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Archives
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- 10/01/2006 - 11/01/2006
- 03/01/2007 - 04/01/2007
Random musings and observations from an individual with too much time on his hands
Monday, January 31, 2005
Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap
I just had to plug one of my favorite products: Dr. Bronner's. Yeah, it's a bit wacky--he was a slight nutcase. He decided to get into the soap biz while in a mental hospital, but the soap itself is top notch.
My favorites include: Almond, Peppermint, Tea Tree, and Eucalyptus.
My favorites include: Almond, Peppermint, Tea Tree, and Eucalyptus.
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Ignoring rampant identity theft, Feds want to put retina scans on your drivers license. Planting radios in your teeth was just TOO obvious.
Comments on Fark
Quote from Thomas Jefferson's disembodied spirit:
"We gave you a beautiful thing; a document as perfect as we could make it -- and you fucked it up."
Bad America. No Freedom.
(Cynical mood this morning)
Comments on Fark
Quote from Thomas Jefferson's disembodied spirit:
"We gave you a beautiful thing; a document as perfect as we could make it -- and you fucked it up."
Bad America. No Freedom.
(Cynical mood this morning)
Saturday, January 08, 2005
Microsoft: Their Own Worst Enemy
The big confusion with Microsoft support is that they confuse versions with bug-fixes, across the board, and while that has been their strength in the past, it is now a thorn in their side.
Pop open windows update for a moment. It doesn't just have security and bug-fixes listed, nor does it contain itself to "Extras" like language packs and small maintenance utilities. It contains complete new versions of major software.
There are new versions of Media Player, Direct-X, Service Packs (Major point-releases for everyone else-with new features), Internet Explorer, Outlook, a new spyware program (this may be a "security" item, though), and much more.
Of course, if MS charged for some of these things, no one would buy upgrades. And herein lies the problem -- the desire to push customers along, support developers with advanced technology, and convince people their to swallow their buzzwords against the cost of loosing significant reason to upgrade.
It has come with many software publishers, and conventional wisdom, that the bug-fixes and security patches are expected, that these problems are a flaw in the original program that the complex "licensing" of the software implies. In a conventional turnover, of, say, five years, by the cycle end the version would have become unpopular enough that exploits would have dwindled due to lack of critical mass.
I mean, how many new DOS or Amiga viruses have you heard of?
Drop Internet Explorer, drop Direct-X, or fail to provide version updates for older systems, and you are facing big difficulties from your users and developers. They may not support your newest version, they want to ensure the humble Windows 98 user can play their game. They want the biggest market possible. Maybe they'll use OpenGL or Firefox.
I can't solve their problem, but maybe I am seeing it better from the outside.
Pop open windows update for a moment. It doesn't just have security and bug-fixes listed, nor does it contain itself to "Extras" like language packs and small maintenance utilities. It contains complete new versions of major software.
There are new versions of Media Player, Direct-X, Service Packs (Major point-releases for everyone else-with new features), Internet Explorer, Outlook, a new spyware program (this may be a "security" item, though), and much more.
Of course, if MS charged for some of these things, no one would buy upgrades. And herein lies the problem -- the desire to push customers along, support developers with advanced technology, and convince people their to swallow their buzzwords against the cost of loosing significant reason to upgrade.
It has come with many software publishers, and conventional wisdom, that the bug-fixes and security patches are expected, that these problems are a flaw in the original program that the complex "licensing" of the software implies. In a conventional turnover, of, say, five years, by the cycle end the version would have become unpopular enough that exploits would have dwindled due to lack of critical mass.
I mean, how many new DOS or Amiga viruses have you heard of?
Drop Internet Explorer, drop Direct-X, or fail to provide version updates for older systems, and you are facing big difficulties from your users and developers. They may not support your newest version, they want to ensure the humble Windows 98 user can play their game. They want the biggest market possible. Maybe they'll use OpenGL or Firefox.
I can't solve their problem, but maybe I am seeing it better from the outside.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Random Books
I was down at Ollie's Bargin Outlet (which sounds like a sore out of a bad cartoon) and picked up three books on a whim from the "Inspriational" section.
1) Prophecies of the Bible: God's Word for the Biblically-Inept. (2.99) - an Idiot's Guide-type of book for fundys.
2) Charting the End Times: A Visual Guide to Understanding Bible Prophecy. (6.99) - A beautifully illustrated overview of the whole thing. Not long, but nice, hard-bound, and fun.
3) The End-Times Survival Handbook. (99¢) - A campy little red book just like those disaster books that were out a few years ago. Pretty dense for a cheap book, but not very readable. Worth a buck, though.
Anyway, unless you're a masachoist, (and I think many fundys are) it's not a very "inspirational" thing.
It will be a few hours of amusement browsing these things. They are just about the most fanciful and campy part of folklore in modern Christianity, but they make good stories. Without them, there wouldn't be a second Ghostbusters movie.
1) Prophecies of the Bible: God's Word for the Biblically-Inept. (2.99) - an Idiot's Guide-type of book for fundys.
2) Charting the End Times: A Visual Guide to Understanding Bible Prophecy. (6.99) - A beautifully illustrated overview of the whole thing. Not long, but nice, hard-bound, and fun.
3) The End-Times Survival Handbook. (99¢) - A campy little red book just like those disaster books that were out a few years ago. Pretty dense for a cheap book, but not very readable. Worth a buck, though.
Anyway, unless you're a masachoist, (and I think many fundys are) it's not a very "inspirational" thing.
It will be a few hours of amusement browsing these things. They are just about the most fanciful and campy part of folklore in modern Christianity, but they make good stories. Without them, there wouldn't be a second Ghostbusters movie.
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Really…
You just can't make this stuff up.
From The Morning Call -- November 8, 2004
Jesus speaks through the Republicans
I hope the election of George W. Bush is seen as a wake-up call to all the liberal Democrats who oppose God's will.
It is His doing that George W. Bush is still our president. Millions of born-again Christians helped win this election through our prayers and votes. Jesus speaks through the Republicans.
The Democrats will not be able to win elections until they renounce their sinful ways and stop encouraging abortions, gayness, and trying to take away our guns.
Earl Balboa
Washington Township
I don't know weather to laugh or cry.
From The Morning Call -- November 8, 2004
Jesus speaks through the Republicans
I hope the election of George W. Bush is seen as a wake-up call to all the liberal Democrats who oppose God's will.
It is His doing that George W. Bush is still our president. Millions of born-again Christians helped win this election through our prayers and votes. Jesus speaks through the Republicans.
The Democrats will not be able to win elections until they renounce their sinful ways and stop encouraging abortions, gayness, and trying to take away our guns.
Earl Balboa
Washington Township
I don't know weather to laugh or cry.
