Well, the polls are open here (primary elections) and I'll have to mosey over to the polling place before 7pm. Most of the time, I go to the Early Voting which started 23 Feb but I just couldn't get excited about it, since the Presidential candidates were finalized on Super Tuesday (last week). Word is that Texas would have been part of that, had it not been for all the delays caused by the shenanigans involved with the redistricting (gerrymandering) last year. For awhile, I wondered why there only seems to be a Democratic primary, before realizing that President Bush has too much money to make any CFRP Member even think of challenging him. It'll be interesting to see if this strategy pays off in November.
One of the funniest sites I've seen so far (this election) is: Intellectual Conservative Politics and Philosophy because they appear to honestly believe this stuff. Some people take themselves far too seriously, and IMHO, this is one of those.
One site led me to DemStore.com where you can buy Democratic campaign stuff. I wondered if the CFRPs had their own site, so I tried GOPstore.com which linked to GOPShoppe.com (the "Republican Superstore"). Ah, the Wal-Mart of Politics?
Tuesday, March 9
Luddites
The Luddites rejected technology because it was technology, not for any sane reason. This is what strikes me when I saw the verifiedvoting.org site (which bills itself as ("Verified Voting - Campaign To Demand Verifiable Election Results"). If they are successful here, they'll be demanding that grocery items be marked with paper pricetags again (a throwback to the days of our ancestors). As expected, Luddites do not have a web presence, since that would require the use of a computer. Even so, I'm happy to see that luddite.com is back on the air, along with their all-wooden computers.
Pop-ups = annoying : really? (can you say "duh?" .. good; i knew you could) : Pop-ups damage brands download - Bunnyfoot Universality - UK usability & accessibility consultants. I used the blocker in the Google toolbar for a long time, and decided to try the one in the Yahoo! toolbar. I prefer Google's because it requires less effort to maintain.
Pop-ups = annoying : really? (can you say "duh?" .. good; i knew you could) : Pop-ups damage brands download - Bunnyfoot Universality - UK usability & accessibility consultants. I used the blocker in the Google toolbar for a long time, and decided to try the one in the Yahoo! toolbar. I prefer Google's because it requires less effort to maintain.
Monday, March 8
blogs, phones, and the British Invasion
Somehow, I wandered across a blog on behalf of the Mars Spirit Rover which amused for a few minutes (I can use some extra amusement/distraction lately).
Unrelated: an article in MIT Technology Review entitled: One Person, One Phone
My company uses the services of AccessLine Communications to direct telephone calls in a non-trivial way (you get a special phone number which can automatically route the calls based on time of day, or even your calendar). Very cool stuff, but I'm not very mobile anymore (since the Economic Bubble burst) so this would be mostly lost on me.
And finally, some guy decided to take out his anger about Britain on his Come To New Britain website (amusing reading). Heard elsewhere that (due to a weak US Dollar) travel to Europe will be more expensive than ever, meaning (conversely) that we may be in for a summer of Europeans coming to America for vacation. Hmm.
Unrelated: an article in MIT Technology Review entitled: One Person, One Phone
My company uses the services of AccessLine Communications to direct telephone calls in a non-trivial way (you get a special phone number which can automatically route the calls based on time of day, or even your calendar). Very cool stuff, but I'm not very mobile anymore (since the Economic Bubble burst) so this would be mostly lost on me.
And finally, some guy decided to take out his anger about Britain on his Come To New Britain website (amusing reading). Heard elsewhere that (due to a weak US Dollar) travel to Europe will be more expensive than ever, meaning (conversely) that we may be in for a summer of Europeans coming to America for vacation. Hmm.
Friday, March 5
Friday Five
What was... ...your first grade teacher's name?
Miss Grady
...your favorite Saturday morning cartoon?
depends at which age .. I remember Huckleberry Hound and Space Ghost, but there were dozens. Roadrunner was also a favorite, for years. And then there was Rocky & Bullwinkle, and The Pink Panther, and ...
...the name of your very first best friend?
Tannis or Larry (I don't remember who came first). I'm pretty sure that Tufan and Man Hyong came later.
...your favorite breakfast cereal?
Captain Crunch (gimme sugar!)
...your favorite thing to do after school?
Ride my bicycle around the block (about 1.5 miles)
Miss Grady
...your favorite Saturday morning cartoon?
depends at which age .. I remember Huckleberry Hound and Space Ghost, but there were dozens. Roadrunner was also a favorite, for years. And then there was Rocky & Bullwinkle, and The Pink Panther, and ...
...the name of your very first best friend?
Tannis or Larry (I don't remember who came first). I'm pretty sure that Tufan and Man Hyong came later.
...your favorite breakfast cereal?
Captain Crunch (gimme sugar!)
...your favorite thing to do after school?
Ride my bicycle around the block (about 1.5 miles)
Thursday, March 4
where did I leave the flashlight?
A thunderstorm blew through here a little after 3pm, and a power spike "rebooted the house". This took my Internet connection offline for a few hours, so I attended the DFW Unix User Group meeting (topic: VoIP - voice over internet protocols). The preso was done by 4 speakers from Add-a-line (aka Add-a-Voice) which is a spin-off of august.net (an ISP). Some of the new stuff I learned was IRLP (internet radio linking project); ENUM (Electronic Numbering); SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) compared to H.323 & MGCP, and Vonage. Also learned that SIP is extensible (woohoo!).
Earlier in the day, I stopped at a random bank (not my own) to exchange a $20 bill for some dollar coins. This time, I got a completely different reaction from the teller. Basically: "why on Earth do you want those?" before going from station to station until she found someone willing to part with their collection of Susie Bs (the Susan B Anthony coins that look like a slightly large quarter) and Sacajaweas (which have been marketed as gold-looking). I was amused to see that Susie B's were minted as recently as 1999, apparently replaced by the Sacaja's in 2000.
I've had a royally bad attitude lately, partially due to a cow-orker, who reminds me of a particular Dilbert collection: Always Postpone Meetings With Time-Wasting Morons. He delights in creating arbitrary rules, and bristles when I respond in kind (example: "I will not accept correspondence that is not formatted 72 characters, justified.")
Finally, I'm considering changing my local phone company (it's still weird that I have the option). What finally set me over the edge is the annual increases in their CallerID service, one of the very few options I care about. When the rate went to $9 per month per line, well .. it set me off in the wrong direction. It's time to shop.
Earlier in the day, I stopped at a random bank (not my own) to exchange a $20 bill for some dollar coins. This time, I got a completely different reaction from the teller. Basically: "why on Earth do you want those?" before going from station to station until she found someone willing to part with their collection of Susie Bs (the Susan B Anthony coins that look like a slightly large quarter) and Sacajaweas (which have been marketed as gold-looking). I was amused to see that Susie B's were minted as recently as 1999, apparently replaced by the Sacaja's in 2000.
I've had a royally bad attitude lately, partially due to a cow-orker, who reminds me of a particular Dilbert collection: Always Postpone Meetings With Time-Wasting Morons. He delights in creating arbitrary rules, and bristles when I respond in kind (example: "I will not accept correspondence that is not formatted 72 characters, justified.")
Finally, I'm considering changing my local phone company (it's still weird that I have the option). What finally set me over the edge is the annual increases in their CallerID service, one of the very few options I care about. When the rate went to $9 per month per line, well .. it set me off in the wrong direction. It's time to shop.
Wednesday, March 3
not number one
not only did my car not make the list of Top 25 most stolen, my car color didn't even make the Top 5! Guess I need to consider buying another car, more attractive to thieves? This is explained on the National Insurance Crime Bureau web site.
Huzzah! The International Society for Bayesian Analysis reminds me of Robert Burns, but I'm not sure why. Today, Reverend Thomas Bayes' statistical methods are beng used to combat spammers. Their annual meetings must be Pure Excitement, Frivolity, Giddiness, etc.
GoogL'ost: Buddhist Reading Room led me to the Dallas Buddhist Association - Collected Teachings of Master Chin Kung and the Buddhist Center of Dallas
Huzzah! The International Society for Bayesian Analysis reminds me of Robert Burns, but I'm not sure why. Today, Reverend Thomas Bayes' statistical methods are beng used to combat spammers. Their annual meetings must be Pure Excitement, Frivolity, Giddiness, etc.
GoogL'ost: Buddhist Reading Room led me to the Dallas Buddhist Association - Collected Teachings of Master Chin Kung and the Buddhist Center of Dallas
Tuesday, March 2
hummers
today's entries are stuff that i've wandered across in the past few days, which caused me to say "hmm" (out loud):
Other magazine bills itself: "pop culture and politics for the new outcasts" and publishes only 3 times a year. hmm.
Family Tree DNA bills itself: "we do genetic tests for your genealogy questions!". Hmm.
BuzzFlash presents Southern Style: Masterful Machiavellianism. Hmm.
Jakob Nielsen wrote about the fallacy of higher IQs of first-born children: see "Overlooking Covariants" in Risks of Quantitative Studies Hmm.
United Parcel Service: Sticky Fix I must watch for the telltale 2x3 inch label on my next UPS package. Hmm.
Albertsons: A Shot at the Crown describes Wal-Mart's onslaught into the grocery business. I consider Wal-Mart: The Microsoft of Retail. Hmm.
Last, but certainly not least: I have a new screen background: X-Ray Linux Penguin Hmm, hmm, hmm.
Other magazine bills itself: "pop culture and politics for the new outcasts" and publishes only 3 times a year. hmm.
Family Tree DNA bills itself: "we do genetic tests for your genealogy questions!". Hmm.
BuzzFlash presents Southern Style: Masterful Machiavellianism. Hmm.
Jakob Nielsen wrote about the fallacy of higher IQs of first-born children: see "Overlooking Covariants" in Risks of Quantitative Studies Hmm.
United Parcel Service: Sticky Fix I must watch for the telltale 2x3 inch label on my next UPS package. Hmm.
Albertsons: A Shot at the Crown describes Wal-Mart's onslaught into the grocery business. I consider Wal-Mart: The Microsoft of Retail. Hmm.
Last, but certainly not least: I have a new screen background: X-Ray Linux Penguin Hmm, hmm, hmm.
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