Category: observations

Fedex and the USPS were busy around here today.

• My Mighty Mouse arrived today. I have checked them out in the store before, but still, it’s a weird but natural feeling to use one. Pretty neat little device and I like the optical tracking versus mechanical, for accuracy.
• The LinkSys router/access point also arrived, and I’m using it now. I think ultimately, I would like to connect it directly to the DSL and put everything behind it. My cursory look didn’t tell me how to do port forwarding so port 80 traffic gets handled correctly. But I’m sure it can be done.
• I also got a teeny 4 port USB 2.0 hub, since the olde skool PPC mini only came with 2 USB ports. And I have more devices than that.
• So far, so good. The hub was by far the cheapest. I think it was a buck, with an additional 5 for shipping from Hong Kong.

Continue reading “acquisitions in hand”

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The latest blog scandal — a young conservative partisan is hired to “balance” the Washington Post’s left-wing opinion pages (I haven’t found them yet?!), is discovered to have made a career as a serial plagiarist, and resigns, all within a week — calls to mind the post-modern nature of celebrity when one can be famous for being famous, not for having done anything. Where past generations looked to and took inspiration from Lindbergh, Peary, Earhart, we have Paris Hilton and Kato Kaelin.

Now playing: 96 Tears by The Stranglers from the album “Greatest Hits 1977-1990”

I noted that Guy Kawasaki had reached the Technorati 100 and wondered how far down the list I am.

Technorati Search for: paulbeard.org:

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Still don’t know.

set your TiVo accordingly.

PBS: Austin City Limits – TV Schedule:

The Flaming Lips followed by The Shins
April 1 Austin City Limits
explores the world of indie-rock with performances by two
innovative bands: The Flaming Lips followed by The Shins.
The unique emotional, artsy, acid rock of The Flaming Lips
has brought this Oklahoma-based band pop culture icon status.
Since the late ‘90s, The Shins have been building
a following with their clever, cryptic pop songs.

This just arrived at my local library for me to collect:

Ready for pickup: The assassins’ gate : America in Iraq /:

Coincidence?

Now playing: Love is the Drug by Roxy Music from the album “Siren” | Get it

Tips ‘n Tricks (One Liners)
:

This page is a collection of various tips and tricks
that fit into one line (more or less). Theres no specific
topic – just a collection of things that needed to be solved
at one time or the other

Some handy stuff here. I was misremembering the syntax for Mplayer to dump a RealAudio stream to a file. He has that and more . . .

My cardiac report came back clean, as I expected. We’ll call it a cramp until we receive any evidence to the contrary.

But part of the report indicated “low exercise tolerance.” Not sure I would pay anyone for that diagnosis: I knew I was an outtashape lump when I went in.

So I want to find some exercise regime that will fit into what passes for a day-to-day routine, with low cost and time investment (ie, the time invested goes into the actual exercise, not travel or messing about with facilities).

Running is out. Never cared for it, and my knees wouldn’t take it. Cycling is OK but I don’t ride in town so it requires some logistics/time I may not be able to get regularly. Walking is a favorite of mine but I think it lacks the intensity required. I’m looking into it, all the same.

Rowing is one I would like, but cf logistics issues. Swimming would be OK if I swam any recognized stroke 😉 but that also entails a commitment of time I don’t think I can make.

Looks like someone has structured a walking program around what I want (fitness and weight loss). The time commitments are an hour and a half max (I think I would be able to start at the 3rd or 4th week of the 10 week program: I can already do a 3 mile walk quite easily in about 45 minutes).

But what do you recommend?

This is really useful, extends the NetFlix service in some really helpful ways.

Netflix Freak:

Netflix Freak is a full-featured Mac OS X application for managing your rental queue that enhances the Netflix experience. The program offers many unique features not available on the Netflix website.

But I wonder what it means for this whole webservices/Web 2.0 business if desktop application still trounce websites. I think the NetFlix site could stand some improvement so it’s not clear you would always need this application.

Impeachment is a shortcut for oversight:

Since talk of impeachment is in the air, it seems incumbent on all vocal critics of the president to go on the record with their points of view on this momentous question. So let me devote this column to explaining why I think it’s a bad idea on both policy and political grounds.

Well-reasoned. I think it’s an interesting idea to let things get to where even the most rigid of GOP rascals has to realize things have gone too far. But his main point — that no effort has been made to manage this reckless administration and impeachment is an admission of failure more than a statement of principle — is, I think, correct.

Letting the Republic, and the Constitution on which it was founded, twist in the wind until that time doesn’t fill me with optimism.