From Lubbock Online via WordSoup: From Kansas, the state that had many schools pull evolutionary theories from textbooks, comes a new provision in one town to make owning a gun and ammunition mandatory. City council members think the move helps make the community safer. Those who don’t keep fire-arms in their homes face fines.
Un-freakin’-believable. I wonder preventing that would-be pickup truck [car] jacking will be worth the massive increase of accidental shootings… it could cut down on teen pregnancy though, although there would be a higher male body count as a side effect.
So I had to get my Jeep repaired the other day, and they had a TV playing in the waiting room. No cable of course, which means that only a local ABC station comes in on it – Dr. Phil was playing when I dropped off the car and when I came back, one of the daily soap operas was playing. I can’t believe people make fun of me for watching cartoons and SciFi – they are far more realistic than what I saw on ABC’s daytime TV that day. Continue reading Buffy Lives in Port Charles?→
I was talking to Steve about this the other day and it caused a bit of Geek soul searching within me. Ever since I started writing SharpMT I get about one email a week complaining about the .NET Framework being required. The complaints range from that it’s needed at all to it being too big or that it uses too much memory. My usual reaction is “stop bitching about it and go click Windows Update to get it.” Why so short and snippy a response? That’s a bit longer in telling… Continue reading Is 20MB For a Framework Too Big?→
Last week I switched my cell phone service to AT&T Wireless because AWS was offering a Microsoft SmartPhone from Motorola that no other carrier was offering. You could find it online for about $550 and CompUSA was offering it for $199 after rebates and with a new service agreement. Going to AWS wasn’t a major issue for me, seeing as all of my other phones were GSM based and were unlocked to run OK with AWS SIM’s, and I knew that AWS had decent coverage in Connecticut. Or so I thought – I found three dead zones in one day and T-Mobile (my former and future carrier) had bangin’ coverage there – and now I want out of my contract with AWS. Of course there’s a snafu – I would be Randy if I didn’t have a snafu… Continue reading WTF – AT&T Wireless Edition→
Here’s something for ya: Greg over at the Epicenter has compiled a matrix of features for four of the “best known” offline Blog writers. Gave me a B+ which is better grades than I used to get in high school, so I’m pretty freakin’ stoked about his opinion of SharpMT. Also, this is a good way to see what the other contenders offer in features if SharpMT isn’t for you – after all, while I love helping people write Blogs and use almost all of the feedback that I get from users, I’m not going to wage a product war for a larger share of a freeware market! I’m in it for the fun of coding and support our fellow Geek – not for global conquest or business reasons… charging nothing for a product is not a good business model!
Interstate 95 (i-95) has a speed limit of 55 miles per hour (mph); that means that at any given time, a motorist cannot legally drive faster than 55 mph. i-95 also happens to have a minimum speed requirement of 40 mph, meaning that a motorist cannot legally drive slower than 40 mph, unless it’s otherwise marked (construction zone). So, the question is this: if drivers on i-95 are required to drive between 40 mph and 55 mph, what should happen during my daily commutes, when most drivers are cruising along at 15 mph? Can I place the driver in front of me under citizen’s arrest? Probably not. What a gyp, after investing over two hours each day in what can only be called mobile parking while going to and from work. What’s even worse is that I consider today’s evening commute to be good because it was less than an hour long and I didn’t have to use first gear while on the highway. My commute is 31 miles long. Someone should be arrested for that.
It’s an international opportunity to be sure, but I doubt that Yamaguchi-gumi have a need for a US-based gaijin that only speaks American. I mean I easily outweigh the average Japanese resident and I’m on par with the national height over there, so that’s a plug, but unless they need a coder, I doubt I’d be of use to them. I can’t even launder money without a Maytag and Tide. Just as well – I’m sort of attached to my pinky fingers after all. Continue reading Help Wanted→
What the hell is going on with IE? I thought this was just me or my notebook’s mouse, but I’ve seen this on another machine that is running with a Trackball Explorer (which is dead on accurate with it’s clicks) so I think it’s the code that’s misbehaving. The scroll bars seem to be all funky now, with the November IE Patch Roll-up that I installed this morning – I seem to be scrolling more than I used to and it just started today and it only happens with IE… Continue reading What the Hell? Internet Explorer Patch Edition→
And a new saga begins. Actually, it sorta continues. Segues, maybe? I start a new gig today as a contractor, something that I haven’t done in about ten years. It’s also my first day of work at a new company in almost seven years. And because today is Veteran’s Day, the normal quagmire of traffic found each day on Connecticut’s highways was non-existent (meaning that I only had to completely stop just twice on Interstate 95 – hell, it means that I was actually going fast enough to have to stop!) which gives me time to hangout in a Dunkin’ Donuts – I can’t get into the building until 8:30. And the holiday season still looms on the horizon… Continue reading New Saga Begins→
Consider this to be a ghost written Rant: today I’m writing about an Episode that my sister recently had at a Dunkin’ Donuts and it sounds like I’ve thoroughly warperd her mind after years of subtle influence. Actually, it’s something I would have done, given the recent decline in the quality of attitude in Dunkin’ workers – a growing number of them are barely considered “alive” these days. It’s not all of them but there are enough to make my sister’s recent Rant justified. Continue reading The Madness is Spreading!→
Saw a little segment on the news today and it proves that the work ethic is alive and well in America. It centered around five high school students that are from the east village of New York City and it’s chock full of moral issues and snafus. The story was cracked by the Problem Solvers of Fox 5, although I would have loved to have heard the initial call that started the investigation. You see, the kids got nicked for acting as prostitute imposters. Yeah. I know. Made me go “Hm.” for the second time this week. Continue reading Work Ethic: Alive and Well in America→
And so begins the holiday season of 2003. Did I see my first Christmas set of decorations in the mall? Before Halloween, so that’s not it. Actually, just the passing of Halloween starts the retail shopping sale spree, but that doesn’t mark the start of the season either. First holiday commercial? Circuit City has started with a Jingle Bells playing POS hand scanner (that’s point of sale) but that doesn’t start it either. It’s actually quite simple: the Gingerbread Latte and Peppermint Mocha Latte are back at Starbucks for the next couple of months. In lieu of holiday inspired world peace, this’ll do quite nicely.
I’ve never gotten around to writing about it here, but over the years some of my state’s blue laws have given me gout. For those of you not from the east [where blue laws are most often found], a blue law is a law that is so outdated that it has become laughable and impractical, yet it’s still an active law for some unknown reason. Want an example? It is illegal in Devon, Connecticut to walk backwards in public but only after dusk. See? Asinine. One of the best known blue laws in CT – and the one that once got me to write to my state representative – is the law that states that alcohol may not be sold after 8PM and not at all on Sundays. Continue reading Light-Blue Law→
A run of Geek stuff these days, but no, I’m not at the PDC. I’m watching the fallout from it while stuck at home, actually, and have been amused for the most part. One thing that I feel compelled to say: Blessed be Microsoft, for the introduction of partial classes to the C# language. What else does Microsoft have planned for Longhorn? Continue reading Microsoft: PDC Coverage→