Who Are You? What Do You Want? Where Are You Going? Whom Do You Serve – And Whom Do You Trust?!
I do believe we’re witnessing the downfall of Western Civilization.
And yes, I will watch it again. Are you kidding? Shatner? Young dancers a la` Dean Martin’s Gold Diggers? Over the top flamboyant gay men as contestants for Shatner to dance with and mock out? Naval Aviators? (Don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it.) How can you not love this show?
Seriously, that’s entertainment.
Disclaimer: Yes, I know, I’m weird, we’ve established that haven’t we? Move along.
Okay, tune out O’Reilly and just mostly watch Kirsten Powers, a woman who single-handedly may be saving the image of the Democratic Party. Her and Malkin have some of the best debating going on these days. And really, how sad is that when you think about it? Go watch Malkin completely drop her perfect persona and say “balls.”
I think we need a photoshop contest.
Photoshop this caption:
MICHELLE MALKIN ATE MY BALLS!
A little new school, a little old school. Completely sophmoric. So…Tuesday.
I was a huge fan of Matt Groening back when I was a kid. His Akbar ‘n’ Jeff strips were published in Chicago’s Underground Weekly Reader as I was coming of age and entering college. We’d see who was playing where and then we’d find Akbar ‘n’ Jeff and then later, his weird rabbit people. There was some funny stuff back then.
Allahpundit’s got a clip from last week’s Simpsons. Apparently Matt and I have grown in different directions. Nothing like one of your once favorite shows taking your service and spitting on it.
Oh and Matt? I stopped watching The Simpsons about four years ago. Random trashing of the status quo just quit being funny. But it’s kind of sad that you’ve become another one of the folks that believes those of us in uniform are stupid and ignorant. I know a LOT of folks in uniform who STILL find you funny. Hmmm…
Okay, there are a few rules I live by that I normally don’t break. One of them is to always always always make a full backup before I make any changes to a website. Especially someone else’s website.
This morning I realized that I hadn’t really upgraded the site with the latest version of WordPress and had simply mananged to dump all of the files into a sub-directory. I was in a hurry and I just downloaded the recommended minimum files from WordPress’ easy to follow instructions. Sigh. Those of you who tried to log on this morning saw the result of that. I overwrote an apparently important file and trashed the site. Oh the files were still here and everything else survived just fine, I just made it impossible to see any of it.
The other rule I broke was that I didn’t leave myself any time to fix stuff after I made changes. I knew I had to leave the house at Oh My God it’s Early and I still made the changes.
I’m an idiot. Many apologies to all of you here at TDB and I can guarantee you it will never happen again.
I’m not saying I’ll never make another mistake, I’ll just never again subject you all to my own wishful thinking.
Thanks to Paul from DangerWest for cleaning up today’s mess. I owe that man a more beers than I can count.
And may I say, “Oh Wow.” to the latest version of WordPress. This is very nice. WYSIWYG. I like WYSIWIG.
If you had told me that a bunch of singing slugs acting as a Greek Chorus could have made me laugh as hard as that, I would have thought you were nuts. Then again, it is Aardman, the same folks who blessed us with Wallace and Grommit. Do NOT dis Wallace and Grommit. You will be smitten. They are sacred in our house. Silly is a state of grace.
This movie takes silly seriously. If you and your family don’t laugh your ass off, you’re dead.
I KNOW Roger Ebert panned it. Whenever I hear Roger Ebert I think, “Yes, the man who wrote, Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens for Russ Meyers. I’m paying attention to his opinion because…?”
You know, once you have control of your database, fixing annoying little crap is EASY.
I want to send out much love and gratitude to our hosts at Cyberwurx. They’re a royal pain in the ass when it comes to making sure that you are who you say you are (a very good thing for a host) but once they’ve got verification, they’re golden when it comes to helping out.
I still have a lot of work to do but at least the comments are back up and running.
It’s going to be annoying again as I had to re-activate the Spaminator until I get some of the upgrades taken care of. There is NO way I’m going to leave us open with no spam protection.
Upgrades are still coming. But now I can back everything up before I do it.
Also.
We’re down to just a few regular writers again. Some of our crew have gone off on their own and good on them. We wish them the best. That means we have room for additional writers. Drop Sgt Mom a line and we’ll see about getting you an account.
Tim
As you all must have noticed, I’ve let some of the electronic house-keeping around here get WAY behind. Electronic dust bunnies have grown to epic proportions and we’ve got the internet equivalent of rust eating away at our data.
We may have lost the comments database forever. Don’t know yet. I have no way of knowing if the upgrades I’m going to make are going to fix our current problem or nuke all of our data, including our posts, forever. Why not just back it up? Well…that’s very complicated and I don’t understand it entirely, so I’m not going to go there. Let’s just say we can’t under current conditions and leave it at that.
I’m not going to start right away. I need to give all contributors and previous contributors time to go through their posts and back them up. I’m thinking Friday and Saturday should do give us all plenty of time to get whatever they need before I start knocking out walls and putting in kitty trails.
Please shoot me an email when you’re done backing up whatever you want to grab.
Thanks for your understanding.
Somehow the comments database seems to have picked up a bit of a bug. I’ve got most of a three day weekend to work on it.
Your patience is appreciated.
Some of our regulars inform me that they’re still having problems. I’ll be playing with the filters until I find something resembling a balance. I’m not willing to open it too wide because frankly, I LOVE having the more annoying spam auto-nuked outright and I’m guessing the rest of the crew is just as pleased.
Late this afternoon I received this email from the Air Force Personnel Center.
This is to inform you that your Retirement application has been approved.
I have no plans to retire from The Daily Brief.
If nothing else, the next 7 months should be interesting.
…and I’m sorry, I’m having a difficult time expressing any shock or suprise after the past couple of years.
Apparently they already have the House and have 2 seats in the Senate that are still jump balls.
I’m of the, “Well, you wanted it, let’s see what you do with it.” school. Both parties have another two years to start getting this crap right.
I’m also very curious to see if the violence in Iraq lets up. If it does, what exactly does that mean?
As I was driving home tonight I heard “Live and Let Die” as done by Guns ‘n’ Roses.
That may be one of the best rewrites rework of all time.
What’s your favorite?
Please let me know if you have any problems posting or commenting. And by that I mean email me because…obviously if you’re having trouble commenting…
Not that I’ll get to it until much later tonight…I’ve got my monthly appointment with my massage therapist and NOBODY gets in the way of that.
TMI? Only if you’ve got a vivid imagination and some idea of what I look like nekkid. Otherwise, it’s kind of pretty when you think about it.
Thanks.
Me, I’m still favoring Cowboy Blob’s but I’ll openly admit the anti-Windows bias.
Started with Ender’s Game and then read everything I could get my hands on. For Science Fiction, there are few out there who can weave a tale as well.
And now there’s another reason: Civilization Watch.
There is only one issue in this election that will matter five or ten years from now, and that’s the War on Terror.
And the success of the War on Terror now teeters on the fulcrum of this election.
If control of the House passes into Democratic hands, there are enough withdraw-on-a-timetable Democrats in positions of prominence that it will not only seem to be a victory for our enemies, it will be one.
Unfortunately, the opposite is not the case — if the Republican Party remains in control of both houses of Congress there is no guarantee that the outcome of the present war will be favorable for us or anyone else.
But at least there will be a chance.
I say this as a Democrat, for whom the Republican domination of government threatens many values that I hold to be important to America’s role as a light among nations.
He lays out a Democrat’s Dilemma better than most.
Via JayTea over at Wizbang.
And yes, I would have linked this even if he hadn’t linked to the PaintShop This One Contest.
I’m not kidding, but I do so LOVE the irony… I’m trying to install Windows Media Player for Mac OS X. Seriously, locks up like Sheila Monahan’s legs in high school…before Homecoming 1977…then ummm, damn that girl learned to..ummm, dance, yeah, that’s it.
Ought to be interesting to see how this works itself into the Joint Information Operations Center.
8th Air Force to become new cyber command
by Staff Sgt. C. Todd Lopez
Air Force Print News11/2/2006 – WASHINGTON (AFPN) — During a media conference here Nov. 2, Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne said the 8th Air Force would become the new Air Force Cyberspace Command.
“I am announcing the steps the Air Force is taking towards establishing an Air Force Cyberspace Command,” the secretary said. “The new Cyberspace Command is designated as the 8th Air Force… under the leadership of (Lt. Gen. Robert J. “Bob” Elder Jr.) He will develop the force by reaching across all Air Force commands to draw appropriate leaders and appropriate personnel.”
There’s a WTF factor in this speech though: “Cyberspace is a domain in which the Air Force flies and fights.” Fighting? ‘k. Flying? Not so much. I’m guessing some speech writer watched The Matrix or read the Cliff Notes version of Neuromancer.
Air Force Cyberspace Command? I’d post any pics I get for what that patch should look like.
Photoshop This One.
But I don’t want bigger breasts.
How the hell did WE get dragged into this political season?
WASHINGTON (CNN) — House Majority Leader John Boehner’s call for critics to lay off Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld because the generals are responsible for the conduct of the war in Iraq has sparked outrage among Democrats.
In an interview Wednesday on CNN, Boehner said, “Let’s not blame what’s happening in Iraq on Rumsfeld.”
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer replied, “But he’s in charge of the military.”
“The fact is, the generals on the ground are in charge, and he works closely with them and the president,” Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said.
The more I watch politicians, the more I love my dogs.
Nevermind, it’s too outrageous to get outraged about. You KNOW he was taking a shot at The President and missed. And even if he was taking a shot at the troops? It would just show the Senator’s ingorance about the education level of the folks in uniform. Is anyone in uniform NOT seeking a degree these days? I don’t know anyone who isn’t working toward something or another. Also, I know absolutely no one who wears the uniform who much cares what Senator Kerry thinks of them.
Even my inner liberal is banging his head against the wall, mumbling, “Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb…”
So I’ve had my MacBook Pro for about a week now and thought I’d let those of you that care know what I think so far.
There’s definitely a learning curve. Things are in different places than on a PC. For instance, you don’t resize photos in the image information or edit area, you resize when you export an image to a different file. Kind of cool and useful in it’s own way, but hard to find. Same deal with mirroring an image. You know, flipping it? It’s not where the rotate functions are. It’s a control click function that’s only available after you put a photo into a book or other form of document. Again, makes a twisted sort of sense that it’s available where you might need it, but it wouldn’t have killed them to make it available in the iPhoto editing area. I’ve learned how to ctrl-click in place of right clicking and that’s not that big a deal. Actually, I’m finding the ctrl click, fn click, option click, apple click thing pretty easy. But a lot of that has to do with the fact that my first word processor on a computer was WordStar and there were tons of keystroke shortcuts.
Hardware wise, I couldn’t be happier. The whole, “It gets too hot.” issue that I read about doesn’t stand up because I own a Toshiba Satellite. THAT’s a machine that gets hot. I bought a cool pad to put between the Toshiba and my lap about four hours after the Toshiba came home. I’m one of those weirdos that actually uses my laptop in my lap. Usually in my oversized LaZ Boy recliner. The keyboards is very nice. The keys are bigger than on my Toshiba and that means a LOT to a guy like me. I’m an old touch typist. I don’t mean to brag because nobody cares anymore, but I can type wicked fast. I came in when speed and accuracy in your keyboarding mattered. Having a keyboard that doesn’t cramp my hands into little claws by the end of a writing session is HUGE in my mind.
Now I don’t know if it’s just because of the duo core processor or if it’s because it’s a Mac, but performance wise, there is no comparison to any PC I’ve ever used. It’s just FAST. Programs OPEN. Tabbing between open applications is freakishly seemless. Civilization IV in fully tricked out animation mode? Smooth as buttah.
So far the applications that came with the computer work just fine. I may look around for a more powerful photo editor just because I like to play a bit more than is allowed in iPhoto. For regular cleanup and “family” style stuff, it works just fine. For mashups and goofing? Not so much.
I bought mine with iWorks installed. I’ve read good and bad reviews about the Pages word processor. I’m in the “It works just fine.” category. Actually, I prefer it to Word in a lot of ways because it comes with in a plain vanilla editing mode and you have to tell it to do something before it starts getting “creative” on you. One of the ways I knew the Air Force was in trouble a few years back? We changed the way we formatted our correspondence to fit the MS Word Standard vs bothering to explain to our folks how to use the technology to fit our standards. I’ve only played a little with the Keynote Presentation software, but it’s very cool. Much easier to drag stuff out of the iPhoto app or iTunes than it is to do any of that in Windows. Formatting, grouping, centering, etc. is cake. No worries there at all.
So, I’m not angry at myself for not waiting for the core duo, I’m angry that I didn’t go Mac with my first laptop a couple of years ago. For me it’s just easier and more comfortable.
Your mileage may vary.
How to Be a Megastar Tour 2.0.
People either hate Blue Man Group or they love them. I think they’re amazing.
Three drummers, not counting the three Blue Men, Three Lead Guitarists, a bass player and a keyboardist. Tracy Bonham provided additional vocals and killer violin.
The basic story: The Blue Men order “Ronco’s How to Be a Megastar 2.0” and use the information contained in the disk to turn themselves into “Megastars.” In case you missed it when I was reviewing the makeup of the band, this is a percussive performance. They. Rock. Out. We were sitting in the nosebleed section of the Pepsi Center in Denver and our chests were still thumping. I’m not sure I could have handled seats that were closer. This show is meant to overload your senses. You are bombarded sound and sight. It’s electronic and tribal at the same time.
Through music, stage magic, comedy, the omniprescent video backdrop screens, instructions from the Megastar Disc, and no small amount of rewriting rock history, The Blue Men work their magic to give us “the feeling.” If you’ve ever been caught up in a rock show, you’ve had “the feeling.” If you haven’t…shrug.
Some creative “Mobkasting” via text messages added even another layer to the show. You could text message the show for $1.99 and the show text messaged you throughout the evening. This made for some interesting looks from people around me as I was texted instructions to “Lead your section in yelling like a Cowboy.” “Shout “FREEBIRD” at the top of your lungs right now.” and a series of trivia questions that got you, “To the roof.” You didn’t miss anything important if you didn’t mobkast, but it was fun. The trivia questions made me realize yet again that I have a head full of completely useless information.
This was the first time I’ve had a chance to see them live. It was worth it. I’m a Roof-Dweller. By study and practice I’m a Jung over Freud kind of guy to begin with. Jung is all through the imagery of the show. This isn’t a terribly difficult concept show. It’s very simple. Through work, entertainment, and technology, we’re becoming LESS connected. The masks we wear are becoming more real to us than us.
I have to mention their tribute to 9/11. Very simple. Very touching. Didn’t leave you feeling like you should cry yet again, but left you remembering. I won’t say more about it because you may not recognize it for what it is at first and I think it’s supposed to be like that.
I’m not sure how I feel about the “instructive” portions of the show. Is it really cool that they let people know it’s okay to jump up and down and act like an idiot at a rock show in 2006, or is it really disturbing that we need permission from the performers? Both? I dunno.
Love ya man.
So…
What are you all using for your Spam Killer? Looking for something that’s both cheap (preferable free) and reliable and a little bit more current then Spaminator.
I bought the low end MacBook Pro just because I wanted the extra pixel real estate and video card but with only 512 Megs of RAM. Why? Because I bought two 1 Gig sticks online and installed them myself, and I saved almost $300.00! I realize Mac techs think highly of themselves, but come ON. $300.00? It was simply a matter of removing the battery, unscrewing three of the the smallest phillips head screws I’ve seen outside of a pair of eyeglasses, which is a hint for those of you who are going to do this yourself. Take out the 512 stick…which will fit nicely…somewhere…and then install the 2 sticks. Hwalla! 300 bucks in my pocket.
Frequent commentor John may wonder why I didn’t wait for the Core 2 Duo vs the Duo Core. Simple. I can afford this now and I have no idea how much they’re going to raise prices on the new ones. This works, I’m good, beautiful wife isn’t upset about the cost of this toy.
Okay, first impressions. As always, the packaging for all things Mac rocks. A lot of thought goes into it. There’s an elegance to the packaging that says, “This is going to be cool.” Even at the Apple Retail Stores, have you seen the bags they put your stuff in? It’s a plastic backpack! Even their bags are functional! Okay, I’ll stop. On the flip side of the store, the checkout clerk is NOT a conceirge, okay? They’re checkout clerks!
Open the box, take out the computer. Figure out the power cord because…it’s a bit different but it’s very cool. Plug it in, open it up, turn it on. English please. My name. My address. Yes I do. No I don’t. Why yes, that is my home wireless network, please connect to it, enter password. Do I have a dot Mac account or did I purchase a dot Mac box? Why yes, yes I did. Authenticate. Coolness. New email. Your welcome.
It’s thinner and lighter than my Toshiba. It starts MUCH faster. It opens applications MUCH faster. Web pages seem to FLY open. Even kludgey graphic heavy ones. I’m smiling.
Now all I have to do is read the two books I bought at the Apple Store today to figure out what the hell I’m doing and how everything works. That should take all of…hmmm, two weeks?
UPDATE: ARGH!!!!!!
Oh well, that’s what I get for thinkin’.
Attention members of African Royalty/Govnernment who want to put a lot of money in my bank account: Stop calling me “Dear.” We just don’t know each other well enough.
