The new liberal radio network Air America can be heard starting today in these cites on these stations:
New York - WLIB 1190 AM
Los Angeles - KBLA 1580 AM
Chicago - WNTD 950 AM
Portland, OR- KPOJ 620 AM
Inland Empire, CA- KCAA 1050 AM
Minneapolis MN - WMNN 1330AM
You can also listen live over the Internet or on XM Satellite Radio channel 167.
The O'Franken Factor, hosted by Al Franken, is on from 10 AM to 1 PM CT.
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Sunday, March 28, 2004
We watched American Splendor last night and really really enjoyed it. It is a biography of Harvey Pekar. He wrote a comic book series called "American Splendor" and had Robert Crumb illustrate it. He never got rich during his entire career and had to work in the records room of a V.A. Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. Harvey is the stereotypical Clevelander.
The film won awards at Sundance and Cannes as well as these awards and nominations.
This is the official site for the movie.
Rent it! You will like it.
Harvey Pekar on the right, and the actor that played him on the left.
Robert Crumb
One of Robert Crumb's most famous cartoon characters, Mr. Natural.
The film won awards at Sundance and Cannes as well as these awards and nominations.
This is the official site for the movie.
Rent it! You will like it.
Harvey Pekar on the right, and the actor that played him on the left.
Robert Crumb
One of Robert Crumb's most famous cartoon characters, Mr. Natural.
Thursday, March 25, 2004
I just heard on the BBC that a study of 2,000 men seems to indicate that circumcised men are 6 times LESS likely to contract AIDS than uncircumcised men!
I got my early birthday present from Sheri tonight: XM Satellite Radio! I love it.
I am listening to Louis L'Amour's "Case Closed" on the "books-on-tape" channel.
Lots of good music channels too. There are about 15 channels that I have spent about 10 – 15 minutes each on, and each one had one good song after another. I think all of the music channels are commercial free. The books-on-tape channel appears to have commercials.
I am looking forward to listening to the BBC while I fall asleep tonight.
Thanks Sheri!
I am listening to Louis L'Amour's "Case Closed" on the "books-on-tape" channel.
Lots of good music channels too. There are about 15 channels that I have spent about 10 – 15 minutes each on, and each one had one good song after another. I think all of the music channels are commercial free. The books-on-tape channel appears to have commercials.
I am looking forward to listening to the BBC while I fall asleep tonight.
Thanks Sheri!
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
This is mostly for Dad. I was talking with a friend on campus today. One thing led to another, and it turns out that he is currently doing some research on the Cherry Coal Mine Disaster and was there over the weekend to pick up a book on it that he has not been able find anywhere else.
He just e-mailed this site to me that has a lot of photographs. Enjoy!
He just e-mailed this site to me that has a lot of photographs. Enjoy!
If your computer is running Windows XP you can use a feature called Remote Assistance that would let me take control of your computer over the Internet to fix a problem on your PC!
We use it at work. The technician is sitting in a different city, but he is moving my cursor and typing characters just like he was sitting in front of my PC. It is neat to watch it work. Like a ghost is running it.
If you are running Windows XP and ever need my help (printer settings, network connections, Word, Excel, Access, etc.), let me know and I would be glad to log-in to your computer and fix you up.
This is what the introductory help screen in Windows says about it:
Providing help using Remote Assistance
Sometimes the best way to help someone fix a problem is to demonstrate a solution. If you are invited, Remote Assistance is a convenient way for you to connect to a friend's computer from your computer running a compatible operating system, such as Microsoft Windows XP, in order to walk your friend through a solution.
After you are connected, you will be able to view your friend's computer screen and chat together in real time about what you both see. With your friend's permission, you can even use your mouse and keyboard to work with your friend on his or her computer.
Notes
• You and the person you are helping need to be connected to the Internet while using Remote Assistance.
• If you are working on a local area network, firewalls might stop you from using Remote Assistance. If you have not sent your invitation by using Windows Messenger, try that. If that doesn't work, ask your assistant or administrator to add port 3398 for you.
• You might want to let the person you're helping know that they can improve performance by using the Color Quality setting in Display options (in Control Panel) to reduce the number of colors his or her screen displays.
• To improve viewing, you can click the Actual Size or Scaled buttons. Viewing in scaled size shows more of the other user's screen but in a reduced view. Viewing in actual size shows less of the screen but in real size.
We use it at work. The technician is sitting in a different city, but he is moving my cursor and typing characters just like he was sitting in front of my PC. It is neat to watch it work. Like a ghost is running it.
If you are running Windows XP and ever need my help (printer settings, network connections, Word, Excel, Access, etc.), let me know and I would be glad to log-in to your computer and fix you up.
This is what the introductory help screen in Windows says about it:
Providing help using Remote Assistance
Sometimes the best way to help someone fix a problem is to demonstrate a solution. If you are invited, Remote Assistance is a convenient way for you to connect to a friend's computer from your computer running a compatible operating system, such as Microsoft Windows XP, in order to walk your friend through a solution.
After you are connected, you will be able to view your friend's computer screen and chat together in real time about what you both see. With your friend's permission, you can even use your mouse and keyboard to work with your friend on his or her computer.
Notes
• You and the person you are helping need to be connected to the Internet while using Remote Assistance.
• If you are working on a local area network, firewalls might stop you from using Remote Assistance. If you have not sent your invitation by using Windows Messenger, try that. If that doesn't work, ask your assistant or administrator to add port 3398 for you.
• You might want to let the person you're helping know that they can improve performance by using the Color Quality setting in Display options (in Control Panel) to reduce the number of colors his or her screen displays.
• To improve viewing, you can click the Actual Size or Scaled buttons. Viewing in scaled size shows more of the other user's screen but in a reduced view. Viewing in actual size shows less of the screen but in real size.
Monday, March 22, 2004
MrSID is an acronym for Multi-resolution Seamless Image Database
I use MrSID files a lot in GIS.
MrSID is a powerful wavelet-based image compressor, viewer and file format for massive raster images that enables instantaneous viewing and manipulation of images locally and over networks while maintaining maximum image quality. Features include unprecedented compression ratios while maintaining highest image quality, true multiple resolutions, selective decompression, seamless mosaicking and browsing.
I use MrSID files a lot in GIS.
MrSID is a powerful wavelet-based image compressor, viewer and file format for massive raster images that enables instantaneous viewing and manipulation of images locally and over networks while maintaining maximum image quality. Features include unprecedented compression ratios while maintaining highest image quality, true multiple resolutions, selective decompression, seamless mosaicking and browsing.
Sunday, March 21, 2004
At best, the term "bullfighting" is a misnomer, as there is usually little competition between the sword of a nimble matador (Spanish for "killer") and a confused, maimed, psychologically tormented, and physically debilitated bull. Supporters justify the act by calling it a tradition. Opponents maintain that no matter what the history, bullfighting is torturous animal mutilation and slaughter.
Commercialism
One of the biggest supporters of bullfighting is the tourism industry. Travel agents and bullfight promoters portray the fight as a festive and fair competition. What they do not reveal is that the bull never has a chance to defend himself, much less to survive.
Many prominent former bullfighters report that the bulls are intentionally debilitated with beatings to the kidneys and heavy weights hung around their necks for weeks before the fight.1 The Brigitte Bardot Foundation, a French group that opposes bullfighting, describes other methods of debilitating the bulls: "Most of the time the animals go into the arena blinded because they are put in darkness for 48 hours" before the confrontation. "Then people hit the head of the animal with bags of sand—long and violently—to deprive (the bull) of (his) senses ..."2
One common practice is to "shave" the bulls’ horns by sawing off a few inches. Bulls’ horns, like cats’ whiskers, help the animals navigate, so a sudden change impairs the bull’s coordination. Shaving is illegal, so the horns are sometimes inspected by a veterinarian after a fight. But in 1997, the Confederation of Bullfighting Professionals, including Spain’s 230 matadors, went on strike in opposition to these veterinary inspections. The strikers claimed veterinarians were "not experienced enough" to inspect the bulls.3 However, most recognize this as just another aspect of the corruption that infiltrates a business that brings in more than $1 million annually to each professional matador. In 1996, Spain tallied $1.4 billion in ticket sales.4
Systematic Mutilation
In a typical event, the bull enters the arena and is approached by men who exhaust and frustrate him by running him in circles and tricking him into collisions. When the bull is tired and out of breath, he is approached by picadors. Picadors are men on blindfolded horses who drive lances into the bull’s back and neck muscles. This impairs the bull’s ability to lift his head.5 They twist and gouge the lances to ensure a significant amount of blood loss. Then come the banderilleros on foot who proceed to distract and dart around the bull while plunging more lances into him. When the bull has weakened from blood loss, these banderilleros run the bull in more circles until he is dizzy and stops chasing. Finally, the matador appears and after provoking a few exhausted charges from the dying animal, tries to kill the bull with his sword. Commonly, the matador succeeds only in further mutilation and an executioner is called in to stab the exhausted and submissive animal to death. 6 The dagger is supposed to cut the spinal cord, but even this can be blundered, leaving the bull fully conscious but paralyzed as he is chained by his horns and dragged from the arena.
"I can see how people see this as a barbaric thing" said a 19-year-old French matador star, Chamaco, but "the killing of the bull is like the signature on a painting," except this "piece" is promptly butchered and sold for meat. This same matador is famous for entertaining the audience. "He yells at the animal, gesturing wildly and triumphantly, teasing it, taunting it, begging it to dance with him," describes one spectator. 7 If the crowd is happy with the matador, the bull’s ears and tail are cut off and presented as a gift. A few minutes later, another bull enters the arena and the cycle starts again.
Other Victims
The bulls aren’t the only victims of the arena. The publisher of an American pro-bullfighting magazine admitted that horses used in bullfights are "shot behind the ear with dope. The horses are drugged and blindfolded and they’re knocked down a lot." 8 These horses, who are often gored, usually have wet newspaper stuffed into their ears to impair their hearing, and their vocal cords are usually cut so their cries do not distract the crowd. The horses are often plow horses who have grown too old to be of use and end up being knocked down by bulls weighing up to a half a ton.9
American author Ernest Hemingway, famous for romanticizing the bullfight ritual, once described the scenes of horses being gored: "I have seen these, call them disemboweling, that is the worst word when due to their timing, they were very funny. This is the sort of thing you should not admit, but it is because such things have not been admitted that the bullfight has never been explained." 10
Bull Breeding
Selective breeding has enabled ranchers to create a bull who will die in a manner most satisfying to the public.11 Bulls are chosen to breed with cows who, when stabbed with lances, always charge in the same manner. They are bred to return to the torture repeatedly. 12
Other Rituals of Abuse
Mexican bullfighting also includes novillada, or baby bullfights. Baby bulls, some no more than a few weeks old, are brought into arenas where they are stabbed to death by spectators, many of whom are children. These bloodbaths end with spectators cutting off the ears and tail of the often fully conscious calf lying in his own blood.13
The so-called "bloodless bullfights" that are legal in many U.S. states involve people’s teasing and attacking the bull. Although tormenting and abuse is part of the show, killing must be done outside the arena.
In Colombia, there is an annual festival in which solitary bulls are tormented by thousands of people who think they are testing their "bravery" (aided by a festive atmosphere and large quantities of alcohol). "If nobody gets killed, it’s boring," laments Carlos Perez, head of the committee that organized the contest in 1996. But even Colombian bullfighter Luis Cuadrado admits, "It’s just one bull against a thousand morons." Cuadrado prefers to sit on the ground until the bull is close enough to stab with a lance, after which Cuadrado promptly scurries away to safety. These festivals last four or five days, with at least 35 victimized bulls each day. 14
Opposition
In 1567, Pope Pius V decreed that "exhibitions of tortured beasts or bulls are contrary to Christian duty and piety." He called for "an end to such bloody amusements, abject and more appropriate for devils than for men."15 Even supporters cannot deny that the practice is barbaric. The Mexican author Eduardo del Rio, who glorified the maiming of bulls in his books, candidly described bullfighting as "a stumbling block for the humanization of man." 16 Lyn Sherwood, publisher of a pro-bullfighting magazine, proudly declared, "I have no moral problem promoting something I consider morally unjustifiable."17
Most forms of the practice are illegal in America because of its inherent cruelty. But tourists, especially from America, keep bullfighting in business. At the same time, more young Hispanic people are protesting the crude ritual and in 1992, Madrid was besieged with 400 Spanish demonstrators calling for an end to the practice.18
Many anti-bullfighting groups have sprung up worldwide, including the Spanish Alternativa para la Liberación Animal, the Mexican Peña Antitaurina Mexicana, and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Tijuana and Mexico City.
Spain’s Green Party has been working with the country’s Association for the Defense of Animal Rights (ADDA) to have bullfighting banned. In 1993, a petition drive by the coalition garnered more than 1 million signatures.19
What You Can Do
• If you are planning to visit a country that permits bullfighting, please tell your travel agent that you are opposed to animal cruelty in any form. Many tourist resorts are building bullfight arenas as part of their "recreation" facilities; refuse to stay at such a resort, and write a letter to the owner explaining why. Instead, visit the Spanish resort towns that have banned bullfighting: Tossa de Mar, Vilamacolum, and La Vajol. In Mexico, the city of Jalapa has also banned bullfighting.
• Before you go on vacation abroad, write to the country’s ambassador and ask whether rituals involving animal slaughter are part of its tourist attractions. Make it clear that you want no part of such activities, and never be afraid to talk about bullfighting cruelties. Most people are unaware of the facts but agree that bullfighting should be stopped once they hear the whole story.
• Please write to the Spanish and Mexican embassies and explain that as long as this cruel blood sport continues, you will never visit their countries.
Embassy of Spain
2375 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.
Washington, DC 20037
Embassy of Mexico
1911 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC 20006
References
1 Cole McFarland, "Death in the Afternoon,"
The Animals’ Voice, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1988.
2 Sharon Waxman, "The Dance to the Death,"
The Washington Post, 25 Jun. 1992, p. C5.
3 Al Goodman, "Machismo vs. Money: Whose Bull Is Gored?" The New York Times, 9 Mar. 1997, p. E6.
4 Ibid.
5 McFarland.
6 Bill Lyon, "A Slaughter That Really Is a Slaughter," The Philadelphia Inquirer, 27 Jul. 1992, p. C1.
7 Waxman.
8 McFarland.
9 Ibid.
10 Ernest Hemingway, Death in the Afternoon, N.Y. Scribner, 1932.
11 McFarland.
12 Ibid.
13 World Society for the Protection of Animals, "Savage Spectacles," The Animals’ Agenda, Jul./Aug. 1988, p. 41.
14 Paul Haven, "Courageous or Bull-Headed?"
The Plain Dealer, 28 Nov. 1996.
15 Pope Pius V, Bullarum Romanorum Pontificum, Vol. 4, 2nd Part, 1567, pp. 402-4.
16 McFarland.
17 Ibid.
18 Associated Press, "Madrid Marchers: End Bullfighting ‘Torture,’" New York Post, 20 Jul. 1992.
19 P. Davison, "Matadors on Horns of a Dilemma," The Independent (U.K.), 12 Feb. 1994.
Commercialism
One of the biggest supporters of bullfighting is the tourism industry. Travel agents and bullfight promoters portray the fight as a festive and fair competition. What they do not reveal is that the bull never has a chance to defend himself, much less to survive.
Many prominent former bullfighters report that the bulls are intentionally debilitated with beatings to the kidneys and heavy weights hung around their necks for weeks before the fight.1 The Brigitte Bardot Foundation, a French group that opposes bullfighting, describes other methods of debilitating the bulls: "Most of the time the animals go into the arena blinded because they are put in darkness for 48 hours" before the confrontation. "Then people hit the head of the animal with bags of sand—long and violently—to deprive (the bull) of (his) senses ..."2
One common practice is to "shave" the bulls’ horns by sawing off a few inches. Bulls’ horns, like cats’ whiskers, help the animals navigate, so a sudden change impairs the bull’s coordination. Shaving is illegal, so the horns are sometimes inspected by a veterinarian after a fight. But in 1997, the Confederation of Bullfighting Professionals, including Spain’s 230 matadors, went on strike in opposition to these veterinary inspections. The strikers claimed veterinarians were "not experienced enough" to inspect the bulls.3 However, most recognize this as just another aspect of the corruption that infiltrates a business that brings in more than $1 million annually to each professional matador. In 1996, Spain tallied $1.4 billion in ticket sales.4
Systematic Mutilation
In a typical event, the bull enters the arena and is approached by men who exhaust and frustrate him by running him in circles and tricking him into collisions. When the bull is tired and out of breath, he is approached by picadors. Picadors are men on blindfolded horses who drive lances into the bull’s back and neck muscles. This impairs the bull’s ability to lift his head.5 They twist and gouge the lances to ensure a significant amount of blood loss. Then come the banderilleros on foot who proceed to distract and dart around the bull while plunging more lances into him. When the bull has weakened from blood loss, these banderilleros run the bull in more circles until he is dizzy and stops chasing. Finally, the matador appears and after provoking a few exhausted charges from the dying animal, tries to kill the bull with his sword. Commonly, the matador succeeds only in further mutilation and an executioner is called in to stab the exhausted and submissive animal to death. 6 The dagger is supposed to cut the spinal cord, but even this can be blundered, leaving the bull fully conscious but paralyzed as he is chained by his horns and dragged from the arena.
"I can see how people see this as a barbaric thing" said a 19-year-old French matador star, Chamaco, but "the killing of the bull is like the signature on a painting," except this "piece" is promptly butchered and sold for meat. This same matador is famous for entertaining the audience. "He yells at the animal, gesturing wildly and triumphantly, teasing it, taunting it, begging it to dance with him," describes one spectator. 7 If the crowd is happy with the matador, the bull’s ears and tail are cut off and presented as a gift. A few minutes later, another bull enters the arena and the cycle starts again.
Other Victims
The bulls aren’t the only victims of the arena. The publisher of an American pro-bullfighting magazine admitted that horses used in bullfights are "shot behind the ear with dope. The horses are drugged and blindfolded and they’re knocked down a lot." 8 These horses, who are often gored, usually have wet newspaper stuffed into their ears to impair their hearing, and their vocal cords are usually cut so their cries do not distract the crowd. The horses are often plow horses who have grown too old to be of use and end up being knocked down by bulls weighing up to a half a ton.9
American author Ernest Hemingway, famous for romanticizing the bullfight ritual, once described the scenes of horses being gored: "I have seen these, call them disemboweling, that is the worst word when due to their timing, they were very funny. This is the sort of thing you should not admit, but it is because such things have not been admitted that the bullfight has never been explained." 10
Bull Breeding
Selective breeding has enabled ranchers to create a bull who will die in a manner most satisfying to the public.11 Bulls are chosen to breed with cows who, when stabbed with lances, always charge in the same manner. They are bred to return to the torture repeatedly. 12
Other Rituals of Abuse
Mexican bullfighting also includes novillada, or baby bullfights. Baby bulls, some no more than a few weeks old, are brought into arenas where they are stabbed to death by spectators, many of whom are children. These bloodbaths end with spectators cutting off the ears and tail of the often fully conscious calf lying in his own blood.13
The so-called "bloodless bullfights" that are legal in many U.S. states involve people’s teasing and attacking the bull. Although tormenting and abuse is part of the show, killing must be done outside the arena.
In Colombia, there is an annual festival in which solitary bulls are tormented by thousands of people who think they are testing their "bravery" (aided by a festive atmosphere and large quantities of alcohol). "If nobody gets killed, it’s boring," laments Carlos Perez, head of the committee that organized the contest in 1996. But even Colombian bullfighter Luis Cuadrado admits, "It’s just one bull against a thousand morons." Cuadrado prefers to sit on the ground until the bull is close enough to stab with a lance, after which Cuadrado promptly scurries away to safety. These festivals last four or five days, with at least 35 victimized bulls each day. 14
Opposition
In 1567, Pope Pius V decreed that "exhibitions of tortured beasts or bulls are contrary to Christian duty and piety." He called for "an end to such bloody amusements, abject and more appropriate for devils than for men."15 Even supporters cannot deny that the practice is barbaric. The Mexican author Eduardo del Rio, who glorified the maiming of bulls in his books, candidly described bullfighting as "a stumbling block for the humanization of man." 16 Lyn Sherwood, publisher of a pro-bullfighting magazine, proudly declared, "I have no moral problem promoting something I consider morally unjustifiable."17
Most forms of the practice are illegal in America because of its inherent cruelty. But tourists, especially from America, keep bullfighting in business. At the same time, more young Hispanic people are protesting the crude ritual and in 1992, Madrid was besieged with 400 Spanish demonstrators calling for an end to the practice.18
Many anti-bullfighting groups have sprung up worldwide, including the Spanish Alternativa para la Liberación Animal, the Mexican Peña Antitaurina Mexicana, and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Tijuana and Mexico City.
Spain’s Green Party has been working with the country’s Association for the Defense of Animal Rights (ADDA) to have bullfighting banned. In 1993, a petition drive by the coalition garnered more than 1 million signatures.19
What You Can Do
• If you are planning to visit a country that permits bullfighting, please tell your travel agent that you are opposed to animal cruelty in any form. Many tourist resorts are building bullfight arenas as part of their "recreation" facilities; refuse to stay at such a resort, and write a letter to the owner explaining why. Instead, visit the Spanish resort towns that have banned bullfighting: Tossa de Mar, Vilamacolum, and La Vajol. In Mexico, the city of Jalapa has also banned bullfighting.
• Before you go on vacation abroad, write to the country’s ambassador and ask whether rituals involving animal slaughter are part of its tourist attractions. Make it clear that you want no part of such activities, and never be afraid to talk about bullfighting cruelties. Most people are unaware of the facts but agree that bullfighting should be stopped once they hear the whole story.
• Please write to the Spanish and Mexican embassies and explain that as long as this cruel blood sport continues, you will never visit their countries.
Embassy of Spain
2375 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.
Washington, DC 20037
Embassy of Mexico
1911 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC 20006
References
1 Cole McFarland, "Death in the Afternoon,"
The Animals’ Voice, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1988.
2 Sharon Waxman, "The Dance to the Death,"
The Washington Post, 25 Jun. 1992, p. C5.
3 Al Goodman, "Machismo vs. Money: Whose Bull Is Gored?" The New York Times, 9 Mar. 1997, p. E6.
4 Ibid.
5 McFarland.
6 Bill Lyon, "A Slaughter That Really Is a Slaughter," The Philadelphia Inquirer, 27 Jul. 1992, p. C1.
7 Waxman.
8 McFarland.
9 Ibid.
10 Ernest Hemingway, Death in the Afternoon, N.Y. Scribner, 1932.
11 McFarland.
12 Ibid.
13 World Society for the Protection of Animals, "Savage Spectacles," The Animals’ Agenda, Jul./Aug. 1988, p. 41.
14 Paul Haven, "Courageous or Bull-Headed?"
The Plain Dealer, 28 Nov. 1996.
15 Pope Pius V, Bullarum Romanorum Pontificum, Vol. 4, 2nd Part, 1567, pp. 402-4.
16 McFarland.
17 Ibid.
18 Associated Press, "Madrid Marchers: End Bullfighting ‘Torture,’" New York Post, 20 Jul. 1992.
19 P. Davison, "Matadors on Horns of a Dilemma," The Independent (U.K.), 12 Feb. 1994.
Saturday, March 20, 2004
I have been browsing through the Library of Congress archives and found this cool picture of what Northern Illinois University looked like in 1914. The building is still there and has just undergone a multimillion dollar restoration project. The photographer is probably standing about where the Geography building now stands.
[click picture for full size image]
[click picture for full size image]
I am sitting on the couch right now watching Swimming Pool with Sheri. It will be over at 9:00 PM. We might go out afterwards and drop the movie off at the Post Office and then go to White Castle for a couple of hamburgers and a Diet Coke.
My roast turned out excellent. I think I like using vinegar with meats. It tenderizes and flavors.
I fell head over heels in love today, and was seriously considering bringing home a one-year-old German Shepard from the shelter. Beautiful dog, and an even better personality, temperament, everything! Fortunately she was already adopted and was scheduled to go home today.
I bought this cell phone holster at Menard's today.
My roast turned out excellent. I think I like using vinegar with meats. It tenderizes and flavors.
I fell head over heels in love today, and was seriously considering bringing home a one-year-old German Shepard from the shelter. Beautiful dog, and an even better personality, temperament, everything! Fortunately she was already adopted and was scheduled to go home today.
I bought this cell phone holster at Menard's today.
Friday, March 19, 2004
I just put five pounds of chuck roast in the crock pot and seasoned it Mexican style. I used some of the vinegar juice from a jar of jalapeños, as well as some of the jalapeños themselves; cumin, coriander, cinnamon, hot sauce, and garlic powder.
We will eat it with soft corn tortillas, diced sweet onion, and chopped cilantro. If I remember tomorrow we will stop by the store and pick up a couple of limes too. The real Mexican places serve lime wedges as a condiment. Just squeeze some fresh lime juice on your taco at the table. Beats all those gringo tacos you’re used to.
We will eat it with soft corn tortillas, diced sweet onion, and chopped cilantro. If I remember tomorrow we will stop by the store and pick up a couple of limes too. The real Mexican places serve lime wedges as a condiment. Just squeeze some fresh lime juice on your taco at the table. Beats all those gringo tacos you’re used to.
Thursday, March 18, 2004
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
Look at the picture...and then look at the picture hanging above the table.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., cuddles Alex Kinsey, 7, of Huntington, W. Va. Tuesday, March 16, 2004 with Mike Callaghan, center, and Dale Stephens, right, both of Huntington, as they sit in a booth at Jim's Restaurant in Huntington. The senator is sitting in the same booth as President John F. Kennedy did during the West Virginia primary campaign of 1960 (shown in photo above the booth).
(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., cuddles Alex Kinsey, 7, of Huntington, W. Va. Tuesday, March 16, 2004 with Mike Callaghan, center, and Dale Stephens, right, both of Huntington, as they sit in a booth at Jim's Restaurant in Huntington. The senator is sitting in the same booth as President John F. Kennedy did during the West Virginia primary campaign of 1960 (shown in photo above the booth).
(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Click on this link, and then just move your cursor around the color chart. The perfect thing to pass the time while you are on the phone.
I think I am going to order a 4, 6, or 8 foot "Grip-A-Strip" to solve my continuing problem of how to hang and view all of my maps.
The 100 worst cities for allergies and asthma.
1 Knoxville, TN
2 Little Rock, AR
3 St. Louis, MO
4 Madison, WI
5 Louisville, KY
6 Memphis, TN
7 Toledo, OH
8 Kansas City, MO
9 Nashville, TN
10 Hartford, CT
11 Buffalo-Niagra Fall, NY
12 Johnson City, TN
13 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA
14 Springfield, MA
15 Pittsburgh, PA
16 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
17 Chattanooga, TN
18 Detroit, MI
19 Dayton-Springfield, OH
20 Indianapolis, IN
21 Columbus, OH
22 Fresno, CA
23 Wichita, KS
24 Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PA
25 Lexington, KY
26 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
27 Philadelphia, PA
28 Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point, NC
29 Oklahoma City, OK
30 Syracuse, NY
31 Lansing-East Lansing, MI
32 Scranton-Wilkes Barre-Hazleton, PA
33 New York, NY
34 Columbia, SC
35 Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, MI
36 Birmingham, AL
37 Jackson, MS
38 Omaha, NE
39 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI
40 Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, MI
41 Tulsa, OK
42 Cincinnati, OH
43 Des Moines, IA
44 Baltimore, MD
45 Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
46 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC
47 Atlanta, GA
48 Canton-Massillon, OH
49 Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
50 Washington, DC
51 Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria, OH
52 Richmond-Petersburg,VA
53 Albuquerque, NM
54 Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC
55 Rochester, NY
56 Chicago, IL
57 Youngstown-Warren, OH
58 Fort Wayne, IN
59 Boston, MA
60 Augusta-Aiken, GA
61 Bakersfield, CA
62 Tucson, AZ
63 Las Vegas, NV
64 Charleston-North Charleston, SC
65 Modesto, CA
66 Mobile, AL
67 Lancaster, PA
68 Spokane, WA
69 Baton Rouge, LA
70 New Orleans, LA
71 Orlando, FL
72 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
73 Denver, CO
74 Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT
75 Colorado Springs, CO
76 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
77 Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA
78 Jacksonville, FL
79 Sacramento, CA
80 Austin-San Marcos, TX
81 San Antonio, TX
82 Stockton-Lodi, CA
83 Boise City, ID
84 Providence, RI
85 Los Angles-Long Beach, CA
86 Mcallen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
87 El Paso, TX
88 Sarasota-Bradenton, FL
89 Pensacola, FL
90 Fort Meyers-Cape Coral, FL
91 Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX
92 San Diego, CA
93 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL
94 Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, FL
95 Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA
96 Portland, OR
97 West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL
98 Daytona Beach, FL
99 Miami, FL
100 San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA
[source: Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America]
1 Knoxville, TN
2 Little Rock, AR
3 St. Louis, MO
4 Madison, WI
5 Louisville, KY
6 Memphis, TN
7 Toledo, OH
8 Kansas City, MO
9 Nashville, TN
10 Hartford, CT
11 Buffalo-Niagra Fall, NY
12 Johnson City, TN
13 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA
14 Springfield, MA
15 Pittsburgh, PA
16 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
17 Chattanooga, TN
18 Detroit, MI
19 Dayton-Springfield, OH
20 Indianapolis, IN
21 Columbus, OH
22 Fresno, CA
23 Wichita, KS
24 Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PA
25 Lexington, KY
26 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
27 Philadelphia, PA
28 Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point, NC
29 Oklahoma City, OK
30 Syracuse, NY
31 Lansing-East Lansing, MI
32 Scranton-Wilkes Barre-Hazleton, PA
33 New York, NY
34 Columbia, SC
35 Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, MI
36 Birmingham, AL
37 Jackson, MS
38 Omaha, NE
39 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI
40 Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, MI
41 Tulsa, OK
42 Cincinnati, OH
43 Des Moines, IA
44 Baltimore, MD
45 Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
46 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC
47 Atlanta, GA
48 Canton-Massillon, OH
49 Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
50 Washington, DC
51 Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria, OH
52 Richmond-Petersburg,VA
53 Albuquerque, NM
54 Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC
55 Rochester, NY
56 Chicago, IL
57 Youngstown-Warren, OH
58 Fort Wayne, IN
59 Boston, MA
60 Augusta-Aiken, GA
61 Bakersfield, CA
62 Tucson, AZ
63 Las Vegas, NV
64 Charleston-North Charleston, SC
65 Modesto, CA
66 Mobile, AL
67 Lancaster, PA
68 Spokane, WA
69 Baton Rouge, LA
70 New Orleans, LA
71 Orlando, FL
72 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
73 Denver, CO
74 Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT
75 Colorado Springs, CO
76 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
77 Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA
78 Jacksonville, FL
79 Sacramento, CA
80 Austin-San Marcos, TX
81 San Antonio, TX
82 Stockton-Lodi, CA
83 Boise City, ID
84 Providence, RI
85 Los Angles-Long Beach, CA
86 Mcallen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
87 El Paso, TX
88 Sarasota-Bradenton, FL
89 Pensacola, FL
90 Fort Meyers-Cape Coral, FL
91 Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX
92 San Diego, CA
93 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL
94 Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, FL
95 Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA
96 Portland, OR
97 West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL
98 Daytona Beach, FL
99 Miami, FL
100 San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA
[source: Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America]
Bush administration ordered Medicare plan cost estimates withheld!
The government's top expert on Medicare costs was warned that he would be fired if he told key lawmakers about a series of Bush administration cost estimates that could have torpedoed congressional passage of the White House-backed Medicare prescription-drug plan.
The government's top expert on Medicare costs was warned that he would be fired if he told key lawmakers about a series of Bush administration cost estimates that could have torpedoed congressional passage of the White House-backed Medicare prescription-drug plan.
I ordered this color wheel ($9) to help with choosing colors for map layouts. Each color has the RGB value and the HTML code listed right on it. It only lists the 216 "web safe" colors. Even though I am not specifically designing for the web, it will be a good idea to limit myself to these colors because the maps can end on the web.
I bought this pocket color wheel ($3) from the Purdue University bookstore when we stopped on the way back from Indianapolis. It has been helpful, but I still have to go and look up the RGB values of the colors I want to use, and it only has 12 colors.
Monday, March 15, 2004
Have you seen me?
Charles A. McCoy Jr., 28, is shown in this photo released by the police on Monday, March 15, 2004, during a news conference at the Franklin County Sherrif's Department in Columbus, Ohio. Authorities released the name of McCoy as a suspect Monday in a series of 24 highway shootings in and around Columbus. The Franklin County Sheriff's Office said suspect McCoy should be considered armed and dangerous. Investigators did not provide a hometown. (AP Photo/Franklin County Sheriff's Department)
Charles A. McCoy Jr., 28, is shown in this photo released by the police on Monday, March 15, 2004, during a news conference at the Franklin County Sherrif's Department in Columbus, Ohio. Authorities released the name of McCoy as a suspect Monday in a series of 24 highway shootings in and around Columbus. The Franklin County Sheriff's Office said suspect McCoy should be considered armed and dangerous. Investigators did not provide a hometown. (AP Photo/Franklin County Sheriff's Department)
Sunday, March 14, 2004
Sheri had to go into work last night, so I went with her. We left the house at 7 PM to get there by 8 PM. She had two hours of things to do before a technician from Sun was scheduled to be on site at 10 PM that she had to let in and work with.
I made a pot of coffee and read the newspaper, the latest Newsweek, and the latest US News and World Reports.
The Sun guy showed up right on schedule and only took an hour to perform the upgrades. Everything tested out OK. No surprises.
All that was left to do were six boxes that were in another building. She didn't realize this going in, but these boxes were not accessible on the network for doing upgrades, so we had to physically go over to this building to do the upgrades.
After checking with her boss to make sure about everything, we caught a cab to the other building at 11:30 PM. The building is on the west side of the Merchandise Mart, and is the same building that the Holiday Inn occupies.
The servers that she had to upgrade had a jumper setting that write protected the firmware on the motherboard. We didn't have any tools with us to open up the servers and move the jumper, plus if we did and we broke something, her company would be responsible for it. We did get one server popped open, but the jumpers were just too small to move without tools. Also, on the server we opened Sheri was not tall enough to move the jumpers, so I would have had to do it. I don't think they want a non-employee working on their servers. What if I got electrocuted. How would they explain that to their insurance company or to OSHA. Normally Sun does these kinds of changes, and if they break it, they are responsible.
So at 1 AM we got a cab back to the Sears Tower parking garage and drove home.
We stopped at Meijer for a snack and some odds and ends on our list. We didn't get to bed until after 3 AM. Sheri had a scheduled conference call to do some more upgrades at 8 AM. That is why we are just now starting our day.
I made a pot of coffee and read the newspaper, the latest Newsweek, and the latest US News and World Reports.
The Sun guy showed up right on schedule and only took an hour to perform the upgrades. Everything tested out OK. No surprises.
All that was left to do were six boxes that were in another building. She didn't realize this going in, but these boxes were not accessible on the network for doing upgrades, so we had to physically go over to this building to do the upgrades.
After checking with her boss to make sure about everything, we caught a cab to the other building at 11:30 PM. The building is on the west side of the Merchandise Mart, and is the same building that the Holiday Inn occupies.
The servers that she had to upgrade had a jumper setting that write protected the firmware on the motherboard. We didn't have any tools with us to open up the servers and move the jumper, plus if we did and we broke something, her company would be responsible for it. We did get one server popped open, but the jumpers were just too small to move without tools. Also, on the server we opened Sheri was not tall enough to move the jumpers, so I would have had to do it. I don't think they want a non-employee working on their servers. What if I got electrocuted. How would they explain that to their insurance company or to OSHA. Normally Sun does these kinds of changes, and if they break it, they are responsible.
So at 1 AM we got a cab back to the Sears Tower parking garage and drove home.
We stopped at Meijer for a snack and some odds and ends on our list. We didn't get to bed until after 3 AM. Sheri had a scheduled conference call to do some more upgrades at 8 AM. That is why we are just now starting our day.
Friday, March 12, 2004
I bought this 6 pound monster tonight! Back the truck up. They call it a "railroad pick". The spike on the one side and the narrow axe on the other side are each about a foot long. I will easily be able to sink either one of them all the way into the ground and then use the leverage to pry out stubborn roots. After I loosen everything with this it should be an easy matter to dig everything out with a shovel. I also have a large long-handled axe to work on any stump that might remain. This is the year!
Thursday, March 11, 2004
Because Tim and Lisa turned me onto the cheap and low-fat tastiness of round steak, I picked up a $2 per pound roast today while at Meijer. Friday night before I go to bed I am going to put all of the ingredients into the crock pot and then put it in the refrigerator.
Saturday morning, before we leave to walk dogs in the St. Patrick's Day parade, I will take it out of the fridge, drop it into the base unit, and set it on low. By late afternoon/early evening we will have a nice pot roast to eat.
Saturday morning, before we leave to walk dogs in the St. Patrick's Day parade, I will take it out of the fridge, drop it into the base unit, and set it on low. By late afternoon/early evening we will have a nice pot roast to eat.
I am addicted to RSS feeds now. I have tried aggregators twice before and didn't think much of them. I read an article last week about the free SharpReader. I don't know if the user interface is better, or if it just took a few tries to realize how using an aggregator is better than just trolling news sites. I just leave it running all day, and every 15 minutes any new headlines from sites I have chosen pop up.
So far I am watching:
Slate
BBC News
Wired
CNet
The Register
MetaFilter
Christian Science Monitor
New York Times front page
New York Times technology
newsfeeds.manilasites.com
Daypop Top 40
Scientific American
Slashdot
Once you have downloaded and started up SharpReader you can just drag any of the above links to the left hand pane of SharpReader. That's it. You will be subscribed to that feed.
Click for full-size image.
So far I am watching:
Slate
BBC News
Wired
CNet
The Register
MetaFilter
Christian Science Monitor
New York Times front page
New York Times technology
newsfeeds.manilasites.com
Daypop Top 40
Scientific American
Slashdot
Once you have downloaded and started up SharpReader you can just drag any of the above links to the left hand pane of SharpReader. That's it. You will be subscribed to that feed.
Click for full-size image.
Cod
Ever wonder what McDonald's Filet-O-Fish are made out of? Sure is an ugly fish for being so tasty. Almost looks like a catfish.
Sizing up fellow plane passengers and declaring "You're too fat to be an air marshal" turns out to be a great way to have actual marshals meet you at the airport.
I tried a jar of organic apple sauce a couple of weeks ago that only had apple and apricot puree as ingredients; no sweeteners. It was just OK, but it wasn't moving off the shelf. I got the bright idea yesterday to use the fruit leather tray of the dehydrator to get rid of the apple sauce. It turned out great! It has more apple taste and more sweetness after it has been dried.
I think this fall during apple season I will look for good prices on cooking apples and cook it all into apple sauce, and then freeze it in portion sizes for making fruit leather. It was that good.
The only problem is that the dehydrator only came with one fruit leather tray. I wonder if the airflow of the dehydrator is designed to use more than one tray at a time.
I also have to try making apple chips too. These would actually be healthier than leather because you can keep the skins on for extra fiber.
I think this fall during apple season I will look for good prices on cooking apples and cook it all into apple sauce, and then freeze it in portion sizes for making fruit leather. It was that good.
The only problem is that the dehydrator only came with one fruit leather tray. I wonder if the airflow of the dehydrator is designed to use more than one tray at a time.
I also have to try making apple chips too. These would actually be healthier than leather because you can keep the skins on for extra fiber.
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
A nurse friend just sent this to me:
A nurse walks into a bank, preparing to endorse a check.
She reaches in her pocket and pulls out a rectal thermometer
and tries to write with it. She looks up at the teller, pauses for
a moment, then realizing her mistake, she says, "Well that's
Great...... just great.....Some asshole's got my pen."
A nurse walks into a bank, preparing to endorse a check.
She reaches in her pocket and pulls out a rectal thermometer
and tries to write with it. She looks up at the teller, pauses for
a moment, then realizing her mistake, she says, "Well that's
Great...... just great.....Some asshole's got my pen."
I didn't mean to stay up this late and finish editing the video from this weekend in Indianapolis, but I did.
Just a bit of clarification: The movie is titled Chris' Baby Shower, but there is no actual footage of the baby shower.
Just a bit of clarification: The movie is titled Chris' Baby Shower, but there is no actual footage of the baby shower.
No more movies for a while. As I mentioned earlier I can capture video from my camcorder, but no audio gets uploaed. I was getting really frustrated, double and triple checking all of the settings. Uninstalling and reinstalling drivers. Nothing worked. It was even more frustrating because the first few uploads just days earlier worked fine.
I took at look at Usenet tonight and it turns out I am not the only one having this same exact problem. Other people are describing the exact same symptoms right down to "it uploaded audio the day before and now it won't."
I think it is a Microsoft XP/Media Player 9 Series problem. Nothing in Microsoft's knowledge base admits to the problem. Since it seems like a common problem I guess I will just wait until after a few more Windows Updates and then try again.
Sorry. I was having fun making the little movies as much as I heard back that people liked watching them.
Maybe I will see if I can add narrated audio to the soundless-video. I guess that would be better than nothing. Just not as satisfying.
I took at look at Usenet tonight and it turns out I am not the only one having this same exact problem. Other people are describing the exact same symptoms right down to "it uploaded audio the day before and now it won't."
I think it is a Microsoft XP/Media Player 9 Series problem. Nothing in Microsoft's knowledge base admits to the problem. Since it seems like a common problem I guess I will just wait until after a few more Windows Updates and then try again.
Sorry. I was having fun making the little movies as much as I heard back that people liked watching them.
Maybe I will see if I can add narrated audio to the soundless-video. I guess that would be better than nothing. Just not as satisfying.
I'll let you know if I get a response...
Dear President Bush,
Thank you for doing so much to protect us from the evil homosexuals. I have great faith you'll protect the sacrosanct institution of marriage. When someone in the homosexual lobby tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them.
a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Leviticus 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?
f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an Abomination (Lev 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?
g) Lev 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?
h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev 19:27. How should they die?
i) I know from Lev 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev 24:10-16) Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help.
Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.
Your devoted disciple and adoring fan.
Brad
Thank you for doing so much to protect us from the evil homosexuals. I have great faith you'll protect the sacrosanct institution of marriage. When someone in the homosexual lobby tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them.
a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Leviticus 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?
f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an Abomination (Lev 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?
g) Lev 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?
h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev 19:27. How should they die?
i) I know from Lev 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev 24:10-16) Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help.
Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.
Your devoted disciple and adoring fan.
Brad
You can get live updates of DARPA's Grand Challenge* at this site.
I am rooting for Team TerraMax because:
1. The Ohio State Univeristy is a team partner.
2. Oshkosh Truck, the sponsor, is about the only entrant that is nearby. Most of the other teams are from California.
3. Their robot looks really cool.
The team that is favored to win is Red Team from Carnegie Mellon.
* The Grand Challenge is a 200 - 300 mile robot race between Los Angeles and Las Vegas with a cash award of $1 million. There can be no human direction, intervention, etc. once the race starts. The specific route will not be announced until just two hours before race time.
I am rooting for Team TerraMax because:
1. The Ohio State Univeristy is a team partner.
2. Oshkosh Truck, the sponsor, is about the only entrant that is nearby. Most of the other teams are from California.
3. Their robot looks really cool.
The team that is favored to win is Red Team from Carnegie Mellon.
* The Grand Challenge is a 200 - 300 mile robot race between Los Angeles and Las Vegas with a cash award of $1 million. There can be no human direction, intervention, etc. once the race starts. The specific route will not be announced until just two hours before race time.
This is a list of the 100 most often mispronounced words.
I didn't think I would be guilty of any mispronunciation, but I just noticed that I pronounce dilate as dialate.
I have heard people talk about a boat floundering, when it is actually foundering.
I learned just a couple of months ago that it is voluptuous, not volumptuous.
It drives me nuts when people say expresso instead of espresso.
This isn't on the list, but I have heard soldiers and CNN reporters pronounce cache as cachet.
I didn't think I would be guilty of any mispronunciation, but I just noticed that I pronounce dilate as dialate.
I have heard people talk about a boat floundering, when it is actually foundering.
I learned just a couple of months ago that it is voluptuous, not volumptuous.
It drives me nuts when people say expresso instead of espresso.
This isn't on the list, but I have heard soldiers and CNN reporters pronounce cache as cachet.
Tuesday, March 09, 2004
I have been very bad about keeping up with balancing my checkbook, but tonight I got caught up from August. It balanced to the penny, so all's well that ends well, right?
I also logged into Sheri's 401(k) and bumped the contribution rate from 1% to 10%. When I got laid off I moved it down to 1% from 15% because I did not know how our money situation was going to turn out. Once I get regular full time work again I will max her out again at 15%, and do the same for the 401(k) at whatever company I wind up at as soon as I am eligible.
I also logged into Sheri's 401(k) and bumped the contribution rate from 1% to 10%. When I got laid off I moved it down to 1% from 15% because I did not know how our money situation was going to turn out. Once I get regular full time work again I will max her out again at 15%, and do the same for the 401(k) at whatever company I wind up at as soon as I am eligible.
My first batch of jerky turned out pretty good. I took some to work and everyone seemed to like it. From now on I am going to keep my eyes open for sales on round steak, and make three or four pounds of jerky when it goes on sale. (Well, start with three or four pounds. It dries up to less than a pound.)
Monday, March 08, 2004
I am having problems getting video transferred from the camcorder to the PC. The image goes just fine, but no audio. I can play the tape back on the camcorder and hear the audio just fine, but no sound gets copied when I try to upload it via a USB cable. Maybe tomorrow I will try uploading it directly through the video card.
Tim ordered a bottle of Chablis at Buca di Beppo. It had a very pronounced leather smell, and I liked it. This is a feature of high tannic wines. Tannins are what give leather its characteristic smell because that is what is used to tan leather, and where the term "to tan leather" came from. Tannins are also getting a lot of attention as a cancer preventative. Here is a quick article about tannins and wine titled "Eat Leather".
Sunday, March 07, 2004
My cousin Chris had a baby shower in Indianapolis this weekend, Saturday afternoon. We left from Chicago at 6:00 AM Saturday morning and met Mom, Dad, Tim, Lisa and Shawn at the Holiday Inn we stayed at. Mom and Dad were in the lobby when we got there, so we sat, talked, and caught up for a little bit. Tim, Lisa, and Shawn stopped by the lobby not long after that.
Sheri went up to the room to freshen up, and then the three of them drove to the shower. Tim, Dad, and I decided we wanted to visit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We took the 10 minute bus ride around the track, and then visited the racing museum. It was pretty interesting.
By the time we got done with the museum the baby shower was over. Mom and Dad drove to Chris and Jim's house to visit. Tim, Lisa, and Shawn went to get Tim a haircut and a couple of other errands. Sheri and I were running on five and four hours of sleep respectively, so we needed a nap.
When they got back from Tim's haircut, about an hour, we drove to Jim and Chris's house together. We hung out there for a little bit, and then convoyed about 20 of us to Buca di Beppo's. We were there for about three hours. Very enjoyable.
We went back to the hotel and I joined Mom, Dad, and Tim in a glass of wine (3 Buck Chuck!) that I picked up for them from Trader Joe's. Sheri had her heart set on swimming at the hotel, but we got back from dinner after the pool closed, and we didn't get up early enough for a morning swim.
This morning (Sunday) we met in the lobby during breakfast. Tim and Lisa had to leave early to pick up the dog from the kennel before they closed. We sat for a good while longer and talked with Mom and Dad in the lobby.
We said our good byes, checked out, and then went to a nearby mall, and Mom and Dad went to a Trader Joes in the area to see what it was all about. After we walked around the mall for a while we stopped in the food court for a soda. I thought I would call Mom and see what they thought of Trader Joes. They were in the same mall we were! They stopped by our table and we talked for another 30 minutes.
On the way back to Chicago we stopped at the Purdue University campus to pick up a t-shirt, see the campus, and have a little lunch. Neither of us had been there, and we enjoyed it.
Tim and Lisa gave me my birthday present early; a food dehydrator. Tim has the same model and made some really good beef jerky. I was excited to make my own jerky so we stopped at Meijer and picked up about three pounds of round steak ($2.30/pound) before we even got home. I was going to put it into the dehydrator tonight, but I decided not too in case it took longer than I expected to dry. I didn't want to be up until after midnight watching my jerky dry. Instead I sliced it into thin strips and put it in a simple marinade of teriyaki sauce and some liquid smoke. I will put it into the dehydrator tomorrow night when I get home from work.
I shot about 20 minutes of video in Indianapolis, and I have already uploaded it from the camcorder to my PC. I might start editing it tonight, but I won't be able to finish it tonight. Look for it to go up tomorrow (Monday) night.
Sheri is in the shower. I am going to unpack, brush my teeth, and then make some first stabs at editing the video.
Have a good week!