June 30, 2002
Design and the Man
Why can't our website be more like this and not so static and dated? I guess I would have to actually put my money where my mouth is, right?Site linkage
I think wackybrit has it right term for those of us we know on the internet but couldn't call friends:No, no, no. 'dot comrades', that's it, that's the term I'm going to use on my site, lol.
Recent Referrals
Welcome new viewers:fullofdreams.org
my-blog.com
Klimbim
-- And most importantly --
ChurchofScientology.com [oh joy]
Spread the Dot
Arial v. helvetica
A great article by Mark Simonson about The Scourge of Arial;It's been a very long time since I was actually a fan of Helvetica, but the fact is Helvetica became popular on its own merits. Arial owes its very existence to that success but is little more than a parasite--and it looks like it's the kind that eventually destroys the host. I can almost hear young designers now saying, "Helvetica? That's that font that looks kinda like Arial, right?"
Numerology
The Secret Lives of Numbers explores how numbers and humans are deeply intertwined. Great interface and associations make up for large and somethimes buggy site.June 28, 2002
Alternate versions of the Pledge of Allegiance
This just in:With the invalidation of the 1954 Pledge of Allegiance, an opportunity has presented itself for any corporation or individual willing to take this on. The new Pledge will read:
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION, (SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE), INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
So pick up the phone and call your already bought-off public official, I mean public servant that you fiscally supported, and make the new Pledge of Allegiance a marketing Coup!
Do this before General Zod takes over.
Bush and war [that isn't a war]
Bush said he decided to transfer powers to Cheney out of extra caution because the nation is at war. Cheney will be "standing by - realizing he's not going to be president that long."What a crock of shit. Lets review what the Constitution says:
US Constitution, Article I, Section 8:
To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;
To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;
Hello, we are not at war. My recognized leaders [the House/Senate] have not declared war on terrorism.
Nice try though, when do you come up for re-election and when will this "war" end?
Hello...nasty
Dogs love me cause I'm crazy sniffableI bet you never knew I got the ill peripheral
source
I love fridays.
June 27, 2002
Bush and Philosophy
Today, in reference to the Pledge of Allegiance, Bush said:"The declaration of God in the Pledge of Allegiance doesn't violate rights. As a matter of fact, it's a confirmation of the fact that we received our rights from God, as proclaimed in our Declaration of Independence."
I believe John Locke would disagree.
President Bush on Thursday called a federal appeals court ruling that challenged the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance "out of step with the traditions and history of America'" and promised to appoint judges who affirm God's role in the public square.
Umm, no thanks. This ruling is in step with my beliefs. Sorry, I think you are wrong in your belief that this ruling is "...out of step with traditions..." America is about protecting the MINORITY while expressing the will of the MAJORITY. THis is a country based on religious freedom, not a thocracy like BuchCo. thinks it is/should be. Case in point, the man who brought the suit to the 9th Circuit, has already recieved death threats. Love thy neighbor, indeed.
Police priorities in San Francisco
It appears that the San Francisco Police Department has nothing important to do, excpet close down bars where patrons were watching the World Cup and consuming coffee. "San Francisco police pulled the plug on World Cup parties in several Richmond District bars early Friday, minutes after the 4:30 a.m. start of the U.S.- Germany quarterfinals match.""We're not the grinches who stole the World Cup," said Capt. Marsha Ashe, who works in the Richmond police station. "But they failed to cooperate with the police."
I'm glad that San Francisco ranks last of the top-20 US cities in solving violent crime, but number one in stoping unlawful World Cup viewing.
June 26, 2002
God Bless America. As long as you're Christian
The 9th Circuit Court has just created for the GOP thier political platform for the next year. The 9th Circuit ruled that the Pledge of Allegiance is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion and cannot be recited in schools. Think is the PLedge said, "One Nation under Mohommad", or "One Nation under Vishnu" or even, ""One Nation under Your Mom". Think about it. Continue reading "God Bless America. As long as you're Christian"DoS is okay, as long as you have money
The Hon. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) is intoducing a bill that would attempt to minimize the illegal trading of copyrighted songs and other content on "peer-to- peer" (P2P) networks by permitting copyright holders by using, among other methods, Denial of Service Attacks against p2p networks such as KaZaA or WinMX, etc. Ok, how will this help? Lets just let anyone with "copyright holders" a free reign to attack legal systems. When will people learn that it is not the system, its the users stupid! This is just a ploy for vigilante justice, Spagetti Western-style. Can I DoS the RIAA for taking my fair-use rights away?While we are at it, lets review some figures; Last year music fans bought 18 billion dollars worth of music! In the face of growing profits, the RIAA still claims that the internet cuts into thier profits. So much so here is a short laundry list of RIAA proposals: The RIAA wants to hack your PC, they want to your tax dollors to fight unrestricted fair- use [they call it piracy - but we do not live on the high seas] and shutting down every microcaster in thier path toward total control of the industry. Remember, the RIAA represents 85% of the music industry but is making policy for 100% of the industry.
Read disgruntled geeks here
June 25, 2002
UFO and stupidity
This just in:Drunken Scots are stupider than drunken hillbilies.
"Scotland has the highest concentration of UFO sightings--300 per year, the most per square kilometer and per head of population of anywhere in the world. That means 0.004 UFOs for every square kilometer of Scotland -- a rate four times as high as in France or Italy, earth's other UFO hotspots. (In comparison, only 2,000 UFOs are spotted every year in the United States represent, making just 0.0002 sightings per square kilometer. Bonnybridge--30 miles west of Edinburgh-- seems to be the Scotland equivalent of Roswell, New Mexico). UFO nuts explain it in terms of aliens being attracted to remote areas."
This fellow seems to have an explanation.
Train Travel and Missappropriations
Look at this chart and you will understand why America does not have an adequate train system.Purchasing power for federal highway programs doubled (increased 110%) from 1982 to 2002. It tripled (increased 234%) for aviation, but passenger rail decreased 59%
Deeplinking and Freedom of Speech.
Upcoming this week is an expected rulling by a Danish court on the issues ofdeep linking by NewsBoosters The suit was brought by the Danish Newspaper Publishers' Association [DNPA] who claim deeplinking violates thier copyright.Tisk, tick. When will people learn that anything you put on the internet becomes public domain [hello NPR], and freely accessible to anyone. This in no way invalidates my copyright, because I still own [and control] the origional content [or prior art in copyright terminology]. All a link, or URL = Universal Resource Locator, involves is a pointer to content. A URL, in no way takes, steals or borrows anyone's content; again, the URL just points to the page someone has placed on a publically accessible server.
The attempted controlling of users, and more specifically authors, from linking specific sites is foolish, and because of the nature of the web, mutually exclusive. The web is built on open-architecture with multiple redundancy, with a vocla group that advocates freedom of dissemination. It is baffles the mind that groups want to limit exposure to thier site, especially in the case of deeplinking, where your content is still available. What makes the DNPA claim ludicrous, is that the deeplinking being litigated over is not the more annoying, and unethical, framing or deeplinking images. The fact is NewsBoosters is bringin all of the DNPA [and other news outlets] more pageviews, and thus, more probability that viewers will click on the advertising banners on the individual pages.
That is the real problem, the percieved loss of revenue by the DNPA members, because the deeplinking bypasses the ad-heavy index page. When will people learn that banner advertising is about as effective as Donald Trump making money as a pan-handler. There have been many, many studies that have discussed banner strategies, but I think we can all agree that we ignore them. But advertisers and marketroids have controlled print and television for so long, their paradigm has not changed during the switchover to digital. Now we are forced to endure full page ads, in hope that we will click on it, and the site can earn $.03 US. This model is not viable, and people know it. Why do you think Salon.com went to subscriptions and k5 is broke.
The real issue, again, is control if information and dissemination. The viewpoint of the entrenched media is best expressed by Jamie C. Kellner, chief executive of Turner Broadcasting who stated:
"The free television that we've all enjoyed for so many years is based on us watching these commercials. There's no Santa Claus. If you don't watch the commercials, someone's going to have to pay for television and it's going to be you."
The mainstream is worried about the internet, again, because they cannot contol it. They cannot control it and therefore cannot gain profits from the internet using thier already established models. Unfortunatley, like all entrenched entities, "old media" is very slow to adapt to new ideas and models, and thier first reaction is to protect thier outdated business model through litigaiton. The real sadness is that "old media" {I'm looking at you RIAA and MPAA] can make large sums of money if they adapt to the market, like good capitalistic companies they allege to be.
The people of the world do not owe any corporation continued revenue in perpetuity. While government and the legal system should, and must not, legislate and litigate continued revenue for outdated buisness practices. Just ask your local chapters of the Whale Oil Union, and the Lamp Lighters Union and the Buggy Whip Union. The world changes, and so too does business. That is the strength of the corporation: the ability to amass large amounts of capital and the ability to direct that capital in a flexible manner. It appears in the "modern" world, the latter has fallen by, and the 1000lb gorilla is thrashing for its life.
June 24, 2002
Stupidity
Don't forget to rewind your DVD.Skyscraper
Has this ever happened to you:So you are at the bar with some of your architecture buddies and you get into an argument over whose phallus is taller Perisphere and Trylon was bigger than the Washington Monument, and you never could compare the two off them. Well, now you can with The Worlds Tallest Buildings Diagram Database, a huge database of illustrated built work from Mechanical structures to Bridges. The database will even answer your burning questions about how do Hugh Stubbins Associates stack up against each other.
And who says architects don't have a good sense of humor.
Euros in the Midwest
Looks like there will be some collective blue-sky going on in Akron. coop himmelblau has been awarded the Akron Art Museum. This thing is crazy. Check out thier entry to BMW's Competition where they beat Zaha Hadid, mOrphosis and MVRDV among others.additional information added - 19:00
Not in my town
Girls like this don't really exist. They are all just figments of our imagination, really. Heather Mitts is a Cincinnati native, plays soccer for the Philadelphia Charge as a Defender.Lets see, athlete - check
Smart - check [she went to Univ. Florida and is a grad of St. Ursula Academy]
Good looking - check
Now I have to move to Philadelphia, damn.
June 23, 2002
Blog Readme
For those who are new to BlogsUN releases information for public-private partership for sustainable
In a move that will surely be mistaken as hostile by the American Right, the United Nations has releaseda series of documents relating to sustainable design, development and execution in the realm of privcate-public partnerships. You can download the training manual from here or just read the PDF hereWebcasters shut down
In an article that can only be called Midwestern Ignorance, the Cincinnati Enquirer, the headline says it all: Internet music gets break on fees. Let us compare that article to another one from The Register entitled Big name microcasters pull the plug. Cause and Effect.Let me make this very clear, this fight is not about music, royalties, or even artists, it is about control.
Just look at somaFM, where the recent Library of Congress ruling set fees for internet radio. The RIAA says that microcasters on the internet will only have to pay the minimun $500 US a year, but that only accounts for about 5 concurent listners - not enough to even be called a microcaster. The final bill to somaFM would be $15,372 US a month or around $180,000 US a year. Lets get this straight, we are not interested in getting music for free. I will pay for it, if it is available. But the RIAA members have dragged thier feet on this issue for the last 5 years, and the market [in good capitalisticmanner] have responded to the market and produced a product. Napster, Audiogalaxy, WinMX, KaZaA are all responses to a need in the market. Yet the only action by the RIAA and it's member corporations [who rape the artists] has been to use its monopolistic position to edge out and control the distribution.
NOTE TO RIAA AND THIER MEMBERS
If you make a service that I can download high-quality music without play-restriction built in, and the fee is reasonable, I WILL USE IT.
In the absence of real leadership, there exists a vacum to be filled by anyone with a good idea and some bandwidth. Think it over.
Enron Hid Gains During Crisis in California
The New York Times is reporting [free registration req'd, blah, blah] today that Enron, our favorite example of corporate greed in America, engaged in profiteering during the California energy crisis of 2000-2001. Enron reportedly hid $1.5 billion US in what officials call cookie jar reserves to "serve its political and financial ends." Continue reading "Enron Hid Gains During Crisis in California"June 22, 2002
#2545693*
Did you know that if you enter #2545693* in any automated caller system it will put you through directly to the CEO of the organisation you are calling. Neat.Bush in favor of Censorship
In a move that was not a surprise to anyone, the Bush Administration notified the Supreme Court it would appeal the May U.S. Court of Appeals ruling striking down the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), which required public libraries to install filters on computers to keep children from viewing porn sites or lose federal funding. Continue reading "Bush in favor of Censorship"Britney v NYC Subway Riders
In typical New Yorker fashion, webchick has created a site detailing the Britney Spears posters in NYC subway stations. I love New York, this one is my favorite picture.
Censored Books
Just because we live in one of the more free countries in the world, doesn't mean that there are not those who want to take our liberties and our choice away. I'm not even talking about the internet but regular old print and paper.Eternal vigilance.
Dead Man's Switch
Like porn? Have a bunch saved on your computer? Don't want anyone to see how much of a deviant you are [especially after you die]? Then those crazy guys over at Ars Technica have the program for you! Created by Daisyman the Dead Man's Switch will encrypt your files and send email messages to your loved ones about your passing. This works like a dead man's switch on railroad engines, if you do not reset it by a certain time, the program executes, and the world will know about your death. If you can link the Dead Man's Switch with the Death Clock then you will know exactly when to turn on the switch.Better living through chemistry, indeed.
June 21, 2002
USA Soccer
So Brazil beat England 2-1, in a resounding game of football. One of the most exciting games I have watched in recent memory, England just could not combine any of thier talent against Ronaldp and Brazil.But in the best US run for the Cup ever, Germany beat USA 1-0 due to well-executed Pollock header at the 39th minute. The USA was playing thier hearts out, but Germany just had too much height and skill, while the Americans were tired from three days of rest.
It was fun while it lasted, at least we have the memories.
June 20, 2002
TomPaine.com
Distrust mainstream media? Like your news way, way, way, way left? Then check out TomPaine.com. I'm just kidding, it is just way left.Deja vu and Quantum Mechanics
My dreams of deja vu are distinctly different from my regular dreams. In my regular dreams, I dream in color, often there is a distinct story line that forms the night's series of dreams. I will awake exhausted from a night's worth of dreaming. The deja vu dreams are different, however. These dreams are also in color, but seem to fade from color to black and white back to color. A haze also often covers the dream, like looking through a lens to another world.
Continue reading "Deja vu and Quantum Mechanics"blank cds
If you are looking for nifty blank cd's, cdr's and dvd's, look no farthur than 5inch.com. Not only do thay have cool silk screened cdr's but they also sell nice cases to house your nifty cd's. A must for any student that sends thier portfolio by cd.
June 19, 2002
Ghosts
Ok, so I don't want to be like all of the other teenybopper bloggers out there, but dammit! This is too much part of my life to not talk about. Continue reading "Ghosts"June 17, 2002
Validation, you are my bitch now!
I have to thank michael for pointing me in the right direction to solve this validation problem. He remembered that xhtml does not like the character "&" allowed in URL's. Unfortunatley, many of the URL's of search engines and database-driven sites have the character "&" in the URL. His solution was to use & amp ; instead of &. Now, the page you are reading is fully xhtml1.0 compatible.
cincinnati, ohio
cincinnati, oh84W 30' 53" x 39N 08' 22"
714,800.0 x 4,335,200.0
The Company
worker bee @ The CompanyJune 16, 2002
The Olsen Twins and Reality
This came to my attention today, via Plastic. The damn Olsen Twins are expected to cross the $1 billion US mark next year. The empire not only covers their annoying televisions shows [which they have two of], but also includes videos, games, dolls, books, clothing, accessories and cosmetics. My lord, this boggles the mind that tweens are buying this crap. But if they like this crap, they must like anything. Continue reading "The Olsen Twins and Reality"» x « · comments (1) · trackBack (0)
Found my marbles.
Ok, remember
title="Tuesday - 2002.06.11 :: Lost my marbles">this entry? Remember how I lost my keys? Well, I found them today after I was cleaning out my belongings
at home. This was after I was running around for a day replacing the lost keys.
Chuck was right, I am dumb.
June 12, 2002
Webstandards Relaunch
The WaSP stings again. This time they are trying to
persuade web designers to code correctly so everyone can view
the web. This includes the new
title="Section 508 accessibility requirements from the federal
government">Section 508 requirements. All in a nice blog format!
Northern Migration
We have endeavoured here at grubbynoINC to be as up to date with proper technology. That is why we have been working like cracked-up little squirrels to migrate the site from the dirty html 4.01 to the more graceful xhtml. This change also coincided with the move from grey matter to movable type. So I have been working for the last 24 hours to accomplish this task. With this change I will be able to catagorize my thoughts, and hopefully with a little scripting trikery, I can make it possible for visitors to filter out my comments so they can only see comments pertaining to a single category.Unfortunatley with this change to xhtml, many of my links to databse-driven sites [links that look like just a set of random characters] break the validity of this page. This pisses me off, because I have worked hard to make this page valid, and to have just the links invalidate the site is frustrating. Hell, even the link to the w3c's own validation service breaks validation.
Bollocks.
Technical Difficulties
Bear with us. We are trying to migrate the cms from one good system to one great system. Things don't always work out right, especially at 3:00 am.June 11, 2002
Lost my marbles
Let me tell you something, losing your keys sucks. Especially trying to retrace
all of the different keys on that one key ring. Only to be thwarted by bad
memory and a locked door of a lock that you thought you had the correct [new]
key for, but actually you didn't. Not fun. Especially when you are living
between two different houses separated by 200 miles.
Of Future Generations
USA - 1
South Korea - 1
I watched this game at the Columbus Crew Stadium at 2:30 AM with 1000 of my closest friends, my brother and his friends. It was a good game; unfortunately the low class of the Korean players after their goal mocking Anton Ono was of poor taste. Too bad their skater took down the field during the Olympics, but that is another story. Continue reading "Of Future Generations"
June 5, 2002
Vanity
I just can't get enough of this site! Hot damn, I am hotter than 87% of other men! Sweet.[now don't all you haters go and lower my ranking, because I will find you!]
[see I'm street - I can use the lingo]
June 4, 2002
Climate changes in times of trouble
Sept. 11 Air Traffic Shutdown Caused Temporary Climate Changes "The average variation between daytime and nighttime temperatures turned out to be greater than normal by more than 1° Celsius"I am always amazed that science can always learn from any type of disaster, no matter how horrific.
June 3, 2002
Busy as a damn bee
Busy as a damn bee today. One fire out, two to go. I am right in the middle of the end-game, I hope I can just finish. Continue reading "Busy as a damn bee"More eBay stupidity
If you haven't been to MeFi in the last few days, you missed a great conversation about an eBay auction for Crystal Pepsi 2 Liter bottle! The ensuing conversation about clear items is worth the trouble of remembering the horrible taste of Crystal Pepsi.June 2, 2002
Followup to the Bobblehead debacle
Ok, I hope everyone read this and knows my feelings on the issue. This is a follow up to that story.
Continue reading "Followup to the Bobblehead debacle"On migration and deadlines
I have been pondering migrating my content management system from the current Greymatter-based system to another one where I can expand my site. I have to say, for the last two years Greymatter has been a breeze to use, and excellent in adaptation. But like my migration from Blogger to Greymatter, I have been flirting with another lover, never content with what I have at the moment. One night it might be coldFusion, with the next being Movable Type, while the next night I could be seen with the home-schooled php/mySQL twins, I have been out on the town looking for fresh systems, ripe for the plucking.Unfortunately, I have a paper due on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. So this should be the lowest thing on my list. Yet, I am on the prowl, test-driving new mistresses every night. Is it lack of interest in my current assignments? Is it the lack of motivation after a long week of charettes? Or, is it the geek resurfacing to take control of the Id and Superego?
Only time can tell.
June 1, 2002
Scum of the earth
Spectacles like this make me not want to go to baseball games. I went to last nights Reds game [5/31] to first watch baseball and relax after the end of a rough quarter and to pick up a Johnny Bench Bobblehead doll. What happened when we got there sickend me. Continue reading "Scum of the earth"Modest proposal
Now that I am getting more than 3 hours of sleep on a regular basis, I can't keep my brain from thinking ahead of me. I have so many ideas and projects that I want to explore, but I have so little time. If you want to help, email me. I have listed my two favorite projects.
Continue reading "Modest proposal"