There are those I’d like to see President.

There are those that I wouldn’t prefer but would vote for.

Those that I don’t care about.

Those that I would actively oppose.

And while most have teams of analysts trying to come up with the perfect sound bite, the perfect 30 second commercial, Fred Thompson records a 17 minute message. This has been his theme, while most candidates release a bullet point list of initiatives, Fred releases policy documents.

So watch the video, let me know what you think.

And while Ron Paul himself should have more political power, you can safely ignore the whackjobs out in force in the comments.

One Month. 31 Movies.

Megaforce.

Many were worried this movie wouldn’t be on the list.

Deeds not words.

Peanut butter - the cheap way to spay and neuter your animal.

In Legos. 

Biggest set ever made.

500$.

Holy crap.

Who wouldn’t want that?

One Month. 31 Movies.

The Blue Max.

Extras, biplanes, explosions, and props. No CGI.

One Month. 31 Movies.

The Warriors.

They’re from Coney Island.

What isn’t wrong with Adobe Acrobat?  Very little I’m afraid.  Aside from the PDF format itself which isn’t too bad, does anyone like Adobe Acrobat Reader?

Here’s a few choice items from the appropriately named the art of software murder…

• A splash screen lingers for so long that you get a chance to memorise that huge list of patents that Adobe claims to itself, and even perform some basic arithmetic on the first few numbers, by way of passing the time. Have you spotted that sequence of primes yet?
• There is that groan of realisation that can be regularly heard everywhere on the internet, when an accidental click on a PDF in a search results page means that the user is now confined at Adobe’s pleasure for the next minute or so, until Acrobat chooses to give back control of the web browser.
• Have you ever made the mistake of letting the thing upgrade itself via Internet downloads? I let version 7 have its way, and it rebooted the machine three or four times on the trot. Honestly, one of the more gullible heuristic algorithms in the virus checker thought I had got an infection.

Get Foxit reader… do yourself a favor.

Let’s Talk Help Desk

Somehow, the phone companies and the cable companies and the ISPs just don’t understand this equation. They outsource their tech support to the cheapest possible provider and end up paying $10 again and again and again fixing the same problem again and again and again instead of fixing it once and for all in the source code. The cheap call centers have no mechanism for getting problems fixed; indeed, they have no incentive to get problems fixed because their income depends on repeat business, and there’s nothing they like better than being able to give the same answer to the same question again and again.

To each and every company that sends their front line customer interface to another company, you deserve to fail.

And lets start with the 5 things Hollywood thinks computers can do.

Obviously the stories were written by someone with a pad and pencil. Or maybe by someone smearing crap on the wall in the padded room.

Because computers can’t do that. Not just because it just hasn’t been done. Oh no. It’s because some of the ideas are either impossible or just damn stupid!

Let me give you a comparison: If you were to type google… into google… the Internet will break.*

That’s the level we’re talking here.

But why? What makes reality based computing in media so rare? It’s simple. Computers suck, and they are boring.

* From The IT Crowd on Channel 4.

One Month. 31 Movies.

Police Academy.

Because my mom dated Tackleberry when they were in high school.

“It is all a lie!  I am being falsely accused!… I am not the Clinton’s neighbor!!!”

One Month. 31 Movies.

Tampopo.

One perfect bowl of noodles.

One Month. 31 Movies.

Tank Girl.

Cuz it’s Christmas.

While growing up my family tradition is that gifts from Santa come Christmas day, but gifts that the family gives to each other are given Christmas Eve after dinner.  A way to spread everything out a bit more.  Works great, so that the gifts the siblings give weren’t lost in the mad rush.

So with just myself and the wife at this time, we opened everything today.  I have new airsoft gun and a laser equipped infrared thermometer… which is a hell of a lot more fun to play with than it sounds!

Let’s see, toys for orphans, food for the needy, or paying for hot water poured through charcoal (Starbucks special blend) for the yuppie scum behind me for the same amount of money I was going to pay anyways. This is pathetic. It’s not kindness, it’s not altruism. It’s a way for greedy people to feel like they’ve done something at Christmas to assuage some of the guilt.

What the hell people?  A Starbucks propaganda scam makes everything think they’re doing good deeds.  All so you idiots will go out and buy more of their crappy “coffee”.

One Month. 31 Movies.

Seven Samurai.

Almost every movie since has taken ideas from it. For good reason.

One Month. 31 Movies.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension.

Neurosurgeon. Particle physicist. Rock star. Wears a bow-tie.
A combination not seen since the 1980’s.

From the classifieds…

Really Need Help. MUST GO!!
Please help! After two long years of being on a waiting list for a dog, we have been notified by breed rescue that, at long last, our number has come up and … WE ARE HAVING A PUPPY!
We must get rid of our children IMMEDIATELY because we just know how time consuming our new little puppy is going to be and it just wouldn’t be fair to the children. Since our little puppy will be arriving on Monday we MUST place the children up for adoption this weekend!
They are described as:
One male — his name is Tommy, Caucasian (English/Irish mix), light blonde hair, blue eyes. Four years old. Excellent disposition. He doesn’t bite. Temperament tested. Does have problems with peeing directly in the toilet. Has had chicken Pox and is current on all shots. Tonsils have already been removed. Tommy eats everything, is very clean, house trained and gets along well with others. Does not run with scissors and with a little training he should be able to read soon.
One female — her name is Lexie, Caucasian (English/Irish mix), strawberry blonde hair, green eyes quite freckled. Two years old. Can be surly at times. Non-biter, thumb sucker. Has been temperament tested but needs a little attitude adjusting occasionally. She is current on all shots, tonsils out, and is very healthy and can be affectionate. Gets along well with other little girls and little boys but does not like to share her toys and therefore would do best in a one child household. She is a very quick learner and is currently working on her house training. Shouldn’t take long at all.
We really do LOVE our children so much and want to do what’s right for them. That is why we contacted a rescue group. But we simply can no longer keep them. Also, we are afraid that they may hurt our new puppy.
I hope you understand that ours is a UNIQUE situation and we have a real emergency here! They MUST be placed into your rescue by Sunday night at the latest or we will be forced to drop them off at the orphanage or along some dark, country road. Our priority now has to be our new puppy.