NIF

Friday, December 31, 2004

HAPPY NEW YEAR HAPPY NEW YEAR

Seriously - Happy New Year, and Best Wishes to everyone!

Again - I have added 'Amazon's Tsunami Relief Pay Box' over to the right, please consider donating whatever you can afford to spare ... 100% of your donation goes to the ARC! They have collected $9,085,257.75 to date!

News
* Earthquake: US Govt ups aid to $350M ... 10x increase from $35M initial package
* Earthquake: Powell heading to disaster site(s) ... and ... How about diving during a tsunami? ... and take a look at this collection of satellite images
* Iraq: US rounds-up ~50 insurgents
* 175 killed in club fire in Buenos Aires ... "trapped by locked exit doors"
* Justice Thomas, Gift-gate? ... seems to be much ado about nothing ... unless/until the gifting law gets changed, that is ...
* Pfizer's next pain drug approved ... "Lyrica", who thinks of these names??
* These 4 people (allegedly) bilked Walmart for $1.5M ... printing new UPC codes, nice!
* UN aide insults Israel ... Kofi and the UN, perhaps BOTH should go :) ...
* More on the laser-lights-at-airplanes story
* Cease fire in Sudan
* Out with the old, in with the new - Yushchenko officially 'in'
* Italian PM attacked by a (thrown) tripod
* Pakistan - Bus Accident kills 31(+?)
* Oracle cans 4 PS execs
* FWIW - Washington State can still not explain voter discrepancies ... how convenient for the Dems :) ... also - more here ... dead people still on election rolls, etc.

Interesting
* More thoughts on 'stingy Americans' ... and more here ... and more here ... and more here ... and note the above article about our Govt ponying up $350M now!
* UAL about to lose their flight attendants ... Union taking the company down?
* Paris terrorizing the Swiss? ... not Paris, France ... Drudge:"Paris 'Unwelcomed' In Switzerland"
* Another comet to look for ... "naked eye visible" ...
* Dell, VGA, PDA ... the Axim X50v ... still not enough for me!
* Your ambulance might be getting a virtual doctor
* "The Washington Post shows lousy judgment." ... oh, like that is a news flash?
* Deadly Lessons ... more thoughts on school violence
* IBM - GRID-ing for medicine
* RIAA, MPAA, P2P, malware
* More "It's the US' fault" blather
* Recently sold IBM division a big fat loser?

Funny
* This is an example of why Wash State can't elect a Governor in a straight-forward fashion
* OBL issues new year’s resolutions
* Todd Pinkston breaking barriers as NFL’s first woman
* White House pet in sex scandal
* Bongo News' Woman of the Year for 2004 is Paris Hilton

Thursday, December 30, 2004

400k??? 400k???

I have added 'Amazon's Tsunami Relief Pay Box' over to the right, please consider donating whatever you can afford to spare ... 100% of your donation goes to the ARC! They have collected $6,084,594.50 to date!

On a happier note - New Years' Party, My Place, start @ 18:30'ish ... to anyone I don't 'see' before then, Happy New Year!

News
* Earthquake: Drudge:400k dead in Indonesia alone! ... as if the official count of 120k wasn't bad enough! ... which is, sadly, outdone by India - Red Cross : "death toll from INDIA ALONE could reach 1 MILLION" ... beyond staggering, beyond words ...
* Red Cross website overwhelmed by donations ... go through 3rd parties, like Amazon (they are used to high traffic volumes :) )
* Red Cross : "US citizens have donated $18M so far"
* India also gets hit by a volcano eruption
* Again, the US is being criticized for trying to help ... damned if you do, damned if you don't ... and given what the UN did in in Oil-for-Food and in the Congo-Sex fiascoes perhaps we are wise NOT to go through them ... ?
* Beware 'shady' charities ... do what I did, donate to the ARC! (New 'Pay Box' to the right :) ) ... so very sad, but not surprising, that some would seek to do something like this
* 'Cabir' variants spreading in the wild ... infects Symbian OS devices
* A few thoughts on Saddam's legal team ... and more here
* New Jobless Claims down (again) ... economy getting better and better ...
* Iraq: Entire Mosul Election Board resigns? ... (12/31)UPDATE:Some reports are saying only 2 people quit, and that a Al-Jazeera was just a little hype-alicious.
* Rossi's last stand ... a request that will, of course, be denied as the Dem 'win' Washington State Governor-ship ... and again, by 'win' I mean more-than-likely-steal :) ... I like the way GOPBloggers put it - "Rossi should stop fighting for this election—but that he should not concede"
* 1000s of Iraqis finish training
* The option of 'moving' to US has kept the people of Mexico from revolting?
* Anna Nicole Smith -$88.5M ... judge reverses ruling ... sweet
* Canadian Beef, Mad Cow, and imports

Interesting
* Walmart vs Unions ... and a hypothetical (for now) scenario for you
* OnLine time cuts into real-life time ... duh!
* Python saves twins ... Python the snake, not the language :)
* NetCraft releases 'Anti-Phishing Toolbar'
* New & Improved SETI
* DoD testing semi-active RFID
* Truth, Patton, and the Iraqi death toll ... read article for the connection :)
* NY - no place to run a business in/from? ... "exorbitant state and local taxes, undue regulation, outrageous energy costs, a hostile legal system"
* The Google Home Appliance?
* New worm - Phel - targets WinXP ... including sp2!
* Ann Coulter's review of 2004
* More ID vs Darwinism
* Comair redux
* Increasing Minimum wage = increased unemployment ... yes, it's true. Who agrees - how about Bill Clinton? (but don't hold that against me :P )

Funny
* New OOTS! ... I didn't know Gatewood was a halfling thief-barbarian ...
* Drew Carey - murderer
* Gift card used to purchase better gift card
* RIAA sues Santa, Children ... funny, or sad-but-true?
* Archaeologists find ancient race of skeleton people
* Al-Qaeda.com Bowl Seeks to Soften Image
* Least Popular Baby Names of 2004
* Nine in ten Satanists considered "creepy"

VET VET

Sorry - been in & out of the vet's all day, Mädchen having problems - mouth(?) issues this time :( ... UPDATE: $500 later, no problems found yet (bloodwork being sent out, and antibiotics being adminitered) ...

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Radiator(?) Wednesday Radiator(?) Wednesday

President speaks, summary - we are sending Marines & an Aircraft Carrier over to lend assistance, and we are spear-heading the formation of a coalition to coordinate relief efforts. And he offered prayers to all of those affected.
Some nitwit reporters took this opportunity to ask questions about Iraq; IMHO this is very poor form!
... The President also mentions that the US is responsible for 44% of GLOBAL charitable donations.

Anyone out there know if there are any 'locater' services tunning for people lost, found, etc. in Thailand, Sri Lanka, etc.? A friend of mine is looking for some of his friends ... replies via email or comments to this post greatly appreciated!

BearingPoint matches employees' donations to Tsunami Relief causes ... I would like to say Thank You to them for doing so (effectively doubling my donation to the ARC!) and would encourage more companies out there to do likewise.

News
* Earthquake: Death toll rises ... official count = 67k, nearly 68k ... and "Lost Generation" ... up to half of the dead are children ... US giving $35M ... which doesn't count private donations (like mine!) ... UN saying 5M people are "left without the resources for daily life" ... and a look at the tectonic shift ... and Death toll clears 100k ... Fox still claiming 'only' 77k ... I cannot even describe how terrible this entire situation is.
* Iraq: "Death-Trap" kills 29 ... terrorists lured police there with an anonymous tip, the dead include 7 police ... which leads to the US launching a new offensive
* 'Huge' explosion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ... near Interior Ministry ... UPDATE : a second explosion (car bomb) in Riyadh, and shots heard ... Oil going up (based on fear) ... also FOX reporting 9 militants (and one bystander) now dead
* Some 'gun control' truths ... as San-Fran considers a Firearm BAN ('cause that worked so well in DC, right?)
* Tsunami Help Blog ... I hope they keep this site actively going, to help with future events ...
* Sales of existing homes hit record high
* CIA -1 official ... Jami Miscik, head of the CIA's analysis unit, will resign next year
* Soros + Tax Evasion = Fun! ... couldn't happen to a 'nicer' guy :)
* Orbach dead, at 69, of Prostate Cancer
* Washington State: Rossi calls for do-over ... maybe the Dems won't steal the state?
* Less Tech = more jobs in 2005?
* Romanian, 67, pregnant with twins ... and I heard yesterday that a 55 year old in Va is pregnant with either twins or triplets ... oh, and these will be her grand-children. No banjo music required (this isn't West Virginia :)) - it was IVF, she is 'just the incubator'
* Dollar reaches new low vs Euro

Interesting
* More Santy variants floating around
* Podcasting, Broadsnatch, BitTorrent ... and other cool, techie-geek things :)
* Some thoughts on God, and natural disasters
* Liberalism's great failures, part 1 ... public schools,
* A warning for the GOP ... the password is "immigration"
* ViewSonic's (Wireless) Media Center
* Apple releasing a sub-$500 iMac?
* Shuttle gets a new fuel tank
* Ultra-High-Speed Camera ... "multi-thousand frame-per-second", using an array of standard 30fps cameras!
* CraigsList costing papers $$ ... a win for the little guy, or atleast it used to be the little guy :)
* Some lefties just can't get over losing
* Some thoughts on modern civility
* Pictorial Guide to Islam ... can't say I quite agree with the statements, but interesting none-the-less
* Magnet help arthritis victims? ... um - no, they don't
* "Not my friends"
* "Box Theory"? ... are our boxes being threatened?
* Vacation-gate? ... "It's as if Bush thinks that action is a substitute for news conferences"
* A few thoughts on the recently deceased Susan Sontag ... from Malkin, and - "Liberal bias? What liberal bias?"
* PoliPundit toots it's own horn
* Edison interviewed Ford ... interesting read ...
* "The Treatment" ... Bill Clinton's legacy, and some revisionist history ... :)
* More wacky anti-Christian goings-on
* Suspicious plane-tracking laser ... news just said there are 6 instances of this happening ... ?
* VoIP wins another trial
* LokiTorrent fighting the MPAA ... not just rolling over like SuperNova :), also - they are seeking donations to help cover legal fees
* Medivac choppers being grounded, Manufacturer not fixing them ... $5M gets you a very expensive, very large paperweight.
* Germany has a huge Solar Power Plant ... if they can make it that cheap/profitable maybe this is the quick way out for some of the world's energy problems?
* Amazon : Giving it away ... and still making money. Interesting!

Funny
* "In-laws serve no evolutionary purpose", scientist says
* Christmas Outsourced
* Paris Hilton vows to be EVEN MORE annoying in 05
* Entire Dodger's roster traded away
* NASA to spend $311M to destroy harmless comet
... maybe more later ...
* Babe Ruth named Least Valuable Player of 2004 - Edwards, Clinton place 2nd & 3rd

14:35 Radiator delivered, gotta go install it ...
21:03 = Radiator installed, tested and Chinese Food Delivered+Consumed. Bed Time? ... Oh yeah, and THANKS to Radiators.com for saving me $100+ (and I can get over the minor shipping snafu).

Tuesday, December 28, 2004

Radiator Tuesday Radiator Tuesday

... or not. My radiator was not overnighted, so now I get to wait until tomorrow. A day off work, wasted. They are magnanimously refunding the $16 expedite fee, plus $4 for my trouble - w00t! That definitely covers the 8 hours of personal time I had to burn (ahem).

News
* Earthquake: Official death toll now @ 44k! ... a train in Sri Lanka was knocked off it's track, all 1000 passengers reported dead (SL saying atleast (and 10% of SL's total population is now homeless). Such a terrible tragedy; almost incomprehensible. Grievances, Prayers, and Best wishes to everyone who was killed, and their family and friends. News reporting that 'Supermodel' Nemcova survived by holding on to a tree for 8 hours, her boyfriend is still missing, dunno why that is really considered news. If you haven't, please donate some $ to help the aid organizations help that region out - USAID's tsunami assistance coordination site ... even better, I am partial to the Red Cross or the International Federation of Red Cross ... or here is a Long list of ways to help ... Drudge says death toll estimates will exceed 60k. UPDATE : current death toll is now at 59k, and WHO estimates the death toll will double due to disease. Simply amazing.
* Earthquake: Sri Lanka rejects some help ... Israel offered ... (found via GOPBloggers)
* Iraq: Police being targeted, 24 killed in multiple attacks ... more grievances
* Ramsey, MN - building explodes/collapses
* Cali getting some bad weather ... "Snow, rain, lightning, strong wind gusts and waterspouts" ... believed to have caused a major accident involving an 18 wheeler ...
* Iraq: Japan sending $97M in aid
* Iraq: Iraqi's helping train US troops ... a role-reversal :)
* N.Korea / Kim Jong-Il going down? ... couldn't happen to a more deserving person ... one of the links - "North Korea to 'Implode' within a Year" ... another link says it will explode, I wish they would make up their mind :)
* UN calls US stingy ... they want more of our money to embezzle ... they also said we should just raise our taxes and send more $. I abhor the UN more and more just about every day ... more news is coming out about how the UN KNEW the Oil-for-Food 'program' was being subverted, exploited, etc! ... update: UN backing down from the "stingy" comment ... doesn't change my opinion of the UN!
* China and Taiwan about to throw down?
* Consumer Confidence up ... and stocks too
* There are 295M of us ... or will be in a day or three :)
* PS -1 CEO ... all Larry, all the time
* Town celebrates Kwanzaa ... sure, we can celebrate a fake holiday with no historical basis, but don't dare even try to show a Nativity ...
* Canada - under-breeding?

Interesting
* Prosperity is the best defense against Natural Disasters
* Asteroid impact probability 'downgraded' to 1-in-56,000
* Fannie Mae's ousted CEO to make $1M/year for the rest of his life ... and who said crime doesn't pay? I heard something about the SEC(?) looking into whether he should have been allowed to quit, or if he should have been forcibly fired (I like the latter option)
* Top 10 losers of 2004, #10-6 ... top 5 come later (such a tease)
* VA = tax surplus? ... don't hold your breath waiting for a refund ... read the whole article here
* Buying 'alternative' medicine over the internet ... graphic pic of damage done by "cancer salve"
* Some (amusing) thoughts on efficiency ... France's dual-use white flag ... too funny!
* Rumsfeld's record ... whether you are pro-Rumsfeld or con-, you should read this ...
* Thoughts on Home-Schooling
* Some companies going out of there way to help returning troops ... i.e. - these are companies you should support :)
* Extinction Level Events ... haven't read through it thoroughly yet, but sounds like an interesting site
* Personal accounts already work (which might be why the critics are so scared)
* Firms Pay Nothing, Get Plenty
* Distributed Vote Fraud
* Some thoughts from Nick ... on the earthquake/tsunami, and some things done in poor taste
* Virginia matters ... Governors, Senators ... and Presidents?
* Wire Mesh jitterbug thingie

Funny
* What type of Govt to set up in Iraq? ... "Republic: This is where Republicans rule the government. This is the one we have and the best of the imperfect governments."
* Dan Rather, Peter Jennings, and a U.S. Marine were hiking through the Iraqi desert one day ...
* Chargers decide Murder-Suicide the only way out
* ACLU's portion of Hell nearly complete
* Baby: "Yeah, that's right," he said, "I do have a peanuts."
* US cancels Iraq debt, predatory lenders move in
* Baby: "Giving Tree" only takes

Monday, December 27, 2004

Just Monday Just Monday

... Prayers and grievances to all those killed, injured or missing and their family/friends ... and the Redskins suck, Peyton Manning beats Mtouarino's single-season Touchdown record (Hi Eddie!), and Reggie White passed away(posted yesterday)

News
* Iraq: New OBL tape ... "those who participate in the elections are infidels" ...
* More Earthquake info ... Drudge says "Moved the entire island of Sumatra about 100 feet" ... 'disturbed' the Earth's rotation ... and 20k now reported dead ... and After-shocks are occurring, follow-up tsunamis a (sad/scary)possibility ... and Death toll now approaching 25k ... the bad news keeps coming in, and the death toll is expected to rise dramatically as relief workers begin the process of recovery. Such a terrible loss of life, and expected to be the most expen$ive event ever - Thailand alone is looking at $1b in lost tourism revenue, not counting the cost of the recovery! And, as if that wasn't ll bad enough - Now fighting to avoid disease outbreaks ... "typhoid, hepatitis, diarrhea and cholera" ... 'they' are expecting the final death count to approach 50k! ... and a touch of GOOD news : 20 day old baby survives ... floated around on a mattress
* Iraq: Homicide Bomber misses Shiite Leader ... but still kills 9 ... make that kills 15 ...
* Iraq: US Soldier killed by roadside bomb
* China launches IPv6 network
* Iraq: Some thoughts on Democracy in Iraq ... "will Islam dictate the law in Iraq"?
* Market inching up more ... and oil sliding down a bit ... Dow above 10.8k, NASDAQ above 2100 ...
* Islamist law makes inroads ... polygamy about to be 'recognized' in the UK, and Canada ... the opposite of integration, the logical conclusion of this is to have separate laws (penal, tax, etc.) for EVERY subset of you civilization ... need I say this is the wrong direction to move in?
* Comair to continue having problems for DAYS ... that will certainly tarnish their reputation even more, and hurt their bottom line
* Rumsfeld : Plane was shot down in Pennsylvania ... ? ... that was apparently he mis-spoke
* 2 US-trained Iraqi's save a GI's life, using the training they received from us!

Interesting
* Gratuitous Plug: Want Traffic? Join BlogExplosion! ... (and use me as your referrer, so I get some too :P )
* CL's Person of the Year - Patrick Tillman ... if you don't remember, he quit the Cardinal's to join the Army as was killed in action April 22, 2004 ... why'd he do it? : "My great grandfather was at Pearl Harbor, and a lot of my family has ... gone and fought in wars, and I really haven’t done a damn thing as far as laying myself on the line like that"
* Some great thoughts on "Progressive Liberals" from Cao ... "has opposed every war that America has fought in living memory, and it has found ways to sympathize or actively support every enemy America has face"
* Top Science stories of 2004
* Toyota Prius (hybrid) hits 130mph! ... NOT stock (obviously), and I bet it wasn't getting 66mpg at the time :)
* "Free software, no nasties"
* Opera 8.0 Beta released ... Firefox still better?
* Build Your Own Digital Picture-frame
* US Soldiers "fighting to get BACK to Iraq"
* Drug Companies warning employees about Moore
* Castro has some oil now too
* Creative out-iPods the iPod?
* Galactic Quiz
* Can man fly?
* Inside WinXPsp2
* Runner-Up Losers of 2004 ... they couldn't even win the Loser Competition :)
* Another reason to support Kilgore for Governor in VA?
* Iran's nuke sites being targeted by "UFOs" ... or by observation aircraft, you pick :)
* I have been hearing good things about "Blog : Understanding the Information Reformation That's Changing Your World" ... probably going to order it later this week, will let you know how it is (assuming I do order it :P)
* Wanna work for Uncle Sam? ... the obvious Intelligence Analyst shortage makes the news
* Hacktivist takes down a McDonald's/China website ... perhaps they should hire a certain InfoSec person?
* Amazon.com tops record for 1-day sales
* The Myth of the Separation of Church and State ... "the words: "separation", "church", and "state" do not even appear"(in the Constitution) ... "Our U.S. Constitution was founded on Biblical principles and it was the intention of the authors for this to be a Christian nation"
* How sciencetists(sic) calculate the chance of an asteroid hitting Earth ... sciencetists ... that's a funny typo! ... speaking of which - Asteroid impact 'upgraded' to 1-in-37 ... it was 1-in-300 a day or 4 ago
* How to get to a Hydrogen Economy
* Iraq: Letterman visited Marines ... "Anybody here from out of town?" ... funny :)
* WiFi in Texas parks
* History of the microchip
* ISP/telco shuts down w/ almost no notice to clients and employees ... that basically sucks
* Toshiba causing SD card shortages
* Want to help 'any soldier'? ... great way to make a difference!
* More on the problems in Washington state ... one election stolen
* Some thoughts against ID
* The Bible, in 50 words ... for those with ADD :) ...

Funny
* New OOTS! ... go ahead, take a level of Barbarian
* Travelers heartbroken as they are informed their Airline doesn't exist
* U.S.S. Constitution Makes Drug Bust ... "Without any engines to make noise, the frigate went unnoticed by the drug running boat Marciela on December 17 when it nearly ran into the sailing vessel. The Marciela opened fire on the Constitution with automatic weapons; but the heavy-caliber bullets, which would have blasted through a standard fiberglass hull, proved useless against the Constitution's 25-inch thick oak hull."
* FDA : "Who Cares?"
* Stolen office supplies discovered in Iraq
* Biblical Prophecy: How to make it work for you
* Blair discovers 3rd gear ... still no Reverse!
* Annual holiday newsletter from the cat clone lady
* Teens more willing to lie to researchers about their smoking/drug use
* Dog reads tea leaves, predicts earthquakes

found via The Least of My Worries

Sunday, December 26, 2004

Earthquake! Earthquake!

News
* Monster Earthquake ... 8.9, largest in 40 years, 6300+ killed, 100k+ displaced, tsunamis, ... grievances to all those killed and prayers family & friends of them, as well as for those 'displaced' ... found via Drudge ... and more here ... talks about 500k+ displaced! ... and this says 1M displaced! ... details still coming in / developing ... news just said 11k now dead, and Thailand's crown-prince is reportedly missing ... UPDATE: Upgraded to 9.0! ... per news - "5th strongest since 1900" and "equivalent to 30 billion tons of TNT" ... and death toll up to 11.5k now
* Iraq: Senior Police Officer killed ... more terrorist action, grievances to his family & friends
* Reggie White is dead at 43 ... heart-attack ... condolences ...
* Marxist rebels kidnap 10 in Columbia ... prayers for a safe outcome ...

Interesting
* Yushchenko wins re-vote! ... based on preliminary info, that is ...
* Comair trying to recover ... after ROYALLY screwing up, US Air blames large #'s of sick-calls on their luggage SNAFU ... some people saying "Christmas was ruined"! ... and "Paratrooper's" thoughts here ... good ideas :)
* What's next for Google?
* IBM:100TB tape?
* NES emulator ... and speaking of NES, check out the NES over-clocking guide ... :)
* Gay penguins?
* Some thoughts on Va's upcoming gubernatorial races
* Bad week for Pennsylvanian Democrats? ... found via VA Conservative :)
* Interesting sounding book - Google Hacking for Penetration Testers
* Some thoughts on our Founding Fathers
* Some Christmas miracles ... from Michelle Malkin, "An airman home on leave from basic training jumped into the frigid water of the Arkansas River to save a mother and her 2-year-old son after their car lost control and crashed" and others
* I highly recommend Radiators-dot-com ... they same OEM radiator as AutoZone & Advance Auto sell, but for 1/2 as much ... and they offer an upgraded ("heavy duty") model that is still $100 LESS than the local stores! (Sadly, my radiator blew on the way to Apheresis - so the Red Cross doesn't get my platelets just yet :( ... Speaking of the ARC - Have you given blood lately?? What are you waiting for?)
* Want movie spoilers?

Funny
* Woman pays $50k for "cloned" cat ... not the kind of "clone' you think :)
* Christmas wins
* Embarrassing White House error blamed on Democratic Operative
* FDA Defends Approval of Rat Poison
* A Watley before Christmas
* American children don't know about Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen
* Bin Laden releases Christmas recording
* How to Make Love Like a Police Commissioner
* Pacers, Pistons players exchange firearms in goodwill gesture

Christmas Roundup
Most importantly - I am blessed to have a beautiful wife and wonderful daughter (her first Christmas!) for which I am more grateful than I can say. And two great dogs. And lots of great family! And we are all in reasonably good health, although most of us have now put on a few pounds. (And expert for Mädchen, who is having some hip (& mouth!) problems ... still working on that ... )

Also - our prayers to Brett, my brother in law, who is stationed over in Afghanistan (USAF). He was able to send a video home and we got to see his base, some of his fellow airmen, and to get a better idea of what he is going through over there. On the video they talked about the "TLS" building, or "Taliban's Last Stand" ... which is now a big building with a big hole in the roof where the bomb entered :). Also got to see some Apaches, some C130s, a few Chinooks, their HMMVs, etc. Good Stuff, and we hope Brett comes home safe and sound in a few months.

Having said all that emotional stuff, let's get materialistic - I got some cool gift certificates (which are generally preferred, so I can pick out what I know I want :P). Got some clothes. Got a set of Dominoes. Got a Business Week subscription. The best gift - Becky got us a matching pair of Bibles, with our names inscribed (or whatever the right word for that is) on them - pretty cool. Yes, I am old now so appreciate all of these (even the clothes!). Thanks to everyone!!

Saturday, December 25, 2004

MERRY CHRISTMAS! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

News
* Pope speaks ... and full translation of his speech
* Iraq: Suicide truck blast ... kills 9, grievances for the them
* Iraq: Two 'key' members of al-Zarqawi's network caught ... caught in Ramadi
* More voting problems in Ukraine
* Town in Texas - 1st White Christmas in 80+ years ... and I still have no snow :(
* Crazy man climbs world's tallest building
* Maybe Washington isn't lost yet? ... although I think Rossi won, I am not sure we should continue this odious contest-the-vote process :(
* Think your Christmas was stressful, atleast you weren't trying to fly ... if you were trying to fly, sorry! ... "Tens of thousands of travelers spent Christmas in an airport, as Comair canceled all of its flights and many US Airways passengers waited to be reunited with their luggage."

Interesting
* Some cool picks from WFCAM

Funny
* New OOTS! ... greedy thief ... well, not really
* New REDvsBLUE!

Friday, December 24, 2004

Merry Day-Before-Christmas! Merry Day-Before-Christmas!

News
... only 15 more minutes!
* Iraq: Rumsfeld visits the troops
* HUGE Earthquake in Antarctica ... 8.1, biggest on planet in nearly 4 years
* Bush sign sanctions against Sudan
* Bush to make 20 judicial renominations
* 28 killed in Honduras ... by a group opposing the death penalty ... ???
* Dems officially 'win' Washington state ... and by win, I mean steal :) ... I wonder what they would say if "Selected not elected" stickers started popping p?
* Houston gets a White Christmas, but I don't?
* JP2 welcomes world into Christmas

Interesting
* If I was dumb/clumsy my Dyson could be worth $10k+!!
* celestial Christmas Tree?
* The death of the PDA?
* More info on 4 news Windows Vulns ... and exploits released for two of them :(
* Thoughts on poverty
* Recently discovered asteroid has a 1-in-300 chance of hitting Earth in 2029 ... and more here ... 1-in-300, 1-in-233 ... who's counting? ... UPDATE(12/27)-'upgraded' to 1-in-37 ... UPDATE (12/28) - 'downgraded' to 1-in-56,000 - I think we are all safe (from that, anyway)
* Cause of gray hair found
* Dead rapper tops the charts? ... again ... but Prince made the most $ from tours
* More defense of Rumsfeld
* The future of the PC

Thursday, December 23, 2004

Happy .5 year Birthday to Riley! Happy .5 year Birthday to Riley!

News
... Symantec raised Internet ThreatCon to 2 based on recent Oracle vulnerability ... they also mention, in passing, that Win* has a (new) unpatched vuln's ...
* Annan -1 aide ... Iqbal Riza, chief of his executive office, quits ... Oil-for-Food fallout?
* $US hits all time low vs Euro
* Putin questions US policy ... perhaps he feels we should accept more bribe and deal with corrupt governments, no? (and maybe poison foreign presidential nominees?)
* Malkin vs TSA ... Head of Federal Air Marshall Service lying?
* Iraq: Fallujah flares up, 3 US Marines killed ... prayers and condolences ...
* 50 year anniversary of first (successful) living donor kidney transplant
* Some e-tailers having Christmas problems
* Forest service relaxes rules
* Bad Weather pummels NE, MW ... they're taking all my snow??
* China closes 1k+ websites
* New Home Sales plummet 12% ... "largest drop since 1994" ...
* GM recalls 700k minivans ... that's what you get for driving a minivan :P
* MORE 'fun' in Washington State - 91 veterans want their votes to be counted ... sadly, it probably won't matter - the Dems have more than likely stolen the state ... and more here

Interesting
* An interview with Ünter Klaus, CIO of Christmas HQ
* Opportunity gets a car-wash
* Crickets can exhaust themselves to death while courting females ... all the women's fault, by the way
* Killed by tomatoes ... anaphylactic shock ...
* More on the Titan rendezvous
* Flexible Scanner?
* Changes coming to SG1? : Anderson heading out, Tapping pregnant ... some speculation, some fact ... also - John Crichton (from Far-Scape, aka Ben Bowder) moving into SG1?
* 7th graders kicked out of dance for being dressed-up as Santa ... Principal Fred Muscara tries to defend the position, saying it is "politically incorrect" ... this is the kind of thing that kills me. The principal mouths off to the kid later on, Merry Christmas you grinch.
* $50k cat
* Mexicans go south for the Holidays? ... why don't we just secretly tighten up the border now and keep them there?
* Some excellent lawsuit examples ... true or not, they are funny and plausible!
* More thoughts on Immigration
* PWL recommends a few articles, from the Weekly Standard
* Dems flip-flopping on abortion?
* More on ID vs Darwin ... I don't think of it as one against the other; rather they can co-exist just fine.
* PWL : "One leftist gets it"
* Some thoughts on Rumsfeld ... "If this, combined with the armor non-controversy, is the worst that opposition to Rumsfeld can throw at him, like Coulter said, "I shall sleep well knowing that the secretary of defense has made so few mistakes for the past four years that liberals are reduced to carping about his autopen"
* Christians losing their constitutional right to free speech? ... and more anti-ACLU here
* Moore blaming the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

Funny
* Soy fire logs mean heat, good nutrition for homeless
*Web causes eyestrain
* Kofi & son to work at Starbucks ... coffee-for-food scandal to ensue
* USPS just shredding mail
* Baby: 'Noun' defined: anything i can put in my mouth
* Martha speaks from prison

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

Another Day, Another _ Another Day, Another _

News
* Tanker Truck makes big fire in DC ... kills 1 (driver, grievances to his family & friends), messes up traffic ... HOV restrictions on 66 lifted
* Excess weight, even if you are fit, takes years off of your life ... fat people like me need to get some exercise (i.e. - step away from the keyboard) ... 2x the danger for women
* Iraq: U.S. military investigates deadly Mosul blast ... and death toll lowered ... now say that 14 soldiers, four U.S. contractors and four Iraqi security personnel were killed ... Another 72 people were wounded, including 51 soldiers ... our grievances & prayers to the family, friends, brothers in arms of those wounded or killed ... and Mosul is in lock-down ... after yesterday's suicide attack
* Economy exceeds expectations ... and even faster in 'Red States' ... and Stock Market up, and going higher?
Stocks Up More, Oil down a bit ... and
* Fort Bragg - "sensitive item" missing
* Big Snow Storm ... "up to a foot of snow was possible in parts of Indiana and Ohio" ... and here's the map
* Russia-China alliance to pick up Yukos' assets?
* eBay-India's chief arrested, released in porn mixup ... more importantly, India is planning on implementing a DMCA-based law ... so atleast the US won't be the only country under such a ridiculous, odious law!
* Iraq: US Contractor pulls out ... "We reached a point where our costs were getting to be prohibitive," said Karim Camel-Toueg, president of Arlington, Va.-based Contrack, which had won a $325-million award to rebuild Iraq's shattered transportation system."
* Belfast bank heist nets $39M ... not too shabby! ... update: it was $42M, and will be nearly impossible to spend ... "fundamentally useless"
* Child Porn Bust in UK has resulted in 32 suicides! ... A total of 3,729 of the men on the list have now been arrested. Of these, around 1,600 have been charged and a further 1,200 convicted
* Diet Soda catching up to regular? ... my conversion to diet alone probably affected this count :)
* Fannie Mae -2 Execs ... CEO, CFO ousted. KPMG got cut as well!
* Dems officially steal Washington-state election, by 8 votes? ... last hope for (GOP) Rossi - "King County elections officials said Berendt's victory claim was premature and that the data the parties are seeing hasn't been reconciled" ... and more here
* Site of (one of) Jesus' miracles found?
* Pope JP2 to make Sainthood easier ... I am not Catholic, but is it really a good idea to drastically change the church's long-standing traditions in an attempt to serve as a "much needed example"?
* Canada population decrease? ... not yet, but soon ...
* Last Democrat leaving the party, please turn off the lights

Interesting
* Malkin, on the persecution of Christians around the world ... includes some related links, like: Voice of the Martyrs, International Christian Concern, Montagnard Foundation, WorldnetDaily
* A Marine's father speaks, regarding the Military Condolence process ... "A simple peek thru(sic) the view hole in the door and the sight of dress blue blouses, white covers and white gloves tells you all you ever need to know" ... "Bottom line, we support Sec Rumsfeld. The people who are making a big deal about this have their heads up their collective a****"
* Atheists, PC gone wrong and Christmas ... "Christmas is a part of this country, as evidenced by it being a national holiday. Teaching what it is about, who it is about is NOT establishing a religion - it IS teaching history. Singing a carol, is NOT establishing a religion, it IS singing a song; nothing more." ... I couldn't have said it better myself! ... speaking of religion - it is officially "big news on the net"
* Creative Audigy 2 ZS PCMCIA Sound Card! ... wow, get good sound from your laptop ... looks nice!
* More on Social Security ... "if the liberal establishment is so sure that reforming Social Security with personal accounts is such a terrible idea, then why do they have to lie about it?" ... found via Blogs4Bush
* N. Korea, 'only country on earth' free of AIDS ... and they deport anyone infected!
* Santy Worm defacing sites ... php vuln, uses Google to find victims, 1000s already defaced ... hey, I just found one that has been hit - glumbert.com ... Oh, do a google search for "This site is defaced!!!" ... HAHAHHA - Uh, I mean, so sad ... UPDATE: Google blocking Santy
* THG stress-test
* Theoretical review of a terrorist attack on a LNG tanker
* Russia test fires their heaviest ICBM ... the "SS-18 Satan"
* Self-Heating Coffee!
* Nanotech in space
* Botnet sued for something other than Spamming! ... cheating in 'Outwar', used Randex worm
* Recent Galactic Births ... and more here
* WD makes faster, cooler, lower-power-consumption, higher-capacity 'Caviar' HDDs
* Some states are growing (too?) fast ... "scrambling to update comprehensive plans and fix zoning ordinances"
* Some thoughts on Blogging ... from Mark Dery
* Va is not a 'battleground state' ... too many of us are still sane, logical and Conservative :)
* Did you know we have a " American Association of Suicidology" ... more tax $ wasted ...
* Thoughts on Pardons? IMHO - Pardons, Presidential or otherwise, should be avoided at almost all costs. If they were convicted by a jury they should face the punishment imposed by said jury (or by the judge).
* Counter the LIE-brary ... HAHAHHA, not too found of Clinton :) ... found via RebelRouser
* The 3rd Annual Twenty Most Annoying Liberals In The United States: The 2004 Edition
* Decentralized Torrent? ... MPAA frowns
* Mars still Volcanic?
* More thoughts on Merry Christmas ... "If a tribe of Aqualishes wants to boil rhino horns in frog saliva on the National Mall to honor their deity, we'd have a commemorative postage stamp ready by next December. But let a Christian mention the baby Jesus to a kindergarten class and the ACLU wants an exorcism"
* Baby Killer Whale born @ Sea World
* SCO losing battle vs World? ... Q4 revenue takes a hit
* Forget 1GB email, how about 1TB? ... yes that is TB, as in Terabyte, as in 1000GB, or 1000000MB ... or 25x my current HDD :)
* Some Dems still whining about losing to Bush? ... that is soo last month, PWL adds (agreeing with Kos) "a Kerry presidency would've been an unmitigated disaster, with a hostile congress, budget woes, the mess in Iraq, etc."
* Hillary votes like an extreme liberal ... don't buy the transformation act
* Coulter, on the de-Christianization of the US ... "Happy Giving Tree Festival To All"

Funny
* Weed delivery saves Christmas
* Reindeer games turn ugly
* United States withdraws from special Olympics
* Invite MS to Gmail?
* Post-Melodramatic Stress Disorder
* Baby: Cute Girl an attractive nuisance
* Drinking & Driving School ... two great tastes, that taste great together^(TM)
* Santa, beneath the suit
* Man made of money ... and Christmas shopping
* Santa dies in a shoot-out
* Stonehenge: Winter Solstice 2004 was Officially Least Nude In History
* Miss Tajikistan ready for Miss World Pageant 2005
* 10 more reasons to hate Rumsfeld ... uses speed dial

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Merry Christmas Merry Christmas

From My Family to You and Yours, Have a Very Merry Christmas!

Click for A Christmas Card from The Evans'

Welcome to Winter '04 Welcome to Winter '04

News
* Dow hits 3.5 year high!
* World Record : 8.6 ounce baby doing well ... "baby has fraternal twin sister – both are doing well" (~3 months old now)
* Iraq: Attack on U.S. Base in Iraq Kills 22 ... wounds 50 ... Ansar al-Sunnah claims responsibility. Our prayers and grievances ... CNN reports that the 22 included "U.S. troops, members of the Iraqi national guard, and Iraqi civilians" ... UPDATE:19 US dead ...
* Border Patrol hails new ID system ... "identified and arrested 23,502 persons with criminal records"
* Iraq: Warplanes, Terrorists, Pipelines
* Cel Phone radiation killing your DNA? ... "the cells showed a significant increase in single and double-strand DNA breaks"
* Aleve killing your heart? ... I'm gonna stick with good old aspirin, which is good for your heart :)
* Amber Alert issued in FLA ... "4-year-old boy allegedly abducted by his father after a violent confrontation with the boy’s mother"
* USCG searching for missing fisherman ... 1 found, 5 missing
* More arrests in Md's largest-ever Arson case ... and some of them have waived their Miranda Rights (makes it easier!)
* All-in-One, Once-a-day AIDS pill?
* Some thoughts on Social Security ... "I've always thought that the Social Security debate is weirdly attenuated. To me, the most basic point is that a person should OWN his or her retirement account, as I do mine, and as all upper-middle income Americans do. Social Security is a diabolically inadequate program: if you die, the "contributions" you've made to the system are forfeited, and your heirs are out of luck."
* What media bias?
* 'Blue' Court hands Bush a victory in the war on terror? ... "an important win in the War on Terror today by reinstating indictments against seven defendants accused of raising money for a terror organization"
* Busted : Hog-Dogging ... 'Hog-Dogging', that is the second most repulsive thing I have heard of
* Don't lie, especially for a get-out-of-jury excuse
* 4yr old boy killed by bus while sledding ... grievances to his family. And a warning to everyone else - sledding in your driveway is not too safe
* Cisco buys Protego ... $65M for security startup
* Someone needs help ... not blegging for money, just for some Health Insurance info
* Don't threaten the police with scissors, even if you are in a wheelchair ... or you might get tasered

Interesting
* Parenting is an experiment that you only get one chance to do right ... EXCELLENT read, with postulates such as "Old fashioned, uncompromising discipline works"
* Altered stem cells offer cystic fibrosis hope ... NOT ESCR!
* Timothy (my name) means "honoring God" ... "Timothy was a companion of Saint Paul on his missionary journeys and was the recipient of two of Paul's epistles which appear in the New Testament. According to tradition, he was martyred at Ephesus after protesting the worship of Artemis." ... i was all with that, until the martyrdom part - perhaps we can push that back a few more years?
* Good Math Teacher
* Some thoughts on al-Zarqawi
* UK gov embraces 3 month email retention policy
* WalMart announces $498 laptop ... VIA CPU, 128MB RAM, 14.1" ... low-end, but what do you expect?
* WEP and PPTP crackers updated/released
* Hippos are cannibalistic?
* nVidia brings Home-Theater to your PC ... "PureVideo"
* Some changes in Knoppix ... diverging into 'light' (CD) and 'max' (DVD) versions
* Heart Rhythms - Circadian in Nature
* Shrink Wrap License - going down! ... about time!
* More on Titan
* Iraq: Two weeks of good news?
* More thoughts on Clarence Thomas
* No Benefits for Illegal Aliens in Cali ... "would bar the Legislature from granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, and cut their access to professional or commercial licenses and higher education subsidies" ... Excellent, let's hope this happens!
* NSFW?: A little Kirsten Dunst for the troops? ... just a picture, but every bit counts (and we get to enjoy it as well)
* EU/UN = Surrender Monkeys? ... HAHAHHA, couldn't have said it better myself!
* Hillary slammed by her own constituents ... stop Hillary :)
* Kyoto is dead?
* Big Pharma being unjustly vilified?
* Healing the nation? ... "This is called "diversity," and it is why we are such a great nation - a nation that has given the world both nuclear weapons AND SpongeBob SquarePants"
* How Stuff Works ... interesting! ... especially How Hangovers Work :)
* Papers authored by Google Employees ... some good reads on a fair range of topics!
* Brain Explorer
* Car-2-Car WLAN by 2006?
* Cool fractal pix ... I love fractals
* Growing some optical computers
* IOmega unleashes 400GB HDD ... Firewire800 + USB2.0 interfaces
* Good financial role-model ... no credit card debt. One day I'll be in that club as well ...
* More thoughts on Rumsfeld ... "I also find it hard to believe that many people are impressed by the claim that the Secretary of Defense is insufficiently sensitive. That's pretty much what we want from those who run our wars." ... well-said!
* Richer Than Our Children? ... the Ponzi Scheme known as Social Security partially to blame
* Dead soldier's emails ... IMHO - Yahoo should 'sift' the account and then share it. One of the comments nailed it on the head - "When someone died in Vietnam we went through his effects and weeded out stuff we didn't think parents or wives should see (porno photos, etc.) before packing and shipping out the deceased's (sic)personal effects"
* Once and for all - No Tampering Found in Ohio
* Black minister: Say 'no' to Kwanzaa ... "Calls on blacks to celebrate Christmas, reject artificial holiday" ... Amen to that!
* The War on Christianity
* Some thoughts on a National Sales tax ... IMHO - a flat tax would be far superior!
* WiFi spotters
* Cool Science from Power Labs ... rail guns, turbines, lasers ...
* Need magnets?
* Drop in a street and see the aerial map of it ... Nice!

Funny
* True'ish: An Interview with Googlebot
* Great Barrier Reef becoming Aqua Fun Park
* New Drug Warning : Crack ... "Could cause users to become Ho's"
* Seniors for Pot
* Annan on the naughty list
* Arafat denies involvement with Resurrection Bombers
* Toy Drop injures dozens
* Ron Arrest ... subtle name change
* True'ish: Disturbing Auctions ... misc weird things
* True'ish: The Grinch who saved Christmas
* Flash-Game: Penguin Jumping ... my record = 26.7

... from Cao's blog

12 Days of Christmas (PC version) 12 Days of Christmas (PC version)

On the 12th day of the Eurocentrically imposed midwinter festival, my
Significant Other in a consenting adult, monogamous relationship gave to
me:

TWELVE males reclaiming their inner warrior through ritual drumming,
ELEVEN pipers piping (plus the 18-member pit orchestra made up of
members in good standing of the Musicians Equity Union as called for in
their union contract even though they will not be asked to play a note),
TEN melanin deprived testosterone-poisoned scions of the patriarchal
ruling class system leaping,
NINE persons engaged in rhythmic self-expression,
EIGHT economically disadvantaged female persons stealing milk-products
from enslaved Bovine-Americans,
SEVEN endangered swans swimming on federally protected wetlands,
SIX enslaved Fowl-Americans producing stolen non-human animal products,
FIVE golden symbols of culturally sanctioned enforced domestic incarceration,
NOTE after members of the Animal Liberation Front threatened to throw red paint at my computer, the calling birds, French hens and partridge have been reintroduced to their native habitat. To avoid further
Animal-American enslavement, the remaining gift package has been
revised.)
FOUR hours of recorded whale songs
THREE deconstructionist poets
TWO Sierra Club calendars printed on recycled processed tree carcasses
AND a Spotted Owl activist chained to an old-growth pear tree.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
(Gratuitously copied from The Underscore^*pops*)

Monday, December 20, 2004

Riley's First Snow Riley's First Snow

... Riley got to see her first snow last night! (less than 1", but still ...)

News
* Bush : We will cut the Federal Deficit in half in 5 years
* Forecasts : Employment scaled back, GDP scaled up
* Iraq: 50 arrested in connection with recent bombings that killed ~70, election official (& bodyguards) murdered ... roadblocks and checkpoints also set up, and 10 contractors abducted ... our prayers and grievances to all of them, and for our troops
* Yukos going down ... " the government sold the company's biggest unit for $9.3 billion to an unknown buyer" ... $9.3B from 'unknown'?
* Kia Spectra rated "poor" ... translated : "this car sucks"
* Stocks rally on Oil news ... and "A report on leading economic indicators for November is due out at 10 a.m. (today)" ... oil was retreating from recent gains, but still too high :)
* More on Africa vs US WRT AIDS drugs
* Rumsfeld catching more flak for auto-signing ... I agree that REAL signatures is 'the least we could expect', but IMHO this is being given more weight than it deserves ... some other thoughts HERE
* Adult Stem Cell Research ... vs ESCR ...
* WalMart to match Salvation Army kettle-collections, up to $1M ... unlike Target, which won't let SA ring their bells outside their stores
* Celebrate the 6 year anniversary of Clinton's impeachment ... sorry I missed this yesterday! ... and don't give Hillary the chance to get impeached!
* Washington recount details ... GOP(Rossi) has healthy lead
* Wanna help a little girl out?... "Stevens Johnson Syndrome"
* North Carolina Guardsman stationed in Iraq, "Gay Panic", and a dead Iraqi ... sad. Sentenced to 25 years @ Leavenworth. Grievances to the family of the 17 year old victim. Note that is the how we are different from the Terrorists - we punish those who misbehave, rather than reward them (or make them our leaders).
* China to start holding jury trials

Interesting
* Some good thoughts on the "separation of church and state", by Dr. Thomas E. Woods ... "many contemporary Americans fail to realize that their founding fathers meant for the Constitution of the United States to safeguard Christianity from governmental interference" ... has also authored a book,The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History
* US Supreme Court worse than the ACLU?
* Little Drummer boy lyrics ... Merry Christmas!
* Notable quotables ... "The Seventeenth Annual Awards for the Year’s Worst Reporting"
* Slapinions thoughts on 'Person of the Year'
* Think you have had some hardship in your life? Take a moment, read this. ... found via Malkin
* WarHammer 40k-based game - Dawn of War ... Multi-Player focused ... "I really am saying that the answer to all your holiday gaming questions is most likely WarHammer 40,000: Dawn of War" ... "If I seem a little zealous about this game it is because I am" ... Space marines, Orks, Eldar, Chaos ... Hmm, as an old-school 40k player I must say - after I am 'done' with Halo2 I will simply have to pick this up! ... "My favorite feature in the game is the ability to paint your armies"
* SNL is a bunch of "pathetic losers" ... " shows Santa and Rudolph skipping over the Red States (referred to on a map as Dumbf*ckistan)" ... way to insult 63+M people, all at once!
* Ozone, Climate Change, etc. ... "The trouble is nobody knows whether the effect will speed up global warming or slow it down."
* Saturn evolving
* In-Flight TV? ... via broadband!?
* Preaching against materialism, whilst controlling a $multi-billion industry and having every need tended too? ... someone disagrees with the Pope
* More thoughts on armor for our troops
* LightScribe ... burn CDs, DVDs ... and print labels ... all from one drive? Nice!
* More on Moore ... going international with his lies
* 10 worst products of the year ... avoid bad gifts, or re-gifting :)
* The Constitution Society ... "is a private non-profit organization dedicated to research and public education on the principles of Constitutional Republican government"
* Experimenting with Magnetorheological Fluids ... from Science Toys, they also sell a book and have a catalog
* Cool Lego Stuff ... like a one-way gear, a Hoberman Octahedron, U-joint, the Dilbert cast(!), etc ... and check out some seriously+cool Lego stuff here
* Huge (Inter-Continental) Brown Cloud ... interesting & scary
* Hyper-History Online
* Medieval Demographics for Fantasy Worlds ... "how many Knights should be in this kingdom?
* Museum of Unworkable Devices
Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, 2nd Edition ... is WinXPsp2 really so scary to some that it requires a book??
* Google fixes Desktop Search Tool
* Game Theory resources ... including games!
* Some info on URL Obfuscation ... and how not to fall for it
* Britney Spear's Guide to Semiconductor Physics ... similar to RouterGod's interviews :) ... such as Paris Hilton on CCIE Storage
* DNA = data storage?

Funny
* New OOTS ... what kind of wizard spends time making THAT? :)
* Worst 11 Geek Gifts
* Schools see economic benefits in not teaching students how to read ... books is not important
* Santa goes on Atkins
* Shell 'invents' the universe's most abundant element
* Top Ten Drunken Family Arguments this Christmas
* Two Jews found in agreement! ... "Jewish scientific community was rocked this week by reports of an unprecedented discovery"
* Ken Jennings = broke ... gambling addiction
* Kinkade announces his ownership of Christmas
* Hitler Orchestrated Holocaust with Palm Pilot
* New MS patch prevents IE suers from downloading FireFox
* True: The Ig Nobel Prize ... "something that first makes people LAUGH, then makes them THINK"
* True: Homemade Segway^(TM) , or - even better - homemade One-Wheeled, Self-Balancing, Motorized, Unicycle ("Eunicycle")
* Game: Play Diablo (flash game)
* In Case of Internet Shut-Down

Quote of the Day
Safia: You're just sittin there watching me?
Sean: No, I have creepy music playing to.
... Thanks BASH

Another Christmas Poem, for our soldiers Another Christmas Poem, for our soldiers

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem.
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right, I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me."

"My Gramps died at 'Pearl' on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
"My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam
And now it is my turn and so, here I am."

"I've not seen my own son in more than a year
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red white and blue... an American flag.

"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home."
"I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat."

"I can carry the weight of killing another
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother
who stand at the front against any and all,
to ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright;
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,"
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
"It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone.
To stand your own watch, no matter how long."

"For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled
is payment enough, and with that we will trust.
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

Friends, keep Our military people in your prayers. They are risking
their lives to protect what we take for granted, and we are losing
soldiers everyday. They won't be home with their families this
Christmas. Pray God will Bless Them, and keep them safe.
(received via email(Thanks Aaron), author not listed)

Non-Offending Holiday Greeting Non-Offending Holiday Greeting

Dear Friends,

I wanted to send out some sort of holiday greeting, but it is so difficult in today's world to know exactly what to say without offending someone. So I met with my attorney today and on her advice I want to say to all of you:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, nonaddictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice or secular practices of your choice with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2005, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great (not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only "America" in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms: This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

Happy Holidays!
Copied from Sheep In Wolf's Clothing

Sunday, December 19, 2004

Day of Person of the Year 2004 Day of Person of the Year 2004

News
* Bush named Person of the Year ... about TIME. Get it, 'TIME'? Semi-related note : TIME named PowerLine "Blog of the Year". Congratulations to GWB & PWL!
* Iraq: Funeral Procession hit by multiple car-bombs, 60 killed ... additional prayers and grievances to those killed/wounded ... this shows a lot about the nature of our enemy ... other terrorist acts noted as well
* 20 year old needs new liver in UK ... has been a binge drinker for ~8 years (since she was 12!)
* Snow : Budget cuts coming
* "NASA hacker" = sentenced, 6months
* Joking about your plane being hijacked ... I'm thinking that is kinda' a dumb idea, and in poor taste ... those wacky Australians
* Road disappears into the ground in FLA ... sinkhole! ... 20 homes evac'ed
* Small plane strikes radio tower in Cali ... two dead ... no other details
* Iowa judge awards $1B ... yes, B - as in Billion. However, "Kramer is unlikely to ever collect the large judgment" ...
* 70 care pile-up in Ohio

Interesting
* Thoughts on the Dollar, from an Engineer ... excellent, and amusing, read
* AMEX : $120M 'charge', 2k RIFed
* Big .Torrent sites go dark ... thanks to MPAA?
* Forward Looking : Rights for Computers?
* LCD quality catching up with CRT? ... think "Color calibration"
* Babs says their is no liberal media bias ... and why she is a liar
* Some interesting thoughts on the "separation of church & state"
* Sweden has some legal problems too ... atleast it isn't just the US. Still sad when things like this happen - "protestant pastor was arrested and sentenced to 30 days in jail"
* Arnold shoots self in foot ... figuratively speaking, that is ... will NEVER be President now ...
* Mystery jumper from NY State Bldg ... 3 weeks ago, no ID ...
* Unfashionable facts about the Middle East
* Daring Vision? Crackpot Aviation? You decide!
* "Traffic Experiments"

Funny
* True: Email Roulette ... "he finest form of email entertainment to hit the net since spam" ... ?
* Boring family secret
* Failed missile defense rocket wins Presidential Medal of Freedom ... now that is just wrong! Funny, but wrong.
* Will Satellite Radio destroy Howard Stern?
* Verizon Wireless not heard anymore - found dead
* United Nations to be De-Kofi-nated ... if only that wasn't a joke!
* Baby: Men(?) in box
* US to consult Saddam for tips on disposal of nerve agent
* Holy Sheet?
* BBSpot Blooper : Cats in mixed drinks?
* ShutUpEd reviews Ketchup

Click for Dilbert's Reverse Karma Circle

Saturday, December 18, 2004

5am is simply too early to be @ work on a Saturday ... 5am is simply too early to be @ work on a Saturday ...

News
* Woman charged in the stolen-fetus/murder case ... UPDATE: She was tracked via computer? ... go, forensics, go!
* N.Korea could test long-range missile any time
* Russia getting tough on terror?
* S.Africa attacks US over AIDS ... "accusing them of treating Africans like 'guinea pigs'" ... OK, fine - why don't we quit trying to help? Damned when we do, Damned when we don't ...
* Christmas tree ban reversed
* Cool building in Brazil ... every floor(which is one 3000sq' apartment!) rotates, independently of the others
* Cuba erects billboards with swastikas on it to object to US displaying a Christmas decorations ... "the Cuban government does not allow a single word of dissent in its media, jails those who dare espouse different ideas and has not allowed (anyone) to visit Cuban political prisoners since the late 1980s" ... and they are calling us Nazi's??
* Russia rejects US order barring Yukos fire-sale ... I am not sure why we (the US) thought we had any authority in this case? (Although it looks like some banks are following our order and may screw up Yukos' action anyway)
* US not alone in sitting out Kyoto ... which is good, because it is "fatally flawed"
* Some Senators defend Rumsfeld ... while some are headhunting. IMHO, he should stay on-board AT THE VERY LEAST until after the Iraqi elections. After that we can (re?)review his employment
* Pliable Solar Cells
* Boycott WalMart? ... and the article uses the word 'schadenfreude' so it has got to be good
* ACLU = bad, again ... violating rights of their own donors :)

Interesting
* A Biblical Perspective on War (contd) - part1 ... part2 ... part3 ... part4 ... part5
* In-Flight broadband approved
* Cisco invests $12M in Japan R&D center
* US cancels Iraq's $4B+ debt
* Google Suggest, dissected
* This town JUST NOW getting telephones ... "now the 19th century is catching up" ... I doubt DSL is an option, or a priority!
* Wanna make a TelePrompter?
* IBM's BladeCenter spec
* Parts for my humidifier ... this is really just for my future reference, sorry to take up your screen space!

Funny
* Read the title ... too early to be funny; time to drive back home and go to sleep ...
* OK, it is a little later now, so enjoy:
* Kerik's letter of resignation ... found via HigherPie

Friday, December 17, 2004

Thank God It's Friday Thank God It's Friday

* This is the single MOST reprehensible thing I have ever heard of:
Amber Alert issued for Fetus Cut From Womb ... and more details here
* UPDATE: Baby found alive? ... our grievances still go out to the murdered mother

News
* Another IE vuln ... css related, affects IE6 (incl WinXPsp2), "vulnerability is caused due to an error in the DHTML Edit ActiveX control when handling the "execScript()" function in certain situations. This can be exploited to execute arbitrary script code" ... TEST HERE
* Adobe Acrobat has a vuln or three as well! ... recommends that everyone upgrade from 6.0.2 to 6.0.3
* Bush to sign the Intel reform bill today ... creates 'Director, National Intelligence' position
* Need $10k? Join the 'Guard ... they seem to be having some recruiting problems, $15k bonus for 'experienced soldiers'
* Gunman on the loose in LA Cathedral ... UPDATE: Gunman commits suicide ... in a church. Is that two strikes at once?
* DHS having some Security / Network problems? ... I happen to know a Network Engineer who has a keen interest in InfoSec (ahem) ...
* Major climate change occurred 5,200 years ago: evidence suggests that history could repeat itself
* Prison within a Prison? ... CIA, Gitmo
* BE stock below $8! ... approaching $7.50! (and in this case, BE != Blog Explosion :) ... BE = Bearingpoint)
* Man donates Social Security benefits to charity ... Awesome!
* *Step 1: Drink & do drugs *Step 2: Kill lover Step *3: Make a stew ... sick! Found via ItIsWhatItIs
* Pfizer : Celebrex = Heart Risk ... well, when taken in 2x doses anyway ... Bextra a problem as well? ... and Pfizer stock tumbles a bit ... dragging everyone else down too
* Arson suspect in custody ... and he can't seem to keep his mouth shut, thankfully! ... and UPDATE: Aaron Speed has now confessed to (atleast) being involved!
* Christmas is not illegal everywhere ... "Christian candy" is OK
* Some thoughts on the global impacts of the dollar's slide ... alarmist or realistic?
* Man saves 4 from burning house ... in Heampstead
* "new ballots" found in Wash (State, not DC) ... Dems trying to steal another election?

Interesting
* Fascinating (and long) read on ID, Evolution, Creationism, etc. ... and two of the supporting links: ... and
* SF trying to outlaw all firearms? ... and some thoughts on that from Digger
* Let's take a peek at how the UN treats 'whistle-blowers'
* Iraqi child alerts US soldier to mine on roadside ... found link via GOPBloggers.org
* Thoughts on Intelligent Design (ID) ... for and against ... and* source article, and more on Flew's no-longer-atheist views
* MS to help fight Spyware ... Ironically, they bought "Giant Software" ... but"security" might cost you
* Some thoughts on Moore
* Paratrooper's comments on Christmas, ACLU, and the Constitution
* Polymeal vs Polypill ... heart attack avoidance
* Exploring Andromeda
* Comments on Bush's economic vision
* Shuttle getting cleared to fly
* True Heroes ... one last heroic act. MSM seems to not care.
* ICANN adds $.75 surcharge for .NET domains ... more ICANN craziness
* Another way to help the Iraqi children
* Bush got 62M+ votes in 2004 ... and Ohio has RE-certified their results, same as previous time :P ... and for the record, my % prediction for the result was pretty close if you go by EV not PV, if you go by PV I was off by 4% :(
* Google Suggest ... 'predictive search' ... NICE!
* Tiny Flash memory
* MSNBC -1 Norville
* More on MS's latest round of hole plugging
* ESCR progress being made ... in rats, anyway. I think the real question is whether this could have been accomplished with Non-Embryonic Stem Cells? ... ESCR still a very slippery slope that requires much care, if it is to be tread at all ...

Funny
* OBL demands to be named Person of the Year
* MS releases VirusGen05
* Smart" Missile Defense System test refuses to launch
* Bush Releases list of Medal of Freedom runners-up
* Ex-suicide bombers blast virgins-for-martyrs swindle
* Physics Teacher earns praise, criticism for "applied" exams
* Baby: Bedjacking
* Christmas Trees cause soo much stress
* True: How to make Half-Life 2 cookies ... a pictorial guide ... link found via BBSpot

Quote of the Day
Filefront|Juice: The French version of Halo2's campaign mode is only 1 minute long. Master chief lands on Earth and the Covenant surrender.
Thanks BASH!

My Family :) :

Thursday, December 16, 2004

Sure Happy It's Thursday Sure Happy It's Thursday

News
* New OBL tape ... ridicules US, Saudis, World
* Iraq: More insurgent strikes
* Find a fake bomb in your luggage recently? ... please return it to Newark airport, where they lost it
* Official - Symantec is buying Veritas ... "stock deal worth about $13.5 billion"
* 2004 was a hot year
* Another recall ... local Trustee won't say the Pledge of Allegiance" ... Bravo to those recalling his tuckus!
* More on the failed Interceptor Missile test
* Iraq: Likely that al-Zarqawi is in Baghdad now
* Please observe a Moment of Silence today ... in honor of those who died during the "Battle of the Bulge", which started on this date, 60 years ago.
* Ohio Supreme Court - throws out election challenge
* Flu shots may end up going to waste?

Interesting
* Excellent article, by Mr. Greenspan, written in 1967 - arguing for a global Gold-standardized monetary system ... "confiscation through inflation"
* New & Improved Mars Rover
* Bay Area +1 fault?
* Robots learn to run
* Housing hits speed bump? ... "while some economists said the drop bears watching, they also said it was probably too soon to say it meant the housing bubble was ready to burst"
* Chevy Chase, still misguided ... "potty-mouthed Bush-bashing"
* Broadband via airship ... Angel Technologies, Halo ... wait - these use GPS to navigate (see next link :P )
* US could shut down GPS in the event of an emergency ... "government-ordered shutdown or jamming of the GPS satellites would be done in ways to limit disruptions to navigation and related systems outside the affected area"
* First official, real WiMax chip released? ... WiMax, aka "IEEE 802.16-2004"
* Quantum Astronomy?
* Is you site being overloaded? ... join the crowd
* "Christian Rock" concert canceled ... "concerns over having religious music played in a public school" ... another example of what is going wrong in this country. Not that I am a fan of 'Christian Rock', but come on ...
* John Hopkins notes regarding Dioxin ... don't freeze water in plastic bottles? ... no plastics in Microwaves?
* Coulter's latest article - the Lose-Lose party?
* Cel Phones for Soldiers
* Iran: Terrorist recruiters operating publicly
* NYTimes, anti-Christian? ... the devil you say! Merry Christmas!
* ACLU being sued for Defamation ... sweet!
* Various views of Earth ... and some visual games therein
* ACLU's Suppression of Knowledge
* Previous study flawed, 'the pill' doesn't reduce risk of breast cancer, heart disease
* Dual-GPU Video Card ... can I get that to go (in my laptop)?
* Bad Science awards
* Off the Record messaging ... but still encrypted ... !

Funny
* New OOTS! ... divide up the loot!
* Democrats embark on fact-finding mission to Nascar
* Rumsfeld constructs more armor, breaks Laws of Physics
* SAA = Warp Gate?
* Kerik's nanny : member of al-Qaeda
* Controversy erupts over word ‘Snowman’
* White House announces New Color Alert System, in five shades of red
* New search engine - Jewgle
* A Toll-Free Help Center actually helps someone
* Game: Adventure Elf
* Tony Danza steals Christmas, escapes to Mexico
* Christian Youth Leader preaches "Cool" aspects of abstinence with "Make Pizza, Not Love" Campaign
* True: Leroy, the redneck reindeer - causing a ruckus?
* White House responds to a Concerned Citizen
* Google answers some of life's meaningful questions
* Thoughts on modern Christianity
* Lego Logic!
* True: 34 DWI's!

Quote of the Day
Dubious|Laptop: Gotta go give a training session on Cisco. Later.
pdX}aldawg: Isn't Cisco a form of oil they sell at supermarkets?
Dubious|Laptop: That's Crisco. It's not often that you find someone who is both technology and culinary-impaired, but you have shattered that paradigm.
Thanks BASH ... edited for grammar & punctuation ...

Quote of the Day #2
On the twelfth day of Christmas,
My teenager gave to me,
Twelve hours of napping,
Eleven fights with sister,
Ten girls-a-calling,
Nine hours of Playstation,
Eight piles of laundry,
Seven CDs blaring,
Six late assignments,
Five mumbled words,
Four filthy plates,
Three slammed doors,
Two dirty looks,
And a math test marked with an "E."
Thanks to Cativa ... mine is only ~5 months, so I've got a year or 12 before I need to worry about this!

Google's AdSense Google's AdSense

AdSense

So - just a quick thought or two on Google's AdSense.

Seems (seemed?) like a great idea ... make a little $ while enjoying the joys of blogging. However, it would appear that I have violated the Terms of Service in some fashion. The email informing me of this did not indicate which portion of the ToS I violated, nor was it a warning. My account was suspended.

If I knew what the problem was, I would certainly take effort to not repeat it - the $1-2/day average (I don't get that many page hits, and even fewer clicks on the ads) is not quite worth "cheating" (not that I am saying any amount of $ would justify or encourage that!).

... So, I have removed the AdSense block from the right and my dreams of *finally* making millions off of the net (or, atleast of having Riley's college partially subsidized :) ) have apparently been cruelly dashed. Unless LOTS of people shop Amazon through me (5% commission! w00t!) or, even better, voluntarily donate ~$5 (or more) to Riley's College fund I guess I will be forced to keep working at my day job. Curses!

I am still looking forward to hearing back from the fine (and possibly rich, have you seen their stock price!?) folks @ Google. If/when I do (assuming we are able to come to terms) I will happily place the block back over on the right and resume rakin' it(again - $1-2/day) in!

Sorry ... I just wanted to vent for a moment, please stay tuned for your regularly scheduled Internet, already in progress.

UPDATE:12/21/2004:
I have corresponded with the overlords at Google; and there is apparently no appeal, no forgiveness and no 'second-chance'. Bah Humbug. A less honest person might simply go about opening another account with a different email address and different URL, however that person is not me ... nor do I have the time to dork around with this, even if I was so inclined. So I am now less enamored with a company I have always admired and thought well of - Forget Google. (And I guess I will need to just pay for Riley's college fund the old fashioned way ... send the wife to work in a few years :P.)

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Newsflash: Iraq is in the news! Newsflash: Iraq is in the news!

News
* Iraq: Bomb, targeted Shiite cleric ... 7 killed, prayers & grievances ...
* Iraq: Chemical Ali will be the first to go on trial ... Saddam -1 cousin?
* Iraq: Defense Minister - "Iran is bad" ... is that really news?
* Athens bus hijacked ... UPDATE: Siege over
* UN, Haiti, 4 dead
* Missile Defense System fails test ... a hole in the shield?
* Lieberman snubs White House ... the word is 'partisan'
* Time Warner/AOL to pay $500M settlement
* Cayman Islands +1 Earthquake ... 6.7!
* Yukos -3 Directors
* Some good questions for Bush WRT Immigration Reform ... from Congressman Tom Tancredo
* 50' waves coming to Hawaii?
* Some more thoughts on Mt St Helens ... explosive future?
* EU + Turkey
* DC = no Expos? ... whole thing in ? over financing
* "Lowe's Hacker" gets 9(!) years ... should have just done some Insider Trading (Hi Martha!) ... or, maybe, TRY OBEYING THE LAW? (But I still think 9 years is a bit much)

Interesting
* More thoughts on Responsibility ... specifically - making babies
* WiFi on a chip
* Thoughts on the Constitution, Our Rights ... and Healthcare
* Tim Berners-Lee is opposed to ICANN's new TLDs ... Tim is one of the REAL fathers of the Internet, unlike Gore :)
* Judge's robe causing a brouhaha ... has The 10 Commandments on them ... "I applaud Judge McKathan. It is time for our judiciary to recognize the moral basis of our law" ... I agree, and further think is just a stunt by a slimy defense attorney who couldn't think of a better defense ... OTOH, this is probably in poor taste: Judge wears black-face to party
* A few thoughts on Kojo Annan ... did he, or did he not, work for the UN ... more "Oil for Food Fiasco" (OFFF^(TM)) follow-up
* More on the MPAA's crusade vs BitTorrent, eDonkey, etc. ... like most crusades, not quite right
* Deforestation by bugs ... not (directly) our fault ...
* Would you fail the "Nanny Test" ... i.e. - do you know the background of all of your employees, partners, associates, etc.
* Would you like some lead with your herbal remedy? ... or how about some mercury or arsenic?
* Thoughts on Neptune ... you know, the icy 8th planet that has 13(!) moons ... and God of the Sea :)
* Portable Cygwin! ... including X!
* More on MS's "MSN Desktop Search Tool" ... in BETA, and as previously predicted here (TYVM)- it incorporates LookOut, which they acquired back in June
* Leave Islam = Death sentence?
* The Bible supports war (and Capital Punishment?) - Part 1 and Part 2
* FCC vs Broadband
* Ants use geometry?
* Translucent circuits
* RedState.org Inc. ... they are a 527 now!
* More on the "fatally flawed" Kyoto Protocol ... our focus should be on adaption (vs mitigation)
* P2P app in 15(!) lines!

Funny
* Biblical Curse Generator!
* True: The Alphabet, by Google
* Speed-Pool ... flash game
* Nigeria chosen to host the 2008 Genocides
* Hollywood foreign press association to choose new Iraqi President
* Web slump threatens Terrorist "Dot-Cash"
* Kofi Annan declares self-defense illegal; France agrees, Germany begins plans
* Bush declared "Fit For Duty", is shipped to Iraq
* France's new bridge
* Eli dies from growing pains ... "just hours after going 4-for-18 for 27 yards and three turnovers in a blowout loss"

Quote of the Day:
Booster: Why'd you get a Mac?
Nick: I have conquered the PC
Nick: Just wanted to try it out
Booster: You got it because you were bored?
Booster: That is like saying "I've mastered walking with 2 legs", so you cut one off
Thanks BASH ... edited slightly for grammar, punctuation, etc.

Twas the Night Before Christmas Twas the Night Before Christmas

A little Holiday poem

Twas the Night Before Christmas
He lived all alone,
In a One Bedroom House
Made of Plaster and Stone

I had come down the Chimney
With Presents to Give,
And to see just who In this Home did live.

I looked All About,
A strange Sign did I see,
No Tinsel. No Presents.
Not even a Tree.

No stocking by Mantle,
Just boots filled with sand.
On the wall hung a picture
Of far distant lands.

With Medals and Badges,
Awards of all Kinds
A sober thought
Came through my mind.

For This House was different
It was dark and dreary
I found the Home of a Soldier
Once I could see Clearly.

The Soldier Lay Sleeping
Silent, Alone
Curled up on the floor
Of this One Bedroom Home.

The face was so Gentle
The room in such Disorder
Not how I pictured
A United States Soldier.

Was This The Hero
Of Whom I Just Read?
Curled up on A Poncho
The floor for a bed?

I realized the Families
That I saw This Night,
Owed Their Lives to These Soldiers
Who were willing to fight.

Soon Round the World,
The Children Would Play,
And Grown-ups would Celebrate
A Bright Christmas Day.

They all enjoyed Freedom
Each month of the Year.
Because of the Soldiers
Like the one lying here.

I couldn't help wonder
How many lay alone,
On a cold Christmas Eve
In a land far from Home.

The very thought
Brought a tear to My eye,
I dropped to my knees,
and I started to Cry.

The Soldier awakened
And I heard A rough voice,
Santa don't cry,
This Life is my Choice.

I fight for Freedom,
I don't Ask for More,
My life is My God,
My Country, My Corps.

The Soldier rolled over,
And drifted to sleep,
I couldn't Control it,
I continued to weep.

I Kept watch for hours,
So silent and still.
And we both shivered
From The cold night's chill.

I didn't want to leave
On that cold, dark night,
This Guardian of Honor
So willing to fight.

Then the Soldier rolled over,
With a voice soft and pure,
Whispered "Carry on Santa,
It's Christmas Day, All is Secure."

One look at my watch,
And I knew he was right.
"Merry Christmas My Friend,
And To All A Good Night."

Gratuitously copied from Conservative Insurgent

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Late Edition, er Addition, um ... Whatever Late Edition, er Addition, um ... Whatever

Late News
* New Malware ... "W32.Erkez.D@mm" = Sev3, prompted Symantec to raise their "ThreatCon" to 2 (from 1) ... aka ZAFI.d
* Tyco back in the (bad) news ... part of the Oil for Food fiasco (OFFF :) )

Late Interesting
* Novel (and cheap) way to reduce tanker-spill damage?
* US slipping further RIGHT? ... good news!
* Oracle + VMWare?
* Symantec + Veritas?
* Universe map - getting redrawn?
* ICANN - Our internet is InSaNe ... or maybe just ICANN is?

Late Funny
* True:Wearing an OBL mask - bad idea!
* I got nuthin else - just go to FARK ... :)

GOOD NIGHT!

News
* Iraq: Green Zone hit yesterday ... and hit again ... our prayers and grievances go out to the family & friends of those killed
* Pentagon - We need more $$ ... ~$80B
* Oil up a bit ... getting farther away from the $35 mark :( ... BUT: Gas prices drop to 3 month low ... at my Amoco this morning Premium was $1.85/gallon! (regular would have been $1.69!!) ... oh, and just for good measure - the Dow is above 10.6k!
* More Taliban leadership arrested!
* Train crash kills 50 India ... prayers & grievances ...
* Fed expected to raise rate another .25% ... UPDATE: Fed +.25%
* Blockbuster drops late fees
* Google to scan/index library books
* Firefox hits 10M downloads ... in 32 days
* Jackson lawyers move to dismiss ... and move for a delay ... of course they do, because he is probably guilty!
* Trade deficit = $55.5B ... and, contrary to some opinions, it isn't all that bad

Interesting
* List of sites where you can truly support our troops!
* BitTorrent servers better get lawyered up ... MPAA picks up the flag from the RIAA
* Homeland inSecurity ... and thoughts on illegal aliens
* Ford EOLs the Excursion!
* Want to grow some Heart Tissue?
* Lunar ice
* Germany cracks down on pirates ... aaarrrgggghhh
* Merry Christmas ... whether you like it or not :P
* .NET-Embedded ... and SPOT
* Some thoughts on the media bias wars
* UN = Anti-Semitic?
* Prevent WiFi leaks ... no more free access for you!
* Some thoughts on Europe, their apparent disdain for us ... and national security
* Dems still grasping - to unofficially oversee the Bush administration ... oversight good, persecution bad
* Want an 80GB iPod?
* Ohio: 66lb Tumor found, removed
* Sun releases SunRay 3.0 ... fighting the losing Thin-Client battle?
* State Legislatures slide Blue?
* Online extortion ... DDoS works :(
* Halo2 review ... (again) ... my review = 9+/10!
* MS's CIO on their IT practices

Funny
* Bush to Google future nominees
* Particleboard --> Nazi gold? ... not just regular / ghetto gold ...
* Oakland Raiders lose to nursing home team ... "I’ve never seen a man on a walker with moves like that" ... final score was 52-3 ...
* Yushchenko calls for probe WRT poison, name
* Paris is burning! ... "It contains no hormones or fancy chemicals. It is essentially a scented soap, scented with the smell of millions of dollar bills. But it works. That smell drives women wild with desire!"
* Endangered species yield amazing new energy source
* Broken Newz making a movie ... and begging for cash. Hey - now we have one thing in common!
* The Onion's Auto-Guide ... with gems like "Report: 98 Percent Of U.S. Commuters Favor Public Transportation For Others"
* Run a nation ... still fun! Some of you have let your nations die - so sad. If you do sign up, join "Paradise lostNfound" (my region :))
* True: I guess he was marking his territory? ... well, he was marking someone else's territory, anyway :)
* Baby: Perils of Poop ... updated from yesterday to include paint-card-snot-color-match kit
* Former Soviet Bloc countries bring back medieval tasters
* True: Man bites dog

Quote of the Day:
green: We vegetarians love the environment. Carnivores are sick freaks.
Frank: How can vegetarians possibly love the environment? You keep eating all the plants!
... thanks BASH (edited for punctuation and content)

Monday, December 13, 2004

Somebody's got a case of the Mondays Somebody's got a case of the Mondays

News
* Jury recommends DEATH penalty for Scott Peterson * Merry (soon-to-be) Christmas! ... check out the lights, someone has too much free time! ... and a Happy Chanukah! (almost over now)
* Iraq: 8 Marines killed ... prayers and grievances for them and to their family, friends and brothers-in-arms
* Ukraine: Yushchenko WAS poisoned - dioxin ... and Was it the KGB?
* Alaska tanker spill still ongoing ... this is the same accident that 6 USCG died mid-rescue
* Terrorist arrested ... Taliban -1 leader
* Iraq: Convoy hit and 2 Iraqi crime-fighters killed
* China buckles? ... will tax exported textiles
* Karzai says OBL is nearby ... so let's get him!
* Saddam's deputies on Hunger Strike in prison ... let them starve, save us the trouble of a trial! ... UPDATE: Hunger-strike is over ... I am sure we are all relieved that this stressful ordeal has come to an end ...
* Billionaire, & Presidential Pardon Recipient, involved in Oil-for-Food scam ... already been tagged 'Pardon-gate' - HA! ... more blemishes for Clinton's legacy!
* Oracle pay $10.3B for PS ... finally :)
* Women in combat?
* Girl born without face ... worst case of Treacher Collins Syndrome those doctors have seen ... send some prayers that way!
* Oil still (relatively speaking) low ... $40.33, only $5-10 over where it should be!
* This is why SPAM still exists ... people keep buying from it
* Another stupid lawsuit ... against WalMart, for $74.5k, for hearing f**k?
* Philippines bombed ... 15 dead, 60 wounded - prayers & grievances to their family & friends!
* China & Russia having joint military exercises

Interesting
* "The Case for Christ" ... an excellent read that builds, as the title implies, the case for Christ - as the Son of God, Son of Man and God in the flesh ... from the eyes of a skeptic, trying to discover the truth
* Introducing SwarmStreaming!
* More thoughts on Iraq ... a must read!
* CPU speed +24% ... IBM, AMD introduce 'dual stress liner' ...
* Some thoughts on Iraq
* People travel to Canada instead of US ... so sorry we are trying to make ourselves safer, our bad ...
* New Satellite system ... and concerns about the $$$
* Grand Cherokee vs. Audi TT vs. BMW 325 ... go Jeep go!
* Earth to Mars life swap?
* More thoughts on Intel Reform ... and immigration control
* Atomic keyring ... cool, except those of us in the US cannot get it :(
* Linux wins TCO vs Windows?
* NASA -1 Administrator
* Daschle Got Blogged ... "and how online journalism is transforming politics"
* Sun gets an ultrasound
* More thoughts on Coal Reefs, and Global Warming
* World's tallest tower being built
* Penn State - "Don't use IE"
* Hillary's transformation already beginning ... gotta stop her ...
* Home Video Sharing ... with a name like Digital Silo, its got to be good ... ?
* Terrorists vs brothels
* Thoughts on Hillary
* Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean we have to take you seriously .. more wrap-up of Election04
* Some more thoughts on the UN, Kofi
* Your brain - more interconnected than previously thought
* Legos + Star Wars + Game = Winner! ... supporting the XBOX, sweet!
* MS enters Desktop Search ... well, in beta
* Deadlines killing you - literally? ... more heart-attack fun
* Don't stop taking NSAIDs! ... more heart-attack fun
* Michael Moore - admitted radical ... attacking the 'centrist' democrats, and a response or two

Funny
* New OOTS! ... who could take a bard seriously? ... and if you are really serious: (Pre)Order the Book!
* Dilbert - Knowledge is Power
* 100 DVD "Ultimate Complete Matrix Collection" released
* Baby: The Perils of Poop
* Peterson issued a Lifetime Channel sentence
* Kerik : OBL was my gardener
* New Bush Cabinet to have a 'Designated Dissenter'
* GOP : Clinton stole Santa
* Baby: You're big, you're small
* Jewish Barbie?
* True?: Always make sure your penis is dressed properly ... I wonder what kind of party requires these?? :P (thankfully - no pix)
* Howard Dean's Christmas Wish List ... hahahahhhaahhaaaaa

Your games preference mapped to your career:
... or you might see the "visit the site" pic, which is funny as well!)

... NOW GO READ UF!

Be1ial: remember the old arcade games that had a message from the president about saying no to drugs?
Krizkor: haha yeah.
Krizkor: because of that blue screen before mortal kombat, i stayed off drugs.
Krizkor: but unfortunately, i began pulling people's spines out.
... Thanks BASH

Friday, December 10, 2004

Mädchen & Günther Mädchen & Günther

Since I showed Riley, now I should show my Dawgz ...
*Mädchen (on top, she'll be 5 this Feb) & Günther (below, he is 2 this month).
Note - Both are rescues!

... actually, Mädchen is having some hip problems ... pray for her(and for our wallets!).

Riley! and NIF! Riley! and NIF!

My Baby:
*Riley Marie Evans is one heli-cute baby, if I may say so myself:

... and that is a pretty good Santa too!

News ... TGIF!
* Amber Alert - missing 5 year old from Ohio
* Kerik != DHS Chief ... couldn't stand up to scrutiny
* Sprint+Nextel? ... "super-carrier"? ... UPDATE: Deal Agreed on - $36B! ... speaking of cel phones, You might be able to use your cel phone in-flight! ... and Cel phones don't cause cancer ... maybe
* Pakistan bomb kills at least 10 ... our prayers and grievances go out ...
* Responses to Armor-for-Troops questions ... and did you read that the question was a plant ... not that it isn't a valid question, but still ... and check out "Military Classes for Civilian Dumbasses" ... and Lt. Gen Whitcomb's press conference ... (plus comments from Q&O)
* Wassef Ali Hassoun : Hostage or Deserter? ... always smelled a bit fishy to me, and now he is being charged! ... and check out Malkin's wrap-up of this whole affair
* Oil is up a bit ... OPEC is talking about cutting production, WTF? ... UPDATE: OPEC is cutting production ... UPDATE: Oil drops to $40.50 anyway!
* You cannot listen to your children's conversations ... in Washington (state) anyway ... ANOTHER example of things that are wrong with this great nation
* Yahoo joining Desktop Search ... with partnership, not in-house innovation ... and have you tried Google's Desktop Search tool? ... just be sure to disable the web site and IM caching :)
* US Commercial flight lands in Nam ... first in 30 years
* FollowUp: US Missile-Defense-System test = scrubbed
* Lose an arm, owe the US Army $2000? ... I don't know all the details, but this seems kinda wrong ... UPDATE: Soldier being taken care of
* Iraq: Saddam lawyers 'not ready' for trial
* Soldier lied

Interesting
* Hollywood vs Bit-Torrent
* Baby: Non-Toxic toys
* Thoughts on WiMax ... gonna kill 3G and terrestrial broadband? (I'd go wireless if the speeds were comparable!)
* Some thoughts on "Dollar Diplomacy"
* Are we squandering our 'political capital'
* Meteor Shower on Monday ... 12/13/2004 - "Skywatchers with dark skies away from city lights could see one or two meteors every minute during the Geminid meteor shower"
* Naked people shouldn't pick fights with Police Dogs ... Go Dog, Go!
* Some thoughts on Social Security reform ... "We will not raise payroll taxes to solve this problem"
* Some (more) thoughts on the UN ... "coalition of the crooked and unfree"
* Whale song ... "calls do not match those of any known species, although they are clearly those of a baleen whale"
* Christmas time for Terrorists! ... I am thinking MOABs :)
* New drug treats TB in half the time ... still 4+ months! ... and did you know TB was 2nd only to AIDS in "infectious disease" deaths globally?
* "Is It True What They Say About Ann?" ... free trailer
* AMD to support (up to) 8 cores in one CPU?
* Kerik, Insider Trading? ... let's see what comes of the review / nomination process!
* US -1 Tax Evasion Scheme
* Thoughts on the filibuster ... valid political tactic or obstructionist garbage? ... personally - filibusters are fine, but go back to the old days where you had to actually stand there and talk the whole time :)
* CBS vs Blog(ger)s
* Letters for the troops
* 7' Grandfather clock made out of Legos ... speaking of Legos - have you seen The Bible, in Legos?
* NetBSD2.0 released
* Disney backs Blu-Ray
* Potential planets spotted

Funny
* Rumsfeld demands full body armor for next meeting with troops
* Bush reluctantly agrees to formation of clone army
* NY Police Chief to Be US Homeland Security Czar, will put turnstiles at airports
* Welcome to your free one week trial of our sheep dating service
* Baby: Review: teething toy vs. a shoe
* President Bush Astounds United Nations
* Mel Brooks directing "The Passion of the Christ II: Mel Gibson's a Meshuganeh"
* David Bowie - Son of God? ... or maybe not.
* "Female Viagra" convinces women that men will call them
* Female Sex Patch ... needs more probing :P
* True: Click on my ads ... wait, no click on MY ads! Or the Amazon link to the right! :)

Quote of the Day:
* _chaos: The world will be perfect when you can log conversations from real life.
* _chaos: For example if a man denies sleeping with another woman his wife can just check the logs.
* _chaos: And the only way to cheat is if you had admin powers to edit the logs... like me. heh :)
* CCDude: or i could kick your nerdy ass and make you do it for me
* _chaos: Then you would be arrested after they checked the logs!
* CCDude: your still a nerd
* _chaos: And your still an idiot. :D
... thanks BASH

*Are you going to the BearingPoint Holiday Party tomorrow? ... If so, I'll see ya there! ... and that's it for me - have a great weekend!

Thursday, December 09, 2004

News
* USCG Copter crashes during rescue operation ... our prayers for the missing crew
* Secunia reporting new IE vuln ... "Microsoft Internet Explorer FTP Command Injection Vulnerability", similar reports coming for other browsers?(Konqueror bulletin already released) ... speaking of IE-Secunia's list of (33) unpatched IE problems ... 33 reasons to secure your PC :)
* Man goes crazy in Ohio nightclub ... shoots guitarist and others, gets wasted by cops
* Iraq: Blast in Mosul ... 3 killed, our grievances to their family & friends!
* Iraq: Japanese "troops" sticking around another year ... 550 noncombatants
* Muslim charities being forced to pay $150M+
* A better alternative to Kyoto?
* Oil rising a bit ... still below $43, should be below $30 ... although some believe we will hit 'peak' in the 2006-2010 time-frame!! ... while others believe Oil is a geological byproduct, not a fossil fuel ... the debate continues :)
* US to Specify Documents Needed for Driver's Licenses? ... finally!
* "Mapping Security", by one of my old managers ... comes out 12/23/04
* Bush Administration Expresses Confidence in Annan... I disagree!
* ATMs help finance Terrorists?
* 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee named 4x4 o' the year ... my old '97 Wrangler would totally kick its ass!

Interesting
* Good read - NST vs VAT ... both better than our current tax code
* Iraq: Thoughts on Iraq ... even Andrew Sullivan agrees it is getting better :)
* ME the People ...
* More on the gun-shot detection system going live in Chicago
* Private Spaceflight bill passed!
* Amazon's problems
* D-Link releases Gaming focused gear
* Simple tax code change to fix health-care?
* XBOX modders getting busted ... perhaps the pre-installed games weren't such a good idea
* CD/DVD printer - less than $150 ... no more sharpies!
* Thoughts on establishing a permanent homeland security committee
* Intel introduces Yonah
* Epson announces ePaper ... in a couple years
* Introducing the Sensiboil stove ... no more boiling over, no more boiling dry ... they should combine this with the freeze&heat oven :)
* Sirius stock in trouble? ... after surging ~50% thanks to Howard
* Cel phones for Homeland Security ... detects radiation :)
* Thoughts on Amtrak ... fully privatize it!
* AOL's letter to those not RIFed
* Ann Coulter's thoughts on "the new racism"
* Some thoughts on Racial Preferences
* US provides $20M to Palestine for elections ... um, why are we doing this??
* Thoughts on Social Security
* Sharpton got paid by Kerry
* Thoughts on Dissent in America
* US Companies spending $3B+ to teach employees to read, write ... embarrassing!
* See all of the D&D3.5 Hard-Cover books Amazon has ... buy some, make me $$ :)
* Some thoughts on Tremors in Cali
* A way to fix the US PTO?
* Why does all the cool stuff come out in Asia first?
* Scientists debate blending of human, animal forms ... and in Hybrid form you get DR5/Silver, right?
* Famous Atheist converts to Christianity!

Funny
* Bill O'Reilly: Fox News only satire...
* New OOTS ... you are not a wizard!
* Valve banning users ... Gravity Gun Abuse
* Experimentation on mice has been motivated by sheer distaste for rodents
* ‘Jeopardy’ champ loses argument with wife
* New al-Qaeda tape pleads for more sensitivity
* Baby: Sleep is optional ... ain't that the truth, sadly - Riley has discovered this as well :(
* Drug addict accidentally vaccinates self
* China bans Nike TV commercial, opens new Nike sweatshop
* Gentile eats nothing but Jewish food, becomes unstoppable machine
* US to deploy converted aircraft carrier with wheels in Iraq

Quote of the Day:
I have no problem with gays in the military as long as they are in the Air Force where they belong.

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

News
* IBM sells PC manufacturing unit to China ... and some speculation that IBM did this to get deeper in bed with Apple ... and IBM's CEO's memo to employees
* Pakistan test fires missile ... medium range, nuclear-capable ... speaking of missiles : US testing Anti-Missile shield
* Ukraine: Poison/Assassination attempt against Yushchenko?
* Mexico getting their share of locusts as well
* Iraq: Deputy PM blames Iraq's neighbors for not helping ... ahh, that is because their neighbors don't want democracy to succeed!
* More Phishing ... fake emails, cross-site scripting exploits, and your banking details - oh my!
* McAuliffe uses Pearl Harbor to slam GOP ... just a bit tasteless, which isn't surprising considering the source
* Thoughts on Driver's Licenses for Illegals ... we need a national standard that requires proof of citizenship, why is that SO DAMN HARD for people to grasp?
* Layoffs@AOL.com
* Jordan close to capturing al-Zarqawi? ... that would be GREAT! ... now if we could just get OBL as well ...
* Dick Clark has a stroke
* John Snow staying after-all

Interesting
* Malkin's quite humorous post on the Intel Reform Act ... and what it DOESN'T cover
* Ray Guns! ... can we set phasers to stun yet, dammit?
* 8GB USB Drive! ... I want one, or five!
* Siemens unveils 1gbps wireless ... SWEET!
* PCs make kids dumber ... well, I disagree with that - it is all about how they are used. Simply handing one over to your child and expecting that to teach them is not the right approach!
* "DVD Jukebox" manufacturer being sued
* Thoughts on Legislation through Judicial Activism
* Windows2k3sp1 released, and the top 10 reasons to install it
* Rat brain flies jet
* General thoughts on Iraq
* Dell dumps Red Hat ... going Novell/SuSe
* Some thoughts on global terrorism, media bias and freedom of expression
* Smoking age raised to 19 ... in Suffolk county, anyway ... "philosophically it is difficult to tell an 18-year-old that he can fight for his country -- yet he can't smoke"
* More Mary Berry fun ... "term as a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights ended at midnight Sunday, but as of this writing she maintains that her term doesn't end until January 21, 2005" ... UPDATE: She is gone! ... " Ding Dong The Witch Is Gone"
* Funny exchange, regarding conscientious objectors ... and a Malkin post about deserters
* Sports Gambling Hedge Fund
* Icy planetoid has fiery heart?
* Christmas lights vs. broadband internet connection
* Christians throw rocks @ Police in Egypt ... I though we were the peaceful ones??
* Rumsfeld grilled by troops ... joining the 'Guard not quite as peaceful as they were hoping :)
* Laptops kill sperm

Funny
* TRUE: Woman runs over kids for hitting her car with golf ball ... it did no damage to vehicle, and she is BUTT UGLY
* Command Ops ... flash game, like River Raid!
* WalMart 'rolling back' employee wages
* Fans taking steroids to fend off athletes!
* New Bar Exam in Cali
* Alleviate holiday naming confusion - celebrate Chanukwanzaamasadan
* Bush became the 1st President to visit Canada in ten+ years. Bush, with the help of an interpreter, spoke to Canadians ...
* Saddam's Torture Bar & Grill Embraces New Management
* The Tragic Lives of Middlemen ... always getting cut out :)
* CIA Reloaded: Govt assassins get miffed
* Shortest Time Interval Found; Named for Pop Star
* Bush still won't accept responsibility for Pearl Harbor
* Root Of Bush Aggression found
* What If Dubya Hadn't Quit Drinking?
* Microwave pizza's = too hard to heat up
* True: Parents go on strike ... I am not so sure this is the right message to send to your kids ...

Click for Blinding Flashes of Obviousness

Quote of the Day:
A few years ago when a big software vendor here to promote their "cutting edge self healing" software, I quipped "I guess making software that doesn't break was too hard for them". I got a lot of angry stares that indicated that they were not amused. --Ken Ng