Author: David

Over-educated Curmudgeon, Bit-Bucket Tuner and Budding Brewmeister.
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“Geek Rating” quiz missed something…

[Special notice: Be sure to get in on spreading the Blogmothers Dayâ„¢meme! And if you don’t have a Blogmother, consider “adopting” one, eh?]

 
I am becoming, like, so totally blog-geeky… bogus, man.
 
Scary, folks. I mean, when blogger started screwing up with the template—and not just the template, posts, too, and not just in Opera, but in all the browsers I had on hand— I’d used for seven+ months, I actually stayed up til after 1:00 fixing things.
 
I had never before noticed just how screwy some of the html/xhtml code Blogger seems to like actually is… weird stuff. Validation all over the map on this stuff.  I’d thought, Well, as long as it works and I don’t have to work on it…
 
heh
 
I may actually bill some time against myself working on my blogsite… *sigh* This stuff was for fun, not work.
 
Regular programming resumes, next post…
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Unconscious Parenthood

No, it’s not what you think
 
I’ve run across a lot of blogs that talk about “blogfather” this or “blogmother” that; who mention their “blogdaughters” or “blogsons” or whatever. So, I stopped a sec (really, not much longer than that) and thought, “Who ‘spawned’ me?”  And you know, it’s just a wee tad of a funny thing that my “blogparent” has no idea that they are responsible for inflicting me on the blogosphere…
 
You see, as of course you do by now, although I was a blog reader for quite some time before starting to blog myself, comment sections on blogs were like an open mic to me: I just hadda talk. And then one day I ran across a blog, rather new at the time, referred to by Hugh Hewitt.  It was a pretty new Blogger account and had some interesting posts I just had to respond to.  But attempting to comment, Blogger told me I had to have a Blogger account cos anonymous comments weren’t allowed.
 
Sooo… I got a blogger account.  And set up a “placeholder” blog.  And named it for an “affectionate” (sometimes frustrated) reference to my place of residence, Third World County.
 
Well, a placeholder… a bloviator… the two just naturally were made for one another and—a blog was born.
 
But my Blogmommie never knew, and does not to this day know, that she gave birth (to a 185-lb “baby blogger” heh).  Shhhh! Don’t tell her.  She might expect a Mothers Day card!
 
Hey! That’s an idea for a meme!
 
Quick: Kris (Anywhere But Here), Bou (Boudicca’s Voice) and Sissy (And What Next)—the only three I know that have “Blogmoms” who immediately spring to mind—you’re tagged!  Everyone who has a “Blogmom” send a Blogmothers Dayâ„¢ eCard, preferrably one you write yourself.  I’ll start by sending my unintentional Blogmom an eCard… (Gee, now have to make one up–maybe I can scan an old drawing from one of my kids’ “refrigerator days”… heh)
 
Update: (with below) Oh, yeh, and tag three if you can.  This isn’t such a nasty or bothersome thing as most of the pestering festering sores passed around as blogmemes.  [Add: Let’s let this be a little Lemon Fresh Bleach in the Blogosphere Meme Poolâ„¢]
 
“Blogmothers Dayâ„¢”—I like it.
 
Ooooo… Kris likes the idea… Bou says she has two Blogfathers… Hmmm, I wonder how that’d work out?  Blogfathers for Blogmothers Dayâ„¢… La Cage Aux Folles (1979)? Or how about the more recent version, The Birdcage (1996)? Either would make fine Blogfather gifts for Blogmothers Dayâ„¢, don’t you think?
 
 
 
*VBG*
 
 
 
 
 
Update#2: Be sure to get in on spreading the Blogmothers Dayâ„¢ meme! And if you don’t have a Blogmother, consider “adopting” one, eh? See here for more.
 
ANOTHER UPDATE: My Blogmother has now acknowledged her progeny (of course, she had no idea what she had “birthed” until I mentioned to her my thanks for being directly instrumental in my “blog birth”… and her early encouragement with a simple and thoughtful email).  Thanks, Carol. And, as always, you can CLICK through to her site from my blogroll.  Sharp observation and analysis from a perspective of “…American political and religious liberty, free enterprise, limited government, military strength and traditional values…”

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I just made a wonderful discovery

Collecting My Thoughts is a very good read!
 
Norma, at Collecting my Thoughts, has a text-dense blog that is information rich and thoughtful.  Easily on a par with another information rich favorite of mine, Jerry Pournelle’s Chaos Manor.  Start anywhere, but this post is the one that prompted me to write.
 
I do wonder where Norma found a link to this post of mine.  You see, that’s how I found her blog: she commented on my lil post, so I decided to see what she had to say on her site.  Thanks, Norma!
 
I do wish I’d seen Collecting my Thoughts early on in my blogging.  Her system oganizing her posts is very… Dewey-ish.  (And since I’m married to a librarian and have provided “heavy-lifting” aid in her service from time to time, I now wish I’d had her input—or Norma’s :-)—before my blogs became such messes!)
 
Oh. Well.  🙂
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Some Good News via Confederate Yankee

Marines follow common sense and military law—duh
 
Confederate Yankee posts a link and commentary to the followup on that young Marine who was videotaped in Fallujah following the rules of engagement, common sense and normal military practice, shot a wounded enemy (“aif”—anti-iraq forces) and was lambasted in the media.
 
“This has been the way of warfare, or for that matter, nature, for millions of years. I thought liberals usually favored Darwinism over creationism.
 
“I guess that was until they got to see Darwinism at work.”—CY
The Fox News article cited adds this:
“In the Nov. 13 shooting videotaped by [Kevin] Sites, a Marine can be heard can be heard shouting obscenities in the background, yelling that one of the men was only pretending to be dead.”
As though this information were news.  Common knowledge that that was (is?) a tactic followed by “aifs”—feign death in order to launch a surprise, sometimes suicide bombing, attack.  Under any commonly-accepted rules of war, that alone is grounds for shooting first and sending flowers (preferrably poinsonous) later.
 
Is there any way that Mass Media Podpeople who villified this marine could be put into harm’s way and told to “just pretend to be dead; you’ll be safe”?
 
heh
 
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Dirty lil meme update #3

Boudicca’s Voice roars… reluctantly 🙂
 
Bou has done the deed. What a trouper. I’ll be slaving in outer darkness for a while working off having tagged her on this one…
 
heh
 
Further, Bou tagged Sissy and she’s already dittied her duty (heh).
 
 
It’s outa hand folks.  Soon there won’t be a punchbowl in this arm of the galaxy (warning: mp2 download) that’s safe to drink from…
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Best Web Browser, IMO

See the Opera mini-banner in my sidebar?  Please CLICK that puppy, OK?  [note:  I know, I know. The “sidebar” is now buried at the bottom of the blog   Fixed!]

I don’t usually talk about stuff that’s work-related, here, but I’m breaking that trend with this post. (Yeh, I do computer stuff for warm, soft cash.)
 
First: if you use Internet Explorer as your only or primary web browser JUST STOP DOING THAT! NOW!!
 
heh
 
But seriously, do switch to a better, more secure browser as soon as you can!
 
Here’s a site that’s done a good job of summing up choices in web browsers.  HINT: The name of the nseries of pages is Opera Lover.  Got it?  🙂
 
 
While everyone I know who has extensive experience and knowledge about web browsers agrees that Internet Explorer (or, as I prefer to call it, Internet ExploDer *heh*) is definitely the worst choice among current browser offerings, the choice about which is best is more complicated.
 
While in general I agree with the widely-diseminated conventional wisdom that Mozilla.org’s Firefox browser is the best choice for a wide array of average users (especially those who need a more familiar experience when changing softwares), I use the Opera web browser almost exclusively for a wide variety of reasons, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is a bit more flexible about learning new software.  If you’re using Firefox and happy with it, though, you may not want to switch to Opera, no matter what advantages it offers: both are much more secure (the primary concern) than Internet Exploder.
 
The site listed above,  while dealing with an earlier, less-capable version of Opera than I now use (Opera 8.0 which has some very cool additional capabilities), details nearly all the reasons I find Opera to be  the best web browser available.  It’s a lengthy read (30 web pages?!?) but well worth it, IMO, as a tutorial in advanced web browsing.
 
[NOTE: the author of the site expects the new  http://operalover.tntluoma.com/8/  site to be finished by the middle of May with all-new Opera 8 information/tutorials! UPDATE: Site now up-to-date.]
 
Take note: your workplace may require the use of a particular browser—and not allow installation of individual software by users.  If that’s the case, you can still have better security and browsing by trying out a different (different to IE, that is) browser at home.
 
If you decide to give Opera a try, keep in mind that it comes in two versions: a fee-based version ($39) or an ad-supported version.  The nice thing about the ad-supported version is that you can specify that the ads be simple text in the upper right-hand corner of the menu/tool bar.  Easy to see if you want to and easy to ignore if you don’t want to bother.
 
If you fit into the “there’s gotta be a better way to browse the web” category of user, trying a different browser may just fit the ticket for you. I think Opera is the best of the bunch, by quite a wide margin.  YMMV, of course.
 
 
Oh, and if you use a Mac, run on Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD or OS/2, there’s an Opera browser for you, too. Even for your phone or other mobile device.  Just CLICK.
 
Download Opera
 

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Confederate Yankee Analyzes Modern “Liberalism”

Dissecting the rotting corpse of the undead
 
Liberalism is dead.  We are left with the Night of the Undead Liberalism-that-isn’t.  Liberal, that is.  Confederate Yankee analyzes the pathology of soi-disant liberals, progressives, whatever-they-call-themselves-today.  Be sure to read Part I and then continue to Part II .
 
 
Brief sample:
 
“Liberals really do live in a “reality-based community.”

“On a strict linguistic level, “-based” simply means something similar to, but other than. Water-based paints have water in them, but the paints are hardly water. In this same way, the “reality-based community” has some reality in it, but reality is only a small component of their constructed world… “

 

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Geek Rating

I dunno about this… (I still have a shadow of a memory of how “geeking” got started: a geek in a carnival was someone who bit the heads off chickens or some other such gross deed. heh)

Your Geek Profile:
Academic Geekiness: Highest
Internet Geekiness: High
General Geekiness: Moderate
Fashion Geekiness: Low
Geekiness in Love: Low
Movie Geekiness: Low
Music Geekiness: Low
SciFi Geekiness: Low
Gamer Geekiness: None

The only assessment I have any real quarrel with is the sci-fi geekiness question. My collection of sci-fi books was once above 1,000, and I often “read ahead” (works in progress) of publication books by fav sci-fi authors, correspond with sci-fi authors, buy their books as eBooks before print publication, etc.

 
The multiple choice offered by the quiz was weighted toward the stupid end of sci-fi, though, so naturally it’d catch only Trekkies or others of their ilk. Trekkers included. The whole Star Trek thing is dumbed-down Buck Rogers—the 1970s “abysmally stupid” Buck Rogers TV series, not the 1930s Buck Rogers or even the 1950s TV series… Both beat the ’70s  Buck Rogers and Star Trek hands down for intelligent content.  And if that isn’t daming with faint praise, I dunno what is, cos the earlier Buck Rogers shows/movies/characters were dumber than rocks. OTOH, the 70s Buck at least had a hot Erin Gray and Twiki, played by Felix Silla… Turn the sound off until Twiki comes in.  Watch Erin Gray for the pure eye candy aspect, and it’s bearable.  Can’t say anything similar about the Star Trek franchise.
 
—whew— Well, I certainly feel better.  LOL
 
Can’t quarrel with the music geekiness assessment, because there’s absolutely nothing I have in common with the criteria the test-writer uses to assess it.  IOW, I like music. heh.
 
Internet geekiness only “High”?  Didn’t give enough options. heh
 
Academic geekiness… ::sigh:: what can I say?  I am educated far beyond my intelligence. And what I lack in paper training I more than make up for in autodidacticism. And then there’s my honorary degree in Bovine Scatology.  My PhDBS…
 
 

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Government by Kakistocracy

We are ruled by an elite, but elite what?
 
It’s no surprise to anyone who’s watched politics, the media and academia for a few years. We are no longer the republic forged by the Founders and Framers. We are ruled by kakistocrats—a government peopled, by and large, by the most venal and corrupt among us.
 
I’ve known a few politicians.  On the local level, their venality wreaks no great harm and is generally limited by a short feedback loop: we know where they live, and they know we do. heh  I’ve even known one who aspired to and reached high national office.  As a member of the state legislature, he seemed firm in his principles.  As a governor, he was clean and competent.  But after just a short time as a senator, every public statement I heard from him was mealy-mouthed, wishy-washy and self-serving.
 
And he was the best of a bad lot.
 
Sure, there are probably a few honest people in government. And there are even a few competent people in government.  But the number who are honorable and competent seems vanishingly small.
 
Note: yes, I know that all generalizations (including this one) are false, but still… It seems as though the folks on the left are nothing but liars, though sometimes competent liars.  And the folks on the right are sometimes honorable… as far as their (tiny degree of) competence and lack of courage takes them (wimps and dunces for the most part).
 
Rule by the worst: kakistocracy.  Yep.  Fits politics.
 
How about the Mass Media Podpeople?  Yes, that was a rhetorical question. One in one thousand are not useless or harmful to society.  Maybe.
 
And what about academia? I can honestly say that I have met some brilliant and honorable people in academia.  None in the fields of social work, education or political science, of course.  And most of the rest who do have sense enough to pound sand in a rat hole are so cowardly, fearful of violating the politically correct mores, that they are virtually useless in promoting… virtue, the common good. 
 
YMMV.
 
The “elite” are the best of the worst.
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