openswitch

This is why I don’t own a Roomba. Well, that and it seems a little creepy, I’d be afraid of it “finding too much.” (via)

Can you feel that? It’s a rant coming on. Oh yeah, definitely a rant. Here it comes. Brace yourself, Erma …

Have you ever watched those goofy “reality” shows that feature designers or chefs or ‘singers’ or models, etc.? These shows take people and pit them against one another in silly, unrealistic competitions to determine who is “best” in their respective fields. That’s all fine and good with me, truly. It’s mindless entertainment which ultimately leads to children losing their imaginations and reinforces the family’s dependence on the boob-tube; but, that’s America. There’s one thing though that bugs the peedoodle out of me: when these shows (or anyone for that matter) take a common thing and artificially inflate it by giving it a special, technical, pseudo-professional name.

Case in point: I was watching top designer today (reruns) and noticed that they keep referring to a room as a “space.” Come on, gimme a break. It’s a room, call it a room. There’s no need to rename it and say “space” like you’re some sort of snobby elitist. Oh, wait. Maybe you are.

At any rate, there’s no need to rename common things. I run across this in church all the time. When a person stands up on a stage in a bar, a well-known song playing in the background which has the words removed (i.e. just the soundtrack) and sings the words, it’s called karaoke. When a person does the exact same thing in a church it’s called “singing with an accompaniment tape.” Whatever, it’s karaoke in church plain and simple. There’s no need to complicate things.

If the President of the United States stands behind a podium and talks to an audience it’s a speech. When a pastor does that it’s a “sermon.” Whatever, it’s a speech, on a certain topic. Call it what it is.

Interesting side note: I once attended a church service where we all sang “Mrs. Robinson” by Simon and Garfunkel. The funny part was listening to the 60-somethings sing “Koo-koo-ka-choo.”

So, have you seen this video of Barton vs. Winona St.? Incredible. One man scores 10 points in 45 seconds. Astounding. (sub’d by Sidney).

“Major Photoshop Upgrade Is Overkill for the Flickr Crowd.” Yep, I agree. I also think Photoshop is bloated, overpriced and actually needed by a very small fraction of those people who currently own it. There are much less expensive (even free) alternatives that will meet all the image editing needs of 99% of Photoshop users. Basically it comes down to this: Are you gonna print your work? Then you need Photoshop. Is your work gonna remain in digital format? Then you don’t need Photoshop.

Yellow Pollen Season is arguably the fifth season in Georgia. It’s that glorious time of year when even though the weather is perfect and the temperatures are just right you still can’t go outside because upon stepping out your front door you’ll become instantly and completely caked in yellow tree pollen.

Don’t believe me? Think I’m exaggerating? OK, consider this: for the U.S. (possibly other countries as well, I didn’t research other countries) they calculate pollen count in “parts per cubic meter.” Anything over 120 between 90 and 1,500 is “extremely high.” Today, the pollen count in Atlanta is 5,499! That’s God bustin’ out His sense of humor again, I promise you. I can virtually read His mind, “Yeah, y’all (God definitely says “y’all”) may live in the most gorgeous, picturesque, temperate location IN THE WORLD but once every year y’all are gonna get covered in pollen! HAHAHAHA!”

On a side note, I wonder what God sounds like when He laughs. I digress.

Fortunately most people aren’t allergic to tree pollen because the spores are too big (whatever that means.) Unfortunately my wife isn’t “most people” and is moderately allergic to pine pollen which basically means that her head is about to explode. This, you know, would be bad. Not only would I lose my best friend but it would create an awful stain. And I hate stains.

Liberal Democrat. James draws some of the best stuff. Seeing this drawing made me laugh out loud. It’s the expression on the donkey’s face that gets me.

I decided that I needed to realign some things around here. Wanting to get away from the Cutline-ish layout; I’ve been hugely inspired by the look of Redoable (which was, ironically, inspired by the theme I released) and decided to, once again, go with Sandbox as the base of this blog and build it from there.

It’s still dusty around here, things aren’t exactly how I’d like them but the details will be taken care of in the coming weeks. I just thought y’all might like to see what I’ve been working on in my spare time (what little of it there is). Comments are welcome, critique is only appreciated if it’s constructive.

EDIT 3/24/07: By the way, every image you see on this site has been made and/or manipulated with The Gimp.

Several things in Ubuntu Firefox are butt ugly: radio buttons, check boxes & text fields. Ubuntu Firefox Widgets fixes them to look much much better. (Thanks, Scott!)

A collection of lots of games native to Linux. Great resource. (via)