John McCain on John McCain

My, oh my, oh my. Yes, now this YouTube video is another great one. A few days ago, I published Olbermann's amazing rant on Bush. (Also included below in this post).Well, if you don't believe McCain is just more Bush in a different wrapper, allow me to present the ultimate expert on the subject: John McCain in John McCain's own words. Yeah. That's what I'm talking about.


This is the McCain video.

Here's the Bush video if you don't want to look for the previous post.

In other news, I spent today car shopping and will do more tomorrow. Car salespeople are mostly scummy. I walked out of one dealer (Lexus) because the guy obviously thought I was an idiot -- too bad because I liked the car. I was unimpressed with Toyota and Infiniti. Loved the Rover but it gets 2mpg LESS than I get now but I loved it. Oh, and the price. I looked the new MDX (what I drive now) and was just unimpressed with the new one. I like my current one better. My lease is up soon so I don't know what's next. Tomorrow BWM and Honda.

Dell Still Swallows

Not much to report. My hard drive has arrived at CBL for repair. UPS didn't lose or misdirect it this time around. Yay :)

I'm still sick and now I've got a cough. Dad picked up my prescription at the doctor instead of having it faxed like I asked. So now I've got to get a new one since I won't see Dad for 3 days and I need it now. He's such an idiot sometimes.

As you know I've got some very positive comments about my posts about how Dell Sucks And Blows. In the news a few days ago, the State of New York found Dell guilty of FRAUD -- as if we didn't know. But that isn't the best part. I've been contacted (again) by an attorney who is willing to help YOU but only personal cases to person residing in the USA. "Anyone interested in joining a class action against Dell for their deceptive warranty practices should contact attorney R. Rothschild at rrothsch@gte.net." I encourage all of you who were wronged by Dell to contact Mr. Randy Rothschild directly. I've spoken to him before and I assure you he is legitimate. I cannot reveal more here. (And Dell never did answer my letter proving they suck donkey balls.)

Welcome to a New Sponsor and Stuff

First, a warm welcome to my new sponsor www.guidetoonlineschools.com which is sponsoring some technology related posts in my blog. They picked this post first and may add other posts if they feel they're doing well. As always, fees paid are not disclosed. I'm not getting rich, but that isn't what this blog is about. I've also made a formal "sponsor" policy for my websites. I figured it was better to have it all written out. You can see that here. I also turned down an advertising opportunity that was very well paid because the ads detracted from the look and feel of my site. Although at the bottom of the page, they were just ugly and intrusive.

In other news, I am still sick with a cold. Nothing fatal or even interesting but it's very irritating I can tell you that. I had chicken soup, bread, and cheese for dinner. I followed that with some grapes and some leftover beef jerky.

My lost hard drive was mysteriously returned to me at work yesterday with no note and the original address still on it. UPS still shows the original package as "delivery exception" for no apparent reason. Meanwhile, I notified UPS of their error and I've repacked it and reshipped it. It should be at the repair depot tomorrow if nothing else goes amiss. This is a bad luck drive.

Tonight is the season finale of Lost. I am excited.

And a political commentary is last, but not least. Damn, I've seen Keith Olbermann go off on Bush and his cronies before, but he just tore Bush a new one. This video is awesome. By the end, he's getting close to a true Howard Beal moment (from the movie Network --- you know the I'm mad as Hell guy) The very end is classic actually.

Anyway, it's priceless. He goes off on Bush and the crescendo just grows as Olbermann does a slow burn, bringing up a few facts which most people don't seem to realize. And more importantly you really do realize Bush thinks it's his war and that golf really does matter to him more than a human life. Listen to it all. Then make sure you get a non-voter or a republican to vote for a democratic candidate. If you love this country, vote against Bush. Save us all. Save your country and don't vote for four more years of the same. Enough is enough. Stand up and tell everyone.

Here's the video embedded if you prefer.

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Long day. Dad called early and woke me up asking if I could find him an earlier flight home. I gave this off to Karen. No dice for Dad. Last minute flights on Memorial Day are just a fantasy.

Yes, I saw Indiana Jones And The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull today with The Higgi Clan, Mr & Mrs Johnny B, Timmy, Karen, and Adrian. If you're looking for nostalgia, you've got it. If you're looking for fun, you've got it. If you're looking for action and adventure: you've got it in spades. If you're looking for the vicarious thrill of seeing Indy again after all these years, you've hit the jackpot. It's all good except for, surprisingly, Cate Blanchett who uses an accent that made me wonder where Boris, Rocky, and Bulwinkle were. There's a nice little Area 51 bit, a tip of the hat to the coming Nuclear age. There's a ton crammed into this movie. And it's all good. Oh and be prepared for the really stupid ending. Really Stupid. Apparently Mr. Spielberg decided to splice in a bit of Close Encounters. Ugh. Still 4 out 5 stars for sure. Highly recommended. And the music remains as catchy as ever. Running time about 2h 17mins.

Useless trivia from EW magazine: the forest is all CGI. None of it's real. Really. How cool is that. But the film was very cgi-lite until the end and that was good. I was afraid I'd hate Shia LaBeouf, but he was good in the role.

This was followed by lunch with all of the above (except Karen) and adding the Berner Clan and Erin for a total of 13 for lunch at Cracker Barrel. Lunch was good. Okay, it was average but we had fun and that WAS good. Afterwards some of us went off to Pines Ice Arena to watch Shane's first experience on-ice wearing full gear. Cute kid. He and Erin were having a blast.

Afterwards, I came home, dropped kitty litter (80 pounds) and food (20 pounds) off at work, then came home and had an explosive reaction to lunch. So much for that. I think I'm in for tonight and certainly done eating.

I've mentioned to many of you (and in my website) one of my favourite performers of all-time: John Charles. Well his agent has a flash video with a few clips of his. By no means complete and doesn't even show him at his best. But take a peek at this two minute clip.

I have often commented on the worst food in London (the infamous Aberdeen Steakhouse chain) and now there's an article on it from the stalwart London Times. Maury sent me this URL -- she's in London right now visiting friends.

Iron Man (The Film)

I saw it today. I wasn't looking forward to it based on the original previews but everyone said it was awesome. I finally saw it today with Adrian after our traditional breakfast at La Carreta* and ice skating.

So it was entertaining, a summer pot-boiler if you will. I was also excited to see the previews for the film version of Mamma-Mia. One rather large continuity gaffe in which they say "with 5 agents" and there are clearly six in several shots. I took that out of context to keep it spoiler free.

The acting in the film is just not all that great but the film is enjoyable in spite of it. Downey is decent, Paltrow is great but everyone else seems like they're just there for the check with over-acting and hamminess. I suppose it's inevitable given the script but it bugged me. I didn't even recognize Jeff Bridges at fist -- I kept thinking he was a business associate of mine named Dave. Terrance Howard is wasted in this film.

It's a solid plot, and they don't shove the fact there's another film coming down your throat. A nice saving grace. I enjoyed it. I recommend it, but I'm far more excited about tomorrow's trip to see the new Indy film.

There's some good music scattered throughout the film, though Black Sabbath's legendary Iron Man is saved for the closing credits. And stay, if you'd like, for the after credit 60 second teaser for the Nick Fury film.

I am still having trouble sleeping because of my busted Hard Drive which UPS has now lost in transit. Really. More on that early next week. Oh, and mom sent me a great picture of the Rip-Off press building in San Francisco from back in the day.



* No website for the chain but one specific location has a site, just not the one we go to. Great dinners. So-so breakfast. Always good.

Why Apple Rocks (Thanks Paul)

Apple Rocks. I always say that in my other blog posts. So you know I am basically a happy Apple camper. However today is a fine example of why Apple Rocks More.

As you may remember I had an issue with my new monitor wherein I plugged it into my firewire port and everything stopped working.

I shan't bore you with the details but will sum up the saga quickly. I spoke to a gentleman by the name of Paul. Paul has the COOLEST e-mail address ever. I'd love to tell you what it is so you could all be insanely jealous of it like I am. But I can't as it wouldn't be right. Anyway, he's in the escalation area of AppleCare. He helped me as best as he could, and ultimately had me file a case with engineering. They replaced my monitor for free through my original vendor. That was a bit of hassle because there were communications issues between Apple and my vendor and things got a bit botched up. I ended up being out about $38 in shipping. The world will not stop because of this. I had forgot about Paul figuring it was done.

A few weeks ago he called and said he'd arranged for the swap of my monitor also. I told him that it was all done through engineering. Who, in their wisdom, hadn't let Paul know. He asked if I was happy and I sort of let it drop that I was except for the small freight charges. He offered to make good on it but I demurred, but he insisted on sending my software or something. I told him if he felt that strongly he could send me a cool Apple t-shirt. (Apple is famous for t-shirts -- link to great book I own about about it). He asked my favourite colour and I gave him a few choices and he said he'd send something right out.

It sort of slipped my mind as I've been really busy and stressed about various things lately. I got a box at work today from "AI" (Apple Inc.) and it was small and light and I said "Oh, cool, he really did send me the shirt!" And I excitedly opened it. No t-shirt, boys and girls.

Inside: One Apple iPod shuffle 3rd generation (MB227LL/A) Blue 1 GB Digital MP3 player-- read the product specs. Yeah. Take that Dell. This is why you will always suck as I said in a previous post. Dell doesn't care about their customers (they still suck) and Apple does care (and doesn't suck). Point, set, and match to Apple.

THANK YOU, PAUL! You rock. Apple rocks. (Moof!)

Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspain (also My Hard Drive)

I saw the new Narnia flick today with Timmy. I rather enjoyed it, perhaps more than the first one because it was a little less preachy. I understand that by nature a Narnia film shall be preachy because that's pretty much what the whole thing's about.

START SPOILERS Most everything I wrote in the first review still stands. Same acting skills, same irritants, and so forth. The actor who played Prince Caspian was obviously chosen for his looks because he can't act very well and the accent was out of place from the rest of the film. Speaking of that, I had more trouble understand the speaking of the Telmarine adults than I should. I'm not sure if it was a bad copy of the film or bad sound editing. But since I was able to understand the kids and critters I am leaning towards the second choice. Speaking of the critters, there were lots more than the first one and some of them were a marvel to behold. Oh, and Willow (Warwick Davis) is in the film.

I was most irritated by the way the Telmarine councilmen seemed to dislike Miraz, yet did nothing about him. Not even to stop him from assuming the crown. Even when they treacherously finish him off, they still want the way. No better than Miraz, only much worse actors, the lot. END SPOILERS

Caspian is the second of the seven Narnia books and the last with all four children. This is acknowledged at the end in the set-up for the sequel. I'm guessing by the crowd in my theatre one may not be forthcoming. Still, an enjoyable film if you don't think about the book too much.

I have a 1 TB MyBook II Essential (which has the 2 500MB inside configured as on big 1TB HD). You probably remember my posts about it. Well, it died last night. Erin was visiting and we were on my computer when the drive went to sleep and unmounted itself. I figure that was okay since it was just sitting there unused for many hours. It never awoke.

Western Digital (Indian) tech support and myself diagnosed the drive fully and agreed on the diagnosis. It doesn't mount on a Mac using Firewire 400, Firewire 800, or USB ports. It also isn't recognized by a PC. If you plug it into a PC, Windows should at least know a device is there and it doesn't. In short, the drive was totally invisible to the computers and they didn't see it. On the drive is all those photos I had scanned, the complete video taped home-movie collection that I transferred, my complete MP3 collection, and various other data. None of which is backed up for lack of any way to do so.

The drive is good. If you take the outer shell off, you can hear the drives power up and hum along happily. Sadly, I am unable to fully disassemble the case. I am confident, as is Western Digital, that the drive is fine and the bridge from the inside to the outside world is toasted.

What really needs to happen is the drives need to get into another case at which point they'll mount and the data can be easily accessed. The drive is formatted under OS-X journalled. The drives themselves are configured as a RAID device. Ugh. I am unhappy.

A Plethora of Palabras

Wow. This will be a busy post. I have a lot to say.

First, this YouTube Video has me highly stressed. I've got a very low opinions of all politicians, but is this little clip (verified, thanks) a racist rant from Hillary Clinton? It's her but is what she saying racist? Interesting thing to wonder about. I have to wonder why you'd repeatedly point out why you're white thus drawing attention to the fact your opponent is black. I hereby officially throw my hat in the Obama ring -- my first public statement of support for any candidate (none of whom I am overly thrilled with). This hat contingent upon whatever fool he picks as VP.

Second, the evil empire, AKA Microsoft, has come public about COFEE. Yeah, the same company that sells many of you guys your operating system software and recommends and installs all sorts of security updates has given an all-access pass to your local law-enforcement agency. No joke. This is just absurd. And if there's such a simple back-door to get around your operating system protections, how long for the terrorists to figure it out? The USB thumb drive contains 150 Microsoft programmed special commands to allow the user to decrypt passwords, recover all of the computer's data stores, and read a complete log of the computer's Internet activities. It works on-site with any Windows-loaded computer, including PDAs. That means not only your desktop but your mobile device too. I'm glad I'm not using their programs -- the question is why are you?

3. Jesus Made Me Puke is the title of a Rolling Stone article. David Higgins gets credit on this. While I subscribe to Rolling Stone, I hadn't yet read this issue. Why should you read it? You want to know what evangelicals do behind closed doors? Actually, you probably don't want to know. But you should. You might just lose a little sleep at night after reading this.

4. Tina Turner is coming out of retirement. She'll be here November 2nd and I'm excited. I've put in for the ticket lottery and hope to score some. The tickets go on sale Monday. Oh PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. I wish the International Tina Turner Fan Club was still around and giving us the good seats. Damn. I love Tina. See my review of her final Florida concert here.

5. Cal Rugby once again dominates the Rugby universe.The California Golden Bears blasted out to a 40-0 half-time lead and never looked back against Brigham Young University, taking the 2008 national collegiate championship, 59-7, this past Saturday at Stanford’s Steuber Rugby Stadium. It was the fifth straight title for the Bears and 24th in the history of the Cal rugby program making them the most dominating team in any Division One college sport.

6. I've got Neil Diamond tickets for 10-26-08, which I am also excited about. Nobody cares but me, but, yes, I love Neil Diamond and am greatly looking forward to his concert. I am going with the Mann family.

7. Last, but not least, a brief review of a quirky book called "The Somnambulist" by Jonathan Barnes. This books is unusual. Very much so. I rather enjoyed it. It's set in London -- the Victorian one. It's got humour of the driest sort, often black at that. It's got adventure. If the title frightens you, this book isn't for you. It's got lots of big $50 words, all used properly and without any effort by the author. It's quite the entertaining piece, and if you're in need of something different, this book is for you. I mostly recommend this to readers who would enjoy light fantasy and light science-fiction. Others will not appreciate its charms.

8. Don't forget to read Little Brother. I'm serious. Read this book.

Vegas Trip Summary

As you know it was a trade show that brought me to Las Vegas on Saturday morning for a stay until Wednesday. The weekend was Greg and Gaby's 15th anniversary, and perversely, they invited me and Austri to spend it with them.

We met up with them around 5pm Saturday for an early dinner at Daniel Boulud's Brasserie at the Wynn. I'll take credit for the pick -- mostly because the menu looked good. Gaby and Greg were sceptical of the place because she isn't a fan of anything French. I had reasonable expectations as did Austri. To sum it up, this was one of the best meals we've ever had. We all agree. In fact, it may be the second best meal I've ever eaten. The food portions were reasonable -- not that art over edibility crap -- and the flavours were distinct yet excitingly blended. The food was succulent, tender, moist, firm, and every other texture all at once. We all shared each others' food (me skipping Gaby's mussels as I don't do shellfish) and they were all excellent beyond measure. The deserts were just as good. Although overpriced like most Las Vegas restaurants, we still came in at just under $100 per person with alcohol included. I cannot recommend this restaurant enough. On a scale of 1 to 10, it's at least a 15 and possibly a 20. Go eat here. Really.

Next up was the Wayne Brady show at the Venetian. It was funny. Good but not great. As an "improv" variety show parts were good and parts weren't. But when something fell flat, he didn't let it go. I wouldn't go back, but I didn't hate it.

Sunday was walk-around day, leaving Greg and Gaby to their devices. Austri went home today because she had work early Monday morning, so it was just the three of us for the 7pm Jersey Boys at the Palazzo. Gaby really wanted to see this but neither Greg nor I did. It's the story, in case you don't know, of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Gaby enjoyed herself. Greg and I were pleasantly surprised. This was a GREAT play. And unlike most plays in Vegas it wasn't a shortened, dumbed-down version of the Broadway play: this was the whole enchilada. The music, was of course, fantastic. But the play, which Greg and I thought would be dull and un-interesting sprang to life. It was a fantastic show and I'd even see it again.

After that Gaby booked us at Table 10 the new Emeril Lagasse restaurant at the Palazzo. We went in with extraordinarily high hopes -- after all his Delmonico's at the Venetian remains the finest meal I have ever eaten in my life. What a let-down. The service was the best part of the meal. The food was okay, but not spectacular. The ambiance was all right, but the food lacked the certain je ne sais quois that makes a great restaurant a legend. Almost as pricey as Boulud's but not even half as good.

A word about the Palazzo while I'm on it. I've stayed at the Venetian twice before both as a paying customer and invited guest. Great hotel. The Palazzo is the sister property in the back and they're connected. It was designed to be a second Venetian -- same standards. The hotel is new, only a few months old.

Upon check in, I noticed the room was warm. I called maintenance who eventually came and fixed the AC which was broken. He was unable to fix the burnt out bulbs as he didn't have any with him and promised he'd send someone up -- indeed he called down while we were there. For two days nobody came to fix that burnt out bulb (my reading light over the bed, dammit). The clock was wrong when we checked in (about 5-1/4 hours off). Sounds simple enough. I was unable to figure it out. The alarm was easy enough, but not the time. I called down to ask how to fix it. They said you need a screwdriver to take it apart to set the time! Really! So they had to send someone to fix it. Nobody showed up, so the aforementioned AC repair guy fixed it for us after he called for instructions because he couldn't figure it out. That earned him a nice tip :) Walking over to the blinds to look out at the view, I noticed a few moths flying around inside the sheer Roman curtain. Looking down, there were dead ones. Not that I care, but I was there from Saturday until Monday. They were never cleaned up. Further, and again, I don't care but the buttons on the couch in the room were coming off. I picked one off the floor and left it on the table. Another was missing. For that amount of money, these problems are inexcusable especially in a new hotel. Oh, and video check-out doesn't let you type in your fax and/or e-mail to get a copy of your receipt. You have to stand in line at the counter to get one defeating the purpose of video checkout. Never again.

Ah well. Monday was a boring day and I didn't do much. Switched over to Planet Hollywood (formerly the Aladdin) which I am sad to report has a great casino but the rooms now suck. I won't be back. Half the room was broken. That evening I had dinner with a friend from LA who flew up. Arrived at 4, we ate at Kokomo's at around 6, and he left at 8. Turns out Greg's evening plans were cancelled so I sat with him while he ate some stuff and then we gambled.

Tuesday was the show. The show was a big waste. I was surprised as the show's usually good. So much for that and I'll skip boring you with the details. That evening we saw Louie Anderson at the Excalibur. Very funny but for $60 you think he'd go longer than 70+ minutes. We gambled more. I got up at 345am and flew home, arriving at 130pm followed by my luggage at 230pm. Then, trooper that I am, I went to work.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Book Review)

This part is spoiler free. I was with Adrian at Barnes & Nobles a few weeks ago while helooked for a copy of the new Vladimir Tod novel. when I saw a book sitting there. I wasn't going to pick it up because it just didn't seem interesting. But, on the cover was a very large blurb by Neil Gaiman. Now, if he says he'd recommend it over anything else he's read this year (which he did), then I am obligated to look at it. I needed a "plane book" so I bought it for my trip to the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas (see next blog post for that write-up).

The book in question is "Little Brother" by Cory Doctorow. I read it, and I recommend this book to anyone with the mind to grasp it. It's a very interesting book set in approximately present-day San Francisco. The story revolves around W1n5t0n a cyber-hacker who happens to be a teenager in a local high-school. It's tech-heavy; so although you probably don't need to understand too much to enjoy the book, it certainly would help. It doesn't drift far-off reality and it's not really even science-fiction except for the detail that it isn't a true story. It's frighteningly close to reality and there's not much separating it from truth. It's hard to pinpoint it to a specific genre -- though the Tor imprint pretty much implies sci-fi.

Before I get to the review with spoilers, I must say this book is FANTASTIC. And it's IMPORTANT. You need to read this book. Seriously. It blurs the line between fiction and reality so strongly, you'll begin to wonder. Forget the conspiracy nuts, this book will actually make you wonder how nuts those theorists really are.

Mr. Doctorow is a former director of the EFF, so his facts are tight. Apart from an unhealthy love of the evil X-box, he's blown me away with Little Brother. And if the recommendation by Neil Gaiman isn't enough, how about Mitch Kapor, Ray Ozzie, or Tim O'Reilly? This book is amazing. And the even the giants of technology agree -- the list of kudos is impressive.

The book is a quick read, tightly packed, well edited (I only found two typos), and fascinatingly entrapping. A good mental exercise and a release at the same time. Buy it. Read it. Then tell your friends. This book should go viral.

This italicized part is NOT spoiler free. Specifically, Marcus (W1n5t0n) lives his life as a cyber-geek and cyber-genius. Unrelated to that, a terrorist attack hits San Francisco. This is the story of Marcus and his girlfriend in their quest to reclaim San Francisco when the Department of Homeland Security takes over. They turn San Francisco into a mini-Gitmo and while they never impose marital law, rights are slowly taken away just like is happening in real life. Alone that would make the book possibly interesting. But that's not all.

The book explains, in detail, why all those little RFID devices everyone carries aren't such a good idea. RFID? They're in your SunPass (toll booth transponder), Passport, and so forth. They couple that with data in the traffic camera, and data mined from government records. All of a sudden they know more about you than you care to think. Might sound like science fiction but it isn't. This part is all current, working, installed technology.

W1n5t0n goes into hiding and his ultimate goal is to survive his imprisonment, torture (yes), and take back what is slowly being taken away. He could be a hero if he can only succeed. Nothing I write here will do this book justice. You need to read this book. If you think you're living in a free America, you probably should read this work of fiction. Because although it's fiction, that story is delivering a message. Freedom is not free. What would you pay for yours?

Please buy this book. I really can't reiterate this enough: buy this book. BUY IT NOW.

As for my friends: you're all getting this for Christmas if you don't write me and tell me you've read it before then. You don't want to wait. Trust me. You're going to have thoughts after you read this book. Be afraid. Very afraid.