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Saturday, October 11, 2003
Hosanna! Free World Recognizing Large Clever Actor
If you re-arrange the letters in "California Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger" you get "Hosanna! Free World Recognizing Large Clever Actor"
Something for a slow news day . . .
Something for a slow news day . . .
Power Utility Pack to the Rescue
I had to get rid of hundreds of blank lines in an Excel spreadsheet at work the other day. Lucky for me I had already purchased J-Walk's Power Utility Pack v5. I just used PUP's "Select by Value" feature to select the blank rows. Before you could say "Schwarzenegger!", my work was done. Thanks to PUP, I'm now livin' large!
Nightingale-Conant $9.95 Blowout Sale
"SAVE MORE THAN 85% on the programs you need by the authors you love. Don't miss out on your chance to own some of the world's most powerful personal development information and pay almost nothing! With every program priced at just $9.95, our shelves will be clear in no time! And chances are you will never enjoy savings like this again! So don't wait, start shopping now!"
Includes some programs by Brian Tracy, who recently got about 800 votes for Governor in California
Includes some programs by Brian Tracy, who recently got about 800 votes for Governor in California
The Cracker Jack Man
A nice little story over at daxmontana
Duodecimal: The Base 12 Number System
The Dozenal Society of America and Dozenal Society of Great Britain promote that a base 12 system is better than the decimal system mathematically and in many other ways. Since 2, 3, 4, 6 are factors of 12, it is a convenient number in doing fractions. Compared to factor 2 and 5 in the decimal system, duodecimal seems to be more versatile. (from Wikipedia)
Friday, October 10, 2003
Why New Amsterdam Became New York . . .
. . .because otherwise we'd have the New Amsterdam Yankees!
He DOES Have a Point, Even If You're Not A Fan of His
Bill O'Reilly's recent appearance on NPR's Fresh Air.
2003 Rock Paper Scissors International World Championships
The World Rock Paper Scissors Society is pleased to announce that Toronto, Canada will play host to the 2003 Rock Paper Scissors International World Championships. The Championships will bring the world's premier RPS players, together with unranked amateurs, to Toronto on October 25th to compete for the Championship Trophy and a total of $7,500 CDN, the largest purse in professional RPS history. Pete Lovering the reigning World Champion of RPS will be back to defend his title.
Today, RPS is one of the most popular games in the world. Players of the sport from New Zealand to Japan to Great Britain carry their World RPS Society membership cards with pride. Officially, the sport is known as Rock Paper Scissors or RPS. However, the informal name differs across the Globe, with variations such as:
- Jenken or Jan Ken Pon (Japan)
- Roshambo (Southwestern U.S.)
- Shnik Shnak Shnuk (Germany)
- Ching Chong Chow (South Africa)
- Farggling (U.S.)
- Scissors Paper Stone (United Kingdom)
Today, RPS is one of the most popular games in the world. Players of the sport from New Zealand to Japan to Great Britain carry their World RPS Society membership cards with pride. Officially, the sport is known as Rock Paper Scissors or RPS. However, the informal name differs across the Globe, with variations such as:
- Jenken or Jan Ken Pon (Japan)
- Roshambo (Southwestern U.S.)
- Shnik Shnak Shnuk (Germany)
- Ching Chong Chow (South Africa)
- Farggling (U.S.)
- Scissors Paper Stone (United Kingdom)
Black Jack, Beemans and Clove Gum
Every 5 years or so the Adams Company whips up a batch and this is your chance. A box of 20 packs is $14.99.
And Did You Know That Frank Sinatra Lent Him the $10,000 to Pay His Fine?
He began his political life as a liberal Democrat and ended it as a law-and-order Republican who pleaded no contest to charges of tax fraud. He once called the media "nattering nabobs of negativism" and found a political base with both social conservatives and what would later be called Reagan Democrats. Richard Nixon selected him as his running-mate in both 1968 and 1972. On October 10, 1973, following months of pressure and scandal, Spiro Agnew turned in his letter of resignation to President Nixon, who was soon to follow him. Michigan representative Gerald R. Ford took his place as vice president on December 6, 1973. After resigning his post and paying his fines, Agnew wrote two forgettable novels and worked as a lobbyist before disappearing into complete obscurity. Spiro Theodore Agnew died on September 18, 1996 at the age of 77.
Thursday, October 09, 2003
There's PC, There's Non-PC, and Then There's . . .
. . . Foreigners Around The World, A Brief Survey of the Various Foreigners, Their Chief Characteristics, Customs, and Manners. A wildly offensive piece from the National Lampoon from about 30 years ago. Offered here for historical reference only.
Garfield Goose
Frazier Thomas invented his legendary puppet Garfield Goose in the late 1940s while working in Cincinnati. In 1952, Thomas brought his "Garfield Goose and His Friends" to Chicago where it appeared on various TV stations. In 1954, Thomas and Garfield Goose joined WGN-TV, where it remained until 1976. They were introduced as "Garfield, the goose who thinks he's king of the United States, and Frazier Thomas, his prime minister, who wouldn't tell him differently for the world."
"My Governor Can Beat Up Your Governor"
I'm already getting e-mail from my California friends . . .(like the violent NG)
Cover Up a Tell-Tale Breath With Sen Sen
Right Here. Remember Maine, Plymouth Rock, and the Golden Rule! (via MGM's The Music Man)
Celebrate National Metric Week October 6-10, 2003
from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics: This year, the week of October 6–10 (the 10th month of the year and the week containing the 10th day) will be set aside to celebrate the metric system. Oh boy.
Wednesday, October 08, 2003
So Much For The Elite Blogs Being a Political Force To Be Reckoned With
Omphalos: "The crocodile tears that were especially moist on the blogs of the self-styled technical elite about the "un-democratic" nature of the recall were shot to pieces. The recall succeeded dramatically, and Arnie got more votes than Davis even after sharing his with 134 other candidates. They won't admit it, but they were wrong, wrong, dead wrong and couldn't have been more wrong. Was anything more sad than the MoveOn.org campaign?"
C D B! D B S A B-Z B. O, S N-D!
No, This Had Never Happened to Me Before Yesterday
On the elevator at work yesterday a woman was wearing a name tag that said "Cheryll" and another woman asked her why it was spelled with two L's. Cheryll said that it was because she was named after a tugboat.
I had never met anyone named after a tugboat before.
I had never met anyone named after a tugboat before.
Something Different to Give Out For Halloween: Mini Clark Bars
From CandyDirect: 5 lbs. for $24.95 Might be fun to give out just for the "I haven't seen these in years!" comments from all the parents.
Who Knew the Periodic Table Would Make For Such a Lively Tune?
A Flash Animation of Tom Lehrer's "The Elements" (via Tim McMahon the Big Brother, not affiliated in any way with Tim McMahon the sales consultant)
Tuesday, October 07, 2003
ZEOS Zero Obstruction Reflector Telescope
The ZEOS telescope design consists of a precision figured off-axis parabolic mirror (98% reflective coatings) that has been cut out of the edge of a larger parent parabolic mirror. The off-axis parabola is retained in an adjustable cell at one end of an oversized optical tube. Light rays entering the telescope tube strike the primary mirror and are reflected towards the side of the tube. An appropriately designed precision figured secondary mirror (also with 98% reflective coatings) is attached to a cell mounted just off of the side of the tube. This mirror is out of the path of the light rays converging on the primary mirror and far enough off the wall of the tube to be away from tube currents, but in a position to reflect the convergent rays from the off-axis parabolic mirror. The secondary mirror deflects the light into a focuser located across the tube from the secondary where the resultant image is brought to focus with an eyepiece. The design is imminently simple and is illustrated in the schematic diagram. This design results in the following unique conditions:
- 100% unobstructed optics
- No diffraction spikes or patterns in the defocused star image
- No false color (100% true color correction)
- No significant light scattering
- No significant light absorption
- No meniscus corrector to cool down (no extensive cool down required)
- Total light transmission to the eyepiece of ~ 93% (versus only 88 to 90% in
all other reflective and refractive systems in existence today)
Columbus Day: Something for Everybody
It's About Time!
Two scientists who played a key role in the development of modern hospital scanners won the 2003 Nobel prize for medicine Monday. American Paul Lauterbur and Britain's Peter Mansfield were recognized for their discoveries on magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, a painless diagnostic method used by doctors to look inside the bodies of millions of patients every year. (via geekpress)
Stupid Is As Stupid Says
How many times do we have to put up with dim-witted TV announcers saying that the late Elia Kazan named names before the House Un-American Activities Committee, headed by Senator Joseph McCarthy?
AAARRGH!
AAARRGH!
They'll Never Offer Caddyshack, So Don't Even Ask
Clean Films offers Family Edited Movies, i.e. popular Hollywood DVD titles that have been edited to remove nudity and sexual situations, offensive language, and graphic violence.
Monday, October 06, 2003
The British Dennis the Menace
In one of the oddest coincidences in the history of English-language comics two characters named Dennis the Menace started simultaneously on opposite sides of the Atlantic. The American Dennis began syndication on March 12, 1951. The British Dennis first appeared in The Beano #452 (March 17, 1951), a very long-running humorous comic book published each week in Great Britain by D.C. Thomson. Because each Beano issue, dated Saturday, went on sale the previous Monday, the two actually debuted on the very same day.
California Quarter Design Concept Semi-Finalist Poll
If You Say "Crabby Appleton", I'll Still Respond with "He's Rotten to the Core!"
"Tom Terrific was produced for the burgeoning television market, and ran from 1957-59 on CBS's Captain Kangaroo show. The daily episodes, replete with heroism, villainy and cliffhangers, added up to a complete five-part story every week. Those old episodes were sporadically re-run, and were seen, on rare occasions, as recently as the early 1970s.
Tom's appeal did not lie in the cartoons' production values, which, like most early TV animation, were nothing short of shoddy. No, it was in the clever writing, the likeable characters, and the fact that the series was just plain fun. The latter quality was considerably enhanced by the talent of voice actor Lionel Wilson, who played all the roles. As chief villain Crabby Appleton ("He's rotten to the core!"), Wilson would sneer and hiss in the best melodramatic tradition; while as Tom, his breathless enthusiasm made every little plot development seem like a Major Event. "
Tom's appeal did not lie in the cartoons' production values, which, like most early TV animation, were nothing short of shoddy. No, it was in the clever writing, the likeable characters, and the fact that the series was just plain fun. The latter quality was considerably enhanced by the talent of voice actor Lionel Wilson, who played all the roles. As chief villain Crabby Appleton ("He's rotten to the core!"), Wilson would sneer and hiss in the best melodramatic tradition; while as Tom, his breathless enthusiasm made every little plot development seem like a Major Event. "
The Greatest Film Quotes
Filmsite: "Famous quotes and great lines of dialogue from 75 years of sound films come from speeches, one-liners, quips, punchlines, statements and insults. Many thanks to the many celebrated and unheralded screenwriters who have provided generations of movie-goers with such memorable movie quotes and lines of dialogue. Their words are remembered through popular use, critical acclaim, shock value and quotability, and for many other reasons. "
Sunday, October 05, 2003
Roger Rabbit's Toon Town? No, it's Kentucky!
Baby Boomers, A Moment of Silence Please
We note the passing away of Edwin "Ted" Gillette, age 94, on Tuesday, September 30, in Los Angeles. Ted was the inventor of the Syncro-Vox device used to produce those unique "talking lips" in the original Clutch Cargo cartoons. The effect is also used from time to time on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien."
Let's Let Bygones Be Bygones: Vote for Michael Moore!
"It's time to vote for the 2003 Weasel Awards. This is your chance to shine the spotlight of public ridicule on the weasels that deserve it most. Weaselness is a subjective quality, but you know one when you see one, unless that weasel happens to be yourself, in which case you had good reasons for doing what you did. Put the greatest weight on recent weasel behavior. I know that some of you are still angry about the Crusades, but try to put it behind. We want fresh, innovative weasels that did their best work in 2003."
Americans United To Beat The Dutch
"We're happy to welcome all you new tile-smashers to the fight against Dutch subterfuge. Our movement is growing by leaps and bounds every day, and although we cannot disclose the exact number of our members to prevent infiltration from certain persons who feel more at home in footwear made out of trees, we can say that it is very large indeed and getting larger! "
Hey, It's Still a Great Story . . .
Phone Won't Stop Ringing? Here's What You Do . . . (via Dodgeblogium)
Leola Starling of Ribrock, Tenn., had a serious telephone problem. But unlike most people she did something about it. The brand-new $10 million Ribrock Plaza Motel opened nearby and had acquired almost the same telephone number as Leola.
From the moment the motel opened, Leola was besieged by calls not for her. Since she had the same phone number for years, she felt that she had a case to persuade the motel management to change its number. Naturally, the management refused claiming that it could not change its stationery.
The phone company was not helpful, either. A number was a number, and just because a customer was getting someone else's calls 24 hours a day didn't make it responsible. After her pleas fell on deaf ears, Leola decided to take matters into her own hands.
At 9 o'clock the phone rang. Someone from Memphis was calling the motel and asked for a room for the following Tuesday. Leoloa said, "No problem. How many nights?" ....
Leola Starling of Ribrock, Tenn., had a serious telephone problem. But unlike most people she did something about it. The brand-new $10 million Ribrock Plaza Motel opened nearby and had acquired almost the same telephone number as Leola.
From the moment the motel opened, Leola was besieged by calls not for her. Since she had the same phone number for years, she felt that she had a case to persuade the motel management to change its number. Naturally, the management refused claiming that it could not change its stationery.
The phone company was not helpful, either. A number was a number, and just because a customer was getting someone else's calls 24 hours a day didn't make it responsible. After her pleas fell on deaf ears, Leola decided to take matters into her own hands.
At 9 o'clock the phone rang. Someone from Memphis was calling the motel and asked for a room for the following Tuesday. Leoloa said, "No problem. How many nights?" ....
