Cool Site
Allen June 30th, 2004
Check out the cool flash site Pencilmation - The Heart of it All!. Kind of reminds me of the old Bugs Bunny / Daffy Duck cartoon where Bugs is in control of the animation.
[Via MetaFilter]
Archive for June, 2004
Friends Don’t Let Friends AutoRun
Allen June 30th, 2004
I’ve had “AutoRun” disabled on my computers for quite some time, but just a reminder to those who are not aware of this feature.
Have you ever inserted a CD into your computer and had a program pop-up immediately? Then you have AutoRun enabled on your computer. While this may seem cool, it carries with it unintended consequences.
Read How-To Tuesday: Disable AutoRun on Windows! - Features - Engadget - features.engadget.com to learn about those consequences and how you can disable AutoRun.
As a note, TweakUI from Microsoft allows you to go in and disable this feature without resorting to regedit. Also, an upcoming service pack from Microsoft will disable this feature by default.
[Via Boing Boing Blog]
My Blog Is My Essay
Allen June 29th, 2004
Read Kevin’s reaction to an unusual assignment in 31 Years Of Graduates Do One Last Homework Assignment.
Some teachers can change your life. Carrie Kolder is one of those kinds of teachers. From the Chicago Tribune (Registration required - privacy guarded ID’s available at BugMeNot):
It was a dream only an English teacher would have: a retirement party jammed with hundreds of former students, all bearing essays.That’s what Carrie Kolder wanted as a brain tumor brought her 31-year career at Fremd High School in Palatine to a premature end. And on Saturday, after nearly a year of planning, that’s what she will get.
As many as 500 of her “kids”–some of whom are now approaching their 50s–are expected to meet in the school cafeteria for a farewell salute to the tough but tender Mrs. K, who demanded the best from D students and college bound alike.
She set the price of admission as one last bit of homework, a paper in which the students recall how their time in Kolder’s classroom shaped their lives. The assignment has prompted many to reflect on the huge impact one teacher can have.
I spent 3 years in high school in the Creative Writing department — years pouring myself into writing poems, essays and short shories. When I reached college, it all turned off. I cast around, looking for something that I enjoyed doing that would also earn a living for me (and my future family). To make a long story short, I spent roughly 10 years getting my bachelor’s degree (and 6 years getting my Master’s — another story entirely) and never got around to writing again.
While I am writing again, most of my writing energy is devoted to this blog. I’d like to spend more time on the stories that I am working on, but I enjoy blogging too much. I’ve set a goal of writing at least 30 minutes each day on the stories, but fall short all too often.
The Tao of the Bleat
Allen June 29th, 2004
The Bleat (always worthy of a read) has a classic line today in The movie was Spartan. ()
[S]ome people will not be happy until the people who are usually happy aren’t.
A Former Muslim Calls Michael Moore a “Hatriot”
Allen June 28th, 2004
Dr. Ergun Mehmet Caner rips into Michael Moore and his latest film in ‘Hatriotism’ & Michael Moore: Turkish Muslim says ‘Fahrenheit 911′ wrong on liberation of Iraq.
“HATE-RIOTISM” describes the new breeze blowing through the American media. It is now “cool” and “relevant” to mock everything for which our soldiers are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Criticizing democracy and America has long been in vogue in continental Europe from those who look with disdain at American “naivete,” while still lamenting the Islamic onslaught.
Now imported to our shores, hatriotism is the simplest way to get the growing contingent of professional protestors who populate television audiences to cheer: Mock America. Mock our involvement in Iraq. Mock President Bush … and get rousing applause.
The only problem is … America has freed my kinsmen.
I am a Persian Turkish immigrant raised as a Sunni Muslim, and in the interest of full disclosure, I must state that I left Islam in 1982, and became an American citizen. Yet, as I survey the current cultural landscape, I cannot help but be less than enthused when Michael Moore states that his film is a call to true patriotism.
The present conflict is not a war against Islam, and neither is it a “war for oil.” In the previous six military endeavors, American troops sided with Muslims who were under attack, and there are much less extreme methods of garnering oil. This is a war of ideologies, and with “Fahrenheit 911,” Moore clearly shows his.
His visual narrative of Lila Lipscombe, a Flint, Mich., mother who sent her sons to the military and “lives to regret it,” as Roger Friedman of FOX News notes, is “unexpectedly poignant.”
I wonder – was Moore equally moved when he heard of the honor killings which daily threatened the lives of Muslim women in Afghanistan? Was he equally as outraged at the female circumcision practices in my countrymen’s lands, because it lessens the threat of adultery?
In fact, I wonder … where were all the “hatriots” when our soldiers freed all the women of Afghanistan from the Taliban? Where were the feminists when our soldiers liberated the Afghan women to be educated for the first time in years?
The irony is, for all of their false bravado behind the First Amendment and their right to “free speech,” the hatriots are exercising this right because American men and women shed their blood to afford them this right against those who would seek to oppress it. I would invite Michael Moore to my homeland to make a movie criticizing Turkish oppression and see what happens. The freedom he enjoys now was purchased with a dear price.
Like Chis at JunkYardBlog, I too like the gist of the word “Hatriot” and plan to use it more often.
[Via JunkYardBlog]
Ted Rall Establishes His Base Price
Allen June 28th, 2004
I always had Ted Rall pegged as a “Speaking Truth to Power” type liberal — someone who values “Purity of Essence” when dealing with politics. His rabidly liberal viewpoints and controversial statements have earned him condemnation from non-trolls around the nation.
However, after reading Ted Rall on the Ax Versus the Rapier, it turns out Teddy boy is just in it for the money.
I’m as out there [on the political edge] as I am because I have the freedom. It’s the only benefit of being syndicated and not working at a paper. If someone said tone it down and we’ll pay you $100,000 a year, I’d say great. Since no one will have me, I might as well use the freedom I have.
So for $200K, will Ted say that Dubya is the greatest leader in our lifetime? $250K?
Kind of reminds me of a story attributed to Sir Winston Churchill.
Churchill and a woman were at a dinner party. Sir Churchill asked the woman if she would sleep with him for a million pounds. She said yes. He asked her if she would sleep with him for a single pound note. She supposedly looked shocked and said, “Sir Winston, what sort of woman do you take me for?” His gruff reply, “Madam, we have already established that. We are just negotiating the price.”
I doubt the story above is true, but that doesn’t matter. It illustrates a point.
Troll Teddy has established his price for “toning it down”. The rest is negotiations.
Jazz in June Festival
Allen June 25th, 2004
I’ll be volunteering tonight at Norman’s Jazz in June festival. Looking forward to a great night of Jazz. If you like Jazz, grab a lawn chair and head over to Brookhaven Village (tonight) or Andrews Park tomorrow night.
Had a computer fire last night — working on repairing a problem with the PC when the wires started glowing red (on powerup) and smoke started billowing out. Needless to say, I’m shopping for a new computer. I hope I can salvage some items from our current PC.
Good News!
Allen June 24th, 2004
The Kingdom that Time Forgot is stepping up in combatting terrorism. Click on Non-Redeemable to find out how.
If you are a terrorist, simply clip the coupon and worry no more!
Again, The Unstated Sentence
Allen June 24th, 2004
Donald Sensing, one of my favorite bloggers, writes in Beheadings no longer shocking enough? that the Islamofascists may need to raise the bar. Beheadings may not be shocking enough.
He notes that a cleric in Saudi Arabia has said, “Whoever kills any person under our protection will not go to heaven.” Donald’s reaction is “Well, it’s a start, let’s hope.”
Perhaps so, but it is a hope founded on words offering little comfort.
Key here is the cleric’s qualifier, “under out protection”. If we are the rulers, Muslims shouldn’t kill non-Muslims. But…
Lying Sentinels
Allen June 24th, 2004
Michelle Malkin examines non-partisan groups and finds them to be non-partisan groups. Read WOBBLY WATCHDOGS for her examination of the article by Roll Call. Deriving from her numbers, these “non-partisan” groups contributed 96% of their money to Democratic candidates and only 4% to Republican candidates.
I have no problem with contributing to campaigns. Just don’t say that it is non-partisan when an overwhelming percentage is going to one party.
Also noted by Michelle:
There’s more the story could have added. According to one Hill source, nearly all of these watchdog groups are funded with money from the hyper-partisan Bush-basher George Soros: Public Campaign, $1.2 million; Public Citizen, $100,000; Common Cause, $600,000; Democracy 21, $250,000.
So why the title of my post? Well, it has two meanings.
A sentinel is a person who keeps watch on the walls of the city or a camp. His (or her) job is to call out when the enemy approaches — ensuring a concerted defense of the public. But if the sentinel is in league with the outsiders, if the sentinel is taking money from those who seek harm, if the sentinel stays silent when the enemy slips in, of what good is the sentinel? A lying sentinel is worse than no sentinel at all. At least with no watcher on the wall, the public knows they are at danger and keep watch themselves. A lying sentinel lulls the public into a false sense of peace.
From my understanding, a sentinel is also used in linguistics to indicate that something important is coming up. A “Lying Sentinel” is a marker that lets you know you’re getting ready to hear a lie.
So what are some “Lying Sentinels”?