Somebody alerted me to an interesting electoral poll website. This guy is combining lots of individual state polls to predict the outcome of each state, and projecting that into a total electoral vote prediction. I’m not a statistician, so I don’t know how valid this kind of process is, but it’s interesting. I guess the… Continue reading Interesting Poll Site
New Toy
Nope, not the iPod I just got, although that’s cool too. The latest is much cheaper and potentially cooler: a universal TV zapper . When I saw the story, I wanted one. When I saw the price, I ordered one. Stay tuned for details of its effectiveness. I can think of a lot of places… Continue reading New Toy
Google Saves a Hostage?
From Baghdad, Chris Albritton describes the kidnapping and release of his friend, John Martinkus, an Australian reporter. Martinkus was released after persuading his captors that he was not American, a fact which they apparently confirmed by Googling him. (Wasn’t the accent enough, or do Australians and Americans sound alike to Iraqis?) Besides the Google angle,… Continue reading Google Saves a Hostage?
Windows for Warships?
Unfortunately, “Windows for Warships” is not the latest computer game, or even just a bad joke. A recent article in Scotland’s Sunday Herald describes the concerns of a naval software engineer about the British Royal Navy’s use of Windows for combat management software. The capitalized phrase “Windows for Warships” really raised my eyebrows, indicating that… Continue reading Windows for Warships?
Illumination Inflation
Way back in June, I received a report that seven Bush administration officials were necessary to change a lightbulb. Today I received a report indicating that number has now risen to ten. And when I compared the two lists, after eliminating overlap, it actually appears to be eleven.
Quick Links
This weekend’s mail included a couple of multi-media links that looked interesting but too big to download over my barbed-wire connection at home. Viewing them at work on Monday confirmed that they’re definitely worth the download on a broadband connection. Check them out if you have a good connection or lots of time: Didn’t Know… Continue reading Quick Links
Flying Lower
Today’s flight was somewhat lower and slower than yesterday’s. I never got much higher than the back of a horse (although I think I got some good air between my seat and the saddle at one point), and we didn’t quite approach yesterday’s hair-raising speed. Although the numbers might seem a little less impressive, I… Continue reading Flying Lower
Up Up and Away
This morning’s tranquillity was disturbed by an unusual amount of aircraft traffic overhead. Wandering outside to check out the source of disturbance, I spotted a squadron of light aircraft flying in formation overhead. After recent reports of Federal stormtroopers shutting down Independent Media websites, I wondered if maybe Ashcroft had escalated the action and was… Continue reading Up Up and Away
I Don’t Know Joe
I frequently have been accused of not knowing Jack. Now a recent New York Times article has me digging through dead brain cells trying to remember if I know a CIA agent named Joe, or ever knew him. Although there are some large segments of time from that era that are totally unaccounted for, as… Continue reading I Don’t Know Joe
Government Consultant?
As I’ve mentioned before, scanning webserver access logs sometimes occasionally provides a source of minor amusement (at least for a pathetic computer geek with no other life). Something I stumbled onto tonight leaves me unsure whether to be amused or frightened. 209.58.72.84 – – [23/Sep/2004:21:25:21 -0400] “GET /blog/article.php?story=2003112608264175&mode=print HTTP/1.0” 200 1077 “http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?FORM=MSNH&q=fighting%20unemployment” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE… Continue reading Government Consultant?