guy arrested for providing LINKS to copyrighted material

The site doesn't actually host any copyrighted material. It just provided LINKS to it, the guy gets arrested anyway.

Probably the most popular video streaming site around has been busted by UK authorities.

It's a sad day for streaming video fans everywhere as news has been reported that TVLinks has been shut down and the owner, a 26yo man from Chelteham in the UK, was arrested.

Though not hosting an actual content himself, and rather merely providing links to where particular titles can be found, he was nonetheless apparently charged for the "facilitation" of copyright infringement.

"Sites such as TV Links contribute to and profit from copyright infringement by identifying, posting, organizing, and indexing links to infringing content found on the internet that users can then view on demand by visiting these illegal sites," said a spokesman for Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) today.

What makes the charges so odd is that he was again, only providing LINKS to pirated content, and never actually hosted anything. Can linking really be considered "facilitation?" If I link to TVLinks am I then a co-conspirator?

found here

unfrickinbelievable photo synth demonstration

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/129

found at zefrank.com

Thanks Mark!

This is a good one:

Book Review: The Roald Dahl Omnibus

#38 The Roald Dahl Omnibus

Roald Dahl

1993

* * * *

This is a book of short stories by the author of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, and James and the Giant Peach. But these aren't children's stories. These are stories about sex, poachers, cannibalism, murder, and a host of other adults hating or loving each other too much. The stories each have unique twists and surprise endings. These stories are entertaining and written in a way I've never seen before. ~ October 21, 2007

See all my reviews at http://www.danmanning.com/37.php

living life to the fullest

I love it when I'm sitting on my ass watching football and a beer commercial tells me to "Live Life to the Fullest." Hey, I am living life to the fullest! I'm watching football aren't I? I mowed the lawn earlier, and put some Liquid Plumber down the tub drain earlier. I'm living large! I have a bottle of domestic lager and a bowl of chips, the remote, and a basket of unfolded laundry nearby. I'm ignoring the phone and family, I'm watching football. I am living life to the fullest, you pompous beer commercial! Who are you to judge? Don't judge me!

Anywhoo, I'm just chillin' out today.

http://planethiltron.com

check out

http://planethiltron.com

where they morph celebrity faces on regular people's photographs. weird.

new terms i learned:

Here are some new terms I saw on a CNN piece:

Agnorant: Someone who is simultaneously ignorant and arrogant.

Bluetool: Someone who wears their bluetooth thing in their ear all the time.

Multislacking: Slacking at multiple things at the same time.

Leave Britney Alone: If someone is bothering you, just interrupt them and say "Leave Britney Alone" and hopefully, they'll get the hint.

I dunno, I thought those were funny.

laughing german midget

Book Review: Of Human Bondage

#37 Of Human Bondage

William Somerset Maugham

1915

* * * * *

Best book about a club-footed person ever! Seriously, this masterpiece captures the scope of human emotion, delves into the metaphysics while reading like a well-written tortured love story; love the meaning of life, the reason for art, the play of class and religion, the meaning of freedom. I have never read a book this boundless in its ability to move and inform the reader. This is a magnificent literary symphony of thought and emotion.

read more reviews at http://www.danmanning.com/37.php

We Were Civilians

~ ~ ~

We were civilians.

The war didn't rage really; there was just a steady flow of dead and dismembered soldiers whose names were on the Internet and on the news programs. The soldiers were black, Hispanic, white and Asian. Some of us paid attention and some of us didn't and some of us were devastated. If you didn't know any of the unlucky ones, then they were only statistics.

These statistics were given on the network news between the school shooting and the celebrity scandal stories. The numbers were tallied with somber patriotic video graphics. Maybe it was an American flag waving slowly, or maybe a combat boot-rifle-helmet combo. These graphics looked great on our high-def wide screen televisions. "What a shame," we said, shaking our heads. When the story about the latest breakthrough in the treatment of osteoporosis came on, we changed the channel to VH1 or ESPN and forgot all about the war.

We were civilians.

Some of us didn't think about the war at all.

With no draft, it was a voluntary thing to go to Iraq and get blown up. It was okay that those brave men and women were getting mangled because they were volunteers; no one was forcing them to enlist and reenlist.

If you could get a job and make decent money, there was no reason to go. If you came from a wealthy family, it didn't make any sense to go. And with the advent of yellow-ribbon car magnets, we had a convenient way to ease our conscience and support the troops at the same time.

That was our attitude anyway, and we went on with our lives as if nothing was wrong. Those were fascinating times, and we couldn't fit it into our busy schedules to enlist. We played newer and better video games, we surfed more rich and interactive websites on ever shinier and faster computers. If we didn't like the war, we could always say so on our blogs. We carried fancier, more feature-rich phones. We drove more technologically advanced cars, and while those cars were all built overseas, we didn't care because they had Ipod docks to give us music, GPS to give us direction, and DVD players to give us a break from the kids. Some of those vehicles got decent gas mileage, but most of them did not.

We were civilians.

Some of us drove massive pickup trucks and SUVs with shiny grills, and those things take gas. What a sense of awesome power these behemoths bestowed upon us as we moved between desk and cubicle and home and hearth. These machines carried us back and forth to work so we could pay our crazy mortgages.

We were civilians.

We didn't have time to go fight a war. Reality shows were coming up with more interesting twists. Starlets and singers were in and out of rehab. These were interesting times.

There were new drugs to keep us thin and happy. They put us to sleep at night. They calmed our restless legs and gave us everlasting erections. We had a pill for everything, so we were happy.

We were civilians.

Were other people making sacrifices? Sure, but we were willing to pay that price. Now we had a military base over the precious, sweet, life-giving Middle East oil.

With no draft, the rest of us could take it easy. There were sporting events to watch and alcohol to drink. We were civilians, and we did what our President asked us to do.

We went shopping.

Start growing it out boys and girls

“Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of your beard,” Leviticus 19:27

Read it and weep asswipes! If you cut your hair, you aren't a Christian. Ha ha ha ha ha. The bible says it, so let it be done you heathen bastards! Start growing it out boys and girls, or you will burn in the everlasting fires of Hell. Ha!

DETROIT -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan won a religious liberty lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of a ninth-grader who refused to obey a school’s dress code that required boys to maintain “closely cropped” hairstyles.

Judge Kathleen Macdonald at the Wayne County Circuit Court ruled on Wednesday that Claudius Benson cannot be expelled and will return to the public charter school, Old Redford Academy in Detroit.

Benson, 14, was enrolled in Old Redford Academy for three days when he was suspended on grounds that he was not in compliance with the hair provisions of the school’s dress code.

Benson’s mother said she strictly abides by various Old Testament provisions, including a passage in the book of Leviticus that forbids the cutting of hair: “Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of your beard,” Leviticus 19:27

International Philosophy

Mario villains scarf

Check out this awesome Nintendo themed scarf. She only made one, otherwise, it would make a great gift.
























Found at http://www.boingboing.net/2007/09/30/mario-villains-scarf.html

dvd rental review

Last night Deb and I watched two DVD rentals: Hot Fuzz and Deathproof. Deathpoof, a Quentin Tarantino movie, was everything I expected; hot girls, cheesy dialog and lots of gratuitous violence. The lap-dance scene was well worth the rental. No, not his best work, but entertaining nonetheless. Hot Fuzz was another well made comedy by the same dudes who did Shaun of the Dead. Both DVDs were well worth the rental.

snoring remedy

from slate.com:

"Tennis ball, $2.50 for can of three
The MacGyver remedy. Or, as I like to call it, fetching with Pavlov's dog. Put a tennis ball in a sock, and then safety pin the sock to the middle of the back of a T-shirt. When you sleep in this T-shirt, it's painful to sleep on your back, so you turn on your side, where you're less likely to snore. If you sleep with the sock enough, your sleep self will supposedly associate sleeping on your back with pain, and you won't need the T-shirt anymore.

I'm not used to sleeping with a shirt on, so this—not to mention the heavy sock tugging at the back—took some getting used to. Also, it is surprisingly painful to have a Wilson jut into your back. But the remedy worked immediately. The morning after the first night, Elizabeth reported no snoring. I felt great, too. The second night, my deceitful sleep self did manage to outmaneuver the sock, swinging the tennis ball between my arm and side, allowing me to sleep on my back and snore. But the next day I adjusted the sock so that it was tighter against the shirt and could not be stretched out. For the rest of the trial, there was no snoring.

By the fifth night, I was attached to the ensemble. There was something ritualistic about putting the shirt on every night, and the thought of moving on to test another remedy made me sad. Elizabeth loved it, too. Improbably, she even found the get-up cute, which solidified this remedy's place as the clear winner."

WAR IS PEACE; FREEDOM IS SLAVERY; IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

we have illegal wiretapping, "free-speech zones", arrest without charges, torture, and now we can all be tasered for asking a question. Yes, here in the Land of The Free, we get to do anything we want, as long as we stay in compliance, never resist arrest, and act like sheep before a benevolent, all-powerful government. They can read your emails, listen to your phone calls, arrest you without charges, torture you, search your bags and bust down your doors. But don't worry, it's for your own good.

So sleep well America, Big Brother is watching over you.

War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength.

what awesome game was he playing?

from cnn.com:

Man dies after 3-day gaming binge

BEIJING, China -- A man in southern China appears to have died of exhaustion after a three-day Internet gaming binge, state media said Monday.

The 30-year-old man fainted at a cyber cafe in the city of Guangzhou Saturday afternoon after he had been playing games online for three days, the Beijing News reported.

Paramedics tried to revive him but failed and he was declared dead at the cafe, it said. The paper said that he may have died from exhaustion brought on by too many hours on the Internet.

The report did not say what the man, whose name was not given, was playing.

The report said that about 100 other Web surfers "left the cafe in fear after witnessing the man's death."

China has 140 million Internet users, second only to the U.S.. It is one of the world's biggest markets for online games, with tens of millions of players, many of whom hunker down for hours in front of PCs in public Internet cafes.

Several cities have clinics to treat what psychiatrists have dubbed "Internet addiction" in users, many of them children and teenagers, who play online games or surf the Web for days at a time.

Two Book Reviews

#35 When Will Jesus Bring The Porkchops?	George Carlin	2004	* * *	This book is both very good and very bad. The entire thing is just little sections of thoughts and ideas. He has parts that are fiction, and these parts are damn near unreadable. But his observations about society and language are fantastic. His non-fiction is hilarious. His fiction is atrocious. The nice thing is, you can spot the fiction and non-fiction pretty quick, so you end up skipping the horrible fake character sketches and sketch comedy scripts and focus on his take on euphemisms and observations. Well worth the half-read. ~ September 08, 2007
#36 The Communist Manifesto	Karl Marx and Frederick Engels	1848	* * *	The first part was great, but the last part had some crazy ideas about women. Plus, once the revolution is over, somebody's going to take the place of the bourgeoisie aren't they? ~ September 12, 2007

Read them all at my book review page

zombo.com!

This is the greatest website I've ever seen! zombo.com! Go there now. It's fantastic. You can do anything there. It's hard to explain! zombo.com

When Will Jesus Bring The Pork Chops?

I just finished reading George Carlin’s When Will Jesus Bring The Pork Chops?. This book is both very good and very bad. The entire thing is just little sections of thoughts and ideas. He has parts that are fiction, and these parts are damn near unreadable. But his observations about society and language are fantastic. His non-fiction is hilarious. His fiction is atrocious. The nice thing is, you can spot the fiction and non-fiction pretty quick, so you end up skipping the horrible fake character sketches and sketch comedy scripts and focus on his take on euphemisms and observations. Well worth the half-read.

Read all my awesome book reviews by following this awesome link.

Angel Hair Pasta: The Horrible Truth

I will never eat “angel hair pasta.” I’ll tell you why: I saw a show on the Discovery channel where they explained how they harvest angel hair. Yes, angel-hair pasta is actually made out of the hair of angels.

There is a lot of preparation involved with killing an angel: First, they forge crossbow bolts from the iron collected from the wrecks of cars where teenagers have died in late-night, country-road accidents fueled by alcohol and wide-eyed innocence. Then they dip those crossbow bolts in the tears of children kept in abusive after-school child-care facilities.

After that, sexually abused adult alter-boys with questionable hygiene climb peaks in the Andes Mountains and wait. The angels, unaware that they are in danger, often fly around mountain passes playing their harps, because they are bored out of their minds from an eternity of problem-free existence, and no cable television.

Finally, the alter boys shoot the angles with their crossbows. When the angels fall to the ground, their heads are shaved and the hair is taken to the angel hair pasta factory and turned into angel hair pasta.

That’s why I will never eat angel hair pasta.

did you know the "do not call" thingy expires?

That's right.

If you registered for the national "do not call" list, it expires in 5 years.

But don't worry, you can go to https://www.donotcall.gov and register again.

The website, being a government website, doesn't have the word RENEW anywhere, because that would be way too easy.

There is a VERIFY button, and a REGISTER button, but of course, no RENEW button anywhere.

I used the VERIFY button to see that my number would drop off the list in June of '08.

I just REGISTERED, and now it doesn't drop off until 2012.

That is my public service announcement for this week. May each and every one of you have a somewhat satisfying day.

reading and running for the betterment of humanity . . .

4100 pages in 45 days equals about 91 pages a day. That’s where I’ve been, reading the entire seven books in the Harry Potter series. I am a dweeb. The story moved, except for the last book which was about three-hundred pages too long, and it really dragged in the middle. I’m glad I’m through with it.

You can read all about the awesomeness of my reading at: dan's book reviews.

Other than that, I’ve been fixing computers and setting up networks. And I’ve been running and or jogging. Lots and lots of running: for me anyway. I’m running 4 miles three times a week. Yes, that’s it, I’m bragging, and I’m not ashamed to admit it!

You can see the awesomeness of my running at: workoutdump.com

smoking rocks!

that's the funniest thing I've seen in awhile

New Baby!

Congratulations to Brian and Ann: they had a baby girl, Audrey.

Today I did yard work, yard work, and yard work. I weeded, thatched, mowed fertilized, and planted mums. Yes, that’s right. I planted mums. That doesn’t make me gay.

I also ran 4 miles.

And I read about two hundred pages of the fifth Harry Potter book.

No animals were harmed in the posting of this blog-post.

Hi. This is Ginger the dog and Lilly the cat. Ginger did not ingest the cat when this was taken. They play once in awhile, that's all.

Thanks.

That is all.

the Harry Potter movie marathon

Today I fixed a scan.msi problem, some HP printer update jagged up a computer in a law office. Then I showed them how to do a backup, since the last backup they had was dated somewhere in 2005.

After that, a new Vista laptop with docking station. I hate docking stations. A docking station on a laptop is like an airplane drink-cart duct-taped to an Olympic sprinter. It’s a big, stupid Steven-Hawking-Wheelchair on a ballet dancer. They are stupid, I hate them, and that’s all there is to it. But I will gladly set them up for money.

And then we enjoyed the Harry Potter movie marathon. We got the last two DVDs in today, and we watched them both, back to back. Those movies are LOOOOONG.

Oh yeah, and Karl Rove quit today. That fat bastard.

iPod + washing machine = sadness

Today after my run I managed to wash my iPod in the washer, ruining it. I am sad. I cleaned the bedroom, straightened out my desk, took down the pool (some more) and swept the porch.

I went to my writer’s group, but only one other person showed up. We talked about nothing for fifteen minutes and then I went across the street and got another iPod. I’ll try not to wash this one this time.

My toe really hurts.

I walked to Speedway and got gas for the lawn mower. I started out just getting ready to mow the lawn, but instead I started picking weeds. I put my iPod on and listened to podcasts. 4 hours later, the lawn was weed-free. I took down the pool. I got stung by a bee. I mowed the lawn. Because the weeds were about a fifth of the lawn surface, I got some topsoil and grass seed and did a little patchwork. I also bought a new $5.00 sprinkler. I entered a bad poetry contest at slate.com.

I figured out some new running routs with the gmaps pedometer (thanks bri!) and I’m going to run somewhere beside around the block tomorrow morning.

My toe really hurts.

Cowden Lake

Today kicked ass. We all went to Cowden Lake, which is in Coral, Michigan. Someone Deb works with, her parents own this cottage on the lake. We jet-skied, inner-tubed behind a speedboat, and rode the paddle boat. The water was perfect, we were the only ones on the lake, and the weather was fantastic. Not too hot. Deb and I can’t seem to get on a jet-ski at the same time. Savannah and I paddled out across the lake in inflatable rafts and looked at fish and stuff. I ran 3 miles this morning, and I’m beat.

after having a thrombo . . .

Today I installed a wireless network at an accounting office downtown, dropped an ancient HP pavilion with windows 98 goodness off at a welding shop, fixed a PC in a JCPenny’s heating and ventilation area (you wouldn’t believe the air-handling units they need at a mall anchor store), the guy at the Apple store told my my mac-mini is pretty much crashed, when I got home I managed to crash my bench server with a client’s files on it, recovered same files after having a thrombo, put the files back on the client’s laptop, and returned it no problem. I cut the weeds and grass growing between the cracks on the driveway, rebuilt my bench server with an additional HD to back up the backups and now I’m trying to unwind.

generic blog post

Yesterday our Mac Mini crashed. I guess Macs aren’t supernaturally reliable after all. I golfed. I ran. I picked up two machines to reformat. I scheduled two calls for tomorrow. I am tired. Goodnight.

the blog post I posted Sunday

Saturday morning I golfed with Brian and Tom. I did Okay, Brian and Tom did better. Took the kids to The Simpson’s Movie. I picked up a new game for the Wii: Mario Strikers. It is awesome. It’s a cross between soccer and a video game, with all the Nintendo Mario characters. You can play it across the Internets against other people, or your friends.

I’ve been plotting my book out, mulling it over and planning before I set one word down in the first draft. Planning. What a concept huh?

I’m running again, and I’m losing some weight. My gut has no chance against my awesomeness now.

I bought the movie 300, the violence is a work of pure art.

Talked to Barry on the phone, cleaned the toilet, reformatted a couple of machines, cleaned the pool, put up a tire swing, cut my toenails, drank some tea, read a book, read another book, watched television, ate a grapefruit, went to some garage sales, stopped smoking, etcetera and so forth.

I saw this on a tee-shirt . . . really.

CHRISTIANITY:

The belief that some cosmic Jewish Zombie can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him that you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree.

Makes perfect sense.

generic blog post I posted Sunday

I golfed Tuesday and shot horribly. I did hit a lot of fairways, but couldn't chip to save my life. I painted yesterday, up on a ladder; I painted the highest reaches of our sprawling estate. I went to my writer’s club today. That was pretty cool. I sent a story to the “Air Out My Shorts” podcast. They read short-short 800 word stories there. They’ve already read one of mine in episode #46, so maybe they’ll read another one.

I’m plotting out a new bestselling novel. I’ve found a way to plot it all out first so it doesn’t go to shit in the first couple of chapters.

I’ve slept on my neck wrong for two days in a row, and it’s pissing me off, because it is like having a hangover, but I haven’t had any beer. What a rip!

the moon

best viewed with headphones.

What the F**k is Lindsay Lohan's Problem?

Get a friggin' chauffeur. She can't afford to hire a driver? Duh. Rich people are so friggin' stupid. But sometimes they pull off some stunning mug shots . . .

really short book review, Witches of Eastwick.

The Witches of Eastwick

John Updike

1984

* * *

The first three-quarters were great. The last part, boring. Updike can really describe stuff. ~ July 21, 2007

http://www.marathonminute.com/

Hey everybody,

Check out Don's new podcast, Marathon Minute. He's on the radio and everything. Inspirational messages, even if you don't run. http://www.marathonminute.com/

Tammy Faye Messner is the friggin' Crypt Keeper

if you look like this:



Please don't put yourself in front of a camera. And shame on CNN and Larry King for exploiting this poor, dying, terrifying walking corpse. Jeez.

Harry Potter Line (queue?) already forming at bookstore.

While Savannah and I were at the bookstore at about 8 PM, a kid was setting up a tent for the Midnight release of the 7th Harry Potter book. That’s only 28 hours away. Good luck kid!

Savannah and I saw the latest Harry Potter movie. It was pretty dark and action packed. It was pretty good.

homer rules!

Hi kids,

Nothing to report, but I found this funny story: http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2128300,00.html

May you have a nice day.

I STILL WON'T WATCH SOCCER

I have tried. I understand that the rest of the world loves soccer. I’ve made an honest effort to watch soccer. I even watched the world cup. David Beckham has joined some team in LA, and everyone is speculating that it will make Americans watch soccer. I don’t think so. I once watched the movie “Bend it Like Beckham,” because I thought my daughters might like it, but it was boring, and when I rented it, I had no idea who David Beckham was. At least Keira Knightley was in the movie, she’s smoking hot.

Even if Keira Knightley, and a bunch of other equally hot girls formed a soccer league and played in bikinis, I’d probably only watch a couple of times. . . no wait, I might tune in to that program more than once, but that’s about the only way I’d watch soccer. And then only if at the end, they mud-wrestled.

Because soccer is boring. I know that we Americans should join in the international sport, so that a global sense of fellowship and some kind of common spirit would traverse the globe, eventually resulting in international peace and goodwill.

But really, the only time soccer is interesting is when there is a big drunken riot, and then only when the good parts of the riots are condensed into a four minute montage on one of those “Shocking Video” shows you see on the spike channel.

And oh yeah, when that one dude head-butted that other dude. That was cool.

So, I know the LA Whatchamacallits are banking on Beckham drawing a crowd to American soccer. I understand that he’s the Michael Jordan of soccer and all that, but the coolest thing about him, to me at least, is that he’s tagging Posh Spice. That means he’s cool. That fact that he’s good at soccer? Meh, whatever.

So good luck American Soccer people. When Beckham shows up on “The Surreal Life” with a pot-belly and a drinking problem with Lance Armstrong and Maria Sharapova, then we’ll know he’s really made it.

the confession machine

~ B O O K R E V I E W ~

The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham has everything a novel should have. Fantastic characters, death, marriages, romance, jealousy, deceit, and a story that moves. There is Larry the mystic, Elliot the lovable snob, Isabel the socialite. Every character is distinct. The stock market crashes in ’29 at just the right point. This work is a masterpiece, and everybody should read it. Right now!

~~ M U S I C R E V I E W ~~

Donnie Iris’s “Ah Leah” is a great friggin’ song. The vocals are awesome. The simple base line and sonic wave of sound, especially in a good set of earphones, rocks. The guitar solo, probably sixteen notes long, is simple, yet it would peel the paint off the wall if cranked up enough.

re-incarnation

if you are bad in this life, you will re-incarnate into this chair after you die.

THIS BOOK HAS NOT BEEN CONDENSED, ITS BULK IS LESS BECAUSE GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS PROHIBIT USE OF HEAVIER PAPER.

Why no blog posts lately? Well, my life has been smooth and uneventful. Today I joined a writer’s group, and it was actually pretty nice. I’m motivated to write. Plus, people read my writing, and that makes me happy. This week I mowed the lawn. I fixed several computers. I pulled about a million mulberries from our pool. I went to the Firehouse Open, thrown each year by some friends of mine, and I had many Bloody Marys. I golfed okay, I suppose. I’m working on a book idea, but so far, it sucks ass.

My fascination with everything Paris Hilton is finally wearing off. For awhile there, I had to know what she was doing every minute of every day, and I had no shortage of "news" outlets that were more than willing to give me everything I wanted. Actually, I'm being sarcastic. Sort of. London is getting attacked by terrorists. I’m already sick of all the presidential candidates on both sides.

I’m watering my lawn. I’m going to have a rum-and-club-soda-with-lime in a few minutes. I’m reading The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham. I looked this edition up on the Internets, and somebody’s selling one for $350.00 bucks. This book has the following stamped on the backside of the title page:

THIS BOOK HAS NOT BEEN CONDENSED, ITS BULK IS LESS BECAUSE GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS PROHIBIT USE OF HEAVIER PAPER.

I think they must have been rationing paper or something for the war? It came out in 1944.

Anywhoo, Deb and the girls are visiting her mom today, so I got the place to myself. I’m going to have a drink, a smoke, and a sit on the porch, and I’m going to read.

I’ve been trying to catch my secret crush Maria Sharapova at the Wimbledon, but I keep missing it. I keep catching the guys playing tennis, and who wants to watch that crap? That's almost as pointless as watching men's beach volleyball. Makes no sense whatsoever.

book review, Lolita

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, (1955)

A book about a pedophile obsessed with fucking twelve-year-old girls. I got half-way through. The first half was about him trying to get the girl, actually marrying Lolita's mother in order to get near the girl. That part was okay. But once he got the girl, well, it got boring after that. No, there weren't any sex scenes, but it was depressing enough as it is. While it was well written, the last half really sucked ass as it becomes a dismal tour of American tourist traps and motels.

see more reviews at http://www.danmanning.com/37.php

morphage!

Lennon's Last Words

Yoko breaks silence to reveal Lennon's last words
By Andrew Johnson
Published: 10 June 2007

For 40 years Yoko Ono has kept a silent dignity in the face of global vilification meted out by legions of Beatles fans.

But today, in an emotional interview, she reveals the last words her husband John Lennon uttered moments before he was gunned down on a New York street in 1980 by Mark Chapman.

"I said 'shall we go and have dinner before we go home?' and John said 'No, let's go home because I want to see Sean before he goes to sleep'," Ono, 73, told Kirsty Young on 'Desert Island Discs'.

Young then asked Ono if Lennon had said anything after he was shot, to which she replied in almost a whisper: "No."

Ono, a conceptual artist, admitted that she would never be more than "the wife of an ex-Beatle".

Choosing Edith Piaf's "Je Ne Regrette Rien" as one of her discs, she added: "I regret nothing, too."

found here

Mojito

Today I spent the morning fixing many things at a new business customer. It went well. I don’t know if you’ve seen those Bacardi mojito recipe commercials, where everybody’s real cool and everything, and there are lots of hot women dancing around all sexy-like. Anyhoo, I made one of those drinks, and they are pretty tasty. A forbidden Lambada style dance party didn’t erupt in my house, but it is a cool drink on a hot day.

Otherwise, I have nothing to report.

Oh, did you see this?

new video camera=new videos

I made two videos:

One of the dog.

One of the girls running with streamers

nothing to report here. have a good weekend.

the post I posted today

I read in the paper this morning that there hasn’t been a new oil refinery built in the U.S. since 1976. One reason given for the high price of gas is the lack of refining facilities. Oil companies are restricted by government red-tape and profit margins from making building more oil refineries, because it costs billions to build an oil refinery.

So suck up that gas, and happy driving!

Today I got paid to set up a Nintendo Wii. :)

our media . . . (thanks mark)

danmanning.com ~ the spam I got from Andline Williams

I got some great new spam, you can see it at danmanning.com

at least I wasn't water-boarded. . .

Today I got a call and spent over two hours extracting Norton Internet Security Evil from a PC. The entire time, the woman to whom the PC belonged asked me personal questions to which I gave one-word answers. (When I say personal questions, I mean questions like, “How old are your kids,” and “What are you and your family doing for Memorial Day weekend,” and “How long were you in the Military,” and “Did you grow up in Michigan.”) She was nosy, but she also handles the checks for the company, so I answered her questions, while we listened to her PC grind furiously, trying to void itself of Norton Internet Security, which had rendered the machine useless.

Finally, after forty minutes, NIS failed to uninstall and I had to download the “Norton Removal Tool.” From Norton’s site. It really says something when software is so bloated that the software’s website has to offer a special tool to perform an exorcism in order to rid a machine of the very software they spewed in the first place.

After that, another half-hour removing Norton System Works, another work of pure genius.

When everything was done, the machine running again and I had endured 2 hours of mind-numbing interrogation.

I dropped off a PC to a nice couple with a pit-bull. They said it wasn’t a pit bull, but I think it was.

Otherwise, I worked on my short story, which is finally coming together, what with a satanic pregnancy, a talking wall mural, and a reclusive artist with an effeminate man-servant.

book review

A People's History of The United States

Howard Zinn

2003

* * * * *

Probably the most eye-opening book I've every read. Forget the bullshit history they taught you in school. This is the real deal. You wouldn't believe some of the shit we've pulled. Read this book only if you want the wool away from your eyes. ~ May 23, 2007

read all my book reviews at my book review page.

Generic Tuesday Blog Post.

fixed PC in Grand Haven. Walked to the end of pier. Went golfing with Deb in the afternoon. Actually, she watched and drove the cart, I golfed. Savannah had a band concert. Deb and I played cribbage. Sent out some post-cards.

Savannah's class went first at the band concert, and I enjoyed that because she was up there, and she sounded great. Then the other class performed, and usually, when my child isn't up on stage, it is really boring, but they played THE THEME FROM STAR WARS and that made it somewhat bearable.

baby chimps probably taste like chicken . . .

I’m finishing up A People’s History of The United States by Howard Zinn. If you haven’t read it yet, I suggest you do so right away. It doesn’t paint a rosy picture of American foreign policy and its treatment of the least among us. This country is a good country, but it isn’t a perfect country, and we’ve had our own self-interest in mind from start to finish. I don’t mind that. I just wish they wouldn’t sugar-coat it in the history books they have the kids read in school. I grew up thinking we were the end-all to beat-all people on earth; the greatest country civilization has ever produced. But we’re not. We’re a great country, but we have been cruel, and murderous, and treacherous, just like every other country. Our politicians are just as ruthless and hypocritical as the politicians in any other country.

And I suppose it has to be this way, because we are simply primates. I saw a show on television once where one band of chimpanzees raided another band that was encroaching on their turf. They just bum-rushed the other group and the other group scrambled, but one baby chimp was too slow and the aggressors ate that baby chimp. And we all know how cute baby chimps are. . . It was a show of force to grab territory.

We're like, one chromosome away from being chimps.

And that’s how we are. So everything we do makes sense. And every stupid conflict you see on television makes sense. We’re a bunch of chimps that will stop at nothing to advance our group and crush the other group, no matter what.

And on that pleasant note, I wish you all a good night.

an exceedingly unsatisfactory level of “accomplishment feeling"

The last few days have been a hodge-podge of lackluster events and/or happenings that have barely been able to meet or slightly exceed expectations. While I have consistently met goals and benchmarks despite routine challenges, these last few days have left me somehow unfulfilled, with an exceedingly unsatisfactory level of “accomplishment feeling."

Tuesday's league of golf was disappointingly dampened by rain. My golf was marred by my own lack of performance, which was written almost entirely in the passive tense. Mistakes were made. The resultant chill from damp clothes gave me that "not so fresh" feeling and I was deeply saddened.

My recent failure to correct a Gateway PC turned into what can only be described as an ongoing investigation, about which I would rather not comment.

Overall this week has been routine.

My daughter's birthday, with her annual allotment of non-political gifts was a bright spot. The birthday festivities, coming on the heels of Mother's Day, reminded me of my commitment to family values, and the sanctity of life, as long as that sanctity does and/or does not infringe on a woman's constitutional right to choose or un-choose, despite my own personal feelings on the matter.

I am looking forward to answering all of your questions via email, and I am cautiously optimistic about the next looming crisis that we will undoubtedly face in the coming weeks, months, and/or years. Working together in a bipartisan fashion, I believe we will meet these challenges, probably in the only way we know how, with overwhelming air superiority.

And to those of you out there who question my resolve; I leave you with this final thought: I will continue to make blog posts, despite the grinding existential banality I am faced with. I will continue to mock my fellow man, while glossing over my own shortcomings. I will ignore my own faults and simultaneously point out those same imperfections in others. And while my uninteresting lameness may initially seem like a weakness, while my generic ordinary condition may scream out for my resignation as an aging loser with a blog, I will not be deterred.

And while the stale unresponsiveness of my blog may compel others to declare it dead, and to argue that it is time to pull its feeding tube, I am not ready to declare it dead; for I still have hope. I still believe interesting things can and will happen, and when they do, I believe I will write those things down in the form of proud, freedom-loving words. And with vigilance, I will be proud to cut and paste those words here, and hopefully, you will waste at least one minute of your day reading those same words, shake your head in solemn disappointment, and then close your browser wistfully, and wonder why you bothered in the first place. And I would like to echo that question now: Why bother?

In conclusion, I'd like to wish all of you a happy (and wholesome) Upcoming Weekend, and remind you to drink responsibly, drive carefully, but don't do those two activities at the same time because that would be not only illegal, but dangerous.

Thank you, good night, and may God bless these United States.

Sunday bla bla

We went to Meijer and got stuff to make breakfast in bed for Deb ; the girls picked out a necklace for Deb. Mother’s day is traditionally breakfast in bed, but since Deb worked last night, and she’s working tonight, she slept most of the day. She got up around four and we made her breakfast in bed. Her weekend to work usually doesn’t land on Mother’s Day, but there you have it.

I mowed the lawn yesterday. The moles are dead; the poison I bought at Lowes seems to work. I did a reformat; I picked it up yesterday and delivered it this morning.

I’ve been reading Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States and it is a real eye-opener. I suggest every single one of you read this book. There is a lot of history I didn’t know about.

wanna see something funny?

Nothing new to report today . . . however, I was watching rocketboom, and they featured the film "Naked Swim" from itsjerrytime.com It's a funny story and wicked-weird animation. Check it out. (server might be slow today cause it was on rocketboom)

ironic-ish?

This morning I used my TIVO to fast-forward through a commercial for TIVO.

the letter I sent to my congressman

This is what I wrote to my Congressman:

May 9, 2007

Congressman Vernon J. Ehlers
1714 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-2203

Subject: Habeas Corpus

The Military Commissions Act cancelled habeas corpus. (I know that’s an oversimplification, but I’m a simple taxpayer.)

Could you please talk to Congressman Jerrold Nadler and find out what he’s doing to restore habeas corpus and help him do it? It will make you look like one of the good guys.

Can’t the USA go through one crisis without shredding the Constitution? Please don’t sit back and let our rights be chipped away every time we’re faced with a difficult patch.

How about sending a real letter back instead of a form letter? This is kind of important.


Sincerely,

. . . .

Hey kids: Don't know who your congressman is? Simply Google this: "congressman for 12345" where 12345 is your zip code. Then find out what the f*ck is going on and write a letter. You'll get a form letter back, because YOU aren't a big-time lobbyist for an big corporate interest.

wednesday bla bla

Yesterday I got a parking $10.00 parking ticket. It’s a long, boring story. I went into the bank barefooted and made a deposit. I golfed. Poorly. Today it took me FOUR trips to the Secretary of State office to get some paperwork done. I wasn’t happy. I had to re-do a client’s PC cause the hard-drive I put in there crashed a week later. Dammit. Otherwise, I am in a surly mood. I don’t have time to type at you right now.

Doctor finds spiders in ear of boy with earache - CNN.com

Doctor finds spiders in ear of boy with earache - CNN.com <---- oooooooh, gross!

R.I.P. DanOfGrandR (2005-2007)

So I started playing World of Warcraft again. But only for about a week and a half this time. I told myself I’d play in moderation, but that shit never works. Today I sold all my level 60 warrior’s crap, donated the money to my guild, and signed off forever. And I deleted Danofgrandr off the face of the virtual planet. And I uninstalled the software. I swear, I never learn . . .

Black Rose and the Disciples of Funk

So. Tonight, Deb was at work, the girls were staying over at a friend's house, so I went to the Hideout Brewing Company. It was Ken's 2nd anniversary being open, and the band was Black Rose and the Disciples of Funk. They kick ass. They did classics, from Cream, Grateful Dead, and some original jams that sounded like Pink Floyd, except it was some original shit.

Anywhoo, if you get a chance to see them, see them.

wednesday bla bla

What a difference a couple of weeks make. I was worried about it being SLOW, and now I’m changing motherboards, hard-drives, operating systems, networks, cutting off Internet access, cleaning out computer junk, and being busy. I finally have an evening with no PCs on the bench, and I’m too tired to do anything.

Not complaining; work is work, and that’s a good thing. It looks like a giant robot threw up in my office, there are computer parts strewn everywhere. I have to do some cleaning soon.

I spent the weekend cutting firewood, and that's about all I did. It is stacked so nicely. Sometimes I just go out back and gaze at my ultimate firewood stacks.

boo!

Savannah's mask is awesome!

ten most common passwords

from PC magazine, (who got it from inTechnology.com)

ten most common passwords:

1. password
2. 123456
3. qwerty
4. abc123
5. letmein
6. monkey
7. myspace1
8. password1
9. blink182
10. (your first name)

See yours in here? Might wanna change it.

Thus went Tuesday.

Today I finally got some work. I fixed email format insensibilities. I set up remote access for an expectant father who will be working from home. I surveyed the data backup requirements for backing up required files.

I came home and Lo, for in the East there I beheld a sign: FREE FIREWOOD. I went forth, and did take a cart around the corner, where many cubits of cherry wood awaited me so that I might take rightful possession. Then with the cart did I take the wood to the backyard, where I stacked it in accordance with the Laws of Gravity. And Lo, my back did hurteth. And so did I use the Saw of Chains to reduce it, and I did stack it according to the laws of Stacking.

And I revealed unto my Wife that which I had lay hidden for a fortnight: The World of Warcraft installation CD, purchased for 2 American dollars. And Yea did she allow it to be Installed, on the grounds that it would perish within another fortnight, for it is the Software of Trials.

Verily, a message came from the Sky Tower, and another customer forsooth must needs me to fix the Accursed Norton, which forbade the new Vista to speak with the Network Server.

Thus went Tuesday.

The Shiny 3mm bullet that liberated Ernest Hemingway from Ernest Hemingway;

No calls today. Deb and I walked to the library and back. We took Ginger, who walked with us. I read books, wrote, tweaked my website, entered a 750 word story in a writing contest, and that’s about it. I’m reading McSweeney’s Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories (2004, Vintage Books, New York) and one story contains this gem: "The Shiny 3mm bullet that liberated Ernest Hemingway from Ernest Hemingway;"

hey everybody, buy my golf ball trophy case!

it's on sale at ebay and it's really really cool!

Cho Seung-Hui, Rock Star . . .

Dear News Media,

Oh Media, I can't avoid you; I have an unhealthy urge to know what's going on. That's why I can't avoid noticing your absolute obsession with Cho Seung-Hui. He's on the TV news, news websites, and the papers. I suppose he'll grace the covers of TIME and NEWSWEEK. He's mugging into the camera, pointing his guns, making crazy speeches. I can't see how it is news. OK, we get it, he was a wacko.

How many copycats are out there thinking, "yeah, I could do that, I could be famous." How much has this wall-to-wall coverage of The Cho Show are you guys going to air? When does the DVD come out? When is the made for TV movie?

By giving Cho his moment in the sun, postmortem, you're just giving the next wacko more motivation to get famous. By declaring it, even on the day it happened the "Deadliest shooting in U.S. History," or "Deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history," and "Deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history," you're setting a mark for the next crazy guy with a gun: "Can you break this record crazy people? The score to beat is 32!"

Report the news. I don't need to know Cho Seung-Hui's shoe size. By "glamorizing" this insane person, you're just egging on the next guy. Report that he left a goofy manifesto and some lame videos, but don't plaster his videos up everywhere for ratings. Don't worry, we'll sit through your damn commercials. . . .

wallpaper-tastic!

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=461531004&size=o

Sunday, Most Holy Day of Sloth . . .

Today I tamped down fresh mole tunnels with my bare feet. I took a lawn chair out to the driveway and sat in it. A strange, bright light was in the sky. I forget what it is called. Everything was warm. I read a book and soaked up the rays of this strange, unfamiliar ball of fire. I’ll call it, “the sun.”

I thought about taking a run, but didn’t. I watched 5 episodes of “Frasier.” I spoke to Barry on the phone. I spread fertilizer on my lawn. I spoke to the neighbor, Sharon briefly about how to kill moles.

I played tug-of-war with the dog. I read some more. I watched some more television. I played catch with my daughter.

I got a headache, and realized I had forgotten to drink coffee. I drank coffee.

I updated my blog.

Are mobile phones wiping out our bees? - Independent Online Edition > Wildlife

Are mobile phones wiping out our bees? - Independent Online Edition > Wildlife

[Scientists] . . . are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world - the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon - which started in the US, then spread to continental Europe - was beginning to hit Britain as well.

The implications of the spread are alarming. Most of the world's crops depend on pollination by bees. Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left".

who said the bible wasn't funny?

Ezekiel 23:20 says, "There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses." <------ Now that's some soul-savin' stuff right there!

a poem

April showers
Bring may flowers
But when it snows
It friggin' blows.

Today's rocketboom was kick-ass.

Rocketboom

The Vagaries of Human Existence.

#1: The Neighbors

Here’s an example: Let’s say you have a neighbor, let’s call him Bob. You might loan him a wrench, or watch football with him, or borrow a book, or marry his son/daughter. Whatever. You and Bob live next door to each other and you are friends.

Why is Bob your neighbor? What random set of circumstances caused Bob to live next door to you?

A realtor is involved in most home purchases. Some random realtor showed Bob a random set of houses that were available at the time, and he picked one. The same goes for you. You probably bought your house using a realtor. If you didn’t, just play along anyway. This is a hypothetical.

Had you (or Bob) picked a different realtor or a different house or a different time to move, Bob wouldn’t be Bob at all. He’d be someone else entirely.

Let’s say living next door to Bob results in you getting married. (You stole his wife, or you married his son or daughter, or you met someone at a cookout or party Bob throws one evening.) You get married and have kids. Your kids grow up and have kids. (This is all hypothetical, play along here folks)

The existence of your children and your grandchildren hinges on the lives and careers of two realtors, people who have probably been long forgotten.

What if you had bought from a different realtor? What if you had purchased a different home? What life choices did that realtor make to put him in your town at the time when your career and life put you in the position to buy a home?

Your entire life could hinge on when you called the realtor’s office. Let’s say at 9:06 AM Realtor #1 takes a bathroom break, and is away from his desk. You call at 9:06 and 30 seconds. Realtor #2 picks up your call, because Realtor #1 is in the bathroom, away from his desk. Normally Realtor #1 would have gotten this call, but not this time.

You chat with Realtor #2 and decide she’ll show you some available houses. She shows you a different set of houses, or maybe the same set of houses, only in a different order. Bob does not become your next-door neighbor. You never meet the spouse you would have had Realtor #1 simply skipped that second cup of coffee before coming to work.

Your entire life forks to a different future because a realtor you will never meet has an extra cup of coffee and has to go to the restroom to pee.

And this single detail is only rendered after your parents’ choices, your teachers’ influences, your education, your career path, your boss’s career path, traffic accidents, weather patterns, political events, social changes, stock market, and the economy have set everything up.

#2: Why “you” are even “you” in the first place.

And didn’t your parents and their parents end up creating YOU because of a set of random circumstances? How did they meet? Why did they meet? Ask them.

“Oh, I was planning to stay home that night but so and so had a cold so I went . . .”

“I was in line at the DMV when I look over and see this beautiful girl . . .”

“He was going through a difficult divorce, and I just happen to . . .”

#3: What We Can and Can’t Influence

We are responsible for our actions, we are responsible for our choices, but we are powerless over the set of choices we have at any point in time.

We can, however, try to influence our set of choices in the future, by bettering ourselves and building our careers (or by slacking off). We are not powerless in that. But we are completely at the whim of chance regarding our past set of choices and circumstances.

You cannot choose your parents. You cannot choose your grandparents. You cannot choose the subset of humans you have to pick from when choosing a mate. You cannot choose the subset of humans you can pick as friends.

You can choose from the subset. You can’t choose the subset itself.

#4: Yeah, that would be fantastic, but . . .

It would be great if there was a god. It would be nice if we were here for a purpose. I wish there were some intrinsic meaning to our lives. It would be nice if we carried on after we die. It would even be nice if there were such a thing as “luck.” But there’s not. Get that through your head now, and things will make sense a lot quicker.

It would be nice if these things existed, but they don’t; it is delusional to think that these things exist. God, spirits, ghosts, Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy, and the Holy Spirit: All of these things are fantasies.

This is the world and everything in it: We are a bunch of primates riding on a speck of dust hurtling through the universe for no reason whatsoever.

Oh, and by the way, stop crapping on Atheists. You don’t choose not to believe in God any more that you choose not to believe in Superman. You just know it’s a load of bullshit.

#5: Religion: I believe in the Power of Vaginas

What is religion? What is belief? Let me ask you this: What is the difference between a religion and a cult? What if the Chinese instead of the Europeans had discovered North America and taken it from the Native Americans? Would Christianity be practices in the United States? A United States that doesn’t exist?

Why do you practice the faith you practice? Is it the same faith as your parents? I hate to break this to you believers, but the set of beliefs you hold is not a function of faith, it is a function of which vagina you came out of, and nothing more. Is it a coincidence that most Christians have Christian parents? I think not.

#6: Death: When you’re dead, that’s it.

One choice leads to another leads to another. And then you die.

Here’s what happens when you die: Nothing.

You stop functioning, your body starts to decompose, and hopefully, somebody puts you in the ground. That’s it.

The world keeps turning, but you’re no longer around to know it. People get up for work, they fight wars, make babies, whatever.

Your family and friends get together; they put you in the ground, cry, and get on with making their choices and living their lives. Until it’s their turn.



#7: It isn’t all doom and gloom . . .

If there’s meaning, you make it yourself. You have the warm sun, family, and friends. There are a lot of things to enjoy in this life. Be good to one another, stop fighting, listen to music, watch a movie, and read a good book once in awhile. Have a beer. Enjoy this life now, because, well, see #6.

www.danmanning.com

The Don Imus Controversy

Don Imus is in trouble for calling the Rutgers women's basketball team a bunch of "nappy-headed-hos". Okay. Imus is an idiot, we all get it. I love seeing this dude squirm, and I hope he gets fired.

But what boggles my mind is this: People listen to Don Imus? Who in the hell is tuning into this pickled crypt-keeper windbag anyway? I am amazed anyone heard him say anything about anybody. People still listen to this ancient mummified ass-clown?

It's beyond me how anyone found out he said anything. Oh well.

post looks better at www.danmanning.com

lunch

for lunch today, I ate a box of slim jim brand mild beef sticks. that's 15 "spicy smoked snacks."

boots (1999-2007) they will be sorely missed.

they squeak. i had to replace them with Navy Issue Flight Deck Boots.

In Heaven . . .

In Heaven . . .

The cops are English, the cooks are French, the lovers are Italian, and the mechanics are German.

In Hell . . .

The police are French, the cooks are English, the mechanics are Italian, and the lovers are German.

NPR Spring Membership Week.

SHUT UP! SHUT UP! STOP MAKING ME FEEL GUILTY! STOP ASKING ME FOR MONEY! STOP BEGGING ME! I have the number memorized already! 888-258-9866 I don't want to join up! NO! I don't care what Ryan Automotive will give if you get 15 new members! NO! I DON'T CARE! I'm not paying for radio! NO! SHUT UP AND PLAY "ALL THINGS CONSIDERED"!

bla bla. this post is boring.

We went to Lowes and bought bird seed and one of those solar stick-in-the-ground lights. I planted some flowers. I walked around barefooted. I chipped a golf-ball around the yard. I had a homeade Oatmeal Stout a friend gave me.

The girls went to a friend's house and Deb and I had Nachoes and Coronas at Cheers. I moved the super-heavy railroad ties from the backyard. I traded some computer work so my neighbor would haul them all away.

My back hurt from moving the railroad ties. I finished copying music back to my laptop. The fan doesn't run all the time anymore.

Tomorrow, computer work.

bla bla. this post is boring.

Saturday, a new beginning . . .

I Spent the day reformatting my laptop. Why you ask? We bought a digital video camera, with a hard drive and all the bells and whistles. I installed the software to convert those videos into DVDs and such, and my friggin’ CPU fan went on high alert. It ran CONSTANTLY. I uninstalled the software, and behold, the friggin’ fan still ran CONSTANTLY. After a week of listening to the fan, I finally gave up and reformatted. All fixed, and my laptop is once a again, pure, virginal, and quick.

I got outside briefly, and I was barefooted. That’s always nice. Savannah had her last volleyball game.

Oh yeah, and if you haven't seen 300, go now. It was friggin' awesome.

best protest poster ever . . .

kick-ass product alert

Hi everyone, it's me, danmanning. I'd like to tell you about this kick-ass stuff, Luigi's Real Italian Ice. I don't know if it's Italian, I don't know who Luigi is, I don't even know if it's "real", but I can tell you this: its delicious.

GRINDHOUSE

GRINDHOUSE New Tarantino flick! Comes out April 6. Yeah!!!!!

the blog post I posted on Saturday discussing Friday

Yesterday I spent the morning deleting porn froma customer’s PC after recovering his files after the customer's daughter accidentally formatted the machine. Can’t very well transport porn back to the customer, even though he’s the one who put it there in the first place. If it ever came down to it, the customer might not appreciate it despite that little fact.

It was fifty degrees out Friday, that’s really warm compared to the last few months. Deb and I took a walk aroundthe block. It was sunny, and snow was melting like crazy. I told “Big Head Steve” that his days were numbered. “Big Head Steve” is a snowman we built last week.

I set up computer faxing for one of my better clients. He had no modem, the phone jack in his office for the fax line had no dial tone, but I set it up and tested it just the same.

At the Hideout, I talked to this dude who works for IBM. Ken played my Motorhead CD, a lady from OSHA was snooping around in a surprise visit, and I kept it down to two beers.

Me and the girls watched “Hellboy”. Meh, it was watchable I guess.

danmanning.com - and the meek shall inherit the earth

danmanning.com - and the meek shall inherit the earth the newest page at danmanning.com

danmanning.com - 9/11 perspective page

danmanning.com - 9/11 perspective page

hellovader

no comment required.

what has it got in its pocketses?

This is the crap I carry in my pockets. Jeeze.

www.danmanning.com

turkey leg soup, anna nichole still dead. snow.

Nothing doing today. Last night Alex beat me at cribbage. The dog might have a fractured leg, so Deb took her to the vet. How much is that going to cost?

I got no calls today. That’s two days in a row with no work, but I’ve been doing this long enough to not panic. Next week I’ll be slogging away at it again, and it’s pretty interesting work actually.

I made awesome turkey-leg soup. I played Xbox. I made postcards and sent out statements. I haven’t bathed and I see no reason to. It’s been snowing like crazy and I called the guy with the snowplow to come shovel the driveway. My back can’t take it anymore.

A bus fell off a bridge in Atlanta. Anna Nichole is still dead. CNN has been updating every movement of the now stinking body (I assume) of the late Anna Nichole. I hate her now more than ever. Please go away you latex bimbo!

Only 19 days until the vernal equinox.

it's march.

It’s March, and this morning, around four(?) there was thunder and lightning and blowing frozen rain. In like a lion . . . check! I had to order HP install disks for a customer because they (HP) are too lazy to provide restore disks with their fancy-shmancy media center PCs.

We lost power for awhile. I got Alex from school for a Dental appointment. I went to McDonalds and ordered all the wrong stuff.

We lost power and when it came back on the Internets weren’t up. So I called Comcast (mistake) to see if there was an outage in our area. I ended up arguing with the jackass on the other end (not from India; an American jackass) who was trying to tell me that because I had a 169. . . IP address, it proved there wasn’t anything wrong with my connection. "Are you trying to tell me the network cards in both my machines went bad at the same time?" I asked. "Possibly" said the Jackass. I ended up arguing with him, but by the time I was off the phone, the service was back up. God Dammit I wanted to strangle the guy through the phone.

I dropped off a machine using Earthlink DSL. It’s the first such hookup I’ve encountered so far (Earthlink DSL that is) and I had to muddle through the setup. Turns out I had to call Earthlink and have them give me their DNS server IP addresses. Otherwise, it went smooth as usual. My second drop-off went smoother yet. They had comacast.

www.danmanning.com