Month: March 2004

So I’m tired of using pirated software. I like the idea of giving money/support to well-coded and well-designed pieces of software that actually do what I want them to, rather than “stealing” whatever is considered the standard application. The first to go was Microsoft Office. To be honest, I technically have a license for Windows XP Pro and Office XP Pro because of my last job. But if I can get away without it, I’d rather do that. So in comes OpenOffice. It’s free, it works, it reads Microsoft documents, it’s stable, oh yeah, and it’s free. I like it.
Continue reading “OpenOffice and the road to legality”

Sorry Stephen Cannella, but calling people who don’t follow the NHL ignorant isn’t exactly going to bolster a sport on the verge of dying. I realize he was trying to say that people just don’t understand the sport, but using a word with such negative connotations will draw the ire of those he labels. The word ignorance means “The condition of being uneducated, unaware, or uninformed”. It is generally not used to describe the disinterest in one particular area (accept perhaps law, social behavior and other concepts considered a part of common knowledge). And the analogy in which we are all third graders and hockey is astrophysics? Don’t even get me started on how idiotic that makes him sound.

What’s even more humorous is that this comment follows a query in his opening paragraph: “What information could people possibly need on the [Cowboys] in the middle of March?” So you wanna talk about ignorance? Maybe you should click on some of the other sections of the site you write for. Maybe you’ll notice that March is the start of free agency and there has been non-stop headlines in the football world – probably more than the NHL during the season. Oh, and two days after you wrote this moronic article the Cowboys-Bucs swap of receivers (Galloway for Keyshawn) finally took place. Gee, I wonder what they could possibly be looking for about the Cowboys…

And lets just get one more thing straight here – an informal poll about why people don’t follow a sport doesn’t exactly give any sort of proof as to the real issues at hand. Hockey isn’t all that difficult to follow. It’s nothing compared to the rather cumbersome rulebook of the NFL, yet people still have trouble getting into the game. It seems to me that they just aren’t that interested. I find it ludicrous to complain that it is our ignorance, rather than the inherent violence that has led to a man’s broken neck, that hurts hockey.

Interesting art/social project going on at 1000journals. Basically they’ve put 1000 journals out into the world and allowed people to contribute to them in any way they see fit. This started back in 2000 and so far only one book has returned. Still, that’s pretty impressive to even get one back, and they still keep tabs on a lot of those out in the field. They have a few “featured” journals, and #451 is a good example of what’s going on.

The only thing that kinda bugs me here is too much tracking. I’d really like to see a much more freeform version of this, where journals are just dropped off at coffee houses and movie theaters and whatever. They would contain simple instructions regarding what is expected of the finder including to pass it on or drop it off in another locale. I know it would be less likely to see any real success, but the rewards would be unbelievable. Maybe someone will take up that idea and run with it.

Not that I consider myself a tough guy or anything, but I still find it somewhat embarrassing at what a little girl I turn into when it comes to animals. I gush over my guinea pigs, but worse than that is how nervous I get when it comes to certain procedures. I refer to the process of trimming their nails. Guinea pig nails grow a whole lot – I guess these would normally help defend them in whatever bizarro world has little piggies running around wild in jungles. Anywho, once they’re domesticated the responsibility of keeping their nails trimmed falls upon the owner.

I did a whole lot of research on the net and came across some good articles on the whole procedure. In the end, it worked because of Lisa. By myself I got squeamish and dropped the clippers the first time Teddy squealed. Working together we got these two in much better shape – Sebastian hadn’t had a chance to trim their nails for awhile before handing them over. I’ll probably pick up a pair of clippers designed for small animals like he had.

As a note, I’m still redesigning the guineacam. Regardless of the changes, they might not appear too often as they’ve gotten into the habit of sleeping beneath the cam.

I know what you all must be thinking – I neglect this site too much. There hasn’t been a gallery update in months, and (in spite of my claims to the contrary) I haven’t put many pictures on the front page either. So then you say, “How the hell are we supposed to see these adorable Guinea Pigs of which you speak?!?!”

Well, I am proud to announce the first real addition to this site in a while: The Amazing GuineaCam! Yes, you too can watch these cute little furballs eat, sleep, and poop all day long (although it will be offline overnight). Right now it is a simple still picture that will automagically refresh every 10 seconds. I will soon be offering an archive, and maybe even a live stream! Ohh, the anticipation is killing me!!

Anywho, enjoy, I know I will 😀 .

Ok, the drive home sucked yesterday. Idling on Route 46 for half an hour, terrified to hit my brakes that I might skid off the road is no way to start off a commute home. And the worst part is that in spite of my exhaustion I still stayed up way too late and had a horrible half night of sleep. Thus is the price for being too tired to walk 4 blocks to Lisa’s place.

Yes, Lisa did return from the Bahamas last Friday and, much to her dismay, found that the weather up here sucks. Today’s snowfall is actually really nice, however. Nothing is sticking on the road, but the snow itself looks beautiful as well as the frosted trees lining my drive up to Boonton.

The latest word is that Sebastian (owner of the Guinea Pigs) has been tossed out of the country and may not be able to return for them (possibly ever). That basically means that Teddy and Jessie are a real addition to the apartment and my life. I bought them a much nicer home and will post pictures later tonight.

I can’t say that I think this latest extreme sport has any worthwhile value, but why even bother getting upset about it. There are certainly far more horrible things going on in this world than some loser paying $10k to shoot a naked woman with a paintball. Have they looked at the spam in their mailboxes lately? Or more importantly, have they looked at the headlines in Spain lately? Come on people, you’d think they would have learned the mistake with The Passion of the Christ that protesting a relatively unknown and minor media event will only make it grow way beyond expectations…

The decision on TO should be made tomorrow (after a delay). Until then I’m just enjoying some of the commentary about other free agents and potential trades. The best line so far has got to be from Pro Football Talk’ Rumor Mill regarding the Cowboys acquiring Drew Henson:

As to the team that acquired Henson, league insiders are wondering why the ‘Boys have added the unproven Henson to a rotisserie of turds that already includes Quincy Carter and Chad Hutchinson.

Ok, you might not understand the full implications of that move, but at least the quote is pretty damn funny. It’s up there with Pete Prisco’s evaluation of my least favorite player:

8.) Which player is in for the biggest disappointment on the market?

Hint: He’s fat, loud and his name rhymes with crap, the way he treats people.

Yep, Warren Sapp.

😀 Hehehe! And of course, let me give you guys the most stupidest quote from the EMB today:

And/Or. They are often inter-changable.
– WatchmansGhost @ Mar 15 2004, 04:56 PM

I’m still not gonna comment on the Eagles’ offseason moves until the whole T.O. ordeal is decided this weekend. However, there is still more to be said about the idiocy of the Eagles Message Board. The instant you disagree with the organization, express respect for another team, or contemplate the possibility of the team not performing well, a bunch of guys who sit on their asses all day posting useless crap will attack you as a moron, n00b, or traitor. Unfortunately it can still be one of the best sources for the latest information as most of the people there have nothing better to do all day than monitoring all sports news. Therefore I still check it out, although I won’t post.
Continue reading “Baltimore and a lost sense of humor”

I can’t believe Sony made this movie, but I just saw a traile for The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra and all I can say is I’m hooked. Go to the site and it’s instantly understood that this movie is a total parody of all the cheesy sci-fi films from the 50’s that you now see on MST3K. The trailer is hysterical, including such lines as: “Betty, you know what this meteor could mean to science. It could mean actual advances in the field of science.” Check out the site, it looks like fun.

Unfortunately today it opens in a limited release, and I don’t see a wide release scheduled. Not sure what that means, but certainly it will be playing somewhere in NYC. At least this could hold me over until the premiere of Hellboy!