Running the latest greatest Ubuntu Linux distro (Hardy Heron, can’t wait for Randy Rhino) on a spare desktop.  Here’s a few random thoughts as I work with it…

• 2 package managers?  Add/Remove under applications menu is nice, but needing the Synaptic Package Manager also?
• Open source folks like to bust on MS for having to patch all the time.  Every few days I’m installing 20-30 patches THAT REQUIRE A REBOOT on Ubuntu.
• Why the hell is it so hard to get a 5 year old Linksys wireless card working properly in a laptop?  I have the perfect laptop for it, and finally gave up because while it makes you think wireless is working but just not finding any networks, it hasn’t even begun to work.  Of course the instructions say “connect to the network and download…”
• Doing the basics seems to be pretty straight forward for most things.  That it installs easily (although I think parts of the OpenSuSE install is prettier) is a big bonus.
• Email is there and easy.  So is web browsing.  OpenOffice is much nicer than it used to be and doesn’t need excuses made for it anymore.  Most everything else just works.

Worth checking out though if you have a spare partition on your current system or a spare PC.  Right now Ubuntu doesn’t play nice with Virtual PC 2005 (free from Microsoft) unfortunately or I’d recommend that.  You can try Wubi which is pretty slick, runs Ubuntu just like an application in Windows for you.

Ahh the wonders of the Internet. 

A nude maid is accused of really cleaning up at a Florida man’s home. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said a 50-year-old man hired the maid from the Internet on Friday to clean his Tampa home.

Authorities said the woman arrived at the home in a one-piece, light colored dress. She took off the dress and cleaned the house for $100-per-hour. Sheriff’s office spokeswoman Debbie Carter said the man told deputies he left the maid alone in the bedroom to clean.

Doesn’t sound so bad so far.  Nice looking maid shows up, cleans up the place nude.  Kind of weird that he would go to all that trouble and then leave the bedroom at all.  Doesn’t sound like any of the movies I’ve seen with this scenario.

When the man’s wife came home from vacation, she discovered $40,000 in jewelry missing from their bedroom.

So what is the real trouble with that sentence?  The 40k$ missing from the bedroom?  The fact that 40k$ worth of jewelry is not in a safe?

Nope… the fact that the wife came home and now obviously knows what was going on!

I’d really like to see the global warming supporters put their money where their mouth is.  If in 10 years we don’t have definitive proof that anthropogenic (man made) global warming is occurring, something really bad will happen to them. 

Vaclav Klaus has re-iterated the truism that the environmental movement is just statism/marxism under another name. Those who are behind it wish to control your life via the hammer of the state. The excuse has changed but the general gist has not. Readers of this blog will know that I have been saying this for years.

Klaus wants to debate to Gore about the subject. You think Gore has the guts to debate such a clever man?

Via Dodgeblogium

Subway bans home schooled children from their contests.  But they probably hired a publick skool grad to be a spell checker.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Contest is open only to legal residents of the Untied States who are currently over the age of 18 and have children who attend elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. No home schools will be accepted.

From Call me Ahab and Murdoc Online.

They’re trying to change the tests…

WASHINGTON —  The D.C. Council is considering legislation that would end the requirement that couples undergo blood tests for syphilis before getting a marriage license.

The chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Councilman Phil Mendelson, says his panel’s research showed that premarital medical examinations have no significant value.

Language ending the blood test requirement is part of a larger bill repealing long-standing prohibitions on marriage. For more than 100 years, District law has barred “lunatics” and “idiots” from getting married. Council members say the laws are antiquated.

Council members are furious that none of them are able to be married within DC limits.

Watching the DNC’s woes is rather enjoyable. They’re really trying to implode themselves over the special privileges they’ve granted themselves over the years. Such as the whole “super-delegate” mess they’ve created.

The DNC notes that, on a “plain reading” of the statute, all DNC members have the right to serve as superdelegates, though the DNC has the right to consider that status on members of Congress and Democratic governors. “Arguably, then, Rule 20(C)(1) of the Delegate Selection Rules was invalidly adopted insofar as it provides that, if a State Party violates Rule 11 (the “Timing Rule”), none of the members of the DNC from that state are permitted to serve as delegates to the Convention.

From Marc Ambinder’s Atlantic blog.

You have the whole mess about how the party couldn’t control a few states, and took their votes away. They’ve disenfranchised millions of people. I was under the impression from the 2000 election debacle that every vote should count, even those votes that have been “spoiled” somehow. Because so many people’s voices now won’t be heard, how can the “election” at the Convention be treated as legitimate? Sounds more like an election in Zimbabwe than the US.

Then you have the likely possibility that Hillary Clinton will win the “popular vote” from all the Democratic primaries and caucuses. But “the party” will choose another. I was also under the impression from the 2000 election that the whole “Electoral College” method of voting was bad because the popular vote chose Al Gore. But no, the “rich and powerful” superdelegates will be choosing their candidate, not the people.

And these are the ones endlessly lecturing everyone about Democracy, how even the thought of checking ID’s are bad because millions of their voters don’t have drivers licenses, and how the dead and illegal aliens deserve the right to vote.

Via the Sun-

This picture was taken by a 10 yr old boy in Tulloch Castle in Dingwall, Scotland, built in the 1200’s.

You can see the hand on the railing and the ghostly looking… ghost.

What’s your take?  This was a digital camera btw, so double exposure is highly unlikely.

This is the latest evidence that there are people out there that will attempt to use the world’s greatest fraud (carbon-caused global warming) to force their socialist agendas down our throat.

Now I realize that we have had ration cards in the US in the past. And, in times of war, the might again be a necessity. Our parents (OK, for some of you it might have been your grandparents - I am dating myself) can all remember the times that their families had ration cards. I’m not saying that I would like it, but I would understand the need to ration our consumption in wartime. But most wars would have an ending point sometime. Thusly, the ration card would also have an ending point.

But now, there are people who are proposing to ration you for the rest of your life. Yes, I realize that this is a British article, but the many in the US have also bought into the global warming scam, so, this idea could come to a legislator near you.

So, the grand idea is to give every adult (no child) a carbon ration card, which has to be swiped every time the adult purchases gas, fuel, plane tickets. There is talk that even food could be added to the carbon ration (I guess because we insist on eating carbon creating cows). Children would not get a card, so large families would have the same ration amount as a newlywed couple. Once you have maxed out your ration card, you could choose to either freeze to death at home (since you will not be able to drive anywhere to warmth or buy fuel for your house) or buy credits off of someone who has not used all of his. The price of the credit will be “market value” - interesting how this is the only capitalist section of the entire proposal. And the government would set up an agency in charge of running the carbon trading market. (and we all know how well govenments run agencies…)

Anyone listening?

Obama, the “chosen one,” gives a speech.

On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes — and I see many of them in the audience here today — our sense of patriotism is particularly strong.

Apparently lots of zombies in the audience.  Not ordinary zombies, but the zombies of dead servicemen.

I’m sorry but this guy needs to shut his pie hole.  His speech continues going on and on treating all members of the military as victims.  Not people proud of their service.  Not honorable heroes.  Nope, victims of the current administration.

He’s the same politician who said “We only have a certain number of [translators] and if they are all in Iraq, then its harder for us to use them in Afghanistan.”  What’s wrong with that?  Afghanis don’t speak Arabic.

So here it is, BBQ season, and I’ve cooked 6 of the last 8 meals on the grill.

And I’m out of London Pub Steak Sauce.

Way back in tech school, we used to have that “popular” brand of steak sauce on all the tables.  Then one day a case of the London Pub showed up.  By the end of that meal, every single bottle was gone.  You see, everyone took the bottle they could get just so every other meal they could use it.  It’s that good.

Checking out cars, a favorite thing of mine to do… but also since my hubbie’s truck lease next year (he has been leasing the gorgeous Honda Ridgeline), I wanted to see what our next vehicle might be. I like to look well in advance, so I do not feel rushed into a decision. I like to test drive several vehicles, and review each candidate. I realize new vehicles will be coming out too… but want to get all my options lined up. I actually enjoy looking at cars in general!

I am a HUGE Honda fan… I had a Prelude, (Acura) Integra & have an Element. I loved each one of these (especially the Prelude & Element!). But I also like to keep my options open; I like to see reviews on other makes & models. Reliability is a crucial factor; I have always felt in those first few years constant visits to the dealer should definitely not be part of the purchase! (I have known people who had cars with no miles tacked on their vehicle since it could never leave the driveway without a tow truck, that is sad!).

One of my curiosities was the Toyota Prius, so I went to our local dealer to test drive.

Auto sales people are an odd lot… I have seen awesome ones (though they are the very-very few)… and the horrible ones (sadly there are way too many of these)! The test drive I just took introduced me to a very unusual breed of sales person… that still has me perplexed (also very leery about doing business with that particular dealer).

The sales guy was the most pathetic sales guy I have yet to come across! He was under-selling to a pain! I have seen all kinds of sales approaches, from the painfully aggressive to the soft-sell… but this was unreal. I told him off that bat that I am not in a hurry, that right now I am reviewing my options. I asked to take the Prius for a test drive… he immediately let me know that there is a waiting list for the Prius. (I quite expected that, with current gas prices… hybrids and vehicles with good gas mileage have people lined up to grab ‘em). I said that is ok, and repeated… I am not in a hurry for a car…I just want to see if this is a vehicle I might want to pursue. He started to let me know about cheaper options they had… oh come’ on… again this sales approach was pathetic; it was not like he was being informative about the other vehicles, in fact he was quite useless.

When I finished my drive, I asked for some brochures on several vehicles I am currently considering… he said those are so different (really not THAT different… Corolla, Matrix… and the Prius). I said I know (since I did not want to bother with “that” discussion) I am reviewing my options right now… and I want to see which I think will work best for me! He vanished for a significant length of time… kinda wonder if he had to flog himself, or was he just crying… seriously he was that pathetic! I was approached by other sales guys, and I let them know I was being helped… but after awhile, I figured he hung himself, so I asked another sales guy some questions and for some brochures… at that point the wimpy sales guy came from behind a wall… very odd, really odd (how long had he been hiding from me?)! (NOTE: This was not a young sales guy, not a new one… You could tell he had been in the business for some time, so his behavior bewildered me that much more.)

So aside from the dealer, and the pathetic excuse for a sales person… the Prius… NICE! Very quiet, smooth, had nice amount of power, braking was natural too! The interior is gorgeous, driving position comfortable, the cargo area very nice (I am very partial to hatchbacks!). Gas mileage is awesome… 44 mpg avg. So if you have a lot of commuting this is THEE vehicle to check out! Everything here is very convenient so that was not my absolute goal; the gas mileage is just a nice bonus. My interest was because this vehicle is nice looking, well appointed, and the price is not insane for what you are getting… plus it rates well (great reliability & reviews in general are fantastic). Will I get one? Eh shall see… I am pondering several vehicles, and waiting for the 2009 releases to come out… and still have until spring 2009 before we will hand in the truck… but I love being able to look for a vehicle on my own terms!

We also have several more dealerships being built here (and they are planned for our side of town, which will be soo nice!). So I will have several dealers to compete against each other when I make my choice! I have no objection to driving an hour to a dealer either, so I will use Denver area & Pueblo too! When I bought my Element, I drove an hour south because the dealer was wonderful (before, during & after the sale!)… And they had the best price, it was the best experience I ever had buying a car! So if you are in the Delaware/PA/NJ or MD area… and looking for a good dealer check out Price Honda, down in Dover Delaware, that is where I bought my Honda Element back in2003. I would have packed them up and taken them with me when we moved if I could!

Now I shall see if I can find a sales person that awesome with my next vehicle! Wish me luck… and if I come across any more “fun” sales people I will share… this one I could not get out of my mind… And that is not a good thing!

That’s my buddy Erik in there…

Beertap.TV is going to be linked at the Beeripedia.

What is the Beeripedia?  Well, you know about Wikipedia and such.  The Beeripedia is ran by a few of the people who post here on Pirate King, but is open to everyone to contribute.  If you love beer, make beer, or even just have a favorite, contribute.

So the first video on Beertap.TV covers Avalanche Ale from Breckenridge Brewery and Red Rocket from Bristol Brewery.  They talk about the details of the beers, how to taste beers, international bittering units, and how they’re brewed.  Give the video a good watch.  Then taste!

Thanks to Mostly Cajun

1701 - After being convicted of piracy, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London. Arrgghhhh!

A certain software developer should be put up against the wall and shot.

The one I’m talking about?

The one that decided his popup box that says Reboot now?, with the default button being OK, activated by any keystroke, would jump up in front of whatever window your currently typing on.

What’s that mean?

When you’re working on a document and typing along, his box appears for as long as it takes you to type the next letter.  Since it took focus, the very next key you press goes to that popup box.  And no matter what you type, it will activate the OK, thereby rebooting your computer.  Of course you’re in the middle of a word, so you’re going to hit it.  And lose what you’re working on.  Bastard.

Serious question here:  does anyone actually buy those “billions of bacteria on your kids hands” commercials?

I mean seriously, unless you bathe in pure sulfuric acid, you cannot get rid of bacteria (most of which is beneficial) on your body.

Your kids are not surgeons.  They need to be exposed to bacteria and viruses, or else you’re looking at them living life with extreme allergies to just about everything.  And probably make them neurotic as Seinfeld too.

Sure give your kids baths every few days.  Don’t let them play with the leper down the street either.  That’s about the limit of what you should do.

But please all this anti-bacterial stuff is just going way overboard.  Commercials like that just bug the hell outta me.

I know, boring dry topic. But useful for those that need it.

Part of securing Windows, especially IIS 6, is locking down the cryptography to the secure protocols. Generally this is a pain. Read on for things to make it a little easier!

(more…)

Barack Obama [spit] was in Oregon this weekend. A columnist wrote the following about a speech he gave on Saturday:

Pitching his message to Oregon’s environmentally-conscious voters, Obama [spit] called on the United States to “lead by example” on global warming, and develop new technologies at home which could be exported to developing countries.

“We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times … and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK,” Obama [spit] said.

“That’s not leadership. That’s not going to happen,” he added.

So, what does Obama [spit] plan to do about the above? Is he going to ration food to keep us from “eating as much as we want”? Is he going to install big brother thermostats in our homes, keeping our houses at the “allowable” temperatures?

Why is it that the party that seems to stretch the Constitution to the breaking point, even extending freedoms given to our citizens to non-citizens and enemy combatants, also wants to intrude on our private lives, by telling us what to drive, how much to eat, and what temperatures our homes should be?

via Reuters

Oh, now I’m scared. The UN is coming to investigate us. Seems we are racist zenophobic pigs. And, the investigator is going to check out New York, among others. So to do that, he does what, step out of the UN building?

No, but I actually agree about some of it. There is clearly a lot of racism going on during this election cycle (please note my sarcasm). The exit polls in West Virginia showed that 20% of the white voters voted according to race. This was a number that has been repeatedly blasted through the media. Those evil, racist West Virginians, the media kindly points out. But, that isn’t my example of racism. That is exhibit A, the warm up. What I see as clear racism, and what has been almost completely overlooked by the media, is that Obama [spit] is getting 90% of the black vote. If the “evil, racist” whites voted 90% for their racially similar candidate, Obama [spit] wouldn’t still be in the running. So, why did the media only focus on a small 20% number people from West Virginia?

I’ve been watching the animated Movie Reviews from the boys over at Spill.com for a few months now.  I definitely think that they’re worth a look.  Heck… sometimes I think that they’re more entertaining than the movies that they’re reviewing.

Check out their review of “Iron Man”…

Neko Case… Hold On Hold On.