https://buy-zithromax.online buy kamagra usa https://antibiotics.top buy stromectol online https://deutschland-doxycycline.com https://ivermectin-apotheke.com kaufen cialis https://2-pharmaceuticals.com buy antibiotics online Online Pharmacy vermectin apotheke buy stromectol europe buy zithromax online https://kaufen-cialis.com levitra usa https://stromectol-apotheke.com buy doxycycline online https://buy-ivermectin.online https://stromectol-europe.com stromectol apotheke https://buyamoxil24x7.online deutschland doxycycline https://buy-stromectol.online https://doxycycline365.online https://levitra-usa.com buy ivermectin online buy amoxil online https://buykamagrausa.net

Category: Photography

LIFE is sometimes very, very weird

And by LIFE I mean LIFE magazine, as demonstrated in this collection (by LIFE editors themselves) of the 20 worst covers in the magazine's history.

I don't know if there are worst, but these are all pretty awful … #ddtb

Embedded Link

LIFE's 20 Worst Covers – Photo Gallery – LIFE
When you produce more than 2,200 covers over 75 years, you're bound to have a few clunkers. And here they are. . . . Pictured: LIFE covered wars, riots, and natural disasters, but the …

Unblogged Bits (Sun. 24-Jul-11 0530)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

  1. WND Forums – WorldNutDaily strikes again, still carrying a poll based on the premise that the Norway killings were carried out by Muslims. What’s truly chilling, though, is reading the comments.
  2. How to Avoid Repeating the Debacle That Was the Space Shuttle | Space Flight | DISCOVER Magazine – My concern, annoyance, and sadness over the end of the shuttle program is not so much about the shuttle itself (which the article correctly lampoons as a failure), but because we (the US) don’t have a coherent vision or intentional steps toward something to replace it.
  3. IndieObserver.com » Before and After Terrorist IDed: Fox News Commenters Weigh in on Norway: – Before: “Evil towel-heads deserve to be shot, Middle East turned into glassy parking lot.” After: “If only Norway didn’t have gun control to protect it from random lunatics, and shame on liberals for being glad it was a Christian.” Pathetic.
  4. Burned by the Courts – Re the “silly woman burns herself with coffee, sues McDonald’s for gazillions of dollars” meme.
  5. If Harry Potter was an anime – That’s … very well done.
  6. Photo – Fascinating.

Unblogged Bits (Thu. 21-Apr-11 2330)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

  1. Beck Calls Huck “Progressive,” Huck Calls Beck An Idiot – See, it’s moments like these when I say, “Hey, Huckabee is actually a pretty rational, all-right king of guy.” Then he turns around and pals up with (also-Beck-friend) David Barton.
  2. David Barton Refuses To Debate His Bogus History – Ah, how wonderful it must be to be so certain of your truth that you refuse to discuss it with anyone who might disagree …
  3. Have a happy Zombie Weekend – Heh. Yeah, I noticed that passage whilst doing the Passion reading on Palm Sunday. That particular aspect of the Crucifixion doesn’t usually make it into the movies.
  4. Gruber: iOS location storing is a bug, getting fixed in future iOS update – That’s certainly possible (I’ve seen crazier bugs), but Apple’s silence on the matter is not doing it any favors.
  5. Raising The Sunken Swifboats – Anyone who’d pay any attention to something coming out of WorldNutDaily is beyond cognitive redemption anyway. Yeesh.
  6. GIF: Platypus on the Prowl – Oh, there you are, Perry …
  7. Why Are Tech Founders Such Assholes? [Startups] – “What is it about computers and money that instills villainy?” Computers have nothing to do with it. Power (and money) corrupt … and, really, the folks most likely to strive to achieve either are most likely to be corrupted by them (or by their pursuit). I mean, really, is Gates any worse than Carnegie, or Zuckerberg than Rockefeller?
  8. Hubble Comes of Age With Dramatic New Image [Space Porn] – Oh, come on –that’s gotta be fake. It’s too gorgeous. (Plus, the Hubble is 21 years old! Eek!)
  9. The thing I don’t understand is why so often one hears discussion of the fruits of human labor as if it’s all the creation of some alien race – Lovely. Islamic art, usually eschewing depictions of objects and people, makes up for it with remarkable patterns.
  10. Maundy Thursday – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia – There are times that it is so cool to belong to an Anglican denomination.
  11. Super Google Reader Converts All Partial RSS Feeds into Full Feeds [Downloads] – Sweet. Now if only GReader on Chrome weren’t having a Note in Reader problem with YouTube, it would be perfect.
  12. Small Screw Encyclopedia
  13. Senator questions Apple over iPhone tracking – Good questions all. Thanks, Sen Franken.
  14. Wonkette Thinks It’s Okay To Mock Trig Palin. Bulletin: It’s Not – Making an ass of yourself in the name of snark knows no political boundaries, unfortunately. This kind of humor (even its marginally weaker form that Wonkette is so infamous for) is one reason why I don’t read her.
  15. Paul Ryan Collected Social Security Entitlements Until Age 18 – I’m sure Ayn Rand would approve — take what you can get away with, then make sure nobody else can take more.
  16. Astoundingly Detailed LEGO Serenity – Shiny!
  17. The Post Office Railway (Mail Rail) | Silent UK – Urban & Underground Photography – Awesome. A modern-day dungeon-crawl.

Unblogged Bits (Tue. 19-Apr-11 1730)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

  1. SAD NEWS – TIME CATCHES UPWITH DOCTOR WHO STAR: MadPriest
  2. School Children Entertained, Terrified by Life-Like Dinosaur Puppet – This. Is. FANTASTIC.
  3. Erase a CD in style with high voltage electricity – Awesome.
  4. Boykin: There Can Be No Interfaith Dialogue Between Muslims and Christians – The only positive thing I can say about this video is at least he’s retired from the military.
  5. City of Shadows – Freaky.
  6. ‘What is the use of the ‘Pops’?” c.1963 – I suspect you can find an article like this at least once a decade.
  7. Abandoned houses in Detroit – Haunting.
  8. Elisabeth Sladen, actress who played Sarah Jane Smith on “Doctor Who”, passes away. – I, too, started with Sarah Jane, back in the Third Doctor days — and I found her appearance on the current go-around of DW poignant, and her new spin-off show a goodly amount of fun. Sorry to see her go.
  9. Mike Warnke and Marriage Equality – “Warnke controlled most of the market selling scary stories about a conspiracy of satanists, but there’s a lot more competition in the marketplace among the fraudsters selling lies about the Big Gay Menace. The audience eagerly buying those lies, however, is much the same. And that audience is still seeking the same things — excitement, simplicity and pure, uncut indignation.”
  10. TOM THE DANCING BUG: Attend 4-Profit University!: Ruben Bolling
  11. David Barton on Thomas Jefferson: The Kaskaskia Indians – I’m shocked, shocked to find David Barton has exaggerated Thomas Jefferson’s so-called evangelism.
  12. DOCTOR WHO’S Elisabeth Sladen has died? | Unreality TV – Thanks, Ms. Sladen, for the good times. And farewell, Sarah Jane — off to your next big adventure. You’ll always be the archetypal Companion to me.
  13. When You Cancel Your Magazine Subscription on Your Kindle, Your Back Issues Disappear Too [Kindle] – Sounds like a great reason to not subscribe to stuff on a Kindle. (Also, a really bad licensing decision on the part of the magazine publishers.)
  14. Before Taking That Hotel Towel Home, Check For An RFID Chip – I’ve never stolen a towel from a hotel, and I can’t imagine doing so. Now, those little pads of scratch paper, however …
  15. Barton: The Bible Opposes Net Neutrality – It’s good to see that David Barton is as astute of a network technologist as he is an historian.

Unblogged Bits (Tue. 12-Apr-11 1730)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

  1. Newly-released FBI memo from 1950 confirms “flying saucers” crashing in New Mexico [Mysteries] – Well, the memo confirms something — now, who’s confirming the memo (and its writer, and his sources)?
  2. Rand And The Conservatism Of Doubt – Ah, Ayn Rand — is there anything more you can get wrong with your crazy philosophy?
  3. Stop Being The “Annoying Phone Guy” During Meetings With BusyMe for Android – Seriously checking this out.
  4. Senator To Propose New Internet Sales Tax – Certainly people (cough) are more likely in many circumstances to purchase something tax-free through Amazon than taxed from their local bricks-and-mortar store (unless they want it in their hands RIGHT NOW). On the other hand, the taxpayer “impact” of Amazon, vs. Best Buy, is much lower. So the only issue is the “fairness” of states getting or not getting money for what I buy. Let’s not make it any more noble than that.
  5. 150 Years Later, Tea Partiers Still Aren’t Over The Civil War: Travis Waldron
  6. Religious Right Ramps Up Attacks on Judicial Nominee Goodwin Liu – Thanks goodness — we’d almost forgotten all about the GOP zaniness in the Senate …
  7. Fischer Likens Boehner To Pontius Pilate Over Planned Parenthood Compromise – Dolt.
  8. Liberty U Blocks Access To Local Paper – Liberty? You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means …
  9. Robertson On Burqa Ban: Don’t Like It? Go Back To Africa – Religious freedom for me, but not for thee.
  10. Scientist accidentally experiments on himself, wife – Not now, honey — you’re not out of quarantine yet!
  11. Kindle now available for $114 — with on-screen ads – And now we know why Kindle hasn’t offered folks (since very early days) the easy ability to load their own screen savers. Ugh.
  12. $39bn budget cuts also target safe drinking water and heating subsidies. So where are cuts to GOP programs? – What did the Republicans want that got cut? The amount of budget money they (eventually) said wanted cut. “We really wanted $100B!” they claim, “And that got cut to only $40B! So, see? We’re cutting, too!” Yeesh.
  13. Huckabee/Trump 2012? Former Gov. Open To Sharing Ticket With Birther Mogul – I’m trying to figure out if Huckabee is following the McCain “I’ll say anything to get a vote” course, or if he’s always been as flaky as he’s seemed of late.
  14. Why Does it Take so Much Less Milk to Lighten Iced Coffee? [Giz Explains] – And knowing’s half the battle!
  15. Private Records of 3.5 Million Texans Were Mistakenly Leaked by the State [Wtf] – Okay, let’s just assume, from now on, that any record kept about you, whether governmental or private, can and will, eventually, be leaked. How do we, as a society, mitigate that?
  16. If a Byte Were a Gram a Floppy Disk Would Weigh 10 Cats [Factoid] – A pint’s a pound the world around!
  17. Meet the Man Who Invented the Digital Camera [Video] – It’s amazing to think of how much photography has changed with the advent of digital — for the vast part the better, I think.
  18. Why Everyone Loves Yuri Gagarin, the First Human to Reach Space [Video] – “The Earth is blue. How wonderful. It is amazing.” Lovely. There are times when I wish spending time in orbit was a requirement for every one of our Congresscritters.
  19. Peter Jackson Explains Why He’s Shooting ‘The Hobbit’ at 48 Frames Per Second – An interesting technological push — and, to my mind, probably a bigger difference than 3D (though it goes hand-in-hand with it).

Unblogged Bits (Sun. 6-Feb-11 1630)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

  1. Local group cancels Palin visit, citing “personal attacks” – The Denver Post – Brave, brave Sir Palin, scared off from a “Patriots and Warriors Gala”(!) by “negative feedback” and “an onslaught of personal attacks.” And she wants to be president? (Or, reading the story more carefully, was she ever actually attending in the first place? Or was she attending, but shied away due to poor ticket sales?)
  2. Word salads are a dish best served cold – Palin’s unscripted comments make Dubya sound like Olivier.
  3. When the right people pick the wrong hero – Expecting either awareness or honesty out of Rush on any element of conservative ideology is probably foolish.
  4. Bill Kristol Slams Conservative ‘Hysteria’ On Egypt, Calls Out Beck’s Delusional ‘Caliphate’ Theory – “Nor is it a sign of health when other American conservatives are so fearful of a popular awakening that they side with the dictator against the democrats. Rather, it’s a sign of fearfulness unworthy of Americans, of short-sightedness uncharacteristic of conservatives, of excuse-making for thuggery unworthy of the American conservative tradition.”
  5. Illinois Gets Civil Unions [Dispatches from the Culture Wars] – Well done, Illinois.
  6. The Avengers mystery woman is revealed! (Spoilers) – I win! Um … okay, I guess. (Another clue was that the new Avengers cartoon has been pulling in movie elements from Iron Man, at least, and Maria Hill is part of the SHIELD crew there, too.)
  7. Shadow of the Hegemon: Jon Stewart Needs to Get the Hell Over It – Comparing the GOP to Goebbels is unhelpful because then the conversation degenerates into whether the GOP is as bad as the Nazis (no, they aren’t). Noting the use of the “Big Lie” technique by various GOP pundits and pols is, on the other hand, descriptive (and accurate), and can illuminate the tactics being used by them.
  8. D-squared Digest — Arseholes, considered as a strategic resource – “This is my advice to any aspiring dictator; early on in your career, identify and inventory all the self-pitying, bullying shitheads your country has to offer. Anyone with a grievance, a beer belly and enough strength to swing a pickaxe handle will do. You don’t need to bother with military training or discipline because they’re hopefully never going to be used as a proper military force – just concentrate on nuturing their sense that they, despite appearances, are the backbone of the country, and allowing them to understand that although rules are rules, there are some people who just need a slap. The bigger and burlier the better, but when the time comes they’ll be fighting in groups against people weaker than themselves, often under cover of darkness, so numbers are more important than anything else. The extractive industries are indeed often a good source, as are demobbed veterans (Zimbabwe) or the laity of an established religion.” Talking about Egypt here, but the lesson does seem to apply elsewhere. Even here …
  9. Tattoo locations » This Blog Rules – It’s probably just as well that tattoos were not popular when I was much longer, or else I’d probably be really embarrassed by what lame SF/Fantasy property I was permanently carrying affixed to my body. “Space: 1999 — what the hell’s that, dude?”
  10. Banned Speedo Suit Reborn in Fashion – Super-hero movie folks, are you paying attention?
  11. Light Stalking » The 7 Deadly Sins of Indoor Photography – I’d love a compact digital camera that would allow me to bounce the flash. I hate-hate-hate indoor flash photography, but sometimes it’s a necessity. (Note that some of these suggestions apply to staged interior photography, as opposed to the candid I usually shoot).
  12. The two paths to success – There’s a huge amount of good thinking here — but, like so much, it’s capable of being abused for excuses (“It’s not fun, so I decided not to learn how to do it well”) as the other approach described (“You didn’t do well, so you must be lazy”). Realizing that life isn’t always fun, but that it shouldn’t be drudgery either, seems to me a balanced approach. Considering what your goals are — in self-development or in helping your kids achieve and lead happy, healthy, productive lives (and even considering how those three adjectives interact) is also useful.
  13. Lunar New Year Cooking Party Recipes – Our cooking party yesterday at Lee and De’s (pictures in posts below). The pork and the mushroom potstickers, the spring rolls, and the char siu bao were my vast faves. I contributed a modicum of labor, some beer and wine, and chauffeuring duties, so I came out way ahead of the game.
  14. A look at most of the Huntress’ Costumes – I’ve never much cared for the Huntress as a character, for a variety of reasons, but if there’s one thing she should not be is some sexy-sexy vixen with all sorts of vulnerable skin (thighs, belly, upper torso) showing. (The linked article has a lot more info on the evolutions.)
  15. (de)motivating employees – Most people leave jobs because of bad bosses. That’s pretty well established. Here’s an example of that in the making (and some counter-examples of how it could have been avoided).
  16. Funny heat-gun manual – I hope it doesn’t cause them some legal grief later. it shouldn’t, in a just world, but …
  17. The courage of journalists, the cowardice of Limbaugh [Thoughts from Kansas] – “When Rush Limbaugh mocks attacks on journalists, this is what he is attacking. This fierce drive to bring the truth to the world, to expose ugliness where it exists, and to expose love and beauty where it exists.” Not all journalists are saints, by any means, but Limbaugh’s routinized mocking of them (even his ostensible ideological allies) treats harrassment, beating, and arrest of journalists as an acceptable norm. Is that really the road Limbaugh wants to go down?
  18. This can only end well …

Unblogged Bits (Tue. 21-Dec-10 1631)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

  1. Al Qaeda threat involving hotels buffets ‘credible,’ report says – USATODAY.com – See, there’s an effective idea. There’s lots of nefarious things that could be done in this way, restricting services, eroding public trust … and, even better, even if nothing is actually done, it just ramps up the fear, esp. if a real food poisoning outbreak occurs. That’s why it’s called terrorism.
  2. Senator Tom Coburn Vows To Hold Up 9-11 Health Care Bill – “You can only help these people if you hurt those other people over there.” Stay classy, Sen. Coburn!
  3. A subway spelunker’s guide to Paris’ abandoned Métro stations [Mad Urbanism] – Kids, don’t try this in your home town.
  4. The Associated Press: Ariz. hospital loses Catholic status over surgery – Sounds like the hospital (and its patients) will be better off without them, though it’s a shame they’ll no longer be able to have Mass at the chapel.
  5. SpyTalk – WikiLeaks “no threat,” top German official says – A remarkably sane and calm response.
  6. What High Maintenance Girlfriends Want for Christmas This Year
  7. Apple Bans Wikileaks App from iPhones
  8. How do I force Windows to assign a drive letter to an external hard drive when attached? | Microsoft Windows | TechRepublic.com – Noting this for future (re)reference.
  9. Nasa captures stunning images of the far side of the moon – Cool …
  10. The rare Thor movie poster that only the cast and crew got to keep | Blastr – That is pretty darned awesome. And the others in the gallery are cool, too.
  11. AOL acquires About.me – Holy Kaw! – Huh. Well, so much for About.me.
  12. Total Lunar Eclipse, The View From Palmer, Alaska – Cool.
  13. Quote of the Day – Stay classy, Sen. McConnell!
  14. Ignorance comes with consequences – And those are the people most loudly proclaiming American divine exceptionalism, because they’re too tied to their comforting ignorance to actually make this country exceptional.

Unblogged Bits (Tue. 7-Dec-10 2230)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

  1. Report: Wikileaks cables show Texas company “helped pimp little boys to stoned Afghan cops” – Boing Boing – But we should, of course, ignore this and obsess instead about Assange’s sex life.
  2. Cynical-C | College For Ayn Rand Devotees Closes Due to Financial Problems – The irony! It BURNS!
  3. ‘Will my phone get Gingerbread?’ Here’s our official unofficial upgrade list | Android Central – Well, promising that someone thinks the Incredible will get it.
  4. A horrifying breast cancer “testimonial” for “holistic” treatment, finale : Respectful Insolence – Sad. And maddening.
  5. Don’t shoot messenger for revealing uncomfortable truths | The Australian – A essay in the Australian media from Julian Assange himself. Worth reading.
  6. Many Opportunities for Corporations at the Court This Term | People For the American Way Blog – I suspect not much good will come from this …
  7. In Latest Compromise with GOP, Obama Agrees He is a Muslim « Borowitz Report
  8. Intrepid Media: Column: publishing and the princess bride – Love this movie (and, for that matter, the book).
  9. What the deal does (and what it could have done): Steve Benen
  10. Let Oprah know that Kim Tinkham is dying of cancer : Respectful Insolence
  11. Right goes after Obama over national motto – At the very least, they are demonstrating that the old motto does’t apply any more. Idjits.
  12. WikiLeaks Releases Secret List of Critical Infrastructure Sites – Good Lord! The Straits of Hormuz are a Super-Secret Area of Security Concern? Who’d’ve thunk it?
  13. U.S. Celebrates Wikileaks Arrest By Announcing Press Freedom Day – Timing is everything.
  14. Tracing the Spark of Creative Problem-Solving – This one’s for Margie.
  15. Consumer Reports Breaks A Lot Of Glass Investigating Shattering Pyrex Bakeware – Ah. The current generation of Pyrex isn’t what the old generation used to be. I’m sure it makes them an additional ten cents per 9×13 pan.
  16. Lieberman: New York Times may be investigated for espionage – Thank you, Joe, for restoring my lack of faith in you.
  17. Democratic Components Of Tax Deal Benefit More People Than Republican Parts Of The Plan – But the benefit per person is waaaaay lopsided.
  18. The War on Cameras – “Those of us who are public officials and are entrusted with the power of the state are ultimately accountable to the public. When we exercise that power in public fora, we should not expect our actions to be shielded from public observation. ‘Sed quis custodiet ipsos cutodes’ (‘Who watches the watchmen?’).” Indeed. And remember, when security cameras and other privacy intrusions are put into the public square, the answer from authorities is always, “The innocent have nothing to hide.” Strangely enough, they stop saying that when the cameras are turned on them.
  19. While we’re busy playing in the Creationist Theme Park… – sigh

Unblogged Bits (Wed. 27-Oct-10 1130)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

  1. The Ken Buck Rape Case | Mother Jones – This wasn’t a “she-said, he-said” case. It was a “she-accused, he-confessed” case, and Buck still didn’t prosecute. The other factors mentioned are interesting, but fail to address this core fact.
  2. Rand Paul Head-Stomper To Victim: ‘I Would Like For Her To Apologize To Me’ – The last refuge of the bully: playing the victim.
  3. Asked If Being Gay Is A Choice, Joe Miller Dodges And Says ‘It Really Is A State Issue’ – It’s a state choice! Except when the states choose wrong! Then it’s a federal choice! Except when the feds choose wrong! Then it’s a state choice! Except …
  4. Nook Deletes All Your Files, Barnes & Nobles Shrugs – I have not updated my bookshelves in a while, but, mercifully, the used books I have there have not vanished. Except the ones I chose to give away.
  5. Arkansas School Board Member Says He’ll Only Wear Purple If “Queers” “Commit Suicide” – Stay classy, Arkansas!
  6. Alaska GOP Senate Nominee Joe Miller Admitted Lying About After Being Caught In Ethics Violation – Note this is all of two years ago.
  7. The Hobbit Shall Not Pass… Out of New Zealand After All – Huzzah!
  8. Is Downward Dog The Path to Hell? – Yes, because once you start taking yoga, “loneliness, alcoholism, and promiscuity” are the well-known, inevitable results …
  9. The US Religious Right and the LGBT Crisis In Uganda – And they’ll know we are Christians by our love …
  10. Viagra for convicted rapists?: Bizarre false claim gets anti-Ed Perlmutter ad yanked (VIDEO) – Denver News – The Latest Word – I’m finding it interesting the number of stations that are (belatedly) fact-checking and yanking some of these ads.
  11. The New No. 2 – Wow — some pretty massive changes to Disney California Adventures. Kind of glad I finally got a chance to see the “before,” so I can hopefully appreciate the “after” …
  12. Calvin and Hobbes for October 27, 2010
  13. Dudes At Yale Pick Knuckles Up Off the Ground Just Long Enough to Type Some Nonsense [On Becoming a Domestic and Laboratory Goddess] – Translated: “Well, yes, they went too far with their little button-pushing shenanigans, but boys will be boys and no harm, no foul, right? Lighten up, ladies! Come on over for a brewski or two!”
  14. U.S. College Degrees by County – The concentration of higher education in urban areas is much greater than I’d expected – and rather disturbing, too. Compare the “reddest” areas with the “red states,” too.
  15. Cookie – strip for October / 26 / 2010 – This is why I don’t keep cookies around me. Well, not for long, anyway.
  16. BBC News – US mid-term election spending nears $2bn mark – The best government money (er, “corporate free speech!”) can buy.
  17. San Francisco Earthquake & Fire – Remarkable post-Fire films. Devastated landscapes, still-smoldering ruins, building demolitions, tent cities … but also, a lot of folks still carrying out life and living as before.
  18. San Diego Zoo Gets Funky – Cool.
  19. Star Trek cited by Texas Supreme Court – Not sure if I should be amused, or make a snarky comment about the uproar from some quarters if the same lines had been attributed to a European court.

Unblogged Bits (Mon. 25-Oct-10 2330)

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

  1. Sharron Angle Pits Brown Against White In Anti-Immigrant Attack Ad – I’d dearly love to have Sharron Angle lose because she intentionally torqued off a portion of the electorate this way.
  2. Amazon’s New Sale-Stealing Book Scanner Is Great for Cheapskates, Bad for Bookstores, Worse for Me – I confess I’ve done this, though only at “big box” stores.
  3. Go To This Site When You Can’t Find Your Phone [Web] – Cool …
  4. Wi-Fi Direct certification begins today, device-to-device transmission starting soon – Cool. And WiFi’s a lot better for a lot of purposes than the range-constrained Bluetooth.
  5. Fake TV for fooling burglars – That’s actually pretty clever. And at $35, not wildly outrageous.
  6. Self-appointed guardians of TV decency fall on hard times – Couldn’t happen to a bunch of nicer folks.
  7. YouTube – The Mighty Hercules-Kids Cartoon Theme Song-Johnny Nash – This one’s for Mom & Dad.
  8. Brand-new Batmobiles – Wow. Wish I had a LOT more disposable income.
  9. “Bound for Glory”: America in Color from 1939-1943 – Glimpse into another world, but one so close.
  10. World’s tallest buildings c.1884 – Amazing how quickly things change. That, and the value of steel-reinforced concrete.
  11. Star Trek Re-watch: “Spock’s Brain” – Okay, I don’t care what hesitations the review writer (and commenters) have, this is, IMO, the Worst. TOS. Episode. Ever. Yeah, there are plenty of other bad, awful, wretched, improbable S.3 eps, but this one is unrelentingly awful, except where it’s unintentionally hysterical, except where it’s both.
  12. Paul Tobin Counts Down the 40 Greatest Comic Cover Artists – I don’t necessarily agree with all his choices, but it’s an interesting collection and an intriguing premise — not necessarily best artists, but best artists at making covers.

Unblogged Bits for Wed, 3 Mar 2010, 7:00PM

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

  1. Amarillo’s Army of God: Kyle
  2. Bachmann To Vote For Resolution Promoting Census After Leading Campaign To Smear It: Guest Blogger
  3. Stars make search more personal – This sounds like a good, useful idea.
  4. The freest and most democratic nation? – I love this country. But driving a drumpbeat of exceptionalism only blinds us to the areas where we fall far short of our ideals.
  5. Judging Books by Their Covers: U.S. Vs. U.K. – I always love comparing book covers between editions, publishers, countries for the same book. Some interesting design choices here.
  6. Days Get Shorter Because of Chilean Earthquake [Science] – I plan on taking advantage of this to catch up on my sleep.
  7. Leverage DVD news: Press Release for Leverage – The 2nd Season | TVShowsOnDVD.com – Glee!
  8. 10 Modern Cartoons That Are Making Children Dumber – Man, it’s hard to argue much with this list. Thank heavens there’s nothing here that Kay insists on watching.
  9. Isildur’s Bane – I’m seriously disappointed by the Obama Adminstration’s actions regarding homeland security and this sort of thing. But it seems a sad truism that, once granted a power, governments never let go of it, and, in fact, use it to argue that they are justified in asking for more.
  10. Working the ref – And, once again, if you can’t win on the facts, try smears instead. (The side note about the GOP firing parliamentarians they felt weren’t being open enough to their own reconciliation efforts is just frosting on the cake.)
  11. The blockade is gone, but it’s not forgotten – Heh. “After all, if the rules let Jim Bunning hold up unemployment benefits for 200,000 Americans just because he feels like it, maybe voters won’t get so outraged when the GOP talks about how important the filibuster is.”
  12. D.C.’s Catholic Charities Dumps Family Insurance So They Don’t Have To Cover Same-Sex Partners – I can understand their logic, as much as I disagree with their reasoning. But I can also understand how that will make them that much less attractive of an employer, and rightfully so.
  13. Virgin America dumps Flash over lack of iPhone support – Good for them. Flash is grotesquely over-used and unfriendly for the web ecosystem.
  14. NC congressman wants Ronald Reagan put on $50 bill – Ronald Reagan – Salon.com – Grant is no jewel I can think of a dozen (or three) other presidents I’d rather see before Reagan.
  15. 17 More Images You Won’t Believe Aren’t Photoshopped | Cracked.com – Fun.
  16. Google Wave Gets a Smarter API – I think Wave needs better/clearer integration with other Google tools. It also needs some success stories in major companies to show how its power can be leveraged and to overcome the critical mass of users problem.
  17. Let’s Do It – That makes me feel much better.
  18. Why DRM doesn’t work… – The core problem with DRM is that it’s intended to keep people away from the product, with an exception to be reluctantly (and partially) made for folks who pay for the privilege. There is little to no incentive for companies to make DRM easier to navigate or less onerous (the idea that their business depends on it is counteracted by their intense fear that online access will destroy their business regardless).
  19. Media Matters staff: Breitbart now calls ACORN tapes “less about ‘criminality’ than facility with which employees all knew how to work system” – Sounds like a top-flight lobbying firm to me …
  20. Todd Gregory: No, right-wing bloggers, the Brooklyn DA is not a “member” of the Working Families Party – Because, of course, when you lose on the facts, the next thing to do is try for a win on the smear.

Unblogged Bits for Thursday, 17 December 2009

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

Unblogged Bits for Saturday, 24 October 2009

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

Unblogged Bits for Monday, 05 October 2009

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

Unblogged Bits for Saturday, 25 April 2009

Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….

Back up your photos (in an old kit bag) and smile, smile, smile

Consumer Reports posts an article on the dangers of treating your online photo site as your sole backup of photos.

Do you have your photos securely backed up somewhere at home? Or, after you upload them to Snapfish, Flickr, Facebook, My Space or wherever, do you just erase them from your memory card? If you do the latter, you run the risk of losing them, or at least having to pay to get them back.

You might lose them because the site, like Kodak Gallery recently did, decides it will delete them after a period unless you buy at least a certain number of prints from that site every so often. (Sites with such policies may issue you a warning before they lower the ax, but if you miss that warning, it’s curtains for your shots.)

You might also lose your photos because the site goes belly up. Think that’s far-fetched? Not any more so than Fortunoff’s, Linens ‘n Things or Circuit City going bankrupt.

Even if your file doesn’t disappear entirely, you may have trouble retrieving a full-resolution version of it from a photo-sharing site without having to pay. On some sites, the only versions you can download for free are low-resolution ones.

Good advice. Keeping backups on an external hard drive, or backing up onto CD/DVD are both decent shorter-term options. Offsite backups are even better as a choice (or another copy); that’s one reason I’ve gotten so much into the online backup service Backblaze.

Finally, another option is the oldest-fashioned one of all — actual honest-to-garsh prints, which will last longer than some electronic media and, even better, aren’t dependent on technology standards that may not be around in decade or two. Something to consider for your most important photos.

Teeny-tiny music video

Tilt-shift photography is a technique which can be used, among other things, to give a false appearance of miniatures. Throw in some sped up action, one can spend half their time wondering if it’s real, or fake. As in this very cool (and fun) video, Bathtub IV.


Bathtub IV from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

(via BoingBoing & Les) 

 

You say you want a Resolution (2008-2009 edition)

Okay, time to do the recap of last year’s resolutions and set some new/refreshed ones for this year. Spend more time with Kitten. Keep up the karate stuff, but…

Okay, time to do the recap of last year’s resolutions and set some new/refreshed ones for this year.

Spend more time with Kitten. Keep up the karate stuff, but also be more involved on a daily basis with her homework and other stuff. Get that time in before she decides that Daddy is (like New year Resolutions) passé. 

I think I did okay with this this year. I tried to get Katherine more involved in stuff around the house (sometimes self-servingly), I tried to stay in touch with what-all she was doing, and, of course, we maintained the karate stuff.

Get my virtual world in order. Get my blogs updated and cleaned up. Increase traffic to WIST. Get my photos caught up, including the stuff I have on other sites.

The blogs are still running on older versions of MT, but I made very significant progress on photos (using Flickr, and getting all of my 2008 photos, of which there were a plentitude, up), and got into a solid, regular rhythm on WIST, leading to a slow, steady rise in traffic.

Write. Edit. Write. No real progress with that this past year. It’s not clear to me how, amidst all the other commitments I have, how to leverage this — but it’s something I really want to do.

This one was just a general flop. It’s a matter of devotion and investment of time, and I just didn’t. Disappointing.

Be fit. Repeat the 1,500 miles, keep up the karate — and find a new Geek Diet tool. Get back under 200 by June, and to 185 by the end of the year. There are some things I can do toward that end (that are sustainable and rational); I just need to do them.

Mixed bag here. On the one hand, I did make the 1,500 miles (close but solidly), and kept up on the karate. On the downside, I didn’t find a better Geek Diet tool, and my year-end weight is actually (at 217) higher than it was last New Year.

Ditto for last year’s addendum, of course.

Well, I hope I’m being a good, supportive, helpful, loving husband. Margie still puts up with me, so I guess I’m doing something right.

So, what to do for this coming year?

I’m going to take for granted that I’m going to be an involved husband and father. No specifics I can think of to do with this.

  1. Be fit: A true cliché, I know, but … Continue with the 1,500 Miles to Nowhere program. Continue karate. And … yes, start tracking calories again, convenient tool or not. 200 lbs. by 1 June, 185 by the end of the year. Next year, no question about whether 36s need to be exchanged!
  2. Be photographically organized: Continue with the photography conversion and updating. All 2009 photos, four additional years at my discretion will get uploaded and online in a single place.
  3. Be blogically up to date:  Movable Type to the current version and all features working once again.
  4. Be genealogical: New! Get my genealogy research back up and running … one of those outstanding “projects” that never seems to quite get traction.

That’s a lot, frankly, given what seem to be constant conflicts for time. I’d say they’re in priority order, too, and my main focus will be back on #1.

I’m not putting in anything “creative” in there — writing per se is dropping off the list this year, given both track record, competition, and recognizing that I get at least some of that out through other venues. In a sense, all the items 2-4 employ some some measure of creativity (and writing), and that will have to do for the nonce.