This 'N That

Macs crash?  I've had my iMac for almost four years and while certain programs may have given me the spinning beach ball of death (Firefox, but I have to admit I run the beta versions), never has the whole system crashed. 

Jobs said Flash is a closed proprietary technology that should be bypassed in favor of open standards such as HTML5, a new Web technology that Apple is promoting. He said Flash consumes twice the amount of battery life for video playback, is a security risk and is the No. 1 source of crashes on Mac computers. Jobs added that it's also not suited for the touch interfaces of many modern mobile devices.

Um, Steve?  People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, Apple isn't exactly known for sharing.  Not that this is a bad thing since your devices have always worked for me, but maybe you could phrase it a little differently.  What I've discovered is that I basically use my computer for email, to surf the web and to charge my iTouch so I should probably get an iPad and be done with it.  I would have room for dining room table after all that space was freed up.  Hmm, and the need for power strips would also decrease.  Win, win.

Not content with mucking up California, the Governator wants to run for president.

Not exactly a surprise.  Of course she's a liar, she slept with another woman's husband.  And it's pretty easy to see she isn't firmly attached to reality.

I am not a Madonna fan by any stretch of the imagination.  Business wise she is incredibly smart and managed to ensure that she received most of the profits from her work, unlike a lot of popular artists, but I still don't like her.  I do like Jane Lynch and because of her I now have a Madonna song on the iTouch.  A most spectacular cover version of Vogue.  I wonder why I can't get into Glee, it's a great premise and everyone attached to the project is extremely talented, but I can't bring myself to watch it on a regular basis.

The Stupid, It Burns

I actually started writing this post a few days ago and then several personal issues came up.  My disgust with politics, what passes for news (it used to be called gossip), the lack of intelligence and the stunning erosion of critical thinking of the average American has prevented me from caring as much as I used to about the future of America.

And then, sure enough, another act of stupidity wasted no time raising my blood pressure to the boiling point.  Banning the Merriam Webster Collegiate dictionary from the Menifee Union School District because a student found the definition of oral sex in a dictionary. Menifee may be located in California, but it is definitely behind the Orange Curtain.

The Golden State's Menifee Union School District has yanked all copies of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary from its shelves and is investigating the classic American text for containing "age-inappropriate" words.
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Menifee, which is composed of 9,000 students between kindergarten and 8th grade, is forming a committee of principals, teachers and parents to pore over the book and determine whether it's fit for young eyes. It could take a while: the unabridged edition available online contains over 470,000 entries.

Cheese and rice, these people are just plain stupid, there is no other way to put it.  In the mid nineties "oral sex" was all over the news, now it can't be in a dictionary because kids might find the correct definition instead of what they hear on the playground.

Up until this morning my, and most other liberals, definition of "f*cking retarded" was when you screw over 88 percent of the people who approve of most of what you're doing AND WHO GOT YOU ELECTED in the first place in order to please the same 22 percent who still thinks Bush and Cheney walk on water that isn't frozen and who wouldn't approve of anything the Obama did if God himself came down from on high and anointed Obama as his son by a different mother.  Now it seems to encompass everything in politics.

Of course there is going to be political pain on the democratic side, what did they expect?  Flowers thrown in the street for not doing the job that the American people elected them to do?  For saving Wall Street instead of Main Street and then letting Wall Street enjoy bonuses completely out of proportion to the crappy job they performed?  After suffering through eight years of the the Bush maladministration, the last thing that the democratic base wanted was to be ground under the jackbooted heel of the same people who caused the country to head into the crapper in the first place.  Sure, you can blame it on the economy, and you would be right.  It's too bad that what passes for leadership these days only cares about the economy of the working people when it's time for them to get reelected.

Living in an unequal society creates shorter lifespans.  That would be for the poor and the middle class, the rich have all their needs met.  Even when they contribute nothing to society except to increase the inequality.  Welcome to America, land of the free, home of the brave.  If you have lots of money .

Over 200 studies since the early 1980s have now documented that people living in societies where wealth has concentrated at the top of the economic ladder live significantly shorter, less healthy lives than people who live in societies that spread their wealth more evenly.

And we’re not talking just poor folks here. All people in unequal societies do worse. Middle-income people in the United States, the world’s most unequal developed nation, have shorter lifespans than middle-income people in Japan, Sweden and a host of other more equal nations.

So, my newest iWant is called iPad?  What the hell was Apple thinking?  Aren't there any females in their advertising department?  It reminds of some comedian in the nineties who made fun of sanitary pads.  As he said, why not call them what they are instead of some gussied up name that has no relation to its purpose.    He used the example of Always and thought a better name would be cranky hanky.  I realize that the iPod saved Apple's bacon, but there were a slew of better names than iPad.  Duh!

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Monday Morning Musings

How much more study is needed before the soldiers get the help they need?  When ten guys from one unit have been accused of murder, attempted murder, and manslaughter, maybe more study isn't needed and the next step should be admitting there is a problem and doing something to change it for the better.

Almost all those soldiers were kids, too young to buy a beer, when they volunteered for one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Almost none had serious criminal backgrounds. Many were awarded medals for good conduct.

Obviously the military brass learned nothing from the aftermath of the Vietnam War.   What these kids were asked to do time after time against a dehumanized enemy will affect them and everyone around them for the rest of their lives.  And with the loyalty that the chickenhawks don't have, these kids will be he recipients of the next "we must be tough on crime" wave and spend the rest of their lives in a physical prison to go along with the prison of their minds.

I've been a Cincinnati Reds fan for most of my life.  I started with the Big Red Machine because I had a crush on Johnny Bench and thought that Joe Morgan, Ken Griffey, Tony Perez and Dave Concepcion were the best teammates in the world.  And Tom Seaver was pretty darn cute.  For the record, I never liked Pete Rose and that had nothing to due with his abilities.  It had to do with the sneer he always seemed to have, not very attractive.  While I may not like him personally, he was a great ball player and deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.  Gambling had nothing to do with his skills or performance and he should be recognized for them.  Considering the antics of what passes for a star nowadays, maybe it's time for the Hall of Shame to be reviewed.

Cocktails!  I'm seeing something from the Star Trek Universe.  A sleek black tablet with a touchscreen and the ability to look up information, play music and relay messages sounds like a good start.

As the saying goes, if all you is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail.  One of the problems with letting everyone have guns, is that everyone has guns.  Even people with known anger problems.  And this has a tendency to end in the deaths of police officers.  While I may think that the police have strayed from their mission of "to protect and serve", they don't deserve to die serving a warrant.

Of course he is.  Opposing Roberts and Alito was portrayed as partisan and being a bad sport, but opposing Sotomayor is okay because he has concerns about her positions on gun rights and white firefighters who like to sue their employers.  Sessions needs a session with mental health care provider.

My personal favorite of the beer labels banned in Maine is the last one.  Nut-Browned Ale sounds a little toasty, doesn't it?


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I Am Sorrow

Seven years and two wars later and they are going to try new efforts to find the forgotten one.  I will be almost amazed when they find Osama bin Laden just before the election.  There will be celebrations, ticker tape confetti and dancing in the street.  News anchors will have tears of joy in their eyes and all but a few of us will realize that this could have been accomplished seven years ago, but they didn't need the political capital then.  The American people are easily mesmerized by shiny objects and artificial intelligence, aren't they?

Speaking of War Games, mom and I were watching War Games: The Dead Code and I wondered why they didn't bring back John Wood as the original Dr. Stephen Falken. John was responsible for uttering one of my favorite lines as the Bishop of Aquila (there were a few) in one of my favorite movies.  Ladyhawke, one of the most romantic action movies ever made.  I heartily recommend it.  Alfred Molina has a bit part, one just a little bigger than his part in Raiders of the Lost Ark. These lines came straight from the Bishop's mouth right after he watches his mistress dance and Marquet gives his report.

We live in difficult times Marquet.  The famine has prevented the people from paying their proper tribute to the Church.  I raise their taxes only to be told there is nothing left for me to tax.  Imagine.

Gee, that sounds just like today except the church has been traded for corporations. 

Wow, I just found out I could watch a movie and blog at the same time.  I really should explore more of the capabilities of my Mac.  Speaking of which, even though I can't pay for rent or gas, I want the new iTouch.

Obviously, I am a true American.

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Programs, Programs Programs

Another program to "help" disadvantaged youth avoid crime. Partisan politics at work again. Proving once more that it's who you know (the current occupant of the White House's father), not how important or how well a program is likely to work. Oh yeah, they have so many golf courses in the ghettos and poor neighborhoods and the the kids all have transportation to the better parts of town where of course they'll be allowed to play golf. As if the country clubs of America want another Tiger Woods. It was forty two years between Althea Gibson and Serena Williams winning the U.S. Open in tennis and no other black woman besides Althea has won the LPGA since. No wonder Republican are so certain that government doesn't work. They keep authorizing money for their cronies under the guise of helping out the little man. The usual ABC commenters show their true colors. Defend, defend, defend. An administration so corrupt that we'll never find out how much of the taxpayer's money they've pissed away on programs that only benefit the people at the top.

No job, no house payment. That's usually how it works, unless you inherit money from parents and grandparents that worked so you can play at being a celebutante. The F.H.A should have known that. As well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It was more like a well orchestrated plan to relieve the low end of the middle class of their money under the guise of home ownership. And just like I told all the people who weren't making a $110K a year, miss a house payment and you'll find out just who owns it.

Cupertino, we have a problem and I am really confused. The new Apple 8-gigabyte 3G iPhone will retail for $199, and that's a good thing. It would be better if it was on Verizon, but it's still a nice price. Meanwhile, an 8 gigabyte iTouch is $299 and it doesn't make phone calls or have GPS. Are they going to eliminate the smaller iTouch and force us to go with a larger model so they can justify the difference in price? Or are we being forced to into helping AT&T become a bigger monopoly than they were in the early seventies?

What about walking? Isn't that a weight bearing exercise? How about the elliptical machine for those of us with bad knees? Mom is 77, has walked most of her life, has smoked for 66 of the 77 years but she does like to sit outside. Is it the Vitamin D from the sun that has given her protection from her frequent falls, because she still hasn't broken a bone (thank goodness) and she falls more often than I'd like.

Why do I think that this program is going to increase crime against older people? Considering that one doesn't have to show ID to use a debit card and they rarely check ID when you use a credit card, I foresee the usual problems. Ooh, ooh, do you suppose it will be used as an ID card for seniors?

Oh, I thought they had learned to use poles and bait.

Yeah, well my tomatoes (since stores are pulling them off the shelves) aren't going to be ripe by Saturday and I needed some of them to make my tomato tart for the PartyLite soiree that I'm having. And since today is Tuesday, weren't they really talking about yesterday's high?

BBB

Food, Hopes, Money, More Food And Fun

As is usual with most people who can't read a complete article but still feel the need to express their uninformed and partisan opinion, what most of the commenters seemed to get from the article about the Senate dining room losing money for the last forty years, is that it's all the Democrats fault or that government can't do its jog. More likely it was all the lobbyist paid for junkets. As if Howard Baker, Bob Dole, Trent Lott and Bill Frist weren't in charge for most of the last fifteen of those years and had no problem privatizing the rest of America while they were in power. And like most people, if the food isn't good in one place, they go to another. The House cafeteria, which was privatized by a Democratically controlled Congress twenty years ago.

In the past 10 years, only 20 new items have been added to the Senate menus. So rare are new entrees that last year's arrival of daily fresh-made sushi was treated in some senatorial quarters as if a new Nobu had opened in the Capitol dining room.

Even revenue in the once-profitable catering division has been decimated, as senators have increasingly sought waivers to bring in outside food for special events with constituents and private groups.

Operation of the House cafeterias was privatized in the 1980s by a Democratic-controlled Congress. Restaurant Associates of New York, the current House contractor, would take over the Senate facilities this fall. The company wins high praise from most staffers and lawmakers, who say they are pleased with the wide variety of new items offered every few months.

Perhaps the chefs need to learn how to prepare the basics, like fish sticks, before adding things like sushi and Osso Bucco to the menu. Senators make enough money to pay for a decent meal or they can brown bag it like the rest of us. It's the Democrats, led by Dianne Feinstein (Chief DINO), who are actively doing something to lower the cost and improve the service. By doing what used to be the Republican thing. Force the people on the lower end of the scale to take a cut in pay and benefits while they serve their betters.

Can't wait until he does it here. Except that I don't care if we ever see or hear from him again. Better times. Indeed.

So the core U.S. economy is in better shape than it was in the 70s. Baloney! I owned a house in the 70s, vacationed at Disneyland and Magic Mountain and was able to visit the Sycamores Springs Hot Tubs in Avila Beach on a regular basis. Now I live in a mobilehome, haven't had a vacation in at least six years and haven't come into contact with a spa or outdoor hot tub in more years than I can remember. In the seventies I had the G.I. Bill to get me started, now I have a Masters and can barely pay attention much less pay my bills. Yup, things are better. From a demographic standpoint, not a day to day reality position.

Thank goodness I'm growing my own tomatoes so I shouldn't have to worry about salmonella. Even though Shadow has been trying to dig them up while I'm not here. I'm extremely grateful she can't lift her leg.

The Apple store is down, which is a good sign. I can hardly wait for ten o'clock and what El Jobso has in store for us this time. Supposedly Microsoft is going to try and one up him at nine o'clock by announcing that some player they have is going to play Blu-Ray. Remember when Microsoft was the king? Not anymore, now people prefer things that work and look good at the same time. If only I was Stephen Colbert and people sent me everything I asked for.

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This 'N That

Now that's not fair! Though I will admit that if I start researching recipes, I do get a little more creative.

For many cooks, the compulsion to add to the mash is irresistible. It starts with a few parsnips, some carrot and celery root, a little Web research. Next thing you know, fresh lavender and goat cheese are on the shopping list.

I've tried goat cheese in my mashies but I admit to preferring the taste of simple mashed potatoes. I do like to add spinach to the mashies for Thanksgiving. It tastes great and it's another way to sneak in a vegetable. Plus, it doesn't matter what kind of potato you use. And the lavender makes a nice herb butter to go under the skin of the turkey. I'm going to brine my turkey this year, the last time I did it, it was the best tasting turkey I had ever made.

Have you ever wondered what earth-rise looked like? In HDTV?

Pretty soon most Mac users will have upgraded and the furor will die down, but you have to love it when Apple kicks Microsoft ass.

I have to agree with Dr. Haig. Sometimes you have to know when to punt. I just don't know why he let it go on so long. Patients that want you to do all the work for them, while they tell you everything they want done, rarely get better. They're really not interested in getting better, it's a control issue for them and as long as there is a problem, they feel in control.

Comcast sucks. Fortunately I can't get it where I live and if I was forced to use it, I would do without. They charge too much, provide lousy service and I just don't like them.

Update: Fixed the Comcast link.

The New iPods Are Here

Gizmodo rocks!

What in the heck will I do with 160GB of memory on an iPod Classic? My first computer (IBM Aptiva 75) was only 5 GB for the whole system and most of that was occupied with Windows 95. I can't even fill up an 8GB Nano yet. Unless I download videos.

Now the iPod Touch is what I want. The same screen as the iPhone but not enough memory to make me feel that I should put just anything on it. Plus it's WiFi enabled and can access the Music Store. Web surfing with Safari. Gotta have it.


All photos are from Gizomodo.

So much for the iPod killers. NBC must be feeling pretty dumb right about now. I never buy anything from Amazon but I do from iTunes. iTunes was there for me when Comcast was trying to blackmail me into paying more for the SciFi channel. Now I have DiSH, but if there are any scheduling conflicts, I'll just find another option. There are always options and NBC tends to forget that.

The Starbucks integration doesn't do much for me since I don't drink coffee, or anything else, from Fourbucks. I wonder how close you have to be for it to work. Oh well, I'll survive.

Yippee! Now all I have to do is save up all my pennies.