Saturday, July 26, 2003

Blogger stirs with life...... I knew it would happen just as surely as what I buy this week will be on sale next week.  I left Blogger for the Radio Userland and the stirrings of life begin.  Still no upgrades to Blogger Pro allowed I see.  Too late.  I'm a citizen of Userland now.  I have heard rumblings in blogland about a buyout of Userland also ... any intel on that? 11:00:46 PM    comment []

Linux Rant of the Day:  The Picture says it all! Idea:  If someone could add another small panel above the MAC panel with a single large red RESET button in the middle with WINDOWS above it!  Sorry Bill! ... I still love ya! 3:30:50 PM    comment []

Silliness! Whats with me today?  I just looked at my posts for today and they are all just silly stuff!  Must be the weather.  Yep ... thats it!  Its three in the afternoon and only 99 degrees.  We get a little silly here in the Big Valley when it stays below 100 in July. Global Warming side note:  No high temperature records have been broken here this year.  According to the NWS the last time a record high was set here in the month of July was in 1991.  Global Warming? 3:20:43 PM    comment []

My toothbrush can kick your toothbrush's ass I returned home from the drug store last night ready to write something about the odd arms race that's developed among toothbrush manufacturers. A competition is afoot to make the world's most colorful, fat-handled, ergonomic, elaborately bristled, and, in some cases, motorized toothbrush. I was skeptical that any of this was in the service of making consumers' teeth cleaner, but merely for emptying our pocketbooks at a faster rate for the privilege of buying something that doesn't even fit in the toothbrush holder. But, I had to buy a new brush, so I selected the one that least resembled a cartoon spaceship and placed it in my basket. This morning, I brushed my teeth with my new toothbrush. And damn if it didn't feel about 200% better than my old brush. The grip was very comfortable, and the way the brush was angled...well, it was just perfect. My teeth practically brushed themselves. The toothbrush arms race is paying off! Here's to toothbrushes with really big handles and 6 HP motors. (From:Jason Kottke at kottke.org 2:49:18 PM    comment []

No Cussing In Church A man went to church one day and afterward stopped to shake the preacher's hand. He said, "Preacher, I'll tell you, that was a damned fine sermon. Damned good!" The preacher said, "Thank you sir, but I'd rather you didn't use that kind of language in the Lord's House. The man said, "I was so damned impressed with that sermon I put five thousand dollars in the offering plate!" The preacher said, "No shit?" 2:42:00 PM    comment []

Grandmother 1, airport 0.   Grandma Beats Up Airport Security Guards by Bob Wallace Charges were dropped yesterday against Ruth "Grammy" Gordon, an 83-year-old wheelchair-bound grandmother, who was originally charged with assault and battery, and assault with a deadly weapon, because of an altercation she had last week with six airport security guards, that left all 6 hospitalized. "Justice has been served," said the 95-pound Mother of three and Grandmother of six, as she sat in her wheelchair, aided in her breathing by an oxygen bottle. "Now I'm going to sue every fool in the federal government for ignorance, stupidity, and just plain general incompetence. I'm an American, and I won't be treated like this." The problem began last month as Gordon was attempting to board an airplane.  "These guys are supposed to be some kind of professionals," she said, "but they're dumber than rocks. Here they were, letting guys who looked just like terrorists walk through without searching them, and then they pull me aside and tell me they're going to search me? I don't think so." According to one witness, Bud Cort of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, one guard, "who weighed about 300 pounds, looked like he was drunk, and had his shirt out, told this woman she couldn't board the plane unless they searched her.  He was really rude. That's when the trouble started." Videotapes showed that Hollis ran the guard down with her motorized wheelchair, then sat on top of the screaming man while spinning her chair in circles. "Doofus was so fat he couldn't get up," said Hollis with a giggle.  One guard who attempted to pull Gordon's wheelchair off of the screaming man from behind was hit over the head with an oxygen bottle and knocked unconscious. A third guard, who approached Hollis from the front, was also left dazed on the floor. Witnesses said she was cackling, "Put your hands on an old lady, will you?" as she bashed both guards. The tape also  showed a fourth guard attempting to grab Gordon's wheel-chair. Hollis removed a knitting needle from her purse and stabbed him in his left buttock. "What a wimp," she told reporters. "He started screaming and grabbing his butt and running like a puppy that someone kicked." "It was amazing," said another witness, named Scott Ryan. "The whole crowd just stood there cheering and clapping. I mean, she was whupping butt." A fifth guard that attempted to grab Hollis had the seat of his pants set on fire with a cigarette lighter that had escaped detection. "He just went whoosh across the concourse, screaming and slapping at all these flames flying out of his rear," said Ryan. A sixth guard did finally manage to get Hollis in a body hug. "I think that was the wrong thing to do," said another witness, who declined to be identified. "She just grabbed him by his greasy hair with one hand and cracked him across the jaw with her skinny fist. And down and out he went." After all this, Hollis's chair was still sitting on top of the first guard.  The tapes clearly showed her leaning over and yelling, "Apologize to me, you fat sumbich, or when I'm done with you, you'll just be a greasy spot on the floor!" As the crowd roared, the guard cried, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Uncle! I won't do it again!"  Finally, Hollis surrendered without further incident, and was taken to jail and released on her own recognizance. "We didn't have any choice," said an unidentified officer of the court. "Over 200 people showed up to support her. I think if we had demanded bail, there would have been a riot." Over 20 lawyers offered to defend her for free. However, realizing the precariousness of the case, Hollis was not charged with anything. "I doubt there's a jury in the whole country who would convict her." YouGo Granny!!  I don't care if it isn't true.  I wish it was!   11:20:49 AM    comment []

Cool! Do you think your eyes are perfect? If so, look at these visual illusions. So, how can you believe ANYTHING your eyes tell you? [The Scobleizer Weblog] 8:17:00 AM    comment []

Evan Williams of Google chimes in on Internet Explorer's future ala Tim Bray. [The Scobleizer Weblog] I agree.  I have been using Mozilla 1.4 for awhile and feel the same way as Mr. Williams.  I keep going back to IE6.  I don't care about tabs and Banner Zapper has always worked just fine for me.  Too many times Mozilla displays pages badly (overlapping text is common) or will not work at all (my online banking).  Opera was a total disaster and did not stay on my machine long.  I will however continue to watch Mozilla and use the new releases to see if they hit the sweet spot someday. 8:06:31 AM    comment []