Monthly Archives: July 2005

Just Stuff

Investment Strategies

So, apparently, I’ve been picking what stocks/mutual funds to invest in the wrong way. I’ve been trying to figure out things like past performance, future estimates for the company, things called p/e ratios.. all that financial muckety-muck… turns out I should have been picking stocks based on morals.

Both virtue and vice seem to be increasingly effective investing strategies. God and Satan are both winning on Wall Street. In recent years, people who have invested in a particular brand of virtue—the Ave Maria Catholic Values Fund—and people who have invested in a particular brand of vice—the Vice Fund—have both handily beaten the market.

And, in case you had to ask, yes.. my choice of the two options would have been to invest in sin and vice.

Just Stuff

Optical Illusion

while I was at work tonight, I came across this link. Which is a very cool set of optical illusions showing that our perceptions of an item’s color is heavily influenced by the surrounding items… Very cool.

Kael's Adventures

What are you doing to my bed?

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As we’re going around, unpacking and setting up furniture… Kael has been helping us. Last night, we finished putting together mine and Janice’s bed. Shortly afterwards, Kael was in there climbing up and down on the bed, jumping on it, and generally, just being a toddler.

Janice goes up, and asks Kael “What are you doing to my bed?” Which led to Kael repeating that for the next 5 minutes while she was up there, she came downstairs, he stopped… until the next time she went upstairs, when I hear Kael going “What are you doing to my bed?”

Is it a bad thing, if I can’t tell if we’re being mimicked or mocked?

Just Stuff

The End of Hollywood!

If the fact that Hollywood is releasing a remake of “The Dukes of Hazzard” isn’t enough to convince you that Hollywood has ran out of new ideas for movies, and we should just count on seeing the same movies with different actors in them… perhaps hearing that not only are they planning on releasing a “Live-Action” version of the Transformers in 2007, (And really, how live action can it be, when your main ‘characters’ are cars and trucks that turn themselves into robots? Has anyone seen a car/truck turn itself into a robot on the highway recently?) Hollywood is also planning on releasing a film version of Voltron.

So..apparently, our big hits in ’07 will be remakes of animated Robot TV shows.. which would mean.. the big hit for ’08 must be a Movie version of America’s Funniest Home Videos.

Site Stuff

Google Adsense

As you can see by looking at the left hand column (unless you’ve got adblocking software running) I’m giving Google’s Adsense program a try. I’m not expecting to make a fortune, and if the ads begin to get in the way of page layout (I’m starting to work on new templates, that’ll probably go in when MT 3.2 comes out of beta), I’ll get rid of them. I figure if I earn enough in a year to help pay my hosting costs, I’m ahead of the game (hell..if I earn enough in a year to buy an album off the iTunes music store, I’m still ahead of the game)

Current Events

Bad Writing

Proof that someone out there has even less talent at writing then I do:

“As he stared at her ample bosom, he daydreamed of the dual Stromberg carburetors in his vintage Triumph Spitfire,” he wrote, comparing a woman’s breasts to “small knurled caps of the oil dampeners.”

That lovely excerpt comes from this years Worst Writer Winner. The full article from CNN is here. It goes on to mention some of the ‘honorable’ mentions like

India “hangs like a wet washcloth from the towel rack of Asia.”

I realize that I will probably never win a Pulitzer prize for anything I write (especially here, where I write more like I talk) But even I would never have considered have a character compare breasts to a carburetor! I mean.. would I compare breasts to fruit? Sure..that gives a good size reference? But a carb? that’d be like comparing breasts to the G5 chip in my iMac!

Hmm….. “Her breasts where as hot and advanced as a G5”

Naah…. doesn’t quite do it for me…

Just Stuff

Star Wars: Battlefront

So, if anyone feels like buying me something, just because… here’s something that would do nicely.

The Mac version of Star Wars: Battlefront is now shipping. For those not familiar with this game.. here’s a brief description from Aspyr’s site.

Star Wars Battlefront™ is an action/shooter game that gives fans and gamers the opportunity to re-live and participate in all of the classic Star Wars battles like never before. Players can select one of a number of different soldier types, jump into any vehicle, man any turret on the battlefront and conquer the galaxy planet-by-planet online with their friends or offline in a variety of single-player modes. Single player modes include “Instant Action,” “Galactic Conquest” and the story-based “Historical Campaigns” mode that lets gamers experience all of the epic battles from Episodes I-VI, fighting from the perspective of each of the four factions within the game

In other words.. one of the best first (or 3rd) person shooters out there! you can play either ‘side’ in the battle, choose from lots of different weapons.. and blow the snot out of the other guy! what more could you want?

If you want a second idea… the Lego Star Wars game is available for Pre-order

Site Stuff, Tech

Hacking Movable Type

So my copy finally arrived today.. and I’ve only had a chance to read the forward, the table of contents, and part of chapter 1 (that darn job thing…keeps getting in the way)

So far, I think it’ll be a good resource, I’ve already learned somethings I didn’t know about configuring a MT install.. The important thing, is that with the exception of some files changing names, it looks like most of the information in the book will continue to apply even under MT 3.2… I’ll post a ‘real’ review when I finish reading the book.

Kael's Adventures

Swim Lessons

Kael started another batch of swim lessons on Monday. And he’s having a blast so far.. He’s jumping into the pool, kicking, splashing, floating.. and generally having way more fun then he had last time around…although.. to be fair.. he got sick after the first day of the last session..and then he missed some more time to go see Thomas the Tank Engine…

We think that instead of skipping a huge chunk of time, like we did between his lessons last year, and the first batch this year.. we’re going to try and keep him going every couple of months…he seems to do better when he hasn’t been out of the water for almost a year..

Apple

iBook and Mini Updates

Earlier this morning, Apple revised the iBook and Mac Mini product lines.

iBooks are faster, more memory, and include Airport Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0 on all models. iBook prices start at $999.00

Mini’s also got more memory, and a new configuration with a Superdrive. All but the entry level mini now come with Airport Extreme and Bluetooth as well… prices for the mini start at $499.00

If you’ve been waiting to get an entry level Mac.. now would be a good time to go get one..