My In-laws have a Mac, running Netscape 4.6.
Boy, is this page ugly on a platform where CSS doesn’t work.
Hmmmm.
Yuck
My In-laws have a Mac, running Netscape 4.6. Boy, is this page ugly on a platform where CSS doesn’t work. Hmmmm….
Month: December 2001
The Road Goes Ever On and On …
No, I haven’t seen Lord of the Rings yet. Maybe today, or tomorrow. Meantime, I greet you from Faerie nonetheless. Not that being here in Southern California and visiting with…
No, I haven’t seen Lord of the Rings yet. Maybe today, or tomorrow.
Meantime, I greet you from Faerie nonetheless.
Not that being here in Southern California and visiting with parents and in-laws is really like Faerie. I mean, there’s plentiful food and drink, good company, realms of wonder for Katherine to explore, and a strange, timeless, sense where days rolls by in a quiet, busy blur, and where worldly responsibilities seem to fade in importance …
… until you wake up, like Rip Van Winkle, and twenty years have passed, and all those things you promised yourself you’d work on during your vacation remain undone. Eep!
We made it from Colorado to California safely, and quickly. We didn’t get out of downtown Denver (because of a meeting Margie had to attend) until 10 in the morning. That put us at about 5 p.m. wending through Albuquerque rush hour, and approaching 10:30 as we came up on Flagstaff. We took the southern (I-40) route, rather than cut across Utah, because of reports on the Weather Channel, et al., of snow showers beginning there Friday. Better safe than sorry, and all that.
So as we approached Flagstaff, we also approached a decision. Katherine was intermittently either asleep in the back, or was quietly watching truck lights. We could stop in Flagstaff — and then run the chance that she wouldn’t sleep in the hotel, and the certainty that she’d not want to get back into the van in the morning, or be happy with another day of travel, and there was still that storm that was being predicted, extending even down to Flagstaff — or we could keep going.
We kept going. Margie and I traded off every three hours or so, one of us napping in the back next to Katherine, the other driving into the darkness. We encountered only one blip of weather, fog and sleet coming through the Cajon Pass.
We made it to my In-laws about 5 a.m., handed off Katherine, and caught about 5 hours of sleep. We’ve been kind of catching up ever since (not helped by Katherine having decided Friday night that she really wanted to sleep in bed with Mommy and Daddy, but not really sleep, but squiggle around and kick and giggle).
So here we are. And it’s fun, and Katherine’s having a blast with looking at the Christmas Tree and exploring a new house. She got her bangs cut yesterday, with all family in attendance.
The Christmas cards I worked on so hard last week have arrived with people here in the last few days, so that’s all a good thing.
It looks like all the gifts we shipped have arrived.
I got my “early” Christmas present, my new digital camera. More on that in another post.
My folks have been over the past few evenings — the first a “welcome to California” quiet pizza party, the second a “Pre-Christmas Eve Dinner” last night (since various scheduling difficulties make getting everyone together Christmas Eve problematic).
And I finally got around to blogging. Will wonders ever cease?
Cue river, woods, grandmother …
As of this morning, we are Off on the Road to California, said trip via mini-van to take a day or two (or three, if Katherine’s squigginess exceeds design parameters)….
As of this morning, we are Off on the Road to California, said trip via mini-van to take a day or two (or three, if Katherine’s squigginess exceeds design parameters). Expect to hear more about our adventure (There, Not Yet Back Again) Saturday or so. Until then, ***Dave Won’t Be Doing the Blog.
In the meantime, read the folks off in the Link List o’ the Season, to the left. There’s a reason I put them there.
Catch you in a few. And may God have mercy on our souls …
Venus and Mars
Regarding cell phone text messaging, women are ruder than men … but they regret it more, later….
Regarding cell phone text messaging, women are ruder than men … but they regret it more, later.
Cable ties
We started off, here in Denver, with TCI Cable, the largest cable company in the US. (Denver is a major telenetworking hub, business- and technology-wise, though many folks don’t know…
We started off, here in Denver, with TCI Cable, the largest cable company in the US. (Denver is a major telenetworking hub, business- and technology-wise, though many folks don’t know that.)
A few years ago, TCI sold out to AT&T, to become AT&T Broadband, that company’s attempt to lock up the entertainment and broadband market. AT&T handled it with their usual efficiency, and is now looking to rid themselves of the whole thing.
Oh, joy. I have Microsoft Cable or AOL Cable to look forward to.
On the other hand, if either of them is willing to give me cable modem connectivity, I’d consider tatooing their logo on my forehead …
That HR problem …
Remember that HR problem I keep occasionally ranting about? It finally comes to a painful end tomorrow. And, joy of joys, I get to be in on the resolution, since…
Remember that HR problem I keep occasionally ranting about?
It finally comes to a painful end tomorrow.
And, joy of joys, I get to be in on the resolution, since the manager involved is off on vacation. Not that he intentionally timed it this way (and not like I’ve managed to be out of the office the last two times he was involved in something similarly painful).
I earn my Big Bucks tomorrow. And the timing (coming on my last day at the office before shuffling off to California on vacation) couldn’t be better, since we all know that such days are usually just sit-around-and-goof-off days, right?
Yeesh.
Carded
Well, most of the Christmas cards — at least the out-of-area ones — are off in the mail. Cards are always kind of a difficult chore for us, partly because…
Well, most of the Christmas cards — at least the out-of-area ones — are off in the mail. Cards are always kind of a difficult chore for us, partly because we’ve made it so.
We have a Christmas Letter that needs to be written, printed, and rubber-stamped, and we also have invitations for our Twelfth Night Party that need to be written, printed, cut, and stamped. We have cards that get one, cards that get the other, some that get both, some that get neither. We have cards going to local people by mail, cards going to each of our offices by hand, Twelfth Night invites going to offices without cards, and, of course, cards going overseas which we have to figure out the postage on, which means figuring out the weight on.
There’s also always the entertainment of figuring out who gets a card, who doesn’t get a card, and who would appreciate a religiously-themed card vs. who wouldn’t.
And, of course, we usually wait to the last second on this. (I’ve decided that NaNoWriMo will probably not happen for me next year — November sucks as a month to have all my free time absorbed.) Last year, in fact, I think we ended up mailing some cards from California. Which won’t happen this year, but only just.
It didn’t help that the party invites turned out to be just a scosh to big for the relatively small cards we did this year (or, more properly, their envelopes), so that I had to take them into the office today to trim them on the paper cutter, and then rather cleverly left them there, so that I couldn’t do anything with those cards.
I’m the Christmas Card Fanatic in our household, if you haven’t guessed. It was something my folks did (and do) diligently, and I’ve always felt it’s part of my obligation to those I know and love, or at least those with whom I never have any other contact save for such cards. It’s a means of staying in touch with my extended family (and friends), when I’m so bad at doing it in any other way.
It’s not Margie’s bag, but she’s usually very nice about thanking me for all the work I put into it (and drag her through regarding it).
Anyway, that’s the Christmas Card Status Report. For those who were interested, that is.
Perspective
John Walker, the American-turned-Taliban, has become the favorite whipping boy for various conservative pundits who see him as the archetypical leftist loonie from Marin County. Never mind that joining the…
John Walker, the American-turned-Taliban, has become the favorite whipping boy for various conservative pundits who see him as the archetypical leftist loonie from Marin County. Never mind that joining the Taliban is not exactly a leftist thing to do, the point of their critique is that Walker’s parents — and, more importantly, their wishy-washy left-leaning fuzzy-headed liberalism (the brush with which Marin is widely painted) — are to blame for Walker being a mess.
But, as Steve Chapman points out in the Chicago Tribune, that’s not a fair conclusion.
The rush to blame Walker’s crimes on his free-thinking parents and his wealthy, liberal hometown is way too facile. Timothy McVeigh came from what conservatives might call a “refreshingly unenlightened” place–Pendleton, N.Y., a blue-collar town of 5,000 people near Buffalo. He was also an Army veteran who saw combat during the Gulf War. But I don’t recall any conservatives saying that something rotten in the culture of Pendleton or Ft. Riley, Kan., brought on the Oklahoma City bombing.
Likewise, Theodore Kaczynski grew up in the heavily Catholic, salt-of-the-earth Chicago suburb of Evergreen Park, which is known as “The Village of Churches.” But when the Unabomber was finally caught, no one blamed his murderous attacks on the pervasiveness of Christianity and patriotism in his youthful surroundings.
(Via Overlawyered)
I knew that Web contraption was good for something …
For many years, it’s been possible to send a letter to a randomly picked serviceman (er … servicemember) abroad as a morale boost over the holidays. Unfortunately, given the whole…
For many years, it’s been possible to send a letter to a randomly picked serviceman (er … servicemember) abroad as a morale boost over the holidays. Unfortunately, given the whole anthrax thing, those programs (including “Operation Dear Abby” and the “Any Servicemember” mail) have been indefinitely suspended.
Fortunately, somebody thought about the Internet. The DOD has announced a number of web-based programs to basically do the same thing through e-mail. The main such program (which is hosted by the Navy, though it can be used to send a message to any of the services) can be found here.
I think it’s a worthwhile investment of a minute or two to let someone who is giving their time — and possibly their health and their lives — in service to us all that you appreciate them, and are thinking of them during this time.
And the Kitchen Sync
Okay, I have a Palm. And a Motorola V.60t cell phone. What I really want is to be able to beam my phone numbers from my Palm to my Motorola,…
Okay, I have a Palm. And a Motorola V.60t cell phone.
What I really want is to be able to beam my phone numbers from my Palm to my Motorola, so I don’t have to re-enter them.
And according to one scrap of paper I can find in the Motorola box, there is a connectivity kit between the V.60 series and the Palm.
But what I got/can get instead is Starfish TrueSync software. This allows me to sync between my Palm, Outlook on my desktop, and my phone.
Which is great except …
- It’s slower than molasses.
- Outlook’s latest security patch now force me to manually allow programs access to my mail system for X minutes, which dialog does not automatically pop up to the top (this is a problem with the normal Palm sync, and now even more with TrueSync).
- I inadvertently synced my calendar to my phone, which I did not want to do.
- Various synchronizing incompatabilities keep creeping in.
I think it will still work, at least until I get an answer from Motorola about the direct Palm connection. But it’s going to be a pain in the patootie.
Well, hell
AdCritic.com was a wonderful site that archived TV commercials. They had an awe-inspiring array of them. If there was a commercial that you liked, that you wanted to tell people…
AdCritic.com was a wonderful site that archived TV commercials. They had an awe-inspiring array of them. If there was a commercial that you liked, that you wanted to tell people about, that was really cool … you could always go to AdCritic.com.
Until now.
Damn.
The dot-com implosion. Now it becomes personal.
(Via Boing Boing)
The Evil of the Federation of Planets
There’s been a flurry of blog articles recently over how the Federation of Planets is really an inept, but evil, band of quasi-military (but horribly undisciplined) goons, protecting an autocratic…
There’s been a flurry of blog articles recently over how the Federation of Planets is really an inept, but evil, band of quasi-military (but horribly undisciplined) goons, protecting an autocratic quasi-communistic homoginized state.
For examples, see Perry de Havilland, Natalie Solent, Perry again, and Moira Breen.
Kind of weird stuff, but interesting (not unlike much libertarian commentary). But, then, I’ve never been a huge fan of the Star Trek franchise. Well, not for a few decades, at least.
Blorch
Katherine has, of a mercy, never much been one for throwing up, spitting up, or otherwise spewing. James Lilek’s “Gnat,” on the other hand, has no such compunctions. (To the…
Katherine has, of a mercy, never much been one for throwing up, spitting up, or otherwise spewing.
James Lilek’s “Gnat,” on the other hand, has no such compunctions.
(To the tune of the Hallelujah chorus:)
AAAAvocados!
AAAAvocados!
Chunk o’ sweet roll
Out the pie hole
All over her clothes!
Cheeri-bleep-o’s!
Cheeri-bleep-o’s!
All ingested
Half digested
From chin down to her toes!
Baby has tossed her lunch, and soiled her outfit
(Soiled her outfit! Soiled her outfit!)
Our journey just begun, and yet we must quit
(Yet we must quit! Yet we must quit!)
Workin’ retail
The life (or the humorous bits thereof) of a guy working at an auto parts store. Good fun. Me: Can I help you with something? Her: Do you sell that…
The life (or the humorous bits thereof) of a guy working at an auto parts store. Good fun.
Me: Can I help you with something?
Her: Do you sell that stuff… ummm… you know, that stuff you pour in your drain?
Me: Drano?
Her: Yeah, that’s it… do you sell it?
Me: No.
Her: Wow, I thought you’d have something like that here.
(Via Rooba)
Those MIT zanies
MIT and Cal Tech seem to compete as two who can do the best pranks, usually technological (duh). But this one is nice and elegant. (For the clueless out there,…
MIT and Cal Tech seem to compete as two who can do the best pranks, usually technological (duh).
But this one is nice and elegant.
(For the clueless out there, that’s the elvish Tengwar script from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, with the inscription from the One Ring — “One Ring to rule them all / One Ring to find them / One Ring to bring them all / And in the darkness bind them.”)
I expect, of course, that the Cal Techies will appropriately take over the Rose Bowl scoreboard on the 3rd …
(Via Xkot)
You’re askin’ the wrong guy
I’ve always been at least 10-20 years behind the musical times, and my pop/rock aesthetic has always been a few sigmas off of mean. So it’s probably no surprise that…
I’ve always been at least 10-20 years behind the musical times, and my pop/rock aesthetic has always been a few sigmas off of mean.
So it’s probably no surprise that I got 53% on the 80s Music Lyric Quiz.
(Via atom grid)
Squeaky Clean
We got an ad in the mail today to invite folks to a co-op video rental, which provides edited versions of films to its members. Now you can watch these…
We got an ad in the mail today to invite folks to a co-op video rental, which provides edited versions of films to its members.
Now you can watch these great movies WITHOUT the
Sex, Nudity, Profanity, & Extreme Violence!
Uuuuuhhhhh … what’s the fun in that?
Besides, I’m not sure that Gladiator, The Matrix, The Patriot, or Saving Private Ryan (all of which are shown on the ad) lend themselves to much enjoyment if you take out the Sex, Nudity, Profanity, and Extreme Violence. Heck, I’m not sure you’d be left with more than thirty minutes or so of video …
Actually, doing a bit more research, it seems that this is a franchise, founded by a Mormon. Since the LDS church urges its members to shun R-rated, even PG-13 films, this business basically lets you send in videos that you own, and they edit it to their standards, and send it back to you. It takes them 20 days turn-around if it’s one they’ve already done; otherwise, it’s 16-20 weeks.
In the CleanFlicks version of Titanic Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslett never appear without their clothes; in Schindler’s List Liam Neeson as Schindler does not have sex outside his marriage; in Planes, Trains and Automobiles Steve Martin does not say naughty words; and in Saving Private Ryan soldiers die but they do not bleed a lot.
Or, as their FAQ puts it, “We take out all F words, S words, B words, and words related to Diety [sic]. We also take out sex, nudity, and gory violence.”
Working on Schindler’s List, a haunting story of one German’s effort to protect a group of Jews from execution, he altered scenes of people in concentration camps who had been stripped of their clothes by their Nazi captors.
“Every teenager in America should see that film,” he said. “But I don’t think my daughters should see naked old men, running around in circles.”
Movies they won’t edit? Pretty Woman; Liar Liar; Blair Witch Project; The Story Of Us; Addicted To Love; American History X; Caddyshack; Eyes Wide Shut; Basic Instinct; Show Girls; Gross Pointe Blank; Primary Colors; Rounders; Payback; Election; Analyze This; Return Of The Dragon; Face Off. Stated reasons are because of “theme, overall message, and number of edits.”
There’s been some heated disagreement as to whether this is all legal. Hollywood lawyers generally disapprove, but fair use seems to allow folks to have such editing done on films they own. The questionable part of it has to do with the “rental co-ops” — pooling together films folks own, with rentals/membership fees, seems to be dodging the legal bullet … maybe.
Still, as much as I make fun of the concept above, it’s actually kind of a clever idea. Though I aesthetically cringe at the whole thing, it’s also a matter of “giving the people what they want,” and what they seem entitled to have. I don’t plan on paying them a visit any time — but I’m glad others can.
A tight fit
So last Thursday night, there I am at DIA waiting to pick up the CIO of my company, who is finally visiting Denver after being with the company for a…
So last Thursday night, there I am at DIA waiting to pick up the CIO of my company, who is finally visiting Denver after being with the company for a year. Margie had to work that day, too, so she had the van (and was using it to transport Katherine around, too), so I had our little Saturn SC2 coupe.
Now the Saturn SC2 is a fairly small vehicle. It’s just barely large enough for me in the front seat, and the back seat — well, we refer to it as an upholstered shelf, because no sane person would actually consider sitting up there.
Still, no problem with the CIO visiting — two front seats, right? So Wednesday afternoon, despite being sick, I’d been busy cleaning out the junk, vacuuming the seats and floors, dusting the dashboards, emptying out all the crap in the tiny trunk … and the car looked really good. I’d even stopped at a car wash on Thursday morning to get the car clean outside as well.
So, there I am, waiting at the top of the escalator from the trains at DIA, trying to spot the Mike, the CIO. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting …
And there he is …
… and …
… hey, that’s Mickey, too, one of his direct reports. And …
… hey, that’s Reddy, another manager at my level.
Mike. And Mickey. And Reddy. “Surprise!”
Turns out they had all been in Calgary, but rather than Mickey and Reddy returning to Houston, Mike had invited them to join him down in Denver.
Mickey apologizes for not calling ahead to let me know.
And there’s my little Saturn SC2.
Okay, so we can super-saturate the trunk to some degree. Everyone (except the driver, me) will have something on their lap, but we can do it.
Mickey can sit in back. He’s only a bit over 5-foot.
Reddy is taller than me.
But Mike is the CIO.
Reddy takes the bullet, and folds himself in half, sideways, in the back seat. We all have managed to squeeze into the car …
Scraaaaaappppeee
There’s an intermittent scraping noise from the right rear wheel well, particularly whenever we go over a bump — when we bottom out.
And we probably have thirty-odd miles to go to the hotel.
“Let’s go ahead and rent a car,” Mike suggests.
*Sigh*
The rest of the evening (and the visit) went much better, fortunately.
I’m doomed
Went to the organization meeting for the facilitators of the Alpha class next month. One of the major points: we facilitators are not there to give the answers, we’re there…
Went to the organization meeting for the facilitators of the Alpha class next month. One of the major points: we facilitators are not there to give the answers, we’re there to make sure everyone gets heard, gets a chance to speak, express, progress along their spiritual journey. But we’re not the Font of Wisdom, the Folks with the Answers, the People Who Know Everything.
That’s going to be the biggest challenge for me. Because while I am well-aware that I don’t Know Everything (and am not even certain that I really Know Anything), I certainly … have strong opinions.
This is going to be a challenge. And probably good for me.
Oooooh … shiny …
I just got a new company cell phone, replacing my old Nokia 6160 with a Motorola V.60t. It’s tiny. The only think I’m missing so far is that the Motorola…
I just got a new company cell phone, replacing my old Nokia 6160 with a Motorola V.60t.
It’s tiny.
The only think I’m missing so far is that the Motorola doesn’t have the Samba ring-tone of the Nokia. On the other hand, it actually does have a facility to hand-code your own ring-tones, so I might do that while on vacation.
Many accessories on order.
See me dance a dance of geeky gadget joy.