Finally, an alternative to Rush Limbaugh and Jay Severin

Air America Radio is on the air.

If Air America Radio is not broadcasting in your area yet, you can listen online.

DVDRhelp.com & VCDhelp.com

This site will help you to make your own VideoCDs, SVCDs or DVDs that can be played on your standalone DVD Player from video sources like DVD, Video, TV, Cam or downloaded movie clips like DivX, MOV, RM, WMV and ASF.

ffmpegX

Video/Audio encoder for Mac OS X.

LaCie d2 8X DVD +/- RW Drive

LaCie needs to do a better job of documentation for their Rewritable DVD drive.

PACKAGING
1. The front of box says:
DVD-RW & DVD+RW
8x DVD+-R, 4x DVD+-RW

The side of the box says:
d2 8X DVD +/- RW FW Drive

That's confusing. Especially for someone new to DVDs.

On the LaCie web site it has this info:

DVD speeds (Write, Rewrite, Read) :

DVD+/-R: 8x
DVD-R: Disc-at-Once, Incremental recording, Multi-border recording
DVD+R: Incremental recording
--
DVD+/-RW: 4x
DVD-RW: Restricted Overwriting
DVD+RW: Random recording
--
DVD-ROM: 12x
--

I think I get it that the drive does a speed of 8x when it's writing on a DVD.

What's Incremental Recording?

What does Restricted Overwriting and Random recording mean?

Inside The Box
Inside the box the glossy insert shows the contents. This should include a LaCie Optical User's Manual and a LaCie DVD Utilities CD-ROM.

I only got a Roxio Toast 6 Titanium CD.

After opening and inserting the Roxio Toast 6 Titanium CD I see tat that's where the LaCie documentation is located.

Hmm. The glossy insert needs to be updated.

Installing DVD Drive support
Over on the LaCie website are the most recent LaCie DVD drivers.

Right now, the LaCie DiscRecording Support for Mac OS X 10.3.2 or later (March 22, 2004), is the most recent.

That's a very different description than the insert in the box which calls it LACIE DVD DRIVE PROFILE.

Once you get it installed, you are supposed to see Disc Burning: Vendor Supported in the system profile window. Guess what? Doesn't say that.

It says Apple Supported/Shipped.

Come on guys. Let's update the website to include all this info.

Also, how about a message board?

UPDATE from Roxio:

From: support@lacie.com
Subject: Re: CDDVD information request from Steve Garfield
Date: March 31, 2004 6:26:56 PM EST

The LaCie Discrecording.pkg is the correct file. Apple has supplied us with a new version from the Feb2004 profile.

I'm sorry for any confusion this caused.

UPDATE #2 from Roxio:

From: support@lacie.com
Subject: Re: CDDVD information request from Steve Garfield
Date: March 31, 2004 6:26:57 PM EST

You should have only received the one Toast Titanium CD. We no longer ship the software on three CDs. The one CD includes Toast Titanium for OS 10.2 and newer, Toast Lite for OS 9.1.x, 9.2.x and 10.1.x and the manual for the install of the DVD recorder. Our documentation has not been changed to reflect this.

After installing Toast you will also have a Toast manual in the Toast folder.

I'm sorry for any confusion this caused.

UPDATE #3 from Roxio, RE: Disc Burning: Apple Supported/Shipped:

From: support@lacie.com
Subject: Re: CDDVD information request from Steve Garfield
Date: April 2, 2004 5:09:09 PM EST

Hello,
Yes that looks OK.

AAADD, Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder

Down memory lane, with a few detours

Recently, I was diagnosed with AAADD, Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. This is how it manifests: I decide to wash my car. As I start toward the garage, I notice there is mail on the hall table. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the trash can under the table and notice that it's full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the trash first. But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mail box when I take out the trash, I may as well pay the bills first. I take my checkbook off the table but there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go to my desk, where I left the can of Coke that I had been drinking.

I'm off to wash my car.

Hey, there are some bills here that need to be paid...

Seinfeld is back!

Go to Jerry's apartment and watch Seinfeld and Superman.

It's an Amex promotion and very funny.

Don't miss the Oh Yes! Wyoming Sing-A-Long.
via [ Lost Remote ]

Action Comics #1.

Lindsay meets her favorite Bush twin

One Of Those Posts:

Me: "you're my favorite Bush Twin."
Her: (Staring, blinking) "what?"
Me: "um, I don't know, nevermind."
Her: Staring. Too drunk to speak. Starts to fall over, but guy friend catches her. I haven't seen someone that drunk since college! Like father like daughter, I guess.

Cheers!

TV for the rest of us?

konspire[2b].
via [ Doc ]

TiVo: Watch Commercials While Skipping Commercials

TiVo to Launch Interactive Ads

Many TiVo users use the service to skip commercials, but now they'll get commercials while skipping commercials.

Wait a sec. Will I be able to skip the commercial that shows up while I'm skipping a commercial?

Steve Garfield's Google Search

Google Personalized Search.

Google Personalized web search delivers custom search results that are based on a profile you create describing your interests. Your results can be instantly rearranged by dragging a slider at the top of the page to go from no personalization to full personalization or anywhere in between.

My interests are:

Movies, TV, Photography, Radio, Television, Arts and Entertainment, Automotive, E_Commerce, Food, Investing, Internet, Multimedia, Mental Health, Cooking, Gardens, Home Improvement, Personal Finance, Pop, Rock, New Age, Parody/Humor, News, Autos, and Technology.

And I enjoy long walks on the beach. ;-)

D'oh! Just got this message:

Sorry, Google Personalized does not currently support Safari.

Safari browser doesn't work with Google Personalized Search. :-(

Don't Eat That!

Fast Food Calculator
via [ Rex ]

Your Cell Phone is Toxic!

Toxic [ mp3 ] is now one of many TruTone LabelTone ringtones, authentic titles from recent chart toppers.

Now Playing in Japan

This site in Japan uses Now Playing, a cool app that gets its data from the currently playing iTunes song.

Now Playing Themes.

See what themes other sites are using.

UPDATE:
I installed it. Take a look over there on the right to see what I'm listening to in iTunes.
via [ Born Properly, Takeshi in Japan ]

What? Me Worry?

Looks like I'm really worried huh?

I'm just acting.

Did a few pick up shots for the corporate video I starred in as TapeBoy!

With all this acting I'm doing, I'd better put together a new web site to keep track of it all: Steve Garfield - Actor. ;-)

Make your iChat status message display your current iTune

Now Playing in iChat AV.

Sorta like Localfeeds

Universal Hub.
Tapping into the Boston blog-geist.

Bikini Models and Music!

Agua Con Gas.

Boom Chicka Wow Wow!

Can you put up a boring post?

I need to buy some more seltzer water. I like seltzer water. I used to buy Polar Seltzer but now buy San Pellegrino. I guess that it's because I went to Italy a few years ago and had fun ordering acqua con gas, water with gas.

Jeff promotes a new meme.

Free web photo album generator

JAlbum.

Do You Want To Buy A Bridge?

Mark Ebner joined Scientology to write about it.

"If you really want to enslave people,
tell them that you're going to give them total
freedom."

-- L. Ron Hubbard

Ebner wrote Hollywood Interrupted with Andrew Breitbart.

Ebner just said on WRKO that Michael Moore didn't really get that gun the day he opened an account in Bowling for Columbine, but he's WRONG!

Michael Moore tells the true story.

Andrew Breitbart has been online sidekick to Matt Drudge on the Drudge Report for five years. .

Murder at Jamaica Pond

"Hey Toine, come on back. We gotta go!"

Twoine keeps walking away from her as he looks towards the water. He's got a large rock in his hand.

"Toine! We gotta go. The car is back that way."Toine shoots her a look over his shoulder that says he'll do whatever he wants and edges quietly towards the water.

Toine has his eyes focused on the two ducks swimming in front of him.

He raises his arm while the ducks happily swim around, not knowing what it about to happen.

Toine pulls back quickly and fires the rock directly at one of the ducks.

The rocks misses and the two ducks alight from the water and quack noisily away from the danger that is Twoine.

Twoine turns to walk back to the car with the girls.

At this point I step in. I walk between Toine and the girls.

"Hey Toine," I say motioning with my hands at my chest, "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

Toine looks at me with a crooked smile.

[ contine the story in the comments ]

Grandmother’s Mincemeat

The Whipple Company, established in 1899, and is famous for “Grandmother’s Mincemeat”, but also produces jams, marmalades and jellies.

Box Grandmothers Mincemeat - Whipple & Co Natick Mass.

Grandmother's Mince Meat Blotter.

What is mincemeat pie made of?

Mincemeat.

Grandma's Old Fashioned Mincemeat Pie.

Does your dog stick his head out the car window?

If so, he needs Doggles to protect his eyes.

Woof!

Mass RMV is slow too

When you perform an online transaction with the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, the completion screen displays this message:

Please note that your transaction may not actually be processed for several hours. In the meantime, the transaction ID above confirms that the system has received your request. Please print this screen or write down your transaction ID for future reference.

Once your request has been processed, the Registry of Motor Vehicles will send you a confirming e-mail message. It is important that you save copies of all receipts and transaction screens.

If you do not receive an e-mail confirmation within three (3) business days, your transaction may not have been processed.

Hmm, another skinny quill pen using guy backend processing system.

UPDATE:
Received confirming email at 1:47:17 saying that my online transaction was completed at 1:44 PM. So it took them about four hours to complete the transaction and notify me.

Critter Control Update

I just saw a guy throwing a ball up onto my roof.

I went out to see what was going on.

"That's the way we close the squirrel traps for the weekend," he explained.

Cool.

Maybe the Celtics should look into signing this guy?

So I asked him what he did with the terror squirrel that he caught this week.

He said that he brought it to Revere! So if you live in Revere, watch out.

I asked him how pig the possum was that they caught in the trap while we were away.

He told me that it was the size of a medium dog! It was the biggest he had ever seen.

McDonalds Clothes for fat kids launches

Burger giant plans clothing range

US fast food giant McDonald's is to launch a range of children's clothing in North America and western Europe.

Looks like McDonalds is designing clothes without those constricting sleeves and necks found on regular clothes.

Let the fat run free!

My top 12 favorite songs

1 Aerosmith - Walk this Way (local)
2 The Atlantics - Lonelyhearts (local)
3 Boston - More than a Feeling (local)
4 Brice Springsteen - Tenth Avenue Freeze Out
5 Elvis Costello - Welcome to the Working Week
6 The Faint - Agenda Suicide
7 Frou Frou - Breathe In
8 Jethro Tull - Hunting Girl
9 Nick Lowe - Cruel to be Kind
10 U2 - New Years Day
11 Waltham - All I Want Is You (local)
12 Well - Bring It On (local)

Physical Attraction Test

Search for people who you find physically attractive.

My results:

It's official: You're "picky." The fact is you are drawn to the most beautiful of the beautiful. You know what you like in women and are more selective than most men your age. Your tastes seem instinctual. You'd make a great casting agent, because you have a good eye for women who have "star quality."

Good thing she looks like my wife!

It's another meme, courtesy of Lindsay.

I don't think that my call is important to them

I've been on hold with my sports club for quite a while now.

This is the message I keep hearing:

Your call is important to us. Your call is important to us. Your call is important to us. Your call is important to us. Your call is important to us. Your call is important to us.

I tend to disagree.

Maybe if you had picked up the phone right away, I'd agree that you think my call is important to you. But after being on hold for what seems like three days, I get the feeling that you don't care.

Comcast is slow

I'm sitting here wondering if Comcast has computers over there, or are they still using those skinny guys who write with quill pens:

The enrollment process for recurring credit card payment can take between 30-45 days, therefore you will need to pay your current statement balance with a different method (i.e. one-time credit card payment). You also may need to pay your bill next month using an alternate method if enrollment is not complete prior to the start of your next billing cycle.

Seems to me that this transaction should be instant and not time lapse.

Off On A Tangent Graffiti Over Route 9?

Wow!

Letter James is a very creative web app that allows you to personalize tons of photos with your own text.

Mark my words: These will be showing up all over the web. It's a meme in the making.
via [ The Presurfer ]

John Kerry Answers Questions from The Gadflyer

The Gadflyer: Not long after taking office, President Bush installed a T-ball field at the White House. Some say T-ball is an apt metaphor for Bush's entire life. You're a hockey player. Will you install a hockey rink at the White House, and if so, what does hockey symbolize for you?

John Kerry: I don't know if it's a metaphor for his entire life, but I can tell you that when it comes to building a record to run on, he's been swinging at that tee for four years now with the same broken bat and America's getting tired of hearing the whiff.

I love the challenge involved in playing hockey. Wayne Gretzky was asked why he was such a good hockey player and he always said, "You know most guys go to where the puck is. I go to where the puck is going to be." For me, I think that's also a statement about life and politics. It's about which issues you choose to fight for and how much you're willing to look toward tomorrow's challenges today.

It's over at The Gadflyer: Reply All.

Couric and Carlin: A new comedy team

Katie Couric and George Carlin were discussing the Janet Jackson Superbowl controversy.

Here's what they said as best I can remember:

Carlin: They had a commercial for a four hour erection, during the Superbowl.

Couric: They said to see your doctor if that happens. [ pause ] That's a great straight line. [ pause ]

Carlin: If you have a female doctor that would be great.

Everything Is Shiny and New and Buzzing With Possibility

Lindsay's weblog has been redesigned and she's happy about it:

I can't decide if the chemicals this redesign releases in my brain make it my new child or my new boyfriend, but I'm flying on some sort of oxytocin/endorphin/tylenol cold cocktail that's making me literally jump up and down and blanket Ben's non-erogenous zones with kisses while saying things one usually associates with cigarette-y afterglows.

Very happy.

It looks great!

Go read what she's written there.

Bass looking for new comedy groups in Boston

Chicago City Limits and Bass are inviting new comedy groups to audition at one of five open mike nights throughout Boston or to send a video tape to them directly. The winning act at each of these competitions will win $500, and earn the chance to compete for the grand prize of up to a $1,000 ($750 Judges Prize and $250 Audience Award) awarded during the opening of the Red Triangle Comedy show on May 26.

The Bass Red Triangle Comedy Tour open mike nights in Boston are:

Thursday, April 1: Clery's

Thursday, April 8: Dick's Last Resort

Thursday, April 15: Bell in Hand

Thursday, April 22: Copperfield

Thursday, April 29: The Milky Way

Beer and comedy. Nice.

Mean Girls

Tina Fey's new movie.
via [ Fallon Fey ]

Sam Adams 101

MG 755: The Organizational Life Cycle: The Boston Beer Company - Brewers of Samuel Adams Boston Lager.

This semester, Bentley, a business university in the Boston area, is taking it one step further with an experimental new course called, "MG 755: The Organizational Life Cycle: The Boston Beer Company - Brewers of Samuel Adams Boston Lager." On campus, the graduate level course, which filled up within two days of its being announced, has been nicknamed, "Sam Adams 101."

Mmm... Beer.

No "hello, how are you?"

My old friend Shilo from WMWM just IM'd me to test out his iChat audio feature.

The iChat dialog asked me if I wanted to accept an audio chat, so I clicked ACCEPT.

Next thing I heard was Shilo, "So are you on a PC or a Mac?"

I'm on a Mac

Are you on dial up?

I'm on broadband.

And it went on and on.

I broke in and asked him if he was going to say something like, "Hi Steve, How are you? I know that we haven't spoken in over three years."

We laughed about it.

Over the past few years we have kept in contact through email and IM's, but haven't actually spoken.

He felt comfortable enough to just start in with his techie questions in the audio iChat.

That's ok, but I think it would have been different if he'd called me on the phone.

Trapped! Like a squirrel in a cage!

Maybe I should go into the squirrel psychology business.

After I told the squirrel catchers to put their cage up on the roof, BINGO!, we caught the squirrel.

[ dance the happy dance ]

I'm soooo happy that the squirrel, who was terrorizing us, has been caught.

When it got into the house we were seriously concerned that the terrorist squirrel would eat away the insulation of our electrical wiring.

Once they get in the house, they snack on the wiring, exposing it, which can start a fire and burn the house down!

The trap is still set just in case there are more members of the terrorist squirrel cell in the area.

Squirrel Message Board.

Sample some sounds, record a track, be a DJ.

Break in the Road.

An animation in which you roam a virtual city with your microphone to search for beats and melodies you like.

After you've recorded your sounds, take them to your virtual home and try mixing them into a tune.

When you're done, you bring your mix to the club to see if the crowd likes what you've done.
via [ Presurfer ]

Frank Lennon For President

Red Sox Fan Running for President.
His platform:

1. Affordable, quality health care for all Americans

2. Campaign finance reform

3. Scrapping our income tax code

Go Frank Go!

Marua is still missing

Maura Murray - Missing since Monday Feb. 9th.

Apprentice Wannabes

Frank Borges LLosa wants to be on the next Apprentice and has set up a site to keep track of other Apprentice Wannabes like Jamie Hazan.

Seldom has mythology arisen so quickly about an event as it has with regard to the election results in Spain.

Outside View: U.S. misread Spain's election.

In his first news conference, the new prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, emphasized that combating terrorism would be a top priority of his government. Spain has been resolute all along in helping the United States identify and disrupt al-Qaida cells in that country. Now that Spanish blood has been shed on Spanish soil by the terrorists, that resolve is likely to be strengthened, not weakened.

But just because the Spanish people are determined to combat radical Islamic terrorism does not mean that they have an obligation to endorse the U.S. intervention in Iraq. The election results confirm that a majority of Spaniards make a distinction between those two missions. That is not surprising, since large majorities around the world have made a similar distinction. Indeed, it is a distinction that seems to elude few people-except for a majority of conservatives in the United States.

The War on Terror and the War in Iraq are two different things.

IM ZORK!

Waxy shows us that you can play Infocom games over IM.

Send an IM to InfocomBot or InfocomBot2 and you'll end up in a maze of twisty passages that look alike.

via [ Bob Congdon ] by way of [ Boston Blog Search ]

What's that Noise? IT"S A SQUIRREL!

The terrorist squirrels have bored thier way into the house!

They are crawling around in the space between the 2nd and 3rd floor.

Yikes!

I have a call in to the varmint removers to get over here pronto.

They were telling me that the had everything under control. The squirrels footprints showed the path they were taking up to the roof.

They set up a strategic trap, right in the little squirrel highway.

Well guess what?

The squirrels decided to go airborne.

Yesterday I saw a squirrel doing a high wire act, running all the way along a wire, straight to my roof.

Time to bring out the ladder boys.

Racer Tank

Adam Plus Eve features Hot Girls as models for their underwear.
via [ Sama ]

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Loved it. Hated it.

Lindasy loved it and points out that you can stream the entire soundtrack for free.

My mom hated it and told me that people walked out on it.

Might have something to do with the difference in their ages.

Hung in iTunes

Jack just sent me this email:

Tip: Apparently your buddy William Hung has some music in the Apple music store.

Yup!

He's right.

William Hung at the iTunes Music Store. [ This link launches iTunes on your computer and takes you to the Willaim Hung isle, if you don't have iTunes installed, you are taken to the iTunes download page ]

It's an iTunes EXCLUSIVE!

under God

Restore our Pledge of Allegiance

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Atheist dad ready for date at top court California man to argue against 'under God' in pledge.

Michael Newdow will stand before the highest court in the land for 30 minutes on Wednesday and defend his view that the words "under God'' should be struck from the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Battle Over the Pledge

The William Hung Story

Now the American Idol website has part 1 of a 2 part video about William Hung: William Hung. A Man. A Life.
I had a calculus professor in college like the one in the video. I had to transfer to another class because I couldn't understand a word he said, and that was just when he introduced himself to the class, nevermind the calculus.

The Official Website to William Hung

Looks like William Hung has an official website now.

Shouldn't it be "The Official Website of William Hung" or "The Official Website for William Hung"


Preorder William Hung's new CD 'The True Idol' at Amazon.com

I Am Spatacus

Well, not me.

Goran Visnjic is.

Man with half a brain is a detective

USA NETWORK | Touching Evil.
Watched the premier episode last night.

That has nothing to do with the TV schedule since TV doesn't control me, I control TV.

It was on a last week.

Touching Evil is an amazing show that'll help me since Monk is over for the season.

Do photographers have rights?

The Photographers Right: A downloadable flyer.

The general rule in the United States is that anyone may take photographs of whatever they want when they are in a public place.

Go ahead and take a picture of that accident, those children, that celebrity, that bridge and those law enforcement officers.
via [ Randomize ]

New additions to Boston Photobloggers

I just made four additions to my Boston Photobloggers weblog.

Check them out.

Wireless-B Internet Video Camera

Can I use a Linksys Wireless-B Internet Video Camera on my local Apple Airport network?

10 oz Pilsner Beer glasses piss me off!

To:
John Harvard
John Harvard's Brewhouse
Framingham, MA

Dear John,
You disappoint me.

I went to your John Harvard's Brewhouse restaurant in Framingham on Friday. When I took a look at your beer menu, I was excited to see that you had a Belgian beer on the list.

Belgian beer is THE BEST. I found that out on a trip there a few years ago.

I happily ordered the Belgian beer and my friend Rick got one too.

A while later the beers were delivered and I was terribly disappointed. I only got a 10 oz beer served in a 10 oz pilsner glass.

I HATE those glasses!

I expected to get a PINT.

All your other beers are served in PINT glasses.

What happened?

I suggest that you do something to fix this right away.

Choose one:

1. Inform your wait staff to tell customers that the Belgian Beer is served in 10 oz Pilsner glasses and not the standard PINT glasses.

2. Start serving the Belgian beer in PINT glasses like all the other beers and adjust the price accordingly.

3. Serve the Belgian beer in a special glass to differentiate it from all your other beers. That's how they do it in Belgium where each brand of beer has it's own glass.

Thanks for your prompt attention to this matter.
--Steve

Beer Collections: Glassware.

iGlassware tells the bartender when you need a refill.

UPDATE: John Harvard's Responds

Mr. Garfield,
I'm sorry to hear that you were disappointed by the glassware in Framingham
recently. The beer in question is 10-11% alc/vol and should be treated with
some caution, hence the smaller glass. While the glass itself my be
objectionable, the serving size would remain the same in any case.
I will look into the availability of other glassware for special beers in
the future.

Thank you,
Tim Morse
VP Brewing Operations

The IRS is Screwed Up!

IRS ignored tax scofflaws:

Last year, the IRS opted not to pursue 2.25 million tax cases, costing the government $14.1 billion in individual income taxes and $2.3 billion in corporate taxes.

I hate taxes as much as the next guy, but give me a break!

We decided not to collect over $16 billion in taxes?

Hello, IRS.

Is anybody home?

Who's in charge up there in Washington?

Oh right, George W. Bush.

The buck stops there.

Wanna see the most recent posts to TypePad blogs?

Check out the new TypePad Index.

Comcast wants you to pay and pay and pay

Comcast rolls out Tivo-like feature.

Comcast says its Digital Video Recorder service is available to customers throughout the Washington region. This is the first market in the country where Comcast is offering the service.

Comcast will charge an additional $9.95 per month for the service, and says there is no upfront equipment charge for the set top box.

Hmm.

Makes more sense to me to buy a TiVo with the $299 Product Lifetime subscription.

Comcast will be charging $119.40 per year for the TiVo-like device, but after 2.5 years you would have paid for the TiVo lifetime subscription.

The 154-caret Goldex

The Goldex Wristrock: For the gentleman too wealthy to give a crap what time it is.

I saw this ad in April's Maxim. ;-)

Apple Has Been Declared Dead 39 Times Since April, 1995

Apple Death Knell Counter.

via [ information leafblower ]

Oh oh. The BORG have invaded Vegas.

“Borg Invasion” claims to be the first “Star Trek” adventure to be shot digitally, and the first all-digital motion picture to incorporate live action and animation, within a 3-D environment. The multiple-angle approach allows viewers to experience 3-D effects from the front and overhead screens, as well as the left and right sides of the capsule. The visual presentation i

The Star Trek Experience: Borg Invasion 4D

She Needs A Group Hug

Group Hug Request #710831629:

i just want a casual shag but i'm dating this guy who sends me text messages saying how beautiful i am . it just makes me feel like puking and i get angry with him. why can't we just shag and then i can casually dump him and be on my merry way. is that so bad?

: hug :
via [ lost remote ]

You might as well run for president too

American Candidate Application.
via [ bloggerheads ] who has something on his mind

I found the button maker

Here's the button maker that automatically makes a web button like this

The link was over at [ boing boing ] who found it at [ horkulated ]

Have a Monkey Do it

SurveyMonkey.com
Online survey software run by a room full of monkeys with typewriters.

"Hi, my name is Dave Neeleman, and I'm the CEO of JetBlue. I'm here to serve you this evening."

Street Smarts: Learning From JetBlue.

"I get most of my ideas on flights like this one," Neeleman said. "The customers tell me what they want."

Cool.
via [ Evhead ]

The price of fame

This website www.larissameek.com is currently unavailable due to exceeded monthly traffic quota. Please visit again later.

SWISSMEMORY® USB Victorinox

The Swiss Army gets all the good stuff.

It is the first time that an original Swiss Army Knife has been equipped with a USB Memory.

Sweet!

Holy Mackeral!

Bill Frakes of Sports Illustrated, came in Second Place with this photo of Anne Stewart, The King Mackeral Queen in the Sports Portfolio category of the Pictures of the Year International competition.

Bill Greene of The Boston Globe won First Place in the News Picture category.
Congratulations Bill!

Boston Press Photographers Association member links.

Learn how Tom Brady got on the cover of Sports Illustrated

Eamon Hickey decribes the Sports Illustrated's digital workflow over at Rob Galbraith's Digital Photography Insights.
via [ J-Walk ] by way of [ Information Junk ]

Don't Eat Old Soup

Jack just ate some old soup and might die.

People. Please!

Follow the Food Shelf Life Recommendations before eating things you have at home.

What's Your Favorite Swear Word?

Channel 4 has the answer ( FLASH VIDEO ). [ If swearing upsets you, DO NOT CLICK THAT LINK ]

[ On the other hand, if you think the FCC is trying to take away our freedom of speech, click away! ]
via [ That's Just Not Right ]

See U Next Tuesday.

Riley's "See You Next Tuesday" Page.

Elizabethan Insults.

Untitled: A Bad Teen Novel

This book is not good. In fact, it's quite awful. I wrote it in 1987-88, when I was thirteen years old and in grade 8. I had just moved to a new, much snootier school, and wrote this in part to make friends with the girls in my class. I used to write a chapter a night and then read it out on the school bus the next day. I guess I didn't realize how awful it was. I can say it was well-received by my peers.

I wonder if my friend Ralph, now Michael, still has his novel kicking around.

I'll have to ask him.

We Caught A Possum

The animal catchers caught a possum in my backyard while I was away.

My neighbor said that it was HUGE.

The animal catcher guy told us that the possum was so big that it couldn't get into the cage all the way and then got stuck halfway in. He told us that it WAS huge.

I wish I was there to record it with my digital camera.

All I can provide is a link to this interesting antique label company website.

Sorry.

Maybe we'll catch the possum's mate?

My Dirt is Cramming

The Soil and Plant Tissue Testing Laboratory.

Mac OS X Update 10.3.3

The new Max OS X 10.3.3 update includes this:
Use F1-F12 for custom actions.

Guess you don't need a 3rd party app anymore.

Asteroid Rockets Towards Earth

NASA says that this small near-Earth asteroid (NEA) will miss earth by 26,500 miles at 5:08 PM.

You can compare how close this is on the handy NEO Earth Close Approach Tables.

Learn to play the piano on a Mac

You can learn to play the piano on a Macintosh with the eMedia Piano and Keyboard Method.

I've been looking for a replacement for the Piano Discovery System that used to be available for a PC.

The Piano Education Page.

How To Bag Groceries

Keep food safe when bagging groceries.

Pack heavier items on the bottom; place eggs and other fragile items on top

Follow these grocery bagging rules if you find yourself bagging your own groceries at a self-sevice checkout.

More on The DaVinci Code: Uncover the Code Contest

Here's one of the questions:

What enigmatic sculpture stands one degree north of 37 degrees, 57 minutes, and 65 seconds North by 77 degrees, 8 minutes, and 44 seconds West.

Here's the answer:

You will notice that “one degree north” puts the location substantially further north of Richmond. Further, there can only be 60 minutes, which means that there cannot be 65! After you look at your dust jacket you will see a decimal point between the 6 and the 5. So the location you are looking for is at 38°, 57’, 6.5” north latitude; and 77°, 8’, 44” west longitude.

This is the location of the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. The statue you’re looking for is called Kryptos, and it stands in the courtyard. It’s weird, being a piece of metal with letters on it, in code – the workers there spend their time trying to decode the thing, but supposedly nobody ever has. I’m sure you can find more info on that statue online, but I am not inclined to spend any more time on this matter, so at this point you are on your own.

The Story behind “Kryptos”.

Elonka's Kryptos Page.

Cult of Dan Brown.

Matt Thornton has the answers.
The DaVinci Code at amazon.com.

I Just Finished The DaVinci Code

I used to be a big fan of Stephen King. I always enjoyed how he easily wrapped real life locations into his fiction.

In Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code [ amazon.com ], Brown wraps both locations and history into his novel.

The DaVinci cade was a fast read. I learned a lot and now want to learn more.

The DaVinci Code: Uncover the Code Contest.

The Official web site if bestselling author Dan Brown.

THIS NOVEL IS VERY EMPOWERING TO WOMEN. CAN YOU COMMENT?
Two thousand years ago, we lived in a world of Gods and Goddesses. Today, we live in a world solely of Gods. Women in most cultures have been stripped of their spiritual power. The novel touches on questions of how and why this shift occurred…and on what lessons we might learn from it regarding our future.

Dismantling The Da Vinci Code

Breaking The Da Vinci Code

THE DAVINCI CODE movie casting news

A Review and Critique of The DaVinci Code

Deconstructing 'Da Vinci'

The DaVinci Code at amazon.com.

Canon S400 Price Drops Again!

Canon PowerShot S400 4MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom.
Now it's $318.99 at Amazon.com.

I got mine earlier this month and love it!

Jasmine Trias and John Stevens

Last night's American Idol was a good one.

Fantasia Barrino is going to win obvs.

Jasmine Trias and John Stevens should make the final three.

Simon agrees with me on two out of three.

It's a bird

Here's a photo of a bird kite that I put on my photo blog.

Crazy Balloon Kites

Here's a short movie of crazy balloons flying above Delray Beach that I put on my video blog.

A pink teddy bear and a scuba diver!

General Edward Lawrence Logan

General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport (BOS) Real-time Status.

General Edward L. Logan was a first generation Irish-American, military leader, civic leader and municipal judge with family roots in Ballygar, Galway. Edward was the oldest of nine children, raised at 560 East Broadway in South Boston.

My First JetBlue Experience

The JetBlue airplane was lumbering through the air at 516 mph at an altitude of 31,930 feet. It was hot. So hot that I had to remove my sweater and shirt.

Good think I had my FNX T-Shirt on!

We'd gotten off to a late start because a FedEx plane at Fort Lauderdale got a flat tire on the runway. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Storrow Drive Airport Signs Are Messed Up
The trip from our house to the airport took about 20 minutes. At the end of Storrow Drive, there's a sign that says, Government Center Exit Only. That would lead me to believe that the exit for Logan Airport is somewhere else up ahead. Nope. It's on that exit too! Maybe the sign should be changed to say Government Center and Logan Airport Exit only?

Parking or Central Parking? Make up your mind.
We parked at Central Parking. Again the signs leading the way were inaccurate. there was an initial sign that said, 'Parking." Upon seeing it I asked my wife, "Where's Central Parking?" She said that's it. Oh. We'll up ahead there WAS a sign that said Central Parking. there was an LED sign that said the best parking could be found on level 3, so we parked there. It turns out that Level 3 wasn't actually the best place to park since the walkway from Central PArking to terminal E is on level 4. I'll make a note of that for next time.

I haven't been to terminal since it was finished and was impressed. As we neared the terminal, we ran through a sound installation on religions from around the world. I'd hear about it on the radio. A woman combines all types of music and chants from different religions and now has an exhibit of them in the ramp between Central Parking and Terminal E. Maybe I'll have time to listen to it when I get back home.

A Personal Greeting
We rushed up to the ticket counter and no other passengers were in line. The airline representative asks me, "Mr. Garfield?" Ha Ha. Yup. We must have been the very last people to get there for our 11:20 flight. She says that we'll probably make it.

Airport Security: Defined by a Peanut Butter Snadwich.
Next up was airport security. People were taking their shoes off all over the place. So I did too. I put them in a little box along with my computer, phone, camera and jacket. After it all went through the scanner, the attendant told me that the computer had to go back through since it needed to be in it's own little separate box. Fine.

When my backpack came though the attendant asked who's bag it was. Funny that the girl beside me claimed ownership of my bag. She quickly realized that it wasn't hers.

I then said it was mine and they had to open it and look around.

Out comes my camera battery recharger, my phone charger, my eyeglass case, and my peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Do you have anything sharp in here like a knife, " they asked.

"Nope," I replied.

The he pulls out my all purpose pocketknife, screwdriver, wine cork, nail file, etc. combo. "Oh, I forgot that was in there."

Well we have to take it but we won't take you Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich.

You can pay $8 and we'll mail it to you, or you can go back to the checkin counter and check it as baggage.

I decided to let them keep it and sell it on eBay or whatever they do with confiscated things. I got it at a trade show anyway as a free promo.

There's Been A Delay.
So we made it to the gate with 20 minutes to spare and then hear the dreaded announcement that's the bane off all air-travelers. There's been a delay.

JetBlue was cool though, during the delay, because they brought out nice free snacks and drinks for us. And we didn't even have to get out of our seats for 'em. We just sat there and they brought by all kinds of fun food. There were Blue chips, Chocolate cookies, animal crackers, Doritos, and a little blue box called JetBlue snack. That was made up of some Oreo Cookies, Wheat Crackers, moldy cheese and a lifesaver. I passed on the moldy cheese since it was the bad kind of moldy cheese and not the good kind that cheese connoisseurs like.

Roomy Seats and Your Own TV.
When we boarded the plane we settled into our comfy JetBlue seats with lots of leg room. I like that. They we took our free headphones and plugged in to our personal TV screen that had a bunch of channels of programs with nothing worth watching. Note: Bring your own headphones for higher fidelity.

Overall it was a great JetBlue experience and I'd fly them again. I just saw that they have $99 promo fares out to the West Coast. A good deal.

Getting Tough With the Right

The Gadflyer launched today.

"The age of the wimpy left is over," said The Gadflyer's Editor-in-Chief Paul Waldman upon announcing the launch. "It's not only money that has brought the right so far in recent decades. Conservatives have also fueled their successes with their political mindset. Simply put, they play to win. It's time for progressives to do the same. With that in mind, during the publication's launch week we will present a series of articles outlining important ways for progressives to get tough."

Cue Rocky Theme.

History in the Making.

America For Sale Dot Org.

Americaforsale.org is not a news site, we provide links to archived stories on news sites, which provide current up to the minute news. This site is only an archive of recent history. There's no opinion on this site. What you will find is real events, with real sources with the links to back them up. The sources we've cited include the FBI, the CIA, CNN, CBS News, ABC News, the Washington Post, the New York Times, Newsweek and the BBC. There is an incredible amount of both misinformation and misunderstanding out there, with this site we're trying to correct that. This is not conspiracy theory, this is the news and it’s history in the making.

Everything you know is wrong.
via [ Doc Searls ]

Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update Dress Rehersal Cuts

Stuff that didn't make the final show.
via [ The Ultimate Insult ]

Ricky Gervais Alias Bomb Expert

Ricky Gervais is going to be on Alias Sunday night as a serious bomb expert.

That's great!

Maybe he can guest star on a few of my other favorite shows:

Ricky Gervais to star as the next Bachelor.

Ricky Gervais to join Survivor All Stars as a surprise challenge reward.

Ricky Gervais to join Monk as a competing wise cracking know it all detective.

Ricky Gervais to join The Sopranos as Carmela's new love interest.

Ricky Gervais to join The Today Show as a special correspondent.

Where do you think Ricky Gervais should show up on TV next?

Television Tropes, Idioms, and Devices

A catalogue of the tricks of the trade for writing television scripts.

Check out The Scream:

A character finds something out or hurts themselves and screams. To show that this is the loudest scream ever, cut to a shot of the surrounding area with the audio of the scream still going, then to the countryside (where it might disturb livestock or a farmer), and possibly further back to a shot of Earth from space all the while with the scream still looped in the background.

If on planet Earth, The Scream must cause birds to burst from the brush in a panic.

Ravi, since each entry on the site is a WikiWord, you've got to add The Spit Take, which was popularised on your web only sitcom Three Abreast.
via [ Metafilter ]

The New Pentagon Papers

Salon.com has just broken a major story detailing how the Pentagon created a special office to manipulate intelligence data on Iraq and WMDs. It's written by Karen Kwiatkowski, a military offer who was part of this unit, telling us the inside story in her own words.

The Salon story makes it even clearer than before that the Bush administration deliberately misled us in the run-up to the war in Iraq a year ago. The problem was not bad intelligence -- it was deliberate distortion of the facts.

Hey man, keep Howard Stern on the air!

WBCN 1st Amendment Line.

The 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution States:
"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 a redress of grievances."

The 1st Amendment is under Attack. Your right to free speech is being threatened. Show your support for Howard Stern by calling the WBCN 1st Amendment line toll free at 866-790-7663 and voice your thoughts freely.

Maybe my call will get on the air:

First they came for Howard Stern and I did nothing.

Then they came for Adam 12 and still, I remained silent.

[ Telephone rings in the background ]

Oh, Oh. It's the FCC calling for me.

Listen to the calls, click here.

Hello Brittany

The Women of 'Average Joe: Adam Returns'.
So the first busload of girls on the new Average Joe 3 are going to be mostly average, except for Brittany, and Anna.

But there's going to be a BIG SURPRISE!

Hmm, I wonder what that's going to be.

Lir 903 Boylston St Boston, MA

We had dinner and drinks at LIR in Boston tonight.

Tell me, why do the restaurants on Newbury Street get to comandeer the City Parking Meters for their private Valet parking?

Huh, why?

LIR wasn't too crowded, so we got a nice seat in front of the TV to watch the Celtics game.

Big news, I found another bar in Boston serving Smithwicks. So I ordered one.

The waitress informed me that it's pronounced Smiddicks.

"I know", I replied, "I just called it Smithwicks since it's new to Boston and lots of people probably don't know how to pronounce it."

The food was great, Sheapards Pie and Veggie Quesadilla.

Fresh Squeezed Magazine

Juicy.

Neat photos

Andrea Sally Fischman Photography.

Fight Cancer

The Jimmy Fund.

Give me a DVD drive with toast and a decaf coffee

LaCie 8x Dual DVD±RW Drive now shipping with Toast 6 Titanium.

Are you a Netflix freak?

Netflix Freak is a full-featured Mac OS X application for managing your Netflix account, offering many additional features not available via the Netflix website.

Functional Function Keys on a PowerBook

fnSwitch is an application that changes the behaviour of the fn key for the new Apple PowerBooks. It allows to use function keys without the fn key.

Now you can get a WiFi squeezebox

Slimdevices has a new digital music player with built-in 802.11b wireless networking.

Take Action Against AIDS

Aids Action Committee of Massachusetts.

Change Your Oil

Enova Oil.

In Japan it's called Healthy Econa Cooking Oil and is the best selling brand.

Robbed!

LISA LEUSCHNER.
Lisa,
You'll always be my American Idol.
--Steve

Hi, is Chris Rock there?

Laura got Chris Rock's old cell-phone number.

It's funny when Adam Sandler calls.

Go read her story.

How can it be 'The Best Week Ever' if they tape it on Tuesday?

Wil Wheaton says:

Yesterday, I taped another Best Week Ever, which will air this Friday.

Seems like a short week to me.

The O' Franken Factor

You've gotta love Al Franken's new radio show name.

It'll be airing on Air America Radio.

Put your savings in bonds?

U.S. Savings Bonds Online

This is a good candy packaging idea

Celebrations.

Shirts that create the illusion of tattoos

Sleeves: Original Tattoo'd Clothing.
via [ NewYorkish ]

She Bangs Out A Record Deal

William Hung Gets a record Deal.

City-based storytelling

Boston Stories is part of The City Stories Project.

It's a series of personal stories where the city itself becomes a character in your story.
via [ J-Walk ]

Racoons Eat Squirrels

Commonwealth Wildlife Control was here to reset the squirrel trap and set up a racoon trap.

Turns out that racoons eat squirrels.

Bill, the trapper, says that you don't want racoons. They are worse than squirrels!

Bill took the time to point out where the traps were all set and where all the squirrel urine is running down the side of the house. Bill says that squirrel urine will rot up my clapboards.

He then went on to tell me about the breeding habits of squirrels and how they have babies in April. The squirrels are now building their nests out of anything they can find including insulation to power lines. That's bad because if they eat through the insulation, a fire could start and your whole house could burn down.

How do you kill grey squirrels?

We'd like to see them captured in a live capture trap then humanely killed by a gun or a blow to the head

Die! Squirrels Die!

The TiVo Top Ten

Here are the top 10 Season Pass™ recordings among TiVo subscribers, based on anonymous, aggregated data, for the week ending 02/20/04. ( * notes if I record the show )

1. Friends * Nope
2. Sex and the City * Nope, On-Demand
3. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation *Nope
4. The Apprentice * Yup
5. American Idol * Yup
6. The West Wing * Nope
7. ER * Yup
8. 24 * Yup
9. Survivor: All-Stars * Yup
10. Will & Grace * Nope

Source: News You Can Use From TiVo, Volume 47

Do Dogs Sell Newspapers?

Looks like the Globe and Herald think so.

The Herald has the story:
Dogs get their day at city hearing: Tearful owners decry `hot spots.

Crumb, a 15-month-old Vizsla who was shocked on Harrison Avenue last week, peers down on the proceedings. (Staff photo by Nancy Lane)

The Globe has the story:
NStar spars with city on electric shocks.

Crumb, a Hungarian Viszla, was on hand for yesterday's hearing; his co-owner testified that a shock in Chinatown has changed the dog's disposition. (Globe Staff Photo / Bill Greene)

Note to Globe proofreaders: It's spelled V-i-z-s-l-a.

Is that a PC in your pocket?

Or are you just happy to see me?

The OQO ultra personal computer (uPC) asks the question.

You provide the answer.

Stick a Video Camera on your Baseball Cap

Deja View Model 100.
I guess that's a way to get some footage of the bartender.

Ben and Liv

Jersey Girl in theatres everywhere March 26.

No J.Lo to be found in the trailer.

She must be in the suite.

Now we've got racoons!

Do you think that the squirrels told the racoons that our house is a great place to crash?

Our neighbor told me to look at the little footprints in the snow and follow them.

Well, they went right under my back porch!

I left a message for the squirrel removers to add TWO RACOONS to their list.

Larissa and Gil sitting in a painting K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

Larissa Meek has a website.

You can buy a 18 x 24 Limited Edition Print (only 50 prints available) of the girl in my banner image from Larissa Meek.


via [ Reality Blurred ]

James Astill meets teenagers released from Guantanamo Bay who recall the place fondly

Cuba? It was great, say boys freed from US prison camp.

Why did 32 people buy a new Volvo on the same day?

Volvo S40 Documentary Meme.

''The Mystery of Dalaro'' - Volvo Documentary - Fiction!


The cleverest advertising campaign ever?

Dalaro.

Behind The Angels

Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Charlie's Angels.

Tricia Helfer is Farrah Fawcett-Majors.

Let's Get Married

I filmed this play today and enjoyed it.

Hey, Let's Get Married: How Timmy and Teddy Celebrate Their Twentieth Anniversary. At the Leland Theater of the Boston Center for the Arts, 537 Tremont Street, Boston. March 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12 and 13. Showtimes are @ 8:00, Saturday matinees at @ 2:00, Sunday matinee at 3:00, Sunday evening show @ 7:00. Tickets $10, $7 for groups of 10 or more. Ticket Info: 617-426-ARTS (Box Office)

It’s Theodore and Timothy’s 20th anniversary, and finally they have the chance to get married for real. In monologue, song and sketch, each reflects on how they met, the eccentricies they’ve learned to live with, and the baggage of their past--while anticipating their future as a married couple, or as one prohibited from marrying. Part love story, part social satire, "Let's Get Married" is populated by a zany ensemble of political and religious figures and family members.

It had drama, current events, music, singing, and humor.

A talented cast was called upon to play many roles on the topic of gay marriage.

I can't let you leave because the computer is down.

So I was at the Faulkner hospital again today and troubles getting out of the parking lot.

The fee was $3. I handed the attendent a $20.

He couldn't open the register.

It seemed to be locked.

He had to call some one to help him.

I found $3 in my wallet and offered it to him.

"How about if I give you the $3 and you give me back my $20, open the gate and let me out of here, and figure out the problem with the cash register later?"

"I can't do that," he replied.

The register controls the bar that goes up and down and he couldn't lift it without the register allowing it to.

So help soon arrived and the supervisor told the attendent to push a button. That allowed the register to open.

We got our change, 17 $1 bills, and left.

Twisty Little Passages

Cool! A book about Adventure and Zork!

This guy liked it so much he took notes. Detailed notes.

An Interview with Nick Montfort, the author.

Nick's Twisty page.

Nick Montfort Webpage.

The Colossal Cave Adventure page.

Everything you ever wanted to know about the magic word XYZZY.

Blogs meet Mobile Phones

WINKsite.

This is war!

You might remember my DIE! SQUIRRELS DIE! post from last year where squirrels were trying to eat their way into my house.

Well, THEY"RE BACK!

See all those wood chips on the ground. That's my house! Little pieces of my house!

Monday we trap those suckers and send them off to parts unknown.