8 - 2007 | ***Dave Does the Blog

Another day, another rat jumping

Less than a week after Karl Rove jumped ship from the Bush Administration, Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, is bailing as well. To his credit, though, he’s not…

Less than a week after Karl Rove jumped ship from the Bush Administration, Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, is bailing as well. To his credit, though, he’s not trotting out the old “spending more time with the family” canard. No, his justification is quite straightforward and refreshingly believable:

White House press secretary Tony Snow said Friday he’ll leave before the end of the Bush presidency because he needs to make more money.
“I’m going to stay as long as I can,” he said without elaborating on a departure date.
[…] The 52-year-old Snow, the father of three children, earns $168,000 as an assistant to the president but made considerably more as a conservative pundit and syndicated talk-show host on Fox News Radio. He was named press secretary on April 26, 2006.
White House press secretaries in recent administrations have found the speechmaking circuit to be lucrative once they’ve stepped down. Snow was eagerly sought by Republican audiences before the elections last year, and in a break with tradition he made a number of fundraising speeches for GOP candidates.

Egads. Only $168K? What sort of penny-ante White House is the GOP running?

(via Les)

Yes, I clearly belong to another religion

The Cult Religion of Firefox. Les has more. Much more. It’s amazing one man can contain so much stupidity without imploding in on himself….

The Cult Religion of Firefox.

Les has more. Much more.

It’s amazing one man can contain so much stupidity without imploding in on himself.

FastSearch!

I loaded up the FastSearch plug-in for MT on Friday for my WIST blog, and today expanded it over to this blog. If you look in the sidebar, you’ll see…

I loaded up the FastSearch plug-in for MT on Friday for my WIST blog, and today expanded it over to this blog. If you look in the sidebar, you’ll see two search fields – “Search me, baby!” (which uses the out-of-the-box MT search functionality) and “FastSearch me, baby!” (which uses FastSearch).

FastSearch builds a full-text index of the blog entry body and titles, which makes for a much faster search than doing a raw-power search through the entry text. I mean, hugely faster.

The only drawback to FastSearch is that it does not, as yet, support search of comment text. Since folks here do so much in the comments, it’s still not an idea setup, hence my retaining the normal search facility.

Have fun!

Quick Comix Checkup

Thor#2 (Straczynski / Coipel): Don Blake settles down to small town life — and recreates Asgard on the prairie. Lovely art, intriguing story, but not yet 100% engaging — too much…

Thor#2 (Straczynski / Coipel): Don Blake settles down to small town life — and recreates Asgard on the prairie. Lovely art, intriguing story, but not yet 100% engaging — too much Mysterious Big Cosmic Grandeur to make me care … yet.

Fables #64 (Willingham / Alexovich): The Fables are seroiusly preparing and training for war. Boy Blue and Rose Red make some preliminary goo-goo eyes. Meanwhile, it’s the Wolf Cubs’ birthday — and they get to learn the deepest family secret. Snappy dialog, cartoony art. Always a bottom-of-the-stack.

Amazons Attack! #5 of 6 (Pfeifer / Woods) World’s goofiest, least necessary Big Summer Crossover. At least this one features Grace of the Outsiders — who learns a Huge Secret of Her Past. Psych! Bleah.

Shadowpact #16 (Willingham / Derenick) Last time, Doc Gotham erupted a volcano in downtown Chicago. This time they defeat him and save most of the civvies. Some great dialog, fun action, and some non-magic guest stars. The Pact show they’re not just low-powered cut-ups, but it all feels a bit rushed.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #23 (David / Nauck) Best Peter Parker / J. Jonah Jaimeson conflict evah — complete with a final line that sums up the whole Spidey-JJJ relationship. Faboo wrap to David’s run on the book.

Catwoman #70 (Pfeifer / Lopez) Good stuff, despite being an Amazon Attacks! cross-over (and by the same writer), as Selina wraps up some violent business and contemplates her future with her constantly-threatened baby girl.

Brave and the Bold #6 (Waid / Perez) End of a massively confusing and rather pointless mash-up that included Green Lantern, Batman, Supergirl, the Legion of Super-Heroes, Adam Strange, and the Champions of the Unknown, and probably a few others I left out. It’s gorgeously drawn (of course, and interesting for folks who jones after the old JLA/JSA team-ups of the past, but it got too clever for its own good.

Hellblazer #235 (Diggle / Manco) Diggle’s taking Constantine back to his roots — strong, nasty, scheming, and even a bit admirable as he talks his way into a police investigation, but not at all a subject for sympathy or pathos. Thank whatever JC’s on “our” side. Best the book has been in a couple of years.

Booster Gold #1 (Johns & Katz / Jurgens) Booster tries to reestablish his legitimacy as a hero, and looks like he’s going to succeed. So why is he throwing it all away? An interesting conceit that may or may not play for long — probably as long as Johns maintains an interest.

Numbers don’t lie

But they sure aggravate. I really had something more entertaining and useful in mind for my Friday afternoon than pounding my keyboard (and my head) trying to reshuffle budget/forecast…

But they sure aggravate.

I really had something more entertaining and useful in mind for my Friday afternoon than pounding my keyboard (and my head) trying to reshuffle budget/forecast numbers for FY07 and FY08 yet again, in a different format, and yet again discovering that they don’t actually make sense no matter how they are shuffled. By “more entertaining and useful,” I had in mind house cleaning, paying bills, or going in for unnecessary root canal work.

I foresee a quiet evening filled with movies and much drinking.

“I am the Eye in the Sky”

Big Brother is watching you. And all his cousins are crowding around the monitor, too.. The Bush administration has approved a plan to expand domestic access to some of the…

Big Brother is watching you. And all his cousins are crowding around the monitor, too..

The Bush administration has approved a plan to expand domestic access to some of the most powerful tools of 21st century spycraft, giving law enforcement officials and others the ability to view data obtained from satellite and aircraft sensors that can see through cloud cover and even penetrate buildings and underground bunkers.
A program approved by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security will allow broader domestic use of secret overhead imagery beginning as early as this fall, with the expectation that state and local law enforcement officials will eventually be able to tap into technology once largely restricted to foreign surveillance.

I suppose that, in the right hands, with the right safeguards, there could be some circumstances where this would be of value …

Oh, wait. I said “right hands” and “safeguards” in conjunction with a law enforcement / national security initiative from the Bush administration. Silly me.

A statement issued Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security said that officials envision “more robust access” not only to imagery but also to “the collection, analysis and production skills and capabilities of the intelligence community.”
“These systems are already used to help us respond to crises,” Charles Allen, the chief intelligence officer for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a telephone interview.

Insert object lesson here. Systems and capabilities are designed for Dire Threats, as those are the only things that can justify them. Then it becomes “Hey, these things are around, let’s use them more casually for merely Important Things.” Soon it’s “This is a standard tool in the toolbox for Everyday Occurrences, how can you talk about taking it back away from us?” (And, of course, that justifies getting even Bigger and Better satellites because of the demand on the Older and More Plebeian ones.)

Or, put another way, do you really want the local gendarmerie using satellite capabilities to note the vehicles up on Lovers Lane? Or collecting and passing on information about when someone’s car left the parking lot at work?

Oh, but I’m sure such trivial use of these capabilities would never be countenanced by the judiciary. I mean, folks would need search warrants and the like, right?

Oversight of the department’s use of the overhead imagery would come from officials in the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and would consist of reviews by agency inspectors general, lawyers and privacy officers. “We can give total assurance” that Americans’ civil liberties will be protected, Allen said. “Americans shouldn’t have any concerns about it.”

Well, as long as the DHS says that they are giving total assurance to us, and that we shouldn’t have any concerns about it, I’m sure it will be all right.

Always watch the skies.

Nerdity

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Drama Nerd You sure do love the spotlight and probably have a very out-going and loud personality. Or not. That’s just a stereotype, of…

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Drama Nerd You sure do love the spotlight and probably have a very out-going and loud personality. Or not. That’s just a stereotype, of course. Participation in the theatre is something to be very proud of. Whether you have a great voice for musicals, or astounding skills for dramas/comedies; keep up the good work. We need more entertainment these days that isn’t television and video games (not that these things are bad, necessarily.)
Literature Nerd
Social Nerd
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Musician
Artistic Nerd
Anime Nerd
Science/Math Nerd
What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace

Though, “comic book” or “dubious TV sci-fi” nerds would have been probable winners if they’d been tested for.

(via BD and De)

“He turned me into a Newt!”

“As an American, I am sickened that the political leadership of America could continue to go on vacation and do nothing,” he said. “Why are the August vacations for the…

“As an American, I am sickened that the political leadership of America could continue to go on vacation and do nothing,” he said. “Why are the August vacations for the president and the Congress more precious than the lives of young Americans who are being killed because of government incompetence and inaction?”

Biting words from Newt Gingrich. Unfortunately, he’s not talking about the war in Iraq, but of the Scourge of Swarthies from the South, the “criminal illegal aliens.”

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Tuesday he is “sickened” that President Bush and Congress went on vacation “while young Americans in our cities are massacred” by illegal immigrants.
Gingrich, who is considering a run for the White House, was referring to the recent execution-style murders of three college students on a school playground in Newark, N.J.
One man whom police believe was involved in the murders — Jose Lachira Carranza — is an illegal immigrant from Peru who had been released on bail on charges of raping a child when the murders occurred.
Gingrich said that the “war here at home” against illegal immigrants is “even more deadly than the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

If Newt Gingrich is still toying with the idea of running for the GOP nomination, he ought to take note that Tom Tancredo’s xenophobic nativism isn’t actually doing much for him in the race.

(via Les)

Safety first!

Just as a demonstration that my getting a Blackberry Curve with a camera was, in fact, a justified corporate expense vs. the standard non-camera model, because of how it…

Just as a demonstration that my getting a Blackberry Curve with a camera was, in fact, a justified corporate expense vs. the standard non-camera model, because of how it allows me to document possible safety issues as part of a Safety Observation Report, I offer you this glorious trip hazard I wrote up in an SOR yesterday (which went with another pic I took of its remediation).

I am corporately responsible, safe, and packing a camera! Woot!

MT4 Ahoy!

SixApart has released Movable Type 4.0, and folks seem to be pretty enthusiastic about what it finally brings to the table. For myself, I don’t expect I’ll be hopping…

SixApart has released Movable Type 4.0, and folks seem to be pretty enthusiastic about what it finally brings to the table.

For myself, I don’t expect I’ll be hopping over immediately (let the dust settle, the plug-ins catch up, and the hundredths place increment to 4.01), but I do expect I’ll migrate over sooner than later. Probably next time I become sick and tired of my whole template structure here on the main blog.

Excel hiccups

I’m sure I read something about this somewhere, sometime, but damned if I can figure out where. My Excel installation has suddenly decided that it’s going to pause every minute…

I’m sure I read something about this somewhere, sometime, but damned if I can figure out where.

My Excel installation has suddenly decided that it’s going to pause every minute or two, go through a monstrous flurry of network activity (locked during that time frame), then return to normal. Similarly, certain formatting functions immediately cause a flurry of network activity (and locking up of the machine).

These are locally saved files, and I don’t see anywhere in Excel anything pointing to an external data source.

I haven’t lit on a Google search that doesn’t return over a million hits based on the terms given. Anyone have any ideas?

The Ding-Dong of Doom

Last night, I heard my Blackberry at dinner. “Ding.” “Ding.” Pause. “Ding.” “Ding.” “Ding.” My boss had gotten off the plane and dumped all his 40-odd e-mail messages to/cc me…

Last night, I heard my Blackberry at dinner. “Ding.” “Ding.” Pause. “Ding.” “Ding.” “Ding.”

My boss had gotten off the plane and dumped all his 40-odd e-mail messages to/cc me onto the system at once. He’s one of two people I have on “notify me immediately of incoming e-mail” setting on my BB.

It was amusing … in a “yeesh” kind of way. (And, no, I didn’t answer them at the dinner table. Or, honestly, until this morning. Though I was a bit more diligent about getting onto e-mail first thing this a.m. …)

Yes, he’s still got it

Yes, Mist just brought in a dead mouse. Our 16-year-old, one-eyed, belled cat brought in a dead mouse. Granted, he might have found it dead … but let’s just assume…

Yes, Mist just brought in a dead mouse. Our 16-year-old, one-eyed, belled cat brought in a dead mouse.

Granted, he might have found it dead … but let’s just assume he didn’t.

Re-Formed

I swear to God, I would give up every civil liberty and iota of personal privacy if it meant I never had to fill out another information / emergency card…

I swear to God, I would give up every civil liberty and iota of personal privacy if it meant I never had to fill out another information / emergency card / enrollment card for Katherine, if not for myself and Margie.

I mean, I’m sitting here filling out two forms for the same group with — well, with 100% of the same info. And I have to fill them out. Longhand. With a pen.

Yeesh. Why not clay tablets and pointed sticks and cuneiform?

Rrg.

They’re loving it

McDonald’s advertises a lot, so they’re probably pleased as punch by some current studies showing that, for kids, the branding on McFood is more important than the food itself. Almost…

McDonald’s advertises a lot, so they’re probably pleased as punch by some current studies showing that, for kids, the branding on McFood is more important than the food itself.

Almost 77 percent, for example, thought that McDonald’s french fries served in a McDonald’s bag tasted better, compared with 13 percent who liked the fries in a plain white bag. Apparently carrots, too, taste better if they are served on paper with the McDonald’s name on it. More than 54 percent preferred them, compared with 23 percent each for those who liked the unbranded carrots and those who thought they tasted the same.

Interestingly, there’s very little difference in preference for the burgers.

McD’s responds by noting that they’re doing a positive public service by branding/pushing milk and fruit and veggies — which, I suppose, is true. And Katherine definitely enjoys getting apples sometimes instead of fries.

Now, is this brainwashing? Are kids being turned into McZombies? Well, that’s part of the point of advertising. But a couple of thoughts:

Kids may also like the other associations of the brand — e.g., associating McFood with a Play Place. Katherine, for example, likes McDs “better” than some other fast food because of just that factor.
Adults associate certain situational, non-substantive factors in eating, too. The same meal served at the chi-chi bistro down the street will “taste” different than if served on plain paper plates in a white lab room.

Of course, some Food Nannies suggest that Something Must Be Done:

But Dr. Thomas N. Robinson, an associate professor of pediatrics at Stanford and the lead researcher on the study, was not impressed. “The best response the fast-food industry could make to this information,” he said, “is to alter their menus to include a majority of healthful foods instead of encouraging consumption of high-fat, high-calorie foods.”

Except that’s what people want.

And note, of course, the study is for kids ages 3-5. Note that these kids aren’t going to McDonald’s on their own, but are being brought by parents or guardians. If you don’t think kids should be eating the stuff, don’t take them there. Parents should be more responsible, right?

“We often hear that parents are the ones responsible for their kids’ nutrition,” Dr. Robinson said, “but in reality there are these other factors, created by a tremendous amount of advertising effort, that undermine parents’ ability to make healthy choices.”

Riiiight. Okay, I have a kid. I know the temptations of giving in when she begs and yells for McDonald’s … or candy … or something else not as healthy as I’d like.

But do I consider McDonald’s undermining me? Is it reducing my ability to make “healthy choices?” Feh. If I can’t resist a Katherine begging me for all the french fries she can eat from McD’s, I shouldn’t have had her in the first place.

This study is interesting — heck, it should even be something that parents should know about. But let’s be sure we’re clear here — what food is bought for a kid is the ultimate responsibility of the parents. It’s certainly a responsibility I feel with my own daughter.

(via Les)

Most Intriguing Spam of the Week

(unknown sender) <> Date: %CURRENT_DATE_TIME %MESSAGE_BODY Coy little devil, ain’t he? (Yes, it’s really spam — I checked the mail headers.)…

(unknown sender) <>
Date: %CURRENT_DATE_TIME
%MESSAGE_BODY

Coy little devil, ain’t he?

(Yes, it’s really spam — I checked the mail headers.)

Gasp! Pablo Picasso’s Wee-wee!

Heard an article this morning on NPR on the Gordon Lee case in Georgia — where a comic book store retailer is on trial for “distributing harmful materials to a…

Heard an article this morning on NPR on the Gordon Lee case in Georgia — where a comic book store retailer is on trial for “distributing harmful materials to a minor” when he inadvertently handed out a free comic that, in discussing the Cubism Movement in art, has panels showing Picasso in his studio, nude. Which, in fact, he sometimes used to be while in his studio.

Now, note I didn’t say Picasso running around his studio having wild sex with nubile young women (or men or chickens), or Picasso actually doing anything sexual. No, he’s just in his studio. Nude.

And that may be deemed “harmful to a minor” by a jury.

The story notes that the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) has been paying at least part of Lee’s $80K legal bills to date. The CBLDF (which I’ve long supported) has a story on this case here (emphasis below mine):

During Halloween week 2004, Gordon Lee’s comic shop, Legends, of Rome, GA, participated in a trick-or-treat event in downtown Rome by distributing free comics. “Alternative Comics #2,” the Free Comic Book Day edition from publisher Alternative Comics for 2004, was inadvertently included in the mix of books being given away. The comic was a single copy among thousands of comics being given away that day, and was accidentally handed to a minor, whose parent filed a complaint with the police.
The comic book features a variety of stories from the company’s line, including an excerpt from Nick Bertozzi’s now published graphic novel The Salon, depicting the first meeting between Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso. On three pages of the eight page section, Picasso is depicted in the nude, a factually accurate detail for the period during which the story is set. There is no sexual content in the story.
Upon learning of the error in distributing the comic, Lee admitted that a mistake was made and offered to make a public apology for the first of many times. That apology was rejected, however, so days later, Lee was arrested.

The CBLDF article notes the particulars of the remaining charges:

The Fund prepared for trial on the two remaining Distribution of Harmful to Minors counts: (1) for “distributing a book, pamphlet, magazine, and printed matter containing pictures, drawings and visual representation and images of a person an portion of the human body which depict sexually explicit nudity, sexual conduct, and sadomasochistic abuse and which is harmful to minors;” and (2) for knowingly furnishing and disseminating to a minor materials “containing explicit and detailed verbal descriptions and narrative accounts of sexual excitement, sexual conduct, and sadomasochistic abuse and which taken as a whole is harmful to minors.” The Fund maintains that the material in question fails to meet the criteria as charged.

Indeed. Lee faces potential penalties including a year in prison.

It’s worth noting that it’s cases like this that the CBLDF was created to help with. A small businessman usually doesn’t have $80K lying around as a defense fund. Without CBLDF support, Lee would have either faced bankruptcy or have had to plead guilty to both the above charges and earlier charges that were dropped by the court.

You can donate to the CBLDF here.

(There’s additional info on the case here.)

In case you need more Harry Potter

Synopses of (and excerpts from) eight Chinese ripoffs unauthorized homages fakes from the last few years. Harry Potter and the Chinese Overseas Students at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and…

Synopses of (and excerpts from) eight Chinese ~~ripoffs~~ ~~unauthorized homages~~ fakes from the last few years.

Harry Potter and the Chinese Overseas Students at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Seeing the evil Black Monster approaching the magic world, Dumbledore turns to the Chinese sorcery school Nine Mysteries for help. The school sends six teenage wizards, who with their mysterious magical arts astonish Hogwarts and transform the lives of Harry and his friends.
During their time with the Chinese students, Harry, Hermione and Ron gain the courage to beat Voldemort and Draco frees himself from the shadow of his family. When Hogwarts’ magic protection fails, Voldemort leads Death Eaters, werewolves, dementors and giants in a merciless campaign against the castle. Harry Potter together with the Chinese students fights Voldemort.

We lost one of the good ones

Mike Wieringo was a fine comic book artist and, from all accounts, a great guy. His relaxed, cartoony style went great with Mark Waid’s writing on Flash or Fantastic Four,…

Mike Wieringo was a fine comic book artist and, from all accounts, a great guy. His relaxed, cartoony style went great with Mark Waid’s writing on Flash or Fantastic Four, his creator co-owned Tellos, and in recent Peter David-written Spider-Man. I used to follow along his online sketch book, enjoying his art and his stories (and the stories he wanted to tell with his art). When I ran across ‘Ringo’s art, it was always a pleasure.

He died of a sudden heart attack yesterday at age 44. He was a vegetarian, in good health, and it came completely out of the blue. (Insert cautionary note here.)

It’s one thing when one of the “Old Masters” passes away after a long career and retirement. To lose someone at the top of his game — especially such a nice guy — is a sad shock even for those of us who only knew him from his work.

Happy Left-Handers Day!

That has a sinister ring to it … (via Terry)…

That has a sinister ring to it …

(via Terry)