with apologies to Alfred E. Neuman ...
Monday, January 9
Sunday, January 8
Sunday blahs
There are still a few hours left, but today's been one of those throwaway days.
I didn't even fetch the newspaper from the sidewalk until 10:30 or so (there are days in the past when I moseyed outside at 5:30am and was miffed that it wasn't there yet).
I watched two (TiVo'd) episodes of The Office (US version) and was mildly impressed that they seem to have found their American wings. The earliest episodes of this series were "direct translations" of the UK version, and it just didn't work. Now, they have some of the same interaction issues (office romances that Don't Quite Work, etc.) but it plays to our Yank sensibilities. Also, Steve Carell isn't trying to be David Brent, but is evolving his character into a different Incompetent Boss role. I'll watch it again, to be sure.
Late morning, Judy-Bob called and wanted to do brunch at Monica's (in Deep Ellum) so we did that, but very few people were there -- maybe only nine tables. It could be due to the NFL playoffs, or maybe those rumors of the demise of the area are true. To be fair, the personality of Deep Ellum on Sunday morning, and that of Saturday night, are wildly different. And yes, Trish-Bob, the rumor is true: Trees has closed.
While fidgeting under the car seat, we found an unfamiliar cellphone. I turned it on, and thought the registered number looked familiar, and was not completely unsurprised to find my home number in the Outgoing Call Log. Whoever "lost it" is one of my friends, right?
Later, I searched my PDA and found that the number belonged to a group we'd done business with over 6 months ago! It's true; this Nokia phone still had enough standby battery to last under my car seat without a recharge for 6+ months! Amazing. The mystery of the phone is solved, and I'll return it to the service provider to be used in a battered women's shelter or other noble cause.
I didn't even fetch the newspaper from the sidewalk until 10:30 or so (there are days in the past when I moseyed outside at 5:30am and was miffed that it wasn't there yet).
I watched two (TiVo'd) episodes of The Office (US version) and was mildly impressed that they seem to have found their American wings. The earliest episodes of this series were "direct translations" of the UK version, and it just didn't work. Now, they have some of the same interaction issues (office romances that Don't Quite Work, etc.) but it plays to our Yank sensibilities. Also, Steve Carell isn't trying to be David Brent, but is evolving his character into a different Incompetent Boss role. I'll watch it again, to be sure.
Late morning, Judy-Bob called and wanted to do brunch at Monica's (in Deep Ellum) so we did that, but very few people were there -- maybe only nine tables. It could be due to the NFL playoffs, or maybe those rumors of the demise of the area are true. To be fair, the personality of Deep Ellum on Sunday morning, and that of Saturday night, are wildly different. And yes, Trish-Bob, the rumor is true: Trees has closed.
While fidgeting under the car seat, we found an unfamiliar cellphone. I turned it on, and thought the registered number looked familiar, and was not completely unsurprised to find my home number in the Outgoing Call Log. Whoever "lost it" is one of my friends, right?
Later, I searched my PDA and found that the number belonged to a group we'd done business with over 6 months ago! It's true; this Nokia phone still had enough standby battery to last under my car seat without a recharge for 6+ months! Amazing. The mystery of the phone is solved, and I'll return it to the service provider to be used in a battered women's shelter or other noble cause.
Saturday, January 7
WMF patch makes mouse wheel disappear
I installed Microsoft's WMF patch and soon thereafter, the scroll wheel on my mouse stopped working. In either the Internet Explorer or Firefox browser. Hmmm. The mouse behavior became so erratic that I had to IPL (reboot) the machine, and the scroll wheel reappeared.
As Tonto would say: "Heap strange, Kemo-Sabe."
Alas, it's supposed to be almost 80F here today. I'm starting to suspect this Global Warming Myth ain't a myth.
Unrelated: Texas Governor PrettyHair thinks Texas public school science students should be taught Intelligent Design along with Evolutionary Theory; I guess that makes him an IDiot. Nothing new there, but he'll probably win lots of votes. Remember that Texas is DEAD LAST in education in America, and this should propel us to #51 (of 50) behind Kansas, traditional cellar-dweller Mississippi, and a future state to be named later.
As Tonto would say: "Heap strange, Kemo-Sabe."
Alas, it's supposed to be almost 80F here today. I'm starting to suspect this Global Warming Myth ain't a myth.
Unrelated: Texas Governor PrettyHair thinks Texas public school science students should be taught Intelligent Design along with Evolutionary Theory; I guess that makes him an IDiot. Nothing new there, but he'll probably win lots of votes. Remember that Texas is DEAD LAST in education in America, and this should propel us to #51 (of 50) behind Kansas, traditional cellar-dweller Mississippi, and a future state to be named later.
Overheard: "Science Class? What do you need Science fer. Ain't you wanna be a Cheerleader or a Hairdresser no more, and git yew a good huzbun?"
Friday, January 6
of spyware and paper
A few days ago, I blogged about updating the Restricted Sites list in MS-IE; I ran SpyBot last night, and it showed zero instances of spyware on that PC (there are usually more than a dozen per week). Very cool. Now I just have to remember to keep The List updated.
Normally, I'd just stuff the following in my Sundry on Thursday blog, but this is of such worldwide importance that I simply must mention this Straight Dope column here: How did 8½x11 and 8½x14 become the standard paper sizes?. After reading that, my heart is beating at high warp.
Unrelated: Men's Fitness magazine's ranking of the fattest cities in the country is out. Dallas was 6th fattest in 2004 and has "risen" to 4th fattest in 2005! Woo hoo!! Let's break out the fried barbecue and pork rinds to celebrate!
Normally, I'd just stuff the following in my Sundry on Thursday blog, but this is of such worldwide importance that I simply must mention this Straight Dope column here: How did 8½x11 and 8½x14 become the standard paper sizes?. After reading that, my heart is beating at high warp.
Unrelated: Men's Fitness magazine's ranking of the fattest cities in the country is out. Dallas was 6th fattest in 2004 and has "risen" to 4th fattest in 2005! Woo hoo!! Let's break out the fried barbecue and pork rinds to celebrate!
Wednesday, January 4
Dave be praised
Pity it was up against The Longest Orange Bowl In History (4.5 hours!) but .. that's why there's TiVo, which can record two shows at once.
Each night, my TiVo faithfully records The Late Show with David Letterman. I usually listen to his 6-joke monologue, then fast-forward to the Top Ten List, then delete the episode ... unless there's an interesting guest. Last night, Bill O'Reilly (certified Radical Right sociopath) from Fox "News" was a guest, and ... it was a classic exchange.
Unlike Jon Stewart's interviews on The Daily Show, Dave didn't pussyfoot around. He started by addressing O'Reilly's "War Against Christmas" fabrication (the only purpose of which was to lure viewers). Not only did Dave opine that 60% of everything O'Reilly says is crap, he challenged him on the War against Cindy Sheehan.
Caveat: I don't usually listen to O'Reilly either, but I'll bet he spins this one as another huge victory - him against Dave. Not only is Fox "News" an American Disgrace, but O'Reilly is the King of That Feces Mound.
Dave: you make me proud. If you're ever in Dallas, stop by and I'll plant one on your lips.
Late update: indeed, O'Reilly attacked Dave on Wednesday's show, calling him a card-carrying member of the "secular progressive movement". O'Reilly The Bully just can't stand it when he's dressed down. Boo Fricking Hoo.
Each night, my TiVo faithfully records The Late Show with David Letterman. I usually listen to his 6-joke monologue, then fast-forward to the Top Ten List, then delete the episode ... unless there's an interesting guest. Last night, Bill O'Reilly (certified Radical Right sociopath) from Fox "News" was a guest, and ... it was a classic exchange.
Unlike Jon Stewart's interviews on The Daily Show, Dave didn't pussyfoot around. He started by addressing O'Reilly's "War Against Christmas" fabrication (the only purpose of which was to lure viewers). Not only did Dave opine that 60% of everything O'Reilly says is crap, he challenged him on the War against Cindy Sheehan.
Caveat: I don't usually listen to O'Reilly either, but I'll bet he spins this one as another huge victory - him against Dave. Not only is Fox "News" an American Disgrace, but O'Reilly is the King of That Feces Mound.
Dave: you make me proud. If you're ever in Dallas, stop by and I'll plant one on your lips.
Late update: indeed, O'Reilly attacked Dave on Wednesday's show, calling him a card-carrying member of the "secular progressive movement". O'Reilly The Bully just can't stand it when he's dressed down. Boo Fricking Hoo.
Tuesday, January 3
prison stripes, size 10 ?
It'll be interesting to watch what happens with Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (Republican) now that Jack Abramoff has agreed to name names. Another advantage of TiVo is the ability to slow/freeze frame anything, so KBH's name lept out at me as I watched the scrolling list of those Republicans whom Abramoff is alleged to have bribed (everything from free basketball tickets on up).
There's no word yet on Texas' other senator (John Cornyn - a real patsy's patsy) but since he's a Republican, odds are he was "on the take" too, as that seems to be a requirement for party membership, starting in 1999. Well, to be fair, some didn't qualify because they accept bribes; some qualified because of their gross incompetence or callous disregard for the US constitution (Cheney, Rove, DeLay, Frist, not to mention President Quagmire Himself).
Aside: since 98.6% of all incumbents are re-elected, Texas will have John Cornyn and his ilk to "represent us" for a few more dozen years. I can hardly wait to see what his next scandal is about ...
There's no word yet on Texas' other senator (John Cornyn - a real patsy's patsy) but since he's a Republican, odds are he was "on the take" too, as that seems to be a requirement for party membership, starting in 1999. Well, to be fair, some didn't qualify because they accept bribes; some qualified because of their gross incompetence or callous disregard for the US constitution (Cheney, Rove, DeLay, Frist, not to mention President Quagmire Himself).
Aside: since 98.6% of all incumbents are re-elected, Texas will have John Cornyn and his ilk to "represent us" for a few more dozen years. I can hardly wait to see what his next scandal is about ...
Sunday, January 1
143 years ago today
Today's the last day of Kwanzaa and the last day of Hanukkah (this year, anyway). I guess it's time to prep for the next holiday, about two weeks away: Martin Luther King Jr's birthday.
Whenever I drive to downtown Dallas on 75-Central Expressway, I pass the Dallas Freedmen's Cemetery, although I haven't stopped for a visit - yet. I vaguely recall stories about this in the local newspaper, after I moved to Dallas (1993). Freedmen is a generic term used after The Rebellion (Civil War, etc.) to describe freed slaves. New to me: the Confiscation Act of 1862 preceeded Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation (143 years ago today).
While seeking information on Dallas Freedmen's Cemetery, I found a reference to the Texas Black Codes, which were enacted after The Rebellion and before the Jim Crow era (the Radical Republicans of the 1860s are extremely different than the Radical Republicans of the Bush regime). About 16 months ago, I mentioned the item in my own Deed Restrictions (dated June 1961, before JFK's assasination):
Now, 140 years later, the modern Radical Republicans look back at those days with a tear in their eyes. Most (including Bill Frist, Tom DeLay, Rick Santorum and others of their ilk) have fond memories of the days when their families owned large number of non-voting Coloreds, who danced merrily around the campfire at night and didn't concern themselves with things like Equal Rights.
Completely unrelated: yesterday, Beta and I sat down and watched Death to Smoochy (2002) mainly because the cast includes Jon Stewart (of The Daily Show fame). My review: what a fine, fine motion picture. Like so many others, this makes Gone With The Wind (1939) pale in comparison.
Whenever I drive to downtown Dallas on 75-Central Expressway, I pass the Dallas Freedmen's Cemetery, although I haven't stopped for a visit - yet. I vaguely recall stories about this in the local newspaper, after I moved to Dallas (1993). Freedmen is a generic term used after The Rebellion (Civil War, etc.) to describe freed slaves. New to me: the Confiscation Act of 1862 preceeded Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation (143 years ago today).
While seeking information on Dallas Freedmen's Cemetery, I found a reference to the Texas Black Codes, which were enacted after The Rebellion and before the Jim Crow era (the Radical Republicans of the 1860s are extremely different than the Radical Republicans of the Bush regime). About 16 months ago, I mentioned the item in my own Deed Restrictions (dated June 1961, before JFK's assasination):
All of said property shall be occupied and used for residence purposes only and by white persons only, not excluding bona fide servants of any race in the employ of the owners or occupants of the tracts respectively owned or occupied by them ...It appears that Black Codes were common in 1865-1866, although I'm surprised at the term itself, since Negro (or even "colored person") was the common term in those days.
Now, 140 years later, the modern Radical Republicans look back at those days with a tear in their eyes. Most (including Bill Frist, Tom DeLay, Rick Santorum and others of their ilk) have fond memories of the days when their families owned large number of non-voting Coloreds, who danced merrily around the campfire at night and didn't concern themselves with things like Equal Rights.
Completely unrelated: yesterday, Beta and I sat down and watched Death to Smoochy (2002) mainly because the cast includes Jon Stewart (of The Daily Show fame). My review: what a fine, fine motion picture. Like so many others, this makes Gone With The Wind (1939) pale in comparison.
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