Thanks Sis, for teaching me about the color options. As it turns out, it wasn't so much a difference between Mac vs PC, but rather the particular web browser that you use to edit your blog. I was using the Mac Safari version, after a little digging I found out that the new version of Mozilla's Firefox supports all the buttons (color, type, quotes, links, etc) all work.
I know most people reading this are like "huh?" but for us geeks this is exciting news! ok, well maybe not exciting like having a new baby, or getting a new car, but exciting like taking your winter coat out for the first time and finding a $5 bill in the pocket.
Cyen
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Scary Bill O'Reilly comment
I came across this info a while ago, and saved the link to my computer, but thought maybe the link should be made more public.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200511100008
Ugh... O'reilly is really scary sometimes. I happened to watch a few seconds of him yesterday interviewing a woman, and it was a joke, becaues the two of them were just shouting overtop one another. Neither one was listening to what the other was saying. As someone who gets paid to interview people, I would have thought that was common sense... Ask a question, then stop and listen to the response.
On an unrelated note and a change of temperment... Today is December 1st! 24 days until Christmas... I'm starting to feel a little bit of holiday cheer today.
Cyen
http://mediamatters.org/items/200511100008
O'Reilly to San Francisco: "[I]f Al Qaeda comes in here and blows you up, we're not going to do anything about it. ...You want to blow up the Coit Tower? Go ahead"
Ugh... O'reilly is really scary sometimes. I happened to watch a few seconds of him yesterday interviewing a woman, and it was a joke, becaues the two of them were just shouting overtop one another. Neither one was listening to what the other was saying. As someone who gets paid to interview people, I would have thought that was common sense... Ask a question, then stop and listen to the response.
On an unrelated note and a change of temperment... Today is December 1st! 24 days until Christmas... I'm starting to feel a little bit of holiday cheer today.
Cyen
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Free Bible
Today has been a "broken" day... My dishwasher broke (Should get a new one tomorrow from the apartment people - so that's good). My Internet connection at home went down (I hope it's back up when I go home tonight). So I'm kinda in a funky mood today... what better time than to post a rant that has always bothered me.
Of all things that should be free in this world... The Bible. I don't mean the books themselves, but rather the text. One of today's most popular translation is the NIV translation (New International Version). Get ready for some acronyms... The NIV version was translated by a group called the CBT (Committee on Bible Translation), and this part gets a little fuzzy... The company that is doing all this is called IBS (International Bible Society). Here's a link that might explain all this a little better than I did as I was trying to simplify this.
Now to add one more level of who owns what... Zondervan is a company that is connected here somehow. My bible shows that both Zondervan and IBS hold the copyright (which I didn't know two different companies can hold the same copyright). Which brings me to my main point... Of all the books in the world that should be made freely available, I think the Bible is one of them. Yet due to copyright laws it is illegal to make copies (of more than 500 verses). There is a new movement called "creative commons" and I would hope someday a plain english translation makes it's way to a Creative Commons license. It's an interesting copyright twist that a translation can be copyrighted. There's no way to re-translate a text without it ending up similar to the NIV version, which would then be a violation. Yes, I understand a lot of work/time/money went into this new translation, but it seems like there could have been a better way to make the text freely available to the world, and still have them get paid.
I guess, the free version will have to remain the King James Version.
Ok, I'm done my rant now - stepping off my soapbox now.
Cyen
PS> I'm by no means a biblical scholar, so if I've made a mistake in this rant (or you know the connection of Zondervan to IBS) please let me know. Post in the Comment area - please dont use the comments area to debate religion, any post that doesn't pertain to this I will delete.
Of all things that should be free in this world... The Bible. I don't mean the books themselves, but rather the text. One of today's most popular translation is the NIV translation (New International Version). Get ready for some acronyms... The NIV version was translated by a group called the CBT (Committee on Bible Translation), and this part gets a little fuzzy... The company that is doing all this is called IBS (International Bible Society). Here's a link that might explain all this a little better than I did as I was trying to simplify this.
Now to add one more level of who owns what... Zondervan is a company that is connected here somehow. My bible shows that both Zondervan and IBS hold the copyright (which I didn't know two different companies can hold the same copyright). Which brings me to my main point... Of all the books in the world that should be made freely available, I think the Bible is one of them. Yet due to copyright laws it is illegal to make copies (of more than 500 verses). There is a new movement called "creative commons" and I would hope someday a plain english translation makes it's way to a Creative Commons license. It's an interesting copyright twist that a translation can be copyrighted. There's no way to re-translate a text without it ending up similar to the NIV version, which would then be a violation. Yes, I understand a lot of work/time/money went into this new translation, but it seems like there could have been a better way to make the text freely available to the world, and still have them get paid.
I guess, the free version will have to remain the King James Version.
Ok, I'm done my rant now - stepping off my soapbox now.
Cyen
PS> I'm by no means a biblical scholar, so if I've made a mistake in this rant (or you know the connection of Zondervan to IBS) please let me know. Post in the Comment area - please dont use the comments area to debate religion, any post that doesn't pertain to this I will delete.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Movies
A few mini-reviews...
Last week I saw the movie "Jarhead". A story about one man's experience in the Marines during Desert Storm. I'm actually not sure if I liked this movie or not. The acting was great. I've been a fan of Jake Gyllenhaal since Donnie Darko. The movie was based the real life experiences of Anthony Swofford, and seemed to give a glimpse into the Marines, but I'm sure every story has two sides. I expected to come away from the movie with a feeling of a message, and I suppose the movie did not paint the war in the best of light, but a lot of the movie seemed like all the other war movies. Boot camp is tough, some guys are jerks, some guys are crazy and some guys are good buddies.
This weekend I saw "The Ice Harvest" with John Cusak and Billy Bob Thorton. The movie just really lacked something for me. Those two actors had a good chemistry in Pushing Tin, but in this movie it felt forced. Oliver Platt did a good job playing the drunk guy, and had some funny bits, but the movie just seemed to try to be a remake of Fargo. I also don't like how the movie is sort of being marketed as a holiday movie... yes, it takes place on Christmas eve, but it's about murder, strip joints, mobsters, and dysfunctional families... not exactly a "holiday movie".
Just thought I needed to mention this for some reason... The passing of Pat Morita (Nov 25) or as most people know him "Mr. Miyagi". I always did like his character, and some of his lines will live on as classics in movie trivia. He seemed to be the kind of actor that if you met him in real life I would imagine him to be a nice person.
Looking forward to:
Harry Potter
Syriana
Narnia (maybe - I'll wait for some reviews first)
Cyen
Last week I saw the movie "Jarhead". A story about one man's experience in the Marines during Desert Storm. I'm actually not sure if I liked this movie or not. The acting was great. I've been a fan of Jake Gyllenhaal since Donnie Darko. The movie was based the real life experiences of Anthony Swofford, and seemed to give a glimpse into the Marines, but I'm sure every story has two sides. I expected to come away from the movie with a feeling of a message, and I suppose the movie did not paint the war in the best of light, but a lot of the movie seemed like all the other war movies. Boot camp is tough, some guys are jerks, some guys are crazy and some guys are good buddies.
This weekend I saw "The Ice Harvest" with John Cusak and Billy Bob Thorton. The movie just really lacked something for me. Those two actors had a good chemistry in Pushing Tin, but in this movie it felt forced. Oliver Platt did a good job playing the drunk guy, and had some funny bits, but the movie just seemed to try to be a remake of Fargo. I also don't like how the movie is sort of being marketed as a holiday movie... yes, it takes place on Christmas eve, but it's about murder, strip joints, mobsters, and dysfunctional families... not exactly a "holiday movie".
Just thought I needed to mention this for some reason... The passing of Pat Morita (Nov 25) or as most people know him "Mr. Miyagi". I always did like his character, and some of his lines will live on as classics in movie trivia. He seemed to be the kind of actor that if you met him in real life I would imagine him to be a nice person.
Looking forward to:
Harry Potter
Syriana
Narnia (maybe - I'll wait for some reviews first)
Cyen
Friday, November 25, 2005
Thanksgiving a success
Well, Thanksgiving is just about over now as I head to bed. It was a good one... I cooked a 7lb Turkey Breast (way too much for just me! Tons of leftovers), Mashed Potatoes, Corn (Shupeg whatever that means - and yes I spelled it wrong probably), Gravy (powderd mix), Stove Top Stuffing, and I even made my own cranberry sauce with a few modifications (I cut back on some of the sugar, and added a little apple cider, and a very small amount of fresh ginger (didn't taste it really). I had one small injury trying to open a spice container, bent my thumbnail back trying to pry the lid off, it somehow drew blood!? Which now it hurts like a paper cut - I'll live. Turkey cooked up well, but I was still concerned with undercooking it... I used a thermometer, looked up the temperature on the internet and found a range of 161-180, and the thermometer said 190 for poultry. I took an average and went to 175. But... When I cut into it, there was a pinkness around the outside of the turkey of all places. Just under the skin really. I ate it anyway, as I cooked it for almost 2.5 hours! for only a 7lb breast - it had to be cooked. I think next year, I'm going to try something different and either slice it off the bones and stir-fry it, or maybe cut it into pieces and cook it in a baking dish (I did that one year and cooked it on top of my own homemade stuffing, and that really turned out good!
I watched a lot of TV today too... a lot of flipping of channels, but I watched mostly Nickelodeon's "Avatar - the last airbender". I really like the animation/art for this cartoon. Today's marathon also brought me up to speed on the story, as I never really watched a full episode. But it is a good show. I'm going to have to watch this more often.
I've started to get back into drawing a little, and plan on starting my own "parts factory" I started by drawing eyes today (in the computer - adobe illustrator). I plan on drawing my own pieces so that I can create some characters that use similar parts (eyes, noses, mouth, etc...) I've decided I need to persue a creative outlet with my art/doodles more.
And finally, ended up playing a new videogame - Starwars Battlefront 2 for the PS2. So far it's a pretty good game.
Well, heading to bed now with a full belly, and thankful for all that I have in my life... Family, friends, work, and all the opportunities I've had to make this a thankful day. AND I took tomorrow off too, so it's going to be a nice long weekend.
Cyen
PS> On an unrelated note... I'm reading buzz on the internet how the brand new xbox 360 is having overheating issues. Only 2 days after the big release and the trouble is brewing already for Micro$oft. I had a very small urge to get an xbox, not now, I'll probably just wait until the new PS3 comes out.
I watched a lot of TV today too... a lot of flipping of channels, but I watched mostly Nickelodeon's "Avatar - the last airbender". I really like the animation/art for this cartoon. Today's marathon also brought me up to speed on the story, as I never really watched a full episode. But it is a good show. I'm going to have to watch this more often.
I've started to get back into drawing a little, and plan on starting my own "parts factory" I started by drawing eyes today (in the computer - adobe illustrator). I plan on drawing my own pieces so that I can create some characters that use similar parts (eyes, noses, mouth, etc...) I've decided I need to persue a creative outlet with my art/doodles more.
And finally, ended up playing a new videogame - Starwars Battlefront 2 for the PS2. So far it's a pretty good game.
Well, heading to bed now with a full belly, and thankful for all that I have in my life... Family, friends, work, and all the opportunities I've had to make this a thankful day. AND I took tomorrow off too, so it's going to be a nice long weekend.
Cyen
PS> On an unrelated note... I'm reading buzz on the internet how the brand new xbox 360 is having overheating issues. Only 2 days after the big release and the trouble is brewing already for Micro$oft. I had a very small urge to get an xbox, not now, I'll probably just wait until the new PS3 comes out.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
video link test
I found this blog today: http://gvod.blogspot.com/
It's a blog where Michael sorts through the various google videos and picks one of the best ones to post. I enjoyed several of his picks today, especially this one called "redneck rollercoaster" - which just the name itself cracks me up. He was also kind enough to post how he links to the videos directly, so I'm giving it a try on my blog here. If you click the picture, it should open a link for the google video page. (unless i did something wrong).
Enjoy and thanks to Michael Martine.
Cyen
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