Burning Dinner

Let's start with an admission. I can't cook many things, but a few things I can cook and cook them well: Steak, Burgers, Chicken and Rice, and Spaghetti with various sauces (marinara, garlic and butter). So it pains me to say I bought over the weekend a $16 one pound filet mignon. I've cooked a lot of steaks in my time, some in the broiler, some in the pan, and some on a grill. Anyway, I heated the pan, threw the steak in, and ran up stairs to boot my computer, and ditch my work clothes. And then I got distracted and suddenly, *sniff* *sniff*, what's that smell? What's burning? OH! SHIT! It's dinner. So, I had blackened steak for dinner. It wasn't very good. I'm an idiot and figured I'd man-up and share that so you could laugh at me.

A special shout out to WJM who right now needs one more than anyone I know. Hang in there, guy.

I'm working on updating my will and am not pleased with the progress of collecting contact information. I suppose I will have to get more motivated. Blech.

Work was boring today though I spent some quality time with Xmarks.  Xmarks is a plug-in for Firefox, Safari, and even the lowly Internet Explorer. I didn't mention it in yesterday's post because I was skeptical of the performance and usefulness of it. Right. I first installed it on my Mac Pro (home) and PC Desktop (work). I set it up on my Mac and ran it, and it was intriguing. I did some tinkering with settings and such, and finally gave up on it for the night. The next morning (that's today) I was a bit bored at work and decided to slack off. I installed it at work, clicked 'synchronise' and let it do its work. A word to the wise, take all your bookmarks on the second machine and move them to a sub-folder called "machine two" because my sole complaint is that it put stuff all over and it took me forever to find it all and re-organize it. But damn, it worked well. I made some changes, came home and my machine at home was updated. (On Firefox you can synch passwords too but if you do, you make DAMN sure you set Firefox's master password on all machines.) I then installed it on the work laptop MacBook Pro (my user account) and it worked great. You have the option of storing the synch data on your server instead of theirs, which I fully intend to do this weekend.

When you're done, on one machine, go through all your bookmarks using CheckPlaces 1.6.3 which I mentioned yesterday, and you'll find more duplicates and errors than you thought you had. Together, these two utilities are awesome. CheckPlaces only needs to be run on ONE machine because when you do, all the others update when you start the browser (or click synch). Both are free, but I'm sending Xmark a donation since they ask. After one day, I've already decided they deserve it. By this weekend it'll be done unless something blows up. (The first few times you synch, you may find it slow as it has so many changes to make, but that went away after a while. Also moving bookmarks around moves a bit slower, but since I've got over 400 that may be the problem.)

I have a small quibble. It would be really, really nice if it could have on each machine an 'excluded' folder. I don't, for instance, really want my personal finance folder on my work machine. That's something I do only at home. And on my home machine, I really don't need the link to my customer and vendor websites, and I'm terribly uncomfortable with having my work's bank URL on my home machine. For some people this may be a deal killer.

Some updates on my private blog for those keeping track.  Rumours of the GooglePhone continue to swirl. I may or may not care. I like the G1 and keep thinking I might buy it, but this intrigues me. I still dislike the iPhone because of the keyboard issue.

The Fantastic Mister Fox is, well, Fantastic

Before I get to the review I had referred a number of you to a Facebook Dislike button add-on. It's been causing people lots of problems and has also started serving advertising. I had to remove it and the complaints are mounting. But, here's another one that is more popular and seems to be more reliable. I'll have more on Add-Ons for Firefox later in this post.

The Fantastic Mister Fox is great. No, ifs, ands, or buts. Voiced by an all-star cast, but it would have been just as good with a cast of nobodies. Based on Dahl's book, this would appear on the surface to be a children's movie. It's not but it's kid safe. There are so many adult subtexts to this from the marital stress between Mr Fox and his wife to the sibling rivalry between Ash and Kristofferson. There's lots of smoking but it adds a bit of grit. There's some language but they just say "cuss" instead of the real word. "That's a cussing big dog" (as an example). I would think it could develop into a catchphrase, though I fear with a $7M opening, it'll be gone from theatres before you know it. And that's a shame. The animation (stop motion) is fantastic and the details down the fox's fur is great. I liked this way more than I thought I would. We saw it with a large group of people (13) and everyone liked it as well. The plot is strong, the main characters are well-fleshed out (and flawed), the action is engrossing, and not once did I look at my watch. See this film. I'll buy it when it comes out on Blu-Ray.

Last night I had some insomnia so I watched the Forbidden Kingdom, a martial arts movie with pretty much damn near everyone in China in it starring Jet Li and Jackie Chan. This movie tells the tale of the Monkey King and the Jade Warlord wrapped inside a secondary story that is, to be honest, silly. The martial arts, as would be expected are great. The visual scenery is beyond belief. I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would. Jet Li and Jackie Chan both play two roles in the film so pay attention if you can.

And, because I enjoy pointing out things like this -- thanks Sue -- some fact checking on Sarah Palin's Bus Tour. Which, despite what it may appear, doesn't involve much bus and does involve lots of plane. And certain groups paying for it. Check out the video and story at crooksandliars.com.

Breakfast was at OPH and we had a party of twelve and they actually did a decent job of seating us. Sadly the waiter was borderline. We lost John and his parents before the movie and they were replaced with Karen (party of three), and my Mom. After that Liz and I went ice skating (by way of ColdStone) but we were reminded of why we don't skate afternoon sessions. It was crowded and we were knocked about several times. Not fun at all but I had fun with her because I got the telenovela update followed by lots of interesting people and travel discussions.

As promised, here's the list of Firefox Add-Ons I use and like. I have various codec plug-ins installed but they are machine specific so I won't list them. The add-ons below are Mac and PC compatible and work with FireFox 3.5 -- most work with earlier versions as well.

• CheckPlaces 1.6.3 -- validates your bookmarks to see if they're still valid and gives you a chance to fix them, delete them, etc. (Just started using this so maybe you want to wait for my opinions)
• Download Helper 4.6.5 -- Lets you grab video content of YouTube and other sites and save it easily without a kludge.
• FaceMod Dislike Button 0.7 -- See above. Adds a dislike button to Facebook
• Favicon Picker 3 0.5 -- Lets you add/change Favicons in your bookmark menu
  
• Firebug 1.4.5 -- This is a geek tool that Jose taught me to use so I can futz around with my webpages while they're live. Most of you won't want this one.
  
• Flagfox 3.3.18 -- This is one of the most useful extensions ever. It shows a flag representing the country the server presenting the webpage you're on. So if you're at BankAmerica and see a Chinese flag, you know something's wrong. Also installed on all our work machines as a security feature.
  
• Googlebar 0.9.15.14 -- Way better than the real Google bar. You will need to edit the version code to work with Firefox 3.5; Someone's posted the hacked version if you don't know how to edit XPI files.
• Open Bookmarks In New Tab 0.1.2009100801 -- Duh. Very useful.
  
• Password Exporter 1.2 -- Do not export your passwords. I don't recommend it. However, if you forget one this also lets you view them from the preferences area. Set a master password if you use this. 
• Print Image 0.4 -- Selects and prints images from websites (not Flash content but static images)
• SearchPreview 4.0 -- Shows thumbnail images of sites as part of Google/Yahoo/Bing searches
• StumbleUpon 3.52 -- You will waste more time with this than I can ever explain. But I love it. I'm 'darsys' if you want to follow me.
• TimeTracker 1.2.5 -- You can keep track of how long a window, session, or whatever has been open. Or from time installed forever. 
• WOT 20091028 -- (Web of Trust) Installed here and on all work machines. Sites show Green, Yellow, or Red warnings and if a site is Red it will ask if you're sure you want to proceed. This is the best extension you can install on your machine for safety reasons. You can also add and rate sites if you make a free account, all from within Firefox.
• Noia 2.0 (eXtreme) 3.69 -- This is the theme I use. I rather like it and you might too.

I'm doing laundry and getting ready to cook dinner as soon as I decide what to cook.

I am tired and it's your fault

Well, probably not, but now you're paying attention.

First, for the Lost fans out there, I present to you, by way of Sue, Barenaked Hurley which is hysterical. All but one of the video links are removed for DMCA violations but the lyrics are still posted. And the audio for the current entry works fine. It's funny. If you don't watch Lost, don't go as it will mean nothing to you.

Randy presents music from a Tesla Coil. No, really. That's to the YouTube video. This is only for the true geeks but it's absolutely fantastic. A Tesla coil is a resonant transformer circuit invented by Nikola Tesla in the late 1800's. It's used to produce high voltage, high current, high frequency alternating current electricity. A Tesla Coil is something that will, invariably, appear on Lost before the end of the series. I'm sure with all their geeky uses of Faraday and such, Tesla is due :)

V, as those of you watching know, showed four episodes and is now on break until March 2010. If you liked Anna (Morena Baccarin), and want to see more, click here (over 18 only). And while we're on this topic, AOL which is generally useless, provides these twelve things you didn't know about sex. Yeah, you probably knew some of them, but it's still educational.

The real Michael Yormark (not to be confused with FMY) saw me at last night's game, looked right at me, and then high-tailed it out of there without acknowledging me. Do I care? No. Am I amused? Heartily so. Sadly, he's good at his job which is whoring out selling advertising space. John's parents who were at the first game, without any prompting, asked why, with all the advertising, they had to pay to get into the game. It doesn't get any better than that. (Last night's luggage tag give-away was awesome, and if you got one and don't want it, send it my way.)

Today was errand day, with trips to the post office, dry cleaner, Publix, and the mall. The mall? The day after Black Friday? Yeah, the mall. And that's how I felt. But I had a plan. I figured I'd get there around 1030, park right near the store I needed (Lindt), go in, buy my stuff, and get out. And hopefully not be killed in the process. I got there at 1044am and there was tons of parking. Everywhere. So I parked by Bass Pro Shops (because it's more convenient for me) and walked through the entire mall, which was eerily silent and empty. Lots of huge sales, but except for one rugby shirt I didn't buy anything. You can't beat $20 for a rugby shirt.

NASA Confirms Life On Mars

Well, almost. Bacteria is life of a sort. NASA is expected to confirm that there was life on Mars sixteen million years ago. They have reportedly found evidence of bacteria that does not have terrestrial origins. This advance report in the UK's Telegraph is astounding. Dr Emily Baldwin sums it up best herself, "If the features turn out to have an extraterrestrial, biological origin and were not formed during the 13,000 years the meteorite spent lying on Earth, this will have profound implications for our understanding of how life evolved in the solar system." It's coming. Really. Prepare yourself. (Thanks to Rob Barry for this one.)

Dan H posted this on his FaceBook account, and because Dan has always been a bit odd, and I mean that in the nicest way possible*, I had to follow the link. I read it. Twice. I have yet to decide if this is legitimate or legitimate satire or maybe it's parody. I'm not sure what it is, but it's damn funny. Especially if it's real. Yes, it's the Christian Anti-Porn add-on for Firefox. I wish someone would test it and report back. I'm not installing it on my machine.

A brief Black Friday report. On the way back from Thanksgiving Dinner, I passed BrandsMart USA at around 8pm and there were already a few dozen people in line. Some fifteen minutes later I passed BestBuy in Hialeah and the parking lot was full. Full. This morning, bored of my arse, I decided I would take a drive and get something to eat for breakfast since none of my alleged friends saw fit to suggest we eat this morning. I drove by the Sweetwater BestBuy at 910am and it was a madhouse. The parking lot was full, the street swales were buried in cars. The back streets were full. Nearly as crowded as BrandsMart will be today -- where cars are traditionally backed up on to the highway and they often park on the highway shoulder. The mall, surprisingly, had tons and tons of parking. Atlanta Bread was closed so I ate a Cinnabon. Blech.

There are certain people who are especially scummy. Some guy had posted a video on YouTube of him torturing a cat named Dusty -- video and account long since removed. I came across this story about the users of 4Chan who helped track the scumbag down and he was arrested. If you want more on the cat story, you can click here but I do not suggest it. Animal abuse is the worst kind of abuse. The folks at 4Chan receive tons of negative publicity, some of which they may deserve, but the fact that they do stuff like this is a good thing. It also shows what a pissed of internet community can do, and further serves to remind everyone that no matter what you do, where you are, you are never truly anonymous on the internet if someone puts their mind to it. 4Chan is quite amusing for the most part and they have a disposition towards craziness, which is a good thing.

Last night, I couldn't sleep so I was watching some late night (aka early morning) television and there was a special on the Travel Channel of  'extreme' restaurants by which they really mean weird. Lots of TV programmes confused 'extreme' with 'weird' but I digress as I am wont to do. One of the restaurants was called Modern Toilet Restaurant. First, read this blog entry, and then head over to their official website (the URL goes to the English part but there's still some Chinese there plus some beautiful Engrish as well). Go to the menu section as a picture is worth a million words.





Game tonight and pre-game food at Mario The Baker's. No idea what to do for the next five hours. Blech. Or all day tomorrow and Sunday for that matter.


* in case he's reading :)

Happy Thanksgiving...

... to those celebrating it. That's three dots, not four. Get it right. :)

Thanks to FSJ for this article: Microsoft, the largest bastion of evil outside of Yormark's office, hosted an conference on Windows Mobile technology called Mobius 2009. There were 25 people in attendance. Picture one shows the presentation being done. On a Mac. Maybe it's because of the 25 people they invited -- see picture two -- 13 of them were using Macintoshes. Way to go Microsoft. This is a blog of a very pro-Windows person of all things. It's fantastically amusing to me. I am not sure he appreciates the irony of his post.

Thanks to Sue for this bit. It's the complete history of the internet in a nutshell. For this article, it' not true. It's pretty interesting, very informative, and entirely geeky. And that's all good. (There is a saying that anything that can be put in a nutshell belongs there. It's often called Whitney's Postulate and is listed as a corollary to Murphy's Law. This quote was stolen by Sydney Harris and is used all over the internet in various forms.)

As you may or may not be aware every SMS (text message) you have ever sent in your life has been stored by your mobile phone company. Theoretically the archives are reserved for law enforcement and national security purposes. Many, many SMS were sent in the immediate aftermath of 911. Those SMS were posted in their entirety by WikiLeaks on the web. Here's the NY Post article. The article has the link if you care to follow it. I won't put the direct link here because (a) I read a few and some will crush your soul and spirit (b) they violate every personal privacy ethic ever written as they include UNEDITED full names, phone numbers, and more. If you were in New York on 9-11 and sent an SMS it is posted here. If you sent someone your phone, your address, or anything else. It's here. That is completely unacceptable. There are tons of them and unless you like reading both the mundane of unaware people and the misery of people finding out things nobody should ever have to hear, just read the article and skip the link. (The article has more than enough to give you an idea) Nobody should ever have their privacy invaded like this. This isn't journalism, the public's right to know, or anything else. It's fucking disgusting and those at WikiLeaks should die slow, painful deaths.

Special thanks to my season ticket representative Mario Durant of the Florida Panthers for his efforts in securing us nine ducats for a special event. If you ever want season tickets for the NHL's Florida Panthers, call him and tell him I sent you. He'll hook you up. This guy comes through and he's awesome. I'd tell you more about the special event, but you'll have to wait until next year.

A special frown to people who think nearly a decade and a half of friendship should be discarded without at least saying something and providing a reason or even discussing it. Cowardly. And enough on that subject.

So, yesterday was quite the challenge. I left work early to visit the attorney as I do from time to time. Part of my job is making sure things that need to be signed are signed, and everything is in order. If you checked yesterday's weather report, you will know we got damn near 5 inches of rain in some areas and had floods and flood warnings all over the area. I left the attorney's office around 430 to meet everyone for dinner at 515 at Lucille's. The idiot light on my car came on and said my tire was low on pressure. I figured because it was cooler, the pressure had probably caused it to get low (this stupid BMW is sensitive like that), so I stopped in the light drizzle, added air, reset the sensor, and made it almost a quarter mile before it came on again. I stopped, the rain a bit harder, and checked the tire again. Indeed it was leaking because it was low on air again. I inched the car forward and found a very large screw in the front passenger tire. I filled it up again, knowing there happened to be a BMW dealer about four miles from where I was. The car has run-flat tires. While it's good because you're never stranded, there are some downsides. First, you get about 20 to 30 miles of driving if you keep your speed under 30. Second, BMW doesn't give you a spare since you don't need one (as if). The deluge started as I got on I-75 to go one exit (hazards on in the right lane) to the dealer -- Lauderdale BMW of Pembroke Pines. I made it there at 448pm. I walked in and it was damn near deserted in the service department. I explained my situation (and that I was 35 miles from home) but they said most of their mechanics were already gone as they were closing at 5 due to the holiday. (The special tires for the X5 are not readily available at most tire outlets and have to be ordered -- with Thanksgiving looming tomorrow, that was a Bad Thing.) They guy was nice and called every mechanic that was still in the shop seeing if anyone there would do the tire but they all said no as it was quitting time. I was resigned to limping home and missing dinner, the game and everything else.

I thanked the guy (Cal), who was way more helpful than anyone at South Motors would have ever been. My service guy, Donny Rizzo of South Motors, doesn't even return phone calls or emails reliably. How that dealership is in business, I will never know. And of course BMW doesn't care about their customers as my previous interactions indicated (see previous blog posts.) As I was getting ready to walk out the door, a mechanic, Josh, who was sitting in the office (not in the garage) came over and said he'd do it. What a nice guy doing this on his own time to help me out. Sadly for me, the tire warranty company was already closed so I had to pay for the tire at the dealer's rate. (If you worked where I did, you'd have a warranty too for tires that cannot be patched and must be replaced at $300 each.) I paid for it on the company credit card, and I'll file for reimbursement Monday. I give this dealer an A, and will return her for scheduled service even though it's farther from my house than South Motors. To hell with South Motors. BMW will get a nice letter about Cal and Josh, though they probably don't care about that either judging by their previous replies (or lack thereof).

I left the dealer at 550pm, called Karen and found out they were all running a bit late due to weather and were just ordering so I gave them my order over the phone. Got there 615ish, and we ate. About 90 minutes later neither Karen nor myself were feeling very good. So much for dinner. And the Panthers lost in OT.  Came home, returned dinner from whence it came and felt much better. So, all in all, today (yesterday now) sucked.

A long post with lots of stuff in it

I don't even know where to begin because it's been a very eventful two days since my last post. I guess I'll start with the fact I went outside and notice there is a big screw in my tire and I'll have to deal with it tomorrow somehow. Of course it's tomorrow: the same day I have to meet with the probate attorney, have our annual sales meeting, and meet everyone for an early dinner before the hockey game. I'll probably drive the whole 100 mile day with the damn screw in my tire and hope it makes until Thursday. Sometimes my job sucks. The collection of tire punctures is one of them.

A quick link to Academic Earth, a link Mom (congrats on your kitchen remodelling job) gave me. It's free lectures from leading professors. Their website blurb says (edited for space): As more and more high quality educational content becomes available online for free, we ask ourselves, what are the real barriers to achieving a world class education? At Academic Earth, we are working to identify these barriers and find innovative ways to use technology to increase the ease of learning. We are building a user-friendly educational ecosystem that will give internet users around the world the ability to easily find, interact with, and learn from full video courses and lectures from the world’s leading scholars. Our goal is to bring the best content together in one place and create an environment in which that content is remarkably easy to use and where user contributions make existing content increasingly valuable. There's some great stuff there including an introduction to astrophysics. My school, Berkeley, is well represented.


Next up, and this one's for Evan more than the rest of you, comes courtesy of my friend John Carney's blog. He says: I realize I’m sick but I didn’t think I was sick enough to hallucinate. However, I could swear my brother sent me an e-mail with a link to the Muppets performing “Bohemian Rhapsody.” That must be some sort of hallucination. Maybe it’s the cold medicine working.

Don't thank me for sharing that. And if you have nightmares, blame John.

Over tonight's dinner -- leftover meatballs I made -- I was reading Locus Magazine. I've been a subscriber for damn near two decades. I'm rarely mention it, but it's a great magazine for the Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Horror geek in you. It's a legend in its field and you should subscribe to magazine and newspapers before they vanish forever. But I mention it because I have often recommended Cory Doctorow's Little Brother novel to anyone who will listen because it's that good. He's got a nice opinion piece in Locus this month, and it's even online. He talks about sex in young adult novels, which may be a sensitive topic to many. I've always thought people were too hung up on this topic anyway. It's well worth the five minutes you'll spend reading it. Right here.

What does everyone think of this ring. I was thinking of buying it. Comments and opinions welcome. I also found out, that if you try a ring on in Las Vegas, that same ring will be way tighter in Florida. I'm glad I didn't buy the one I really liked when I was there because it was way too much money. But if you're feeling generous a 7-1/2 is what I need. Here's a small photo if you're too lazy to go to the link.

I have added to my Panthers memorabilia collection. You can see the photo on Flickr. If you want Panther collectibles, call and ask for Matt Redmond and tell him I sent you. He'll hook you up. They have game used, game worn everything. And you're buying right from the team so authenticity is guaranteed.

That leads me to my next topic: sex in advertising. Ever since there's been advertising, there's been sex. Though aside from Michael Yormark, probably nobody thinks sex was invented just for advertising. Josh -- we'll get to him in a minute -- took this picture of me at the arena.

Yes, the lady in the picture is very photogenic. She elicits stares from many of the menfolk especially since she's pasted to the entrance of the men's room. We all notice her. I'm not sure how many of us know what she's selling. It could be because, as men, we are distracted enough that our eyes don't drift down to the sponsor's name. Or it could be that the ad, clearly, is an offer to sell her services to the highest bidder.

Yes, it's clever. As all guys know, sexist as it may sound, some women are high maintenance and this ad certainly plays off that. It also makes this woman into a hooker. I mean she's asking if we can afford her? What's the hourly rate and are there restrictions or conditions? Maybe she's an defrocked Ice Cat? I am happy to look at her, but this ad really skirts the line. It sends the wrong message. Or maybe not? What is the message? Does anyone care?

Karen is recuperating well, thanks for asking. I've been getting emails from all my airline frequent flyer clubs insisting I fill out the new DOHS security requirements. As you may (or may not) know before you can fly you are required to provide your DOB, gender, full legal name, and some sort of government issued ID. They prefer to have all this in advance. If you book online you're going to be asked for all this. If you're a Frequent Flyer, they all are adjusting your profile to provide this. But to be honest, as computer friendly as I am, I am not sure I am pleased with an airline having my driver's license or passport number on file. I know how good their security is. Or how good it would be if they had any. Once you're the victim of identity theft, you don't trust things.

Thanksgiving is coming up, so I must present to you the infamous Les Nessman Turkey Drop bit in the 15 second summary or the whole episode on Hulu.The clip doesn't do it justice -- watch the episode. It's priceless. (Yes, Mr. Carlson says it, but Nessman owns this episode.)

Finally, and more importantly, this past Sunday I heard from the elusive Josh. I've mentioned him before. One of those rare friends from the past that doesn't belong in the past. In my last post, I mentioned I actually heard from him in an e-mail. I spoke to him on the phone for the first time in about 4 years. We talked until 230am. A seriously long talk. I invited him to the Penguins game Monday (even though he's a lousy-ass Penguins fan) and, to my surprise and delight, he accepted. I thought it would be awkward, but it wasn't. I'm glad we had some time together and I hope he sticks around.

Oh, and if you didn't read about the teenager who was lit on fire by some other kids, the article's here. But I don't care if you read it or not. What I do care about is you click here and donate money, though if you read the article I promise you'll donate twice as much. Make sure you put "Michael Brewer" in the 'intention' line of the form. Some people are sick beyond words.

Headache

I've had one all day. So there.

I woke up and went with Karen to Lincoln Road. We had breakfast, walked around, looked at some stores, and then went to Epicure. Epicure sells Smarties! And real English clotted Devonshire cream. I bought the Smarties and a Doctor Brown's Black Cherry soda.

Came home and did the second batch of laundry and am now caught up. I printed off all the stuff for my annual holiday. I updated my computer insurance worksheet because it's due soon. I've got to prepare the legal stuff because that meeting is looming rapidly. Not really into it, but a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do.

I finished Terry Pratchett's Unseen Academicals last night. It's another instalment in the Discworld series. Like all the others it's good. This one is a bit more on the serious side than the humour side but I enjoyed it thoroughly. I like Nutt, Trev, and Glenda -- three of the new characters -- very much. Juliet, though, was a bit boring. Glenda will be around again, I assure you. A real winner here. The book has a Message in it, moreso than many of his others but it doesn't detract from Pterry's Ptake on Football (proper football not American football).

I wrote Josh and actually got an answer. That was exciting.

I made meatballs for dinner. I know you care. They were not good. I have leftovers and that will be dinner again Tuesday.  Blech. I have had a number of inquiries on the free plane ticket but so far nobody's picked an itinerary that works. No outbound or no return. You know how hard those damned free tickets are to get anyways.

Flashback

The English Penny

EU Directive No. 456179

In order to meet the conditions for joining the Single European currency, all citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland must be made aware that the phrase 'Spending a Penny' is not to be used after 31st December 2009. 

From this date, the correct terminology will be: 'Euronating'.
 

Thank you for your attention.

Thanks to Sue for the above amusement. If you don't get this, move along. (Anyone who watches Britcoms should get this reference.)

I am presently listening to my latest Pogues album (thanks to Johnny B for gifting it to me this morning). It's called Rum, Sodomy & The Lash. The album is quite good and contains some fantastic songs. Thoroughly enjoyable.  I recommend it to anyone who likes Celtic Rock or music. We also had a great discussion at skating about old TV shows and we agreed that Bob Newhart (both of his eponymous shows) is brilliant as was Mary Tyler Moore. The shows have aged well and remain funny. We discussed shark jumping, soaps, and sci-fi. Usually we discuss music, but today was TV day. And it was fun. And, as usual, Liz filled me in on her Telenovelas. I didn't take notes and I'll fail the test, but it's amusing to listen to. The things people watch.

Speaking of television I've been discussing "V" with Randy. We both agree that there are some hot babes in it, but the show is definitely predictable. We also agree that it will grow moreso as it has nowhere to go but the inevitable conclusion. This is a remake of a series that had a beginning and an end. It wasn't some show that ended without conclusion. This concluded, and they have certain limitations if they want to maintain their credibility. John and I briefly discussed this but he's not watching the new "V" though he remembers the original -- which has not aged well. But back to the new "V": they have some really unique stuff and for now it continues to hold my interest but how long they can do so is questionable.

As most of you know, one of the jobs I held down during my school days at Berkeley was The Used Computer Store (still operating, same owners, new location). I was a salesman and the Apple II technician. The thing I hated most was working on equipment owned by smokers. You would open stuff and not only would it reek, the plastics would be permanently yellowed by the chemicals in the tobacco, and the drives and boards would be gummed up with tar. No employee who worked there in the time I worked there would smoke after seeing one of these babies. We were able to fix most smoke damaged computers but it was a slow, arduous process to clean it properly without damaging components with cleaning agents. Floppy disk drives were generally permanently ruined by smoke residue. I mention this not as a rant against smokers -- though that is certainly a valid rant -- but as a warning that if you do smoke, don't smoke around your computer. And Apple Computer is no longer covering certain types of damage to a computer caused by cigarette smoke. That's awesome. The article is here -- and read the source article in the Consumerist as well.

In an amusing blog article from CBS News, it appears the anti-gay marriage legislation passed in Texas may have inadvertently made heterosexual marriage illegal as well. While I seriously doubt this won't be fixed within a matter of days, it's still rather amusing to me. With all the problems in the world, I'm still not sure why people are so wound up about this.

Godwin's Law is an observation made by Mike Godwin in 1990 which has become an Internet adage. It states: "As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1." As a long time Usenet user until AT&T killed NNTP services, I can categorically state this is true. This is the lead in, courtesy of Dave, to this article in Wired Magazine of "10 Geeky Laws That Should Exist." He mentions me as being deserving of Law Number Eight. I also wish to point out that Liz is so with me on that one. I wish to point out Law Number Two and throw my support behind it as a real law.

Thanks to former fellow Boy Scout Sam Khors (we were in Troop Ten together) for finding on FaceBook one of my oldest friends who vanished after I went of to college. A special "hello" to Victor Johnson some three decades later. We've got some great memories of Uncle Victor as we used to call him from our Boy Scout days. I wonder if I can find Wesley Harrell? I've tried before and failed. There was Billy Dubis too. Damn. Flashback!

A Pair of Chuckletrousers and 2038 Random Boogers

This post has nothing to do with that. In fact, I refuse to explain it. Those of you who know, get it. The rest of you don't. -- CMOT TMPV    (That was fun.)

Right. Let's start with an e-bay item which is a true rare piece of history. Yes, that's an original Apple I computer. The original kind, hand built by Steve and Steve (Woz and Jobs) and it's entirely authenticated. I won't bid nor will any of my readers. But you should go look at it. This one doesn't come with the cool wooden case but it's still cool.

This picture was sent to me by a friend.

It's entitled "How Pumpkin Pies Are Made"

This article is another rant about the accuracy over at Fox News. You may be interested to read how intentionally fast and loose they are with the facts. I was going to make a cheap Alan Price joke as a follow up, but that would be redundant.

I want to remind my friends that my mobile phone is not the best way to contact me when I'm in town. Call me at work or at home. I've been known to go days without turning it on. That leads me to remind you all, I still have that ticket from yesterday: I offered Mom the use of 25,000 US Air miles because they're expiring very soon but I can't get her a good flight on the days she wants to travel. If she can't use -- we're still trying -- them and any of my friends want a free ticket, I'll gladly book you a flight. I hate for them to go to waste. If you're interested email me with dates and city pair and I'll see if anything is open.

Tomorrow, I have to go to Best Buy and do some Xmas shopping for a few people. I have this long standing policy of being done all holiday shopping prior to Black Friday and I am failing miserably.

Hockey resumes Monday and I am excited. I have Monday, Wednesday, and Friday hockey games. I also have way too much spare time this long weekend which I am looking to fill up. Work was way too boring today.

Lastly, an interesting document from Tfl will amuse you subway fans. The Tube (London's Underground) is very busy. The busiest station is Victoria which handles 78 million entries/exits per year. That's an astounding number and is more than the annual ridership in many cities. Waterloo follows at 77 million, and King's Cross is behind it at around 69 million. Liverpool and London Bridge both clock in at over 60 million. Between those five stops, that's 350 million. All told the Tube carried almost two billion last year. Boston's T carries 1.3 million a day, Chicago 650k per day, New York 5 million per day, or Miami with 60,000 per day. Yeah, Miami carries 21 million trips a year and London has single stations that beat it. A sad state of affairs, isn't it?

End Of NIFS and the Flight Home

The purple bit is excerpted from our corporate Facebook page (full note here): We've always had warehouse cats, for over 30 years in fact. We're on train tracks - now abandoned -- and if you're on train tracks, you have a mouse problem. After trying two legged professionals, we found the four legged professionals worked better, are cheaper, cuter, more entertaining, and make the warehouse a better place. (And they, just like the two legged kind, are tax deductible as a business expense.)

Over the years we've had a collection of various cats -- always between two and three. Most die of old age, although one (Telico) was shot to death by some kids with a BB gun. Smokey came to us about 8 to 10 years ago. No idea from where the ball of fluff (and was he fluffy) came from. He was just there. Very friendly. He was in great shape when I left for the fastener show. While I was gone, unbeknownst to me, Emily (the official Keeper Of The Cats) noticed he was not feeling his usual very, very friendly self and took him to the vet. The vet called this morning -- that's when I found out Smokey went to the vet -- and asked permission to do a small exploratory incision to see what the source of the problem was as they couldn't figure it out. A few hours later, they called and said there were several tumours including in the liver. They said they could stitch him up and send him back to the warehouse, but he probably wouldn't last a week. Smokey isn't coming home. RIP Smokey.

I didn't get to say goodbye and I'm sad. Smokey loved me to death and would follow me anywhere I went in the warehouse. He'd head butt me for attention. And drool like Niagara Falls when you pet him. I'd pick him up and carry him with me sometimes. Visitors were fascinated by him because he always went on warehouse tours with guests. I'll miss you, you ball of grey fur with white tufts.

On the plane ride back from Las Vegas they showed a movie called Land of the Lost with Will Ferrell and it really sucked. I mention this because today BBC News released an article that named him the 'most overpaid film star' and I couldn't agree more. He still personally owes me a refund for Talladega Nights.

Wednesday morning I woke up and had a meeting before I packed and headed for the airport to fly home from Lost Wages Las Vegas. I arrived at the airport just about two hours before my flight and checked in without any incident. I went through security where TSA gave me a lecture and big hassle. Why? I took the company laptop out and put it in the bin as one must do. I've done it many times. I also put my belt in the bin with the laptop -- something I've also done many times. Apparently that's against the rules and I shouldn't do that. It's a belt. Assholes.

I take the train to the gates and notice there is a non-stop Miami flight still at the gate. I was certain the last non-stop was at 805am and it was 11am. (My connection was via DFW at left at 1245pm). So I went over to see if I could get on, but they said 'no' because I had checked luggage. This flight was the 8am flight that was having a mechanical issue. I used my Priority Pass card and used the Continental President's Club and took advantage of their free WiFi and their free cheese. Yummy. I went to the gate and boarded and left without incident. The plane was full of fastener people who left the show early like I did, skipping the last day.

When my DFW flight left at 1250pm, that 8am flight was still on the ground. Glad I wasn't on it. Arrived in DFW nearly 20 minutes early at terminal D gate 24 and was told my flight to MIA was in terminal A. I took the train to terminal A (10 minutes) and went to the gate to find that there was a gate change. Where? To D30 of course. Back on the train, and I go into the Admiral's Club where I find there is no free WiFi. Bastards. I pay $6 for an hour.

The plane is due to board at 655 so I get to the gate at 645 -- after a brief stop at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company for a chocolate Valencia truffle -- just in time to board. Instead, they announce a 30 minute delay. Then a 25 minute delay. Then another 20 minute delay. And so on and so forth. We finally board at almost 9pm. Yeah, two hours late. I have friends in Dallas who I could have called to come out and visit but they didn't just tell us the plane was two hours late coming in (which it was) and instead just strung us along. That pissed me off royally. We arrive in Miami at 1213am. My luggage shows up around 1248am because the baggage people in Miami suck. I find my car, pay for parking, swing by the post office to collect mail, and then come home to find my AC circuit breaker had tripped. It was 84 in my house. I fixed that. I decide to unpack and shower because the baggage area was 500 degrees and I was soaked with sweat. I can't fall asleep due to the heat in my house so I watched my DVR episode of House and finally go to bed at 248am but sleep like crap. Today, I am the walking dead.

I offered Mom the use of 25,000 US Air miles because they're expiring very soon but I can't get her a good flight on the days she wants to travel. If she can't use -- we're still trying -- them and any of my friends want a free ticket, I'll gladly book you a flight. I hate for them to go to waste.

Now, it's time to pay bills after I catch up on reading Fake Michael Yormark. He's been busy while I've been gone. Karen reports feeling better still. (And thanks to everyone who offered to help her....)

Another Day At NIFS

Today was the big day. The first meeting was at 730am at the buffet. Yay buffet and that in turn was followed by the show from 9am to 4pm. I did a quick lap (about 5 hours) and near the end though it odd nobody called me. I opened my phone and I had 5 missed calls. Apparently the reception isn't so good in there.

I handed out some buttons and there were not just buttons from me, but there were hats, buttons from others, and trade-show bags. There was a huge amount of anti-Nucor hostility. There were rampant rumours of a verbal altercation between Don West of Nucor and a representative from one of the importers. I have no firsthand knowledge. Near the end of the show I did cruise by the Nucor booth but they pointedly ignored me.

I got a hero's welcome at the TIFI booth including from the president of TIFI as well as from a number of Chinese and Taiwanese and Hong Kongese companies as well as a few US based companies. I decline to accept credit but it's still nice. A lot of people asked me for buttons and I gave out most of them, but I did save some for any of my friends who want them (and matching baseball caps too).

The show was not productive really. A lot of discussion about Nucor from both sides as to whether or not they'll appeal and/or re-file. I feel they'll appeal though it's certainly a complete waste of their time. The case is not winnable and there is no record of a 6-0 case ever being overturned. Then again considering their legal counsel they very well may appeal. They will certainly refile, I hope with the same attorney. A good attorney will give them a winnable case on a smaller, reasonable scope. Will I continue the fight? Depends what they want to cover.

After my first rounds, I had a quick lunch (thanks Greg) -- $10 for a fruit salad. Seriously -- same thing I bitch about paying $7 for at a Panther game. That means I paid $3 for the strawberry on top.

After the show I collected my literature and took it to the business center to ship it back to the office -- 15 pounds of crap. Damn. And it's all literature -- there were almost no freebies this year. I blew off one guy -- the one who stood me up yesterday. He's called me repeatedly and chased me down, but I'm done with him.

Had a 5pm meeting with a company that had various screws. I got a sudden idea on how to combine several of them to make the screw to end all screws. I gave them a sketch of what I wanted and asked them to quote me a trial run of a quarter million pieces. I may have an official "name this screw" contest once I have a prototype. It'll be expensive but twice as good as anything anyone's ever used. I'm intrigued by the possibilities.

After that we took a break and I cleaned up. Got a cab driver who asked if we wanted to go via the Strip (under construction) or the Freeway (any cabbie in Vegas who says to go this way is taking you for a ride). I told him to take Sinatra and he was very grumpy because I knocked at least 30% off the fare. He refused to give me a receipt, the rat bastard.

We went to Nero's at Caesars Palace. It was good and I'm glad we went but there are much better restaurants here at similar prices. By Vegas standards it was cheap and just about $100 per person incuding tip. We decided to go gamble at Excalibur because it was low rent. So we started to walk back. (Yeah. walk back. We walk.)

Whilst cutting through Bellagio, we spied a $10 table. And this was at around 9pm. We sat down and began to play. This was the second best dealer I ever had in all my years of gambling. First, he was helpful -- though there are helpful dealers. If you did something wrong (ask for a hit where you shouldn't or something) he'd tell you it was the wrong action and tell you the right one. But the best part was he gave us a great show. He was talkative, funny, and just a joy to play. We played his entire shift before he rotated out. I was $100 in at the start, gave him about $40 in tips on dealer bets, and left with $95. Greg and Gaby were both up. I think between the three of us he got about $100 in tips. Worth every penny. He's a black guy and his name starts with the letter 'D' -- look for him.

We walked back to the hotel and stopped at Cold Stone. They have a new flavour: Butterscotch Jello Pudding. It's amazing. (They also have chocolate but the butterscotch is better). We got to our hotel, and played Wheel of Fortune for awhile, me being up $50 on the session. And that brings you up to date.

Tomorrow is some morning meetings, followed by packing and a late night return.

I'm sure you all saw the NFL fined the owner of the Titans a quarter of a million dollars for flipping off the opposing team. The video which you've probably seen was shot by Kenny Hirt. Well Kenny's a cousin of mine. He was on the local news in Nashville as his video has over 300,00 views and is what led the NFL to levy the fine.  Disclaimer from Doug (Kenny's Dad): Wife, Mindy and mother, Melanie had no part whatsoever in selecting the attire worn by Kenneth Hirt for any of the television interviews. I am amused.

Karen says she's feeling better. That's good. And I'm tired so I'm done.

One Day Down

Today was a busy, busy day. Sleep? I do not understand this word and wish someone would explain it to me. The day started with our first meeting at 830 am and we moved it to another venue due to crowds but were done in by service. I got a really, really, really awesome gift from this vendor (for obvious reasons vendor names are not posted here -- but thanks F3) and can't wait to show it to all my friends. Due to time constraints we had to end that meeting at 10am for our second meeting. At 1115, I had a third meeting in my room with another company -- out of sight and private.

Then Gaby, Greg, and myself took a walk down to Planet Hollywood with a lot of stops on the way including one at the Monte Carlo to pick up the show tickets. We returned to the hotel a bit later than planned and didn't have much rest time. Just enough time for me to do my emails. I had another meeting at 315pm but the SOB stood me up -- but it's not that bad since I didn't want to meet him anyway and now I have an excuse to leave him permanently blown off. I am going to be 'offended' and not speak to him anymore.

At 345 we joined the procession to the seminar on the Nucor filing. There were probably at least 600 to 1000 people there. Honestly, it was a bit boring because I knew a lot of what was discussed. The crowd was pretty stacked on one side which is to be expected. I was a bit shocked to see the absence of some of the key players. It went a little bit overtime, and afterward I went to say 'hi' to the lead attorney. He smiled when he saw my card -- he thinks the sheer volume of outcry did in their case. More importantly, he said this is only the second 6-0 decision since 1979 (I think I have that right) and the odds of it being overturned on appeal are slim to none. He said only one 6-0 case has ever been overturned on appeal. But that doesn't mean Nucor can't file a new appeal and that's why this meeting wasn't cancelled.

And a brief note, I received an email tonight from someone at Nucor (name withheld by request). I wish to publicly clear up one misconception this person had. I do not hate Nucor the parent company. I have nothing against them or anyone at their company specifically. My beef, as it were, is with Nucor's fastener division. And I don't hate most of the people there, though I strongly disagree with their views.

After that, we ran to the rooms, changed and jumped into a cab to go to Ferraro's which is a good 15 minute cab ride away from th strip. 5900 West Flamingo. And I highly recommend this place to anyone visiting Vegas. It's Italian, and it's real Italian. The place is covered in awards. Our water was Italian and it's real Italian cooking, with perfect service. I had a proper Spaghetti Carbonara (making it properly is very rare) as my entree with a Pasta e Figoli soup as my starter. Greg and Gaby were also thrilled with their entrees. We'd definitely return. Pricey but worth every dime. Reservations absolutely required. The place was swamped on a Monday night. This isn't a tourist restaurant -- all locals.

After that we went to the show. Frank Caliendo was slightly above average. Gaby fell asleep and for a stand-up comedian that is a problem. He's a great guy and did a meet and greet afterwards, but the audience didn't seem with him. He's very talented and that's not my beef; the show just wasn't varied enough. We've heard it all before and as Gaby pointed out, the material is very dated.

We walked back to the hotel and Greg insisted I mention that I had a maple glazed Krispy Kreme and a milk. Greg's weird like that. Tomorrow is show day. Karen's home and is seeing the orthopaedic doctor Wednesday AM. Details will be posted with her permission.

Tomorrow is an early day so I'm ending this here.

Hobbling About

Hobbling was the word of the day. Still not adjusted to the time. Up at absurd hour, and then sent Karen an email to let her know I was awake. We went to the cafe and had a vastly underwhelming breakfast. We went for a walk on her bad leg via Mandalay Place, Luxor, Excalibur, NY NY, then to Walgreens back to MGM. She held up well and we gambled a bit on the way. We watch the MGM lions including the two very cute cubs. Then we went back to the hotel via the Tropicana bridge and then to Excalibur and reversing the outbound trip. All this before noon.

We rested and she eventually called me because she was bored so we hobbled about some more, though she was definitely in more pain this time. This time from Excalibur, we took the monorail. She wore out at this point. We stopped at Burger Bar and got her dinner. I kept her company while she ate it. She had arranged the whole airport thing: taxi, wheelchair, and such.

I watched Barney Miller on WGN to kill time until dinner. Also watched a few footballs games but had to watch the 'fins on my laptop since it wasn't on TV and didn't want to go back to the casino.

Greg and Gaby arrived and we met at 7pm to take the cab to the Mirage for our dinner reservation at Kokomo's. I got the prime rib and when they brought it out, it looked unusually large. Greg (or maybe it was Gaby) asked how big it was the waiter said between 24 and 30 ounces. Once I beat it, but not this time. I got maybe 2/3 of it before I threw in the towel and barely touched my potato. We decided to walk for a bit because we were stuffed to the gills.

We made it as far as Bellagio and then took a cab back. I went to see Greg and Gaby's room at theHotel (that's the name and not a typo). Nice digs. I called Karen to make sure she was at LAS in good share and she was. And now you're up to date.

Work starts at 8am tomorrow and lasts for the next few days pretty much 8am to midnight. Not sure if I'll be filing reports or not. Depends how time is.

What Happens In Vegas, Stays in Vegas (Part Two)

At the same time Karen and I were at the ER, a dozen people were at Caesars Palace when their escalator malfunctioned, hurling them off. Coincidentally they were all taken to the hospital we were at. Read all about it here.

Readers of Terry Pratchett all know CMOT Dibbler -- he's a fictional character in a fictional world called Discworld. He's a dodgy purveyor of suspect sausages of dubious content. Who knew he was real? Police in Russia arrested people selling human meat for use in sausages.

So, Karen encouraged me to go to the Santana concert without her. I flat out refused. No real friend would ditch someone after an experience like that. Long about 4pm she said she wanted to try to go to the concert, but we should eat first and see how she felt. She's a real trouper and hobbled from the room, using my good shoulder for support, all the way to dinner -- where there was a 30 minute wait,

For dinner we went to the famous Burger Bar in Mandalay Place.  I got a Kobe Burger with cheddar cheese, bacon (duh), and a fried egg. Shut up. Any proper English hamburger has a fried egg on it. I added a bit of BBQ sauce and jumped right in. My sole complaint was that they didn't fry the egg so the yolk was solid and it ruined my bun and my pants. It was quite tasty. Karen got a burger as well. Two burgers, a shared order of fries, and two sodas: $65. The place is cool because you pick your burger, the toppings, the cheeses, the sauce, and the bun. It's a great concept. I was going to put pineapple on my burger but it doesn't mix with egg. It was one or the other.

We got in the cab line and made it to the Hard Rock. After getting to the theatre we went to the office to explain that there was no way she could sit in our purchased seats because her leg can not bend. Period. We needed an aisle seat with her right leg in the aisle. After they consulted with a supervisor, they said they could probably work it out and told us to see the show supervisor. They tried to get us to go back out of the theatre and get back in the ticket line but Karen firmly refused and said she couldn't make it. We got to our assigned seats accompanied buy the show supervisor who turned us over to the usher supervisor. His original plan was to put as at the end and move everyone over to the left. They were, BTW, great seats. It became clear that after Karen sat, her leg would be too far in the aisle and that was against the rules. She called the floor supervisor. He offered to put us in the VIP section and we offered to pay the difference but it was almost sold out and a huge line to buy tickets. He ended up taking us to the ADA seats in the third level. They were much further back but the view was fine and she had plenty of leg room.

The show was amazingly fantastic. Acoustically it might have been one of the best shows I've ever seen. The venue was The Joint at the Hard Rock (Las Vegas) and it's an amazing, though uncomfortable, venue -- the seats are a bit narrow and hard. His set list was every song of his you've ever loved and then some including a pair of covers. We had a special treat and got an unexpected song in the middle. His daughter was in the audience and he said hi to her and sang a song for her. He doesn't sing so much. What he does do is play the guitar like almost nobody else on earth. It was amazing what he could make that guitar do. I've never been so impressed with anyone I've seen play. I'd put him over Eddie Van Halen and Eric Clapton any day. Wow. Visually the show was psychedelic and that's not bad because it fit the musical history of Santana. He is a child of the 60s after all.

After the show we waited for the theatre to entire empty -- we were among the last dozen out -- so we ran no risk of Karen's leg being bumped. We encountered the longest cab line I have ever seen. It went back to the parking garage on the lot next door. About 2,000 people at one cab every 30 to 60 seconds. Karen would never have made it to the back of the line so I told her to wait and I'd go to the back but she asked the guy loading the cabs if we could go because of her injury. He pretty much told her to get in the back of the line but she's a very good whiner and the people in the front of the line said it was okay. So I loaded her in the cab (she can't do it herself) and off we went, getting stuck in the traffic leaving the big fight card at the MGM. (Here's someone else's review of a show earlier this year.)

Came back to the hotel, donated money to the construction fund (that's what you call playing the slots), bought some water and off to bed, or in my case to write this blog.

Depend on how Karen feels tomorrow will determine when she goes home. I will assume most of the day will be spent at the hotel.

What Happens In Vegas, Stays in Vegas -- until you read this post

Flight got in last night on schedule and the luggage some 45 minutes later (typical for Vegas). All was in order. Cab line went quick but asshole cab driver took us for serious ride. Very pissed. LAS to Mandalay Bay is a $10 cab ride at best and it was $20. I even said something. I didn't get his cab number or I'd have reported him. Checked in and found Karen's room had been moved to another hotel, but they managed to move it back so we could be on the same floor. They put us both in the handicapped section. Same rooms but they have special showers, toilets, and are large to accommodate wheelchairs. How prophetic that would be.

I was in bed at midnight local time and up at 3am local time, back in bed, and up for good at 4am local time which is 7am Eastern. Resisted urge to use computer but caved at 5am due to boredom. Emailed Karen that I was up, she answered shortly thereafter, so we were out of the hotel a little before 7 to walk to the Bellagio for the buffet.

We walked from the Bay to the Luxor, to Excalibur, to NY NY, past the Monte Carlo, via the CVS for water and then stopped to gape at the soon to open CityScape -- it's due to open in under 30 days and there's no way it's going to make it. Not if they follow building codes. Made some gambling stops and lost. As is to be expected.

Ate at the buffet until we were both overstuffed. I was pleased to have two glasses of watermelon juice, two hot chocolates, a glass of water, and three trips to the buffet for brunch (skipping red meat) and a fourth trip for fruit and dessert. I got my $26 worth. I tried to comp it but the bitch at the host desk was clearly new (and really rude) and failed to understand 4500 points at any MGM property is good for quite a few buffets. But she insisted since my Bellagio totals were small, I wasn't entitled. So I said screw it, and just went and paid. You gotta pick your battles and with several more days here, it's not a big deal. I'll use it later.

Walked from Bellagio to TI to get the new players card as it's switched ownership and is no longer and MGM property. Cut across to the Wynn to go see Encore but were sidetracked by Wynn's first ever warehouse auction that Karen insisted we see. About thirty minutes in line to look at some very very expensive stuff being sold for very very cheap. Such as: $2500 suits for $200, Avenue Q stuff for a DIME, Ferrari Sterling Silver business card cases $15, and tons of women's clothes, furniture, fixtures, china, and flatware. We spent about ten minutes there, took one look at the checkout line and left. Went through the Encore which is half finished, and then out to the strip. We crossed the street to the median (big intersection, fast light). Light changed, I stepped off the curb onto the yellow safety dot (you know the raised dots for blind people), and Karen (assumedly) had the same plan only the sidewalk went down, and so did she. A big face plant, banged her face, nose, both elbows, and both knees. None of it looked to bad until she tried to stand. One knee hurt her so we hiked up her pant leg and it was barely bleeding and didn't seem bad. Barely swollen so she decided to walk it off. We made it two blocks to Walgreen's (near the convention center) and she started saying it hurt. So we bought her Band-aids®, ice packs, and such. We left and made it about 20 feet, me still insisting we take a cab to the hotel so she could rest. She started to tear up, looked at it again and it was obviously more swollen. I got a cab (no easy trick where we were), and she finally said she wanted to go to a clinic. We told the cab driver to take us to an Urgent Care facility, but he took us to a real hospital ER via the slowest route possible using first gear or possibly reverse.

We got there, he helped me get her out as she couldn't move at this point, and I paid him and he left. Went to the desk and the guy pointed WAY down at another desk and said that was check-in and we should walk there. I carried her as best as I could where they took her name and said they'd be with her in just a few minutes as soon as they were done with the lady in triage. Some Time Later, she was called, they checked her out, and admitted her to the trauma ward. Yeah, it was that bad. (This story is posted with her permission, for dignity sake I am leaving parts out).

So the nurse's name was Karen and the doctor's name was Eric. How cool and weird and coincidental is that? Anyway, he poked, proded, and otherwise inspected her. I left the room so she could put on her hospital gown. The iced her, drugged her, and then x-rayed her. Nothing is broken. It's strained and sprained at minimum and she'll need and MRI when she's home. She can't drive and her car's at MIA. She leaves tomorrow and I'm here on business for a few more days. She is in a full immobilization brace on her driving leg. So, she's trying to find someone who can drive a BMW M3 with paddle shifters to come to the airport in a cab and drive her home (she'll pay for the cab). If you can help, email me or her or call my mobile or her mobile.

Called a cab from the ER which came and thankfully it was a great driver in a big van. I had him stop at CVS, picked up Karen's prescriptions -- thankfully they were really nice and did this first since I was paying for a cab to wait. Then got her out of the cab and to her room, which happily is a handicapped room since she needs one. She's now drugged in her room and I'm now treating the migraine from hell on myself.

I am assuming Santana is cancelled for tonight since I won't leave her alone. No idea what I'll do tomorrow since our original plans are clearly scuttled as they involved 5 or 6 miles of walking. And that is your 3pm update from Las Vegas.

Go Bears and Pizza

US News and World Report released its annual "Best Public Universities In The Nation" list. Sitting right at the top in first position is, again, UC Berkeley.

Another organization has released its list of the best Universities in the world (public or private) and I'd like to tell you that Cal was at the top as it has been in the past. Sadly, we've slipped to number three behind Harvard and Stanford (eewww) but ahead of Cambridge. Poor Oxford has really slipped.

I had pizza just now -- extra thin crust, extra cheese, light sauce, and ham (my preferred pizza). First time I've ever had Papa John's. It's indeed better than Domino's by a longshot. It's less greasy than Pizza Hut but the flavour's similar, maybe a slight edge to PJ. Still nowhere near Mario The Baker (original location) though.

And, for the record, I still hate this cough.

Insert Subject Of Your Choice Here

I'll start off with this quote from McClatchy-Tribune Information Services' Jon Dawson who is reviewing the new Britney Spears release: "The Singles Collection gathers all of Britney Spears singles released between the years of 1999 and 2009. This is a good thing, because if they're all in one place, maybe somebody with a flamethrower can destroy them before more people are exposed to them. The earth is running out of oil and water, yet both of these fragile resources were used to create this 29-disc box set." That's fantastic. That's more brutal than almost anything I've ever written. I laughed. I posted it on FaceBook. I want to share it with my readers because it's hysterically funny.

This link goes to a list of theme parks and various brochures and maps of them, some back to the 1930s. It's got Carowinds, Opryland, Disney, Six Flags, Great American, and many, many more. There's a European section too. Thanks to John Carney for this link.

I rarely take the side of Microsoft or say anything nice about them. If you feel the shock of me saying nice things will be too much for your system, you might want to skip this bit. As you're well aware, the only Microsoft product of the modern era I don't hate are some of their mouse products. I use an Optical IntelliMouse at home and the wireless version at work and the Bluetooth one with the laptop (the mouse is mine, not work's).

Earlier this week Microsoft did something that warmed my heart considerably. Microsoft decided that anyone who modified their X-Box wasn't allowed to use their on-line servers any more.  Now, before you get your knickers in a knot or your panties in a wad, I absolutely and unequivocally support your right to do whatever you want to your X-Box (PS3, Wii, etc.) once you own it. It's yours, not theirs.

However, they are in business to make money -- leaving aside any argument whether or not they deserver it -- and so if their terms of use for their On-Line service say, only original unmodified equipment can be used, then that is their right. It's a private company and nobody has right of access. That's the end of that. Period. You can bet others will follow suit. Microsoft told BBC News that banned machines will be permanently barred and "unable to connect to Xbox Live." Users will have to buy new machines if they want to do that. Yeah, it's a bit harsh, but there ya' go. When you did it, you knew there would be consequences, so don't be mad that this is what they are. The unit will still work for off-line play. Will someone come up with a mod-chip that bypasses this? Likely so. Do I care? Not at all. I am just amused at all the whiners -- they won't win, can't win this battle. Microsoft, to use their own terms PWND them.

This parallels my feelings for Psystar vs Apple. If Psystar actually buys the copies of OS-X as it claims -- which I am skeptical about -- then they should be allowed to modify them. Sadly, courts have time and time again ruled that software that you buy is not your software. In most cases, you are purchasing a license to use the software. That means you can't legally modify it. I modify software for various reasons, mostly performance tweaks and such. Considering I actually buy my software and don't steal (pirate) it, I feel perfectly entitled to do what I want with it including installing it on more than one machine. If I'm only using one copy at a time, I think that's fine -- many companies have seen the light and now let you install the software on both a desktop and laptop. Others continue to suck.

Our corporate Twitter account continues to gain followers though it's still something we're not active with. Same goes for our FaceBook page. I've packed for the trade show and managed to get it all into one overstuffed piece of luggage and one way-too-heavy backpack. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to ship most of it back and not have to check luggage. I have to check in for my flight, cancel the paper, and all those things.

I heard U2's With Or Without You today. I happened to look at the RDS data and noticed this song was from 1987. Damn. 22 years old. I think I'll just go to a retirement home now.

Due to the trade show, I will be slow to reply to e-mails, moderate comments, and all that good stuff. Be patient. And this cough, I hate it: I'm a bit more phlegmy and a lot more coughy.

Hello There

First, a special 'hello' to Nucor Steel's corporate office in Charlotte who've made several visits to my blog in the past few days. Guys, you know I actually check my logs, right? I'm not looking for you specifically but I do see you -- you leave a large digital fingerprint every time you visit. I don't really care, but if you think you're being sneaky, you're failing miserably. If you have any questions, I'm sure you can find me at the trade show next week. I am amused. Seriously. Find something better to do.

I am looking forward to the trade show, not because it'll be fun but because it'll give me a break. I'm missing hockey to go, but if you've seen the Panthers performance, you'll know why I don't care: because they don't either. They are tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for next to last in the entire league. The Panthers are sucking the big, fat furry one. If anyone has Peter DeBoer's fax number, I would love to fax him something that will leave an impression if they hang it on the locker room door.

We've got two possibly interesting events scheduled besides our actual meetings:  Santana concert, Frank Caliendo stand-up. Business dinners scheduled at Kokomo's (of course), Nero's, and Ferraro's. We've not eaten at the last two, so we'll see how they are. We're taking a break from Mesa Grill. I'm sure at some point I will manage the Bellagio Breakfast Buffet and eat until I'm sick. It may not sound like a good thing to do, but I assure you it is. So far there are four meetings and a seminar scheduled Monday with almost no free time at all. Tuesday is the actual show. Wednesday is the second day of the show, but I'm not attending and coming home early. I should be home in the small hours Thursday so I can return to work that same day. Then again, knowing how airlines work, that may not happen.

I ate leftover steak for dinner. It's definitely not as good the second time around. Normally I don't have leftovers, but I made way too much last time so I had to save one for tonight. I was also possessed to eat some yoghurt. I've not been a big fan, but I finally decided to give it a try again after two decades. It was whipped chocolate Yoplait. In fairness, it was better than some other yoghurts I've tried, but it still tastes like yoghurt, so I think I'm done for another two decades.

I've started shopping for Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa. I've pared my list down quite a bit over the years: I had 22 in 2006, 16 in 2008, 12 in 2008, and now just 10 in 2009. I'm sure it'll be down even shorter next year. And I will remind everyone, there will be no mass holiday card mailing this year. Last year's was the last of a fifteen year tradition, a victim of indifference.

Tim continues to be an excellent smart-ass though he'll never be as good as me. If his IQ weren't in the single digits, he'd be dangerous. See, Tim, I told you I'd get you.


And lastly, did I mention the cough really sucks and won't go away? I'm so tired of it. I woke up today and thought I was over it. But by 11ish it had returned in force, and by 1pm it had won.



I hate packing for trade shows. I'm trying to fit three suitcases worth of crap into one backpack and one checked piece of luggage. (If you're in the screw, nut, and bolt business, you can't bring your stuff on planes so we all have to check luggage or ship stuff ahead.)

The Aliens Have Arrived

I'm watching V -- second episode. Getting weird interference which sort of sucks -- the frames seem to be skipping every now and again, and there's the random red streak through the picture for a fraction of a second. Pretty weird that it's happening on this show.

Anna is definitely smoking hot and she oozes with the charm of a used car salesman -- I'm pretty sure it's intentional. The guy who plays Chad the newscaster reminds me of Michael J. Fox. Except I like Michael J Fox and this guy is just irritatingly smug. Every time he smiles, I want to punch him in the fake teeth. I like the big black guy alien, but I don't remember his name. Erica, the lady FBI agent's okay, as is her son Tyler. Her partner was so-so. Father Jack is pretty good and he's actually trying. It's an interesting set of actors with far ranging skill sets.

I mention V first, because it's a segue into the next topic. There has been more and more extraterrestrials and whether they're real or not. More and more evidence appears in mainstream media. There are tons of video clips on YouTube -- some clearly hoaxes, some nebulous, and some clearly showing something. There's the news clips, though. More and more newscasts around the globe are reporting these things that have no explanation including Larry King. There are reports from foreign military groups such as the Belgian Air Force, including the hundreds of thousands of pages of documentation the UK released earlier this year. They don't leave much doubt that nobody knows what or who these visitors are. Don't believe it? Here's the link to the British Government's National Archives. These are the actual documents released by the Ministry of Defence. Too bad the US government won't release our documents. I'm curious about Roswell -- one way or another.

A few friends and I have been (independently) discussing this. I won't reveal who they are, because unlike me they might care what others think. I don't suffer from that affliction on this topic. We all agree, and we came to this independently, that sometime before the end of the decade there will be first contact. That is, aliens will make themselves known to us somehow. There will be undeniable proof. Some people theorize mass chaos, others think it'll be paradise found. I'm thinking life will go on with some cool new things. None of my friends think these aliens will be bad, though they may not be benevolent, either adhering to some secret agenda of their own. Yeah, aliens are coming, but it won't be like on TV (or V).

The hardest hit will be religion, because religion is all about Man and God. If you add another intelligent life, perhaps greater than man, that raises horribly difficult questions. It's also possible the aliens may be an ancient race (or not) and be able to prove or disprove what is written in the Bible (or not). It will be a very difficult time for organized religion. Say what you want about organized religion, they aren't stupid. They're smart and they're powerful. They control flocks of their faithful and while they all seem different, there are certain things that would cause groups of two or more major religions to set aside their differences.

So it should come as no surprise that no less than the Vatican itself is now re-investigating more seriously the possibility of life outside of Earth. And they're not hiding it. It might turn out to be a sham like many government investigations or maybe it'll be legitimate. But get ready, because by the end of this decade I predict you all will see with your own eyes intelligent life from another planet*.

I continue to enjoy Fake Michael Yormark thoroughly. Whomever he/she/they may be, there's plenty of amusement to go around. It's getting a little more smarmy and vicious.

And I hate this fucking cough. HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE.

* Congress doesn't qualify since I used the word intelligent

Berlin Wall and such

I'll start with the doctor. He said I can expect to have my cough another one or two weeks. Yay.

This is from the legendary lawyer, Razzie. I am speechless. Seriously. This is the most unusual, bizarre, unreal, unspeakable, product I've ever seen. It's a real product for a real condition. You will laugh or cry. Pick one.

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall's fall. Last night I watched a fascinating special (either National Geographic or Smithsonian, don't remember). What's kind of neat is my friend Jan lived through it as an East German. When we visited him in Berlin he told us a lot about it and that whole era and time. It's interesting hearing it from someone who was actually there. We saw the wall (what was left), Checkpoint Charlie (it still stands), and the Wall Museum. A little piece of history I remember so well, watching it on TV. I still remember "Mister Gorbachev, tear down this wall."

Why do I read business reports? Stories like this one, may not be interesting on the surface but you learn things by reading them. Like Cadburys owns Green & Black chocolatiers and Kraft owns Toblerone. Who knew? It's chocolate, I have to care. That's why I read those reports.

Speaking of 20 years ago today, this site is worth exploring. You'll feel very old. Better yet, go here and select a year. Then cry.

Insanity

Today my experience that all women are clinically insane on some level was confirmed. I will not relate the story, but must point out banging your head on a concrete wall is far more productive than trying to understand women. I know it's a cliché, I know it's dinosaur-era thought, but it's still true. So there. Hate me if you want. You are all crazy. Enough said.

A negative shout out to the Panthers who continue to not show up to their games. Another negative shout out to the Dolphins who refuse to win a game out of spite. A friendly shout out to Tim, who's cranky but getting better. A special Happy Birthday to Brenda.

My cough will not die. Damn I hate it. I think it's time to call the doctor instead of waiting another week.

I'm sure you've all read my Nucor rant. I thought I'd share this button I shall be wearing on my lapel at the Fastener Show. If I were really petty, I'd organize a boycott, but frankly I don't have the energy. (If you want a button and you're local, ask me. I have about a dozen of 'em.)

The button is 1-1/2" round.

I've pulled out the suitcase and will start packing for NIFS. I hate checking luggage, but since the fastener show involves sharp, pointy objects I have no choice. DOHS would not be pleased if I tried to bring them on the plane. New laptop is at home and it's all done being configured. Tomorrow we're going to make all the dinner reservations.

Not sure what else to report than anyone would care about.

Did I mention I hate this cough?

Nucor Suffers Crushing Defeat

The good, fantastic, thrilling news is that Nucor, thanks to our industry's objections, had their complaint voted down 6-0 so there is no immediate effect. We Twittered and posted on our Facebook account earlier today. The official ruling may be read here. 

Why did they lose? I don't know. However a 6-0 decision against them is a crushing, extraordinarily rare ruling. It may be the panel figured out their filing was sloppy as hell (including many companies not involved in the business of bolts and nuts were included on both sides), maybe they didn't like Nucor's lawyering wherein they made totally false statements as to certain facts. They certainly didn't believe Nucor and a 6-0 defeat is indicative of that.

The bad news is that Nucor gets a chance to appeal to the Internation Trade Comission Court. That takes 8 to 12 months. That organization can either dismiss it and it's dead or they can remand it back and say the ITC has to reconsider it. That's rare. The ITC then can affirm its decision or (even rarer) overturn itself. That's like getting a politician to say "I was wrong" -- unlikely.

At some point, Nucor will refile an amended complaint, assumedly with a law firm that conducts better research. It's expected that complaint will only cover Grades 5, 8, A325, and A490 hex machine bolts )woth matching nuts of course) because they have a case on some of those items. That one will likely pass -- possibly with the grade 5 bolts stricken from the list -- but this will be nearly two years down the road.

This is a HUGE defeat for Nucor and will keep thousands of American people working in their jobs in our industry. On behalf of my company, we want to thank the many people who offered their support and encouragement. We further want to thank those who took the time to complain or otherwise make their feelings known with the USDOC and ITC. This is a service to American workers and American industry. It's really a shame Nucor saw otherwise.

I do not hate Nucor despite some people's claims. I just don't like them or how they do business. And as one of the people at my company who can make a decision to not buy from a company, we didn't buy from Nucor and we will continue to not buy from Nucor. We buy from Infasco, happily. Nicer people, nicer attitude, and excellent quality. Customer service does matter. If Nucor learned that, they might not be in the position they are in now. This case proves they still don't get it. The customer is always right even when he isn't.

(And I have received so far eight congratulatory phone calls thanking me for my tireless work. I'm pleased but I don't need the credit. This was a group effort. An industry that hates each other came together as a group to fight this. This is a rare time when the system worked. Friends and family got involved too.)

A Brutally Long Post With Serious Stuff At The End

I am not a Carl Hiaasen fan. Sorry, Carl. I'm just wildly indifferent about his writing, but Dave sent me a link to the latest Hiaasen column and it's priceless. This is what I call a WIN. Well done, sir. Well done. Bravo! A nicer piece of mockery I would be hard pressed to find. Speaking of mockery, Fake Michael Yormark continues to write scathing bits in his/her blog, though I am not nearly as entertained by his/her Twittering; it appears just to be there to send traffic to the blog. All my Panther buddies would do well to keep FMY in their RSS feeds. I do.

Over at my Flickr page, I posted some photos of a few of my authentic game-worn collectibles. I thought it might be interesting to for people to see this stuff. We've got two Brett McLean items, a pair of Trevor Kidd items, and a Mario Lemieux item. I've got tons of pucks and jerseys none of which are pictured -- though a number are listed on my for sale page. Prices for friends negotiable. To see the Flickr pictures, just click the Flickr button on the left sidebar. I got the McLean stuff from Matt Redmond formerly of the Miami Matadors (where I was briefly 'employed' as the volunteer webmaster). He's got some great authenticated game worn stuff. If you're interested, contact me and I'll put you in touch.

The Tube has changed the route of the Circle Line. It used to be a circle, and formed (more or less) the boundary for "zone one." It was called the Circle Line because it went in a great big (one hour) circle. I am all for progress usually, but I kind of think that maybe the should rename it since it no longer makes a circle. Here's the re-route, and the most distinguishing thing is it has a start and end whereas originally it was a circle with trains running clockwise and anti-clockwise. I'm just objecting to keeping the name.

To my Facebook friends, there is a way to add a Dislike button now. You need Firefox to do it and anyone else needs Firefox to view it. Here's the add-on. I've installed it and it works great. This is Facebook's most requested feature, and it's the least likely to arrive. Here's your answer. You have to tick the "add experimental add-on" button but don't be afraid. Quit your browser and restart and you're golden.

A few of you aren't going to like this one, but I am greatly amused -- and keep in mind that I am opposed to Obama's proposed Health Care Disaster Reform. To sum it up, an ultra-conservative magazine published an article about the alleged "death panels" and used as its example in their editorial: “People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn’t have a chance in the U.K., where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless.” Um, yeah, hello? Stephen Hawking who they claim wouldn’t have a chance in the United Kingdom was in fact born in the United Kingdom, has lived his entire life in the United Kingdom and lives there still today. Hawking himself responded, “I wouldn’t be here today if it were not for the NHS. I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived.” Like I said, a favour a plan. I just don't favour the current plan. Go read my previous commentary from my 31 October post.

You all know one of the largest peeves I have is the inability of people to use apo'stro'phe's properly. From it's/its to atrocities like their's and banana's, I get apoplectic over it. Someone else clearly does and has posted this awesome graphic. I wish all my readers would read it.

In college I watched and liked the original mini-series "V" -- though I will be the first to admit it hasn't aged well and going back and seeing those episodes on DVD (I own the whole series) is painful.  I recorded the pilot of the new "V" on my DVR (aka TiFaux). I watched with some trepidation because I didn't think there was much chance it would be any good. I knew everything that was going to happen, right? Is it great television? No. Will it be a hit? Yes. I liked it. It was entertaining. They made some major changes to the plot to keep it a little more interesting and a lot more plausible -- and that same thing opened up a gaping credibility hole. I won't spoil it for you by spilling. The bottom line is I'm going to watch next week's episode too.

I'm sure you're all sick of hearing about Hippo Burger, aka Hippopotamus Restaurant. I don't care. I've got a little more to share with you. First here's the actual menu is here thanks to the same guy who scanned the cover. He can be my friend because he made me really, really happy. And more importantly he's an old photo of the actual restaurant he mentioned to me.

Lastly, a very serious topic. This is where you need to pay attention. I'm going to talk about Google and Privacy (with a capital P). You all use Google. I'm betting I don't have one reader who has never used it. We all knew Google stored a lot of information about what we did on-line and what it shared and with whom. If you use GoogleChat (which is part of GMail) every chat you've ever had is saved forever by default. Forever is a long time. Most people have never turned it off. Everything you've ever searched for on Google while logged in is saved. Everything. Forever. That search you did seven years ago for 'hookers with big tits' is still there. You betcha. Even if you use private browsing, if you are logged into any Google service, it's all recorded. They know more about you than your spouse and parents. At first I thought I was exaggerating to make my point, but after looking through it I'm not sure.


Google has always let you manage your search history, but almost nobody knew how. Me, I never really cared -- a little convenience goes a long way to making me happy in exchange for a little bit of privacy. But what I saw upset me more than a little. I have a Picasa account. I didn't even make one. When I registered for Blogger and created a profile picture, Google made one for me and put my picture there. No shit. Blogger, YouTube, Google, Alerts, Google Calendar, Google Contacts, Google Docs, Friend Connect, Gmail, iGoogle, Orkut, Picasa, your master Google Profile, Google Reader, Google Talk, Google Voice / Grand Central. Those are all applications you can now control what information is stored, who it's shared with. You can also delete stored information. Those, BTW, are all applications which I have supposedly used and/or set up accounts with. Some of them I know I've never used -- like Picasa -- that i assumed are set up by other Google products. At the bottom of my screen it says "and 12 more applications" and those are ones which it's not possible for me to control. That list is equally disturbing. And to those of you have something to hide, it's even worse. I don't much care -- and I went through all of it, and you know what? I deleted barely a half-dozen things: mostly my medical searches. I don't feel that's public or should be.

You need to here  http://www.google.com/dashboard and you'll probably have to log in. There should be a link under your accounts tab if you prefer. You need to go look at what's there and change what you don't like. Allow an hour or more. And prepare to be shocked, appalled, or possibly embarrassed.

I am not picking on Google at all. They've made no pretence of hiding what they're doing or why. And they've given us (way too late) the means to control what's collected. Yahoo, MSN, and everyone else does the same thing.Google has gone boldly first in giving something back that shouldn't have been taken away to begin with.