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March 30, 2009

Scary Moment

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Woke up this morning and the router was dark.

"Oh no!"

Suddenly all priorities changed as I carefully unplugged and re-plugged in the power cord.

I chanted over it like one of MacBeth's witches. "Bubble bubble, toil and trouble."

That and various threats against its little electronic life (hello bathtub?) seemed to do the trick.

We are all operational again.

March 29, 2009

Sheena Easton

Something just very sweet about this girl.


CSPAN's Book TV

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Wow.

Radical Change from Audrey Hepburn

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I like the way they "thank you" for your payment in the email.

Endearing in a way.

Or not.

March 28, 2009

Breakfast at Tiffany's Final Scene

Everyone loves a Saturday night heart wrench.

You see, Holly Golightly is the lost cat.


The Power of Love




This is a really cool song.

I remember 1985, when 30 years in the past begged a future.

Time flies, and "Star Trek" communicators have nothing over iphones.

Sure wish I had a transporter sometimes.

Take for instance, the actress Claudia Wells

who played Jennifer. Thanks to her agents and parents, she never saw a good look at another acting role ever, and probably sweeps floors now at a local Dunkin Donuts.

The point and message is - when you have hold of a golden ring, do not throw it away.

She could have been the next Reese or Kirsten or any of a number of standout magazine stars while we wait in the checkout line.

She lost it all through contract negotiations, banal adults. Sad, because she can never get it back.

Girls kill for one chance like that, and she let the wind blow it away like a tumbleweed.

I love you Claudia. Jennifer rocked, and Marty found you time and time again.

No overs in life, however.


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This Kind of Makes Me Sad

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But even Roger Federer cannot stay on top forever.

It remains to be seen if he will ever be able to win another grand slam. And if he does not, well - it is pretty cool for Switzerland to make a stamp with your face on it.

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Mirka still loves him.


I hear she is some sort of genius or something. Anybody can speak seven languages fluently.


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Let's not write the man's obituary yet.

But face it. With Raphael Nadal on this planet, never giving an inch, Roger's window might have slammed shut.

He threw the kitchen sink at Nadal and lost the French Open three or four times, Wimbledon, and the Australian Open.

Now the gawky Andy Murray is crushing him like a roach, and Djokovovojojokivic. You remember that dude? Parodies service style of Maria Sharapova (another lost cause) and John McEnroe?

You knew none of this, nor did you conceive a penchant to ever stumble across unmined tennis diamonds in the rough.

But that is what I am here for.

March 27, 2009

Ashton and Demi, Twittering in a Green Tree

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These two make a cute, if rich, couple.

But why do the telegenic Hollywood types all have to buy into the concept that man is responsible for planetary weather variations?

It's like some weird mea-culpa mania that has gone way too far.

Mix in 4.5 billion years of cosmic history, and possibly the sun please. Good grief.

Yet they Twitter.

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She is forty-six.

He is thirty-one.

I'm not nearly as envious of him now as I was when their home appeared in "Architectural Digest."

March 26, 2009

Status Update on the Kindle 2

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A one month review of my new toy yields thumbs up.

I have found so far a nice balance between using this device for reading in some locations and moods, while not discarding traditional literary adventures involving feel and smell of pages.



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Recently finished a fast-paced, Tom Clancy-ish speculative foray into a future our kids and grandkids might see in the United States and world.

Mr. Friedman may well have to rewrite it by the end of 2009 after our government passes a budget to spend three thousand, five hundred, million, million dollars -  mostly on manipulative control over your life.

But I digress.



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Another March conquest page turner invited me on a whirligig roller coaster ride into the future with a half-bumbling, half-genius who picks up a female sidekick along the way.

Neither futuristic glimpse met Edith Keeler's wide almond eyes, but of course she lived in the past.

The Kindle itself is quite comfortable to hold in its leather case, perfect screen size for easy reading (fonts adjust).

Typeface is some kind of new liquid ink on glass, so it benefits from external light rather than the reverse. Controls smooth. Options include easy selection of indexes, chapters, bookmarks, personal comments, annotations. Lots of free stuff in the store (like The Bible and Shakespeare - the entire works, poof, just like that).

I canceled trial versions of newspapers. Waste of time since the internet clamors with them all anyway. And this young man needs no more magazines. He cannot skim through those he already gets.

Kindle offers a rudimentary web browser that is not very practical, but free via "whisper-net" service, a G3 technology like cell phones, so it works everywhere and relies not upon a local Wi-Fi connection.

But it is $400, so consider that versus twenty pizzas.

Have a great day.

March 23, 2009

I Think I Have Found My Next Car

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But with the government bankrupting the country, this might be all I can afford.

Stay on side streets. I know. I know.

March 21, 2009

Webb to go 'Underground'???

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Morgan Webb, recently of "Webb Alert" podcast fame, heads back to X-Play to "get the lowdown on strange but true pop culture news."

I am sure tens of people will see that.

Is anyone over age twenty-four watching G4TV?

Maybe Morgan is just ruminating for her next serious gig while grasping with the loss of all fashion sense.

<---- what the heck is this cloth-like torture device?

Here was her goodbye note:


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March 19, 2009

Those Dog Ears

Poor Emerson's little dog ears are bald and red again. He can't stop scratching and infecting them.

Back to the vet for some relief, and a new elizabethan collar, and toenail cut.

Been a battle for months. Tough to solve, because the more he irritates them, the more they bother him to scratch even more.

Surely this is not a reaction again my YouTube selections?

March 17, 2009

Kelly's New Song




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March 15, 2009

Hannah Rocks

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Her name is Hannah, and I am impressed by her enunciation


One of those perennial twenty-six year-olds. 

Like you are never going to lose that bulky device.

I am still loving THIS THING.




On second thought, Hannah does rather resemble an elf.

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March 14, 2009

When Will the Technology Stop?

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Quite interesting.

Just type in an artist's name or song title.

For instance, I entered "Faithfully" by Journey. It brings up the album with that song, playing another one.

This is for them to avoid copyright violations.

But from there, you can listen or click ahead four or five times to experience a full parade of music that matches thematically what you were looking for. :)

High definition music, not completely unlimited to fast clicking or free from ads. But it is FREE to explore.

Anyone remember vinyl disks that would spin round and round, with a needle dragging through grooves?

Have a great weekend everyone. :)

March 13, 2009

Insane Buzzer Beater




Better than "The Wall Street Journal" on a Friday morning. :)

See more weird stuff on The 9-5-0 Nonsense Page.

March 11, 2009

When Galaxies Collide

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Although this article

fails to mention it, when galaxies collide, few if any stars actually hit each other.

Gravity plays tricks, but momentum and distances between objects means these two great bodies will probably pass right through each other.

None of us will be around to see it, of course, which makes the prediction all that more certain and relevant to your daily life.

March 9, 2009

For Math Teachers Only

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March 7, 2009

Just When I Was Getting Boring

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Why is that over-the-shoulder look always the best?





You Simply Do Not Understand

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The farm animals will never notice.

Actually, I prefer the clocks on this cycle all year and have no clue why we ever change back.



March 5, 2009

Crisis of Credit Visualized

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It begs the question of where the controls are, or should have been, and how corruption and wealth-stealing schemes throughout the system can possibly be detected.

We are supposed to have mechanisms to stop this kind of spiral. But instead, it has been the business of our government to not only fail to protect us, but to bail out the bad guys with $1 trillion they won't even explain to whom it goes, or how it will stop the problem.

Anyway, enjoy this well designed, visually clear depiction.

March 3, 2009

3/3/09: Math fans to celebrate Square Root Day

For the geeks among us.

March 1, 2009

Do You Kindle an Interest?

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Look at this.

Not the girl, the newest replacement for a book, the Kindle 2.

What do you think about it? I was talking with a friend the other evening. Nothing wrong with it. But even if we do not read as many books in our lives anymore, nothing can replace the tactile feel and smell of a real book, the pages, the heaviness, the ownership.

But I argue, that is fine. We still have books. Go to any Barnes & Noble or Borders. They are all over the place.

This is merely an addition, another option.

An expensive option, which is why I am writing about one and not buying one (yet).

I am curious about your opinion on the usefulness or desirability of a fully functional, electronic tablet that can hold more books than you could ever possibly read.

I'm guessing you would not throw it out of your stocking.