Ego-surfing

I was doing a bit of ego-surfing on Google this afternoon, and I came across this site.  Even though it's from the Netherlands (which I like to refer to as the Nether Regions), it's kind of funny to see quotes from me up there with writers from Time Magazine, CNET, ZDNet, The Wall Street Journal, etc.

Over 12,000 people have read my iBook review, according to the stats.  Maybe it's time to give up my day job and become a Mac writer!  I think I'm impartial enough I could pull it off, now if I only had some talent...

Penn & Teller were hilarious.  I'd definitely go see them again.  I really want to know how they did their Bullet Trick.  I can think of a few ways to pull it off, but none of them are fool-proof...

Lizzy

I'm giving Radio Userland a try today. I used this for a while about a year ago, when it was in development. I'm trying to decide if it's worth the $40 to make editing my weblog easier. I like being able to try before I buy, too.

So far, I'm not impressed enough with it as a weblog editing tool to make it worth my money. Using the integrated WYSIWYG mode in Internet Explorer is much more intuitive...

I've been watching the Monica Lewinsky special on HBO, it's quite interesting, and has really done a good job of laying out the timeline of the whole mess. The sessions with Monica doing Q&A with the audience of college students are very insightful too, and really make you feel sorry for her.

Oh, and Linda Tripp is a real bitch.

Lizzy

Here's a puzzler for you, what's wrong with this picture?  Stare at it for a bit, and I'm sure that you'll find out what's wrong.

My friend Liz has a new 'blog, she's someone who I've never met in person, but have known for years.  I know this is a common occurrence for many people, but she's the only person I actively talk (via instant messaging) to that I've never met.  I'll have to come up with an excuse to go to Atlanta some time, there's got to be some sort of computer conference there, right?

From Liz's 'blog, I found a link to The Political Compass, where you can take a short quiz to find out where you fall politically.  This is very similar to one we took in my Public Opinion & Voter Behavior class a few weeks ago, and I'd say that my score accurately reflects who I am:

Economic Left/Right: -3.88
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -3.28

The site also discusses why simply saying you're left wing or right wing isn't very accurate, which I also agree with.  I've got a strange personal ideology, heavily influenced by reading too much Heinlein at an early age.  Most people would think I'm a liberal, but that discounts a lot of the libertarianism in me...

I saw a funny proverb in someone's e-mail signature last night:

"Give a man a match, and he will be warm for 30 seconds.  Light a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life"

Ghosting

I'm still suffering with some ghosting on my KVM switch.  I'm hoping that the new cable I just ordered will solve it, or I'm going to send this puppy back.  What's the point of having a 21" display if you can't run at more than 1280x1024?

My new Epson 785EPX photo printer works great, the results are astonishing on the photo-quality paper.  It was a good deal too, since there's a $100 rebate going on right now.  After the rebate, and a coupon, it only cost me about $60 for this great printer.  I'm just hoping that it doesn't wind up eating print cartridges at too great of a rate.  I'll probably use someone like Ofoto.com for most of my digital developing, but if I'm in a hurry, I'll use that Epson.  I just have to remember to print something on it at least once a week, or the print heads will dry up on me.

I can't wait until Saturday, I'm going to see Penn & Teller.

No Fur-Low

Hooray, according to an e-mail we received today, we won't be getting furloughed:

BUDGET UPDATE: On Friday, Mar. 1, Gov. Tom Vilsack signed into law Senate File 2304. This bill makes a number of final adjustments to the FY 2002 state budget. Initially, the bill required that furloughs be used by state agencies, including the Board of Regents institutions, to achieve cost savings. During the legislative process, this requirement was removed. State agencies now have the power to choose the cost-saving measures they will employ. The University of Northern Iowa will not use furloughs. The UNI cabinet is working to determine how the university will make adjustments to cope with the loss of an additional $1.5 million in state appropriations. Care will be taken not to disturb classes already in progress, and other functions vital to the university's "Students First" mission.