December 07, 2007
December 05, 2007
Kitty Wig
Please for the love of god don't do this to your pet. And is it just me or is there a curiously strange resemblance to one of the Tori Amos personae on her latest album?
Random Questions
Cheney has a heart? Who knew.
I always suspected Mary Poppins was a horror picture:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T5_0AGdFic
After Star Wars I, why did anyone let George Lucas continue to write dialog for II and III?
I always suspected Mary Poppins was a horror picture:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T5_0AGdFic
After Star Wars I, why did anyone let George Lucas continue to write dialog for II and III?
November 28, 2007
Enough
Enough already with the phrases that should have been banished a long time ago. For starters....
(only) time will tell: Yeah, and all babies must eat. Injecting this nugget into any discussion is far from sounding wise and sage-like. It just says "Hi! I'm Captain Obvious!"
we shall see: as above, but also regularly used as ominous warning in postings on extreme right and left wing blogs.
At the end of the day: a sorry excuse of a linguistic crutch.
Each and every: direct to you from the department of redundancy department.
(only) time will tell: Yeah, and all babies must eat. Injecting this nugget into any discussion is far from sounding wise and sage-like. It just says "Hi! I'm Captain Obvious!"
we shall see: as above, but also regularly used as ominous warning in postings on extreme right and left wing blogs.
At the end of the day: a sorry excuse of a linguistic crutch.
Each and every: direct to you from the department of redundancy department.
September 18, 2007
Language Abuse
In the Deseret Morning News there was an article about underage drinking and, specifically, parents giving their kids alcohol and even sponsoring parties (where they take all the car keys from the kids - the assumption that a controlled environment without driving keeps the kids safer). But the unintended hilarity was in one of the comments, obviously from an underage drinker:
Drinkers will drink, when they have the chance to do the deed. Why not supply to the inebriated and interested? These are the days of our lives, growing up in a dry state with hyperventilated ethics and murals! When will we all understand that alcohol doesn't kill, and that kids will be teenagers eventually and adults certainly?Wow! I didn't know our ethics were hyperventilated! And we have murals!!!
September 13, 2007
Be Careful About The Songs You Choose
I'm frequently surprised, sometimes even shocked, at what songs advertising and marketing execs use in their ads. Do any of them actually listen to or even bother to search out the full lyrics of the songs they use? Do they look up the references in the songs? Do they try to understand what the song is actually saying? The most recent one brought to my attention was the use of Iggy Pop's "Lust For Life" in Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines current ad campaign. I wonder how the RCCL execs, reveling in the cleverness of the "Lust for life" chorus lyrics, would react if they knew the contents of just one of the verses:
Here comes johnny yen againSure seems to match well with the Royal Caribbean brand image, doesn't it?
With the liquor and drugs
And the flesh machine
He's gonna do another strip tease
Hey man, where'd ya get that lotion?
I've been hurting since I've bought the gimmick
About something called love
Yeah, something called love
Well, that's like hypnotizing chickens
August 17, 2007
From The Delusional Actors File
Steven Seagal (who? remember him?) seems to think that an FBI probe ruined his career:
Gee, Steven, it's just a wild guess, but maybe your career was ruined because you can barely act and most of your movies just plain suck. (Although the Under Siege movies were OK guilty pleasures.)
"False FBI accusations fueled thousands of articles saying that I terrorize journalists and associate with the Mafia," Seagal told the newspaper. "These kinds of inflammatory allegations scare studio heads and independent producers -- and kill careers."
Seagal, 56, was once a major star of action movies such as 1992's "Under Siege," which earned $156 million at worldwide box offices, but now he makes straight-to-DVD releases such as "Flight of Fury and "Attack Force."
Gee, Steven, it's just a wild guess, but maybe your career was ruined because you can barely act and most of your movies just plain suck. (Although the Under Siege movies were OK guilty pleasures.)
August 13, 2007
Stop Opening Attachments From Unknown Senders!!!
For the love of god stop opening email attachments or clicking on links from senders you don't know! It's mid 2007; the fricken Web is well over a decade old. Do people still need to be reminded of this? Really? Are people still not running and/or keeping up-to-date anti-virus + anti-spyware + firewall software? Really?
For the past few weeks there's been an ever-increasing wave of spam claiming "You've received a greeting card from a friend/colleague/worshipper/family member/neighbor/classmate/business partner/random asshole." Click on the enclosed link, often a PDF file, which is sometimes sent as an attachment, and your PC has just contracted the Storm worm and become part of the Storm zombie network that sends out even more spam - or worse. According to security firm SecureWorks, 1.7 million idiots have done just that. The number of Storm attacks blocked by SecureWorks has skyrocketed, from 71,342 for the first five months of the year to 20.2M since June. The scary thing is that computer security experts are concerned that a botnet of that size is capable of an ginormous DDOS attack - one that big enough to bring down a small country or big chunks of the US government.
So do your eyes light up in eager anticipation when you get an email that Ronald Reagan has sent you an e-card and you rush to click the link? Quit being a moron! And make sure your security software is constantly updated. Or at least buy a Mac fer crissakes!
For the past few weeks there's been an ever-increasing wave of spam claiming "You've received a greeting card from a friend/colleague/worshipper/family member/neighbor/classmate/business partner/random asshole." Click on the enclosed link, often a PDF file, which is sometimes sent as an attachment, and your PC has just contracted the Storm worm and become part of the Storm zombie network that sends out even more spam - or worse. According to security firm SecureWorks, 1.7 million idiots have done just that. The number of Storm attacks blocked by SecureWorks has skyrocketed, from 71,342 for the first five months of the year to 20.2M since June. The scary thing is that computer security experts are concerned that a botnet of that size is capable of an ginormous DDOS attack - one that big enough to bring down a small country or big chunks of the US government.
So do your eyes light up in eager anticipation when you get an email that Ronald Reagan has sent you an e-card and you rush to click the link? Quit being a moron! And make sure your security software is constantly updated. Or at least buy a Mac fer crissakes!
June 27, 2007
Your Ideal Candidate
Go to http://www.selectsmart.com/president/2008.html to take a 25 question quiz that supposedly matches your political views with the current crop of candidates. My results were:
June 04, 2007
Infringement? You Decide.
UB40 wants $500K from Paris Hilton. Why?
First watch this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=inJojpOXWZQ
Then watch this one: http://youtube.com/watch?v=gvneOtIK38w
First watch this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=inJojpOXWZQ
Then watch this one: http://youtube.com/watch?v=gvneOtIK38w
May 02, 2007
This Must Stop
White bread geek boys and rap. They Just. Don't. Mix.
Here's the What You Know About Math video. Watch at your own risk. While seated. On an empty stomach.
Here's the What You Know About Math video. Watch at your own risk. While seated. On an empty stomach.
April 12, 2007
Leadership
There's a new book out: "Where Have All The Leaders Gone?" by Lee Iacocca. In it he shreds Bush for his stunning incompetence. Alas, it will probably get Iacocca placed on the no-fly list. Here's an excerpt:
Read more of the excerpt here
Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course."Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.
Read more of the excerpt here
April 10, 2007
Useful Error Messages #32568
I'm so thrilled that I got my very own GX error:
C'mon developers! There's no excuse to be this incredibly lazy.GX Error (GX2GX)
socket result code missing!!!
March 30, 2007
What Spammers Think Of Us
Just got a piece of spam for some kind of shopping spree. As usual there was a link to have my address removed from their list if I didn't want to receive any more "special offers via e-mail". The link was:
http://www.virginiaorganizedqualified.info/745r/pitifulestNotice that last directory name. So if I opt out of their mailings, I'm not merely pitiful, but the greatest degree of pitifulness? Asshats.
March 06, 2007
Damn! Another Golden Scam Opportunity Missed!
Once again, someone beat me in dreaming up a great scam for relieving morons of their money. Seems that a California entrepreneur has come up with bottled holy water:
Full article here.
Snake oil refuses to die.
As the body thirsts, so does the soul. So why drink regular drinking water when you can partake in a more blessed beverage? Bottled Holy drinking water is bottled in Stockton, California and blessed by priests from southern California.
Full article here.
Snake oil refuses to die.
Faux News Does It Again
[Image from www.boingboing.net]
Fox once again publishes what they desperately want to be true, not what actually happened.
Yes, in all fairness, Fox is technically correct (by the slimmest of semantics): of the 5 indictments against him, Libby was found guilty on only 4. The one he was acquitted of was indeed a charge that he gave false statements to the FBI about his conversation with Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper. However, he was found guilty on count #2: he intentionally gave FBI agents false information about a conversation he had with NBC’s Tim Russert regarding Valerie Plame Wilson.
So, he was found not guilty of lying to the FBI on one count, but was guilty of lying to the FBI on another count. But you wouldn't know this from Fox's breathless breaking news crawl.
It really doesn't matter though. No matter what Fox says, we have yet another convicted felon in the Bush administration.
March 01, 2007
Grow A Set Already
First it was Obama, who felt he had to apologize for saying American troop lives were wasted in Iraq. Now it's McCain. Last night on Letterman he said:
On a related note....Obama's quote about wasted lives creates a firestorm as the "liberal media" breathlessly reports it in every nook and cranny of the country and the right wing noise machine goes into blustery overdrive. McCain says the same thing and it's barely mentioned by any of the major media. Where the hell is the outrage from Beck, Hannity, Malkin, Limbo, and the other asshats?
Yet today, he found it necessary to release this statement:"Americans are very frustrated, and they have every right to be. We've wasted a lot of our most precious treasure, which is American lives."
"Last evening, I referred to American casualties in Iraq as wasted. I should have used the word sacrificed, as I have in the past. No one appreciates and honors more than I do the selfless patriotism of American servicemen and women in the Iraq War. We owe them a debt we can never fully repay."Hey! Politicians! Get a clue and grow a set of balls already! Have the nerve to tell the truth. Bush has done exactly that with his fabricated, illegal war - he's wasted the lives of over 3000 American troops and 100000 Iraqis needlessly. McCain doesn't realize that pointless sacrifice = wasted.
On a related note....Obama's quote about wasted lives creates a firestorm as the "liberal media" breathlessly reports it in every nook and cranny of the country and the right wing noise machine goes into blustery overdrive. McCain says the same thing and it's barely mentioned by any of the major media. Where the hell is the outrage from Beck, Hannity, Malkin, Limbo, and the other asshats?
Spam Generators Are Fun
We all know about spambots using random dictionary words in an attempt to get past Bayesian spam filters. Two recent ones are notable. First, from the subject line, we have a new sport for quantum physicists: Eigenspace Baseball
Then there's a perfect headline for a news story waiting to be written: Laptop being tossed, balcony furious.
Then there's a perfect headline for a news story waiting to be written: Laptop being tossed, balcony furious.
February 16, 2007
Ironic
As we all are well aware, Fox (aka Faux) "News" is a heavily biased, Republican/conservative propaganda organization, especially their "commentators" (radical right cheerleaders and Bush apologists all). But every now and then, even slimeballs like Dick Morris get in a good shot and cogent comment.
Dick Morris listed the four top Republican presidential contenders: John McCain, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani and pointed out that "The only one of these guys who hasn't had multiple wives is the Mormon."
Dick Morris listed the four top Republican presidential contenders: John McCain, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani and pointed out that "The only one of these guys who hasn't had multiple wives is the Mormon."
February 15, 2007
MS Vista
Haven't touched Vista yet - don't intend to for the foreseeable future. However, based on what I've read and screen shots, isn't MS Vista basically Mac OS 6 or 7?
February 14, 2007
Things to Save
A friend just wrote in an IM: : "Bad Valentine's Day pig card juju."
Something tells me I should save this...I don't know why.
Something tells me I should save this...I don't know why.
The New Blog Format
So after monkeying around with templates, layout, html, css, xml, new Blogger vs old Blogger, and a few other choice buzz words, we now have the web 2.0-ified Thinking Sand Blog.
February 05, 2007
Yawn.
Just watched the video clip of Prince's big stupid bowl half-time show. If you care, watch or get it now over at You Tube before the NFL legal goons force a take-down. Inexplicably, some folks are all kinds of excited about this same-old boring, overproduced, over-hyped, bloated, half-time show we've come to expect from the asshats at the NFL. But this one had Prince! Whoopie f-ing doo. And a word to supposedly cutting edge musical acts: marching bands don't augment, improve, provide a counterpoint to, or even gracefully coexist with any kind of music. Ever. See Fleetwood Mac and "Tusk" for further proof.
February 03, 2007
Owwww! My Ears! My Eyes!
This is just so wrong on so many levels. I don't even like the original that much, but this is just offensive. If ever an excuse was needed to never see or hear gawky toothpick Celine Dion again, this would be it.
January 31, 2007
January 05, 2007
The Dumbest Representative Sweepstakes
In the past, Utah had a solid lock on having the dumbest representative(s) in the House and Senate. Who can forget the moronic insanity of former rep. Jim Hansen or the current punishingly stupid Chris Cannon? Looks like another state may be giving us a run for the money:
The House passed, 430-1, a package of rules aimed at demonstrating Democrats' commitment to cleaning up Congress. Tomorrow, the House will vote on rules designed to end the anonymous sponsorship of pet projects, or earmarks, that have been quietly tucked into spending measures.
``The culture of the last Congress came to be defined by a phrase now common to Americans throughout the country: it was a culture of corruption,'' said House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter, a New York Democrat. ``The American people stated loud and clear that they were ready for a new culture to take hold in Washington: a culture of commitment.''
As the Democrats won control of the House and Senate for the first time in 12 years, exit polls from the November election showed the issue resonated with voters. In a CNN exit poll, 42 percent of respondents said the issue was ``extremely important.''
``This is legislation I wish we had done,'' said Representative Christopher Shays (news, bio, voting record), a Connecticut Republican. ``I'm sorry it took a Democratic majority to do it.'' Jonathan D. Salant, Bloomberg, http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20070105/pl_bloomberg/adc7z497fqsa
So what idiot was the lone dissenting vote? Republican Dan Burton of Indiana.
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