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January 29, 2004

The New Collection

My new metal collection: brass, sterling silver, and copper necklaces and bracelets for men and women. When all is ready for primetime viewing you'll be able to see more. For now, here's a sample:

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Professor Popsicle

Reuters: A researcher known as "Professor Popsicle" has found humans can successfully spend days on end in the bitter cold. Gordon Giesbrecht has spent the past 26 days skiing the isolated, frozen expanse of Lake Winnipeg as part of his research for the University of Manitoba on how the body copes with the cold.

Temperatures averaged 15 degrees below zero and dipped as low as 31 below during his 240-mile trek on cross-country skis. "Now when I'm outside and it's -25 C (113 Fahrenheit), it's not really a big problem," he told Reuters by satellite phone on Monday night from his small tent on the world's tenth largest lake. "This has been more a test of just dealing with the cold and living with it, and getting your clothing and your actions coordinated so that you don't end up getting frostbite or anything," explained Giesbrecht.

Soft, deep snow made for some tough slogging with his backpack and sled carrying his food and gear. On two mornings, Giesbrecht emerged from his tent to find the wind so fierce that his tent was almost flat. "The most vulnerable time of the day is when you are trying to set up your tent, and I was not about to take that chance," he wrote on a Web site updated by his family.

Other than numb fingertips, which will likely take a month to return to normal, Giesbrecht said he feels fine. But he said the first thing he plans to do when he returns to Winnipeg on Tuesday is to jump into a hot tub. "It's going to feel great," he said.

With that nickname, something entirely different came into my mind. :-)

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Banished Words

Lake Superior State University's (Michigan) Word Banishment selection committee has published its annual list of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness. Words banished in 2004 include:

Metrosexual - "sounds like someone who only has sex downtown or on the subway."
Punked
Place Stamp Here
Bling or Bling-Bling
LOL
Embedded Journalist
Smoking Gun
Shock and Awe
Captured Alive
Shots Rang Out
Ripped from the Headlines
Sweat Like a Pig

and my favorite,
In Harm's Way - "Who is Harm, and why would you want to get in his way?"

I'm going to create my own list of words and phrases that I use way too often. What words would you like to banish from YOUR personal vocabulary? Inquiring minds want to know. :-)

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Top 10 George W. Bush Complaints about England

David Letterman Top 10 List

10. "Clocks are five hours fast"

9. "Everybody's speaking some crazy foreign language"

8. "Harry Potter won't return phone calls"

7. "So touchy about minor things...like going to war under false pretenses"

6. "They don't know where Saddam is either"

5. "Queen Elizabeth not half as funny as 'King of Queens'"

4. "Disappointed to learn 'Big Ben' is just a giant clock"

3. "Pack a gum costs 2 pounds -- who carries two pounds of money?!"

2. "I've been here for 36 hours and Prince Charles hasn't made a single move on me"

1. "Driving on the left reminds me of my drinking days"

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Clinton's Gift to Internet Age: Only Two Emails

How many White House staffers did it take to help Bill Clinton send one email?

The archives of the Bill Clinton presidential library will contain almost 40 million emails by the former president's staff and two by the man himself. Of the two emails, one may not qualify because it was a test to see if Clinton knew "how to push the button on an email." The other email, sent with the help of Clinton staffers, was sent to Ohio Sen. John Glenn. The space shuttle was in orbit at the time and Glenn had been part of the crew. CNN

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January 28, 2004

World66

World66 has a neat widget that generates a map based upon selections from a list of countries you've visited. I did this for the US as well as the rest of the world, and can see I've got a lot of travelling to do!

30 states ... 58 percent of the US

11 countries ... a whopping 4 percent of the world

Create your own visited country map or write about it on the open travel guide

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U.S. Rolls Out Cyber-Alert System

The U.S. government on Wednesday rolled out a "cyber alert" system to warn computer users about viruses, worms and other online threats, two days after the "MyDoom" worm snarled e-mail traffic worldwide. Internet users who sign up will receive e-mail warnings about new worms like "MyDoom," as well as general tips about how to make their computers more secure, officials with the Homeland Security Department said.

Officials said they hope to slow the spread of cyberattacks by making the online public more aware of the specific weaknesses they exploit. "The intent is for this information to be made available to the public to receive the widest and most appropriate distribution," said Amit Yoran, director of Homeland Security's cybersecurity division.

Computer users can sign up for the alert system at (http://www.us-cert.gov), Yoran said. Warnings will be sent by e-mail and also posted on the Web site, he said. E-mail warnings will contain an electronic signature to verify their authenticity, he said. - Reuters

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U.S. Tech Workers Help Companies Export Their Jobs

Reuters: U.S. companies are asking technology workers to help export a new product: their jobs. As programing and other computer services move to low-cost locations in India and China, some workers are in the awkward position of training their replacements.

Software developer Mike Emmons was shocked two years ago when Siemens AG, the German telecom equipment giant, decided to replace him and his colleagues with lower-paid programmers from India. According to Emmons, Siemens told about 20 workers in Lake Mary, Florida, that outsourcing was the wave of the future. The company gave them severance -- provided they trained employees imported by Tata Consultancy Services of India to do their jobs. Tata workers hadn't known they were displacing Americans, Emmons said. Once they found out, it was uncomfortable for them to work with the very people whose jobs they were taking.

Forrester Research predicts as many as 3.3 million U.S. jobs that now pay combined wages of $136 billion will transfer offshore by 2014. Everything from call center work to software development is shifting to lower-wage centers in India, China, the Philippines, Brazil and South Africa. So far, while there is no federal legislation to cover private-sector job losses in high-tech fields, the number of visas issued to technical workers dropped sharply last year.

Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America, a trade group, warns that job exports "could be a very, very hot topic" in the U.S. presidential campaign. Unemployment rates for engineers and software professionals remain around 7 percent, higher than the overall unemployment rate of 5.7 percent. Meanwhile, companies that provide "change management" services -- from small players like Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. to giants like Hewlett-Packard -- say they do so carefully. "It's a structured process we take our large clients through," said Francisco D'Souza, Cognizant's chief operating officer. While the process is usually handled quietly, major companies "can no longer hide what they're doing," said Clive Chajet, a New York-based marketing consultant whose clients include AT&T Corp. "Those that say nobody will know are kidding themselves," he said.

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Tell Us How You Really Feel

Via Green Fairy's LinkLog:

bad marriage: Dispatches from my Personal Corner of Hell

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iChat

Holger, my friend in Berlin, Germany, prompted me this morning via iChat. We both decided to take advantage of iChat's audio capabilities and had a conversation this morning via our laptops.

Sitting in front of the laptop and talking to it is awkward at first. For me, at least I can do this in the privacy of my own home, but for Holger, talking to his laptop while in the office must have been a pretty amusing sight for his colleagues. We both plan to add a video component in the future via the addition of an iSight camera. I suspect we'll have quite a bit of fun with that.

iChat can be utilized with either AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) or through a mac.com account. The technology is cool nevermind the cost savings for an international phone call. I've become an Apple evangelist. :-)

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January 27, 2004

I see Paris ...

... uhm, I'm sure y'all have something to say about this photo.

Paris, France versus Paris, Texas.

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January 26, 2004

Reflections

Update: I moved this entry over to the story/dusting depository. :-)

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January 25, 2004

Oh, Shit!

A post over on Da Goddess reminded me of the time I went rollerblading at Venice Beach in California.

It was a sunny day, quite warm and the pavement was crowded with tourists, locals and numerous sidewalk vendors. I was breezing along on my blades when my friend Mike stopped me and said, "Cindy, wait a minute ... I think a bird took a dump on your back." A quick look-behind and sure enough, bird shit was streaming down the back of my bright yellow t-shirt. Neither of us had tissues, and at that moment, removing the t-shirt wasn't an option. Mike bladed over to a food stand and grabbed a pile of napkins. When he returned, he began wiping the back of my shirt. God knows what that bird had been eating, but the poop had soaked into the shirt and was now a nice gray stain running from top to bottom. Somehow, somewhere, the recollection of being told that when a bird shits on you it's supposed to be good luck. This is luck?

Then there's good old dog shit. Though laws in NYC require dog owners to scoop up their dog's poop, some owners look the other way and leave the evidence right there in the middle of the sidewalk. Unsuspecting folks step in it, drag it a few feet further, and you've got a path of poop to navigate only IF you're paying attention while walking. If you manage to step in shit and it attaches itself to your footwear, you've got yet another problem to deal with, and that's the eau d' peu. No matter where you go, what store or supermarket you enter, everyone who has clear sinuses will know that one of you stepped in shit; you can't mistake the odor.

So what's a shit-stepper to do? Well, unless you want to sit down on a curb and hand wipe the offensive poo off your shoes, you ponder removal tactics and become resourceful, using anything that may help with waste management -- a quick grass-and-dirt scrub, the edge of a sidewalk curb, newspaper, anything you can find. If you can't do this, then you alone are responsible for spreading the shit around town and also through your own home until you remove the offensive debris.

I dare not recall the number of times I've had to remove shit from the bottom of my shoes. Where there's dog shit, there's me. I attract it like bees to flowers. And supposedly, stepping in dog shit is good luck also. I have difficulty comprehending the idea that stepping in animal excrement is lucky. How something so utterly offensive can be turned into something fortunate is beyond me. It's probably something someone made up one day after a friend stepped in a heaping hot pile of poop. I mean, what else would you say? Only an optimist would attempt to turn something so vile into a thing of beauty. What else is there to say but oh, shit!

If stepping in dog poop or being shit on with fly-by bird poop is lucky then I should be swimming in good fortune. :-)

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January 24, 2004

Oh, Canada!

I love the song Oh Canada - and have been singing it all day since reading the weather forecast for my area... we're talking all those arctic blasts y'all keep sending down here. Stop it already, will ya?

The forecast for my neck o' the woods includes another shot of frigid air for New York City ...

A reinforcing shot of frigid air will infiltrate [sounds a bit sinister, doesn't it?] the area tonight as arctic high pressure slides down from Canada. [thank you very little.] Temperatures will drop through the teens to around 10 degrees by daybreak Sunday. This very cold air [really? no shit!] will be accompanied by sustained northwest winds of 15 to 20 mph in the evening... that will subside to 10 to 15 mph after midnight. This combination of wind and very cold air will produce windchill values [I don't find wind chill a thing of value.] of five to ten degrees below zero tonight. The unseasonably cold airmass will remain with us through the weekend... With windchill values around zero degrees on Sunday night as well.

Let me bitch about the low temps because:

So-called friends in the Bahamas telephoned just to tell me it's 72 degrees there (which is cold for them.)

Austin, Texas (Bubba 1) will have rain tomorrow but it'll be 67 degrees.

Nashville, Tennessee (Bubba 2) is getting a chill: 56 degrees. OMG, you might want to wear a lightweight jacket!

And I'm happy to quit my bitchin' now because in upstate New York, it's something like -8 degrees, where the high for tomorrow is 0 degrees and the low will be -18. Brrrrrrrrrrr.....

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Damnation University

I tripped on this site while searching for information about Hell, Michigan. Damn U. offers nifty items (license plates, baseball caps, etc.) as well as 162 Degrees in Hell certificates.

For example:
School of Computer Sciences:
Apple Loyalty Degree earned for:
Throwing a party on the anniversary of the introduction of the iMac; owning a VHS copy of the '1984' Macintosh TV commercial; believing that software designers should be required by law to develop the Apple version first; and keeping up email correspondence with Jobs and Woz.

School of Relationships
Commitment Avoidance degrees are earned for:
Keeping your own place after a year of essentially living in his/hers; setting a wedding date "in June," but leaving out the year; forgetting his/her parents' names on purpose; and maintaining a decent wardrobe in the trunk of your car.

Love Growthology degrees are earned for:
Always knowing the right thing to say, and knowing when saying nothing is the right thing; creating safety, trust, and loyalty with a smile and a touch; nurturing spontaneity and sparkle every day of the week; never even picking up a grudge, much less holding on to one; and inspiring intense dedication and steamy daydreams in you-know-who.

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The Mac Turns 20

Its dedicated users are so passionate they're often
described as religious about their love for the machine.

Twenty years ago, on January 24, 1984, Apple Computer launched the Macintosh. It contained virtually unknown features, including simple icons, and an odd little attachment called a mouse. Many newspaper stories at the time had to include a definition. Silicon Valley's newspaper The San Jose (California) Mercury News, for example, described the mouse as "a handheld device that, when slid across a table top, moves the cursor on the Mac's screen." Apple co-founder Steve Jobs dubbed the Macintosh "the people's computer." Jobs and business partner Steve Wozniak -- a math and computer junkie -- had sold their first computer, the Apple I, in 1976. They had put it together in a garage.

"The Mac's a symbol of a whole revolution, and most of us that participated in it from the beginning and believed in it bought into these new ideals of computers to really help people, and not something that you had to fight, memorize and learn," Wozniak told CNN. "That whole revolution just continues in our hearts to this day." - CNN

The Apple site is featuring its famous 1984 television commercial which announced the Macintosh. While watching the Quicktime of the commercial, I noticed this:

Am I seeing things -- isn't that an iPod? Funny, I didn't notice it the first time I watched the commercial. Maybe I'm just imagining it, or the commercial was edited in honor of the anniversary.

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The Web Server Speaks

Correction:

Mentioned by The Gray Monk who found it via GDay Mate via Utterly Boring:

Error 404 - File Not Found

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January 23, 2004

Dude Looks Like a Lady

In response to my previous post regarding Zoe's post about waking up as the opposite sex/what would you do - Ozguru of GDay Mate presents us with a serious response. He writes, on Waking Up Female:

"Now, if I did wake up female BUT I keep my male brain then I could take over the world. I would be the only woman in existence who really, truly, understood men. I would train other women in techniques to subdue males because, lets face it, male appetites are quite simple and easily satisfied while us women (remember I am role playing here) have much wider tastes. Unlike males who experience one need at a time, women can achieve enjoyment on multiple levels."

He also includes a post he made back in June that has images of the female brain and the male brain. What's interesting about the images is that graphic of the female brain is small, while the one for the male brain is twice the size. I'm sure he didn't notice that, simply because the male brain doesn't work that way. :-)

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Bert and Ernie

... are a couple of Sesame Street characters that I've always liked. What? You expected more from me? Actually, I was trying to think of a different title for this post -- just some miscellaneous things I wanted to mention. I realized that I always use some sort of pair: bits and pieces, odds and ends, this and that. I think from now on I'll use famous couples. :-)

* This is cool: Industorious Clock

* 15 slick inches of aluminum now reside under my fingertips.

* Adam Curry might be going to Iraq: Operation Iraqi Sunrise

* In March of last year Gert of Mad Musings of Me blogged about VPL (visible panty line) and wearing thongs. The comments make for an interesting read.

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It Ain't What it Used to Be

...and other love notes from The Donald

The Donald and I recently exchanged a flurry of emails, and I'm going to share a couple of them here. First was the news about his daughter's First Grade homework assignment, which was to prepare a presentation for class on an animal that lives in fresh water. He writes:

This afternoon walking the jogging trail along the Colorado River, we saw twenty or more turtles resting on logs on the water's edge. So she decided to do her homework on turtles. She did it on the computer. In QuarkXPress, with very little help. Came up with her own questions and wrote them and the answers, then went to Google to find pictures of turtles to use. Now she's on the laptop playing disney.com games since her homework is finished.

First grade ain't what it used to be.

I can't imagine what his daughter will have accomplished by the end of this school year. The possibilities boggle the mind!

His next email addressed the content on my blog, as follows:

Your blog has taken on a real edge. On the home page in the first window now
are breasts and the word "cunt." Slightly different from the old site.... LOLOL

One never knows what will show up on here Donald. You'll just have to stop by here a bit more often. ;-)

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January 22, 2004

Booble It

Update: Google vs. Booble, the 'parody.'

"It is fun, but there is a real story behind Booble in that it's hard to find good adult content," Booble's founder said.

The adult sites to which Booble users will be directed have been filtered to exclude illegal or extremely hard-core material, using criteria including whether a site is worth the price it charges viewers and the quality of its images.

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Today's Blog Snippets

"... if ever I call you a cunt to your face, you'll know that you're considered a real friend." - Zoe

Finally I said, "Son, we can smile and make nice and pretend you're not sleeping with my daughter if that makes you feel good. I'm not stupid and I know exactly how the cow ate the cabbage so if you're going to sit here and blow smoke up my ass, at least make it tickle a little bit."

"Just call me the weenie wilter." - Kat

"... I would also like to inform the RIAA that they don't need to come back. Yes, one of my referring sites was www.riaa.com and I can only assume it's the nefarious Recording Industry come sniffing for illegal downloads. Guys, the only down load you will find here is the stuff that keeps rolling downhill....you know it only rolls one way...." - Greg of Mr. Helpful

Chris of Utter Wonder presents his erotic poetry based on the State of the Union Address:

"The State of My Union is Confident and Long (Come On Up to My Rising)"
"Patriot Sex Acts of Love and Enforcement"
"The Work of Rebuilding a New Iraq is Hard and it is Right and So Am I"
"Freedom is Sexy, A Haiku"
(among others.)

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Fulton Chain Additions

Fulton Chain has a new look and layout plus some recent content including:

Perfect Pixels: information regarding pixels and resolution in digital photography.

Part One: Albany to Maine. I'm looking forward to reading more!

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January 21, 2004

Now I've Seen it All

I found something extra special to give as a present to some lucky person: it's your very own Cindy Smart Doll.

"Cindy's open/closed mouth features built-in animatronics making her mouth move when she speaks. She is approximately 18-1/2 inches tall with long, blond, synthetic hair in a ponytail. Cindy has blue acrylic eyes with synthetic upper lashes. Fully jointed, she can sit, stand, and pose her arms and head. A long-sleeved pink t-shirt, denim bib shorts with shoulder straps, white socks, and black vinyl shoes complete Cindy's outfit. Cindy can hear, read, do math, spell, identify shapes and colors, and tell time. Simply place some of the included letters, numbers, or pictures and colors on the blackboard and 'play school' with her!"

Note: Cindy is not available in the US. ;-)

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Sex Change

Zoe wants to know: "... if you are a man and wake up tomorrow as a woman, what would you do apart from scream? And if you are a woman and wake up as a man, what would you do?"

I'd probably die of heart failure from the shock of it.

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Spanning the Globe

Note to visitors of this page who reside in Dubuque, Iowa:

My apologies that you took offense to my poking good-natured fun at a friend's choice of places to visit in the middle of winter. I personally, (and as I wrote at the end of the original entry,) have nothing against your town nor was I mocking it as one person stated. The content, mentioning Dubuque in jest and providing a few links to informative sites about the town, was mainly a good-natured effort directed at a friend of mine. It was not intended to insult anyone.

-----------------------------

Dubuque, Iowa

God help me when someone googles that town. I am beside myself, drooling in absolute jealousy over the fact that our very own Greg of Mr. Helpful is in the midst of preparing for his mega exciting trip to Dubuque, Iowa.

For those unfamiliar with this town, Dubuque is pronounced something like "duh bewk" -- more refined folks prefer "doo bewk." Contrary to what it looks like when you first read it, Dubuque has nothing whatsoever to do with that other strange looking thing: Dubya. "Dubya" is what it is -- "W." Anyway, Dubuque, Iowa is located right next to the Mississippi River, and is really close to Wisconsin, aka cheese country. (That's all the detail you're getting since this isn't a geography lesson.)

Dubuque is one of those quiet US towns that just leaves you wondering -- why. Why go to Dubuque, I ask Mr. Helpful, when you could go to some other town in the US with a name that begins with a "D" --

like, Daytona? But who am I to ask why. I'm just playing travel editor here. Back to Dubuque.

So there I was, thinking of Dubuque and having nothing better to do at that moment. I decided to dig up some things on Dubuque, Iowa because Mr. Helpful is always helping others. It was my turn to give something back. I googled Dubuque and as expected, it regurgitated a bunch of links for me to browse. I selected Access Dubuque as my starting point. Here I learned that the weather forecast was mostly sunny and cold, with wind-chill temperatures approaching 26 below zero. Hmm. Maybe they want to change that for evening, ya think?

Next juicy tidbit in this site was the events section. I'm sure that Greg plans to show up just in time for the Gold Rush Square Dancing at the Dubuque Area Lifetime Center. If you're not into that due to bad knees or something, maybe you'll want to try these upcoming show-stoppers: Clarke College presents the musical "Honk!," Iowa Winter Games, Five Flags Arena and Sundown Mountain, Loras College presents "Stellar Evolution: A New Beginning."

Greg, you'll be interested to know that this site has something just for you! It's called Help Yourself. ;-) Before you immerse yourself in self-help, I found this nifty link to a place that has an underground something-or-other. Underground Events. Hmm... when's groundhog day?

Joking aside, the Dubuque Chamber of Commerce is featuring their Dubuque Romantic Getaway, highlighting Another World Bed & Breakfast. *sigh!* Need I tell you more? Greg, surely you've selected Dubuque not only because it's the "Masterpiece of the Mississippi" but also because it seems this location is a guaranteed jaw-dropping vacation. Of course, don't let me ruin it for you. Just pop by the Fun Facts page and see for yourself!

From the editor:

On a very serious note, I see my favorite movie, Field of Dreams was filmed there. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I may have to put in a request for a Dubuque baseball cap now. Uh oh. -- nevermind that Take This Job and Shove It, was also filmed there. :-)

Don't misunderstand. I've nothing against Dubuque or Iowans in general. In fact, I hope to visit Iowa one day while crossing out yet another US state on my list of states to visit. That said, this concludes today's edition of Spanning the Globe. :-)

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January 20, 2004

Name Analysis

Update: Due to an overwhelming number of requests, I've added mine to the list. All can now be found in the exceedingly extended entry.

Kabalarian Philosophy provides a brief analysis of your given name or nickname. I decided to have a little fun with this, and went ahead and searched for names of some of the folks I know who read my blog or I read theirs or are pals of mine. The list is not alphabetical or in a particular order. If your name isn't here it's simply a matter of my not knowing what your first name is or that I didn't know you read my blog.

Greg :|: Kat :|: Jon :|: Nedra :|: Paul :|: Daisy :|: Al :|: Gert :|: Steve :|: Joanie
Marcus :|: Wendy :|: Adam :|: Dawn :|: Chris :|: Christopher :|: Zoe :|: Andy :|: Me

Greg
The name of Greg makes you dynamic, restless, independent, ready to accept challenges, and outspoken. You enjoy change, travel, and new experiences. Reacting against injustice, you go out of your way to assist in creating fairness. You are very creative and promotional, and work intensely to carry out your plans. Though you have limitless enthusiasm for new ventures, you lose interest quickly once things become routine, as you dislike being forced to attend to detail and do monotonous work.

Kat
Your first name of Kat has given you energy, drive, and ambition, but also an almost excessively strong-willed and independent nature. While you are creative, inventive, and ingenious in practical matters, and always ready to initiate and promote new undertakings, you often experience difficulty in bringing your undertakings to a successful conclusion because of your own changing interests or changing circumstances.

Jon
As Jon, you have a natural interest in the welfare of your fellow man, and a desire to help and serve others in a humanitarian way. You are responsible and generous, although somewhat scattering and disorganized at times. Any jobs requiring systematic and conscientious effort, or involving any form of drudgery, dismay you. In your work, you would seek a position offering self-expression through contact with people, such as sales or teaching, or a position giving scope to your creative, artistic talents. You are good-natured and likeable, and people tend to confide in you and seek your advice in personal problems. Others sense your sincere interest and desire to help, and you can always be counted on to see the bright side of any problem.

Nedra
Your name of Nedra gives you a clever mind, good business judgment, a sense of responsibility, and an appreciation of the finer things of life. You are serious-minded and not inclined to make light of things even in little ways, and in your younger years you had more mature interests than others your age. Home and family mean a great deal to you and it is natural that you should desire the security of a peaceful, settled home environment where you can enjoy the companionship of family and friends. Whatever you set out to accomplish you do your very best to complete in accordance with what you consider to be right.

Paul
Your first name of Paul creates a dual nature for you desire to systematize your life to progress step by step, but so frequently, you are taken into new experiences, instability, and change. You are intrigued by a challenge, especially in mechanical and technical fields. Scientific concepts appeal to you. You like activities that require physical effort as well as mental ingenuity. Your questioning, critical, practical nature makes you prove all ideas to your own satisfaction, rarely accepting anyone's word or ideas

Daisy
Your first name of Daisy has made you a hard worker with a meticulous sense of detail. You have a great deal of patience and independence, and you can be relied upon to complete your undertakings. You could be inventive along scientific or practical lines. You are stable, trustworthy, homeloving, and logical in practical matters, but rather unresponsive to suggestions from others. You resist change.

Al
Your first name of Al has given you a very practical, hard-working, systematic nature. Your interests are focused on technical, mechanical, and scientific things, rather than interests of an artistic, musical, or social nature. You tend to be skeptical outlook on life and rather materialistic standards. In reaching your goals, you are very independent and resourceful, patient and determined. You can be so very positive and definite in your own ideas and opinions that others sense a lack of tact and friendliness in your manner of expression.

Gert
The name Gert gives you a strongly independent and highly creative nature, with drive and ambition to have experiences and accomplish things out of the ordinary. You can work intently at whatever is new and holds your interest at the moment, but your interest wanes quickly when drudgery and monotony set in. Obstacles to your progress or restrictions on your freedom to act create a sense of frustration which may cause you to feel resentful and even rebellious. You can then become intolerant of others, and caustic and belittling in your expression, thereby imposing stress on your personal relationships.

Steve
The first name of Steve creates a shrewd, aggressive, business nature, intent on personal gain. The desires for independence and financial success have been strong motivating forces from early in your life. You are capable of logical and analytical thinking along practical business lines, and could excel in financial fields, law, or politics. Your judgment is seldom swayed through your feelings.

Joanie
Your name of Joanie has given you a generous nature. You will do your utmost to help others in need, despite inconvenience or even hardship to yourself. You are affectionate, and respond quickly to appreciation. As a child you were expressive. An imaginative, impressionable person, you could excel in the theatre as a dramatist or comedienne, and the enjoyment and appreciation of your audience would be your greatest inspiration.

Marcus
Your first name of Marcus has given you creative ability, imagination along practical lines, and the patience to pay attention to detail for a while. Although you are attracted to technical, mechanical, scientific fields, you lack the patience to follow through with this interest. This name gives a certain amount of practicality to your thinking; but there is also a tendency to scatter your efforts for, although you want system and order and stability in your life, you are too apt to be distracted from the job you are doing and to become involved in spontaneous interests.

Wendy
The name of Wendy brings opportunities for success in business and financial accumulation. It fires you with ambition and promotional ideas, ideas that are original, progressive, and large-scale. With this name, success to you is a foregone conclusion, for you cannot conceive any reason for not reaching all your goals, as you have self-sufficiency, supreme confidence, boundless energy, and enthusiasm. As long as you have a sense of freedom from monotony and drudgery, and can see progress being made, you feel buoyant and optimistic.

Adam
The name of Adam gives you the desire to meet and mix socially and to create congenial circumstances for everyone. However, all too often, you express yourself in a matter-of-fact or awkward way that results in your good intentions being misunderstood. If you are in sales work, you could do well because of your friendly personality, interest in people, and desire to please. You prefer situations that allow a degree of independence, but are not too demanding in work-load or responsibility.

Dawn
The first name of Dawn leads you to assume considerable responsibility and to prefer to work independently, without direction or interference from others because you have very definite ideas of your own. Your mind is quick to comprehend and you can be depended upon to do any job well. Because you tend to be somewhat of a perfectionist, you might insist on doing too many things yourself instead of delegating jobs to others who might do less satisfactory work. This name does make you quite direct and straight-to-the-point.

Chris
Your name of Chris gives you a very happy-go-lucky, spontaneous nature. You see the humorous side of many situations and can laugh at yourself as well as at others. This name gives you a musical, artistic nature and you would do well in any occupation in the entertainment field. You have many friends because of your generous, happy nature, but if crossed you have a quick temper, although your annoyance does not last too long. You do enjoy an argument and will at times say things just to get others going and then you sit back and enjoy the debate. You lack system and order and find it very difficult to budget and save money.

Christopher
The name of Christopher incorporates a potential aptitude for concentration and patient, logical thought along mechanical or scientific lines. You tend to prefer to follow normal routine rather than cope with the disruption and uncertainty entailed in trying something new. You gravitate to situations where you have stability and the opportunity to make slow step-by-step progress, preferably in a technical field. Procrastination and lack of self-confidence may restrict your success.

Zoe
The name of Zoe creates a friendly, sociable, charming nature, but causes you to be too easily influenced by others. While you find it easy to meet and mix, and can appear agreeable and compromising in conversation, you can become unbending and forceful if pressed too far. Others learn that you cannot be told what to do and you seldom change your mind once it is made up. You prefer situations that allow a degree of independence, but are reluctant to take on a demanding work-load or responsibility.

Andy
The first name of Andy creates a shrewd, aggressive, business nature, intent on personal gain. The desires for independence and financial success have been strong motivating forces from early in your life. You are capable of logical and analytical thinking along practical business lines, and could excel in financial fields, law, or politics. Your judgment is seldom swayed through your feelings.

In case you missed mine back in July 2003, here it is. Rather, here they are:

Me

I'm Changing my Name

I did a name analysis for squipper, Cynthia and Cindy. Here are the results:

Squipper: clever in mathematics but constipated

Must be all that math.

Your name of Squipper has made you systematic and practical in all you do. You enjoy the feeling of accomplishment from working diligently at a task. Particular about your material possessions, you keep everything you own in a good state of repair, and you budget your personal finances very carefully. You are clever in mathematics and have great patience with work of a detailed nature, such as bookkeeping or accounting. This name limits imagination, flexibility, responsiveness, and spontaneity in your nature. It also limits your sense of humour and any real empathy of the problems of others. Those close to you do not appreciate that you may forget the thoughtful expressions of affection toward them. Your very practical nature does not allow you the appreciation you might have for life's more aesthetic values as it keeps your mind mostly concerned with facts and figures. Weaknesses in the health could affect the intestinal tract with constipation and related difficulties such as rheumatism or arthritis.

Cynthia: unfeeling, factual, calculating, has difficulty conveying feminine qualities of love and affection, bad eyes (true), sinuses (true) and the last line (true).

In other words, a real catch.

The name Cynthia creates a very independent, practical, analytical nature with skillful business abilities. You desire freedom from restrictions and authority in order that you can pursue your own ambitions. Material and financial success are the focus of your interests, but sacrificing much for material ambition will result in a lack of harmony and balance in your personal life, particularly a lack of appreciation for social courtesies and things of a more inspirational nature. Since you often appear to be too unfeeling, factual, and calculating in your dealings with others, your personal happiness and fulfilment can suffer through difficulty in conveying your feminine qualities of love and affection. Health problems centre in the head affecting the eyes, ears, sinuses, or teeth. Also, tension could afflict the female generative organs.

Cindy: candid, blunt, self-centered director with headaches and weak eyes

Oh yes, that's me.

Your name of Cindy has given you an idealistic nature with a desire to help others. Your initiative often causes you to be the first to act when you see a need. Since you are impressionable and receptive, you feel the misfortunes of others very keenly. However, this name makes it awkward for you to express your deeper thoughts and feelings with finesse and diplomacy to the extent that your candid, sometimes blunt, manner of speaking creates misunderstandings with others. Being somewhat self-centered, you learn through your own experiences, as you rarely take advice from others. Yet, you are sensitive and very easily hurt and offended. You long for praise and appreciation for your efforts, but others find it difficult to understand you. You dislike monotony and system and enjoy being creative in an inventive way whether it be in interior decorating, music, art, crafts, or other endeavours that require versatility and skill. You are imaginative and visionary, somewhat of a perfectionist, yet the results of your efforts often fall short of your high expectations. A leadership position appeals to you because you would enjoy directing others rather than being directed. Your feelings are strong and you tend to react intensely to situations. Because of your sensitive nervous system, over-stress and extreme tiredness could cause nervous disorders, seizures, fainting, or dizziness. You could also experience head tension such as headaches, weak eyes, or throat problems.

And talk about an identity crisis, if you google "squipper," you get more links to Adam Curry than to me. I guess that's only fair, since he gave me the nickname in the first place. :-)

Now accepting all suggestions for a new first name/nickname. ;-)

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Oy Vey? Nyet.

Fuhgeddaboudit!

The New York City Department of Transportation rejected a request from Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz for a sign on the Williamsburg Bridge reading "Leaving Brooklyn: Oy Vey!" The agency felt the sign -- featuring the Yiddish phrase for "oh, woe" -- would be more distracting than helpful to Manhattan-bound motorists.

"'Oy vey' was originally a Jewish phrase, but everyone knows what it means and it's now a common Brooklyn expression -- part of that Brooklyn attitude," said Markowitz, a Brooklyn native. "All I'm trying to do is put a smile on people's faces. I'm sorry if the DOT has no sense of humor."

The city earlier nixed a sign reading "Leaving Brooklyn: Fuhgeddaboudit!" at the Verazzano Narrows Bridge for what agency spokesman Tom Cocola said was the same reason: "a lack of directional information. "While the "Fuhgeddaboudit!" sign was criticized by some as an anti-Italian slur, Cocola said any concern that the "Oy Vey" sign might offend Brooklyn's large Jewish community was not part of the agency's decision. - CNN

The city has no sense of humor. One can't help but wonder what the sign will read -- Leaving Brooklyn: Sorry. Leaving Brooklyn: Buh-Bye. Leaving Brooklyn: Bummer. Leaving Brooklyn: Totally, dude. Leaving Brooklyn: Who Said I'm Leaving!? ;-)

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January 19, 2004

iPod Question

One of the dilemmas that surfaced with the recent demise of my TiBook was the fact that all my ITunes music was in there (for some reason, I never backed up any of it.) As such, one of the things I now question is whether or not one could transfer tunes from the Pod back to ITunes again -- meaning, I've got a Pod full of tunes but it seems that there's no way to re-transfer all that music into ITunes. Is this yet another moment of too much dust in the brain cells, or is it just not possible? I've tried to do this, but it didn't happen. Anyone?

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Wit

Someone screwed up the way computers work and I blame it on Bill Gates. - Andy Rooney

[For those unfamiliar with Mr. Rooney, he is a television correspondent in the US for CBS News and is known for his wry, humorous and controversial essays that have been the signature end piece of the CBS television program 60 Minutes.] Here are a couple of my favorite Rooney pieces.

Why Computers Are Screwed Up

They make computers so you have to buy a new one whenever there's a full moon. If my Underwood had been a computer, I'd have had to buy a new one every time I needed a new ribbon because Bill Gates would have designed new ribbons so they didn't fit last year's typewriter.

The thing you press to turn on the power on some of my old computers is in a different place on each one of them. You reach around in back to turn on one computer. One is on the left side. And another one is on the top, on the right.

Bill Gates got off on the wrong foot the first time he decided to turn off his computer. Do you simply press a button that says OFF when you want to turn it off? You do not. The first thing he has us do to stop is to press START. Makes sense, doesn't it?

Next, it asks SHUT DOWN?

Then it says WHAT DO YOU WANT IT TO DO? Well, didn't I just tell you what I want it to do? It isn't finished either. It asks SHUT DOWN THE COMPUTER? What the hell else do you think I want to shut down? The bedroom window?

Computers aren't nice to us. My typewriter never threatened me with a prison sentence by saying I have performed an illegal operation.

When I want to write something, the computer demands a password. In all the years I wrote on my typewriter, it never asked for a password, and no one ever stole anything I wrote either.

All I can say is it's a good thing Bill Gates didn't invent television. If it took as long to start up a television set as it takes to start up a computer, you'd need two hours to watch 60 Minutes.

Byte-Sized? Not This Laptop

I recently bought this new laptop to use when I travel. Look at that ... fits right into my briefcase. It weighs less than three pounds. I lose that much getting mad waiting to get on the plane through security at the airport.

But that's it. I'm ready to go. Well ... almost ready.

Actually, I do have to bring the power cord and the AC adapter so that I can recharge the battery when I get to the hotel room.

Naturally, I want to get on the Internet when I'm away. So I bring the telephone cord. This plugs in here on the side, and the wall in the hotel room.

I always write on a floppy disk. I write anything I do on the floppy disk. That way, when I get back to the office, I can copy it to my regular computer. This plugs into the side of the computer.

If I write a letter or something -- anything I write, really -- I want to be able to print it. This is my printer. I bring that along. They make them smaller than this now but you can't buy a new one of everything the day it comes out, so I still have this one.

The printer has a converter. Naturally, I have to have power for the computer so I bring that along. There is a cable that goes from the computer to the printer, so I always have that.

Now, these are the compact disks with the encyclopedia and dictionary on them. I need some research tools if I'm going to write anything, so I always bring that. Now, this box is something called a D-Link. I don't totally understand it, but I know that when I'm using more than one of these other devices, I have to have it. So I always bring that.

But there you are. When I've got everything together, I put the computer in the briefcase. Then I pack everything else into a small suitcase and away I go.

To tell you the truth, I might be better off bringing my Underwood (typewriter.)

Additional Rooney wit can be found here.

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January 18, 2004

Threats Via Comments

First we had email spam. Next we had spam in comments, and now the comments function serves as a handy depository for threats to an individual and his family. Nothing has unnerved me more than this post on GDay Mate. He writes:

"Some absolute b*stard out is out there. Three times he (possibly she but not so likely) has threatened my family via the comments on the blog. I no longer use my name when I blog (and I change it in the comments if you readers accidently use it) but it is not hard to identify me... It is not hard to find out where I live or how many children I have... It is not hard to threaten me...

What can I do about it? Nothing. The scum does not provide identifying information. It is easy to be "big and tough" and threaten children when you are anonymous."

What the hell is wrong with people!?!?

This isn't the first time I've read something like this, and I doubt it's the last. It's a sad, sad thing when comment spam turns to threats and forces the blogger to shut down a blog and/or start again in as anonymous form as possible, because it has become necessary to protect one's family.

Sorry, but I can't be polite about this. What a bunch of fucking bastards. Oz, if you disable all the comments throughout your blog, maybe it will give you some peace of mind and you won't be subjected to the outrageous imbecile who obviously has nothing better to do than troll blogs and leave threats on them.

As for the rest of us, perhaps the solution to the problem is that we should all disable the comments function, thereby slamming the door and making it difficult for these jerks to wreak havoc on people.

Posted by me, of course! | Comments (8)

January 17, 2004

Blogging with Zoe

The woman who refers to her children as the "brussels sprouts" celebrates the one-year anniversary of her blog. Also known in the past as "Eddie Izzard," I can always count on the divine Ms. Zoe and her talent for writing completely unpredictable and humorous posts.

In honor of her year of blogging, I decided to go through her blog and pull some of the posts I encountered and recalled from my visits there. Before I go into that, you should know that the diva claims that laughter tops her list of things she loves -- (hmm, the Twat and the sprouts aren't included in her list of loves, nor am I for that matter. Bummer.) -- and liars earn first place in the things she hates.

Day after day, Zoe reaches humor heights often unseen elsewhere, yet she herself has only reached a measly 5 feet, 2 inches short. Don't make the mistake of thinking that just because she's petite she can't kick your ass,either in person or electronically. I wanted to point that out just in case you make the mistake of tangling with her. Tango, yes, tangle, no. You get the idea.

"I've been a whale, a tired wreck, a happy-go-lucky hippy chick,
someone to vomit over, someone to cry on, I've been a nurse,
a psychologist, a teacher, have resorted to being a cleaner (til I
decided to get a cleaning-lady in), I've stretched my lungs, I've learnt
to love, learnt to cook and above all, found great happiness." - Zoe

Enough with the warnings, though I should say that if you think I missed the plane to Belgium because I was physically ill, that's only part of the story. The other missing factoid was that I was ill from being scared shitless of meeting her. And if you believe that there's a bridge in Brooklyn that I can sell you. :-) For those of you who have not popped into her blog, here are some snippets from the past year:

I'm feeling all tingly. That funny feeling that I once got eons ago before my first date.
No, that was diarrhea. Anyway, another feeling that is making me go wow.
Wow. - April

When C came home last night we sat at the table talking about what we'd been doing over the weekend. I was ever so excited to show her my new bra. So with much gusto, I parted my dressing gown only to realise that I wasn't wearing it. - May

At last, after all this waiting, all this expensive, I am proud to strut the catwalk with my latest accessory. My coil. And about bloody time too. We've worked out that after the caboodle (check-up etc) is over with, I will have doshed out �500-. Still, that's cheaper than a baby, I suppose. But far more expensive than chopping off the Twat's willy. Oh well, I'll do that in 5 year's time. - August

Nevermind the fact that this post served as a great excuse for me to phone the Belgium princess and discuss a certain someone's recent photograph -- this was really just my way of saying thanks to Zoe for sharing her witty and amusing life with all of us via her blog, and how I look forward to reading not only her future blog posts but also that book that she should publish.

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January 16, 2004

Cupertino Stopped By

I don't look at my referrer logs that often, but yesterday I checked it out and found a few interesting ones in there. First, there was the State of California Military Department/Sacramento - googling for weird flying machines. I think that search led to my post about flying underwear in Germany. Makes you wonder about the military in the US, doesn't it. I'd venture to guess the searcher was amused yet disappointed.

As I read through the logs, things went from interesting to surprised when I looked up an IP address and saw this:

OrgName: Apple Computer, Inc.
OrgID: APPLEC-3
Address: 20740 Valley Green Drive, MS32E
City: Cupertino
StateProv: CA
PostalCode: 95014
Country: US

Oh my! It's my very own Apple-ite lurking somewhere in this blog! Of course I had to know what it was my visitor was searching for (hey Steve, is that YOU?) Alas, it wasn't anything good or worthwhile. *sigh* It wasn't about my eulogy for my Titanium or placing Steve Jobs' photograph at the gravesite, it wasn't about the numerous i-Pod postings, and no, it wasn't about my experience at the Genius Bar. The big search was for my mention of Tech Serv here in NYC that the lurker was interested in -- it's a place where many of the Apple-distressed take their sickly computers to be repaired.) I'll just have to blog about Tech Serv in weird flying machines -- that should keep their searches interesting, ya think? ;-)

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For You Romeos and Juliets

Christmas was barely over when the stores cleared out the holiday merchandise and slapped up the pre-Valentine's Day warnings all over the place. I'd like to think I'm as romantic as anyone else, reminding me of something I did SO shocking to me that I dare not breathe a word of it here. Let's just say I REALLY surprised myself in the romance department. (That's all the fodder you're getting from my memory bank for today.) As I was saying before interrupting my own thoughts of bliss, lustful or otherwise, yes another V-Day is approaching. Daisy's got a jump on me in this department, finding this delectable little pre-V morsel:

Entries to a Valentine's Day competition run by the Washington Post. The verse should contain the most romantic first line but the least romantic second line. Here are a few, see Chasing Daisy for other examples.

I love your smile, your face, and your eyes-
Damn, I'm good at telling lies!

My darling, my lover, my beautiful wife:
Marrying you screwed up my life

I see your face when I am dreaming
That's why I always wake up screaming.

My love, you take my breath away.
What have you stepped in to smell this way

My feelings for you no words can tell,
Except for maybe "go to hell"

Here's to romance, and let's hope that y'all get oodles of good loving this year. ;-)

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At Below Zero ...

... white and grey equals snow and slush, and I've seen enough of that, thank you very little. The view up top is much better now. :-)

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January 15, 2004

Must be Something in the Air

"I couldn't have blogged anything yesterday because that motherfucker of a colleague made me cry." - Zoe

"I cry because I realize that I just spent 30 minutes watching Full House. Do you know what that feels like? It means I've lost it." - Joanie

"I am sorry readers for not posting, I didn't mean to make you cry, Oh no I didn't want to hurt you, I'm just a busy mom." - Dawn

"Hush, don't cry" - Chris

"I am at my wit's end. Wits. fucking. end." - Kat

"As they grappled together, the bogus bride's false breasts fell off and the farmer realized he had been tricked."

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Tim Berners-Lee to be Knighted

Tim Berners-Lee to be Knighted by Queen Elizabeth

Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web and director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), will be made a Knight Commander, Order of the British Empire (KBE) by Queen Elizabeth. This was announced by Buckingham Palace as part of the 2004 New Year's Honours list. - W3C

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January 14, 2004

Al, You ARE the Man!!

I can see that I'm going to have send some cords (4x4x8) of wood upstate. Many thanks, Al, you nailed it and everything is working normally again. I don't know what I'd do without your help, and you're rapidly approaching hero status. (how's that for pressure?)

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Playing the Virtual Drums

Sailin' away on the crest of a wave
It's like magic
Rollin' and ridin' and slippin' & slidin'
It's magic

Maybe Greg's son John will teach me how to play the drums. Nothing puts me in the mood for playing my virtual drums than ELO's Livin' Thing. Yes, one of the many things I do when waking up way too early is Podding and playing my drums. ;-)

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Fun Widget

Pholph's Scrabble Generator My Scrabble� Score is: 49. What is your score? Get it here.

- via Chasing Daisy and also GDay Mate.

Posted by me, of course!

Just When I Needed You Most

Randy VanWarmer, who recorded the pop hit "Just When I Needed You Most" and then had a successful career as a songwriter, died Monday night. He was 48.

"Just When I Needed You Most" reached No. 4 on Billboard's pop chart in 1979. VanWarmer, also a guitarist, had written it when he was 18. - AP (Tennessean.Com)

Just When I Needed You Most

You packed in the morning I stared out the window
and I struggled for something to say
you left in the rain without closing the door
I didn't stand in your way.

But I miss you more than I missed you before
and now where I'll find comfort, god knows
'cause you left me just when I needed you most
left me just when I needed you most.

Now most every morning I stare out the window
and I think about where you might be
I've written you letters that I'd like to send
if you would just send one to me.

'Cause I need you more than I needed before
and now where I'll find comfort, god knows
'cause you left me just when I needed you most
left me just when I needed you most.

You packed in the morning I stared out the window
and I struggled for something to say
you left in the rain without closing the door
I didn't stand in your way.

Now I love you more than I loved you before
and now where I'll find comfort, god knows
'cause you left me just when I needed you most
oh yeah you left me just when I needed you most
you left me just when I needed you most.

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From Trashy to Flashy

... or, from Undressed to Worst-Dressed (Reuters)

(AP Radio): Mr. Blackwell, chronicler of clothing catastrophes, poked fun at socialite-reality TV star Paris Hilton for committing the worst fashion follies of the past year.

In a statement, he described those on the list as "Ten Titans of Fashion Terror that, in 2003, ran the gamut of style-free excess from trashy to flashy, frumpy to dumpy and every egregious variation in between."

At the top of the list is Paris Hilton, followed by Madonna and Britney Spears, "kissin' cousins of couture crime" who were tied for second place. Shania Twain (country-fried kitsch), Diane Keaton, Jessica Simpson, Celine Dion (half-sequined scarecrow, half-gaudy acrobat), Missy Elliott, Melanie Griffith, Courtney Love (torrid temptress of fashion) and Lara Flynn Boyle also made the list.

"I'm not telling them how to dress," he told AP Radio from his home in Hancock Park, California. "I'm just telling them what I think of it. ... a lot of the stars are looking better than ever and it was very tough to find 10 bad ones."

On the positive side, Blackwell praised Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Garner, Diane Lane, Salma Hayek, Oprah Winfrey, Katie Holmes, Tippi Hedren, Beyonce, Faith Hill, Sarah Jessica Parker and the Countess of Wessex, the former Sophie Rhys-Jones, as "Fabulous Fashion Independents for 2003."

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Dance Fever

Daisy asks her readers if they ever took part in musicals or school plays. The thought made me laugh. My center stage career began in First Grade, when I took part in the (catholic) school's production of The Nutcracker. My starring role was that of a Sugarplum Fairy (can't ya just see it!?)

That's the only part I recall for elementary school. Upon moving on into the bigger leagues of high school productions, I shied away from singing parts simply because I'd been advised never to sing, and that includes Happy Birthday. Anyway, since I wouldn't even consider humiliating myself in that manner, I opted for dancing. I never had a problem with dancing, and let's see -- my choreography exploits included a Peasant Girl, a Roaring 20s Flapper, and my very favorite, a Kung-Fu Fighter.

These days I much prefer the anonymity of being the person behind the curtains, like The Wizard in The Wizard of Oz. ;-) Anyway, that was an amusing stroll down memory lane. Thanks Daisy!

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January 13, 2004

Blogs Vs. Journals

I was asked recently what a blog is and to describe it in layman's terms. It just so happened that Ozguru at G'Day Mate had posted recently about the difference between blogs and journals, so I used Oz's description along with some additional information. He writes:

If I were writing a journal it would be written for a purpose and therefore formal (like say a report for your boss). A blog on the other hand is the equivalent of a chat over a cup of coffee in the cafeteria.

The discussion is open and covers topics of interest: user stories, TV shows (as I don't watch TV I can't contribute to this part), user stories, movies, boss stories, jokes, user stories, sports, work stories and some general gossip. Apart from the user stories (which I can't use for fear of identifying them), I figure a blog is similar (at least for me). These stories are the things I would chat about over coffee with my mates and I figure that this is just like that.

[For the purists: I won't call it a web-log or even a 'blog because a web log is found somewhere like /var/log/http/access_log and holds apache event records. If you want to read web logs - feel free but they have less content than a blog!]

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No Comment

I've been busy doing work and also reading everyone's blogs. However, I seem to be lacking in the comment department -- meaning, I'm reading blogs and am interested in what y'all are writing about, laughing about some posts, etc. yet I'm not leaving any comments of my own. I ALWAYS have something to say. Why am I suddenly comment-less?

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January 12, 2004

A Moment of Silence

Let Us Pray ...

It is with a heavy heart that I report the untimely death of my Titanium. The coroner's report (aka the genius at the Apple Store's Genius Bar) attributed the unfortunate demise to death by drowning (due to carelessness.) All lifesaving methods had been deployed, and there was little hope in saving the files that existed on the hard drive (now known as the 'soft' drive.) The coroner (aka the genius) suggested the possibility of leaving the laptop there and gamble with $150 to see whether or not files could be recovered. Unable to bear further pain, Cindy thought of those she knew who were technically adept, and thought perhaps it would be better to pay them to try it instead.

Survivors include the laptop's sister, the G3 clamshell along with the grieving widow, Cindy (aka Squip) who requests kind words, virtual hugs and almost anything else one would like to contribute in lieu of flowers. The widow held a private service this afternoon, and placed a bowl of red apples and a framed photograph of Steve Jobs next to the gravesite.

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Titanium Update

For those who are curious about what happened to the laptop after I spilled tea on it ...

Last week I took the laptop to the Apple Store only to find the Genius Bar closed for 4 hours thanks to Steve Job's keynote at MacWorld. No offense to Steve worshipers out there, but this infuriated me. It made no sense whatsoever to have all the technically elite just standing there watching the big screen -- I'd think one could listen to the speech while working, yes?

Anyway, the machine powers up but all external devices do not work. This includes everything -- the power cord, the CD slot, etc. Anything that plugs in no longer works. Okay, that's one problem identified. The good news is that when it boots up, all my files are still there ... so I'm hopeful. I plan a return visit to the Apple Store sometime this week.

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Today's Spam

Uh oh. Spam is beginning to get my attention. Spammers are becoming more and more creative with subject lines. A couple from today's email (mispellings included):

Plumbing D. Whippersnappers - Thhe Commpplete Guide to Hanndling Wommen

Housekeeper L. Poltergeists - Rise and Shine!

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January 10, 2004

Saranac Lake, -34 Degrees

Hey Al, I know it's useless, but I'm sending you a virtual pile of wood. Check in and let us all know how you're fairing up North!

How the heck do you stay warm there? Brrrrrrrrrrr.

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A Small, Small World

Zoe of My Boyfriend is a Twat and I discovered yet another thing in common today. We're both huge fans of this guy:

It all began quite innocently when Zoe asked me if I'd ever heard of the movie, The Big Blue. The question made me laugh, because it's something I 'd always found myself asking others, and here was Zoe asking ME that question instead. Ahh, yes, The Big Blue.

For those unfamiliar with this movie, here's the storyline:

The Big Blue, with its gorgeous underwater sequences, its exotic ocean-side settings in Greece and Sicily, and its transcendent 1980s electronic score, is director Luc Besson's "baby." Unlike La Femme Nikita or The Professional, two signature Besson films that feature stylish urban backdrops and violent plots about hit men, The Big Blue combines romantic comedy with a deep spiritual quest. Long shots of the ocean define The Big Blue, as Besson's camera skims speedily over its silver surface, or floats underwater in deep aqua surrounded by dolphins.

A dramatic 20-minute black and white introduction shows protagonists Jacques (Jean-Marc Barr) and Enzo (Jean Reno) as 10-year-old boys free diving (with no oxygen tanks). A transition to color marks a time lapse and now Jacques and Enzo are adults. Enzo is living in Sicily where for 6 years he has been the uncontested free diving world champion. He sends for Jacques, who is living in the Peruvian Andes, and insists that he compete for the title. Jacques comes to Sicily and easily beats Enzo. The competition mounts, each man diving at increasingly life-threatening depths. But when Jacques' girlfriend Johana (Rosanna Arquette) arrives from New York and pleads for the risky dives to stop, the film takes an unexpected turn resulting in an unforgettable dark, mysterious, and torturously beautiful conclusion.

Zoe and I both own copies of this movie, (though I let someone borrow my copy and I've yet to get it back -- please return it, she pleads. ) No matter how many times I've watched the movie, it's one that I can watch over and over and over again and still enjoy. Of course it has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that Jean-Marc Barr is eye candy. :-)

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January 9, 2004

The Macintosh at 20

To mark the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Apple Computer's Macintosh, Wired News is running several stories about the groundbreaking machine, the people who created it and the Mac's impact on computer and culture. The 20 Macs that Mattered Most.

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Levi Strauss Zips Up & Out of the US

CNN: Levi Strauss & Co., the California Gold Rush outfitter whose blue jeans are a globally recognized symbol of America, closed its last two U.S. sewing plants Thursday.

Levi Strauss spokesman Jeff Beckman said the 150-year-old company was making a delayed but unavoidable business decision. "We tried to do our best to maintain manufacturing in the United States, but we have to be competitive to survive as a company," he said.

Sewing in San Antonio finished up around Thanksgiving and last month it ceased the laundering work done to give jeans their various finishes. Once, more than 4 million pairs of jeans were made here each year by workers earning an average of $10 to $12 per hour.

This spring Levi's will shutter its three remaining company-owned plants in Canada, completing the shift to contract production in China and other countries with far cheaper labor.

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Yes, We Have No Bahamas

If y'all really want to experience some frigid temperatures, sprint on over to Al's blog post titled Better in the Bahamas, where he provides us with the weather for the next few days in his neck o'New York state.

I chuckled when I read the title for Al's post. It's ironic that just last week I was invited to repeat the Bahamas fishing expedition I blogged about in September (scroll down that page for the 9/28 entry.) Instead of freezing my ass off in NYC, I could have been enjoying the warm waters and temperatures of the Bahamas for 3 weeks. But sometimes no matter how exotic it all sounds, and you don't have to spend one cent of your own money, you just can't do it. Know what I mean? There would have been a price to pay that didn't involve money, and it was one that would have been way too high. Sometimes you just gotta do what ya gotta do. Regardless, I'm sure it is indeed better in the Bahamas right about now.

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January 8, 2004

Who Knew?

Doo-Wop and Chuck Berry

I'm constantly discovering things about friends and family I hadn't known before, and I must say, some of those things I either wish I didn't know or knew sooner.

For example, I learned only recently that my mother is a huge doo-wop and Chuck Berry fan. Who knew this???? I walked into her house one day and heard Chuck Berry music blasting from the stereo system. I thought that my older sister or one of my brothers was playing the music or that the radio was on. When I found my mother sitting alone in the livingroom bopping along to the music, I was dumbfounded. "What's going on?" I asked her, still thinking one of my siblings was responsible for the music. Mom replied that my older sister had given her some CDs and my mother decided to play them all.

Huh?

I stood there looking at her, my mouth agape. I'd never witnessed this before. My thoughts suddenly drifted back to years of living at home with my parents. The only person who ever played any type of music was my father, and it was always classical music. Mom's banked musical taste came as a shock to me. She always complained about the music my brothers and sisters played when we were growing up, so I was under the impression that mom just didn't like music, period.

Better late than never. Rock on, mom, rock on!

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Books

"Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?" - Henry Ward Beecher

That quote reminds me of my own reaction whenever I'm near books. Be it a bookstore or university library, there's something so powerful about books that I can park myself among them, quite happy to be surrounded by all those words. The fact that a good amount of drool surfaces and slides down the corner of my mouth and my eyes glaze over is simply a by-product of my excitement and enthusiasm for books.

Yes, it's true; I'm an oddball. Perhaps in a previous life I was a librarian.

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Temperatures Ditto x 4

Though today's high temperature was 29, the next 4 days will remain chilled and icy. Monday seems to be scheduled for a heat wave of 35. ;-)

And speaking of chilled, between hot soup and green tea, all I need to do is open up the door and I can float right out of here.

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Today's Quote

"There are two types of people--those who come into a room and say, 'Well, here I am!' and those who come in and say, 'Ah, there you are.'" - Frederick L. Collins

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January 7, 2004

Temperatures Dip

If the wind chill is in the single digits (5 degrees) here in New York City, I can only imagine how cold it is upstate New York. Hey Al, how ya doin' up there? As for the rest of you, what's the temperature in your neck o' the woods?

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Visa-Free U.S. Visits Endangered

Reuters: Countries whose citizens do not need visas to visit the United States could lose that privilege because they are likely to miss a deadline to include extra security data on passports, U.S. and industry officials said on Tuesday.

Officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the majority of the 27 "visa waiver" states -- most of which are European but also include Japan and Australia -- would probably not meet the Oct. 26 deadline for including so-called biometric features, such as digital photographs or fingerprints, in all new passports. Citizens of countries which fail to meet the target would be required to apply for U.S. visas ahead of their travel. This would cause big logistical challenges and anger many potential visitors. Leisure industry sources say it could also cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars in missed travel spending.

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Quotes

In the midst of catching up with a number of blogs, I completely missed the fact that I'd been appointed the gatekeeper for Kat's boobs. She wrote: "Cindy, I'm trusting you to make sure that I don't show them to just ANYONE."

Al of Fulton Chain: "...a reformat and reinstall is the equivalent of giving your computer a high colonic and everything just flows so much better afterwards."

Dragon of headCleaner: "Self improvement is masturbation."

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January 6, 2004

Mini iPod

... among other new things mentioned in Steve Job's keynote address at MacWorld (see Apple Insider for the entire keynote.)

The iPod Mini
-4GB of storage
-Holds 1000 songs
-1/2 thickness of other players
-$249 US
-Size of a business card
-Supports FW and USB

Two Accessories
-Dock and Armband

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Doing More in 2004

Joanie at DaGoddess has admirable plans for helping others, but she herself needs your help to achieve her 2004 goals. She writes:

Beyond the borders of my comfortable world here, are others in need. Be they humans in Africa or animals in Australia, I'm going. One way or another, I'll get there. I have a unique opportunity to go one place or the other for two weeks. Both are worthwhile causes. Each is a unique experience. I don't know which it will be just yet. I have a couple of months left to decide.

I'm hoping that by stepping beyond my normal boundaries that I can begin to stretch my arms wider, embrace more people. I want, not to be known by millions, but rather, able to touch a few. I want to do something meaningful. Maybe in doing so, I can become more like the people who have inspired me.

Whether it's a stray dollar in your purse, back pocket or jar of loose change, why not stroll on over to her blog and make a contribution. A good way to begin this new year is to help someone else to help others.

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January 5, 2004

BTW, Men Get PMS Too

Adam points to an amusing site that features a PMS Alert. In addition to the ability to "keep track of her monthly cycle," the site offers the following:

Event reminder: Never forget her birthday and anniversary again!
Fertilometer: Concerned about pregnancy? (Remember, it's only as effective as the calendar method.)
Notes: Write custom notes to go along with her schedule.
Quick Forecast: Pick a date off of a calendar to see what it will bring.

Newsflash to you men: you may not have a menstrual cycle, but you do indeed get PMS!

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US Airport Fingerprinting Begins

Airports in the US begin fingerprinting and photographing foreign visitors today in a government program intended to fight terrorism. The U.S. program, which has a budget of $380 million, will require an estimated 24 million visitors to submit two finger scans and have a photograph taken upon entering any of 115 airports or 14 seaports.

Not everyone will be put through the extra security steps. Citizens from 28 countries, mostly in Europe, aren't required to carry a visa if their visit is less than 90 days. Visitors from those countries are exempt. Outside of Europe, the exempt countries include Japan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Brunei. - CNN

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January 4, 2004

Something to Say?

I'm undecided about enabling comments again. In the meantime, I've received some complaints about that, so use this post for your comments. I've enabled comments specifically to eliminate the necessity of y'all having to write an email. The nerve of me to expect people to write emails these days! ;-)

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Catching Up

Aesthetics and Back-Posts

Since I've been lax about putting posts up in a timely manner lately, I've been alternating between aesthetics and back-posting. Though I've written quite a bit, some of it is floating in drafts and others reside on my desktop. I've changed a few things around, making the archives for last year (I love writing that - LAST YEAR) a link to an index for 2003, and combined the Tales section, where I kept stories I'd written years ago with a Writing Table of Contents, where the more recent blatherings appear. Either I'll mention new additions to that section in a post, or I'll put the entire story here also. We'll see what happens. In the meantime, I've added some new pieces in it and hopefully there will be more later on.

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January 3, 2004

Stealth Spending?

In January of 2003 I wrote in this space about the cost of the Stealth Bomber flying over The Rose Bowl. (aka, New Year's Day US college football game held in Pasadena, California.) Having watched this again on television, I'm asking the same exact thing this year.

My question is, how much money does it cost each time the Stealth Bomber flies over The Rose Bowl. Is it just up in the air flying around, headed nowhere special, or is its course set for Pasadena, California for the flyover above The Rose Bowl? If it's simply a matter of adding an address to an otherwise scheduled flight, then it's no big deal. But who pays for this? Surely it's coming out of a military budget, and is the extracurricular aerial attraction necessary and cost-effective? While I'm at it, shouldn't the stealth bomber be busy doing other things these days?

I'm sure there's some other form of aerial entertainment we can dredge up for a flyover -- something that doesn't have dollar bills flying out of its backside -- dollars that could be put to better use elsewhere.

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January 2, 2004

Slip 'n Slide

My preference for the eve of a new year is quiet and low key. I shy away from being out and about, but an invitation for early dinner out fit into my 'do nothing special' mindset. Dinner would happen at dusk, a perfect time for me.

Upon settling into my seat at a lovely country inn nestled deep within a small town in the northeastern US, I parked my eyeglasses on my face so I could begin perusing the dinner menu. A quick once-over and I could tell it would be a fishy evening. Shrimp, scallops, mussels, salmon... or I could be adventurous and try the roast duckling (er, no) or have a bite of a little lamb (nope.) My eyes travelled back to the mollusks and crustaceans, and I thought about it for awhile. I'd entertained visions of a surf-n-turf meal, but neither lobster nor filet mignon were available. I had little choice but to go for that which normally resides in the water.

I selected oysters for an appetizer. Somehow I missed the "cocktail" part of the description. Imagine my surprise when the waitress brought me my starter, neatly spread atop a sliver of lettuce and tucked neatly into a martini glass. Horrors! I suppose I expected my oysters on the shell, but out of their bedding made them look like, well, it just plain made it look like fish guts or bait. The fact that the oysters were HUGE made this even worse. I'd venture to guess that there were at least 10 of those slippery suckers in that glass. I instantly regretted my selection. Shrimp cocktail, as boring and ho-hum as it is, was beginning to look much better in hindsight.

It is not easy to be ladylike when spearing a mammoth oyster. The fork went in, but once the damn thing was attached, my fold-over maneuver failed. The oyster hung off the fork in mid air, awaiting my decision as to what neat trick to try next. Shove it all in my mouth? Put it back where it came from and try again? Take a knife to it and cut? This made for some nasty attempts on my part, and at one point, the oyster almost landed on my lap (I won't delve into how one almost flew off the fork and onto someone else's table.) Playing spear, slip and slide with oysters was not my idea of fun. I was hungry, but the image in front of me was becoming frustrating as well as revolting. I think I managed to swallow three of them before finally giving up. I abandoned them, pushing the bedded oysters in the martini glass away from me. My dinner companion polished off the orphans that remained.

Eating should be pleasurable. When you're out at a restaurant with the intent of a fine dining experience, one should not have to perform acrobatics with one's meal, wrestle with it, have it stare back at you or require various college degrees in order to enjoy it.

I cannot expel the vision of oysters from my mind. I think I am scarred for life. However, an early dinner on the eve of a new year was not a bad idea at all, and one which I'll keep in mind for the future. When I look back to this past transitional eve, I'll remember to order the shrimp cocktail next time.

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January 1, 2004

New Year's Day Sunset

Click to enlarge:

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Happy 2004

A new day, a new year. Happy new year to all!

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