Khan!

This gets old quick. But the look on his face is enough to make it worth a visit.

Link via Infinite Monkeys.

Georgia Education

Ever wonder why we always come in last or nearly last by most measures? This is probably one good reason. I wonder if the Union will defend this guy.

From Boortz

Under INTEMPERATE AND RANDOM THOUGHTS

Train collision and explosion in North Korea. Yesterday we hear that 3000 were killed. Today we hear the number was closer to 200. Later today Hillary Clinton will tell us that 2800 were brought back from the dead by North Korea's superior government-run health care system.

Just signed up for gmail

And some weirdo is trying to block it.

What the F***!
After signing up for this service, and viewing and saving(though I didn't change anything) my information for blogger, I get the "Mozilla" view of the blogger tools instead of the Internet Explorer version. I've been getting the latter view up until I did this stuff.

UPDATE: OK, I fixed it. When I viewed my settings, the only way to get out of the page was to "save." When I saved it, the "use classic" setting was unchecked. Giving me the crap - it will work on any browser - view.

Better

I got my rebate for the Hard Drive. The funny thing was is that they were messing with me asking for the original UPC code, and they said that I had to send it in to get it. So I search on the box and their is nothing with "UPC" on it, but I compared the number on the bar code to the one on the receipt (which said "UPC") and they matched. I cut out the Bar code, but before I sent it in I decided to email Seagate to check that I had got the right code. Well, they sent back a cryptic email that basically said, "you're getting your check." I thought, sure, and sent in the UPC code and hoped. And I can't believe it, it actually showed up. The thing that's fascinating is that there is no way the UPC could have been processed yet, so I figure that they really cut the check just because I sent the email in.

I have already spent the money. I decided to bite the bullet and get a Sonic upgrade that would handle compressed audio. I downloaded sonic mydvd 5.2 deluxe upgrade ($55.00). And it works! I just put my 4 gig Al file on a DVD+RW, and it had space to spare! That doesn't change the fact that at 4 gig file is kinda crappy, but I'm working on a new file that I hope will be a bit better (I reduced the resolution, but upped the bitrate).

Finally, I see that I am being given an offer to get gmail if I want it. I got a little advertisement when I signed into blogger. I will check it out tomorrow.

What Do You Think?

quote:

"Every location should have an amusement-park-style plywood Grimace that says, 'You cannot enter this McDonald's if you're more than this wide.'"

Weird Al's parents.

Here's his statement about it. I have to say that since this has happened it's hard to listen to his music. It's similar to when Bill Cosby's son was murdered. I have had a hard time listening to the albums involving the son without thinking about how sad it was. Anyway, I think the statement is pretty well thought out. And who new Al had a kid?

Does anyone get this?

Besides me? Does the fact that I do certify me as a geek?

UPDATE: Now that I've got my replies, I guess I'll explain this. OH- Ions are created when you make a solution with a substance which is a "base". NaOH is a "base" compound. "Bases" are the opposites of "Acids" which create H+ Ions, an example of which is HCL(Hydro-Chloric Acid). So, by pouring OH- ions he's making it a "base"-ball. I didn't say it was funny, I said that I got it.

A final note: When you mix a solution of NaOH and HCL together you get........salty water. The H+ ions mix with the OH- ions to make H20 (di-hydrogen monoxide as mike put it) and the Na+ and CL- bond to make NaCL, or table salt.

I've read plenty about this...

...but I thought that since it was in a major news outlet I would finally post. To summarize, the U.N. Oil-for-food program that was set up to allow Saddam to acquire cash to "feed his people" was instead, allegedly, used to funnel billions directly to Saddam. It was also a means for Saddam to bribe members of the UN as well as some countries. The two most prominent were France and Russia, who incidentally were the two nations most responsible for blocking any decisive action by the U.N. during the lead up to the war. Whether one had anything to do with another is of course impossible to know, but it is suggestive.

I had to do this.

Made these at George Says. Link via Scott.

A skating dog

here.

A little programming.

I've just written this little bit of perl code. Can anyone guess what it does?

use Win32::OLE;

$network = Win32::OLE->CreateObject("WScript.Network");

if(-d "//lrvlgatransfs/Translations")
{
  $network->SetDefaultPrinter("10.10.16.45:OTTA");
}
else
{
  if (-d "//Steve-Ginstar/Music")
  {
    $network->SetDefaultPrinter("LTP1:");
  }
  else
  {
    $msg=`net sub \\Steve-Ginstar /user:administrator`;
    $network->SetDefaultPrinter("LTP1:");
  }
}

Your Horoscope

For the Libras:

Next to its sheer beauty, the best thing about your throne of skulls is that every little skull represents a different memory.

For the Scorpios:

You'll be horrified to realize how low the entertainment industry has sunk when you see exactly what that wacky, perverted Rick Moranis has shrunk this time.

This is interesting

Long, but interesting. It's an article on the size of Muslim communities in France, and whether they will grow to become a Majority, or a significant minority. The author says probably not.

Bob Dylan sellin' panties

Really. I wasn't sure this was him when I saw the commercial. Turns out it was.

Short People

Americans are shorter than Europeans apparently. The article links to some that play on the whole "Europe vs. The U.S." meme. You know, welfare state vs. rampant capitalism, etc. etc. For some reason after reading this, I've got Randy Newman's "The Big One" and "Short People" playing through my head at the same time.

I Knew It!!!!!

Guinness IS good for you!

via Instapundit

Walmart

Rich Lowry offers a defense of Walmart. I'll admit that I love shopping there. It's cheap. I do have qualms about the way the get some of their stores built. There have been some abuses of eminent domain by local governments in conjunction with Walmart. The article doesn't mention whether or not Walmart owns the land in question, which would affect how I feel about this.

Microsoft Topics

Here's an article by George L. Priest at TechCentralStation. While I don't think much of the EU's decision on Microsoft(The EU recently fined them somewhere around half-a-billion dollars/Euros? and ordered them to create a version of Windows without Media player), I think that George doesn't understand programming. I don't see how removing the Media Player application will "cripple" windows. Here is the author's key quote:

Windows Media Player -- like any of a dozen other Windows features -- is not a discrete piece of software that can be attached or removed like the bumper of a car. It is thousands of lines of instruction woven through Windows that serve multiple functions. Removing Windows Media Player -- in contrast to just hiding it from users' eyes -- would thus make some software run poorly on Windows, and even render some software useless.

The "thousands of lines" would not be located in window's media player, but would be part of DLL's that Microsoft has built into the OS. Just because Media player uses these libraries, doesn't mean that they are "part" of the program. Just as the libraries that help draw the windows, display the fonts, and select the colors aren't part of media player, but they are used by media player's main program to run the application. In other words, the part of Media Player that would have to be removed is a "discrete piece of software."

In other news, here's an article on how Microsoft is having to work harder to get companies to upgrade to XP. My own company seems to be getting ready to upgrade, but I'm still on 2000 Pro.

Finally, I have a PC question for anyone reading this(Scott). Is it possible to access a printer shared on a home PC in peer-to-peer workgroup from a machine(my work laptop) that is set up to connect to a company domain. When I was on windows 98, I could change the domain and my network setting(from login to domain to peer-to-peer) and use my home printer and share files etc. Now, I have to us an FTP server on my home machine and a client on the laptop to move files. And if I wan't to print at home I have to move the file via ftp, then print from the home machine. Any help here would be appreciated.

Mikey's got a homepage

here.

Funny

Click here. You need to listen with headphones at work, or turn the sound down low. Some foul language.

Back From Vacation

I've just returned from Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. It's nice, and not too crowded. This was especially true since it was a bit too cold to go to the beach. The high temp never got above 67 degrees while we were there. This kept most everybody from going out. Undaunted, my son went out every day. Mostly he spent this time chasing seagulls, kicking down sand castles(mine), and generally enjoying himself.

Programming
I've managed to get on a roll lately. I finished the suspend tool last week, and got a good deal of the disconnect tool done as well. So, starting today, I'm off of the project and instead will start working on the database again. The problem with this is that the info I need to process come from a coworker, who is currently out of the office. So I've got bugger all to do until he emails me the info.

Whine Alert!
Today, I was reminded why I dislike the government. I need to get a passport made for a cruise the wife and I are taking(we do go on a lot of vacations). So, I decided to come in late for work and go to the Post office. Only when I was there did I find out that they do not start making passports until 9:00 A.M. Now, I am fairly sure that when we called them to ask about making the passports, they said to come in at 8:00. The Post office opens at 8:00, but apparently for some great and mighty governmental reason they cannot start making the passports until 9:00. So, I came into work late fer nuttin', and now I have to leave late as well. I would write them a letter, but I can't spell plplplplpl!

Big Ideas: Part One
One of the problems with increasing fuel economy in cars is that, beyond a certain point, it comes with a significant decrease in weight. The lighter the car is, the more dangerous it becomes if you have a collision with a heavier vehicle. It is this reason I think, along with a need for space, that SUV's are so hot. Many people, I feel, have a reasonable fear of getting in a collision in a small car. However, there are several reasons(increased fuel prices, environmental concerns, etc.) for society at large to encourage creation of high mileage(or alternative fuel) vehicles. The problem is that individually none of us wants to start putting his family in a Geo Metro for the good of all.

Now the solution I've come up with has several caveats. Firstly, it assumes you give a poop about this issue. Second, it also assumes that you believe that the aforementioned environmental concerns are a real problem. Lastly, it assumes that you can make light-weight vehicles that are still capable of carrying a significant amount of cargo and passengers. If you can't buy into these, and I'm not even sure I do, then read on.

Part one is easy: Mandate vehicle weight. All cars/trucks/whatever must be within a specific weight range designed to optimize fuel economy and passenger safety issues. Simple enough(for those of us who do not have to design the cars), but with at least one problem. Freight transport. We could probably adjust to riding around in light vehicles, since the majority of the time the only thing we need to move is ourselves, but I don't think we can slim down tractor-trailer trucks to a point where they wouldn't be extremely dangerous to the rest of us.

Which leads us to the really big idea: Separate shipping traffic and commuter traffic by time. All Shipping traffic would have to occur from say 11:00 P.M. to 7:00 A.M., and commuter traffic would be free to run the rest of the day. I think this would solve most of the fuel efficiency issue, as well as reduce smog, traffic , etc. It must be emphasized though that this means that garbage trucks, construction equipment(this equipment could still operate during the day onsite, but couldn't move until night), and everything else that requires huge amounts of power to move would have to operate during the 11-7 window. Also, school buses would have to carry a much smaller load, or perhaps disappear altogether, for this idea to work.

Politically, of course, this is in the "Never in a million years" category. I guess I just want to know what you think of the functionality of the idea. Assuming you could convince enough people to do this, is this a good idea?