Les Misbarack

What can I say? Very clever and at the same time very inspiring.

The Pop Vs Soda Map

I grew up in Utah and a carbonated beverage (at least the non-alcoholic varieties) were refered to as 'pop.'   After moving to Texas I found out that a 'coke' could also be a Dr. Pepper.

Fun map.  Click on link above to see a full sized version of the map.

Hurricane guidelines for faculty members

Barbara forwarded this to me today. Austin hasn't actually had a hurricane since 1961 so we aren't too terribly worried about Ike, but it does pay to be prepared.

As we watch the progress of Hurricane Ike, the following are some guidelines based upon the hurricane's intensity:

Hurricane Category #1

No excuse for being late to work. Leave earlier to give extra time to avoid fallen trees and limbs.

Hurricane Category #2

Due to the horizontal rain, you may wear jeans. We also advise you wear goggles.

Hurricane Category #3

Whereas most of the area will be flooded, we suggest you avoid wearing open toe sandals when coming to work. Canoes will be provided to those in need of crossing the street to get to the office building safely without getting wet.

Hurricane Category #4

More than likely, there will be no electricity, so make sure you charge the batteries in the lap tops. We will also have manual typewriters available to all staff members that forget to charge the batteries. Ladies, please take extra caution and wear water-proof make-up if Category 4 or above.

Hurricane Category #5

Velcro will be provided to keep you attached to your chair when the windows blow out of the building. For those that survive, we will have chocolate cake and ice-cream from HEB at 3:00 PM in the kitchen.

Keith Olbermann on 9/11

Fascinating (to me at least) diatribe by Olbermann on how the Republicans have taken over 9/11. I think part of the problem is that the Democrats let them take it over, along with American Flag and presumably motherhood and apple pie.

I wonder how much of Olbermann's rant is theatrics and how much is heart felt.

This is supposed to be a day of remembrance. Remembrance of the attack, remembrance of the national unity which followed it.

Most important of all, remembrance of the dead.

But 9/11 has become…… a brand name.

A Republican campaign slogan.

Propaganda of the lowest form.

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) The Simpsons - Homer 's Colonoscopy - Promo

See how they handle a sensitive subject...


NOT!

The Prayer

I listen to Pandora when I am at the office and stumbled upon this selection by Daniel Rodriguez was bowled away. I was happy to find a video of the performance on YouTube.

List Of The Day: Hell Hath No Fury: Scorned Women Of The Day

List Of The Day: Hell Hath No Fury: Scorned Women Of The Day

Not for the easily offended, but funny as hell.

The Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites

As if I didn't waste enough time online, PC Magazine has listed what they consider to be the best of the obscure.

I haven't spent a lot of time looking at them yet, but some seem kind of interesting at first glance. Here are a few I will check out when I get around to it.

• Drop.ioa file sharing website for when I have attachments that are too large to email.
• Mux will let me convert a video file to something I can put on my IPOD.
• CalorieLab gives has calorie info for just about every restaurant chain and type of food imaginable. Maybe ignorance is bliss?
• Criminal Searches provides the scary-but-useful data on how many criminals live in your neighborhood, what crimes they were convicted of, and, in some cases, their names and personal info. Ditto the ignorance and bliss thing.
• Damn Interesting - Their goal is to "collect and dispense damn interesting facts and ideas, whether they appeared in the past, the present, or the (anticipated) future."
• HowToCleanStuff -
  

Yes, your goofy e-mail address says something about you

I wonder what my rather bland email address says about me?

Yes, your goofy e-mail address says something about you:

"Scientists at the University of Leipzig have taken a close look at these questions, and yes, they say, people really do judge others based on the e-mail addresses they choose. What's more interesting, however, is that these judgments tend to be right."

PC World - 11 Things We Hate About iTunes

I have some of the same complaints that PCWorld points out in their article.

PC World - 11 Things We Hate About iTunes: "iPod and iPhone owners know that Apple's iTunes is the dominant software for managing digital media. But some aspects of iTunes drive us nuts."

Wubi - Ubuntu Installer for Windows

This is pretty nerdy but I wanted to play with Linux without having to learn all that much about it. Ubuntu has a nice front end to Linux (that means that there is a desktop with icons instead of having to do everything with command lines). I tried downloading Ubuntu and then creating a start up disk but that was still pretty complicated. Then I read about Wubi and found that it really couldn't be any simpler. I don't see using Ubuntu exclusively on my home computer, but it is fun to play with. Since it comes standard with Firefox, I could start browsing and reading my webmail right off.

Wubi - Ubuntu Installer for Windows: "Wubi is an officially supported Ubuntu installer for Windows users that can bring you to the Linux world with a single click. Wubi allows you to install and uninstall Ubuntu as any other Windows application, in a simple and safe way. Are you curious about Linux and Ubuntu? Trying them out has never been easier!"

How To Tell People They Sound Racist

Something to think about. I used to think I was racist free, but growing up when and where I did, that was pretty much impossible.

30 Years

This week Barbara and I hit our 30 year mark here in Texas.

We moved here on our honeymoon. At the time I was working for EDS and was told at the time that the transfer from San Francisco was going to be temporary.

It was quite a shock to move from the SF bay area where to hot and sunny Texas. At the time I remember thinking to myself that I was very happy that our sojourn in Texas would be short. Little did I know.

Joke from my dad

As he said, been there, done that.

Once I worked as an operator on an old IBM 370/Model 138 mainframe at a local college. My position had been reclassified to fall into a new area outside of the I/S staff. One day, my new supervisor entered the room and stared at the air conditioning unit directly behind me. He studied the two flashing lights for a few moments and asked what job it was currently processing.



I killed my career by replying, "Actually, sir, it's cooling the room. The computer is over there."

Bar Exams

This is something that may never happen again. Today both Rachel and James are taking bar exams, Rachel in Utah and James in Idaho.

James of course passed the Texas bar a year ago and was sworn into the Texas bar shortly before moving to Idaho, so he is a licensed attorney, at least here in Texas.

This is Rachel's first experience taking a bar exam so she is not an attorney yet, so her title is law school graduate. Something that was pointed out to me time and time again before Barbara was sworn into the Texas bar years ago.

COMMENTARY: JOHN KELSO Rick Perry is all wet: You can put hay in a Prius

My grandfather Murdock would be happy to know that I could haul hay in my Prius if I really needed to.

Time for Some Campaignin'

Very funny (IMHO).

No good deed

Goes unpunished.

The Onion: Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency

Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency

Class(ic) Insults

From my friend Irish!

• The exchange between Churchill & Lady Astor: She said, "If you were my husband I'd give you poison," and he said, "If you were my wife, I'd drink it."



• A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease." "That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "on whether I embrace your policies or your mistress."



• "He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr



• "He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." - Winston Churchill



• "A modest little person, with much to be modest about." - Winston Churchill



• "I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." Clarence Darrow



• "He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).



• "Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?" - Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)



• "Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it." - Moses Hadas



• "He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know." - Abraham Lincoln



• "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain



• "He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends." - Oscar Wilde



• "I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend.... if you have one." - George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill



• "Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one." - Winston Churchill, in response.



• "I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here." - Stephen Bishop



• "He is a self-made man and worships his creator." - John Bright



• "I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial." - Irvin S. Cobb



• "He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others." - Samuel Johnson



• "He is simply a shiv ver looking for a spine to run up." - Paul Keating



• "There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure." Jack E. Leonard



• "He has the attention span of a lightning bolt." - Robert Redford



• "They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge." - Thomas Brackett Reed



• "In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily." - Charles, Count Talleyrand



• "He loves nature in spite of what it did to him." - Forrest Tucker



• "Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?" - Mark Twain



• "His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork." - Mae West



• "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." - Oscar Wilde



• "He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)



• "He has Van Gogh's ear for music." - Billy Wilder



• "I've had a perfectly wonderful evening But this wasn't it." - Groucho Marx