Category: observations

If this works (and I think it will, thanks to Michael Hanscom’s diligence), my “now playing” links will now link through to the iTunes Music Store, meaning almost instant gratification for you and a penny or two for me.

Well, it looks like this hinges on whether or not the iTunes Music Store’s catalog is deep enough: early returns are not good. I’ll offer the Amazon link as well.

Now playing:Mandolin Wind by Rod Stewart from the album “Every Picture Tells A Story” | Buy it

And I keep screwing it up somehow: too late in the day to try to make sense of all those escaped HTML entities . . . . you’d almost think they didn’t want you to market their stuff.

What exactly is a Legacy Edition?

So London Calling is finally available in its entirety (I have already converted my ca. 1979 copy to digital files), but with a lot of other odds and ends to make it more, um, appealing.

Would Joe Strummer be OK with this?

So I could do this . . .

Watch the QuickTime movie . . .
Continue reading “the only reason I would want to be rich . . . .”

Paul Graham on the Bubble and it’s effects

There is a huge standard deviation among 26 year olds. Some are fit only for entry level jobs, but others are ready to rule the world if they can find someone to handle the paperwork for them.

If a watchlist was useful, why after three years hasn’t it succeeded in catching any
actual terrorists? One can argue that it would be more effective with more data gathering, but zero times any increased factor of effectiveness is still zero. Maybe I’ve missed hearing about some actual terrorists
being caught this way; if so, somebody please point out such cases.

Rudy Giuliano’s cleanup of NYC used a similar tactic, collaring people at subway turnstiles who went through without paying their fare. Many people wanted for other, sometimes much more serious, crimes were
caught.

The difference is: going through a turnstile without paying was a crime. Last I heard, getting on an airplane after paying the airfare isn’t a crime.

If you have been to or through an airport lately and experienced the delays and general disruption as a result of the TSA’s presence, just remember that we’re safer with Cat Stevens removed from our shores.

I always find that statistics are hard to swallow and impossible to digest. The only one I can ever remember is that if all the people who go to sleep in church were laid end to end they would be a lot more comfortable. Mrs. Robert A. Taft

Now playing:Secret World by Peter Gabriel from the album “Us” | Buy it

Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans pay attention. The Republicans are cheerleaders, and the Democrats are hecklers. No one is actually in the game.

Now playing:Falling From Above by Neil Young & Crazy Horse from the album “Greendale” | Buy it

Sean and Alison’s Website:

Osama still hasn’t been found. People have told me they are sure he won’t be, but the Where’s Osama contest is still available. Take your guess on where you think he’ll be found, and maybe you’ll win a mailbox full of candy!

Now playing:Egmont, op.84, Lied (Klarchen) “Die Trommel geruhret!” by Ludwig van Beethoven from the album “Symphony No.5, Op.67 & “Egmont” Op.84″ | Buy it

Well, that was easy and awfully good (half of it has already been dispatched).

The thing it’s resting on is a Matfer Exopat Nonstick Baking/Roasting Sheet that I just got: I have heard/read a lot about these but not even the most effusive praise seems enough. OK, so it’s not such a big deal but anything that saves cleanup and removes the risk of tearing up your creation is worth having.

Continue reading “rustic plum tart, unleashed”

I think the only aspect of MovableType I miss is the elegant designs: I think Mena had something there. WordPress has a geek ethos about it, with the look and feel having “some assembly required.”

I’m slowly putting together a new face for this site, based on the Gutenberg style listed in the selector. It’s called, oddly enough, new, and is very much a work in progress. The changes are by no means sweeping: I’m just trying to de-clutter the mess I’ve made of things. As soon as I earn enough to get a check from Google, the AdSense stuff is going: I’d pitch it now, but I’m 41¢ from the point where they cut checks. I’ll stick it out. (Of course, it might take the rest of the month to get that.) I may lose the iTunes affiliate link, since I don’t need something I have to maintain: if they can’t rotate ads in, I’m not doing for them.

And I’m going to just simplify the styles, fonts, and colors. As appropriate, I’ll add stuff. And it’s not like you have look at my experiments: the selector will stay there. So if it looks even worse, I’m the only one stuck with it.

Now playing: Airbag by Radiohead from the album “OK Computer” | Buy it