MyPollingPlace.com

MyPollingPlace.com

Very useful site. Plug in your street address and your Zip code and it finds your polling place.

I tested 3 addresses and it nailed them all (NJ and PA).

Top 100 American Speeches by Rank (all)

American Rhetoric: Top 100 American Speeches by Rank (all)

I always learn something from lists like this.

Tonight I heard a pretty amazing speech 1976 DNC Keynote by Barbara Charline Jordan. Its the first presidential election where I could vote (and I did). I did not have a television and this is the first time I heard this speech.

This site has the full text for each speech and audio for most in thier entirety or long exerpts.

100 Facts and 1 Opinion

100 Facts and 1 Opinion

I disagree that all 100 facts are compelling, but they serve as reminders of what the Bush Administration says and does.

Examples of facts about the Bush Administration that make my head hurt are below (italics) with my comments beneath (standard font).

12. After receiving a memo from the CIA in August 2001 titled "Bin Laden Determined to Attack America," President Bush continued his month long vacation.

And he sat with this thumb in his butt in a classroom for seven minutes after he was notified that the second World Trade Center building was hit by a airliner.

30. The Bush Administration awarded a multibillion-dollar no-bid contract to Halliburton--a company that still pays Vice President Cheney hundreds of thousands of dollars in deferred compensation each year (Cheney also has Halliburton stock options). The company then repeatedly overcharged the military for services, accepted kickbacks from subcontractors and served troops dirty food.

One of the companies on the short list to do work in Iraq was the Washington Group, formerly Raytheon Engineers, a company I worked for in the US and Ireland for six years. Washington Group is coming out of Chapter 11 reorganization and they could have really used the work. Also, the engineers I worked with at Raytheon Engineers were among the smartest and best engineers I had the privilege of working with in my life. They had experience and contacts in the mid-East and they designed various systems from oil and gas processing to desalinization plants in Saudi.

When your trying to determine if an action is ethical, one of the criteria can be the "perception of impropriety". How is it POSSIBLE that Cheney and the Bush Administration allowed no-bid contracts to go to Halliburton when there were so many other engineering companies who could do the same work considering Cheney's close (and continuing) ties to the company? It just baffles me.

49. In 2000, candidate George W. Bush promised to protect the Social Security surplus. As President, he spent all of it.

Just as a point of reference, until recently, the year I turn 65 is the same year Social Security is expected to run out of money. I am the tail end of the Baby Boomer generation. Bush is not doing anything to improve my retirement status and he has endangered it for many others. Unless there is a fundamental change in the way Social Security is funded, I will pay in, but there will not be any money for my wife and I when I retire.

Do you really expect to get anything more than McDonald's money for your grand kids from Social Security? I don't.

52. The Bush Administration underfunded the No Child Left Behind Act by $9.4 billion.

Every Child Left Behind. My kids are pulled from class to take MAPS tests. How do the MAPS test work? As an example, for any grade level you have three children. One gifted, one autistic, one ADD and one mentally challenged. They all get the same test. No additional instruction is provided. The exam is proctored, but the proctor can not assist in any fashion. The gifted child finishes the exam. The autistic child may or may not finish the exam. The ADD child connects the dots. The mentally challenged child cries because he does not know what to do and feels stupid. The school district is 'scored' based on performance on the MAPS tests. If the district has a disproportionate number of low grades, they have to take remedial action or risk lose of federal funding.

The school district I live in gets 92% of its funding from local property taxes. My taxes have increased 50% since moving back to New Jersey. I wonder what would happen if we just REFUSE to participate in No Child Left Behind.

One of the principles of the Republican Party is minimal government and the concept of States Rights. The federal government should provide for National Defense and other infrastructure and the States should determine local and regional issues. If this is the case, why the heck is the Bush Administration mandating testing and standards for my kids? Geez! Leave me alone!

53. In 2000, candidate George W. Bush promised to increase the maximum federal scholarship, or Pell Grant, by 50 percent. Instead, each year he has been in office he has frozen or cut the maximum scholarship amount.

Don't get me started. My oldest daughter was accepted to RPI, Drexel University, Rutgers University, Georgia Institute of Technology. The *average* cost of an engineering education is on the order of $25,000 to $30,000 per year. We received NO federal scholarships. None. Na da. Nothing. They should be freaking BEGGING women to enter engineering, but the Bush Administration has done little to support technology and engineering.

Until the United States graduates more engineers than lawyers, we are headed in the wrong direction.

54. The Bush Administration's Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, called the National Education Association--a union of teachers--a "terrorist organization."

Way to win over the teachers, whose life you just made a little more difficult with the Every Child Left Behind Act.

55. The Bush Administration, in violation of the law, refused to allow Medicare actuary Richard Foster to tell members of Congress the actual cost of their Medicare bill. Instead, they repeated a figure they knew was $100 billion too low.

I personally assume this was one of the many things orchestrated by Carl Rowe.

70. The Bush Administration has spent $270 million on abstinence-only education programs even though there is no scientific evidence demonstrating that they are effective in dissuading teenagers from having sex or reducing the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.

This just reinforces my comment about science and technology. You have panels of experts, but just ignore their advice and a body of scientific evidence and waste my tax money.

76. The Bush Administration created a massive tax loophole for SUVs--allowing, for example, the write-off of the entire cost of a new Hummer.

Don't make me cry. Every time I see a Hummer I get a knot in my stomach. If I was a teenager, I would be removing the core from the tires of every Hummer and uber-SUV and taping it to the fenders. Not that I ever did that to one or more Corvette/Porche/Ferrari parked sideways taking up two spots in a parking lot. In Atlanta. In 1974-1979. No, not me.

95. When asked at an April 2004 press conference to name a mistake he made during his presidency, Bush couldn't think of one.

It all started with the 2000 election and the Supreme Court...

97. Last year the Bush Administration spent $6.5 billion creating 14 million new classified documents and securing old secrets--the highest level of spending in ten years.

We 'got nothing to hide...

Bush website blocked outside US

BBC NEWS | Technology | Bush website blocked outside US

This is old news to many, but just how clueless are the Bush and RNC tech advisors?

Overseas tech people can just use a US based proxy, so they are basically isolating themselves from normal, non-tech users outside the United States.

Kids who support Kerry threatened with expulsion

Insanity in the schools.

 

 From: Cory Doctorow
Posted At: Wednesday, October 27, 2004 6:53 AM
Posted To: Boing Boing
Conversation: Kids who support Kerry threatened with expulsion
Subject: Kids who support Kerry threatened with expulsion
http://www.boingboing.net/2004/10/27/kids_who_support_ker.html

Cory Doctorow: Kids at Richland Center High School in Richland Center, WI got a chance to meet George W Bush during an official visit. However, any student who turned up wearing a pro-Kerry pin, hat or shirt was threatened with expulsion.

Here's the contact information for the school officials, who have betrayed the trust we put in them as educators to teach democratic fundamentals, like open debate, dissent, and freedom of expression.

Richland Center High School
23200 Hornet High Rd
Richland Center, WI 53581
Phone: (608) 647-6131

Here’s the principal:
John Cler
508-647-6131 x1590

Here’s the local superintendant of schools:
Rachel Schultz
608-647-6106

Here’s the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction:
1-800-441-4563

Here’s the state superintendent:
Elizabeth Burmaster
state.superintendent@dpi.state.wi.us

Link

Related...

The Financial Times endorses Kerry

FT.com / Comment & analysis / Editorial comment - The bursting of the Bush bubble

The Financial Times is a UK publication, but it has global influence.

Some of the points made in the endorsement are scathing and noted below.

Mr Bush entered the White House in January 2001, having won a narrow election victory, courtesy of the US Supreme Court. He pledged to be a conciliator. He talked about uniting Democrats and Republicans at home. He promised to pursue a humble foreign policy abroad. His record shows that he has done neither.

His pledge to make the tax cuts permanent is reckless.

Mr Bush's flaw is his stubborn reluctance to admit mistakes and to adjust personnel and policy. Blind faith in military power as a tool for change has too often influenced decision-making.

Over the past three years, the gap between ambition and reality has created what could be termed a "Bush bubble".

Mickey Mouse Clubbed

Disney's cartoon rodent speaks out on the Eldred decision.


What is the Eldred Decision? In January of 2003, the Supreme Court ruled that the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 (The Disney Copyright Extension Act) was constitutional.



This extended the copyright for Mickey Mouse and a bunch of other Disney intellectual property.

How much is Mickey Mouse worth to Disney? About 5.8 Billion Dollars.

Prepare to get screwed by digital rights management

Prepare to get screwed by digital rights management

I have already whined about the Broadcast Flag, but I was not aware that HBO has already started encrypting its digital broadcasts.

I'm not sure if our elected representatives will jump on this before it makes headlines, or if they will wait until after Christmas when their constituients spend hundreds of hours trying to figure out why they can't burn DVD's on their new DVR/DVD combo unit...

"...Turns out that a couple of days ago, HBO started encrypting all of
its programs with CGMS-A. They allow you to "copy" a program that you
record from their signal once. The trouble is that they consider that
one-time copy to be recording the program onto your hard drive, not
taking it from the hard drive to a DVD. THAT SUCKS OUT LOUD and I am
extremely angry, as you can imagine. The files are HUGE and, even though
I have a 200 gb hard drive, I can't keep them there forever..."
Welcome to 1984 (ever read the book?)...

Bush Switch Ads

Errol Morris: Election '04

This is from Errol Morris, an Academy Award (Thin Blue Line) winning documentary director who is also responsible for Apple's switcher ads.

Some have run on MoveOn, but all 50 are available on his web site.

Two Marines (one retired and one who served in Iraq) who were featured in Morris ads were interviewed on NPR's Morning Edition.

DesMoines Register Editorials

DesMoinesRegister.com | Editorials

Very interesting editorial and endorsement from the DeMoines Register.

About half of Americans have lost confidence in President Bush, yet many hang back from embracing the alternative. That's unfortunate, because Senator John F. Kerry is a wise and decent man who has the makings of a fine president.

Cuyahoga County, Ohio Ballot Problem

Aaron's Room :: Chair :: Cuyahoga County, Ohio Ballot Problem

Ohio is the new Florida.

This is pretty amazing. Ohio uses punch ballots. Several of the selections are out of order, or don't match the cantidates a voter is attempting to select.

More photos on the web site link above. Click on the link below to see the Ohio presidential ballot.


Ballot-president.jpg

FW: Economist Endorsing Kerry?

Not just the Economist. National Review as well, but I'm trying to validate
this. The NR web site requires registration which was broken yesterday
afternoon.

From: Dan Gillmor's eJournal
Posted At: Sunday, October 24, 2004 2:08 PM Posted To: Dan Gillmor's
eJournal
Conversation: Economist Endorsing Kerry?
Subject: Economist Endorsing Kerry?

http://weblog.siliconvalley.com/column/dangillmor/archives/010933.shtml
Is the Economist , a publication that endorsed Bush
in 2000 and is about as far from liberal as you can get in most respects,
going to endorse Kerry this time? The rumor mill is buzzing that it will. If
so, it won't sway too many voters in the U.S. (the Economist is based in
London, but I gather that its biggest circulation is in America). But if the
Economist does go for Kerry, it will be one more indication that Bush is
alienating some of the most intelligent people who normally would support
him.

Related...
eblog.siliconvalley.com%2fcolumn%2fdangillmor%2farchives%2f010933.shtml>

Atom RSS feed fixed

How brain dead am I?

My Atom RSS feed for this blog has been broken forever. Well, not forever, but a long time. My Tech Blog has always been working and I use it quite a bit, so this afternoon is the first time I tested (re-tested) my main blog RSS feed.

Maybe no one was using it, because I didn't get any notes about it being broken. So it goes.

President's Remarks on Homeland Security in New Jersey

President's Remarks on Homeland Security in New Jersey:

Bush was never a good public speaker, but the Twin Towers were no 'in ruins' until after September 4th. I wonder if he meant October 4th, or November 4th, or December 4th.

He is just so busy, I guess its tough to get dates straight in his head.

"I have a record in office, as well. And all Americans have seen that record. September the 4th, 2001, I stood in the ruins of the Twin Towers. It's a day I will never forget. Bernie might remember the workers in hard hats that were yelling at me and yelling at us, 'Whatever it takes.' A man grabbed me by the arm, just coming out of the rubble and he said, 'Do not let me down.' I have a responsibility that goes on. I wake up every morning thinking about how to make our country more secure. I acted again and again to protect the American people. I will never relent in defending our country, whatever it takes. (Applause.) "

Karl Rove in a Corner

The Atlantic Online | November 2004 | Karl Rove in a Corner | Joshua Green

Rove is the man behind George W.'s grabbing the 2000 election. I don't trust the man, I think he is immoral and he has set the tone for the nasty, marginally truthful, deceptive campaign being run by the RNC in the 2004 election.

Karl Rove is at his most formidable when running close races, and his skills would be notable even if he used no extreme methods. But he does use them. His campaign history shows his willingness, when challenged, to employ savage tactics

FW: more on Must Read: George Bush - "Without a Doubt"

 

---

From: David Farber [mailto:dave@farber.net]
Sent: Fri 22-Oct-04 14:23
To: Ip
Subject: more on Must Read: George Bush - "Without a Doubt"

Begin forwarded message:

From: John Adams <jadams01@sprynet.com>
Date: October 22, 2004 2:12:43 PM EDT
To: dave@farber.net
Subject: Re: [IP] more on Must Read: George Bush - "Without a Doubt"

There's an editor at Tor Books, Teresa Nielsen-Hayden, who has a
widely-read weblog, Making Light, found at
http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/ (her husband Patrick, also an
editor at Tor, also has an exceptional weblog,
http://nielsenhayden.com/electrolite/), in which she recently posted a
remarkable piece, "Motivation and Doubt", at
http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/005631.html making
reference to Suskind's article. I would recommend this piece to anyone
reading IP. Here are a few bits from it which give a flavor of the
piece:

"I arrived at certain theories about George W. Bush by a strange route,
which was thinking about the class of writers who take rejection worst.
I don’t mean the ones who’re hurt worst; I couldn’t possibly judge
that. I’m talking about the ones who react with aggressive denial. And
it seemed to me that the ones I most often saw doing that were
middle-aged white guys with a management background."

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

"Facts and mechanisms are not the issue. Their relationship with
success is mystical and emotional. Thus, the person who quibbles with
the details of their plan is their enemy rather than their ally. Such
impediments will of course be overcome if the employee correctly
understands and implements the magic PHB force of will. After all,
that’s what force of will is there for. In the meantime, by expressing
reservations the employee has potentially weakened the all-important
PHB confidence. That’s not being a good employee.

"(Do I need to point out that there’s a world of difference between
absolute faith in the success of work you do yourself, and absolute
faith in your own success when your job consists of telling other
people what to do?)"

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

"A historical note: The corporation that had the most, and most
fervent, motivational and inspirational corporate-branded pelf I’ve
ever seen? That would have to be Enron. They were swimming in it –
everything from posters, pens, and t-shirts to Christmas ornaments and
fine cut-crystal tchotchkes. And when Enron went boom, and screwed its
employees six ways from Sunday, you should have seen how fast that
stuff came flying onto eBay. The saddest ones were the employee awards
set with little jewels showing how many years of devoted work they’d
put into the company: Together, we aren’t winners."

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

"It’s not cute, and it’s not funny, and it’s not religion. George Bush
is running national policy on faith—but it’s not faith in God. It’s
become something far stranger and more idolatrous.

"What he’s put his faith in is George W. Bush, which is not the same
thing as saying he believes in himself. He can’t believe in himself; he
knows he doesn’t know anything. But instead of seeking more information
and better counsel, he’s abandoned the frustrations of dealing with the
factual, external universe. He’s now basing everything on the instincts
of George W. Bush. That’s where the smirk comes from.

"He’s certain he’s right. So was every dotcom investor. So is every
blackjack player in Las Vegas."

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

And so on. There is also an extensive comment thread--as Teresa says,
"Note: My readers are the best thing about this weblog. If you’re not
reading the comments, you’re missing half the fun."

All the best,

        John A
        see me fulminate at http://www.jzip.org/

Total Lunar Eclipse: October 27-28, 2004

Total Lunar Eclipse: October 27-28, 2004

The last eclipse of 2004 occurs on the evening of Wednesday, October 27 (in Europe, the eclipse occurs during the early morning hours of Thursday, October 28). This event is a total eclipse of the Moon which will be visible from North and South America as well as Europe, Africa and Antarctica. During such an eclipse, the Moon's disk can take on a dramatically colorful appearance from bright orange to blood red to dark brown and (rarely) very dark gray.

Save the Kitties - Don't Vote Republican

Digital Photography Now - News - Make your own ISO camera test target?

Digital Photography Now - News - Make your own ISO camera test target?

ISO 12233 test target. Its pretty cool. I'm testing our digital and print cameras. Its not as good as a 'real' test target, but its Generally Useful.

I debated putting this in my Tech Log

Pennsylvania Treasury - Bureau of Unclaimed Property

Pennsylvania Treasury - Bureau of Unclaimed Property - Search

Wow. I didn't find anything in NJ, but a quick search in PA found two Disney stock certificates that were 'unclaimed' in 1994. I find this a bit hard to believe, since we didn't move to NJ until 1995, but Megan was born in 1994 and we had friends from Ireland living with us for the summer as well, so it was a busy year!

Two Talks on Science and Technology Policy

EE/COMPUTER SYSTEMS LABORATORY COLLOQUIUM
NEC Auditorium, Gates Computer Science Building B03
http://ee380.stanford.edu[1]

TWO TALKS ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY

Date: October 20, 2004 4:15PM
Topic: Science and Technology Policy I: The Bush View
Speaker: E. Floyd Kvamme
Partner Emeritus, Kleiner Perkin Caufield & Byers

Date: October 27, 2004 4:15PM
Topic: Science and Technology Policy II: The Kerry View
Speaker: Burton Richter
Professor of Physical Sciences at Stanford Director Emeritus
of SLAC

The live talks are open to the public (see the web site for maps and
other information). In additon, the talks will be broadcast over SITN,
the Stanford Instructional Television Network, webcast live, and
archived for delayed viewing. Access to the talks is free from either
http://ee380.stanford.edu or http://online.stanford.edu.

Synopsis:

The Science and Technology policies embraced by the winner of the
upcoming election will impact everyone. There are significant,
substantive differences between the Science and Technology policies
championed by the Bush administration and those that would be
implemented by a Kerry administration. In an election campaign given to
campaign rhetoric, talking points, four-word sound bytes, and spin, many
of the real issues of particular interest to scientists and engineers
(and others) have gotten lost.

To explore the issues, we have invited two highly qualified speakers to
describe the Science and Technology policies we might expect following
the election: one from the Bush point of view, and the other from the
Kerry point of view. The speakers are not surrogates for the
candidates, but they do have intimate personal knowledge of the policy
issues and can compare and contrast positions.

The Science and Technology policies embraced by the winner of the
upcoming election will impact everyone.

There are significant, substantive differences between the Science and
Technology policies championed by the Bush administration and those that
would be implemented by a Kerry administration. In an election campaign
given to campaign rhetoric, talking points, four-word sound bytes, and
spin, many of the real issues of particular interest to scientists and
engineers (and others) have gotten lost.

To explore the issues, we have invited two highly qualified speakers to
describe the Science and Technology policies we might expect following
the election: one from the Bush point of view, and the other from the
Kerry point of view. The speakers are not surrogates for the candidates,
but they do have intimate personal knowledge of the policy issues and
can compare and contrast positions.

E. Floyd Kvamme, emeritus Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Buyers partner,
will speak on October 20, 2004. He has been an advisor to the Bush
Administration. His biography appears below.

Burton Richter, Professor of Physical Sciences at Stanford and director
emeritus of SLAC, will speak on October 27, 2004. He has been an advisor
to the Kerry campaign.

Both talks will be broadcast over SITN, the Stanford Instructional
Television Network, webcast live, and archived for delayed viewing.
Access to the talks is free from http://ee380.stanford.edu (click on the
video icon). The streaming video is in Windows Media Format and requires
an appropriate player. It can also be accessed from
http://scpd.stanford.edu.

About the speaker:

(image) E. Floyd Kvamme

Since March 1984, Floyd Kvamme has been a Partner at Kleiner Perkins
Caufield & Byers, a high technology venture capital firm. In this
capacity, he was responsible for the development of high technology
companies from early start-up to the publicly traded phase. He is now a
Partner Emeritus at the firm.

Floyd Kvamme currently serves on the boards of Harmonic Inc., National
Semiconductor, Photon Dynamics, Power Integrations, as well as Gemfire
Corporation and Silicon Genesis.

Mr. Kvamme is Co-Chairman of President Bush's President's Council of
Advisors in Science and Technology (PCAST).

Floyd Kvamme was one of five members of the team that began at National
Semiconductor in 1967, serving as its General Manager of Semiconductor
Operations and building it into a billion-dollar company. He served as
President of the National Advanced Systems subsidiary, which designed,
manufactured and marketed large computer systems.

In 1982 he became Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for
Apple Computer. While at Apple, his responsibilities included worldwide
sales, marketing, distribution and support.

He holds two degrees in Engineering; a BS in Electrical Engineering from
the University of California at Berkeley (1959) and an MSE specializing
in Semiconductor Electronics from Syracuse University (1962).

Contact information:

E. Floyd Kvamme


Embedded Links: [ 1 ] http://ee380.stanford.edu

Unclaimed Property Search - New Jersey

Unclaimed Property Search - NJ Taxation

Just what it says - you can search by name for unclaimed property. It doesn't look like we have anything coming to us, or any immediate family members.

Kaffe Magnum Opus

Coffee by Kaffe Magnum Opus - The World's Finest Coffees

This is a local coffee roaster. I want to try a pound of their Peaberry coffee and a local coffee shop is Commodore Coffee & Bagel down by the Commodore Barry Bridge.

Summary of newspaper endorsements

Daily Endorsement Tally: Bush Meets 3 Amigos

This link and the list below are from "Editor & Publisher" a journal that covers the newspaper industry.

I don't think newspaper endorsements are definitive, however, I think they are a reflection of regional sentiment and how a cantidate will benefit readers of the respective newspapers.

I have come to the conclusion that I'm a Republican for Kerry. I will post a summary of factors (and references with links) that I used to decide my vote. This will be the most interesting and important election since I was eligible to vote.

Our current tally, with latest daily circulation numbers, follows. "G" and "B" refer to whether the paper endorsed Gore or Bush in 2000:

JOHN KERRY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (G): 418,323
The Philadelphia Inquirer (G): 387.692
Detroit Free Press (G): 354,581
The Oregonian (Portland) (B): 342,040
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (G): 281,198
The Seattle Times (B): 237,303
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (G): 150,901
The Philadelphia Daily News: 139,983
Arizona Daily Star (Tucson) (G): 109,592
The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.) (G): 89,384
Portland Press Herald (Maine) (G): 73,211
The Day (New London, Conn.) (B): 39,553
The Albuquerque Tribune (B): 13,536

Total Pro-Kerry Daily Circ: 2,637,297

GEORGE W. BUSH
Las Vegas Review-Journal (B): 170,061
Tulsa World (Okla.) (B): 139,383
Mobile (Ala.) Register (B): 100,244
The Oakland Press (Pontiac, Mich.): 65,484
The Union Leader (Manchester, N.H.) (B): 59,605
Savannah Morning News (B): 57,288
The Pueblo (Colo.) Chieftain: 52,208
The Columbian (Vancouver, Wash.) (B): 51,498
Amarillo (Texas) Globe-News (B): 51,105
The Sun (Lowell, Mass.) (B): 50,369
The Courier (Findlay, Ohio) (B): 22,319
The Leaf-Chronicle (Clarksville, Tenn.) (B): 22,057
Globe-Gazette (Mason City, Iowa)(B): 18,947

Total Pro-Bush Daily Circ: 860,568

SUPER COOL TRICK: /Bootlogo boot.ini switch

I thought I read about this switch 100 years ago, but here it is again.  BTW - Russinovich is a bloody genius on all things Windows.  I can't believe he was not already an MVP.  Congrads Mark!

This is cool! Mark Russinovich just "discoverd" a new boot.ini switch for winXP and 2003./BOOTLOGOUse this switch to have Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 display an installable splash screen instead of the standard splash screen. First, create a 16-color (any 16 colors) 640x480 bitmap and save it in the Windows directory with the name Boot.bmp. Then add "/bootlogo /noguiboot" to the boot.ini selection.Also I want to congratulate Mark on his MVP award, it's about time!

Related...

[Bink.nu]

George Will: A Questionable Kind Of Conservatism

A Questionable Kind Of Conservatism (washingtonpost.com)

This was referenced in the 16 Oct 2004 Doonesbury. I happen to like George Will and this is a very interesting perspective on George W. Bush. The column was originally published 24 July 2003.

Blogger is S L O W

Has Blogger gotten really slow in the past month, or is it just me?

Connecting to Blogger and posting has become painful in the past month. Its not my web site - I host it locally, its my connection to blogger.com.

I should dig into this, but don't really have the time. If anyone has insight, I am interested in hearing any theories.

PBS Frontline: The Choice 2004

frontline: the choice 2004 | PBS

This is a balanced, through look at Bush and Kerry. I think everyone would benefit from watching "The Choice 2004" before they go to the voting booth.

20 Greatest Equations

This should actually be the 20 Greatest Physics Equations.

I'm posting this to my personal log just to get people who would normally avoid physics, math or science to take a look.

Don't worry, the only ones I think are 'generally useful' and that people should know are:

Newton's second law (force = mass x acceleration). if more people understood this, they would take more effort to not crash automobiles into each other or stationary objects.

Pythagora's theorem. You want to know this if your cutting down trees so they don't hit your house. I would add all the trig functions (sine, cosine, tangent). No one seems to know how to use trig after high schoool, but then they do stupid things like crush their house/car when they chop down trees.

Circumference of a circle. everyone should know this. I refuse to tell people when they ask, but I will go find it in a dictionary with them. Sort of like teaching someone how to fish.

Ideal gas law - PV=nRT. OK, not generally useful, but its why aerosol cans explode in fires and a can will be crushed if you take it 14-28 feet below the surface of the water. You need to know this if you SCUBA dive.

The Seven Warning Signs of Bogus Science

The Chronicle: 1/31/2003: The Seven Warning Signs of Bogus Science

1. The discoverer pitches the claim directly to the media.
2. The discoverer says that a powerful establishment is trying to suppress his or her work.
3. The scientific effect involved is always at the very limit of detection.
4. Evidence for a discovery is anecdotal.
5. The discoverer says a belief is credible because it has endured for centuries.
6. The discoverer has worked in isolation.
7. The discoverer must propose new laws of nature to explain an observation.

The only exception to #6 that I can think of is the guy who discovered that some ulcers are caused by bacteria that can be killed by antibiotics.

Interactive TiVo Upgrade

Interactive TiVo Upgrade

step-by-step guide for Tivo upgrades.
I used

another test using w.bloggar

test post

this is a test post. reconfigured options.
Took five minutes to get up, running and productive

I really like the editor - takes Word format keyboard commands. This is a good sign.

End Test

Take the Quiz

bk008

Who said what - Bush or Kerry.

I think I'm pretty current with the news and where each cantidate stands, but I only got 50% on this quiz. Pretty good questions and the site has additional background information on the cantidates.

If you don't vote, you don't count!

Nutrition Action Healthletter - Caffeine

Nutrition Action Healthletter - Caffeine: The Caffeine Corner

This explains why I like Starbucks coffee so much.

At the same time, I question the numbers in this chart - can a 16 oz (grande) coffee from Starbucks really have 550 mg of caffeine?

I will see if I can find additional analysis to substantiate these figures.

New Tandem Photo

mel_tandem_photo,
originally uploaded by Paul Begley.

Quick and dirty photo of our NOS (new, old stock) 2001 Cannondale RT1000 road tandem.

Its *wonderful*. This is the first bike I have ridden with STI (integrated shift/brake levers). Its sized better than our original Bob Jackson tandem and it does NOT flex, even at 35-40MPH. I can't wait until the girls get more miles under thier belts. We are doing C+ rides now, but I see B/B+ rides by next Spring.

Megan and I went to Tandem's East last month and picked up the bike. Mel and Barbara are great people as well as tandem specialists. Mel built a bullet proof rear wheel that I'm using for my DeRosa and Cannondale - Phil Wood hub, 40 spoke wheel and tandem rim.

Microsoft TechNet: Exchange Server 2003 Interoperability and Migration Guide

Microsoft TechNet: Exchange Server 2003 Interoperability and Migration Guide

Summary

The Exchange Server 2003 Interoperation and Migration Guide was created to help messaging administrators and consultants to connect and migrate non–Exchange Server messaging systems to Exchange Server 2003. It describes the process by which you design an efficient Exchange Server 2003 interoperability and migration strategy. It includes prerequisites and actual procedures for connecting Exchange Server 2003 to common non–Exchange Server messaging platforms, including, but not limited to, Lotus Notes (and Lotus Domino) and Novell GroupWise. Connector components including Exchange Connector for Lotus Notes, Exchange Connector for Novell GroupWise, Calendar Connector, and general connectors based on SMTP and X.400 are described. The Exchange Server Migration Wizard, the fundamental tool for migrating user data, is discussed at length. There is also a troubleshooting chapter to consult if you encounter issues with interoperability and migration.

This guide is designed to be both a quick reference and a hands-on resource for a variety of interoperability and migration scenarios, so that you can read the sections that interest you and skip the others. For example, if you are interested in a migration from Novell GroupWise to Exchange Server 2003, you can skip the chapter about migrating from Lotus Notes/Domino. However, if you are a system consultant who specializes in migrating all non-Microsoft messaging platforms to Exchange Server 2003, you might find it worthwhile to read this guide from start to finish.

EFF: Press Room

EFF: Press Room

EFF, Public Interest Groups Challenge Legality of the Broadcast Flag

Lawsuit Questions FCC's Authority to Mandate Copy Protection on All Hardware That Receives Digital TV Signals

This is a HUGE issue that has not been adequately covered in the media and the average consumer knows nothing about.

Industry groups barred from closed-door Induce Act talks [ip]

This is from Dave Farber's "Interesting People" mailing list.
Forwarded by Declan McCullagh at Politechbot.com

I think it gives more background into what the INDUCE Act means and how
its being added in the back door.

Subject: [Politech] Industry groups barred from closed-door Induce Act
talks [ip]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Key Industry Groups Barred from Senate Copyright Negotiations
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2004 13:26:07 -0400
From: Gregory N. Minchak
To: gminchak@ccianet.org

Computer & Communications Industry Association
Phone 202.783.2942 Fax 202.783.0534
www.ccianet.org

Please contact:
Will Rodger, 202-783-0070 x 105
Gregory Minchak, 202-783-0070 x 109

For Immediate Release
September 30, 2004


Major industry group barred from meeting on INDUCE Act

Today, staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee are meeting with a
Fraction of supporters and opponents of S. 2560, widely known as the
INDUCE Act.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association, along with dozens of
other commercial, consumer and non-profit interests, will not be
participating. CCIA, which represent companies with more than $200
Billion in sales and 1 million employees worldwide, was specifically
told not to
appear last night by Senator Hatch's Office.

The bill on its face will hamper innovation and harm consumers: Armed
With a new cause of action, Hollywood lawyers will have the power to
bring
suit against any technology, telecommunications or consumer electronics
company that produces a product or service that could be used to
infringe
copyright. Put simply, it covers virtually every recording, duplication
and information technology device today - even the Internet itself.

Perhaps worst of all, S. 2560 cannot work: The odds that other countries
will adopt such draconian legislation are slim to none. Several European
commentators have quipped that they should ready themselves for a wave
of immigration by US high-tech talent if this bill becomes law.

Drafters have failed to account for interests of the public at large.
The bill's authors have thus far ignored virtually every suggestion put
forth by CCIA and a group of 50 companies, non-profits and trade
associations
over the past three months. Opponents of the bill have submitted
numerous proposals and amendments. Yet, despite their good faith
efforts, they
have received no substantive critiques of their work and have been
labeled
"obstructionist".

The stakes involved are high.

Examples of the sorts of devices likely to be affected by this proposal
include:

VCRs
Optical disk recorders
Radio receivers
Audio devices
Instant Messenger
Personal computers
iPods and other personal music players
Online music services
The Internet itself

CCIA, together with computer, telecommunications and consumer
electronics companies, libraries, universities, consumer advocates and
electronics
retailers everywhere opposes S. 2560. We urge the Senate to reject this
bill.

###

Created in 1972, CCIA has long been active in litigation and legislative
activities involving copyright and other intellectual property issues,
ISP liability, and competition policy. CCIA members include Sun
Microsystems, Oracle, Yahoo, Red Hat, Nokia and Verizon.


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