Not Safe for bunny lovers

How many ways can a bunny whack itself? I couldn't stop scrolling.

More . . .

Magic Water

I think that the water at the office should be treated with a blue tint. One that can only be removed with soap. A dye like dentists give kids to chew after they brushed their teeth. I believe this would cut back on the fallacy of magic water. Magic water is the water that comes out of the sink and kills any germs or bacteria without the use of soap.

I'm amazed how many of my co-workers believe in magic water. And they disgust me. And those people who are on their way out of the restroom and do a little jog to the sink as they see someone coming in; ugh.

Now we get personal . . . you've been warned.

I shower in the morning. And I put on clean shorts. I'm clean when I leave the house. Throughout the day I open doors, I share keyboards. I might pump gas using a nozzle that has been touched by millions of people and never been cleaned.
My hands get dirty. Germ and bacteria covered. I wouldn't eat off those hands.
So I wash my hands before I eat. And . . . I wash my hands before I use the restroom. And I wash them when I'm done.

Everything important is clean. And I would be willing to take the blue water test.

Miriam takes a lap

Miriam was jealous when she saw the picture of Gwendolyn on her bike.

"My turn, my turn, MY TURN!"

So here you are, my impatient little imp.

Texas OnLine Lottery Bill fails

We spoke about the bill before the Texas House here. It looks like there is some sense in Texas Government.

Of course we still have bills like HB 146 that

" . . .relates to promoting and furthering self-respect in middle and high school students by prohibiting sexually suggestive performances by dance, drill, cheerleading or any other performance group at school sponsored events. "

How are we going to define "sexually suggestive"? The bill's author, Rep. Al Edwards, also a Democrat from Houston, responded by noting that the activity that would be banned "is like sex -- you'll know it when you see it."

I can see it now, there will be two groups of people volunteering to observe rehearsals; prudes, parents, and perverts. And the smallest group represented will be the parents.

TSA asking for Name & B-day

A U.S. Army soldier comforting a child

Iraq on Yahoo! News Photos

Picture released by the U.S. Army Tuesday, May 3, 2005 shows a U.S. Army soldier comforting a child fatally wounded in a car bomb blast in Mosul, 360 km (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, May 2, 2005. 15 Iraqis were wounded in the combined suicide bomb attack.
(AP Photo/U.S. Army)

I have no words . . .

Don't Let Texas Legalize High Cost Payday Loans

From Consumers Union:

Texas legislators are about to consider HB 846, a bill being pushed by payday lenders. The bill would legalize interest rates of more than 700 percent in Texas by authorizing payday loans under Texas law.

Payday loans are short-term, high-interest loans that are supposed to tide you over between paydays. But the interest rates on these loans exceed 700 percent, and often trap borrowers in a cycle of debt. On average, payday loan borrowers make between 8 and 13 of these
loans each year. Frequently borrowers can only afford to make the interest payment and make no progress paying off the original debt.

---

These loans are evil. There is no other word for them. If you are in Texas, let your representation know that you think this is a bad idea; an evil idea.

If you are not a Texan, see what your state's laws are and try to put a stop to it. Those readers I have in Wisconsin, congratulations to you for having a governor that stands up for the poor there.
The Federal Trade Commission has some hints to avoid using these services.

Here's a report on a study (I couldn't find much in the way of statistics on the web, which concerns me) from 2002 that describes the situation pretty well (as far as I understand it).

The facts are that users of the loans look at the fee for the loan, not the interest. And the loan companies know that their target consumer will likely have to roll over the loan a time or two. The APR then kills the borrower. And as far as profits go. The research I did shows a profit of around 35%.

Deadbeat cookie sales: Girl Scouts sue to recoup money

Man! The Girl Scouts are tough in Wisconsin! They are suing the families of Girls Scouts that have not turned in thier money and buyers that have bounced checks. One suit is claiming $1,485.68 - cookies plus damages. That's a lot of thin mints! {420 boxes for those who were wondering.}

Waukesha - A usually unseen side of the Girl Scouts' annual cookie sale surfaced
Thursday when the Great Blue Heron Council of the organization filed small-claims lawsuits accusing two couples and three women of not ponying up for goodies they ordered.

"Please note that non-payment for Girl Scout cookies represents fraud," the council noted in form letters that preceded the legal action, according to the lawsuits. "We are willing to work with you to set up a repayment plan; however, you must call within the next two weeks to make these arrangements. Link

On being happy

Last month I was involved in an email chain amongst some friends and I was led to respond. Alice has been having extra-ordinary bad luck; out of work, chronic pain, car troubles, kid troubles, lots of pain in her past. Bob thought his troubles were worse and was wondering how to be happy.

Email is probably not the best way to answer you Bob, but I'm going to take a shot anyway.

Alice has more faith in God than anyone I have ever known. I look up to her as a model for the kind I faith I want. But I would be hard pressed to say she is doing well. She has had a hard past and a tough present and none of us can imagine her future. But her life is filled with joy, and hope, and love.

You're in a tough spot too. You seem to be so unhappy. And I wish I could help but I have learned that happiness really does come from within.

When I was stuck in jobs I hated; I looked how I could do my job better and learn something and serve others. And at the same time I looked for other jobs. When I was working three jobs and still losing money; buying rotten potatoes so I could eat the good parts and filling my pockets with ketchup from McDonalds to make soup later; I moved across the country and started over.

I remember thinking that I needed an education to get ahead. I thought about prison as a step up from where I was; food every day, TV, a degree.

When I became unhappy with my social life; my friends, the things I was doing; I made a choice to do other things. And I lost friends and was lonely.

When my sister died and my parents divorced and made poor choices; I had to stretch to find the blessings in my life.

I find them every day now. Today is a good day Bob. Today can be a great day if you look for the little things and find joy in them.

A few things that might help (I have done or am doing them all):

• Twelve step programs. I don't care what someone's problems are, they are awesome steps
• Prayer
• Living this life as if it were penance. Or maybe a step towards heaven. Either way, live a good life, do good works, actively try to bring joy or faith or hope or love to others
• Volunteer with those who have lost more than you.
• Smile.
• Tell other people good things when they ask "How's it going?"
• Never complain about Mondays and never wait for Fridays. If you don't like doing what you do Monday through Friday you are doing the wrong thing. Maybe you should be building shelters in Sri Lanka?
• Go to 1/2 priced books and pick up 14,000 Things to be Happy About if you need some help finding happy things. Or you can have my copy and I'll buy a new one for myself.
• Stop eatingmeat. {Just kidding}

I want you to be happy Bob. I want to help. I wish I was more empathetic or sympathetic. But it's not about me and my choices. It's about you and yours.

I used to have a poem on my wall. It went something like this:

Look well to THIS day.
For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision.
But TODAY well lived
Makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, THIS day.

Good luck on the journey you are on Bob. You have options; walk alone, walk with us, walk with God. But sometime you have to just get off your ass and walk. :-) And smile while you do it. {Even if you are faking it, someone will smile back, then you really smile . . .and everyone has a better day} .

God bless you Bob,
God bless you Alice,
God bless us everyone. We all need it.

Gwendolyn cuts a turn

For Michael . . .

Texas Lottery on line

What a brilliant idea! Let people lose money on-line! As long as the state is going to let the masses give money, they might as well make it easy. Right?

April 26, 2005, 6:37AM

Texas closer to selling lottery tickets
online
Associated Press

AUSTIN — Texas would become the first state to sell lottery tickets online under legislation has received approval by a state legislative panel.

Under the bill approved by the state House Appropriations Committee on Monday, players also would be able to pay for lottery tickets with a debit card and establish a Texas Lottery Commission account that would draw down as they bought tickets.
The proposal was inserted in a larger bill, which would allow motorists to display one license plate on the rear of a vehicle.

Rep. Jim Pitts, the committee chairman and bill author, said Internet sales of lottery
tickets would earn an additional $100 million a year. The lottery raised $1 billion last year for schools.

Rep. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, a supporter of the bill, described its chances in the full House as 50-50.

Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Denton, objected to the proposal, saying it could give children access to buying tickets and easier access could fuel gambling addictions.

And another thing; the lotto funds go to the General fund and are marked for education. But once in the general fund they are available to any other program.

Guess-the-Google

What a great game! You have to guess the keyword that generated the google images presented. My first score was 197. The high is 397.

Leave your score in the comments.

The Penguins are Coming!!

Sometimes profiling works, and sometimes it doesn't. I think in the case of these guys . . . we are all a little safer.

Link Courtesy of boingboing.net

Sick Day/Game Day

Strep throat is no fun. But I think I caught it early and I'm not hurting too badly. Susan has been awesome taking care of me. Last night she made oatmeal cookies for me. This morning I had to work, and she made and brought me coffee. She's the best. I can't believe she loves me as much as she does. I don't ask questions anymore; I just accept it.

Game time:

This game reminds me of a time when I was doodling spaceships when I should have been studying.




This one I played as a text-based adventure years ago too. And with the current hype (or lack of) for the new movie . . .

What makes a requirements document

A Slashdot reader asked what made a good requirements document. The following response was more true to what I've experienced. I thought I would share.

1. Talk to the various stakeholders. Hold meetings. Get everyone's input on what's the Right Thing To Do.
2. To the degree these ideas are not the Wrong Thing, do them, even if they're less efficient than you'd like, or are less fun to code. You're going to be giving them a prostate exam with a cheese grater in a couple of steps, so soothe their egos proactively by letting their ideas make it into the final product.
3. Take the draft to your dev team. Circulate copies, have everyone read it, then have a short meeting--one hour, tops--not to discuss how to do things, but which parts of the design will require a lot of experimentation and fiddling.
4. If your dev team doesn't already have someone fluent in Corporate Weaselspeak, then get one.
5. Give your translator this sentence: "We will use our magic powers to accomplish this part of the design document." Have him turn it into a five-page monstrosity that lets every stakeholder think these difficult parts are going to be done their way, without really committing your dev team to anything.
6. Take the weaselized design doc back to the stakeholders. Your Corporate Weasel's job is to make the stakeholders sign off on it.
7. The easy and routine parts of the job get done the way the stakeholders want, assuming their way isn't completely braindamaged. The hard parts of the job will be solved by your development team's magic powers. It's right there in the design document.
8. Bring the project to completion. As you're doing the hard part, write This Is How It Really Works documentation for engineers who are coming after you.
9. When your project is ready for handoff, make sure to praise the (easy, routine) parts for which you used Marketing's ideas of how the software ought to be written.
10. Gloss over the fact that you did the hard part via magic powers. The other stakeholders probably don't care. You're giving them a beautiful bullet point for their end-of-year performance eval. That's what they care about at this point.
11. Move on to the next project. ...

Is all this weasel office politics? Damn straight. On the other hand, it's weasel office politics meant to shield your development team from unnecessary weasel office politics. As much as we hate weasel office politics, sometimes it's necessary.

Site Updates

I'm oftentimes fascinated by the google ads on some of the blogs I read. I don't think that I'll often generate enough traffic to make much money of them but I am now part of the many using AdSense by Google. I'm not asking you to click on the links, but if you see an interesting ad associated with a post, drop me a line.

I've also added MapBlog. You'll see a map of where I am and other registered blogs in my vicinity. It was developed by a MapPoint developer at Microsoft. If your in the area, drop me a note; we'll discuss the topic of the day.

Current reading list

Red Storm Rising - Tom Clancy: I just started this again. I was in the mood for something light and Clancy always fits the bill for me.

Asimov's Guide to the Bible - Isaac Asimov: You want the history around the Bible. This is your book. The book is a bit dated, but when one writes about a book 2000 years old . . . the dating is not so much an issue.

Island of the Day Before - Umbreto Eco: This is the book on the back burner. I'm reading it, but it's hard. I really enjoyed The Name of the Rose and Baudolino by Eco. Interesting, fun reads. With a taste of European history thrown in. I've started Island a few times over the last few years. I can never finish it. It just goes on . . . and on . . . and on. The only other books I have started and not finished are Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and some mystery about a female FBI agent that my sister gave me. I don't remember why I quit on Zen. I think it was because I was expecting so much more than it was. The FBI chick book spent more time on feelings than on suspense. Ugh.

Next on the list: If on a Winter Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino. It was recommended by my cousin Lisa, whom I love. After that I think will be System of the World by Neal Stephenson. The first book in the series rocked, the second was enjoyable. I'm hoping that Jack plays a more prominent role in the third.

Updated! Which religion (or lack of) is the right one for me (or you)?

Today there was a confluence of events that had to do with spirituality and religion. The first was one of those stupid on-line polls and the other was the release (Washington Times story) of a report on Generation Y and faith sponsored by Reboot, a non-profit to encourage the traditions of Judaism for a modern age.

As is often the case when I read these types of reports, I find myself going, "Oh, I knew that," and "How interesting."

"This study is informed by three goals:

1. To ascertain how young people are coming to understand
   their religious identity;
2. To describe what their religious practices look like in
   this era of customization and change; and
3. To explore the ways religious identity informs the civic
   participation of today's youth. Throughout, we were careful to note that
   religious life does not operate in a vacuum and we embed the role religion in
   the context of their other concerns, such as finding a job or getting good
   grades in school."

The breakdown is that in Gen Y (18-25 year olds) 27% are Godly, 27% God-less, and 46% are undecided.

The Godly are becoming less focused on denomination though. They are more interested in expressing faith in more personal ways. They are diverse, only 7% reported friends being the same faith.

Gen Y members are more liberal that previous generational groups. They are not as engaged in politics though. But the Godly are more involved than the God-less or undecided.

It's an interesting report.

The results of my on-line survey are no surprise. I define myself as a searcher. I'm not happy as an agnostic, or atheist, or one of the saved. I'm like the teaser for the X-Files; I want to believe.

I am not sure what "Gen" I am. Depending on time and place I'm a Boomer, an X-er and a touch of Y. Religiously, I am a agnostic theist. I look at the world and say to myself, "Self, something wonderful had to have put all this in motion." Followed by, "Self, this place is a mess. Who would do a thing like this?"

---

You scored as agnosticism. You are an agnostic. Though it is generally taken that agnostics neither believe nor disbelieve in God, it is possible to be a theist or atheist in addition to an agnostic. Agnostics don't believe it is possible to prove the existence of God (nor lack thereof). Agnosticism is a philosophy that God's existence cannot be proven. Some say it is possible to be agnostic and follow a religion; however, one cannot be a devout believer if he or she does not truly believe. Which religion is the right one for you? (new version)

Update: UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute released another survey Wednesday. Their report expresses a view that young people are looking for spirituality but not religion. [Executive Summary]

Thank Goodness my kids are good looking

Researchers show parents give unattractive children less attention

A researcher at the University of Alberta has shown that parents are more likely to give better care and pay closer attention to good-looking children compared to unattractive ones. Dr. Andrew Harrell presented his findings recently at the Warren E. Kalbach Population Conference in Edmonton, Alberta.

Harrell's findings are based on an observational study of children and shopping cart safety. With the approval of management at 14 different supermarkets, Harrell's team of researchers observed parents and their two to five-year-old children for 10 minutes each, noting if the child was buckled into the grocery-cart seat, and how often the child wandered more than 10 feet away. The researchers independently graded each child on a scale of one to 10 on attractiveness.

Findings showed that 1.2 per cent of the least attractive children were buckled in, compared with 13.3 per cent of the most attractive youngsters. The observers also noticed the less attractive children were allowed to wander further away and more often from their parents. In total, there were 426 observations at the 14 supermarkets.

Harrell, who has been researching shopping cart safety since 1990 and has published a total of 13 articles on the topic, figures his latest results are based on a parent's instinctive Darwinian response: we're unconsciously more likely to lavish attention on attractive children simply because they're our best genetic material.

"Attractiveness as a predictor of behaviour, especially parenting behaviour, has been around a long time," said Harrell, a father of five and a grandfather of three. "Most parents will react to these results with shock and dismay. They'll say, 'I love all my kids, and I don't discriminate on the basis of attractiveness.' The whole point of our research is that people do."

###

Dr. Harrell is the executive director of the Population Research Lab at the University of Alberta. He can be reached at 780-492-4659 or aharrell@ualberta.ca.

---

See?

Social Security and you

I don't expect social security to be there for me in any significant way. And I believe that it's a bad thing as a whole. It's not the role of the government to make people save.

The thought process is that since Americans don't save voluntarily, if the feds don't make us save now, they'll have to pay for our upkeep after we have stopped earning an income.

My uncle John sent me the text of the following link. It contains an editorial originally in the Wall Street Journal. I have read it a few times now and, in all honesty, I need to read it a few more times. He thinks I'm much smarter than I am.

I'll let him introduce it:

"Below is an article in last weeks Wall Street Journal. I thought it was an idea that was likely to start getting some air time in Washington and appears to be a reasonable compromise on solving social security issues.

Like you, I'd like to have them pay what was promised. We all know that is mathematically impossible. This seems to be a workable solution. You should know about it.

Here's the deal, you are getting this email because you are likely to be asked one more time to solve a problem. Why? Because you are or will be successful. Hence, you are most likely to receive less from social security while others receive their promised benefits. The article below uses the term "progressive indexing". A fancy term for means testing. However, it takes from you in a way that is likely more palatable than raising taxes, currently or in the future, doesn't require the income limit to be raised beyond how Congress already changes the base, provides a workable solution to solvency, allows individual specific accounts and has much less effect on current deficits.
Enjoy.

Hope all of you are well. "

"When the late Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan was asked why he favored personal Social Security accounts, he liked to answer in two words: "wealth inequality." That insight is also driving a useful idea now being tossed into the reform debate -- "progressive indexing." More

The other link concerns "designer social security." The gist of it comes down to options.

• Pick when you want to retire.
• Pick how much you want as a benefit when you retire.
• Pick how much you want to invest now.
• Pick where you want to invest your money.

New York Post article.

I like the idea of choices. It makes the concept of paying for people that didn't think of the future more palatable.

"Today is a good day"

How many times have you heard this conversation?

"How's it going?"
"It's Monday."
Or "Thank God it's Friday."
Or "At least it's payday"

For years I heard people answer that question with those answers or not even pay attention to the question and respond with an "OK" in passing. I actually found myself doing the same thing more often than not.

One day I realized that I was tired of the life I was leading myself into. Part of it was probably related to hearing the Dave Ramsey radio program. When asked by a caller how he was doing he answered "Better than I deserve." He thought about his response.

So I decided to start doing the same thing and answering questions with real thought.

I decided to be positive. I started out by thinking about the things that were making my life less than it should have been. I found that my life was pretty good. I have an awesome family. A job I love. Friends. Leisure time. Hobbies. I have a good life. The things in my days that were negative were fleeting.

After some introspection, I found that amongst time with family, time working, time sleeping, and general crappy-ness, most of my day was good. Very little was THAT bad. Most days are good days.

Then I made an internal scale of days. A great day is a day that has a child's birth. Another great day was my wife accepting my marriage proposal. The terrible day on my scale is the death of my little sister. She was born on my birthday and was the best gift I ever got or will ever get.

I know it's possible to have worse days. I'm sure mine can't compare with some. But that's my current scale.

So now, when people ask me how I am doing or a related question, I stop and think about the day so far. I think about my expectations for the rest of the day. I think about my scale. And I answer, "Today is a good day."

It's amazing how many people stop after hearing that response. Then they ask me why. It's easy to find something that made today good. Some days it may be that I woke up alive again. I have days like that too.

I've been doing this for a few months now. And I am hearing other people say it now. And I am seeing people smile when they say it; when they hear it.

The real point is that I am reminded by my own response every time I say it.

I believe that today is a good day.

Deep Fried Live!

This is the only on-line cooking show hosted by a cephelapod that I am aware of.

It's not veggie freindly, but some of the nicest people I know eat the dead flesh of animals.
Freaks.

New feature at Google

I love maps in general. I like looking at them and reading the names of places. Maybe following up with a little history about a joint.

So I saw thins and decided to share.

"Look ma! I can see my house from here!"


Map feature in Google


With satellite imagry!!

365 and a Wakeup

I don't recall where I ran across this blog article by a soldier deployed in Iraq. (I really should take better notes.) His post on why HE was in Iraq touched me. He's there because it's the right thing to do. And he tells it much better than I could.

"What SPC Frances said as he sheepishly stood before my desk staring at the floor was “Sir, you’re like, ummmm, you know, really smart. And you’re doing this when you could ummmm, you know, so many other things. Don’t you wish you were, ummm doing something better?”.

The question is one I’ve heard from several well meaning individuals, but never, ever from a soldier. If it were possible I would have torn the implicit assumption that question housed and crushed it beneath my muddy heels. Because wrapped in that question like two fat maggots in an otherwise perfect roast sits two false postulates that have poisoned many clear thinking individuals. The first deadly lie is that soldiers are stupid. The second is that the Army is a dumping ground for people with no other options.

I paused for a long moment after SPC Frances asked his question, unsure of how to answer the question and simultaneously leach its poisonous implications. . . [More]

He's why I support the troops; why I vote for the people I vote for; why I talk to people about why they should do the same.

There is evil in the world. People like him are the reason people like you and I don't have to deal with it. People like him are heroes.

Intimacy within a group of friends

I was talking last week with some friends about intimacy; how we as a group get together weekly and have been for years and there is still a hesitation to open up and be intimate with the group.

I think that the biggest deterrent that came up was a fear of being judged.

As usual, I have mixed feelings about this.

I think that as responsible people we have an obligation to judge. I think that a fear of being judged poorly is a control in our society. I further think that judging within a group will improve (more on this in a second) one's powers of judgment.

The hard part about judging is finding balance. I tell my kids that they should assume people are good. But I also tell them that if there a person who looks wrong walking toward you, move away from them. There's a thin line between reasonable pre-judging based on experience and wisdom and prejudice based on fear and stereotype.

I think there are things that we all want to do or have wanted to do in the past that society as a whole may not have approved of. Maybe things that aren't illegal but just not right. What defines "not just right"? Other people. Other people judging you. It's a good thing.

The function of group judgment should be wicked strong (as they might say in the Boston of my imagination). The trick there is the group that's doing the judgment. If the judging group is not a sampling of the greater whole; instead, is a group that might reinforce the behavior being judged; all benefits of judgment is lost. If the fear of being judged harshly is stopping a person from revealing a behavior, perhaps they need to evaluate stopping that behavior.

Group judgment does not have to be negative though. Positive reinforcement is likely and should be encouraged. The above points are just as valid (with the alteration of the anticipation of being judged positively in place of fear of poor judgment).

In regards to intimacy, the evening made me recall a . . . . Poem (?) from my youth that has stuck with me over the years.

It was written by Piers Anthony to a teenager who was in desperate need of love. He wrote about her in the author's note of Wielding Red Sword (Full Note). I extracted the poem here:

• Chapter One: Once upon a time, there was a little unicorn. She lived in a shell.
• Chapter Two: There was a funny thing about this shell. No one else could see it.
• Chapter Three: But to her, it was very heavy, as if an elephant were on it.
• Chapter Four: Sometimes that shell just seemed to crush all the happiness right out of her.
• Chapter Five: Of course, she wasn't really a unicorn, because little unicorns don't' live in shells.
• Chapter Six: She was really an alicorn, which is a flying unicorn. Her mane was brown.
• Chapter Seven: Alicorns live in shells, because they like privacy. When anyone comes near, they close.
• Chapter Eight: Of course that means that hardly anyone ever sees an alicorn, which is unfortunate.
• Chapter Nine: Because alicorns are really very special creatures, when they come out of their shells.
• Chapter Ten: But the little unicorn didn't know she was an alicorn. She wanted to die. 
• Chapter Eleven: This is because a magical creature who stifles her magic is in deep trouble.
• Chapter Twelve: No one else understood about this, because no one else could see the shell.
• Chapter Thirteen: Except for maybe on old centaur; but he was too far away to help.
• Chapter Fourteen: He hoped the little unicorn would learned to fly, before she learned to die.

For me, intimacy with people outside of family never seemed to be necessary. It never paid to get too close to anyone because either they would move or you would move. I was never that close to my extended family; didn't have any close cousins to confide in. Even within my own family I don't recall being very intimate. It's just the way I'm wired I guess.

I try though. I see the value in it. And I'm getting better all the time. Practice, practice, practice.

Reflections on the Pope's passing

Yesterday I got a call from a non-Catholic friend offering condolences on the passing of Pope John Paul II. Susan said that she got a similar email. It's good to see that people of differing faiths can come together in so many things but especially at a time of sadness.

I saw the Pope say mass once. Granted, I was like a mile away but I felt it was something special, almost magical. He was God's spokesman and he spoke to us. It rocked.

Everyone and their mother on the internet is saying something about him and his passing. And I think that more will be said as time passed and history has time to judge.

But for me, I think that he died peacefully, perhaps joyfully.

When I was a student at St. Mary's College (now University of St. Mary) I worked food-service at the Sister's of Charity Motherhouse. It was a nursing home for nuns. And when these women became sick and got ready to die, they were seemed very happy. Happy to leave the weight of weak bodies and slipping minds. They expressed that they were ready be with God after years of service.

How great is that? Not just that you have been saved, but you gave your life to Him and now you get your reward.

And those were just your average (!) everyday nun. I'm going to assume that even a man as humble as John Paul II is looking forward to a reward for a job done well.

Rest in peace and Joy Karol Józef Wojtyła. You deserve it.

--Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbum tuum in pace
----Luke 2:29
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word

My wedding ring

Every day I drive to work and I notice my wedding ring.

I don't mean that I see my wedding ring. I mean that I notice it. I think about how lucky I am and how I am happy about the life I traded for the life I got.

There's a lot of pressure being a dad

Susan calls me and relates that Gwen was upset because the new water park wasn't going to be available at the ribbon cutting because the floor didn't cure right or some such thing.

Gwendolyn responds that they should call me, because I can fix anything.

Being a father changes how I look at myself. And all for the good, ya know?

I am fundamentally lazy. And I procrastinate. And I don't smile enough (especially when trying to be funny).

With children in the picture, I have to be a better person because I want them to be better people. I want them kinder, and smarter, and wiser than their old man. How else will they be able to take care of me in my dotage?

Chocolate Mpire

I know I'm a Star Wars geek. I'm better than most but I know I have a problem. But how can you resist when M&Ms are having promotions like the following link? I want DARK chocolate. I want to believe that Episode III will rock. Link

Penguin

If you have ever been in my house you know you can't ever have enough penguins. If you haven't been in my house, we have penguins. Everywhere.

From Jake Ludington's MediaBlab:

We may never learn if androids truly dream of electric sheep, but this cartoon short advocates the possibility of penguins dreaming of flight. Billed as, "A story of a penguin hoping for intergalactic voyages," this animated short demonstrates a boy's willingness to sacrifice to help his aquatic avian friend achieve his dream. Originally appearing on the CBC's Zed Open Source Television, which I assume is Canada's answer to public
access the imagery and backing soundtrack are both quite talented from the second offering by director Wojtek Wawszczyk. His other work, Mouse, also available through Zed is worth checking out too. Link

They Might Be Giants - Bloodmobile

From boingboing.net:

"Infringing teenager's awesome They Might Be Giants video"

"Dave Logan is a high school senior who just finished his latest animation, which is a music video for They Might Be Giants' excellent song ' Bloodmobile.' This is a really excellent video, and I hope we can all appreciate a good science song. I think this is pretty in-fringe-ified, but I imagine it's just a matter of time before it's available on the Giants' site. What's the status of student work and fair use anyway?"

Easter

The girls posing and hunting for eggs on Resurrection Day.

Pictures from Susan's trip to NY

Susan and the two little girls went to her home town of Lindenhurst NY to visit family. Here are their pictures . . .


PopPop, Miriam, and my nephew Logan in NY

Gwendolyn in NY with her cousin, Logan

Miriam in NY

G in NY

More snow in NY

Relaxing in NY

Poor Miriam, she thinks she's so cool

Gwen at the beach in NY

Multiplicity

Multiplicity is the newest software purchase I have made and it has made me so much more productive.

It's a hard application to describe. Mostly because people think they know what it is and go from there. But they usually miss it.

Multiplicity connect two seperate computers to one mouse and keyboard over a network.

Thnk of it as like a switch that gives focus to whatever PC you are using via the mouse.

What multiplicity is not:

• Remote desktop/remote control. Those systems allow you to bring a remote computer into the PC you are using. Usually in another window. Think pcAnywhere or VNC or Windows Remote Desktop. I use tightVNC to connect to the G4 Man at the house and Remote Desktop at work. Both rock.
• VirtualPC. VirtualPC is great for testing. I have every flavor of Windows since Win3.1 running in VPC. I run BeOS and some Linux distros too. Everything is networked together (except the Win3.1, I had to drop that but my WFWG is running)
• Dual monitors. We have these at work and they work well. You get twice the desktop. I work with developers that have code on one monitor and app on the other. It's pretty efficient.

Multiplicity is for people who have two or more PCs next to each other and want to use both. But they don't wnat to have to switch back and forth between mice and keyboards. Seemlessly.

I have a TabletPC that travels with me too and from the office. It's a good PC but it's a tablet, there are limitations. It feels slower. The keyboard is cramped. The touchpad is not a mouse.
So I do my heavy lifting with the desktop. But I want my portable (travel) work to be on the Tablet.

In steps MP. I can be working on the desktop and as I slide my cursor over to the side of the monitor closest to the tablet . . . the cursor jumps to the tablet and there I am.

I type on the keyboard plugged into the desktop and the keystrokes appear on the tablet.

I can copy and paste clipboard content; images, text. I use it to copy URLs a lot. and if I run a quesry on the desktop but want to send the email from the client on the tablet; copy and paste.

The Pro version (the one I use) also allows me to copy files among the PCs I have connected. I save something on PC1, drag my cursor across PC2 and continue an to PC3 where I right click and paste. There's my file. Nice.

Customer support from the vendor rocks. They are available via web forum, email, and IRC. ALL THE TIME.

If you have multiple PCs on your desk now I reccommend this product. (They are planning to support Mac an Linux in the near future for those of you who swing that way.)

DNRs, Living Wills, Wills, and Terri Shaivo

The Terri Schaivo case has been on my mind a lot the last few weeks. I am sure it's been on the mind of most Americans at some point or another.

How can it not? It touches on religion, the courts, the Congress, in-laws, children, civil rights. Somewhere in that mess every American must at least one opinion.

I . . . I have feelings and thoughts (note that I acknowledge the difference) about almost all of them. And I've reversed those thoughts and feelings a number of times. It's just a mess. And I feel so sad for the family. What a terrible place to be and to have been there for so long.

For the record,

1. I think that the only place the courts had a place was whether Michael Schaivo was a competent guardian and could speak for Terri. They did that. Move on.
2. Congress should be able to make all the laws they want but this case had all the law that was necessary beforehand. And it'll be interesting to see how fast the discussion gets dropped after Terri dies.
3. If Terri is brain-dead and her parents want to maintain her; let them. Get a proxy divorce Michael or whatever court order you need to get on with your life and move on.
4. Parents, let your daughter go.
5. Supreme Court - great job. Continue to focus on enforcing law and not making it.
6. Religious folks - decide if you believe in God's will or not. Act accordingly. If God wants Terri to stay alive, He'll take care of that. If He wants to take her home, why are you getting in the way?

And the fact is that all this could have been made so much simpler if Terri had made her wishes known before hand. I did a search on the internet and found all the forms required to make this situation clear for my family if not easy for them.

So in case it comes up and the forms can't be found. Please use emergency measures to keep me alive long enough to determine if I am going to have quality life. If I am going to be a vegetable, please pull the plug and move on with your lives.

Better yet, move me to Oregon and make use of the assisted suicide laws to put me down. Consider this my go-ahead. And I don't want my body to starve. That's barbaric. The doctors caring (not caring) for Terri should be disgusted with themselves.

And while we are on the topic of death, I would prefer cremation. I would like some of my ashes entombed with my sister Sarah. She was my birthday present and I'd like to be with her. I know it's goofy. But ask anyone that knows me; I'm goofy. If anyone else wants my ashes, you are welcome to them. [I have some of Sarah's on my dresser and they bring me . . . something. Not joy, or closeness, or anything that I can describe. But I'm glad she's there.]

So go out and do your own search.
Get the forms your state uses and fill them out. Pay the money if you can't find the free ones. Or send a notarized letter to someone.
Your death or incapacitation is going to be hard enough.
Make your family's life AND your death as easy as possible.
Do what you can.
Do something.
And tell the people that you love that you love them.
Because you never know.
DD
Texas forms

Susan is almost home

It has been a week but Susan is on her way home.

House is still standing. Older kids are alive.

What more could she ask for?



http://www.cheaptickets.com/trs/cheaptickets/flighttracker/flight_tracker_graphic.xsl

Browser Central - my second widget

From now on. . . .I save my posts before I submit. Blogger crash. Argh!!

Below is my second widget.

I thought my last (first) widget did what it was supposed to do. I wanted an app that could market the self-service tools that we were deploying yet be unobtrusive.
I think that I accomplished what I set out to do. But I thought it could be better.

Instead of describing what each tool did and launching a separate browser, why not integrate the browser into the app? Or if made full screen, use the browser as a kiosk?

So first a drawing:



I use the same template I used before (thanks Brad Wardell). Resize it a bit here and there.
I use the ActiveX control for IE and throw some script to accept URLs from the buttons.
I set the functionality of the buttons to send the URL.
Pretty much done at that point.

I moved the buttons from the side to the top to allow more screen space. I also grouped the forward and back buttons at the top. Why ,make a user go all over everywhere?

I didn't want to search the web for arrows that we public and matched so I used text to control going forward and back in the browser.

I used the TabletPC to create my own font based on my handwriting. DesktopX lets me embed the font (or whatever else really) into the object. So a user without my font, can still use it.

Things I would like to do (am thinking about doing): {updated}

• Show an alert if there is no internet connection. I added some code that puts up an alert box. Maybe do something about it?
• Show the descriptions of the tool (website in this example)
• I removed the minimize image in the upper right-hand corner and repalced it with a Under score. It looks more like a standard minimize button.
• I changed the setting on the title to allow it to move the whole app.
• I resized the buttons and lined up the text

Download: link
Requires DesktopX.

Should I rip this?

I have had two conversations in the last month about ripping songs. One with a teenager and one with a father of a pre-teen.

The arguement were the similar:

1. I'm not stealing from the artist, I'm liberating from the evil record companies who are exploiting the poor artists.
2. I'm not stealing because the artist has so much money that they wouldn't notice my purchase.
3. It's not stealing becaus I would have never bought the album (song).
4. Muic should be free for everyone.
5. You don't understand! I'm not going to talk about this anymore.

Of course, you ask them how it's different from shoplifting and who knows what argument they may come up with, because, that's WRONG! Whatever.

My kids think I am harsh because I don't let them burn music at my house. I think I am giving because I don't make them remove all pirated material from the house.

I think that it's stealing. If someone produced some material and expects recompense and doesn't get it; it's stealing. Software, music, movies; all the same thing. Stealing.

I'm on the line about TV. I think I'm OK with watching a show I missed as long as the commercials are intact.
Granted, if I were watching live, I would be flipping to other channels or getting a snack or chasing a kid and probably miss the ad. But the option is there.

You want to burn music you own? Convert all those cassettes to CD (but download the hirher quality version from the web)? Knock yourself out. Have fun. Make that Eighty's mix tape of your favorite monster ballads. You did your part. Thanks.

In any case, I saw a tongue-in-cheek chart at inreview.co.uk that will help those who want to steal justify that theft. And those others . . . enjoy.

My first Desktop X widget

The company I work for does IT support. Our focus is moving users closer to solving their own problems; self-service.

We have three major componants and they ar all web based. But users don't know how to get to them. It's a marketing problem really.

So Wedneday at 11:30 PM in bed I had an idea to build a launcher. Somehting that sat on the desktop and obviosly provided links to the tools. I whipped out the TabletPC. Opened Journal and drew out the design.



The next morning I open MS Paint and started drawing buttons and stuff.

Background:


Button:


InfoPanel:


They stunk. Horribly.

So I thought to myself . . that aero thing is pretty popular at WinCustomize Link, I'll see if there is an image I can use like that. And lo and behold, there it was; an aero template by Brad Wardell.

So I grab that and start building my objects. I resized that one image over and over again for different functions. I then added a few text objects on top of my graphpical objects. Set them to do nothing.

I then added actions to my buttons; launch the right tool. Easy enough.

Now for the infopanel; I wanted to have a description of the tool displayed when a user moused over the button. By sending messages to a bunch of new text objects (with different states for mouse over and mouse away) on top of the infopanel I accomplished this.

I tried to add a fourth button to show system stats. I go the meters to work, but I couldn't get them to go away when mousing over the other buttons. Something to work on later.

Then I added a minimize object, locked everything down, and exported.

Total build time: under two hours

I also want to get the widget to start minimized. But for that I need code. And for code I need to study.

That brings up a good point. To build this object I didn't need to know any code. The property fields for objects in DX is wicked easy to understand.

So there I had it, my first DesktopX object:



I wanted to share my object with the community at WC. But the tools referenced are all on the intranet or otherwise non-accessible. So I updated the Text on the three button objects and title. Updated the descriptions on the infopanel objects.

Updated the URLs on the button objects to point to some great sites. Exported and uploaded.

Total time: 23 minutes

Launch Central



Download: Link (DesktopX required)

Miriam learns well from her sister . . .

. . from a certain point of view.

When we moved into the new house the "Green Room" became my den. We moved in some furniture that was very comfortable but a wee bit too stained for the livingroom.

Gwen discovered very quickly that the couch, seat, and ottoman made great platforms to jump from. I was cool with it. Susan . . . put up with my choice.

Then Miriam came. And she watched. And she learned. And she put it to practice.

She does not nail the landings like Gwendolyn does. But she is not two yet. I have faith.

Miriam Jumping: wmv (380KB); AVI (8.86 MB)
[I made a token effort to find a free MPEG encoder . . . failed.]

A tribute to my Aunt: Pizza Burgers!

http://www.favoritebrandrecipes.com/Recipes/220/3674001220.htm

Last summer the family went to Green Bay, WI for my father's wedding. We stayed a few days at my Aunt Gail and Uncle Jim's house (with cousins Paul and Jeni) and one night had Pizza Burgers. I vaugly recall having these as a child but had not had them in years. And I didn't recall them being called "Pizza Burgers."

But last night dinner was a little loose. So we had Pizza burgers. Used Susan's delicious no-recipe sauce and vegie pepporoni for those of us who are freakish about our cunsumption of dead animals.

And I thought of my Aunt.

---

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
2 cups RAGÚ® Old World Style® Pasta Sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 English muffins, split and toasted

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

1. In small bowl, combine ground beef, 1/2 cup Ragú Pasta Sauce, 1/2 cup cheese and salt. Shape into 6 patties. Grill or broil until done.
2. Meanwhile, heat remaining pasta sauce. To serve, arrange burgers on muffin halves. Top with remaining cheese, sauce and muffin halves.

It's Freedom of Religion, Not Freedom FROM Religion

I'll continue my theme of government involvement in our lives. My two previous rants were about about Freedom of the press and government charity. If you read those you can guess my views on the subject; "Freedom of" is not "freedom from" religion.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,
or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the Government for redress of grievances.” U.S. Const.,
Amend. I."

Today the Supremes will hear two arguments about religion (specifically the Ten Commandments) in public places.

It's amazing to me, after reading the briefs, it's apparent that the supremes really have to make a decision. Case law supports both sides of the arguments. That's where I think we went wrong though. There should not be case law supporting the the petitioner in the first argument (Van Orden v. Perry[Governor of Texas]) and the respondent in the second (McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky).

The Constitution is very clear; the federal government will not force a religion or prevent a citizen from choosing their own religion. Some of the other arguments justifying why the commandments should remain in place seem spurious to me. They claim that the monuments are part of history, or part of a museum setting., or it's less religious than other religious symbology that the Supreme Court has already allowed.

The only argument that needs to be made is that the commandments are not endorsing any specific religion or religion at all. Believe, don't believe, change your beliefs, whatever. If you think that the government is cramming faith down your throat, petition them to put up a monument to your beliefs. Petition the government to take it down. Call all your friends, family, neighbors, mosque-mates, church-buddies, temple pals, and vote. Then you can make the rules. Have fun, good luck.

On a personal note, I think the ten commandments are good rules to live by. Ignore the first 2 or three (depending on your interpretation) if you don't believe in Yahweh or any other deity. And I don't see the harm. They don't take anything away from your faith or lack of faith.

Wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion

A Fun and Twisted message to Congress

Consumers Union is working to drive attention to a bill (s.470)to amend the Public Health Service Act so that we the people can see all the results of clinical trials.

The video has a Schoolhouse rock kind of thing going but the cause is just.

Watch the video and fill out the linked letter. You may do yourself some good.

My take on Bankruptcy Reform

This week the U.S. senate is scheduled to look at the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (S.256). The meat of the act is that if a person can afford to pay back debt, they must. And the determining factor is if the debtor is above the state median income.

It illustrates in my mind the type of thinking that is wrong with this country. Who in their right mind would argue that people that accrue debt should NOT have to pay it back.

My biggest complaint about the act has nothing really to do with the act. It has to do with some of the major backers; credit card companies and the auto finance companies. These companies are predators. They feed off the American dream to have the "good life" now and pay for it later. And they know full well that most Americans don't pay off the full mount of their debt every month and the interest eats them alive.

Don't get me wrong; I think that those people are morons (excluding yourself, of course). [Susan and I have two debts, the house and one of our three cars. We don't do credit. We save and buy. And sometimes we have to wait for the things we want. And sometimes we don't get what we want at all. But we know that bankruptcy is not in our future.] I believe credit is a bad thing. And I have a hard time listening to people who say that it's required, even if just for emergencies. Saving a little something on the side is good for emergencies, credit just puts it off.

And the thing about bankruptcy is that the stigma of filing is gone. You hear about huge corporations filing all the time. and they stay in business, make acquisitions, get bailed out by the government. And with the current laws, personal bankruptcy doesn't have to change your life. You keep your house, your car, no one is going to repo that PCyou bought because you were feeling blue. What's supposed to happen to break you of your habit is your credit is shot. I hear stories though of people in bankruptcy that can get approved for new credit cards.

You can look at the stats yourself, bankruptcy filings are going through the roof. I am glad to see this reform go before the Senate. I think you should go out and find what your senators and representative are going to do and make sure they know what you want them to do.

And save some money, don't rely on credit. Because if you file bankruptcy, someone has to eat that debt, and someone else is going to have to pay for it.

Gwendolyn wanted pancakes this morning. It's pretty hard to say no to someone so cute.

Voodoo Knife Rack

Have you ever seen a cooler knife rack?

It even matches the kitchen. It almost make me wish that Susan would open up her kitchen to my own peculier tastes. But I get the "green room" downstairs and she gets the kitchen.



Viceversa-Voodo knife rack

Humble Independant School District in the 21st Century

My wife is so lucky! Usually she is forced to listen to the following rant as we register one of the kids for school here. This year I get to rant here and she has the option to read it. Isn't the internet great?
Every year the school district sends send home around eight pages of forms. The forms have so much duplicated information required. It is such a waste of time filling out the same fields over and over aain.

Why must I put the child's name, address, phone number, social security number, date of birth, parents' contact information, emergency contact information, grade, sex, doctor, parents' work information on multiple forms? And why must I do it every year?

Here's an idea. Let's put it all in a database. Let's put it on the web. Let's allow parents to populate it and every year the school district send a single form to the home with all the information so the parents can go online or mail it back if anything has changed.

I would love to know what the district does with all these forms. Do different departments use different forms? Do they put them in filing cabinats? Do they enter them into a computer system themselves? Do they shred them because the forms aren't really used but they've got to collect them.

I'll bet they use Macs too.

Heritage Days at Jesse Jones Park

Today Susan and I took the little girls to a local park to experience "American heritage".

On a hay ride (behind a tractor!) to the main area . . .





Dressing up . .



Crossing the nation by wagon (average speed of a covered wagon - 12 mpd [miles/day])

Do I Need A Jacket? - The Weather Right Now

There are lots of ways to tell the weather. But do you really want the weather?

No.

You want to know if you need to wear a jacket. maybe you want to know WHY you need a jacket. Try Do I Need A Jacket? - The Weather Right Now.

A Valentine's Gift from Gwendolyn (and Susan)

Forgive the crappy photo. All I had on hand was the eyemodule for my Handsping Visor and if the light isn't perfect . . you get shots like this.

But the point is that Gwendolyn with Susan's help made me a pencil cup for work as a Valentine's Day gift. So here it is on my desk.

Susan's YMCA Partners Kick-off

Superbowl Sunday was also the kick-off of Susan's big fundraiser for the year. The theme this year is a western one.

This of course strikes anyone who knows Susan as funny. She is creeping up on being more of a Texan than a New Yorker (based on time spent) but she wallows in her Yankee-ness. Never have I met someone who has four kids born in this state, friends for life, and political involvement disparage a people and customs more.

The kick-off and theme did lend themselves to fun pictures though.



All four girls on a hay-ride. (Hay ride is defined as driving around the YMCA parkinglot twice [TWICE!] behind a pick-up truck. For reference, in Kansas the trailer would be pulled behind a tractor or horse, in Green Bay by a tractor or snow-mobile.)

Miriam rides her first horse . . Susan seems pretty comfortable in her denim shirt and bandana . . hmmm . . . interesting. I wonder where this can lead?

It could only lead to LINE DANCING!!


And we close out this little album with Gwendolyn on another hay-ride.