Google has amazing search capabilities, but it's very limited if you're trying to identify a sound...

....it shouldn't take 90 minutes to put 5 towel hooks up in the bathroom.


....the chances of me hitting a stud with the very first drywall anchor I install ought to be slim to none.


...one shouldn't have sore mussels from holding a power driver between my legs, and a small allen wrench in my pinky.


...I should be smart enough to take the flat head screwdriver from out of my back pocket before sitting.


... tomorrow morning my towels better be beautifully dry.

Not content to have ruined such classics as "The Game of Life" through it's "updates," Hasbro has now decided to ruin "Clue" with new characters, a new board, and "secret powers" for each of the characters.

For God's sake, Hasbro, if you feel the need to change gameplay, just friggin' make a new game (e.g. "Clue: Master Detective"). The classics became classics because people like them the way they are!

Sheesh!

Wars of expansion are inherently unsustainable. Either the aggressor must assimilate the conquered lands into its own culture or holding the conquered territory spreads its resources too thin and renders it vulnerable.

Some compliments aren't

Happy Birthday to tundrayeti, barriequark, and jsadler!

Yes, I do seem to surround myself with Leos...

You can drive faster during the day than you can at night, mostly because in the dark it's much harder to spot the CHP.

There are times when I am jealous that people get the opportunity to make a choice that I agree with but that external factor prevent me from actually having any say or ability to make such a choice. Oddly enough I am even more resentful of this then when they make a choice I disagree with.

(No this is not about you)

Theatre is much more enjoyable in comfortable seats.

Rockports or otherwise, San Francisco is a lousy place to break in new shoes.

Tonight we saw Beach Blanket Babylon. I planned on posting a lengthy review, but frankly, a show so topical isn't really going to be the same by the time anyone who reads this gets a chance to see it. So here it is short and sweat:

Script: Thin but very funny
Singing: Great
Acting: Funny
Dancing: Fine but limited
Sets: Fine
Lighting: I'm sure the LD wishes he had more gear
Costumes: Very funny quirky and quick
Hats: They really needed their own bow

In short: If you are in San Francisco and like to laugh.... see the show.

I actually rejoice in gradually reducing the amount of stuff I own. I must not be an American.

Politically, I don't fit in with any parties politics. Granted, I don't think anyone does. I have rather strong political views. I am socially progressive, fiscally conservative. Strong believer in limiting government and guaranteeing civil liberties. I don't like large monopolies, and I'm a bit of protectionist (I actually believe in tariffs to discourage people from buying imports.) I also believe in voting with ones dollars. I try to support companies that support political causes I support, and I try to avoid spending my hard earned money with companies whose politics I don't like.

So what's the problem? Company A (we'll call it Clear Channel for the sake of argument) is a large anti-competitive company that takes over as many of the small competing companies in an area and folding them into one. They lessen the number of different voices people hear in any market they take over. The own radio stations, bill boards, concert venues etc. Company B (We'll call it Clear Channel for the sake of argument) gives both money and in kind donations to causes I really believe in (like supporting equal rights for same sex couples).

So here's the issue. I want to not support Company A because of their business practices. I want to support Company B because of their social causes. The problem is, that Supporting Company B means also supporting company A.


Often I have the same dilemma with politicians. In this presidential election, it is probably less of a worry, because I don't think any of the candidates are fiscally conservative in practice. And none of them are nearly socially progressive enough for me. And the only candidate who I think might (and that is a huge might) actually work to repeal some of the major intrusions into civil liberties that the current administration rammed down the throats of America is Green presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney

What I really want is evil corporations to be truly evil. I want good companies to be truly good. I want slimy politicians to be easily hate-able because they are incarnations of evil. And I want the politicians who claim to be heros, to truly be heros for all Americans. So often I wish I could live in the black and white world of the screaming voices of political talk radio -- instead I live in a world of varying shades of grey

So, I'm in the process of retiring some old computers that I haven't used in a couple years, and a friend posts that he's in need of an older computer for a project he's working on and wonders if anyone has one they'd want to part with for free. I volunteer mine, and mention that his girlfriend has a key to my house and can therefore pick them up any time that's convenient for her, because I'll be in San Francisco this weekend.

Well, this afternoon, at work, my phone rings from a local number I don't recognize.

"Hello?"
"Hi... I just locked your key and my keys in your house. I hate your fucking front door with a passion."

So, this afternoon, I'm running late leaving work (because, of course, I got behind schedule running home unexpectedly). I need to get home as quickly as possible, feed myself, pack, round up the cats, and get on the road so I can be in Fresno at a reasonable hour so I can get enough sleep before our early morning departure for San Francisco tomorrow.

Well, as I'm pulling into the gas station I get a text message from my cousin.

"Power chair died. Help!"

OK, exactly what planet is retrograde right now?

If comedy really does happen in threes, the drive north tonight is so doomed...

Development Goals and Basic Accounts

Last week we updated our development goals for 2008. Generally we noted a number of cool enhancements and investments to LiveJournal that we are working on, including improved search, usability, and site development.

We also wanted to let you know how we hope to accomplish all these things, and how we plan on paying for them. In order to accomplish our stated goals for this year and beyond, we need to increase the revenue gained from both groups of LiveJournal accounts: paid subscription accounts and ad-supported accounts.

As of August 28th, all users will be able to choose to downgrade their account to Basic through their Manage Account page. Additionally, we will start showing advertising to visitors who are not logged in to LiveJournal when they are looking at Basic Account journals and communities.

Basic Account users themselves will not see ads on any Basic journal or community while they are logged in to their account. If you want more information about this, take a look at our new post on lj_2008 where we outline our reasoning.

Indian Flash Fiction Contest

In other news, we are excited to tell you we've launched "Quick Tales" LiveJournal's first initiative for users in India, in celebration of India Independence day, August 15th. "Quick Tales" is a flash fiction writing contest in which we're partnering with Caferati.com, one of India's largest online literary communites. The contest's winners will receive some great prizes and it is open to anyone with a mailing address in India. We hope that users with an interest in Indian writing or just India will watch LiveJournal's india_writing community. That's where the finalists and winners will be announced, so keep an eye on it towards the end of September! If you're in India then enter the contest - if your story is slick and quick (under 500 words) then you could be the lucky winner!

Meanwhile, back at LiveJournal Inc.

We have updated and redesigned our corporate site. The goal of the redesign was twofold: first, to update the look and feel (Dystopia users will appreciate it!); second, we want to provide a destination for prospective employees, partners, and members of the press where they can access important information about the company. Kudos to our design team.

I don't know who programmed this playlist on my iPod called "Top 25 Most Played," but whoever did has some serious psychological issues...

... better busy than bored ... better busy than bored ... better busy than bored ...

This is the story of two politicians.

Politician #1 (3 times married, on the floor of the US house of representatives), in discussing why he supports the Defense of Marriage Act:
"flames of hedonism, the flames of narcissism, the flames of self-centered morality are licking at the very foundation of our society: the family unit"
In other speeches he used these same images to discuss gay civil rights.

Politician #2 (also 3 times married, seeking election to the Presidency of the US, from his website) discussing why he does not support the Defense of Marriage Act
"The federal government should neither regulate personal relationships nor discriminate against individuals for their personal preferences. Laws regulating marriage should be left to the states, precisely where the Constitution places the issue.
Regardless of whether one supports or opposes same sex marriage, the decision to recognize such unions ought to be made by each state rather than imposed as a one-size-fits-all mandate by the federal government. Any federal laws that prevent states from determining their own standards for marriage should be repealed; the federal government should not define marriage, whether by statute or constitutional amendment."

( My commentary )

As some of you may have guessed from my thought for the day, I had an audition this morning. 10:20 AM on the West Side. (1.5 hours there, 30 minutes back.) I finally got heard (as opposed to "seen" -- it was a voiceover audition, after all) at 11:20. That's exactly one hour behind schedule.

Normally an audition running an hour late would be very annoying. Normally I'd be posting a rant about respecting our time. But, you know what? This time, I'm good with it.

You see, they came down a few minutes after I'd signed in and explained that the client had called wanting to talk about the project, and they really didn't want to blow off the client. They periodically reminded us not to let our meters expire. They brought us water without anyone asking. The holding area was comfortable (a shady courtyard filled with sunflowers). In other words, they acted like they understood that our time is also valuable, and that they appreciated our patience and wanted us to be comfortable.

Communication. Courtesy. What a difference they make.

I sometimes think that producers believe that if auditions were held in a convenient time and place, anyone who shows up wouldn't be worth casting.