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September 25, 2005
Hatred
I really don't hate a lot of things, but rubberneckers are among those (although I had to look up the word)!
We came home Sunday afternoon from a nice trip to the Snoqualmie Falls and on the way back across the West Seattle bridge we encountered slow traffic that was further backed up then even during rush-hour Friday afternoon.
We were suspecting another accident on the West Seattle Bridge, they seem to occur more frequently, recently. But it turned out the accident wasn't on out lane at all! It was just a lot of stupid sheep trying to get a peep at other people's misery! How I despise that! If you can't help, get lost as quick as you can!
I guess even worse are only people that take pictures of accidents, but at least I was standing anyway... ;)
Slow moving traffic on the West Seattle Bridge, 9/25/2005 5:30pm
Is it just me or are do others feel the same way about Americans being rather on the hunt for anything remotely sensational? Yes, in Germany I had a bad accident once on the Autobahn and some fucker even took a picture of all the crashed cars and people involved, but it seems even worse here. The better part of all the local news is about events that really do not deserve that much attention, to my mind at least. What do you say?
Posted by marco at 9:48 PM | Comments (0)
Evolution
Growing up in Germany, I never really doubted the theory of Evolution. And coming to the States didn't change that: It's not like the opposing forces have a lot of arguments for their Inteligent Design (ID). Even if they use expensive Think Tanks like the Seattle-based Discovery Institute, I still think that the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) as the creator of all things constitutes an at least equally likely theory.
The Washington Post has a nice article how recent findings on Chimpanzees bolster the findings of the Evolutionary Theory after Darwin.
For your convenience this article is also available in audio format (MP3) - some might even call it a PodCast ;)
I created that soundfile using Microsoft's Speech SDK 5.1 for Windows® applications - maybe you want to finetune the voice a little.
Posted by marco at 7:32 PM | Comments (2)
September 23, 2005
Rita Outage
My Webhosting Company eroute hosting just informed me that Hurricane Rita could disrupt my service. They also provided a gmail-address so I can contact their support even if their regular site goes down.
It's good to see that people are prepared! I keep my fingers crossed for these guys!
Posted by marco at 4:33 PM | Comments (0)
September 20, 2005
Amazon Listmania
That's a very entertaining list: How to blow a fortune and make the FBI's Most Wanted List.
It's also a little frightening with respect to what products we have on our site ;)
Posted by marco at 3:17 PM | Comments (0)
Opera is now free! Rejoice :)
After giving away serial numbers for free on their 10th anniversary Opera had already made me suspicious. And now it's official: Opera will not include ads any more (they ware always rather small and subtle). I did register Opera and I don't regret that.
I have to admit that I strayed to Firefox lately, but after having to reinstall all the extensions I need for Firefox to meet my needs a couple of times, I realized, I'm only mimicking, what I loved about Opera...
So give Opera a try now! It's one of the fastest and securest browsers around :)
Posted by marco at 10:25 AM | Comments (0)
September 18, 2005
German vote didn't really
I would have liked that differently. Hell, any result would have been better. Both big parties got nearly the same percentage of votes (SPD 34.2%, CDU 35.2%). Now to pick from 3 possible coalitions that are all impossible, because at least one party already announced not to speak with the other and nobody wants to speak with the "Left Party" anyway. And one electoral district near Dresden is to vote only next week because one of the NPD candidates died (luckily nobody voted for their kind) - they might make it even closer.
I favor the SPD and would like Schoeder to stay chancellor. George W. Bush would surely like Merkel (CDU) better: she's sure to brown-nose him as soon as she gets into office.
Posted by marco at 10:18 PM | Comments (0)
September 17, 2005
kSolo - Online Karaoke Community
I recently discovered kSolo.com, an online Karaoke community: Everyobdy records his favorite songs and the others can give feedback and rate the performance.
It is actually slightly less painfull then regular Karaoke in a bar, because most people that sing voluntarily on the web didn't have to consume large amounts of liquor to accumulate enough courage to step up to the mic.
I'm not sure if anybody really wants to here me singing willingly, but now you have been properly warned and you won't get your money back, if you click on any of the songs below! ;)
Posted by marco at 12:50 PM | Comments (0)
September 11, 2005
Strange world: Spam about Microsoft
I received a Spam Mail today. Nothing special about that ;) But the Mail was about Microsoft and how Microsoft is a spammer itself and how bad a person Steve Ballmer is.
OK, so it's a propaganda spam mail. But it get's even more interesting:
At the bottom of the mail there is a reference to SPAMIS - a organisation founded by a notorious spammer, who is probably afraid of Microsofts Anit-Spam measures.
Other blogs got this, too: e.g. randomlog and OpsanBlog.
Delivered-To: myemail@gmail.com
Received: by 10.54.78.20 with SMTP id a20cs54104wrb;
Sun, 11 Sep 2005 01:31:41 -0700 (PDT)
Received: by 10.54.80.5 with SMTP id d5mr1686027wrb;
Sun, 11 Sep 2005 01:31:41 -0700 (PDT)
Return-Path:
Received: from pc22.csie.ntnu.edu.tw (pc22.csie.ntnu.edu.tw [140.122.185.22])
by mx.gmail.com with SMTP id 65si383584wra.2005.09.11.01.31.39;
Sun, 11 Sep 2005 01:31:41 -0700 (PDT)
Received-SPF: neutral (gmail.com: 140.122.185.22 is neither permitted nor denied by domain of myemail@gmail.com)
Received: from localhost.localdomain (HELO localhost.localdomain [127.0.0.1])
by miguel.lycos.com (Mostfix) with ESMTP id BAD7133BFF
for ; Sat, 10 Sep 2005 16:25:58 -0500
Message-Id: <200309010816.06350.horehound@budweiser.com>
Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2005 22:21:58 +0100
From: "myemail@gmail.com"
To: myemail@gmail.com
Subject: BREAKING NEWS: Microsoft CEO Vows to "KILL" Google
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.13
X-Mailer: Ximian Evolution 1.4.3
COURT DOCUMENTS:
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Vowed to "KILL" Google
News Published: September 2, 2005, 1:07 PM PDT
Reprinted From CNET News.com - Written by Ina Fried
----- ---- --- -- - -
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer vowed to "kill" Google in an
expletitive-laced, chair-throwing tirade when a senior
engineer told him he was leaving the company to go work
for Google, the engineer claimed in court documents made
public on Friday.
In a sworn statement made public Friday, Mark Lucovsky,
another Microsoft senior engineer who left for Google in
November 2004, recounted Ballmer's angry reaction when
Lucovsky told Ballmer he was going to work for the search
engine company.
"At some point in the conversation, Mr. Ballmer said:
'Just tell me it's not Google,'"Lucovosky said in his
statement. Lucovosky replied that he was joining Google.
"At that point, Mr. Ballmer picked up a chair and threw it
across the room hitting a table in his office," Lucovosky
recounted, adding that Ballmer then launched into a tirade
about Google CEO Eric Schmidt. "I'm going to f***ing bury
that guy, I have done it before, and I will do it again.
I'm going to f***ing kill Google." Schmidt previously
worked for Sun Microsystems and was the CEO of Novell.
ARTICLE AT:
http://news.com.com/Court+docs+Ballmer+vowed+to+kill+Google/2100-1014_3-5846243.html?
COMMENTED AT:
http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/05/09/03/0515250.shtml?tid=109&tid=217&tid=133&tid=123
ASK YOURSELF:
Do you trust a company with "your computer" security/privacy
and support a company with a CEO that acts in this manner?
----- ---- --- -- - -
MICROSOFT: Self-Admitted World's Largest & Greatest Spammer
----- ---- --- -- - -
" I'm with one of the greatest, most hated institutional
"spammers" around. We are a spamhouse. Doesn't matter
that we're Microsoft. Our legitimate, unsolicited email
is still just spam. "
- Mike Lyman
- MICROSOFT HEAD EMAIL ABUSE ADMINISTRATOR
ABOVE STATEMENT ARCHIVED & COMMENTED ON AT:
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?S1=spam-l&X=-
1. Under Search for type: "We are a spamhaus."
2. Under Search for type: "most hated institutional"
----- ---- --- -- - -
" Businesses ought to be able to send unsolicited e-mail to
people even if they are unsure if they have a pre-existing
business relationship with them. "
- Ryan Hamlin
- MICROSOFT CHIEF COUNSEL - August 22nd, 2005
ABOVE STATEMENT ARCHIVED & COMMENTED ON AT:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3384447a28,00.html
http://it.slashdot.org/it/05/08/22/1717258.shtml?tid=111&tid=109
----- ---- --- -- - -
- [ Public Service Announcement Brought To You By SPAMIS ]
- [ Strategic Partnership Against Microsoft Illegal Spam ]
[SPAMIS NOTIFICATION]:
Fully "READY" to Begin Increasing Public Service Announcement
Emails to 20 Times the Amount of Internet Users by 25 Times the
Current Sending Rate & Speed When a Certain Activity Transpires.
[CURRENTLY IN WAITING FOR THIS ACTIVITY TO TRANSPIRE]
Posted by marco at 8:43 PM | Comments (0)
September 10, 2005
View from our street
To test my new camera I took a picture of the view from the street in front of our house as the sun was just setting in the West. You can see the Olympic Mountains in the back and Little Clam Bay up front (see map).
Posted by marco at 8:16 PM | Comments (0)
September 9, 2005
What strikes out?
If you want to send stuff to Germany by mail there is a list of things you can't send:
- Absinthe.
- Arms and weapons.
- Articles bearing political or religious notations on the address side.
- Human remains.
- Live plants and animals.
- Melatonin.
- Perishable infectious biological substances.
- Playing cards, except in complete decks properly wrapped.
- Pulverized coca beans.
- Radioactive materials.
Where most of these items make some sence in being prohibited, what's up with the playing cards and the cocoa? It's the first time I heard those are dangerous... and as luck would have it, we do want to send playing card, but they are not very precise in what properly wrapped means ;)
Posted by marco at 1:14 PM | Comments (2)
September 6, 2005
Bush to attack Muslim countries over Porn-blocking Trojan
Washington, D.C. A Trojan horse, a kind of computer pest, is blocking pornographic websites on infected computers. A spokesperson for President George W. Bush said, "The President is very upset and announced to retaliate immediately."
Once it's installed, Yusufali.a -- called "Cager.a" by Trend Micro -- watches which sites Windows users visit by examining the browser's title bar. If the Trojan sees a word in its list -- such as "teen," "xx," "sex," or "penis" -- it minimizes the window and displays a quote from the Koran:
"Yusufali: Know, therefore, that there is no god but Allah, and ask forgiveness for they fault, and for the men and women who believe: for Allah knows how ye move about and how ye dwell in your homes."
"This Trojan isn't trying to steal money or confidential information, but acting as a moral guardian instead, blocking viewing of sites it determines are unsavory," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, in a statement. "This may have been written as a joke, or as a serious attempt to clean-up the habits of Internet users."
Americans all over the States are really getting pissed: "Now they have gone to far. Nobody stands between me and my porn!" an anonymous Hilly-Billy said "Let's get those Muslim punks!"
Now, nearly nine months into his second term, President Bush faces perhaps the most profound test of executive and political skill of his life. One week after hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, wreaking unfathomable devastation, his administration is still scrambling to make up for a delayed initial response that faced broad, bipartisan criticism. Americans are reeling over gasoline prices, and remain skeptical over the course of the Iraq war. Plans for a bold second-term agenda - including Social Security reform and tax reform - sit in doubt. But if he handles this incident swift, retailiates without mercy and stops the involuntary abstinence of the American people polls show his second term might be brighter after all.
Posted by marco at 12:18 PM | Comments (1)
September 5, 2005
Backwards Bush
Posted by marco at 12:43 PM | Comments (0)
September 4, 2005
New satellite pictures from New Orleans
Google put new satellite pictures into Google Maps. See New Orleans - you can compare pre and post Hurricane pictures, by alternating between the Katrina and Satellite view.
Posted by marco at 1:51 PM | Comments (0)