Spring has springeded.

The cherry trees have been in bloom for at least two weeks now. The scent is beginning to fade from the neighborhoods. Many daffodils and other flowers are already in bloom.

And it snowed the last three days IN TOWN. Getting snow once is notable, even in winter. Twice in a row is odd. Three sequential days in spring is insane.

What's it like back east?

(Bean - what photo equipment do you use?)

Now this is some pretty good AI

She wasn't lying...

Bob Arno - Pick Pocket

This guy cracks me up.

Wow... just, wow. What a big lie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOsGo_HWP-c

Sorry, I'm too dumb to know how to embed it. At least I'm not as dumb as politicians who do not remember that their appearances are recorded and archived...

(Anybody got similarly juicy clips of the other presidential candidates?)

Justice for Ryan Frederick

Police break into man's house unannounced at night. Man shoots and kills one of the officers, thinking he's being burglarized (there was a break-in a week earlier). Police find that the lead was bad- he's not growing or selling weed. Punchline - Man is on trial for murder.

Huh?

a) There have got to be better ways to arrest the guy for allegedly growing weed than an unannounced night raid. The man had no criminal record.

b) Let's end the drug war against marijuana users.

28 year old Ryan Frederick is just your average dude. i'm hoping this can be the high-profile case bringing policy changes- this is not the first time something like this has happened.

Ryan's not the only victim of this situation- don't forget the officer is dead, leaving behind a wife and three children. Let's hope something changes for everyone's sake.

Read the full article in Reason Magazine. Dig deeper in this wiki.

Economy, Part Dos: The Satirical Coverage

Posting here because it's on topic and so as to not sway focus from the current post on my blog (SPAM)

Inspiring faith in our president & the media...

Inflation

I can't put together such a thorough post on the topic as Shannon would, but in response to all the recent government economic intervention, I wanted to revive the discussion.

With the fed bailing out banks, and lowering interest rates, and whatever else they're up to, I can't help but wonder what effect it will have on trends like this.

Personally, I'm trying to save tuition for next year (when I'll be jobless, going to class full-time) in a high-interest savings account. It was nice at first, at 6% interest, but now it's down to 3.55%. Compound that with the effect of inflation, and it's tough-going if you're trying to be financially responsible / conservative these days.

I find myself aggravated at our nation's irresponsibility and near-sightedness. Is it wrong to feel like I'm paying for other's ignorance w.r.t. lending/borrowing, credit, spending (both at an individual and governmental level)?

What's your disposition?

Big Air Cannon

I thought this was cool.

Trying Out Ubuntu

My PC is eight years old. Yes, i'm still using the custom 600MHz AMD i brought with me to college. i've been through 3 hard drives, i'm on my third disc drive, third graphics card, and i've added RAM and a Soundblaster Audigy along the way. When flash websites choke your computer, you know it's time.

i've also finally warmed up to the idea of laptops. And i developed Mac-envy; the hardware looks sweet, runs well, the OS is awesome, and the software both developed by Apple and the community follows this neat concept of simplicity and quality aesthetics. Bonus.

In spite of all this, i found my opportunity to be a dissenter. My friends freak me out- they start innocently enough with a shiny new MacBookPro (an elevated price over comparable PCs), but no one seems to be able to control themselves. All of the sudden they're buying every upgrade, every new model of the iPod, all the cool new peripherals, and can be seen around town with the Apple baseball cap. The cult kinda freaks me out.

This is why i felt all warm inside when i began seeing the Linux options. As someone who has backed in to the programming community, i've grown a high level of respect for Linux- a) it's free and open-source (a cult i can identify with), and b) the apps are sweet, most likely due to the supersaturation of great developers within the Linux community. Ubuntu is likely the most commonly used and best-supported Debian Linux distribution out there, so i considered it a great place to start.

i learned on a blog somewhere that you can try out Ubuntu without installing it on your machine by booting to the install CD (ISO available as a free download at Ubuntu.com). i did this with the 7.10 release and was pleasantly surprised. i just had to keep in mind the fact that i was running an OS directly off my CD-ROM, so i wouldn't walk away from the experience thinking "Unbuntu is slow". Coincidentally, i've heard a report from Jake, who installed it on a Virtual PC, that it is even more responsive than Windows (XP?).

Windows XP is my reference, because i've been using it the longest. Ubuntu has a lot of the same features; the equivalences of a Start Bar, Task Bar, Quick Launch, and Recycle Bin. Bonus points to Ubuntu for a "Quit" button that doesn't have to be unintuitively preceded by a click on the "Start" button. (i'm referencing the GNOME desktop- there are several others to choose from! Xubuntu is an Ubuntu release with the Xfce desktop for increased performance).

This OS seems fully fleshed out- everything important like network management, user profiles, and software updates. Then there all the extras like games, dozens of cool screensavers, and optional display effects that pinch and shove your windows as you drag them around- ensuring you that yes, all the bases have been covered here and this is a mature product.

My favorite feature is the Workspace Switcher applet. It works like this- you're working away, with OpenOffice Writer (replacement for Word), Calc (spreadsheets), and the default mail client Evolution (or install another, like Mozilla Thunderbird, which i'm currently using), all arranged in your special way so you can get around your workspace just how you like. With the click of a button, your desktop magically switches to show Firefox and your preferred media player, so you can check your Inbox for new messages and start your favorite Tom Petty album. With one click on the Workspace Switcher, you're back in work mode. Mint.

Challenge- give Ubuntu a shot and report here. Considering this can be done with a simple, nondestructive boot to CD, there will be no valid excuses.

Also- let's talk about what a Windows user might lose if switching to a Linux OS. For example: i use a budgeting tool currently only available on Windows (OS X release soon). i heard i could set up a Windows emulator for it, or set up a dual-boot system. What might some other potential difficulties be?

C'mon already...

I'm so impatient right now...

Due out in stores April 27.

I've already ordered more lenses and equipment that I can use on my current camera (Rebel T2, 35mm equivalent to this one) and this one.

Feedburner stats

So average readership is now about 10/day. (not bad given the infancy of this blog)
It just tied the stats of my blog this week, though I expect it to surpass it as soon as the bots notice the recent post frequency...

bump :-)

Anyway, the majority of our regular subscribers do so through iGoogle.
The remainder are split between Firefox and IE's live bookmark features.

To the latter... do you know something I don't?
I thought live bookmarks were kinda primitive.



P.S. 10/day is the number or UNIQUE subscribers. Our hits are significantly more frequent.

Hulu went public today

Hulu
I don't have much background on the site, but it offers NBC content online with less commercials. Thought I would let you guys know.

Ode to the MSU Drumline

I found this vid a few weeks back. I never got a chance to see it on PBS ... but now I can share will all. Enjoy you Hosers



Note that I'm changing a head out when the camera guy goes down the line.... whoops

The "Read the Bills Act"

i'm tickled. DownsizeDC.org wrote a piece of legislation that, if passed, would make any bill available to the congressman and constituents for a full week in it's final form before coming to a vote.

Why? Because many cumbersome bills are passed within hours of being distributed to congressmen, some without even being available in printed form at the time of the vote! (read: The Patriot Act) In other words, our congressman are voting for or against bills without even reading them.

That's clearly irresponsible and something needs to change. For more information on the "Read the Bills Act":

http://www.downsizedc.org/read_the_laws.shtml

i'm boycotting 24

So when i moved to my present crib in East Nashville (372-0H-SIX!), i discovered it was a house custom to have weekly gatherings for dinner and the latest 24 episode. i never was a real fan of the show- i hardly watch any TV and 24's plot continuity problems (flights from the east to west coast in 90 minutes) and poor acting (no need to even cite examples) wasn't doing it for me. But the ritual - the social aspect - was worth it, so for the past two seasons i obliged.

Not anymore. i'm staging an all-out boycott of 24 on the basis of it's role in desensitization. Not desensitization to violence, nor vulgarity, not even promiscuity- desensitization to the idea of a police state violating our rights. i might stomach it if 24 were a sci-fi set in another time and place, but 24 is meant to represent our beloved nation in the very near future. God help us all if it is.

The "war on terror" paradigm permits the writers to present a slew of previously intolerable scenarios: warrantless searches, illegal surveillance of American citizens, detainment of people without charges, government-sanctioned kidnapping, even torture- of internationals, citizens - shoot - even family members. Suddenly we can trample over everything that ensures a free society; habeas corpus, our Bill of Rights, human rights, the Geneva Convention, even the rule of law, if it's too inconvenient for 24's heroes to tolerate. This, i suppose, is what the end of the Republic looks like.

One day i suddenly snapped out of my daze and realized what i was going along with. When i thought about it some more, if realized that our current government is not so far from it's fictional counterpart. And 24 is not any help in the general awareness, appreciation, and defense of the rights and freedoms we've inherited- quite the opposite, really. i, for one, won't stomach it any longer.

Colbert

No activity lately?
Is this a protest of the new location?

Anyway, I'm posting Colbert here (so as to keep a 1post/day limit on my blog).






I want the T Shirt!

Adios