Negative99 » Asides

What I’m Up To

WarAxe — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:14:57 +0000

I’ve been a little silent on here… but not for lack of things to rant about. I’ve been traveling to Lake Placid, watching the Olympics, and playing the game Mass Effect. I’ll be posting pictures from Lake Placid soon… and I’ll also be weighing in on the Mass Effect game (because there’s a little controversy to it).

Trapped Watching the Olympics

WarAxe — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:15:55 +0000

Instead of posting on my blog I’ve found myself watching the Olympics. I’m not sure why, but once I start getting into it I can’t turn it off. The wave of patriotism that naturally comes from national competition forces left-leaning journalists for a few weeks to have to pretend the United States is worth cheering for. You can even hear the strain in their voices as they report about President Bush (whom they hate more than Hitler, Halliburton, and capitalism combined) and the American Olympians joking around and laughing with each other. MMmmm… a few weeks of peace.

Obama-mania + British Satire = FUNNY!

WarAxe — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 12:59:20 +0000

Gerard Baker of the London Times just put out a brilliant, hilarious, and scarily portentous piece titled He ventured forth to bring light to the world parodying Barack Hussein Obama’s recent European glory-tour. The writing is filled with Biblical references so if you’re a heathen you may not “get” some of it… but it’s beautiful.

Upgraded to WordPress 2.6 and all’s well.

WarAxe — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:21:48 +0000

I begged them to implement the WordPress.COM avatar-generation option for the WordPress.ORG software… and in THIS version they did! That means that if a commenter doesn’t have a Gravatar (although everyone SHOULD!) I can instead have their supplied email address generate an avatar for them - like a special geometric pattern (identicon) or a little monster (monsterID).

Waiting for the weekend!

WarAxe — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:42:58 +0000

I’m swamped with to-do’s. I won’t even start listing them… but one is to get our new Watkins Glen pictures up on my gallery (and by extension, Flickr… or vice versa). I also need to “discover” craigslist and put a bunch of furniture on there. Oh yeah, and upgrade WordPress to 2.6 on all seven WP sites I maintain!?

Back From Vacation

WarAxe — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:08:37 +0000

Back to the grind - don’t make me go back to work!? I’ll have have plenty of pictures and reflections from the heartland (of New York) very soon.

I can’t blog this!?

WarAxe — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:35:37 +0000

I have a new Samsung Instinct phone through Sprint… and despite decent internet connectivity this is no way to blog. Pages take forever to load and the screen res is just too small.

Independence Day Prayer

WarAxe — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:55:29 +0000

For those sincerely appreciative of this great country, and the relatively cushy care-free lifestyle they’ve been blessed with, may they be granted further blessing. For those who are not… may they be cast out into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For our troops, grant them safe travels until they reunite with family. God Bless America!

Who’s Discriminating Now?

WarAxe — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:09:41 +0000

There was a time when a ballot measure banning race discrimination would have received the whole-hearted support of civil rights organizations. My how their principles change once the race discrimination is in their favor. I hate bigotry and hypocrisy equally.

Shot Heard Round the World

WarAxe — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:35:52 +0000

The US Consitution dodged a bullet today… and socialism took it in the gut. In a landmark 5-4 ruling the US Supreme Court recalibrated the anti-gun wingnuts. The high court repeated to us the 2nd Amendment - using small words we ALL could understand - which secures the citizen’s right to own firearms for personal use. Somewhere the president is looking down and smiling. America is a little brighter today. Viva la liberté!

Goodbye Personal Responsibility

WarAxe — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 04:57:41 +0000

Girl (18 years old) goes to Hawaii on school trip. Girl drinks. Girl drinks too much. Girls falls off balcony. Parents sue the chaperone. Parents win. Chaperone must pay parents nearly $700,000! Whiskey tango foxtrot?! Lawyers are the devil.

Roasting in Affluence

WarAxe — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:39:21 +0000

Most days I curse my swimming pool. It’s a pain… something is always breaking… it constantly needs chemicals and cleaning. Opening it is a hassle and closing it is a hassle. But on days like today - when it’s 94F and wicked humid - my little private pool is a wonderful reminder that I live in super-rich-America-land. I am ~~lucky~~blessed.

Rambo

WarAxe — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 19:04:38 +0000

Wow, I justed watched Rambo and I was pleasantly surprised at the plethora of issues and principles put forth. I’ll have to post more about on this soon, but suffice it to say that third-world plight, pacifism and the use of deadly force, militant fascism, and “who would Jesus punch” were all addressed in some way. Oh yeah, and they showed what living in some non-free countries is REALLY like. And of course, Sylvester Stallone kicked some major arse!

I have discovered Adobe’s Lightroom

WarAxe — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 01:16:04 +0000

I have discovered Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and I think I may be in love. Is that healthy? While processing our Cape Cod pictures taken on our new Canon G9 I decided to give Lightroom a spin… and it’s having two diametric effects on me. I am gigglingly delighted with the results… both the resultant photos and the silky workflow, yet I am sickened at how poor all my previous vacation photos now look.

Celtics vs. Lakers - An NBA Finals Treat

WarAxe — Sat, 31 May 2008 13:20:39 +0000

The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers will play each other for the NBA championship for the first time in 21 years. This is a classic rivalry that has been credited with reviving a slumping NBA in the 1980’s and propelling it (with the later help of Michael Jordan) into the marketing monster and global phenomenon that it is now. Is Olympic gold back in our sites?

Don’t Wash Your Cellphone

WarAxe — Wed, 28 May 2008 10:37:53 +0000

I recently learned that cellphones were not made to go in the washer. It’s bad for their internal operation, and it’s bad for the LCD screen… but it’s probably MOST bad for the battery, which starts to chemically expand and bind itself into the battery well.

The New England Experience

WarAxe — Sun, 25 May 2008 14:55:10 +0000

There’s something about being on Cape Cod, feeling the salty breeze, sipping Boston-brewed ale, enjoying fried whole clams and award-winning chowder, while watching the Boston Celtics win a playoff game.

Portable Apps On Vacation

WarAxe — Wed, 21 May 2008 03:49:37 +0000

As thoughts of Memorial Day weekend vacation fills my mind… I think to the inevitable getaway taboo that occurs without fail - I will get online somewhere. When I do, I like to carry my trusty thumbdrive packed with goodies from PortableApps.com. That site is a treasure trove of single folder (and often, single executable file) applications for doing about ANYTHING on the go.

Cancer Survivor Gets First No-Hitter This Season

WarAxe — Tue, 20 May 2008 03:17:23 +0000

Jon Lester, a 24-year-old lefty playing for my boys (the Red Sox) just pitched the first no-hitter of the 2008 Major League season tonight against the Kansas City Royals (who last gave up a no-hitter to Nolan Ryan). Lester had survived cancer to pitch the World Series clincher for Boston last fall. I’ve been cheering for this young kid and tonight was great to see happen for him.

John Petrucci in Albany

WarAxe — Fri, 16 May 2008 11:01:13 +0000

John Petrucci, a guitar master and prog-rock genius playing for the band Dream Theater, will be giving a clinic in Albany, NY this weekend while his band is in town doing a show… a show which I have tickets to.

The clinic will be at Trick Shot Billiards [map] - right behind Parkway Music - on Sunday, May 18, from 3-5pm. Tickets are $5 at the door and space is limited so plan accordingly. Dream Theater’s concert starts at 7pm that same night at the Armory.