talking to nobody

Escape from Scientology land

2006-05-15T16:35:00.000-05:00

Liquid Generation’s Zelda-like poke at Xenu: “In this game, you are kidnapped by the Church of Scientology and sent to their evil world headquarters in Scientology Land to be brainwashed. Can you get out alive? You may survive… but will your culturally lucrative bit part on South Park?

read more | digg story

Ryan Block's response to DAPreview

2006-03-21T11:16:00.000-06:00

As you may or may not have read, due to an admittedly stupid mistake I made doing my usual sweeping up of the shop, Engadget’s reputation is being called into question by a number of publications.

read more | digg story

New Pictures

2006-02-03T22:34:00.000-06:00

Shadow boxed
Originally uploaded by knots.

of the most lovely child ever...

PBwiki?

2006-02-02T08:25:00.000-06:00

If you look over to the right column, you'll see there is a new button for something called “PBwiki” which is a great free wiki site that i have been using for a little while now. The idea behind wikis is that they are collaborative. Anyone who emails me at arnold58@gmail.com can get the password to make changes to the PBWiki. I often put videos, to do lists, letters to self and family all on the PBwiki. (Susan this would be a neat thing for you to use for the church, it could be a online editable bulletin board) anyway, check 'em out here or Check out the PBwiki tour!

Technorati Tags: Wiki, PBwiki

Golfing with a German, OR...my wife knows the words to “Iron Man”

2006-02-01T21:23:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a very interesting one. My Usual Golfing partner Donnie called me a few days ago and said that he wanted to play golf on Monday morning. He also said he was bringing a German guy...“Why?” I asked him, genuinely confused. I was wondering if Donnie had just met some dude hanging out in a bar. But no, it was a fiance of some friend of his Girlfriend Maria. It was the longest round of my life. We made it to the North Creek golf coarse in Southhaven MS around 10:15 am. After warming up and making dirty jokes, we hit the links at around 10:45.... We made the turn at 2:15. thats right kids a 3 1/2 hours for nine holes of golf. Alone, that runs me about 45 minutes to and hour. Shit, walking would only take about an 1 1/2. The german guy (whose names seemed to be a derivative of Thor) was very meticulous. His pre shot routine was repeated perfectly throughout the round, and he played to the letter of the rules. Which is really admirable, but also, very german. I must admit he was a very amiable fellow, and a hell of a lot more successful than me so I can't complain too much. But honestly, 6 1/2 hour for 18 holes is just a bastard. We're lucky they didn't throw us out. Later that night.. Ashley got her first paycheck from her first full time job since Emily was born. Man are we giddy with excitement. We haven't been a 2 income household since before “the war on terror” so we were friggin' pumped to have this extra little chunk of change. What did we do with it? We do what most young parents do. WE took the kid to get pizza. One of our favorite pizza places is the Memphis Pizza Cafe in Overton square. Mostly because you get someone with dreads and a pierced septum to bring it to you. Plus, the pizza by the slice is damn fine. Soon after we sit down we realize that Black Sabbath's album Paranoid came on. Ash and I both are big pre-Dio Sabbath fans so we enjoyed the irony of listening to Sabbath (loudly I might add) while we fed our four year old. By the time “Iron Man” came on we were totally unaware of our mild mutual head-banging and the two of us mouthing the words. “...Has he lost his mind?.. Can he see or is he blind?...” I wish you could have seen us, I in my brown boring work shoes and super preppy, navy sweater vest khaki pants combo, and ASh directly from teaching Kindergarten at the Catholic school singing “Iron man” with a four year old. I am soooooo uncool...

Technorati Tags: Funny, Memphis

Texas republican proposes 50 percent game tax

2006-01-26T16:32:00.000-06:00

Republican primary candidate wants to eliminate property taxes by heavily taxing games the government deems "violent." Just out of curiousity, will he also suggest a tax on violent movies,violent TV shows and violent books? Probably not, and not because he doesn't want to. But because he knows he can get away with stereotyping gaming as "evil" but movies well that's a little tougher...Even in Texas

read more | digg story

screw it, just fix my old one

2006-01-26T14:11:00.000-06:00

I figure I can replace the battery on my old 3g iPod for less and I don’t need video (that’s what i got a PSP for).

See more progress on: get a new ipod

White House snubs Katrina probes

2006-01-25T08:12:00.000-06:00

Chicago Tribune | White House snubs Katrina probes
Wow there's a surprise! The administration fucks up royally, and then instead of fixing it, they squelch any investigations. This shouldn't be a surprise as it was done after Sept.11 as well. The don't want us to know how incompetent they are. Is there any other real excuse for not helping with the investigation? Also, here is a nice quote from the story

“Michael Brown, the former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, had been advised by agency lawyers not to say whether he had spoken to President Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney or to comment on the substance of any conversations with any other high-level White House officials.”

If that ain't a stone wall I don't know what is...

Technorati Tags: politics, President, Katrina, Right Wing, Democrats, Dubya

Student lawyers protest Attorney General

2006-01-25T07:51:00.000-06:00

As you can see from the picture, this morning Alberto Gonzales spoke to a group of future law students at Georgetown. They stood and turned their backs to him and held this sign. It was a brave and noble dissent, and I hope to see more of it. No one intereupted him, no one threw pig blood or any other crazy crap. Just true strong dissent. Thanks Georgetown law students, you speak for the majority of Americans.

follow the link here.

Technorati Tags: Dubya, politics, President, Right Wing

New Photo set @ Flcikr

2006-01-24T23:21:00.000-06:00

Emily and Carter
Originally uploaded by knots.

Check out some of Ashley's best friend Jessica's surprise wedding. Jessic and Todds wedding was litterally blown away by Katrina so Todd actually surprised her by grabbing her from work, dragging her home to be surprised by her family and friends! Then everyone went to the Oe Miss chapel and the got hitched.Check it out here.

Google Agrees to Censor Results in China

2006-01-24T23:04:00.000-06:00

I have a love/ hate relationship with Google. On one hand the are a very groovy company. Full of Ideas and good intentions (i.e. earning the public trust through the recent NSA flap over search engines) but at the same time, they are simply janky ad agents. And few industries are more full of shit than ad agencies. This is another example of the bottom line making the rules. Google sees the world's largest emerging market and realizes it can't lose it to MSN, Yahoo, et all and still be competitive in the 21st century. It simply MUST have China as a market to dump adsense on.

read more | digg story

Technorati Tags: Google, internet, China

Religious Right trying to kill Cervical Cancer vaccine

2006-01-23T18:52:00.000-06:00

Just when you thought the Religious Right couldn't get any nuttier... This time, they want to stop young, preteen girls from being inoculated against HPV, a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer. Why would they do this? Because it might make young girl promiscuous. So would Orlando Bloom but no one's trying to kill that dude...

read more | digg story

Technorati Tags: Funny, Right Wing, politics, President, Cancer

please stop this..

2006-01-22T21:46:00.000-06:00

World's fluffiest bunny
Holy crap just LOOK At this thing! And I thought the Westminster dog show was koooky!

Technorati Tags: Funny

what people don't understand about Mardi Gras the Gulf Coast

2006-01-21T18:58:00.000-06:00

Mardi Gras goes on Alot was made in the national media recently about if NOLA should hold mardi gras in the wake of Katrina. Well most of my thought about Katrina are well know to my friends if not you can read it here and here but I haven't really discussed it much since. I have to try to explain to you yankee bastards why Mardi Gras must and will go on. to understand New Orleans is to know a small sliver of the soul of the south. It's a poorly kept secret that NOLA is the wildest place this side of Vegas. But less understood is the real SOUL of the city. I know it fairly well, but clearly I'm not an expert. But I understand why Mardi Gras has to go on. And here it is... You can't stop a party in NOLA. I've been at all nighter in NOLA with thousands of people that have danced past daybreak and burst open the doors of the theater onto Canale street and danced right down to the river to have chicory coffee and make love in the sunshine in Jackson square. I've been surrounded by Hippies at Jazzfest who danced while their girlfriends were busted by the cops. On Sunday morning I've seen bars bursting with people right next to a Pentecostal church. It is the way of the city, it is the way of the Creole people who's ancestors help make New Orleans different from all the other cities in the south. And if you take the dance away from them, all they can do is cry. A quick NOLA story. I learned awhile ago were the name “Jazz” came from. It is a reference to the New Orleans whore houses that were often called Jasmine houses because of the heavy perfume in the red light district. Eventually the bands who go work at the brothels would write “JASMINE” on the kick drum, which often got shortened to “Jas” or “Jass” sometimes it would just have “ass” with the J scratched out. Eventually morphing into “Jazz” don't forget them

Technorati Tags: New Orleans, Mardi Gras, NOLA

the signs pretty much tell the story

2006-01-20T09:27:00.000-06:00

memphis4
Originally uploaded by knots.

There is a new set of photos on my Flickr page of the Memphis Garbage workers strike that brought Dr King to Memphis many years ago. go check it out here.. Look at the faces on the protesters...

Google will fight Bush Administration

2006-01-19T17:32:00.000-06:00

The US Government is taking legal action to gain access to Googles vast database of internet searches in an historic clash over privacy.
The Bush Administration has asked a federal judge to order the worlds most popular internet search engine to hand over the records of all Google searches.

read more | digg story

Technorati Tags: internet, politics, President, Google

My take on a truce

2006-01-19T12:09:00.000-06:00

So according to Aljazeera.net Bin Laden is offering us a truce. I find this fascinating in a lot of ways. First, I personally don't think a war on an abstract noun is a winable proposal. So the concept of a truce with Islamic fundamentalism is a attractive concept. But in reality, he is offering us nothing. Simply he is stating 'leave the Muslim world, and we will leave the western world alone'. He's going to have to do more than that...

Truth is, this is really what most Americans want. To get out of other people's countries and have them get out of ours.

Obviously, we can't trust this guy. But they can't trust George Bush any more than we can trust Bin Laden. So it seems to me that first we need to impeach Bush as first remedy and then offer Al Queda a simple deal. We have removed our leader (such as he is) and sent him o criminal proceedings. Now turn over Bin Ladden and we will deal with you on a truce. We'll pull out of Mecca and Mesopotamia, we'll lean on Israel to go with the Sharon peace plan, and we will put Bin Laden on trial in international court. If Bin Laden truly wants prosperity for his people, he must sacrifice himself. If we truly want peace with the Muslim world, we must sacrifice ours. That is a deal I think we could accept.

Technorati Tags: Iraq, Conservatives, politics, War, President, Democrats

I want to see my sister's church

2006-01-19T11:30:00.000-06:00

my sister is a priest and she has been the pastor at St Stephens church in Pearl Rive NY for a while. I haven’t seen hr church or her deliver a service (the only time I’ve seen her in “the collar” was when she married me). So I have to admit I’m an absolute ass for not visiting sooner, but I just have no good way of affording a trip right now. But perhaps a regular reminder here will help me.

See more progress on: visit my sister

The Pong Clock !

2006-01-18T17:38:00.000-06:00

OMG sombody get me this for my birthday!

LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug?

2006-01-17T13:40:00.000-06:00

When Kevin Herbert has a particularly intractable programming problem, or finds himself pondering a big career decision, he deploys a powerful mind expanding tool -- LSD-25.

read more | digg story

repeat failure

2006-01-13T13:39:00.000-06:00

I have been trying since October to get registered for school this semester. I have hit roadblocks at every turn. For some reason, it has been the most difficult string of circumstances. First, no transcripts, then I couldn't register online, then I was told that I wasn't admitted, then I was told I had a hold from my advisor. Finally when I tried to register. All the classes I had lined up to match my work schedule were closed. In the end, any reasons for me not being in school this semester are only mine and no one else's. I have always made excuses for things, but the truth is, all my shortcomings are the results of my own behavior. All the cop-outs are mine. I'm really afraid that my window is closing. I only have a few more years to try to finish school. Now that I've put Ashley through, I really want to complete it. I just am not confident enough in my abilities. The only thing I haven't failed at is being a father. And truth is, I'm so determined to not be a failure for HER that I doubt it's possible for me to fail Emmy. I simply WON'T. She deserves that at minimum. I've been a bad friend, bad student, bad employee, bad son, bad brother, and a hell of a lot more trouble for my wife than I'm worth. I simply can't be a bad father on top of that heap of shit I've built over 28 years.

it's Peanut Butter Jelly time

2006-01-09T21:12:00.000-06:00

faction fracture

2006-01-09T14:06:00.000-06:00

Informed Comment has a great story about the possablilty of Al-Queda in Iraq having over played thier hand with the guerrilla groups in Irag. It seems in summmary that Zarqawi has bombed too randomly, and the Iraqi's won't be aligned with it. At least this is some movement to squeeze out the last reason Bush has to stay in Iraq. Namely, the “Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamis”.

Technorati Tags: Right Wing, Iraq, journalism, politics, Democrats, Media, War, Dubya, Conservatives

TRIO "brilliant but canceled"

2006-01-08T15:11:00.000-06:00

TRIO Plus as of the new year Trio (digital cable's third gayest network)has gone off the air. I shed one solitary tear for you Trio. I shall miss Tivoing the Tupac and Biggie documentary. But fear not weary internet traveler, because Trip is movin to the old interweb. Trio is now officially "brilliant but cancelled"

Mac plasma? Or the further adventures of the Mac Media Center

2006-01-07T23:19:00.000-06:00

O'Grady's PowerPage - Your Mobile Technology Destination
Apple to enter My small corner of the Market. As rumors go, this on is a doozy. I'm not sure how much weight to put into it (the source and timing seems flaky). Also, Apple is often a company that like to let rumors stew for a while. But I do think this is a very curious idea. No keyboard and mouse? Could we be close to the idea of Apple entering the AV market, with it's own Mac Media center? There have been a group of great guys working on a open source Mac media center project called Center Stage but I could certainly see apple swooping in for the kill on this. I'll be staying tuned for announcements from Macworld next week. So should shareholders.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Mac, Tech

this is what war is

2006-01-07T22:24:00.000-06:00

CNN.com - U.S. says bomb hit wrong house in Iraq - Jan 5, 2006

Sure we all know in the back of our heads that war isn't pretty. It's messy, bloody, and cruel. I doubt people think it is candy and flowers. but if you believe in your soul that this war must go on in this way, then you must be willing to accept that things like this will happen. And if you can accept that, then you must know that every person who survives something like this will learn to burn with a hatred for us that won't be ended until he dies or we do. War is cyclical in that way. Just remember that.

Technorati Tags: Conservatives, Democrats, Dubya, Iraq, journalism, Media, politics, President, Right Wing, War

Hooray for good indie publishing

2006-01-07T08:43:00.000-06:00

A few years ago I showed my father a quarterly magazine called Wax Poetics. It's a terrific academic style journal for obscure R&B, hip hop, jazz and soul. The have recently been presented with the Utne independent press award in the arts category. My father, who was involved in publishing most of his life, and I were initially concerned about how long a life span the mag would have. It has a tiny niche of customers and very high publishing quality, 2 things that often lead to a quick exit from store shelves. But several years later, they are moving to a bimonthly format, starting a record label, and seem fairly secure. I am absolutely stunned as well as very pleased. If you get a chance hop on over to their website at Wax Poetics and check out the write up on David Porter's “into the real thing” and even hear a Mp3 from the album. Mr. Porter is one of my customers. And a better Soul songwriter are few and far between. Anyway, check them out, they deserve it.

Technorati Tags: Entertainment, Hip Hop, journalism, Media, Publishing, Publishing, R&B, Soul, Utne, WaxPoetics

What the Flock?

2006-01-02T22:22:00.000-06:00

I am currently messin' around with a new web browser that some of you might be interested in. No, it's not Opera (which does have that cool Torrent integration) and it's not Firefox (but if you are a non techie web user you should be using Firefox) it's anew little browser called Flock. Flock is a cool new take on web/life integration. The idea is that, photo sharing, blogging and bookmarking should all be social on the web. Already all of these ideas exist. I use Del.icio.us so that i can keep track of my surf habits among different computers and browsers already. I use Flickr to store and share my photos with family and friends. And I use Ecto for my desktop blogging (in fact I'm using it right now). But why shouldn't all these functions be rolled into the browser? This is the gap that Flock wants to fill. I don't recommend this for newbies or my parents. The build is not even into beta yet, it's only a developer build, so there will be hiccups. But the concept is sound, the design is nice and finally someone is doing something more original with the browser than just making it work (thanks Mozilla). Kudos to the hippies over at Flock, I salute you.

Technorati Tags: Flock, Browsers, Web, Tech

All Apologies

2006-01-02T17:55:00.000-06:00

This must be my like, 5th or 6th “sorry for not posting post” but I have been deralict in my blogging duties, while my sister has been very prolific over at the blog for her church which you can find here. Among the more interesting posts, my sister berides her parishiners for not drinking more iced tea. Which I find absolutly hilarious. Also, the church got a new copy machine. You may insert dog barking sounds as needed (a la Arsenio).
But it's been a rough month of December on this branch of the Arnold clan. Mostly due to good things, Graduation, Busy work schedule, a visit to Gulfport for the girls and all the medical hoops your truely has had to jump through. But here we sit, hapily on the positive side of 2006 and things are looking up. Ashley is looking for substitute work and I'm going back to school on the 16th of this month to get my IT degree. Yes, I will be the annoying office computer guy. We hope to send out thank you notes for all the great gifts you have sent Emily for Christmas this year. Big ups to the big sis for the Muppet show season one DVD, thanks to ex-brother in law Chri for the Amazon gift card, Emily scored may books and a CD from the interenet super store. Thanks all!! Happy New Year.

sometimes some is enough

2005-12-28T18:25:00.000-06:00

Sure, I don’t know it well enough to seriously complicated page, but I’m comfortable enough to edit my own basic page and understand the majority of the basic concepts, and that was the goal for me.

See more progress on: learn more HTML

My limo...NOW!

2005-12-24T19:55:00.000-06:00

My limo...NOW!
Originally uploaded by knots.

Emily in the new ""Mercules"

Recap

2005-12-21T19:00:00.000-06:00

I have been asked, "why so long since the last post?" Well, here goes. Since my post on the Sixth of December Ashley has graduated from College Cum Laude with BS in Education, I have worked 20 of the last 22 days, been to see two doctors for health problems (got a hernia), had most of Ashley's family and my mom come for visits, Ashley got a new car, ordered most of Emily's X-mas presents, and continued my ever widening "War on Christmas" which apparently, ain't going very well. Hope this helps a little...I guess

another reason to make fun of people

2005-12-06T14:12:00.000-06:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the Ultimate Christian Wrestling foundation live from one of my favorite places, Athens GA. featuring Memphis' own Jerry Lawler's kid Brian...of coarse Brian's brother Chris was recently implicated in a strip club cocaine ring...but who's keeping score really. I mean, besides Jesus

Tired of Git-R-Dun?...me too

2005-12-05T11:21:00.000-06:00

And so is David Cross read this and be happy that Larry the Cable guy is a stupid one trick pony that will eventually fade like his dumbass catch phrase..

Technorati Tags: Funny, Entertainment

the best help column question ever...

2005-12-05T11:12:00.000-06:00

click for larger size

Technorati Tags: pictures, Media, Funny

kill the messenger

2005-12-04T08:38:00.000-06:00

All around the world, people are discussing the Super Hot News Story in the Daily Mirror in the UK. Although the memo itself hasn't yet been released, it's gist, however has been revealed and the idea is this. Our president suggested to Tony Blair that we bomb Al Jazeera in Qatar. What's wrong with that my fine red neck friends might ask. Well, qatar is an ALLY of the US in the Global War on terror. And Al Jazeera is a NEWS Channel thus making bombing it not only outrageous but out right murder. As soon as the published report of the memo was released the British government immediately put the clamps down on the the British media and threatened to prosecute if anyone released the secret memo. This gives a lot of credence to the Mirrors story even though they are not necessarily the most solid news source. I watch with baited breath...so should you.

Technorati Tags: Media, journalism, Right Wing, Conservatives, politics, President

That's the sound of the men...

2005-12-03T17:30:00.000-06:00

workin' on the Chain Gang This is in fact the view of my neighbor's front yard... I'm not sure if it's supposed to be funny or if they're really afraid that a gang of thugs will steal the snowmen. Merry Christmas all..

response from Senator Frist

2005-12-02T16:12:00.000-06:00

Dear Friend:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the hurricane recovery and relief efforts. It is an honor to serve you as Majority Leader of the United States Senate and a privilege to respond to your concerns.

This year's hurricane season has impacted the gulf coast in an unprecedented fashion. Helping hurricane victims recover and rebuild is a massive undertaking, but I am confident that America is up to the challenge of building stronger and more prosperous communities throughout the affected region. Congress must work to support the citizens whose lives have been devastated by these storms, and adhere to a rigorous program of fiscal discipline to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely.

To date Congress has committed nearly $71 billion to the relief effort, including an aggressive tax relief package to encourage charitable giving and help hurricane victims rebuild their homes, and find housing and jobs. Because of these unanticipated demands and to control runaway mandatory spending, the Senate has recently passed a Deficit Reduction Reconciliation bill. This legislation will reduce the federal budget deficit by over $100 billion over the next decade, and allow us to provide much needed relief to storm victims in a fiscally responsible manner. As our work continues, I will work closely with my colleagues in the Senate to ensure that we deliver bold, innovative solutions that keep moving America forward.

In addition, Congress is investigating a number of issues critical to our economic and national security, such as high gas prices and the effectiveness of our emergency response systems. I look forward to your input as Congress continues this important work.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.

Sincerely,

William H. Frist, M.D.
Majority Leader
United States Senate

Technorati Tags: Conservatives, politics, Memphis

Newsmax once again attacks McCain for being a hero

2005-11-29T19:55:00.000-06:00

Well as said before, nothing gets you closer to the true mind of the Right wing-nut like Newsmax. Let me give you a gems that has floated into my inbox from Newsmax in the last 2 days. *“John McCain: Torture Worked on Me”* Wow! you'd think that someone would mention that John McCain is a war hero and a descent human being (which is probably why they hate him). But no, we got cherry picked quotes from his book suggesting that he spilled the beans because he was tortured by the vietnamese. Which is obviously who I suggest we emulate, the Viet Cong. After 5 year under torture and inhuman treatment the crack staff at Newsmax has uncovered that McCain said “Eventually, I gave them my ship's name and squadron number, and confirmed that my target had been the power plant.” *GASP!* who would've thought it! John McCain a traitor and a wuss...but in the same paragraph Newsmax quoted this, Recalling how he gave up military information to his interrogators, McCain said: “I regret very much having done so. The information was of no real use to the Vietnamese, but the Code of Conduct for American Prisoners of War orders us to refrain from providing any information beyond our names, rank and serial number.” So after 5 and 1/2 years being brutalized McCain A) gave up info that they couldn't use and B) signed a document in Vietnamese that he had committed “war Crimes” Way to go Newsmax, you have falsely framed an argument so that the US government can torture prisoners by discrediting a republican war hero. Another Feather in the cap for you!

Technorati Tags: Newsmax, Conservatives, politics, Right Wing

open letter to Senator Frist

2005-11-29T18:19:00.000-06:00

Dear Senator First As one of your constituents I am continually saddened by this congress' inability to take responsibility for it's own actions. Congress has refused accountability for the lack of equipment for our troops, and to this day soldiers are still buying their own body armor. You have refused accountability on the swelling budget deficit that I will be passing to my four year old. Congress has yet to accept ANY responsibility for the horrible state of our world wide image after the scandal of Abu Ghrab. Congress has not accepted any responsibility for why we went to war with a country so obviously incapable of harming us. Congress has done little to assist the victims of hurricane Katrina. We in Tn are still paying for the administration's lack of foresight. Congress has yet to accept responsibility or offer assistance to the millions of Americans (many of the employed in low wage jobs) who live without health insurance. Congress has yet to accept any responsibly for continued misdirection of our country. When will you as Majority leader of the Senate going to be a man and take responsibility for the mistakes you and this Congress have made? When will you begin the very FIRST step of fixing a problem and admit that there is one? Until you do, the problems will continue to fester and grow. Wounds don't heal on their own Senator. And the country you serve is wounded and needs to heal. I am asking you as someone who trusted your judgement to prove me right in that assessment by standing up like a true civil servant and saying simply "we made some mistakes, now it's time to fix them..."I'm sure your political advisors and handlers wouldn't allow such honesty. But it is what voters and citizens deserve from their public servants. thank you Edward Arnold

The End Of Copyright

2005-11-28T20:52:00.000-06:00

Very Good article...
here's a quote
“I think we are witnessing the beginning of the end of a major era in world history. It may take fifty years, it may take a hundred, but the age of copyright is drawing to a close. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but it's inevitable.”

read more | digg story

Technorati Tags: Copywrite, internet, journalism, Media

Recent Toy update

2005-11-27T19:12:00.000-06:00

I picked up World of Warcraft recently, which is probably a mistake given my Obsessive compulsive nature. But never the less the game has been everything that was advertised. It runs smooth on my iMac, the controls are great the GUI is smooth and the game is likely to get you more addicted than a meth-head in Missouri. But this is only a first impression, since this game is a full year old, there are tons of guys who are running around at level sixty (the max in this game untill the new Espansion pack comes out. so most people tell me that the MEAT of the game kicks in around level 40 or so.I think it's hard to pass judgement right now. As I have said before, one technology pirchase leads to another. New phone = bluetooth headset, PSP = PSP ware, Memory Stick Duo, New iMac= Memory, blah blah blah blah... But never the less the addition of woW has brought me Apple's new Mighty Mouse which is apple's crazyn @@$$ take on the two-button mouse. It works pretty well, but it has taken some getting used to . It seems as though I have been grabbing the mouse soimewhat sideways all these years withpue noticeing . The mighty mouse's odd construction is breaking me of that...

Technorati Tags: WoW, Mac, World of Warcraft, apple, Mighty Mouse

Fairy Wings

2005-11-27T18:44:00.000-06:00

Fairy Wings
Originally uploaded by knots.

How great is this pic of Emily in her new Fairy Wings? Thanks Gran

Blues Fans of Memphis rejoice

2005-11-25T08:55:00.000-06:00

I was saddened last year when the King Biscuit Blues festival in nearby Helena, AK lost it's “King Biscuit” Monicker. For those that are unaware, The King Biscuit Flour Hour was a staple of black radio in the bad ol days of Jim Crow in the Mississippi delta. It became like WDIA in Memphis THE show to listen to for most of the regions black American's. And after the heyday of radio and long after King Biscuit Flour was no longer available, The Blues Fest in Helena was great time. The Beale street music festival and Oxford, MS's Double Decker festival where chock full of semi pop acts and frat boys that they became un-fun and repetitive. But the King Biscuit was usually filled with regional rock and blues acts and it was truly the locals that came out to support it. But recently the King Biscuit monicker was removed, but the Helena Ak blue fest marches on. But now, the King biscuit will open a cafe a Beale street here in Memphis and have a King Biscuit blues fest here in Memphis. How will this pan out? Who was in charge of booking the acts? Helena? or the King Biscuit music guys? Will anyone care? read more here

Technorati Tags: Blues, Radio, Memphis, history, Entertainment

What my desktop looks like, Right now

2005-11-23T09:35:00.000-06:00

Itunes

2005-11-20T13:35:00.000-06:00

What's playing right now in iTunes

Big Chief from the album “Dr. John`s Gumbo” by Dr. John
Tipitina from the album “Dr. John`s Gumbo” by Dr. John
Benzie Box from the album “The Mouse and the Mask” by Danger Doom
Welcome To The Working Week from the album “My Aim Is True” by Elvis Costello
Last Night from the album “The Complete Stax-Volt Singles Vol. 1” by Mar-Keys

So THAT explains why conservatives are so unhappy

2005-11-19T16:14:00.000-06:00

So as you might know, one of my favorite things to do is to provide a window into the mind of the NEWSMAX reader. Ah Newsmax, if I want an eye on the wingnuts of America you are my magnifying glass. And this one is no exception.

Study Links Oral Sex, Cancer
Some mouth cancers are caused by a virus contracted during oral sex, according to a new Swedish study.
Done at the University of Malmo, the study shows that individuals orally infected with human papilloma virus, HPV, are at a higher risk of developing oral cancer.
HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that is known to cause a variety of health problems, including cervical cancer. It is most often passed by genital-genital contact.
But the Swedish research shows that when the virus is contracted orally, presumably by means of oral-genital contact, it increases the risk of mouth cancer.
“You should avoid having oral sex,” said Dr. Kerstin Rosenquist, who headed the study comparing 132 patients with mouth cancer with a control group of 320 healthy people.
Dr. Rosenquist and her colleagues found that 36 percent of the cancer patients were carriers of HPV while only one percent of the control group had the virus.
Mouth cancer is most commonly contracted by middle aged and older men, and is primarily related to smoking and drinking alcohol, said Dr. Rosenquist.
“But in recent years the illness has been on the rise among young individuals and we don't know why.” she said.
“But one could speculate that this virus is one of the factors.”

mind you this the third story leading the Newsmax “Health Alert” newsletter AKA the scare you so bad you pee your pants threatening email. Check out the other awesome health stories

Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
1. Cancer Caretakers Need Care Too
2. Roller Coasters Rocket Heart Attacks
3. Study Links Oral Sex, Cancer
4. Diet Pills Go Better With Exercisehttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.spell.gif
5. Study: Statins Delay Alzheimer's
6. A Better Drug For Gout
7. Heart Patients Must Reveal Extra Herbs, Vitamins
8. Exercise Can Add 3 Years to Life

You can really get a feel for the Newsmax reader with this list of health concerns. A speed freak with developing Alzheimer's, Gout, who avoids oral sex and roller coasters.
Bless you Newsmax, you allow nuts like Alan Keyes to appear “Centrist”. You are truly doing good work.

Technorati Tags: Democrats, Funny, journalism, Media, Newsmax, politics, Right wing

R.I.P. BB the Cat

2005-11-14T20:49:00.000-06:00

Tonight we had to say goodbye to BB our friend and companion for many years now. In fact, my wife had BB before she had me. Sadly, BB had to be put to sleep. The Vet said that his bladder and kidneys were damaged and this was the best case option for him. We are all very sad right now, especially Ashley, so if you could send her a note please do. Also, I've made a Flickr set of BB pictures you can see here

OTM vs. Judy Miller

2005-11-14T12:14:00.000-06:00

Goooood LAWD! I just got finished listening to the podcast of this weekend's On the Media on NPR and I just want to direct your attention to the total beat-down that was Bob Garfield's interview of the New York times favorite "scooter" enthusiast Judy Miller. With a quote like "did you ever come to feel like you we're being chumped?" I believe this is the same line that began the famous Iron Sheik vs. Hulk hogan match during Wrestlemainia. the battle in MP3 my own personal opinion is that Judy was not only a shill but most likely also Libby's own personal Jeff Gannon I mean, dig this quote "Out West, where you vacation, the aspens will already be turning. They turn in clusters, because their roots connect them. Come back to work -- and life. " that is, essentially a booty call

Technorati Tags: Radio, Judy Miller, NPR, politics, journalism

More incompetence

2005-11-14T08:50:00.000-06:00

So as a distraction from how crappy his number are the president has been on a full frontal scare assault with the whole bird flu deal. Which to be fair could be a legitimate problem...like SARS, or Monkey Pox, or West Nile. You know a disease that could hurt some one you know...or not. But recently the genius that is Dubya suggested a $7.1 billion plan to make a pandemic avian flu vaccine for every American. Boy, that sounds great doesn't it? But the fact is no one on earth can make enough to help. the soonest that we could have a vaccines for every American? 2011.... hmmmmmmmm read the wired story here.

Technorati Tags: President, pandemic, Right wing, bird flu, flu, politics

Are You Infected with Sony-BMG's Rootkit?

2005-11-11T20:35:00.000-06:00

I hate to re-blog this from EFF but if anyone who doesn't know a lot about technology but cares about civil liberties should read this and learn more about the EFF.

Are You Infected with Sony-BMG's Rootkit?:

EFF Confirms Secret Software on 19 CDs

San Francisco - News that some Sony-BMG music CDs install secret rootkit software on their owners' computers has shocked and angered thousands of music fans in recent days. Among the cause for concern is Sony's refusal to publicly list which CDs contain the infectious software and to provide a way for music fans to remove it. Now, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has confirmed that the stealth program is deployed on at least 19 CDs in a variety of genres.

The software, created by First 4 Internet and known as XCP2, ostensibly "protects" the music from illegal copying. But in fact, it blocks a number of legal uses--like listening to songs on your iPod. The software also reportedly slows down your computer and makes it more susceptible to crashes and third-party attacks. And since the program is designed to hide itself, users may have trouble diagnosing the problem.

"Entertainment companies often complain that fans refuse to respect their intellectual property rights. Yet tools like this refuse to respect our own personal property rights," said EFF staff attorney Jason Schultz. "Sony's tactics here are hypocritical, in addition to being a security threat."

If you have listened to a CD with the XCP software on your Windows PC, your computer is likely already infected. An EFF investigation confirmed XCP software on the following titles:

Trey Anastasio, Shine (Columbia)

Celine Dion, On ne Change Pas (Epic)

Neil Diamond, 12 Songs (Columbia)

Our Lady Peace, Healthy in Paranoid Times (Columbia)

Chris Botti, To Love Again (Columbia)

Van Zant, Get Right with the Man (Columbia)

Switchfoot, Nothing is Sound (Columbia)

The Coral, The Invisible Invasion (Columbia)

Acceptance, Phantoms (Columbia)

Susie Suh, Susie Suh (Epic)

Amerie, Touch (Columbia)

Life of Agony, Broken Valley (Epic)

Horace Silver Quintet, Silver's Blue (Epic Legacy)

Gerry Mulligan, Jeru (Columbia Legacy)

Dexter Gordon, Manhattan Symphonie (Columbia Legacy)

The Bad Plus, Suspicious Activity (Columbia)

The Dead 60s, The Dead 60s (Epic)

Dion, The Essential Dion (Columbia Legacy)

Natasha Bedingfield, Unwritten (Epic)

This is not a complete list and Sony-BMG continues to refuse to make such a list available to consumers. Consumers can spot CDs with XCP by inspecting a CD closely, checking the left transparent spine on the front of the case for a label that says "CONTENT PROTECTED." The back of these CDs also mention XCP in fine print. You can find pictures of these and other telltale labeling at http://www.eff.org/IP/DRM/Sony-BMG/.

"Music fans should protect themselves from this stealth attack on their computer system," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Fred von Lohmann.

For more tips on keeping your computer uninfected:

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004144.php

Contacts:

Corynne McSherry

Staff Attorney

Electronic Frontier Foundation

corynne@eff.org

Jason Schultz

Staff Attorney

Electronic Frontier Foundation

jason@eff.org

Technorati Tags: Blogs, Commons, internet, Copywrite, puppy, Web, sony

next time just burn a cross

2005-11-10T14:07:00.000-06:00

Collierville TN.
An suburb of Memphis and one of the quickest growing in the state, has just cancelled their head start program, negativly affecting the lives of 15 families. Now, 12 families drive to the far less affluent Fox Meadows part of town to give their children a pre-k education. What happened to the other 3 families who aren't in the Fox Meadows pre-k you may ask? They dropped out of the program. So, those families are either paying a daycare or keeping their kids at home (Probably watching All My Children). Now to put this in perspective, the overall Black population of Collierville is most likely less than 20% and the black population of Fox Meadows is most likely around 70%. But I bet nearly 100% of head start kids in Collierville are black. This is another typical situation in America. The poor must suffer for the needs of the wealthy. I want these children to be able to go to school in the best possible situation. I'm guessing that's why these poor people have decided to stay in Collierville despite being pushed and shoved at all corners of their lives. Property taxes unfriendly neighbors and overpriced development are pushing the poor away every place you look. I think someone should stand up for them. Sadly, there is no money to be made on it...

Technorati Tags: Memphis, politics, journalism, Media

Wait... I was wrong

2005-11-09T18:22:00.000-06:00

actually, not as much as you think guys...
from Hannity and Colmes

Technorati Tags: photos, pictures, Right wing, politics, TV, Funny

The Fun Continues

2005-11-09T18:19:00.000-06:00

Sure, conservatives have been growing more and more desperate in their attempts to spin the whole torture debate. First it was an emphatic "we aren't torturing anyone!!" to well, this...

Which may be the single greatest Fox News screen grab ever.

Technorati Tags: photos, pictures, Right wing, politics, TV, Funny

Mac rocks out the new intel laptop next spring!?

2005-11-06T18:45:00.000-06:00

Ok as far as I'm concerned this is the Big News for Mac next year. I personally have no complaints about the IBM power PC chip, but of coarse, I have an iMac so power+portability in the sub $1200 price point wasn't my biggest concern. However, I might be the first chump in line for the new 15" widescreen powerbook at the Apple store. check the story here at Engadget

Technorati Tags: Mac, ibook, Radio, powerbook, MacIntel, internet, apple

interesting stuff at the moBlog

2005-11-06T11:18:00.000-06:00

check out come random camera phone pictures over at my Moblog it's basically were I put all my junk camera phone pictures so that I don't junk up the Flickr account.

Technorati Tags: photos, pictures, Blogs

they done blow'd it up.

2005-11-06T11:09:00.000-06:00

this morning The Baptist Central hospital was imploded. It was the biggest demolition in the U.S. this year and it was a mother. the Baptist central hospital is to transformed into a biotech research facility to link with the UT medical center. It was live on all the local TV stations. Check the CA link Here

Technorati Tags: history, Memphis

Jack the Ripper to be ID'd soon

2005-11-03T15:09:00.000-06:00

With the wonder of modern science we may soon know who Jack the Ripper really was!

read more | digg story

Democrats defeat election-law aid for bloggers

2005-11-03T08:20:00.000-06:00

Democrats defeat election-law aid for bloggers:
Proposal would have amended U.S. election laws to immunize bloggers from hundreds of pages of federal regulations.
I still don't know what to make of this one. On one hand, bloggers are simply tiny tiny self sufficient publishers. And therefore, should be obligated to conform to the same laws that others would have to. However, I worry that the very fact that most people, myself included, are ignorant to how the law would affect them. So it could get real messy. Please tell me what you think.

Technorati Tags: Blogs, Commons, Democrats, internet, politics, Web

word brother...

2005-11-02T13:24:00.000-06:00

I love penny arcade. I first fell in love with the online comic strip when I was working slave/management at the local Funcoland. Every week the strip was spot-on.I love this one, even though I don't run a damn thing..

Technorati Tags: Funny, Web, Entertainment

Morons protect US from Canadians

2005-10-31T21:46:00.000-06:00

THANK YOU NEWSMAX!!
just when I thought that the mourning of the chicken fetus was the dumbest story of the day, Newsmax comes through with the good. As I've stated before, Newsmax or as I call then NeedFacts, is constantly pumping out dumb crap left and right, and this one is no exception

An offshoot of the Arizona-based Minuteman Civil Defense Corps has begun patrolling the U.S.-Canadian border; but with considerably less success than their colleagues to the south.

For one thing, the group staked out near the Vermont border town of Derby Line isn't sure exactly where the border is located. "It's not really clear to me," said Jeffrey Buck, the Vermont group's leader.

god forbid read the whole story here

Technorati Tags: Border Patrol, Canada, Canadian, Funny, Minute Men, News, Right wing

Everyone CALM DOWN...

2005-10-31T16:25:00.000-06:00

Well, I guess the brits are also capable of fetus worship.

Tributes left for a dead chicken
Flowers and tributes were left in an alleyway where the body of a mystery dead baby was found - before police realized it was only a chicken fetus.

follow link on the BBC here

Technorati Tags: Funny, Right wing

Rome on HBO

2005-10-31T13:56:00.000-06:00

If you've been watching Rome on HBO then you know that's it a fairly acurate representation of day in and day out roman life with all the intrigue of the Ceaser's thrown in. But a guy I know sent me this today and I found it interesting.

"Lucious Vorenus and Titus Pullo were real! I just came across this. It's a quote from Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico: I thought you may find it interesting.

In that [i.e. the third] legion were [two] very brave men, centuriones, who were very nearly to be promoted to the highest level of their rank, Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus. These two men had continuous controversies among eachother, who would be promoted before the other, and all these years they were keeping up their rivalry about the matter with the utmost enmity. So, when the fight at the entrenchments grew extremely heavy, Pullo said: 'What are you waiting for, Vorenus? For which possibility to prove your bravery are you waiting? This day will bring the judgement on our controversies.'

After having said this, he marched out of the entrenchments and rushed into the part of the enemy lines that seemed to be the most dense. Vorenus didn't stay behind the wall either, but followed him, fearing the contempt of all. When only little space between them was left, Pullo hurled his spear to the enemies and impaled one of them who was running ahead of the masses. When this man was impaled and killed, the enemies covered him with their shields; they all hurled their projectiles to Pullo and made it impossible for him to proceed any further. Pullo's shield was pierced and the spear stuck in his belt. This incident pushed away his sheath and kept his right hand from drawing his sword, when he tried to do that, and the enemies stood around him, hindered as he was. Vorenus came to the rescue of his adversary and stood by him in his emergency. The whole mass of enemies turned immediately from Pullo towards him; they thought that he [Pullo] had been killed by the spear. Vorenus fought with his sword in a man to man fight and after killing one the made the others back off a bit; while he was all too eager to go after them, he stumbled into a somewhat lower bit of ground and fell down. Now that he again was surrounded [by enenmies] Pullo came to help him, and after having killed several enemies they both made it back into the entrenchments, unhurt and as the heroes of the day. Thus fortune dealt with each one of them in their controversy and competition, that each adversary would help and save the other and that it could not be decided, which one of them seemed to outdo the other in bravery."

If you haven't seen the show, it's full of nudity, intrigue, and action. Plus, you might learn some history in between the boobs and sword fights.

Technorati Tags: TV, Entertainment, HBO, history, Rome

LG stops selling tubes in Europe, the death of CRT soon?

2005-10-31T12:06:00.000-06:00

Just like the title says: LG is going to stop selling tubes in Europe. Plan and simple. We all knew it was bound to happen eventually but, gosh, I didn't think it would be that quick.

read more | digg story

Technorati Tags: AV, Entertainment, HD, HDTV, TV

WHER 1000 beautiful watts

2005-10-31T10:24:00.000-06:00

Fifty years ago this weekend, the nation's first "All-Girl" radio station went on the air in Memphis, Tennessee. People have made alot of Sam Phillips' sale of Elvis Presley contract. He's been called every name except sane. But he deserves some credit. The Legendary music producer launched WHER with cash he made selling Elvis Presley's record contract to RCA. See the documentary about it here
thanks to Media Matters

Technorati Tags: WHER, Entertainment, journalism, Memphis, Radio, history

Happy Halloween!

2005-10-31T07:10:00.000-06:00

A pumpkin computer! Something to celebrate Halloween.

read more | digg story

support the commons

2005-10-31T07:06:00.000-06:00

I added a "suppport the coomons" button over in the right side column. If you can, you should donate. The Creative Commons really helps keep the internet (especially blogs) going. Read up on it here.
thanks to boingboing

Technorati Tags: Copywrite, internet, Web, Commons

At a customers home

2005-10-30T15:17:00.000-06:00

apparently, with the right attitude, you don't need home security.

Okay...

2005-10-30T08:26:00.000-06:00

Well I know now not to crack a joke in a blog. yike. I suppose the guys who commented are right. The guy who wasn't in the military did serve his country well by coming into the shop. I think the point was lost in my crappy writing, I am constantly stunned by the things people, regardless of their age, think about technology. It is very difficult in America to sell a product that would randomly catch fire. At least not without some nasty press. I'm not buying a plasma myself anytime soon. Mostly because I prefer a particular 1080p Sharp LCD that we just got in. But also, hanging a TV is not easy in my house. But I have no problem recommending them to anyone because as far as I know, in the 4 years I've been selling them, I haven't had one catch fire. Just on a side note, the guy is really enjoying the new TV. He decided on a 42" LCDRPTV on of the Sony Grand Wegas. Turns out mounting it wasn't as important as $1500.

Plasma TV myths

2005-10-29T16:31:00.000-05:00

As a AV intstaller and TV salesman, I spend a lot of time explaining plasma TV to people. I understand why, plasma has been so maligned over the last couple of years that people literally think that these TVs are made of paper or glass. They think that they're so fragile that they need to be held with velvet gloves and transported in trucks made of NERF. The truth is plasma isn't such a delicate technology. It's actually a pretty hardy one. Case in point, next time you're at the airport, look at the plasmas they have. How old do you think they are? I can tell you from experience that the plasma TV's on the floor of the Grand Casino in Tunica Mississippi are seven years old and have been on 24 hours a day for that whole lifespan. That's about 12 years of normal run time. Yes, the picture fades over time, but you show me one light emitting piece of electronics (CRT, RPTV, etc.) that doesn't fade over time and I'll be really excited to invest in that technology. But until that fine day, plasma TV's longevity isn't as big as concern as has been speculated to this point. this brings me to a customer I had yesterday. Nice guy, 60 maybe 65 with shock white hair and moustache. He came in to ask me to show him some "flat panel", at least he got the opening correct. He said to me "I want as big as I can get and I want to mount it over the fireplace mantle." So I immediately started walking to the new 43" pioneer 43" plasma we just started carrying this line and although I don't feel the picture quality is up to the level of the Sony 40" XBR, customers love the look of the pioneer and he did ask for the biggest one and I have the 50" pioneer as well. So as soon as I tell him it's a plasma he launches into the following story... "About 20 years ago a friend of mine, who was a marine, was on a ship in the pacific. At some point orders came down that all the monitors on the ship were to be outfitted with new plasma screen technology. After months of trial and error, the plasmas were finally installed and working throughout the vessel. But, with one limitation, fire extinguishers were placed next to all of the monitors because the would randomly burst into flame." The customer looked at me suspiciously and asked "So, these things stop burnin' up?" ... I looked at him and said "are you sure you're not at the Ford dealership?"

on MY Christmas wish-list

2005-10-28T19:41:00.000-05:00

I love the Japanese. Check out the "Hi-Fi Robot"link thanks Engadget

Newsmax is indeed a piece of crap

2005-10-28T16:12:00.000-05:00

So I got an email from Newsmax this morning and boy, did it make a bold statement. 'Scooter' Libby to Avoid Perjury Charge Lewis "Scooter" Libby will likely avoid perjury charges in the Leakgate case, and will instead be charged with making a false statement to investigators - a crime that mirrors Independent Counsel Robert Ray's findings against Hillary Clinton five years ago. Libby's indictment "will be 'false statement' charges as part of an effort to mislead the grand jury," reporter Carl Cameron told Fox News radio host Tony Snow Friday morning. "False statement charges are significantly different from perjury," Cameron explained. "They don't include the need to prove intent." Libby's indictment will likely be based, said Cameron, on his claim that he first learned of Valerie Plame's identity from the media, rather than from Vice President Dick Cheney, as media accounts have suggested. In his October 2000 final report on the Travelgate scandal, Independent Counsel Ray said of Mrs. Clinton: "The overwhelming evidence establishes that she played a role in the decision to fire the [travel office] employees and provided input into that decision. Thus, her statement to the contrary under oath was factually false." Despite Mr. Ray's conclusion, however, that Mrs. Clinton had committed a serious federal felony, he declined to prosecute. Just for the record, you can find "the Scooter's" indictment right here. And it basically states that Lewis Libby is indicted with 2 counts perjury, 2 counts making false statements to a grand jury, 1 count obstruction of justice, and 1 count of being a greesy lieing thug. Guess that Newsmax story was really spot on huh?

MIT professor sacked for fabricating data

2005-10-28T15:16:00.000-05:00

A high-flying researcher has been fired from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston for fabricating data

read more | digg story

How much is this crap worth?

2005-10-28T12:18:00.000-05:00

Thanks to our friends over at Business opportunities.com there is a new little java script that allows you to find out the approximate value of your blog. Sure, it ain't scientific, and nobody is gonna give me 500+ bucks for this online rag. But it is a fun experiment.

Comedy Central Unveils Motherload Network

2005-10-27T11:49:00.000-05:00

Comedy Central today announced they'll be launching a broadband TV network dubbed "Motherload"

read more | digg story

Two Chinese students

2005-10-26T08:24:00.000-05:00

This video is floating around the internet right now, and I couldn't stop laughing. I'm particularly fascinated with the dude behind them who appears to be playing Battlefield 2 on his PC. Nice to see college dormrooms are the same the world over.Check out the video here thanks Boing Boing this is destined to be as big as the NUMANUMA dance

just as a moment of reflection

2005-10-26T08:03:00.000-05:00

The blog just crossed the 100 post mark with that Rufus Thomas post just a few minutes ago and I have to say how surprised I am. I figured I'd have deleted this page by now. Well, no such luck. In fact, right now Emily and I are home sick with the flu so I'm trying to learn some basic HTML and Flash, so hopefully we'll be improving our web presence here pretty soon. But, regardless, I've enjoyed postin random BS on this site for over a year now, and I hope to improve upon the quality of the BS in the near future. Thanks for caring. Ed

indictment Bingo

2005-10-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

play the White house indictment BINGO! play along with your friends!!! thanks to Wonkette

Nice Story

2005-10-26T07:53:00.000-05:00

There is a nice story about WDIA the local AM radio station here in Memphis in the Atlanta journal. You can read it here. I mention this because the City had a benefit/tribute to Rufus Thomas the most famous DJ at WDIA and my favorite R&B singer of all time. Yesterday Memphis proclaimed October 25th "Rufus Thomas day", so feel free to "do the funky penguin" or "walk the dog" or "the funky chicken" or the "push and Pull" or.. oh you get the idea. R.I.P. Rufus, you still have a stool at the Rum boogie

And to make it a triple

2005-10-25T14:17:00.000-05:00

In continuing my series of mean spirited sacrilegious images

Photo sets

2005-10-23T21:00:00.000-05:00

Two new sets are up over at the Flickr page on is some pics of Emily and her friend Ally from across the street picking out Halloween pumpkins. You can see that one here and the other is from today and is a set of pics from the annual fall festival at Immaculate conception and you can see those here we had a great time at the festival as usual. Ashley did some fairly janky face painting for volunteer work, but nobody complained, so we'll take it...

to my wife

2005-10-22T14:00:00.000-05:00

I don't want to write anything TOO personal here but I wanted to note that it was my five year wedding anniverssary yesterday. I can not express to you how happily married I am. My wife, child and family are the very best aspects of my life. They seem to get better every year that goes by. My wife is the only person who has every really believed in me, and I owe her more that I can ever give back. Love you honey

Radio open source

2005-10-22T12:12:00.000-05:00

I got an odd email recently in response to Ashley's Katrina Flickr set. I was asked for comment on the rebuilding effort on the Gulf Coast by a NPR program in Boston called open Source on U Mass radio. They said they were interested in the pictures and without asking used one of them on their story page here. I'm not mad at that, it's not a copywrited image, and everyone who is on flickr knows that the photos essentially become public domain. Sure, you can use it, and I don't mind at all. But it does seem that you would at least ask. After getting emails asking for an interview (which Ashley didn't feel comfortable doing) I agree to it in her place. Well, once I spoke to the dude at the show it became apparent that her was under the assumption that I was from Gulfport of currently living on the coast. He was disappointed, I think, in my lack of insight into the day in day out life in gulfport. And was aghast when I told him "well, there is No rebuilding effort to speak of right now". The point I was trying to make to him was that much of the discussion right now is not about what we will do with these peoples homes, but where will we rebuild these casinos. Although the guy was nice I don't think he understood what I meant by all this. And it's really simple, money first people second. When you're the poorest state in the union, people are expendable, money ain't. I listened to the show on iTunes, and it was pretty descent. I just don't think these people had a feel for what the situation really is there. And I doubt that most people ever will.

The legend

2005-10-22T12:07:00.000-05:00

I got an email that I can take no advantage of at all and wanted to p[ass it on in hope of spreading the word about a great (but small) charity event in Los Angeles. Sure, no one who would read this lives anywere near L.A. but I though it was worth noting. This weekend the Legendary Eddie Bo of "check your bucket" fame is performing at a bar in L.A called Little Pedros with tha allmighty Breakestra All proceeds go to the victims of Katrina. What a great show that's going to be.

The Rapture hits Dallas

2005-10-14T20:46:00.000-05:00

......Well I can't think of a better place on earth to start the Armageddon than Dallas

Can I get this on black velvet?

2005-10-14T15:23:00.000-05:00

perhaps with Elvis?

For the record

2005-10-13T17:52:00.000-05:00

just a little Bill O'Reilly "I told you so" Apple Stock Surges

Mo' Apple crap

2005-10-13T13:43:00.000-05:00

So I know that I'm gushing a bit about the Apple keynote yesterday, but one announcement was lost in the ipod video announcement. Buried in the imac g5 announcement was an explanation of Apple's new "Front Row" media interface. Who gives a rat's ass you may say. Eventually, YOU will my friends. The point of this is simple. Windows last bit of innovation seems to have come last year when they really got serious about the Windows Media Center operating system. The idea of this OS was to give a seamless way in integrate PC connectivity and the wealth of Media being downloaded (or stolen) with your TV, surround system, etc. And up until yesterday, it was going quite well. But now, the king of User Interface has entered the fray. Look, the point is this. It is really only a matter of time before the source of your television is a media center computer. I know it seems crazy for someone who just owns a DVD player and a cable box to need/want a big ol' honkin' media center computer. But imagine this.. You come home from a really crappy day at work and flop down to watch "lost" or "breaking bonaduce" (god forbid) and you want to watch it in the kitchen while you cook dinner. And since you got home after nine eastern you've missed "lost" but have it recorded on the hard drive of your media center (by the time you read this TiVo may already be in the Crapper). So instead of pausing it until you finish cooking, you simply route the program to the monitor in the kitchen. So, in real time, the video is routed into the location you want with no need to pause, or run back and forth to the living room. Now, your kid comes in and demands (as kids do) to watch "Franklin" or "The wiggles" well, she too can watch her shows, streamed off of a central media hub into her room, the living room, etc. without effecting you or your show.This same principle can work with DVD's, TV shows, music and photos. So the idea is this, one box shall rule them all. Consumers want it, TV manufactures fear it, and geeks drool over it. The problem has been this. First, the user interface absolutely blows goat on the Windows Media center PC OS. Sure, it works, but there is no way your grandma is figuring it out. Second, these media center boxes have been to bulky and intimidating for normal consumers to store and set up. In steps Apple. Apple is known, if nothing else, for bofo user interface. OSX has won the hearts of many because it is simple, clean and easy to use. And have you seen the make mini? Extend that bad boy by 3 inches on either side and you have a workhorse computer built in a box the size of a VCR, which seems to be the size of component most consumers find comforting. With those factors considered, it seems that Apple has positioned itself to be the hub of all things Electronic media over the next 2 years. Good luck Jobs, now loan me some money.

new toys

2005-10-12T16:41:00.000-05:00

so how unbelieveably sly is Steve jobs? last night, Apple's stock fell 11% on overnight trading. why? because although this is THE MOST PROFEITABLE QUARTER IN COMPANY HISTORY. The total dollar amount was below "market expectations", whatever... This is why the stock market wonks are idiots. They expected Apple, with only 2 new products in the fourth quarter (Nano isn't on these numbers)to make more money than they ever had. So, Stock falls, and today, in just enough time to REALLY piss off the people who sold last night, "the Jobs" dropped the Video ipod hammer. We all knew this was coming. We knew the video ipod was in Apple's back pocket. What most of the non tech savy folks don't relise is that the tech market is ripe for this. It is much the same pattern as with the audio version. The climate around the creation of the ipod was one of total chaos in the portable audio market. Every kid was stealing music left and right and there seened no way to reign them in and unify a fair way to buy music online. Bam! In steps apple and the race to the bottom for the MP3 market begins. Guess what, right now, we're all downloading episodes of family guy on Bit Torrent and Hacking our PSPs to get it on there. And now... in steps Apple.

New Pictures from Gulfport

2005-10-10T12:35:00.000-05:00

Ashley has just gotten back from her first visit to Gulfport since Katrina and she brought back a lot of pictures from the neighborhoods and beachfront in Gulfport. We've posted them in a Flickr set that you can find here but I thought I'd post one pic in particular. this is the cemetery where Ashley's grandmother is buried. This boat was washed up from the back bay and gently placed about 20 yards from Mrs. Baylor's resting place. It's in great condition if anyone would like to redo the interior and tow it off the graveyard(After you scratch the serial number off).

trip to 201

2005-09-26T18:03:00.000-05:00

I had to go downtown today to get out of a "driving with expired tag" ticket. In Memphis if you go to court , you go to the infamous "201" Poplar Ave. It's a tough city lockup. That s due mostly to neglect, under funding, and government incompetence but also to just plain old ignorance. People got arrested on a Friday night for a DUI or a public drunk charge and didn't get out of the can on bond for 5-10 days. Just because that's how understaffed and inefficient they were. Or are?...Tough to say, a few years ago there was a lot of uproar over the treatment and condition of the city jail. It was a portrayed as a big black eye to the mayor. But sadly for him it is the county, not the city, who maintain the jail. But anyway, several inmate had died in the lockup. One of which was killed by a spider bite. Now, I gotta admit, that's pretty hardcore. That sounds to me like someone's rap album. "Yo, I got bit by a black widow in jail, dawg!" But it was a big deal and federal law enforcement got involved, and threatened to assume control of the jail unless the city(county) government got it's act together. That's the last I remember hearing about it. Well there were no spiders in the Division I traffic court, and even fewer real criminals. Hundreds of people all lining' up to pay fines for traffic, DUI, minor drop possession, prostitution, and the hundreds of teeny tiny crimes that really make up the justice system. Not a whole lot of Baby killers and Hostage takers down at the courthouse. So really when you look at it. It's just another cog in the wheel of financial impropriety. There where no rich people down there with me. Just lawyers, standing in for rich people who sat patiently in the hall to protect themselves from the rabble that lined the hallways to plead guilty mostly and ask for mercy. "Mercy" is usually just a fine that is just enough to fuck up your kid's Christmas or put you a month behind on your wife's cell phone bill. But regardless, it's a bribe. Pay me this, or you can go to jail. Man the govt. makes money in lots of cool ways!

For a single moment...

2005-09-21T19:46:00.000-05:00

I am proud of my adopted state Good News

Kerry

2005-09-20T12:36:00.000-05:00

Someone should read this from the mountain-top so it might as well be me: "Brownie is to Katrina what Paul Bremer is to peace in Iraq, what George Tenet is to slam-dunk intelligence, what Paul Wolfowitz is to parades paved with flowers in Baghdad, what Dick Cheney is to visionary energy policy, what Donald Rumsfeld is to basic war planning, what Tom DeLay is to ethics and what George Bush is to 'Mission Accomplished' and 'Wanted Dead or Alive,' " Kerry said in a speech yesterday at Brown University.

Speech Bubbles

2005-09-19T17:49:00.000-05:00

I really dig this concept. Basically, this guy printed up blank Speech Bubbles and begain putting them up on movie posters, ad banners, etc and then went back and took pics of what people wrote. Link

New and improved with less rage.

2005-09-19T12:41:00.000-05:00

Now that I've calmed down after the hurricane, I wanted to write something and let everyone know what was going on. Ashley's mom and dad are ok, just perhaps financially drained and needing creature comforts. Her brother is also well and keeping VERY busy doing minor repair work for cash while he waits for his job come back online. But everyone is safe and sound. So there you go. I have some good news from the cost, just like every media outlet 3 weeks after a tragedy. I mentioned the sea lions and the marine life aquatic center in Gulfport after the storm, the animals were wandering round in Gulfport injured and afraid. Well some good news from those stories one of the seal lion was rescued and deliver to the Memphis Zoo Emily and I are going to go and see them soon. Also although one of the sea lions was shot by the Gulfport PD to put it out of it's misery, most of them were saved by the locals and have now been evacuated from the area. Also, some dolphins were lost and have been found you can hear the NPR story here. So, of coarse all is not lost. The human toll may be less than I originally thought. But I also contend that there is a coordinated effort to minimize the body count. You'll notice that media outlets often (though not always) are listing the counts in each of the three states. 37, 24 and 325 sound better than 400..But I pray that we stay lower than I imagined. Aside from that...Emily is great, Ashley is doing so well at her student teaching that I'm scared she's totally taken over this 6th grade teachers class! But it's all to the good. We went to the Cooper Young festival this Saturday after I got off of work. It was nice, but hot and hard to "hang out" with a 4 year old. But she had fun I got a new Cellphone, which is going to lead to buy a new Bluetooth dongle from eBay. One purchase always leads to another. if you try the new google Blog search and search Talking to nobody. I'm #1 but really, other that I'm totally invisible on the web. Thank god!

Louisiana 1927

2005-09-10T20:36:00.000-05:00

What has happened down here is the wind have changed Clouds roll in from the north and it start to rain Rained real hard and rained for a real long time Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline the river rose all day the river rose all night Some people got lost in the flood Some people got away all right The river have busted through clear down to Plaquemines Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline Louisiana, Louisiana they're trying to wash us away they're trying to wash us away Louisiana, Louisiana they're trying to wash us away they're trying to wash us away President Coolidge come down in a railroad train With a little fat man with a note-pad in his hand the president say, "little fat man isn't it a shame what the river has done to this poor crackers land" Louisiana, Louisiana they're trying to wash us away they're trying to wash us away Louisiana, Louisiana they're trying to wash us away they're trying to wash us away they're trying to wash us away they're trying to wash us away -thanks for Randy Newman

Al Gore is STILL a better president than W...

2005-09-10T20:29:00.000-05:00

this is a from the AP wire... the former senator from Tennessee didn't mention an act of mercy that he was personally involved in - his help airlifting some 270 Katrina evacuees on two private charters from New Orleans to Tennessee on Sept. 3 and 4. He did that at the urging of a doctor who saved the life of his son years earlier. Dr. Anderson Spickard, who is Gore's personal physician and accompanied him on the flights, told The Associated Press that "Gore told me he wanted to do this because like all of us he wanted to seize the opportunity to do what one guy can do, given the assets that he has." An account of the flights was posted this week on a Democratic Party Web page. It was written by Greg Simon, president of the Washington-based activist group FasterCures. Simon, who helped put together the mission, also declined an interview. On Sept. 1, three days after Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, Simon learned that Dr. David Kline, a neurosurgeon who operated on Gore's son, Albert, after a life-threatening auto accident in 1989, was trying to get in touch with Gore. Kline was stranded with patients at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. "The situation was dire and becoming worse by the minute - food and water running out, no power, 4 feet of water surrounding the hospital and ... corpses outside," Simon wrote. Gore responded immediately, telephoning Kline and agreeing to underwrite the $50,000 each for the two flights, although Larry Flax, founder of California Pizza Kitchens, later pledged to pay for one of them. "None of the airlines involved required a contract or any written guarantee of payment before sending their planes and volunteer crews," Simon wrote of the American Airlines flights. "One official said if Gore promised to pay, that was good enough for them." He also recruited two doctors, Spickard and Gore's cousin, retired Col. Dar LaFon, a specialist in internal medicine who once ran the military hospital in Baghdad. Most critically, Gore worked to cut through government red tape, personally calling Gov. Phil Bredesen to get Tennessee's support and U.S. Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta to secure landing rights in New Orleans. About 140 people, many of them sick, landed in Knoxville on Sept. 3. The second flight, with 130 evacuees, landed the next day in Chattanooga.

fear...

2005-09-06T22:15:00.000-05:00

I don’t know what to say about the Gulf coast. About NOLA. About Katrina. I know I have to say SOMETHING but I have no idea what. I won’t ever be the same. That is an easy and somewhat trivial sounding thing to say. But it’s true. I’ll never feel the same way again. Just as America won’t ever feel like a totally safe place to me after September 11th, America will feel like a colder and less loving place to me after Katrina. this is a good place. people, in their heart, are not cold, not unfeeling, not cruel. But this... this is murder. It’s murder by ignorance and murder by negligence. And worst off all murder by fear. The Fear of “looting” kept relief workers from bringing the very supplies that would have stopped the looting. The Fear of disease the fear of death the fear of being poor. I always figured that when something really bad happened, we would all regardless of the class of our family or the color of our skin rally to help. I was wrong. Not just about the people who are responsible for evacuation, care, and protection. But all of us. That includes me. I’m am profoundly changed by this.
I never believed we were a cowardly nation. But now I know I’m wrong. We are positively craven. we let fear of crime allow elderly and infant alike to die in the street. It didn’t matter. Leno still went on. NASCAR ran (in the middle of a fuel panic), and the Saint’s played a PRESEASON football game. Ten thousand deaths were not enough to stop a PRESEASON football game. We are on one hand too afraid to rescue our own people, and on the other too busy to care. We are able to set up a “star studded” concert for relief funding, before relief even makes it there. Harry Connick jr. wasn’t afraid and he went to the NOLA conventions center 12 hours before the National Guard. Why? Because the military was afraid of looters. Really? the people with tanks were afraid of people with no water and less hope. No wonder we are losing Iraq. I suppose that a generation has passed since we had true hand to hand combat in the military. We set fire to people from miles and miles away. We tear whole countries apart by pressing buttons on control panels. So the fact that we were so afraid of our own citizens (with weapons that were confiscated from Wal-Mart) that we couldn’t rescue the old, the sick or the children shouldn’t be so surprising. But it is.
Are we that afraid in this world? Fear is the little death. Far worse than death itself is to live afraid. Fear of Confrontation keeps families apart. Fear of rejection keeps lovers apart. Fear of failure makes little men out of giants. That’s what America has become to me. A people now destined to fail, a republic destined to flame out. We are Rome. We are all Nero. We played our lute while the city drown rather than burned.
Ashley’s family is well. They are resilient strong and brave. They will be there forever. Mother Nature be damned, these are SEA people. This, as they see it, is just part of the deal you make with Mother Ocean when you live on her shore. she gives, she loves, she destroys. We take, we love, we rebuild. It is what it is..Everyone (nearly) has been found. And almost everyone is comfortable and safe. A few friends have lost a lot. But the family over all is in very good shape. Ashley’s parent’s homes are fine. As is her brothers. Ash’s grandparent’s home was wrecked but they needed to get out of there anyway and they’ll stay with Sandy for the time being. things will work out for the family. But our friend’s lives are going to be much more complicated. But that stuff will fade. Almost everything will... thanks for listening...

Katrina..

2005-09-01T08:20:00.000-05:00

I got this email yesterday from My Sister. Edward, You should be writing about all this. I mean, what's it like to be watching your wife's hometown, the place you got married, the city you love destroyed on tv? (This sounds strident and I don't mean for it to) I talked to Ashley last night and she sounded so broken. I'm sorry for all of the pain and feel very helpless watching it all unfold. Well I honestly don't have much to say. I feel sick and scared for my family. I'm only writing this to tell you that my wife's family seems to be ok. AShley's family's homes are in surprisingly good shape and, unlike NOLA, there is a place foor the water to drain in Gulfport so no one is under water the way they are in the cresent. it's true however that everything I know about Gulfport is gone. The Church I was married in. Ashley's first Elementary school. The hotel we spent our first night in as a married couple was split open and thrown about a quarter of a mile away fro the coastline. It is total devestation. I do have a very small quick story. ON the coast in Mississippi there was a little second rate aquadic zoo called "Marine Life". It was Emily's favorite place. She loved the Sea Lions and the dolphins well the dolphins have escaped to Ft Walton.. but the Sea Lions One of the few signs of life on the Gulf Coast Tuesday was found in a waterfront parking lot strewn with rotting chicken parts and overturned trucks. An adult sea lion, evidently from the Marine Life Aquatic Center that was washed off the waterfront, barked approvingly as passers-by dumped buckets of brown water from an overflowing sewer drain onto his back. Jeanne Robinson had taken over the task of keeping the animal wet two hours earlier, and said she planned to keep it up until a crew came to rescue the sea lion. "You can't just walk away from him, especially amid all this destruction," said Robinson, 51, who moved to Gulfport just over a month ago. "Here's something trying to live." I found that in the Chicago tribune of all places.. ...i love you...I don't know what to say.

Bob Moog passed away

2005-08-22T15:45:00.000-05:00

After months of battling a brain tumor, legendary Bob Moog passed away yesterday. I met Dr Moog when Ashley was working at Stings and Things here in Memphis he was wandering around trying to sell his "Big Briar" brand synthesisers. I honestly couldn't have been more excited if I'd met JFK... I hope his family is copeing well..

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