Warner Crocker (http://wickedstageact2.typepad.com/life_on_the_wicked_stage_/2008/08/happy-blog-day.html) alerted me to the fact today is Blog Day (http://www.blogday.org/), which means sending some blog love to five deserving blogs and tagging this entry for Technorati (http://technorati.com/tag/BlogDay2008).
PhotoshopDisasters (http://photoshopdisasters.blogspot.com/) is one I've recently started following. Every day a new image manipulation mess-up is posted, usually quite amusing.
Bradtastic Inkblog (http://bradchin.com/) showcases the ink skillz of Brad Chin, an on-again off-again ink blogger who is currently on-again.
New Leaf Vegan Society (http://newleafvegan.blogspot.com/) is the blog where my wife and our friend Dale contribute vegan finds.
HughSung.com (http://hughsung.com/blog/) is a blog I don't visit as often as I should. There, Hugh shares his experiences as a Tablet PC-using, professional pianist.
edible unknown (http://www.edibleunknown.com/) wandered back into my consciousness recently. They try out recipes from around the world, such as my butter mochi (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/search?q=Butter+Mochi), and share the experience. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
McCain's pick of Sarah Palin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin) to be his VP has come as a surprise for most (unless you noticed McCain was not campaigning in Alaska (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/05/politics/washingtonpost/main4320888.shtml)), but for a trio of bloggers, the governor from Alaska has been the best choice since February 2007.
Yes, a blog, Draft Sarah Palin for Vice President (http://palinforvp.blogspot.com/), has been espousing the virtues of Palin for a year and a half. More impressively, these bloggers have no ties to Palin or Alaska. They objectively analyzed the field of prospective Republican candidates and chose one who would have the most impact. That their pick is now the pick is truly impressive. I applaud their insight and efforts, though I think she seriously undercuts McCain's attacks on Obama's lack of experience. Will be interesting to see if her strengths offset that loss. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
My apologies to Hillary Clinton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton) for giving her crap about trying to run on experience only to go on to face a more experienced opponent. Had I known John McCain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain) would throw out that advantage by picking a running mate who is younger and less experienced than Barack Obama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama), I would not have dismissed the long-term wisdom of that strategy.
Apparently McCain thinks experience is critical for being President, but not so important for the second-in-line, as evidenced by his choice of Sarah Palin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin) as his running mate. Now, I don't know anything about Palin, but it seems to me if you criticize your 47 year old, 4th year senator opponent for not being ready that you wouldn't pick a 44 year old, 2nd year governor as your #2. You'd think the guy aiming to be the oldest person elected President would pick a back-up who doesn't fit his own description of "not ready".
If that wasn't ironic enough, not only is there no history made by picking a female running mate, but the last guy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Mondale) who did it suffered an overwhelming loss to his "celebrity" opponent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan). I commend McCain for not letting that precedent stop him, but when Republicans try to evoke the memory of Reagan, I think they're supposed to try to make themselves remind folks of Reagan, not their opponents. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
I considered staying up for Obama's speech (http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/samgrahamfelsen/gG5l5C) last night. Wouldn't have been too late since I often watch Burn Notice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burn_Notice_(TV_series)) at that time. But I figured I'm voting for him anyway, so what effect would it have? Not like voting for him with more enthusiasm would help. Besides, I can always watch it on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/ObamaBiden08) later or buy it on DVD (http://store.barackobama.com/category_s/1003.htm) in a few days. A televised speech is fleeting (or 44 minutes in this case), but a quality DVD can last decades. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
Some dude named Steve claims to have gotten an email from Steve Jobs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs) that says Apple is looking into a tethering plan for the iPhone. On one hand, I find it unlikely some dude named Steve got a legitimate confirmation from the notoriously secretive Steve Jobs. On the other hand, I have no doubt the plans are being considered because I pointed out the plausibility of this more than two weeks ago (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2008/08/iphone-why-apple-pulled-netshare.html). So even though I laid out the logic, some dude named Steve will likely get the glory for breaking the story (http://gizmodo.com/5043218/rumor-apple-and-att-developing-iphone-tethering-plan), if it turns out to be true. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
Oh boy. I don't know whether this will save me money or cause me to spend more, but hopefully limiting myself to key pieces of gear, like this port replicator (http://tinyurl.com/58tzqo) I just bought for about 25% retail (http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/adet.to?seg=HHO&poid=322204), will keep me in check. Yes, I've discovered the joy of hitting eBay (http://www.ebay.com/) auctions that end at off-peak times.
Here's how it works: First, I do the legwork on my tablet, finding items on my want list and putting them on my eBay watch list. When the end of the auction approaches, eBay sends me an email. If the item is still in my price range, I set an alarm on my iPhone a few minutes ahead. That way I can sneak in my bid at the last minute.
Bidding at the last minute helps keep the bidding down. Also, there's less competition on auctions that end during a work day. So if I bid on an auction during my lunch break on Tuesday, there's a better than average chance of getting a bargain, as I did today in the parking lot after returning from HoFo (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/). Woot! [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
Still haven't envisioned a proper design for the Rambles site (http://sumocats.blogspot.com/). At first, I was thinking of simply flipping the Scribbles design, putting the ink entries in the side bar, albeit dominantly so. But now I'm thinking I should take the opportunity to cut loose and use it as an experimental zone.
First, it gives me a chance to play around with xml. I have Scribbles set just the way I like it, but Rambles is an open book. I can't mess it up since there's no order to mess up. Also, I'm running it primarily as a side blog, so as long as the feed work, it serves its purpose.
Second, I don't really care what it looks like. I shouldn't keep my main blog in constant flux, but I can strip Rambles down to bare bones and rebuild at whim. Being xml, it could be very modular.
Of course, that still leaves me without a plan for the layout and design. I figure I'll start with a template and tweak it from there. Expect to see some green. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
If you asked me two years ago who would be in the running for the White House in 2008, I would have said Joe Biden (D) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden) and John McCain (R) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain). And thanks to the power of ink blogging, you can see for yourself.
True, Biden is getting his shot as Obama's running mate (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/23/obama-biden-rally-in-illi_n_120798.html), but that still gets him to the White House. However, I also predicted McCain would beat Biden. Hopefully Obama will spoil that part of my prediction too.
As for whether I agree with the pick, obviously it doesn't come as a shock. I thought Obama would have been good as Biden's #2, So the reverse also works. Biden's main problem is he doesn't know when to stop talking. This gets him in a lot of trouble, but he speaks his mind (excessively so) and his pool of knowledge is unquestionable (because he can't shut up about it). Hurts him politically, but the man can do the job. Can't argue with that. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
At the Starbucks at Northpoint, I checked the wifi access to see if it was online. It was. I also checked to see if I could get any GPS love while indoors. Worked like a champ, (http://sumocats.blogspot.com/2008/08/gps-northpoint-starbucks_22.html) clearly using the wifi hotspot as a point of reference. Made we wonder how well it was working in other places.
Tried it at work and got broad lock very quickly via the assisted GPS, followed by a close lock with true GPS. Not a dead-on lock but it found the property, an improvement over previous performance.
Unfortunately, the same did not hold true at home. Fine outside but apparently inside the house, I teleport to Herndon. So I submitted my address to Skyhook (http://www.skyhookwireless.com/inaction/apple.php), the wifi positioning service used on the iPhone. Hopefully this will give my assisted GPS a little more assistance. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
Today at work, we celebrated our department head's birthday with breakfast and a dept. meeting. Anticipating the excitement levels of both, I decided to brew some good coffee (http://sumocats.blogspot.com/2008/08/freshly-ground-brewed-100-kona.html) for us. That might have been a mistake.
We have a Keurig (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keurig) machine at work, which makes a good cup of coffee, or so I believed. I've brewed my own coffee at home. I've drunk quality coffee at work. But it wasn't until brewing and drinking quality coffee at work today that I realized I'd been drinking nothing but brown water all this time.
Before the Keurig fans get their panties in a bunch, let me explain a few things. First, I used freshly ground, 100% Kona coffee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kona_coffee) and filtered water boiled on the spot combined in a French press. Second, did you not just read what was first? How can I go back to pod coffee after realizing I can make a majestic brew at work? I may need to do more than just bring my own water to work. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
