Ramblings & Ruminations

So, after doing support for the iPhone for over a month .. and then getting one of my own, I'm still in love with it ( as much as one can be in love with an inanimate piece of technology ).

It's not the end-all-be-all phone. Yes, there are features of other phones which are more mature and developed. But c'mon .. as first attempts go, this one is pretty awesome.

Does anyone have any suggestions for cases for the iPhone?

Ok, who here uses last.fm? If you do, or if you sign up for an account add me and/or tell me your username.

I'm not usually one to get excited about a TV series, but I'm looking forward to Discovery Channel's Discovery Atlas program. China is the first show in the series. Anyone want to donate an HDTV so I can watch it how it was meant to be? :-)

So ol Bushie was in New Orleans tellin' people how they should move back.

Bush said to residents scattered across the nation. "And New Orleans needs you. She needs people coming home. She needs people — she needs those saints to come marching back. That's what she needs. New Orleans is calling her children home."

As in the hymn, "When the Saints Go Marching In." Now what I find funny about this is that this hymn is/was usually used in funeral processions through New Orleans. As they were walking the casket to the cemetery they would play this song. I wonder if Bush knew the significance. Mr Bush, I think plenty of Saints were marching during and after the flood.

Via ABC News.

U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris told a religious journal that separation of church and state is "a lie" and God and the nation's founding fathers did not intend the country be "a nation of secular laws." The Republican candidate for U.S. Senate also said that if Christians are not elected, politicians will "legislate sin," including abortion and gay marriage.

Separation of church and state is "a lie we have been told," Harris said in the interview, published Thursday, saying separating religion and politics is "wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers."

Just what are these people on? They believe this shit! If god has been choosing our rulers .. [he/she/it] has been doing a crappy job as of late.

tatortot and I went to NYC this past weekend. Saw shows, visited people and had a good time (save for the heat and humidity). You can even read about our encounter with celebrity. The photo above (and behind the link) are from our tour of the United Nations building.

So about a year ago I posted a rant about the new car registration stickers.

And ANOTHER thing .. so .. in the Texas heat and sun I'm supposed to believe that this piece of paper - that was printed on by a laser printer - is not going to fade? I'll let you know in a year.

So, the year has passed. The registration sticker still looks the same as it did when I put it on. Kudos.

Mmmmmm! As in MmmmmacBook. Apple unveils new MacBook. 13.3" widescreen lovin' and other features.

So, yes it's a sad story. But really, can't News 8 report it correctly? Both the Houston and San Antonio version of the AP story got the fact that the mother and grandmother of this infant are not the same age.

So, LiveJournal has added a third account type, "Sponsored+" In return for showing ads on your journal you get some of the benefits of a full paid account. Increased userpics, scrapbook photo hosting, voice and mobile text posts just to name a few. I was toying with the idea of adding them, not like my LJ would generate tons of ad revenue. Post a reply if you've changed from a free to sponsored+ account.

Coca-Cola Blak™ that is. It's alright, different. Kind of like you're suckin' on one of those coffee flavored candies and drinking a Coke at the same time. While I probably won't be adding it to my regular soft drink purchase it was a refreshing change.

So this was totally out of the blue. Bootcamp from Apple. If you have an Intel-based Macintosh there is now a way (without downloading some horrible hack off the internet) to run WindowsXP on your Mac. Of course there is no support from Apple for using the program OR WindowsXP. I've been eyeing a MacbookPro - this definitely sweetens the deal.

So now there's a new Swedish study about cell phone usage and brain tumors. This time cell phones are bad for you. Now you may recall previous studies that say cell phones don't cause brain tumors. My favorite quote from the Forbes article is, '"This study is relatively definitive," Yu added. "So the fears that were brought up by other studies are, to some degree, put to rest by this study. Therefore, use your free minutes"'' From Ars Technica, "It's also worth pointing out that research on the link between cancer and mobile phones is ambiguous. A recent British study found no such link only a few months ago, though a 2004 study came to the opposite conclusion. The Swedish team points out that their study is the largest done to date, though, so it may carry more authority than the rest." What they, of course, forgot to add at the end of that sentence was, ".. until a new study comes out proving the opposite."

It's the same way with alcohol and food "studies" where one year you hear eating or drinking 'item X' is good for you, then the next year you hear about how it's so very bad for you. Oh wait, another study came out showing it's somewhat good for you, no wait .. bad. "Science" based upon percentages suck.

And the skies opened...

Buckets of rain, of almost Biblical proportions, poured upon Central Texas during Tuesday morning's rush hour [...] Camp Mabry recorded 3.26 inches of rain Tuesday, which is a new daily record.

Three and a quarter inches is biblical? Better haul out the ark. Really, biblical? Whose idea was it to use that word.

Get yours today via Chax.
<insert generic disclaimer about use at your own risk, blah, blah, blah>

S. Dakota legislature passes abortion ban

SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota (Reuters) - South Dakota became the first U.S. state to pass a law banning abortion in virtually all cases, with the intention of forcing the Supreme Court to reconsider its 1973 decision legalizing the procedure.

Let's see how the new face of the Supreme Court behaves on this one.

Dollar store in Cedar Park robbed.

Cedar Park police are looking for a man who robbed the Family Dollar Store in the Buttercup Commons Shopping Center on Monday night. No one was hurt and the man only got away with a small amount of cash.

Uhm, it was a dollar store, of course there was only a small amount of cash. :-) If only he had robbed the "Everything's $100" store he'd be set.

Apple sued over potential hearing loss.

My favorite quote, "Patterson's suit said he bought an iPod last year, but does not specify whether he suffered hearing loss from the device. Patterson does not know if the device has damaged his hearing, said his attorney, Steve W. Berman, of Seattle. But that's beside the point of the lawsuit, which takes issue with the potential the iPod has to cause irreparable hearing loss, Berman said."

POTENTIAL. Turning up your car stereo has the potential to damage hearing. Where are the warnings, the limits on that? Here's an idea - the warning should be your common sense and the limit is your freakin' finger on the volume control.

Yes, I do know that iPods sold in Europe have a volume limiter - I'm just sick of people suing others for things that a little common sense and personal responsibility can control.