Don't Shoot Your Eye Out! (part II)

Don't Shoot Your Eye Out, originally uploaded by macfixer.

I'm getting much better at this game:
Bounces: 450
Accidents: 11 (what were you expecting?)
Final Score: 7076696

Try it for yourself: www.dontshootyoureyeout.com

Quiet Time

One of the things I've noticed while working at a college, is that there is an ebb and flow throughout the year. The frantic pace of September is gone, and as we wrap up for the year, and the students have all pretty much left for the holiday break, there's a certain peace throughout the campus.

Kinda quiet, kinda relaxing...

A Revelation

I am a geek, and that's okay with me

Happy Christmas (War Ain't Over)!

Angel, originally uploaded by macfixer.

Looks like a quiet, reflective Christmas for us at home this year, as Mason is battling pneumonia, and we don't want to get anybody sick. I felt bad about missing the holiday on Long Island with my folks, but then I found out my sister is sick, and my dad is catching whatever she has.

Now I'm kind of glad that we'll catch up in '07! Am I going to miss all the noise? Sure. Am I going to miss the holiday traffic trying to navigate through NYC? Heck no!

Make A (Virtual) Snowflake!

This is cool: all the fun of folding paper and cutting out paper snowflakes without the crooked angles, snippets of paper to clean up, screwed-up cuts and ripped artwork.

Loads of fun, and you can email them, too! Head to http://snowflakes.lookandfeel.com/

Here's one I made:

Flickr Easter Eggs!

Easter eggs? At Holiday time? Well...

Flickr Easter Eggs

Go to any Flickr photo and try posting a note on any of your photos using the following words

ho ho ho hat : you’ll get a Santa hat which you can drag around to put on anyone :).

ho ho ho beard : you’ll get a Santa beard

You have your orders, now roll out!

Don't Shoot Your Eye Out!

Have you played this game yet? It's called "Don't Shoot Your Eye Out" and it's based on the Christmas Classic, "A Christmas Story". It requires a pretty zippy computer to play, and may I recommend cranking up the audio?

Play it here

Sarah Blue

Sarah Blue, originally uploaded by macfixer.

My sister-in-law jamming on guitar. The flash never went off, and as a result came out sorta blue and underexposed.

Fully Beta-ized!

Just got word today that my blog has been chosen to upgrade to the new Blogspot beta! This means more stability, more features, and more stuff to add.

Love this technology stuff!

Snapple Surprise!

Iced Tea Surprise!
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

Drinking my Snapple Lemon Tea from the bottle the other day, I came across a nice, jagged surprise! It wasn't from my bottle. Where could it have come from?

The funny/scary thing is that this wasn't the first time this has happened to me -- I was sent to the emergency room one night when the Arizona Iced Tea bottle had shards of glass in it (apparently the bottle had shattered and was held intact by that asinine shrink wrap.

Luckily I wasn't hurt either time, but what a fright!

I ought to pour my Snapples into a cup next time.

Psst! Can you keep a secret?

Blueberry Union-(16x10).jpg
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

I've been looking for these for years: those great wallpapers (whoops! I mean Desktop Pictures) that used to come bundled on Apple's Mac OS CDs -- if you knew where to look. Mac OS X has cool Desktop Pictures, but not the depth or breadth of the earlier collections. Flickr and Google Images searches usually came up empty.

Until now.

I discovered a stash at work of old Mac CDs. We're talking a mother-lode of them. I was even able to convert some really old desktop patterns to modern gif format.

As long as I don't get stymied by The Man, you can find them here at my Flickr group.

Enjoy!

Are you ready for some turkey?

I am totally ready for some turkey and just the right amount of family (too little time spent with my family, and I feel guilty for not staying longer; too much time and I start looking at the clock wondering when we can leave). I am ready for some mashed potatoes, some gravy, some wicked good sandwiches the next day.

However, what I am not in the mood for is the holiday shopping. Here in Connecticut, we're already getting carpet-bombed by the ads touting the shop-til-you-drop specials that start at an ungodly hour the day after Thanksgiving. The only time I had to drag my sorry ass out to a store for one of these specials was when I used to have to work at one of these specials.

Working aside, my family has never taken part in one of these events, although I believe we're in the minority. Does anyone out there skip over "Black Friday" either?

Rumsfeld resignation summarized in Mac OSX screenshot

Via BoingBoing:


Awesome.

Smitten By Kitten

Smitten By Kitten
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

Sonia heard the pleating cry of a stranded kitten outside. We're baby-sitting this one until tomorrow, when he'll be picked up and adopted by someone loving and deserving. He's named Philly, since he likes the cream cheese so much.

Update: Philly has left the building! He was picked up by the local no-kill adoption agency.

known/unknown

"As we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, The ones we don’t know we don’t know." - Donald Rumsfeld

Wow, Rumsfeld is really gone. Didn't see that coming!

Mean squirrel attacks Pa. letter carrier

I tell ya, those squirrels are shifty. Can't trust 'em.

From Yahoo! News:Mean squirrel attacks Pa. letter carrier:

Wed Nov 1, 5:12 PM ET

Letter carriers occasionally have to deal with angry dogs or maybe even a spider's nest in a mailbox, but a mean squirrel? Barb Dougherty, a 30-year Postal Service employee, said she was attacked and bitten Monday by a squirrel while delivering mail in Oil City, about 75 miles north of Pittsburgh.

"It was a freak thing. It was traumatic," Dougherty told The Derrick in Oil City. "I saw it there on the porch, put the mail in the box and turned to walk away and it jumped on me."

The animal ran up her leg and onto her back, she said.

"I eventually got a hold of the tail and pulled it off me," Dougherty said. "No one was home at the house where I was delivering the mail, but the neighbor lady heard me screaming and came over."

An ambulance took Dougherty to the hospital, where she was treated for cuts and scratches. The squirrel was killed with a BB gun and sent to a lab to be tested for rabies. Dougherty was given the first series of rabies shots as a precaution.

Postal officials said the attack is extraordinary.

"In about 230 years of postal history, I bet it is not the first, but I've personally never heard of another squirrel biting," said Steve Kochersperger, spokesman for the Erie district.

Squirrels do not frequently bite people, said Regis Senko, who works for the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Steve Jolley, a Postal Service manager in Oil City, said, "We are not issuing a squirrel alert, but everyone is aware of the incident."

Define "A Form Of Payment"

Define "A Form Of Payment"
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

Does this mean that, instead of cash or credit, I could pay with a chicken or goat? Just curious.

Star Wars DJ

Darth Vader scratching and cutting!

"Foakleys"

"Foakleys"
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

Picked up a pair of Oakleys from my local gas station for $6 cash money. This can mean only one thing, they're totally authentic.

Yeah, right.

update: They broke already. Crap.

Wonder Twin Powers Activate!!!

Wonder Twin Powers Activate!!!
Originally uploaded by zencorners.

Wired Magazine has a pool started for all kinds of geeky halloween costumes. Nope, none of my costumes have been photographed. Phew!

Scream Incorporated

Scream Incorporated
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

Just in time for Halloween, a freaked-out picture of me, tweaked using Image Tricks.

Unsettling

We received news that someone's stopping by work next week. I'd be more candid about it, but I cannot. Suffice to say, rent yourself a copy of "Office Space" and fast forward to "the Bobs" section for a clue. Weirder things have happened, but this seems to be somewhat -- weirderer.

Hopefully, I'm just paranoid.

Grandma's Meatballs

Grandma's Meatballs
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

My grandma came to America from Lithuania. She was married, and -- in her words -- couldn't cook to save her life. Luckily for her, her Italian landlord in Brooklyn taught her how to make all these meals. As a result, my Grandfather wouldn't be subjected to scrambled eggs for every meal for the rest of his life.

This recipe was passed from her to me verbally, with absolutely no measuring involved ("a pinch of this, some of that"). They come out yummy every time.

Thank you, Grandma!

Morning 'fro

Morning 'fro
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

This is what greets me every morning, and why I need to shower and 'goop up' my hair before leaving the house.

Perhaps this is why I cut all of hair off.

Packaged For Fine Restaurants

Packaged For Fine Restaurants
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

Call me weird, but I've always found this statement on the back of the Heinz Ketchup bottle to be amusing.

It makes me wonder if:
1) Which restaurants are not considered 'Fine'
2) Those restaurants that are NOT 'Fine' -- does their ketchup come unpackaged?
3) Is Heinz trying to say only the 'Fine' places get Heinz ketchup, and the rest get Hunts or some other off-brand?
4) Are un-'Fine' restaurants responsible for packaging their own ketchup?
5) Who determines the 'Fine'-ness of restaurants, anyway?

Wedding Day Jitters

Wedding Day Jitters
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

Another old shot I found on my wife's computer. While killing time waiting for my friend Brandon to show, I took a few practice swings with the Bishop's crook.

I'm sure I'm going to hell for it.

George Washington Bridge September 2001

George Washington Bridge September 2001
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

Found this old picture sitting on my wife's computer. It was taken shortly after September 11th, and all of the Tri-State area (and probably the whole country, I'm sure) was in the throes of patriotism. This flag was huge!

Old Guy Butt On The Mountain

Old Guy Butt On The Mountain
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

My co-worker, Mike shot this picture of this old dude hiking on some Upstate New York mountain. His butt was hanging out of his pants, and it brings us great joy to look at.

Go old man, go!

"Moo", Indeed.

I received my free Flickr cards from moo.com.

They're small, funky, and way cool. Rock on.

Postcard Perfect

Steeple
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

One of the things that I'm starting to like about driving around in a convertible (at least in nice weather), is the view. With a regular car, you're stuck looking mostly straight ahead, sometimes to the left and right. In a convertible, you can see 180º in all directions. It's very liberating.

This past weekend, while at a red light, I grabbed this shot. Reminds me of a 5¢ postcard you'd pick up with the words "Wish you were here" on it. Glad I was able to capture the moment.

The Knack is Tricky

You'll love this:

1970s one-hit-wonder The Knack had suddenly noticed that Run DMC had sampled their 1979 song "My Sharona" in Run DMC's 1986 hit "It's Tricky." So, even though this was twenty years after that had happened, they decided to sue for copyright infringement.

When companies do this, they call it a "submarine patent" -- when bands do it, should they call it a "submarine royalty"?

Olive's

Olive's, Soho
Originally uploaded by felsull.

I used to work in Manhattan, until the events of 9/11 caused me to lose my job as a technician at a nearby Ad Agency. Anyway...

The local 'joint' that Daren, Marshall, and I used to go to was this place, Olive's. Expensive as hell, but man, those were some awesome sandwiches.

In fact, the sandwiches were so legendary in my family, I have since tried to compare future sandwiches to them.

Subway? Not really. Blimpie's? Please.

For now, I've settled on Panera Bread. That is the closest I can get to that certain taste that comes from fresh ingredients, fresh bread, and love. Sandwiches need love. That's why Mom's PB&J tasted so good, IMHO.

An Iowa Town Will Disappear...

I saw this online and thought, "You know, I kind of live in a flood zone. I wonder what it must be like to be told to leave so the government can demolish your entire town."

"Sometimes we get people who drive through town ... and shake their head in disbelief," Bolsinger said.

Workers prepared structures for demolition this week. Next week, bulldozers will seal Elkport's fate.

As many as 27 homes, the old general store and the stone elementary school will be flattened. The historic bank and at least one home must still be cleared for destruction by the state historical society. The future of the church is uncertain.

Read this story, courtesy of CNN.com

Let Sleeping Cats Lie

Let Sleeping Cats Lie
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

Twinkie, (the oldest cat in our house) in a rare moment of repose. When I see him like this, I am reminded of how he was when he was a kitten: all big feet and big ears.

Out of the Office

Keyboard Closeup
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

I took a day off from work to do 2 (two!) doctor's appointments. One was for me, and one was for my wife. Luckily, she had the idea of doing both of them on the same day, so that it wouldn't disrupt our schedules too much.

In between, I was able to locate a WiFi hotspot and check my work email. I can't imagine life without WiFi now. Whenever I'm in a public space, I bust out the LifeDrive and look for an access point. Fire up the 12-step program: I'm a certified junkie.

Coming Soon...

Where the next-generation Your Friendly Neighborhood Mac Guy is being built:
macfixerlabs.blogspot.com

T-Rex

T-Rex
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

I doodled this on a Post-It note one day.

Damn, It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta

Nathan Hale
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

One of the things I’ve missed for far too long is my digital camera. I had an old Nikon CoolPix. It was cheap, took a decent picture or two [flickr.com], and it made me happy to capture life’s little details that so often get forgotten soon after they happen.

Unfortunately, one day my CoolPix died a horrible death. For days afterwards I mourned it’s loss, confident I’d get a replacement for it soon. Well, “soon” turned into 5 long months. I missed some great shots, which made me feel bad.

Gratefully, my last paycheck from Pier 1 was quite hefty, compared to those last few “$0.00” checks. AS a result, I rewarded myself (with my wife’s permission, of course) with a new Canon PowerShot A520. Here is the first picture I took; a statue outside of where I work:

Fun In The Convertible

Fun In The Convertible
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

Sometimes life requires you to drop the top and cruise around with the wind in your hair. We've been suffering for so long with just one car. To make matters worse, that one car is usually with me in New London during the week. With Sonia and Mason going to school, this means a crucial link to the outside world is removed.

In the past, this meant that if Mason missed the bus, he couldn't go to school at all. If he had to go to the doctor or something, that meant I would have to go to work late in order to do it. Both were unacceptable to me.

So, when we were feeling a little flush, we picked up a '94 Saab convertible from a local guy off of Craigslist. It was cheap enough that we could pay cash for it. Now, all we have to do is get the van towed away, and we're good to go!

iTunes through the years...

Ahh, I remember it when it was just called SoundJam...



...courtesy of macteens

Fun With Photo Booth

Fun With Photo Booth
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

I have a lot of fun with my new iMac at home.

just around the corner

just around the corner
Originally uploaded by merlinmann.

I didn't write this:

In 3-5 years, the progressively earlier start dates of "Christmas Season" will cause time to curve back on itself in such a way that we will actually be able to prepare for and financially execute two or more Christmases at once.

For consumers, this will be confusing at first, but in time they will grow accustomed to observing overlapping holidays. They are expected to eventually embrace the quickening, learning to enjoy -- even "celebrate," if you will -- the increasing feedback loop that leads to "Triple Christmas All The Time" around May of 2021.

See it here

Glass Cactus (Glasstus?)

Glass Cactus (Glasstus?)
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

The stem of a margarita glass is a sight to behold. Sturdy, artistic, and full of a delicious, frothy beverage. I took a picture of it after the drink was gone. Olé!

Another Late Night...

Windows XP Setup

Windows XP Setup
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

I deal with Windows at work. All day. 5 days a week. When I get home, I love dealing with my Mac. Mainly because I don't have to deal with this kind of crap.

My setup time when I got my new iMac was somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 hour. That was setting it up, transfering the data from my old Mac, and updating the existing stuff.

My wife bought a new Dell. That setup took 4 days, because we had to reformat the hard drive to get rid of the bloatware, transfer the data (which failed to copy properly until we used the iPod), and patch the system.

I am not an expert, nor a zealot. My Mac wins, hands down.

p.s.: for those who can't make it out, this picture basically is the Windows XP not seeing the perfectly fine hard drive that is attached to it. why can it suddenly not see it? better ask the 'developers, developers, developers, developers'

Never Forget.

American Flag Diver Down
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

Thank goodness I didn't lose my Sonia that day. We would have missed so much.

Effing Entourage

Microsoft's Mac Business Unit wanted to be all slick and create this unique format for adding notification sounds for their all-in-one application, Entourage. Most applications allow you to select your own sounds, and they usually use AIFF to do it.

Not Entourage, oh no...

They use 'Sound Sets', which are packaged System 7(!) sounds. Fine and dandy... for the old days when everyone used Classic, and System 7 files were around. A keystone in the Macintosh has been customization. No two Macs seem to be alike. I use my Mac to run my life, and I use Entourage to do so. Fed up with the stock beeps and boops, I whipped up some beeps and boops of my own. In fact, here are some I created.

Here's the rub: Microsoft never published a way to make your own Sound Sets. The Internet being the breeding ground for creativity it is, a website popped up called Soundset Central. This was a place to upload and download Sound Sets made with Soundset Central's own Expression software. Those Sound Sets, and that software went bye-bye when the owner of the site went missing. No real problem, since I still have a copy of that Expression app. All I would need is some sound effects, right?

A quick browse through the official list of supported formats shows that System 7 isn't supported by QuickTime in OS X anymore. Which is a shame, since I have an Intel Mac which can't boot up into OS 9 to convert these files.

So I have no way of making the sounds I need, no way of making a proprietary Sound Set to store them in, and I have no way of publishing them on a site to enable others to use them.

Way to go, MacBU! In the next revision, please use the AIFF standard, so we can continue to customize Entourage!

Ouch! Vista's Not Looking So Hot...

Working Tech: A reality check for Vista - Sep. 8, 2006:

Will Vista Premium be worth the extra cost? Essentially, the features you get with the more expensive version are better security, a prettier user interface, and the audio-video software formerly found in Microsoft's Media Center edition of Windows XP. That doesn't seem like a lot for five years' work, or for $40 extra.

A shame. I know my wife's not looking to upgrade right away. She just got her machine working the way she likes it.

Oh My God, They Killed Steve Irwin!

My wife woke me up early this morning to tell me that Steve Irwin had died. I mumbled something and went back to sleep.

When I was more lucid, I went online with my LifeDrive and looked up some info on what happened. Apparently, he was killed swimming on top of a stingray. The Stingray got spooked and stung him with his barb, which ordinarily hurts but does not kill. Unfortunately for Steve, it had punctured his heart.

From Discovery Channel (Steve's bosses):

Steve was killed during a filming expedition on the Great Barrier Reef. While we are still collecting specific details, it was a rare accident in which Steve swam over a stingray and was stung by its barb in his chest. A doctor on board Croc One, Steve's research vessel, was unable to resuscitate Steve and by the time he was reached by the rescue helicopter he had passed away.

Now he's dealt with man-eating crocs, dangerous snakes, all kinds of deadly critters of all shapes and sizes. To die this way? It's so rare it's bizarre.

Bootleg Cow

Bootleg Cow
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

I took this picture in the theater while watching the movie "Barnyard" at the local megaplex with my son. Why? Because I could!

Everyone's a Winner

Everyone's a Winner
Originally uploaded by Thomas Hawk.

Great, nothing's worse than showing up at the comic book convention wearing the same costume as someone else!

Indonesian Tsunami Recreation

Not quite sure how big those waves are supposed to be, but man -- what a ripple!

Sunflowers

Sunflowers
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

Sometimes the pictures present themselves. The sky was just right, the lighting was overhead. My wife had this picture in mind, so I took it. I guess she was right.

Dual-Cored and Universal

Yeah, I finally upgraded ye olde eMac 800. As much as I loved the Big Kahuna (What? Doesn't everybody name their Macs?), it was starting to get sluggish whenever I'd launch Safari, or whenever Entourage was doing stuff and I'd...I don't know, launch iPhoto or something. Forget GarageBand, my poor system would 'redline' with even the simplest loops playing.

So, after my wife updated her just-as-obsolete Windows system (she's probably more cross-platform than I am, since she has an iBook for school and a PC for games and stuff) for a new Dell, I saw my opening!

I used my school discount to pick up a new 20" dual-core Intel iMac. We're talking 250 GB hard drive, iSight camera, Mighty Mouse and the whole nine yards. Awesome stuff.

Since it's been a few years since I bought one (or worked in the Apple Store), I was pleasantly surprised how much the Mac Experience has improved:

• The Apple Store guy showed me how much it'd cost, how much I would expect back, and what rebates were available. No pressure, no slick sales talk (yes, Staples, I'm looking at you!)
• The Apple Store emailed me a copy of my receipt automatically. I'll throw it into Yojimbo for safe keeping.
• Speaking of Yojimbo, it didn't miss a beat. It saw a new computer and synced it's data with it. I shudder to think how SOHO Notes would've screwed that up.
• It's already registered when you get it. No forms, no paperwork. No nuttin'.
• Migration Assistant works as advertised. Grabbed everything I needed (iTunes music, iPhoto pictures) from my old Mac, and nothing I didn't (cruddy preferences). It was wicked fast, too -- considering how many years of crap it had to suck up.
• When starting up for the first time, the setup assistant (which my wife did, since she wouldn't let me enjoy that) even asked to take my picture as my user icon. Well thought out!
• The iMac remembers what volume setting I last left it in, even for the famous startup chime. I like to keep the volume kind of low (since it's technically in our dining room), and to have that chime come blasting out at 5:30 am is nerve-wracking to say the least.

CrazyMadStoopid

Work has been absolutely nuts lately. It's back to school time, and anything that can go wrong has. I cannot wait for things to drop back to their normal levels of stupidity.

Is it vacation time yet? :-(

Gas Is Out Of Control

Gas Is Out Of Control
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

Wow, this picture was taken almost a year ago (September 6, 2005 to be exact).

Gas prices have come down around 30¢ a gallon. Not much. Then again, when I was living in New Jersey back in 2001, it was below $1.00 a gallon. Those were the days, my friend.

Peace Out, Pluto...

Man, this is a weird feeling. Man, I grew up knowing 9 planets! Now they go and mess up Pluto's game! Mason will now learn about just 8 (probably -- I remember a lot of out-of-date textbooks growing up).

Funny -- the closest thing I can think of as big as this would probably be on September 11th while I was watching the first tower collapse, I distinctly remember thinking, "Wow, Mason's gonna grow up in a world with just one tower."

Just as earth-shattering? On some level, yes.

...And Then There Were 4 (Update)

My wife slept so very well last night for the first time in a while.

...And Then There Were 3 4

A nice family from up the road took our cat, Blackberry last night. My wife was tired of being scratched by Twinkie, and so was hoping that they'd take an interest in him. However, upon listening to her story, this lady thought that perhaps my wife was giving away the wrong cat.

The trouble is, our cats have been a part of our lives for a long time now. As much as we have to get rid of them (for my wife's chronic lung problems due to 9/11), it's like losing a child or a parent. You just can't imagine life without them.

I hope wherever Blackberry is at is safe, loving, and full of fun things for him to chase.

Mister Beebles, I miss you already.

update: After calling the new family and explaining the heartache and regret since letting Blackberry go, they thoughtfully returned him to us.

This is awesome! Years after buying it, Google is finally sticking a feature or two into Blogger! It's about damn time, IMHO.

He's Back, Out Of Retirement...

I just learned tonight that my Dad has officially 'un-retired' and is going back to teach at Farmingdale High School! Go Dad, go!

My thoughts on the Leopard:

Yay! -- iChat with tabs and greenscreening. A cleaner interface and a chance to bring forth my inner Colin Mochrie. I should also mention it'd now let me tap into my Dad's desktop to do the remote control tech support thing.
Nay! -- iCal 3? Group calendars? Whatever.
Yay! -- Dashcode lets me be a wanna be hax0r and make my own widgets. Cool!
Nay! -- HTML mail, so 1997.
Yay! -- To-dos in Mail!
Nay! -- I was able to do this in Entourage back in the Classic days.

Wahoo! I'm a winner!

I don't win very often, but when I do, what a feeling!

Hey Kids - Who's Ready For A Glass Of Tuna?!?

Hey Kids - Who's Ready For A Glass Of Tuna?!?
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

I don't care if it is made from cactus; the name sucks.

Grandma Is Fading Fast

Grandma Is Fading Fast
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

Grandma stopped by my parents' house the same day we were there. She's barely a shell of her former self. The words she uses in sentences have left her, and so she speaks in a kind of code that you have to get through to understand her.

What's really sad is that, on some level, I think she knows that she is slipping away. She says she cannot wait to 'finish her journey'.

"...And So I'm Back From Outer Space"

You might have to Super Reload a couple of times to grab all of the old posts, but I am back in my old new digs. Like them? Mighty catchy.

I still have a couple of things to add back (links, Flickr thing in sidebar), and I was going to wait until next week to fire it up, but I am an impatient guy, myself.

Now that I can post from my phone, or at work, or from my LifeDrive -- you can expect more crap quality posts from yours truly.

Enjoy!

Back To Blogspot

I’m moving back to my old digs over at blogspot -- iWeb is too much of a pain in the rump to deal with, in terms of it’s templates, it’s lack of a mobile solution, and the inability to post to it in anything other than iWeb.

I don’t have the time nor inclination to move it all right now. I was, however, able to move the ‘Five Things’ section to it’s own site:

http://five-things.blogspot.com

I apologize for any inconvenice this may bring (that means you, Joe!)

Been Married 4 Years, Now!

Holy smokes! Time does fly, doesn't it? Yes, in 2002, Sonia and I got married in a small church in New Hartford, CT. The resulting reception was mighty cool, IMHO. The mental image of my grandma, tambourine in hand, getting down with her bad self shall live in infamy.

"It's Not The Bird Flu, You're A Mouse Potato!"

From CNET.com:

The venerable Merriam-Webster dictionary got an update Thursday. The new words and senses, currently available online, will be included in the 2006 version of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, due out this fall. Here are some technology and science highlights. The year notes the first known usage of the term.

avian influenza (n) 1980: a highly variable mild to fulminant influenza of birds that is caused by strains of the influenza A virus which may mutate and be transmitted to other vertebrates--called also "bird flu"

biodiesel (n) 1986: a fuel that is similar to diesel fuel and is derived from usu. vegetable sources (as soybean oil)

google (vt) 2001: to use the Google search engine to obtain information about (as a person) on the World Wide Web

manga (n) 1951: a Japanese comic book or graphic novel

mouse potato (n) 1993 slang: a person who spends a great deal of time using a computer

ringtone (n) 1983: the sound made by a cell phone to signal an incoming call

spyware (n) 1994: software that is installed in a computer without the user's knowledge and transmits information about the user's computer activities over the Internet

text messaging (n) 1982: the sending of short text messages electronically esp. from one cell phone to another

wave pool (n) 1977: a large swimming pool equipped with a machine for making waves

---

That’s some great stuff!

‘Discovery’ makes it to orbit, despite something falling off

Well, some good news: Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off at 2:38 EDT on it’s first flight since 2005. NASA is calling the launch a success, but there were reports of objects (thought to perhaps be the fragile thermal protection tiles) falling off once Discovery reached orbit.

NASA’s official page reads:

Based on early analysis of photographs taken during ascent, just a few items have been identified for further study. Some involve debris particles shed by the massive orange tank, which supplies liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to the orbiter's three main engines during the climb to orbit. The particles observed are small, and all occur after the time frame -- up to two minutes, 15 seconds into ascent -- that engineers consider to be the most aerodynamically sensitive time for the shuttle.

About fifteen minutes into the flight, astronauts on board Discovery filmed a large piece of ice tumbling away from the orbiter. The ice, which forms on the exterior of the main engines, has been observed on previous flights and is not considered an issue.

"We don't see any concern for the orbiter," Hale reported, and added that in the coming days, the STS-121 crew will take a closer look at Discovery using the orbiter boom sensor system as well a slow back flip that will allow further photography of the orbiter from the International Space Station.

Here’s hoping they come home safely.

RSS Feeds Not Working: An Apology

Just realized that by changing the name of the site in iWeb, it effectively kills the old RSS feed (sorry, Joe!). So, if you’re out there in Live-Feed-Land and you’re not getting the updates, you’re screwed use the link on the main page.

I also hereby promise to stop tinkering with the title, at least while I’m using this crummy program this version of iWeb.

"Thank you very much I'm fatter...I mean flattered"

Got this weird email in my inbox this morning. Strange thing is that this seems to be legit. We’re not talking “generic viagra” (however they want to spell it) or “meeting hot chicks for naughty fun”, either. Nope, this was from a doctor in Germany who wanted to use a picture from my Flickr site for scientific research into how the brain recognizes faces.

“As you can imagine, it is not easy to obtain suitable images as stimulus materials. However, flickr and other freely viewable internet sources provide a rich database of many pictures ideally suited to our purpose. As you may know, the legal issue regarding the use of these materials is currently not resolved. Furthermore, for ethical reasons, we would like to make sure that each person whose picture we would like to show also agrees to be part of this large data base. For this reason, we would appreciate, if you could confirm your consent by replying to this email using the form below this email.”

Well, gee, thanks! I guess I should be flattered. It’s not everyday you are asked to indirectly participate in scientific research. I mean, it’s just a photo -- what harm could come from it? Let’s read along a little further...

“Probably you want to know more about what is done in such a study and therefore I will explain it briefly: In a typical experiment pictures are shown to subjects (mostly university students) and they answer questions regarding the images. Importantly, while subjects are watching the pictures, their brains are monitored using high-level techniques such as EEG (Electroencephalography), MEG (Magnetoencephalography) or fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging). All of these methods are used in order to find out how the brain works during a given task. Using this approach one may try to answer research questions such as “how does the brain react when viewing an attractive face versus a less attractive one?””

...umm, now does that make me attractive or unattractive?

Back From Vacation

I made it back from a whopping triple vacation! We’re talking a family reunion in Pennsylvania (my side of the family), a visit with my wife’s grandparents in Florida, and another family reunion at Club Med. Lots to catch up on, but I’ll post more later!

Edit: In the meantime, I added a new “5 Things” entry!

Another Weekend!

Ahh, the relaxing feeling to not have to get up early tomorrow. I do have to fetch my check from Pier 1 (hopefully it’s greater than the past few checks -- they’ve been exactly zero dollars) and perhaps visit my friend Steven, who got hit by a car while bicycling to work. Hopefully he heals quickly.

I made a lot of good friends at Pier 1 since I started last fall. I’m going to miss them all.