Foxhounds At Play

This is why Foxhound-the-software-product is slow coming to market: the product mascots need their leisure...



- click on images for larger versions.

8.8.8.8

Just HOW MUCH did Google pay to use the lucky number eight for the primary DNS in its new Google Public DNS service?

The Google Public DNS IP addresses are as follows:

• 8.8.8.8

• 8.8.4.4

United state Fbi

In this scary world of botnets and truly sophisticated phishing emails, it's important to take a moment to smell the roses... in this case, actually read one of the hilarious Nigerian 419 letters.

Here's one, not ambitious at all by 419 standards; it offers $800K rather than the usual 38.5M or 50M dollars... and it is up-front about the up-front fee: only "$250 Dollar", how can you go wrong?

Anyway, you gotta love the language, like "you are having a Legal Transaction with one Barrister Robert Scheels" and "all you did have to do is to be rest assured for this is 100% risk free".

Oh, BTW, it looks like the scam-baiting site 419 Eater is alive and well after all these years... great fun!

---

Anti-Terrorist and Monitory Crimes Division.
Federal Bureau Of Investigation.
J. Edgar. Hoover Building Washington D.C

Attn:

This is to Officially Inform you that it has come to our notice and we have thoroughly investigated by the help of our Intelligence Monitoring Network System that you are having a Legal Transaction with one Barrister Robert Scheels of the Federal Ministry of Finance Nigeria/United Kingdom. During our Investigation, it came to our notice that the reason why you have not received your payment is because you have not fulfill your Financial Obligation giving to you in respect of your Contract/Inheritance Payment.

So therefore, we have contacted the Federal Ministry Of Finance on your behalf and they have brought a solution to your problem by arranging your payment in total of US$800,000.00 in an ATM CARD which you will use to withdraw money in anywhere of the world. You now have the lawful right to claim your fund in the ATM CARD by contacting the ATM CARD CENTER.

Also, we have being informed by Mr. Robert Scheels that he gave you instructions on how to proceed and contact the ATM CARD CENTER for their requirements to procure your Approval Slip which contains details of your PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (PIN) which you would use in activating and operating your ATM CARD in any ATM Machine closer to you and note that to procure your Approval Slip it would cost you $250 Dollar Since the Federal Bureau of Investigation is involved in this transaction, all you did have to do is to be rest assured for this is 100% risk free so do contact the ATM CARD CENTRE so they could let you know on how to make payment for the procurement of your Approval Slip which is the only payment needed before the delivery of your ATM CARD is being effected.

Below are the contact details of the ATM CARD CENTRE which you are to proceed and contact them for their requirements to proceed and procure your Approval Slip after making payment of $250 Dollar

CONTACT DETAILS

Mr. Timothy C. Collins
timothy.collins10@hotmail.com
399 Park Ave.
New York, NY 10022
NY Tel. +1 (646) 736-7692

We do await your response so we can move on with our Investigation and make sure your ATM SWIFT CARD gets to you.
Thanks and hope to read from you soon.

I request that you kindly forward to me your letter of acceptance with the below details via my private email:-timothy.collins10@hotmail.com

Full Name:-
Full Address:-
Tel No.:-
Private Email which you check everyday:-
Occupation:-
Date of Birth:-

FBI Director
Robert S. Mueller
Note: Do disregard any email you get from any imposter or office claiming to be in possession of your ATM CARD, you are advised only to be in contact with Mr. Timothy C. Collins of the ATM CARD CENTRE who is the rightful person you are suppose to deal with in regards your ATM CARD PAYMENT and forward any email you get from imposters to this office so we could act upon and commence investigation.

Final Notification from the United state Fbi

Canadian Health Care FAQ

Frequently asked questions about health care in Canada...

Q: How much does it cost to get health care in Canada?
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why are Canadians so proud of their health care system?
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why is Canada the fifth-highest health care spender among the 31 countries assessed by the OECD? (1)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does Canada have a below-average number of doctors? (1)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does Canada have a below-average number of nurses? (1)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does Canada have a below-average number of acute care hospital beds? (1)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does Canada have a below-average number of CT scanners? (1)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does Canada have a below-average number of MRIs? (1)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does Canada rank in last place for patient rights when compared with 31 European countries? (2)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does Canada rank in last place for waiting times when compared with 31 European countries? (2)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does Canada rank in last place for availability of pharmaceuticals when compared with 31 European countries? (2)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does Canada rank in last place on the Bang-for-the-Buck index when compared with 31 European countries? (2)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why do Canadian hospitals have fixed budgets set by the government instead of being paid for services provided? (1)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why is there no alternative health care available in Canada for patients on long waiting lists? (1)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why do 49% of Canadian doctors rate access to advanced diagnostic services as fair to poor? (5)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why do 49% of Canadian family doctors rate patient access to psychiatrists as fair to poor? (5)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why are five million Canadians without a family doctor? (4)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why did Canadian health officials have a "doctor lottery" to raffle off 1,500 vacancies to 8,000 patients looking for a family doctor? (4)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does Canada rank dead last among G8 countries when it comes to physician supply? (4)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does Canada's doctor-patient ratio rank 24th out of 28 OECD countries? (4)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why do 1 in 9 Canadian-educated doctors practice in the United States? (8)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why did 4,000 Canadian doctors move to the US between 1993 and 2004? (4)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why is the current doctor shortage in Canada equal to the number of doctors who have left Canada? (8)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why did the Canadian government ever believe there was a doctor surplus in Canada? (8)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does the Canadian government regard doctors as independent cost centers? (8)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why has the Canadian government tried to reduce health care costs by reducing the number of doctors? (8)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why has the Canadian government tried to reduce health care costs by reducing medical school class sizes? (8)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why are many outstanding candidates turned down by Canadian medical schools? (7)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why are 1,500 Canadian medical students studying abroad? (4)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does the demand for medical training in Canada far outstrip supply? (7)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why did the Canadian government increased the ratio of specialist to family doctor training positions? (8)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does Canada need at least 5,000 more doctors in active practice? (6)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why do some estimates place the Canadian doctor shortage at 15,000? (3)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does the shortage of doctors in Canada exist across all geographic regions? (6)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does the shortage of doctors in Canada exist across all disciplines, including family doctors, anesthetists, geriatricians and cancer care specialists? (6)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why has the Canadian government restricted the entry of foreign medical graduates? (8)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does the average Canadian medical student graduate with a debt load of $158,000? (4)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Of Canadian seniors who go bankrupt, why do 15% cite medical reasons? (9)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: If health care costs are the reason so many Americans go bankrupt, why is the rate of personal bankruptcy higher in Canada?(9)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why will computer networking of personal health information make it easier to ration health care in Canada? (10)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why do many people regard rationing as one of the strengths of the Canadian health care system? (11)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does the Canadian government limit everything from the number of medical school graduates to the number of surgical procedures performed? (11)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does health care rationing in Canada lead to waits and shortages? (11)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why did the unfunded liability of Canada’s health care system reach 364 billion dollars in 2004? (12)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does it only take a week for a dog to get a hip replacement in Canada but some humans wait for two to three years? (13)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why has the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that the Quebec government ban on private health insurance is unconstitutional? (13)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does the Canadian government routinely delay the approval of more than half of the new drugs launched in the US? (14)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why are doctor's salaries in Canada negotiated, set and paid for by the government? (14)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does the average Canadian doctor earn only 42% as much as that of a doctor in the US? (14)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why is screening for breast cancer on the decline in Canada? (15)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why do patients in Canada wait on average more than two months for an MRI scan? (16)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why do patients in Canada wait an average of one month for a CT scan? (16)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why are waiting times commonly used to restrict access to health care in Canada? (16)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why did the Canadian government prepare for the 2009 flu season by sending body bags to Indian reserves? (17)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why is a Canadian considered too old for hip resurfacing at age 57? (18)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why are Canadians not allowed to pay for health care services that the government otherwise refuses to provide? (18)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why do Canadians have to go to court to win the right to pay for health care that the government refuses to provide? (18)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why does the government in Canada cut health care staff, raise fees and reduce services in order to save money? (19)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why are thousands of elective surgeries being cut during the 2010 Olympics in Canada? (19)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: How are waiting times used to ration health care in Canada? (20)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why are some Canadians more equal than others, when it comes to health care waiting lists? (like professional athletes and their families) (21)
A: Health care in Canada is free!

Q: Why don't Canadians realize that health care delayed is health care denied?
A: Health care in Canada is free!

---

References:

(1) Our health system is broken, but few care (link checked 2009-11-06)
Ottawa Citizen, August 2, 2009

That article refers to this subscription site: OECD Health Data 2009 – comparing health statistics across OECD countries (link checked 2009-11-06)
The OECD has 30 member countries, including Canada and the USA.

(2) Euro-Canada Health Consumer Index 2009 (link checked 2009-11-06)
Frontier Centre for Public Policy 2009-05-25

(3) Curing Canada's doctor shortage (link checked 2009-11-06)
National Post January 15, 2008

(4) Canada's Doctor Shortage Worsening (link checked 2009-11-06)
Maclean's February 12, 2008

(5) Doctors call for plan to curb physician shortage (link checked 2009-11-06)
Canadian Medical Association Journal January 14, 2008

(6) Managing physician shortages: We are not doing enough (link checked 2009-11-06)
Canadian Medical Association Journal April 10, 2007

(7) Estimated 1500 Canadians studying medicine abroad (link checked 2009-11-06)
Canadian Medical Association Journal April 10, 2007

(8) The Canadian contribution to the US physician workforce (link checked 2009-11-06)
Canadian Medical Association Journal April 10, 2007

(9) Health Insurance and Bankruptcy Rates in Canada and the United States (link checked 2009-11-06)
Fraser Institute July 2009

(10) The Networking of Health information Handbook for the management of ethical and social questions - Chapter 11 - Human and Social Vulnerability (link checked 2009-11-06)
Government of Canada 2004-10-01

(11) We could learn a few things from the U.S.
The Globe and Mail Thursday, Aug. 06, 2009

(12) Medicare’s unfunded liabilities (link checked 2009-11-06)
The Fraser Institute 06/09

(13) Canada’s Private Clinics Surge as Public System Falters (link checked 2009-11-06)
The New York Times February 26, 2008,

(14) The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care (link checked 2009-11-06)
Pacific Research Institute October 2008

(15) Rejecting the Canadian way (link checked 2009-11-06)
Real Clear Politics May 19, 2006

(16) How Good Is Canadian Health Care? 2007 Report (link checked 2009-11-06)
Fraser Institute November 5, 2007

(17) Body bags disrupt Canada's flu-readiness message (link checked 2009-11-06)
Reuters Canada Wed Sep 16, 2009 5:41pm EDT

(18) 'Too Old' for Hip Surgery (link checked 2009-11-06)
The Wall Street Journal FEBRUARY 9, 2009

(19) Elective surgeries to be cut by 35 per cent during Olympics (link checked 2009-11-06)
Vancouver Sun, July 15, 2009

(20) Wait Time Tables — A Comparison by Province, 2008 (link checked 2009-11-06)
Canadian Institute for Health Information - February 2008

(21) Perkins: No surprise as pro athletes jump swine line (link checked 2009-11-06)
Toronto Star - Published On Thu Nov 05 2009

If Barney Franks Ran Sony

Don't You Make Me Come Up There!

As A Mom...

Your wife is [not] hot

Obama Scales Back Plans For America

Time to Eat the Dog

First the bad news. The algoreans are coming for your dog.

Now the good news. Fido's safe, if the latest trend continues... A recent poll says belief in man-made global warming is dropping. It took a long time for Bernie Madoff to be exposed, the stakes are so much higher with global warming that I guess I shouldn't be surprised it's taking even longer.

Denier Alert!

You can read about the poll itself here, or read about it in the [blasphemy!] New York Times here, or if you're like me, you can just look at the pictures...

 

Bad News: Time to Eat the Dog!

Here's what the New Scientist magazine says about your pet:

SHOULD owning a great dane make you as much of an eco-outcast as an SUV driver? Yes it should, say Robert and Brenda Vale, two architects who specialise in sustainable living at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. In their new book, Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living, they compare the ecological footprints of a menagerie of popular pets with those of various other lifestyle choices - and the critters do not fare well.

Again, if you like pictures, here's their "hamster versus Fido" graphic (click to expand):

But Not the Fish!

They're not fish, they're Sea Kittens! You couldn't eat a kitten, could you? PETA says you can't eat kittens!

Oh, Wait, It Gets Better!

Thought it was hard to get your kids to eat fish? Don't let em play the Create Your Own Sea Kitten! game.

Chris Matthews, Bodice Ripping Journalist

"It was the best speech I've ever heard. ... And I'm tearing up, and I'm writing down notes, and I'm trying to keep track of this thing. ... His heart must've been broken last night."

"I've never seen anything like this. This is bigger than Kennedy. [Obama] comes along, and he seems to have the answers. This is the New Testament. This is surprising."

"I have to tell you, you know, it's part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech. My, I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often."

Play Balloon Boy, The Game!

heyzap.com - embed games

T.O.T.U.S.

Original "Hope" Poster Discovered

Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize!

Winning the Nobel Peace Prize is just one of Obama's many accomplishments:

Obama Captures Bin Laden!
Obama Defeats Taliban, Wins War In Afghanistan!
Obama Brings Troops Home From Iraq!
Obama Closes Guantanamo Bay!
Obama Puts Torture On Trial!
Obama Brings Peace To The Middle East!
Obama Achieves Agreement With Iran!
Obama Negotiates With North Korea!
Obama Improves East-West Relations!Obama Brings Nuclear Disarmament!
Obama Ends Global Warming!
Obama Reforms Immigration!
Obama Loosens Credit!
Obama Ends Recession!
Obama Keeps Unemployment Below 8%!
Obama Cuts Deficit, Balances Budget!
Obama Boosts Economy!
Obama Restores Faith In US Dollar!
Obama Cuts Middle Class Taxes!
Obama Saves Saturn!
Obama Brings Universal Health Care To America!
Obama Delivers Transparency In Government!
Obama Increases Bipartisan Efforts!
Obama Throws Lobbyists Out Of Whitehouse!
Obama Ends Corruption In Government!
Obama Puts Limits On Executive Powers!
Obama Improves Life For Gays In The Military!
Obama Brings Olympics Home To The USA!
Obama Approval Rating Soars!
Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize!

The Incredibles! In Retirement

Now we know what Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl are doing these days. When they showed this video on TV they didn't show the whole thing. Watch to the end to see Elastigirl getting involved.

Ads by Google Fail

As first seen on this Google hosted news page...

FAIL

Kanye West Disses Sybase!

Jon Stewart Embarrassed

Jon Stewart...

"ACORN appears to be a corrupt organization that aids and abets criminals and gets millions of dollars in taxpayer money. [...]

Well, this is an impressive expose. I'd love to know the intrepid journalists who broke this story. "60 Minutes"? The AP? That guy who gets the predators?

Are you f**king kidding me? First of all, you don't have to tell us you're a white guy. Your pimp costume appears to be a fur coat on top of your Andover uniform. Second of all, where were the real reporters on this story? You know what investigative media, see me on camera three: Where the hell were you? You know who broke this story? These two.

You're telling me that two kids from the cast of "High School Musical III" can break this story with a video camera and their grandmother's chinchilla coat? And you got nothing? They did it for $3,000, and that's Blitzer's monthly beard Wetvac budget. It probably cost CNN that much to turn on their hologram machine.

I'm a fake journalist, and I'm embarrassed these guys scooped me. Let's get to work people."

No Nuts And Corn For THIS Car!

Fuel Your Car With Nuts And Corn!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

No Parking

Capt Breck and First Mate Gary

Why I won't fly Southwest

Daddy's Home

On Being Old In A Recession

Get Well Soon, Glenn!

Skynet is here, now, and its name is Google

Join the Rebel Alliance...

The Worst Airport Ever

Your First Album Cover

Follow the instructions here to create your very first album cover.

For your convenience, here are his instructions, followed by my first album cover...

1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random” or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random

The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to "Random quotations" or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3

The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album. (make sure you hit the new random quotations button at the bottom)

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days” or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days

Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photoshop or similar to put it all together ( http://www.picnik.com/ works well, online ).

He's right, picnik does work well, or at least, it's easy...

The S.S. Foreclosure

If you are interested in what's happening in "The Foreclosure Capital of America" (Lee County, FL), this video is worth watching. It's even worth waiting for the 30-second commercial to end (if one appears).


It all rings true... especially today, two days after the Fed printed $1,000,000,000,000.00... real estate suddenly looks like a, well, real investment.

No, wait, they didn't actually print money, they loaned it to themselves. No, wait, they effectively dropped the interest rate by 1 full percentage point.

No... it's called a "balance sheet expansion", now I feel better.

Seriously, this video rings true because I have studied the Cape Coral real estate market for the past four years, up through the bubble and down through the bursting... and it doesn't contradict anything I have learned.

Except for the part about the current buyers being speculators just like before... bubble speculators didn't have cash, they didn't put ANY money down, today cash is king.

And yes, the guy running the boat tours is a clown, a hustler, that's not the point.

The $100,000 YouTube Challenge

Parsing xkcd Again

Taking counsel from the mouseover text:

div class e quals main
span i d e quals mar quee
blog! slash span slash div

A house with its own domain name!

How cool is THAT?

The House Bonita domain

HouseBonita.com

is registered and parked at

internic.ca

which forwards it to a page on a real website

http://www.ruralfinds.com/housebonita/index.html

and that page does a

<meta HTTP-EQUIV="REFRESH" content="0; url=http://www.vacationhit.com/Picturepages/HouseBonita.htm">

to the final destination

http://www.vacationhit.com/Picturepages/HouseBonita.htm

It sounds hard but it took longer to write about it here than to actually *do* it.

It's on my endless "to do" list to add cool content and links to that "page on the real website" instead of just doing the HTTP-EQUIV="REFRESH" bouncy bouncy thing.

But at least I've grabbed the domain before someone else.

It's "House Beautiful" indeed!

The Apple Wheel

Everything is just a few hundred clicks away...

The Games People Play

The various SYS-CON Media websites are among some of the most visually and aurally annoying on the web today.

That doesn't matter, they're easy to avoid...

Or are they?

Sybase has a portal called MySybase that shows a "Latest Blog Entries" widget on its home page:



There we see that Chris Pollach has posted an item PowerDesigner Viewer at 20:17 GMT on February 28.

So far so good, really fresh stuff, at least it was when the screen shot was made (the same day).

The only trouble is, that particular item was actually published two days earlier, on February 26:

---

What's happening here?

What's happening here is that a Sybase website is being spammed and scammed by one of SYS-CON's properties (Chris Pollach's blog), and that just ain't right.

Several other blogs, published by Sybase itself, have posted articles dating later than that, in particular Glenn Paulley's and Jason Hinsperger's.

But they don't show up in the MySybase "Latest Blog Entries" widget because SYS-CON keeps shovelling fake feeds Sybase's way every few hours.

Here's the latest (as of this writing):



I've heard two stories about this: first, that the practice is unintentional and will be fixed momentarily, and two, that it's been going on for a long time with no action taken.

We shall see... later tonight. A new fake "PowerDesigner Viewer" post is being created every 11 hours or so (the latest at March 2, 2009 08:47 AM EST) and is picked up by MySybase some time thereafter.

The obvious question is, why is Sybase accepting a feed from SYS-CON in the first place?

What's next, ads for SYS-CON's Adobe Flex Journal?

Parsing xkcd

Here's the text from today's xkcd:

DENSITY

SUP DAWG, I HERD U DIDN'T 
LIEK FORMING BABBY, BUT I 
ACCIDENTALLY IN YOUR BASE.

CONS: RUINED LIFE
PROS: SENTENCE SET THE NEW
      MEME DENSITY RECORD.

If only I had asked 4chan for ideas for what I should do to prevent this!

Ready to take a trip?

First, innoculate yourself with a heavy dose of dull and boring as only Wikipedia can deliver: MEME

OK, now it's safe to travel: SUP DAWG, I HERD

This is LIEK

Let's jump ahead: FORMING BABBY

Now this: I ACCIDENTALLY

And this: IN YOUR BASE

Tired of travelling? Want some home cooking? Want to hear English spoken? Here you go: With 'LOLcats' Internet Fad, Anyone Can Get In on the Joke.

Finally, from the xkcd mouseover text: 4chan

Conference Highlights

- credits

Marketecture Shmarketecture!

Here's how to do it...



Here's how NOT to...

Sorry, Jessica!

UNIONVILLE, Ont., Feb 28, 2009 -- The board of directors of Center Console 
today announced that Jessica Hagy's Indexed has left the "Other People" list 
on Center Console to spend more time not being funny.

Jessica Hagy's Indexed joins Dunkelheit und Strafe as only the second website 
in the Dearly Departed Other People category. 

The board recognizes that Dunkelheit und Strafe never was funny, whereas 
Jessica Hagy's Indexed drifted in that direction over time.

These moves are intended to free up space in the Other People list for new 
entries, such as New Arrivals at The New Yorker.

Railfans

For all you railfans and trainspotters out there, here is the miraculous receding market of Maeklong in Bangkok:

eBay Hacked?

Here's a window I absolutely do not want to see, especially when clicking on the Continue button in eBay to pay for something:



Turns out some site I've never heard of, auctiva.com, has been compromised:



I don't know why eBay tried to send me to auctiva, nor do I care.

I also don't want to hear "it's not eBay's problem, it's an auctiva problem"... as far as I'm concerned I was using eBay, and if eBay is going to send me to a compromised website then it is...

eBay's Problem!

Ya gotta love the official response:

From Auctiva Community:

Hi Community,

Update - If you are using the Firefox browser and are unable to use your account because you are receiving a warning stating the Auctiva is an "attack site", you should be able to workaround it by selecting "Options" from the "Tools" menu and disabling the "tell me if the site I’m visiting is a suspected attack site" setting under the "Security" tab.

We have removed what was causing that warning to be displayed from our systems but that warning is still showing up because we need to be rescanned by Google, which we are going to do as soon as we finish up the work we're doing.

Here's a reply; I couldn't have said it better than this:

WOW, disable your ONLY protection? That is the advice? I just checked and it says GOOGLE found malware on the server just 5 hours ago!

While Rome is BURNING, The Auctiva “Emperor” Claims it is ALL GOOD?!?

Simple Wikipedia

                                  JULES
                       That did it, man -- I'm f****n'
                       goin', that's all there is to it.

                                  VINCENT
                       You'll dig it the most.  But you
                       know what the funniest thing about
                       Europe is?

                                  JULES
                       What?

                                  VINCENT
                       It's the little differences.  A
                       lotta the same s**t we got here,
                       they got there, but there they're a
                       little different.

That's how I feel about Simple Wikipedia ... I'm goin' there!



Thank you, Randall Munroe!

Fresh Roasted Psychlo?

Announcing... my first "Other People" link to a filthy lucre commercial site: Split Reason Clothing Company (and no, it's not an ad, it's just a link to their blog).

This one's out of stock (could it be the lawsuits?): Fresh Roasted Cylon




... and this one isn't available yet: Arcadeology



... but you can get this one: Skynet Development Team



... and I'm sure you'll find a product to laugh, especially if you don't have to ask what mumorpuger means (I did!)

Folks who know me best, understand why I like this one best:

Error: 'google' is undefined

Looks like there's ANOTHER reason to use Firefox instead of Internet Explorer: Google doesn't test their AJAX with IE7:



All of a sudden my other blog goes blank, in IE7... but it's ok if I pick a specific post and go to it... and it's OK in Firefox.

I'm REALLY starting to warm up to this Web 2.0 stuff!

Getting really HOT, as it were :)

When Reciva's gone, Shoutcast!

Argh! Reciva's off the air!



All is not lost... winamp still remembers the last station was so I could get my Saturday morning fix of John Lee Hooker.

But... maybe it was time to do a Google search on "internet radio"...

... something familiar about the name "shoutcast"...

... it's somehow connected to the winamp program I'm already using...

Yup, same crew, use winamp together with shoutcast.com and get some integration:



But I can't figure out how to get winamp or shoutcast to remember what stations I've played. So when Reciva comes back, so will I.

Google Hack

What's the most published language in the whole wide world?

I'm guessing that the answer once was "English" but now it's "HTML"... more HTML text is produced and reproduced and passed from place to place than text written in any other language.

Maybe I'm wrong... but the proof, one way or another, isn't easy to come by... it ain't obvious.

So it comes as no surprise that lots of people can read, and sometimes write, HTML with varying degrees of fluency. Just like any other language.

Like me. I can read it pretty well, and write it well enough to be understood. Like longshoremen from Bangladesh and Bosnia, standing on a dock in Egypt, conversing in fractured English... I speak fractured HTML.

And write a little bit, like this snippet I just added to this blog:

   <style>
   #main-wrapper { width: 50% }
   #sidebar-wrapper { width: 339px }
   </style>

It fixes a problem that's been bothering me for a couple of days: The wonderful "US Weather Radar" gadget (look over to the right) was getting cut off when the browser window was resized to be narrow.

In fact, on any monitor less than 1440 pixels wide, it was cut off even if the browser window was maximized!

Now, I didn't write the HTML for this blog. It uses one of the "Minima Stretch" templates created by Douglas Bowman (I'd provide a link if I could remember where I got it from :)

I didn't write the HTML for the US Weather Radar gadget, either. That came from here.

I'm not even brave enough to edit the template, not yet at least.

But I am brave enough to read it, and find out that the "main-wrapper" and "sidebar-wrapper" widths were set to 67% and 25% respectively... and 25% wasn't really wide enough to display the US Weather Radar gadget on anything but really wiiiiide displays.

So, first of all, I captured a screen shot of the gadget into the classic Paint Shop Pro and determined that 339 pixels was wide enough.

Then I got brave, and pasted this HTML snippet just ahead of the HTML for the gadget, as a style override (easy to pull out if everything explodes):

   <style>
   #sidebar-wrapper { width: 339px }
   </style>

That sort of worked... now you could see all of the gadget all of the time, but sometimes the entire sidebar was pushed wayyyyyy down to the bottom of the page. The 67% was clearly causing trouble... it was insisting that the main column was always supposed to receive 67% of the total width, and if the 339 pixels didn't fit in the remaining width it got pushed down below the main column.

I won't go into the other (failed) attempts to solve THAT problem... the 50% setting seems to be a workable alternative. You can still see the "all the way to the bottom" behavior if you make the window really narrow.

And that's why it's called a "hack".

Missed Opportunity

"Your Golden Opportunity" ... is down for maintenance?

MarineMax is a boat dealer in Fort Myers, Florida, and they just sent me this "Golden Opportunity" email... complete with a dead "Search Inventory" link.

Not exactly inspiring... but I'm not going to hold it against them. MarineMax is still on my short list of dealers to visit when the time comes (soon, soon!) to get that center console!

Wikipedia as public restroom?

I often use Wikipedia.

Mostly, I'm happy with the results. Sometimes, not so much.

Now I know why:

"The user who visits Wikipedia to learn about some subject, to confirm some matter of fact, is rather in the position of a visitor to a public restroom. It may be obviously dirty, so that he knows to exercise great care, or it may seem fairly clean, so that he may be lulled into a false sense of security. What he certainly does not know is who has used the facilities before him."

The Faith-Based Encyclopedia by Robert McHenry

But what about Skynet?

Google Maps Sucks

...and so does Google Earth.

The reason? The imagery is ancient, at least for places that interest me.

Here's an example: The mangrove banks next to a boat lift in Cape Coral washed out back in 2006, yet Google Maps and Google Earth still show everything intact.

At least Google Earth is honest about it, saying the "Imagery Date" is 2005:



Google Maps shows the same out-of-date information in a slightly different image, but it misleads the viewer by claiming an imagery copyright date of 2009:



Live Search Maps shows the current situation:



Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of All Things Google, this blog runs on Google.

But Google Maps has been living off its reputation for too long, it's been showing old image data for too long.

Come on, Google: wakey wakey eggs and bakey!

We know you can do better, you (finally) stopped showing street addresses offset by hundreds of feet!

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Google Maps Does Not Suck!

The Fairness Doctrine requires equal time...