Thanks to the new Democracy polling feature for Wordpress, we’re now having those really slick polls like everyone else has!
First up: which of the following beautiful cartoon women really do it for you?
Is it Leela from Futurama? Purple haired and one eyed?
Or Lois from Family Guy, with the nasally voice but extremely liberated?

::Update::
Well, Lois is winning, although I thought there would be more votes for Leela. She’s my pick. I’m not sure if its the Peg Bundy voice or maybe the mutant thing. I dunno…

The hype is definitely starting build… and with good cause.

Every self-respecting Browncoat on this planet is doing thier best to recruit more and more to our cause… and what is it that we want???  To share our love of a television show with others.

After it’s brief run on FOX, the brilliant science-fiction show known as "Firefly" was cancelled after the airing of a mere 11 episodes (from September 2002 - December 2002).

Then… back on December 9th, 2003, the complete series of Firefly was released to DVD.  It did well in sales, but is still virually unknown to most people that I encounter.

So why is this noteworthy now??? Check out Amazon’s currect Top-25 DVD Sellers… as of today (June 28th, 2005), the Firefly boxset is ranking at #5!!!

A year and a half after it’s release, and this box set is starting to sell like crazy in prelude to the theatrical release of the tale’s continuing story.  On September 30th, 2005, the film entitled "Serenity" will be hitting theaters.  This film will pick up the story approximately 6 months after the last episode of the series.

SO… I’d like to extend an invitation to anyone and everyone who has not yet experienced the Firefly phenomenon.  When the film is released, there are many of us who will watch it with a knowing grin playing about our lips… because we have the insight that comes from having seen the original series under our belts.  We’d like to invite others to do the same.  Drop a few dollars on a Firefly box set… get in the know… and we’ll see you in September.

What crazy scheme will those scientists come up with next?

Zombie dogs have been created in Pittsburgh, where their blood is replaced (by vampire fangs?) by secret zombie formula (cold saline solution) for several hours. Then the blood is put back in (reverse vampire fangs?) where they are hooked up to van de graaf generators, only to awake minutes later when the doc says “Its alive!!!”

SCIENTISTS have created eerie zombie dogs, reanimating the canines after several hours of clinical death in attempts to develop suspended animation for humans.
US scientists have succeeded in reviving the dogs after three hours of clinical death, paving the way for trials on humans within years.
Pittsburgh’s Safar Centre for Resuscitation Research has developed a technique in which subject’s veins are drained of blood and filled with an ice-cold salt solution.
The animals are considered scientifically dead, as they stop breathing and have no heartbeat or brain activity.
But three hours later, their blood is replaced and the zombie dogs are brought back to life with an electric shock.
Plans to test the technique on humans should be realised within a year, according to the Safar Centre.
However rather than sending people to sleep for years, then bringing them back to life to benefit from medical advances, the boffins would be happy to keep people in this state for just a few hours,.
But even a this should be enough to save lives such as battlefield casualties and victims of stabbings or gunshot wounds, who have suffered huge blood loss.
Duing the procedure blood is replaced with saline solution at a few degrees above zero. The dogs’ body temperature drops to only 7C, compared with the usual 37C, inducing a state of hypothermia before death.
Although the animals are clinically dead, their tissues and organs are perfectly preserved.
Damaged blood vessels and tissues can then be repaired via surgery. The dogs are brought back to life by returning the blood to their bodies,giving them 100 per cent oxygen and applying electric shocks to restart their hearts.
Tests show they are perfectly normal, with no brain damage.
“The results are stunning. I think in 10 years we will be able to prevent death in a certain segment of those using this technology,” said one US battlefield doctor.

CHELSEA, Mich. The Chrysler Group will not tie in any marketing of its 2006 Dodge Charger with the upcoming movie, The Dukes of Hazzard, because it is afraid the display of the Confederate flag on the movie’s vintage Charger will offend some viewers.

The movie, scheduled to open August 5, is based on the TV series that ran from 1979 to 1985 and featured “good old boy” cousins eluding authorities in The General Lee, a 1969 orange Dodge Charger with a Confederate flag on the roof. The movie stars Jessica Simpson, Burt Reynolds and Willie Nelson.

“They gave us the treatment for the movie and talked about a marketing deal, but we said we can’t participate if you keep the Confederate flag,” Jason Vines, Chrysler Group vice president of communications, told Inside Line. “It’s offensive to a lot of people. But they [Warner Bros.] said ‘no.’ We still get a mention of the Charger in the movie, but we couldn’t do anything beyond that.”

OK, lets look at this ridiculous piece of “logic” they are trying to use.
One. Who is the complete idiot at Chrysler that actually said “If you take the flag off the car we’ll support it.” Why not say, make Santa Claus skinny because we don’t want to offend fat people.
Two. Who is going to go see the Dukes of Hazard movie, and then be offended by the Stars and Bars? (that’s the Confederate Battle Flag, in case you’re wondering!)
Three. The car is named the General Lee, for Christ’s sake! What are they going to rename the car, the MLK?

OK, logical extention of Chrysler’s reality: Bo is now a transgendered Eskimo rape crisis counselor, and Luke is an undocumented alien from Bolivia, who is just trying to support his family in our racist society. Of course Boss Hog and Sherriff Roscoe P. Coltrane still have to be older white males.
And as for Daisy… wait a minute: They do anything to Daisy and I’ll kill ‘em myself!

Well, how about 828 feet of good books, yours for a single mouse click? It only costs $7,989.99, which is a savings of $5,327.75!! Buy two! Sure, you can get a used Honda Accord for that much, but this is many years of enjoyment, and it can be passed down to your kids! You can split the collection up between ‘em, unlike the Accord!

Today is nekkid blogging friday. I’m making it retroactive to this morning, so all those posts we made from work…. umm… yeah.

First proposed by Miriam and then popularized by Prairiebiker and Silent Running, this could revolutionize the blogging world.

“The democratic process is, by its nature, often loud and racuous and inevitably people are going to have their feelings hurt” - LMC

NewScientistSpace.com lets us know that Sauron is only 25 light years away.

The ring is composed of dust particles in orbit around Fomalhaut, a bright star located just 25 light years away in the constellation Pisces Austalis ” or the Southern Fish. A recent image captured with the Hubble Space Telescope - which makes the system look uncannily like the Great Eye of Sauron from the blockbusting Lord of the Rings trilogy - confirms that Fomalhaut’s ring is curiously offset with respect to the star.

The most likely explanation is that the gravity of one or more unseen planets is dragging the ring askew. The fact that the inner edge of the ring is relatively well-defined adds further weight to the argument because it suggests the unseen planets are sweeping up stray dust within the radius of the ring.

Thanks to Will Collier…

I just wanted to throw out a reminder to everyone to get your big, honkin’ telescopes ready!  There is less than 10 days left until "the day of the comet".

On July 4th, 2005… at 1:52am EDT… NASA’s "Deep Impact" spacecraft will arrive at and impact with the comet known as Tempel 1.  By probing beneath the surface of a comet, NASA is hoping to reveal secrets which will lead to develop a better understanding of both our solar system was formed and implications of a large comet colliding with our planet.

The spacecraft left the confines of our atmosphere way back in December 2004, and has spent the last 6 months winging it’s way towards the comet.  About 24 hours prior to impact, the spacecraft will seperate into 2 seperate units.  The "flyby spacecraft" will use it’s tracking telescopes to observe and record the events to unfold.  Meanwhile, the "impactor" will seperate from the rest of the spacecraft and collide with the comet.

With the combined speed of the Impactor and the comet coming together, it is estimated that the impact will occur at a speed of approximately 23,000 MPH (or about 6.3 miles per second).  The resulting crater could range in size from a large house to the size of a football stadium…. and be anywhere from 2 - 14 stories deep.  The impact and aftermath should be visible by professional and amateur astronomers at both large and small telescopes.  If you’re not one of these fortunate few… then keep a watch out for the results on the web.

The only shame is that it’ll all be over by the time most of us break out the grill and the beer…

Hello everyone! My name is Claudia, aka Clauz, and I have been invited to post entries in this blog.
I am guessing that makes me a lady pirate :)
According to Chad’s reply to one of my comments in the SeaCode topic, I am assuming that my good looks did the trick to enter this site. Isn’t it like that everywhere? :P Just kidding…

Well, I am a 23 year old elegible bachelorette from Argentina who happens to be a programmer. I own a software company along with my business partner Marian and we are located in the capital of this beautiful, hectic and full of debt -I’m an honest person as you can see- country.

According to the statements of the SeaCode company which says that you do not have to travel to dangerous locations anymore to get cheap software and considering Argentina must be on that list, I am guessing I am also elegible to get on board of that ship…YAY!!!

I study computer science in this country, I enjoy very much eating food from different cultures, I like reading a lot and I love dogs. And sometimes I can be a b**ch….Oh and I hate marketing. I think that is all you need to know right now, I do not want to make Chad lose his popularity around here because of me.

Hopefully you will be reading me soon.

Greetings to you all!

I don’t want to go off on a rant here….but I will.

After a somewhat annoying dream last night brought on by my own annoyed subconcious and a Vicatin,I need to vent this.

 I’m a Bibliophile. I like books. I love to read and my library is extensive and quite varied. But what I’m irked about is bookstores.

A couple months ago the fiancee and I went to a Borders or Barnes and Noble (I can’t remember which,possibly both) to stock up on some reading material. here’s what happened.

  I am reading a few different series,fourth books in trilogy’s and whatnot. So with my list of authors and the books in the series I’m persuing,I go to the section where the books are allegedly located. Nada. I look in other Genre’s because it seems to me that sometimes the folks working in the bookstores don’t know where to put the books. I look behind the books to see if I can find the ones I’m looking for stacked behind the shown titles. Nothing Still. I go to the Shrapnel-accessorised fluffball at the (no) help desk and ask about the books I seek.

  "I’m sorry sir,but we don’t have those in stock right now. I could order them for you and call when they come in,or we could have them shipped to you?"

  Dammit,that’s why I went TO the bookstores. To buy the Books I want. Had I wanted to order the f’in things I would have continued to work at Amazon,or ordered them myself. THe expiriance of being in a bookstore,smelling the books,perusing the shelves,enjoying the quiet time when I reflect on my purchases,the wait and the sweet torment of waiting ’till I get home to crack one open (or two,or three,as I find myself reading books in practically every room in the house.) . That’s why I go to the friggin store. Whyinthehell should I bother? 

  What happened? When did we become a society of stay at home,get pasty pale reading a Crt screen for life society? (or lcd,now) I have a beautiful Deck,shaded from the sun,with a little fountain with goldfish,a cold beer nearby,and a good book on my lap along with a sun-warmed cat to enjoy my time.

  Sorry to be so long winded gang. But damn I needed to vent that. Anyof the Readers of this site,if you work at a bookstore-ORDER EVERYTHING.

   Rogue

From the gang at Weber-Prianti Scenic Studios.
Holy French Fries?….

Please observe a moment of silence today in honor of the man, Jack Kilby, who revolutionized computing forever with the invention of the integrated circuit. He passed away on June 20th of cancer.

Maybe we can rebuild him, better, stronger, faster… :)

At least when it comes to downloading music…

Around 35% of music consumers now download tracks legally via the Internet and the percentage will soon pass the 40% who have pirated music, according to a new survey released Monday by Entertainment Media Research.

The online research company used data collected from 4000 music consumers to compile the 2006 Digital Music Survey in association with media law firm Olswang.

Fear of prosecution, Internet viruses, and inferior quality were cited as the main deterrents against illegal downloading, the report said. Nearly two-thirds of music consumers said immediate availability was the key reason for buying tracks online.

Ok, so maybe they’re not suckers… But the problem I have is that most music is just… well, bad.
It is hard enough to listen to the radio where it is free. Oh well, some people are still into music just like what they wrote for interests in their high school year book: “Music, friends, and partying… wooo hooo!”

Conservationists are irrate over the increase in logging of the Banda Aceh area of Indonesia due to the reconstruction efforts underway after the recent tsunami disaster. So, instead, we’ll leave them all homeless. That sounds like a MUCH better idea. I mean, how could anyone be so insensitive as to want to cut down an innocent tree in a humbling attempt to rebuild a shattered and destroyed life? What monsters these people are…

OK… I read up on alot of entertainment news, which is probably why I can usually give you the scoop of films scheduled for release 2 years in the future… but am usually a little in the dark over the important real world news. Usually when film news comes my way, I pounce upon it like a jackal on a zebra carcass… however, lately there has been a serious decline in the value I place in the film industry. I think I first started to notice it when Lucas first started making Star Wars Prequels… the most frustrating of which was the Ep 3: Revenge of the Sith film. If you try to watch them in the order of 1-6, then #3 spoils 4-6. The Sith installment spoiled all of the surprises (especially the “I am your father” twist)… and completely stripped Vader of every bit of mystique.

I could go on about the SW series for pages, but that’s not the point of this post. I want to talk about films that have yet to be released… there’s a few I want to see, but not many. So here we go:

Undead (Release: July 1st, 2005)
Yet another zombie film… this time the plague of walking dead who crave human flesh are brought about by the impact of meteorites. I’m a fan of the genre… but let’s take a break from it for a few years. It’s been a few years since anyone’s done a good lycanthropy curse film… why not give that a try. (BTW… An American Werewolf in Paris (1997), Ginger Snaps (2000), and Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) do NOT count… I said a “GOOD” lycanthropy curse film.)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Release: July 15th, 2005)
At no time, do I ever remember anyone ever saying that Gene Wilder’s 1971 film needed improving. “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” has a timeless appeal and is still proving to be a favorite amoungst children to this day. This new film is nothing more than yet another delivery system for the Tim Burton / Johnny Depp weirdness. I found it intriguing about 5-10 years ago (Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow)… but it’s gotten very old. If they’d put that kind of effort into trying to make a serious drama, then I’d probably love it… but I guess that’s too much to ask from the director who brought us “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure”.

Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (Release: September 23rd, 2005)
Once again… another Burton/Depp weird film. To the general masses… please… STOP ENCOURAGING THEM!!!

Legend of Zorro (Release: October 28th, 2005)
Alejandro Murrieta (Antonio Banderas) is returning to continue to the fight for the peoples… and is supposedly guided by the sage-like wisdom of Diego de la Vega (Anthony Hopkins) which is delivered in an Obi-Wan afterlife fashion. I love it… I can never get enough Zorro. However, I do have one issue. Rumors has hinted that Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones) will be donning a mask and taking on the role of sidekick. DON’T YOU DARE! Zorro is the daring loner… it’s part of his charm. The last thing that Zorro needs is to be worrying about if his wife is going to get run through. Again… DON’T DO IT!!!

Mission Impossible 3 (Release: May 5th, 2006)
OK… the 1st MI film made me feel a bit nostalgic, which led me to spending the following weekend watching Peter Graves re-runs. That was fun. Then, the 2nd installment came out… and it was SO DULL. The wife and I went to the theater with the hope of a decent sequel, but weren’t expecting much. While we were watching it, I was fighting to stay awake. The acting was lousy and the plot had apparently been scribbled on the back of a cocktail napkin about 10 minutes prior to filming. At first I thought… “maybe it’s just me”. Then, my wife turned to me and asked… “When is it going to end?” So… what am I expecting from MI:3? Very little… I don’t find this film necessary in even the slightest degree. I may allow myself to watch it in about 10 years when it re-runs on one of the 3-character television networks.

Iron Man (Release: Summer 2006)
Yes… good ol’ Shellhead is coming to the big screen, and it’s about time. Rumors of casting Nicolas Cage, Justin Timberlake, or Tom Cruise as lead role have put me back a bit, but I’m still hoping for something good. Just please… please… keep to the story. For those of you unfamiliar… let me fill you in. Tony Stark (millionaire industrialist / inventor) is in Asia and accidentally trips off an explosive. Shrapnel finds it’s way to his heart, and he’s forced to wear a chest plate (which has a pacemaker integrated into it) to keep his heart pumping. He continues the thought to what he believes to be the logical end, and creates a fantastic suit of armor. Superhero-like adventures soon follow…

Wonder Woman (Release: Still Unknown)
If the casting is right, then I have high hopes for this film. My young daughters are big fans of the Wonder Woman story… so it is my sincere hope that I will find this film appropriate to take them to. I have been put off by many of the rumors surrounding who will be wearing the garb of the amazon princess (which have included such names as Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Lopez, Katie Holmes, and Lucy Lawless). Now… Joss Whedon (screenwriter, director) has a tendency to re-use some of his favorite actors from previous gigs… which is why I have high hopes that the role will be handed over to the beautiful Morena Baccarin (Serenity).

OK… I’ve said my piece for now, but you may hear back from me on this in the future.

Or anything else once you’ve started playing Monkey Lander….

One of my projects with Digital Labs is my remote access software, WiSSH.  It has been very stable lately, but I wanted to add several new features and update the software.  So, the last few weeks I’ve been working out the bugs, and I’m very happy with the results.  I hope to have it fully tested and released by the end of the month.

But what I really like is the new logo!

Isn’t it damn sweet?  Thank you Logomaid!  They do great work.

I’ve always found the concept of “blue laws” to be a little weird. Blue laws are state or local laws which prohibit certain businesses to operate on a Sunday.
Typically, this applies to liquor stores, but some states also prohibits car sales.

But what happens if you had an emergency and badly needed two bottles of Jack Daniels and a Camaro? What would you do then? How far is it to the state line?

Which Office Moron Are You?
Rum and Monkey: jamming your photocopier one tray at a time.

How do they know???