should wake up and see that God is clearly saying "No" and that I should move on to the next option. I don't see that. If He was saying "No", we wouldn't be able to do this backup plan. I believe that God is saying "Wait". Why? I have no clue. I do know that God always answers and He never answers late. He also rarely answers early. Is He late on this? I've wondered if God and I are using the same calendar, but I cling to the fact that He never answers late. There is some purpose to this trial and I am to consider it joy, as it says in James.

Even in this trial, God has chosen to take care of us. My wife and I are fine as she has her job. We've also got that plan that will allow us to keep the company open and still allow everyone to pay their bills.

Today a song by Nicole Nordman was playing in my iTunes playlist that I've latched onto. The song is called Small Enough and the lyrics can be found here. Sitting by myself in the office building with price tags on the furniture, I must admit that this one set of lines from the song I specifically identify with

All praise and all the honor be;
To the God of ancient mysteries.
Whose every sign and wonder turn the pages of our history.
But tonight my heart is heavy,
And I cannot keep from whispering this prayer.
Are You there?

Well, this has been a long, rambling post, but I hope that some can take encouragement from this as they face the trials in their own lives. God will always answer and He is never late in his answer. Sometimes He just calls on us to trust and wait.

iPod + Walking = Prison?

I find it amazing that while many try to repeal laws with a socially useful purpose, like those against adultery, because they are "unenforceable" have no problem calling for laws like this one which all of society is sure to be ignored and hated by nearly everyone.

New Yorkers who blithely cross the street listening to an iPod or talking on a cell phone could soon face a $100 fine.

New York State Sen. Carl Kruger says three pedestrians in his Brooklyn district have been killed since September upon stepping into traffic while distracted by an electronic device. In one case bystanders screamed "watch out" to no avail.

Kruger says he will introduce legislation on Wednesday to ban the use of gadgets such as Blackberry devices and video games while crossing the street.

Next up, banning talking to a pretty girl while crossing the street.

Prices hold steady

Prices hold steady
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

I think this often when using Windows

Though I use an app on my Mac called Little Snitch that does the same thing for lots of network traffic, so I am probably being a hypocrite.

A little Tuesday insanity

For your reading pleasure, here are a few of the weirdest laws in his great country of ours. Below a few examples from my home state of CT.

- A local ordinance in Atwoodville, Connecticut prohibits people from playing Scrabble while waiting for a politician to speak.
- A pickle is not officially a pickle unless it bounces
- Guilford: Only white Christmas lights are allowed for display.
- Hartford: You aren't allowed to cross a street while walking on your hands
- In Connecticut any dogs with tattoos must be reported to the police.
- In Hartford, Connecticut, it is illegal to kiss your wife on Sunday.
- It is illegal to dispose of used razor blades.
- New Britain: It is illegal for fire trucks to exceed 25mph, even when going to a fire.
- Waterbury: It is illegal for any beautician to hum, whistle, or sing while working on a customer.
- You can be stopped by the police for biking over 65 miles per hour.
- You may not educate dogs.

This Scares Me

I'm going through old articles that I've saved, some specifically because I wanted to comment about them on Mod-Blog so you may see some older articles over the next few days.

While I agree that we do need to keep better control of our borders, implanting people with RFID tags worries me. There are a number of potential privacy issues. How long until citizens have to register and get their RFID tag?

One Year Ago

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Originally uploaded by quizwedge.

Yesterday was our first anniversary. I love you, Babe!

The Story of One Iraqi Hero

You probably won't hear about this on any mainstream news source.

As the murderer dressed in women’s clothes walked purposefully toward his target, there was a village man ahead. But under the guise of a simple villager was a true Martyr, and he, too, had his target in sight. [He] had seen through the disguise, but he had no gun. No bomb. No rocket. No stone. No time.

[He] walked up to the murderer and lunged into a bear hug, on the spot where we were now standing.

The blast ripped the [him] to pieces which fell along with pieces of the enemy. Ball-bearings shot through the alley and wounded two children, but the people in the mosque were saved. The man lay in pieces on the ground, his own children having seen how his last embrace saved the people of the village.

We need to hear about more stories like this one, where average Iraqis are laying down their lives for their neighbors. Until finally there is no need for them to do so anymore.

What Is REALLY Important?

Play NES and SNES Games on One Machine

In my middle school and high school days, Nintendo (NES) and Super Nintendo (SNES) rules the roost (though the Sega Genesis fans would debate that). When college came around and the next generation consoles began popping up, we began wondering what would happen to those games that had been saved up. Some of us turned to emulators, but now that the patents on the NES and SNES have run out one company has come out with a console that plays catridges from both!

Instant Glacier?

This is a long video, but you get the idea in the first few seconds. One coast of Newfoundland, ice is forming spontaneously along the coast and pushing its way up onto land. The phenomenon is amazing. Reminds me of the instant snow I gave for Christmas presents this year.

Whose Line at its Best

Yes, We Men ARE That Dense

The Windows Vista Nightmares Begin

Columnists have been writing about the hypothetical problems that Windows Vista's onerous copy protection scheme would cause for the software monolith for nearly a year now. Now, it appears all those chickens are coming home to roost.

I purchased the Ultimate copy via Amazon for my Macbook Pro at work ($400) and then when I got home, I purchased one additional license ($50) for Home Premium through the Microsoft web site for my iMac at home. That's $450 that I gave Microsoft.

The online sale went fine and I was issued a license key for my second machine. The problem was that the key didn't work. I re-entered and double-checked it at length with no luck. Time to go to support. In the email I received it had a web link to follow if you need help, so I clicked. It goes to a non-existant page at microsoft.com, and still does today.

So, next I called the toll-free number in the email. It turns out that this is a Microsoft number, but for a different project...He told me he hoped that someone would get back to me "within a few days" and that he's very sorry but has nothing more to offer.

Microsoft does not offer refunds for purchases made through their web site and they are sticking to that policy, leaving users like me who already paid them hundreds of dollars with no recourse and unable to affect the remedy to this horrible situation.

This is merely the first place I read about this. It is being reported all over the blogsphere by various victims of this problem.

I am guessing while this will be a bad weekend to be working Microsoft Support, it will be equally bad to be working for ANY creit card company as you walk customers through thousands of credit card disputes.

If you thought lock bumping was bad...

Ever wonder why we drive on the right, and Brits drive on the left?

This site has some answers.

The papal system prevailed until the late 1700s, when teamsters in the United States and France began hauling farm products in big wagons pulled by several pairs of horses. These wagons had no driver's seat; instead the driver sat on the left rear horse, so he could keep his right arm free to lash the team. Since you were sitting on the left, naturally you wanted everybody to pass on the left so you could look down and make sure you kept clear of the other guy's wheels. Ergo, you kept to the right side of the road.

Posted without further comment

Matt Groening talks the return of Futurama

This is about as official as it gets! Matt Groening, creator of both the Simpsons and Futurama, talking about the return of Futurama to Comedy Central in 2008. I can hardly wait!

Gas still decreasing in price!

Gas still decreasing in price!
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Finally!!!

Pssst... VOIP...

FYI, I just signed up for Skype because they had a $14.95 for one year deal that ended yesterday. Hoping to be able to use it on both my MacBook and my PepperPad in a month or so (PepperPad app coming, they say, MacOS X is available now). Drop me a note if you want to know my username.

The plan I signed up for does not allow incoming calls from real phones, but DOES allow outgoing calls to real phones and free calls from other Skype users.