Music you haven’t heard…The M’s, N’s and O’s…

Bill Middleton is one of the most depressing musicians ever. His song A Brighter Beat http://www.malcolmmiddleton.co.uk/ABrighterBeat-Video.mov is enough to make you cry. Give it time to load…
Crappo the Clown is music on Zanex. There is more here http://www.malcolmmiddleton.co.uk/audiovideo.htm
It’s not bad music at all, he just needs a happy pill.

Maria Taylor comes from Nebraska, of all places. She’s cute and just manages to not be another “breathy” chick, like Tori Amos. Her music is laid back and a bit serious, but all good. http://www.myspace.com/mariataylor listen to the songs.

Michael Nesmith got the short end of the stick, in my opinion. His DVD Elephant Parts should be in every house in America. Here’s some tune from that http://www.videoranch.com/html/magiclarge.html
And a comedy bit, that isn’t music, but it’s too funny http://www.videoranch.com/html/NNSlarge.html
And finally Cruisin’ (a must see) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRWTz3zY1WY

Nash The Slash is a wacky electronic Canadian artist. He uses a violin run through a processor and a beat machine to create some of the most original and enticing music I have ever heard. Dance After Curfew, from the Album Children Of the Night was fairly popular http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErBzGe9hMdk
I can’t find any reference to his cover of the Jan and Dean song, Dead Man’s Curve. It’s an excellent, funny and very original rendition. He wraps himself a bit like a mummy and almost always wears an outrageous outfit with top hat.
=
Bill Nelson’s album Atom Shop is a step back into the 60’s mod/jazz scene with an electronic twist. It’s a bit like Bowie sometimes. Atom Shop from 1998 blew my socks off when I first listened to it. You can hear a few tracks here http://www.billnelson.com/html/salon/atom.php

Nelly Furtado is, well, hot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO6SnX9s5-w I don’t really know how popular her music is. You probably have heard this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4k219qd2Gc

Nick Cave is a bit of an enigma, from the 1990’s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOiUPl5GjTE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lneSAju-Xtc
I can’t say its “good” music. Different though.

Nouvelle Vague is another breathy chick band that does cover songs (from what I have heard). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4efME9Vnlc I like their website. You HAVE to listen to the cover of the Clash’s Guns of Brixton. Take a qualude and enjoy. They take a punk tune and kick it down a few notches. It makes me laugh out loud. http://www.nouvellesvagues.com/english/music.html They have an occult quality that they embrace fully.

Of Montreal (this should be in the O’s yes?) are a pretty young pop/alternative band out of (shocker) Montreal. If you go to their site http://www.ofmontreal.net/flashsite/index.html and click on media, there are links to audio and video. I Was Never Young is a great song and the tune Wraith Pinned To The Mist has been corrupted into the catchy Outback Steakhouse commercial’s music. You have to turn a buck, right?

Ok Go is just out to have fun. I love it. http://www.okgo.net/music_music.asp

Olive is no more. I wouldn’t rewrite their history, but you can read it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_(band) This song hit #1 in the UK.
This was the only video I could find.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48NCJmgwWEY

I can’t wait for the next part of this series; I am digging onto some of my favorite bands.

Music you haven’t heard…The I’s, J’s, K’s and L’s

Izz is a hard band to describe. One minute they spew one sound and the next it’s something completely different! But I like it, a bit prolific at times. Two free MP3 Downloads here http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=9980#mp3
The CD I bought has a good review here http://www.amazon.com/My-River-Flows-Izz/dp/B000C1ZTNA

Jack Johnson is pretty mellow and had some air play with Taylor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KefLz4DDrjo He’s big on the acoustic guitar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u57d4_b_YgI

Jars of Clay are a good solid Pop band, with a twist of lime. They toss in something you don’t expect when you least expect it. http://www.jarsofclay.com/ If you click Multimedia on their site they have some interestingly small videos. Search the band name on Youtube for more.

Kaiser Chiefs are yet another UK band, that have a lot of passion in their music. A good solid fun band.
Oh My God http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzbTm-OKbzs with some real nice Guitar work.
I Predict a Riot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spYcp0ZB4nM Rocks.
Ruby http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMDcOViViNY

Kennedy is an asshole, who works as an intern on a LA radio show. He has a few disco songs that are funny though. Your Mama is funny http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHa81UKTamk
And so is Mama Made Me a Pimp http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Sb1_EZ9ZXQ
He is an ass though and the bangs are hideous.

Killers are (shocker) another UK band. They have a lot of music on the Music link (duh).
http://www.thekillersmusic.com/ A really good band with good lyrics and good sound. Did I say good enough? Their videos are pretty good too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVCkSMwaGGc
I like Read My Mind http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Oec8RuwVVs
They had a few songs hit the charts in the US last year.

I alluded to Kings Of Convenience earlier in this series. I have their three full length CDs, Versus, Riot on an Empty Street and Quiet Is The New Loud. All excellent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2emj7HXv6Ic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9r9sQ6PHOM (very cute)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCgRk2HDyW8 (mellow, but rich)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAx6-7ZIdjM (I can’t classify this one…travelling?)
A great group that I miss a lot.

LCD Soundsystem pumped out their first full CD, with the band’s name as the title in 2005. The hit there was Daft Punk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbaOFkC8tQE by my perspective, but the whole CD is good. The new CD, Sound Of Silver didn’t catch my attention at all. The title track is just a repeat of the title over and over…lame.

Lowen and Navarro are unsung song writers who sold their songs to the likes of Pat Bennetar in the 1980’s. They released their own rendition of We Belong Together on their CD Walking on a Wire. The title song had some air play in the US too. If you like acoustic music with strong lyrics and passion, this is a must. No links, just go buy it.

Music you haven’t heard…The F, G’s and H’s

The Feeling is a band I just recently discovered and dig, big time. Go get their CD Twelve Stops Then Home, you won’t be sorry. I promise. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB4W-7Fs_Zg and another http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-6i1DZ4gsc and one more http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRpgzHbDGQQ

Fountains Of Wayne enjoyed moderate success with the song “Stacey’s Mom”, but their album Welcome Interstate Managers failed to win them the Best New Artist award, though they did get nominated. The album is in my top 10 of all time because I love almost every song. One threw me off a bit. Check them out, these got no air play that I heard. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtKhFaW2Z1E http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF3GHiiUcjs

Four Tet are a mainly Electronic Music band, but mix in some great beats and unusual sounds (a bit like Eno sometimes). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXrBEkSHLJ0 They mix in ambient sounds when you least expect it and really spice up their music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KYShWUA9D8 and you have to hear this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY4VbtaoKW0

The Go Team is what appear to be a bunch of kids that just graduated High School. I picked up their album Thunder Lightning Strike, on a whim. The first thing that struck me was the sound, very under produced. It sounds like it was recorded in a basement, which it actually was. Ok, that’s raw. But I listened on and it drew me in, like good porn does (That’s an analogy, ok? Don’t read anything dirty into it). Many of the songs have no lyrics, so it’s just the tune hanging out there. Heavy beats and horn accompaniments are the status quo. The lyrics are regularly replaced with a rarity in today’s music, a Harmonica. The songs that do have lyrics are very repetitive and basically cheers. The youthful sound snagged me and had me locked in as a fan. Next thing I know I was hearing the songs in advertisements on US TV. Someone got something right. They are in studio now working on their next album. I wish them the very best of luck. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lT2Tq2rC9I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0eso4ARXzk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56UF9bogGy0 One from a WP show in the US http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjaE7cPbm7k

Gossamer is an all electronic music endeavor that I can’t find anything about. Their one available album Closure, is available here with samples. I think they came and went already. http://www.amazon.com/Closure-Gossamer/dp/B000050684/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-1855985-4076917?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1185140711&sr=1-1

The Grates are a fairly new band out of the UK, very energetic music. They swear in some of their songs, so they probably won’t get much airplay in the US, but the songs are fantastic. Even if you have to play some of them away from the kids, check them out. The videos are cute. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecuC8Iumd2A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k35b7M-BtYI

Great Northern are a newly formed group of seasoned musicians. They have tunes on their site and a neat video about the band. They call themselves “Indie Rock”, but they step into Pop shoes here and there. http://www.greatnorthernmusic.blogspot.com/ The Label site has media too http://www.eeniemeenie.com/greatnorthern

I know everyone knows Greenday, but what most people haven’t heard or seen is their DVD of the concerts they did in the UK called Bullet in a Bible. If you like the band or just like live music, check out this DVD. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBwzXyHU1f4 The energy on this is overwhelming.

Habib Koité and Bamada have what I read as an Afro-Cuban sound and the guitar play will have you tilting your head like a dog hearing a high pitched whistle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAmxXizTKSY I don’t know what the video is all about, but the song is great http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8RIIJKJ3Gw

Hot Hot Heat came out with Elevator and I jumped in with two feet. They are another UK band that has made a nice splash. Go to their site and check out the videos, Middle of Nowhere and Goodnight. http://www.hothotheat.com/ Go into the HTML site!!

Dear Jesus…

I thought I would drop you a note asking for a little favor. Here on the central East Coast of the USA, we are having a heck of a drought. No rain in ages, in most places and the little we have had, has been scattered. The grass is all brown.

I know it’s really up to your Dad, but doesn’t he think the UK and China have had more than their fair share, to the point that it’s a detriment?? Come on Bro (and I think I can call you that, since “We are all children of God”), throw me a bone dude.

Oh, and can you do something about the bit of Carbon in the air, just to get Al Gorey to shut up? Ya know, snap your fingers like Jeannie used to do, http://www.idreamofjeannie.com . It's freaking the guy out and I worry about him making too much money off his "panic" scam. It might corrupt him!

If you can put a bug in your Dad’s ear, I would appreciate it and thanks for your time Bro.

Boz…Out….

Music you haven’t heard…The D’s and E’s

I can combine these.

Dean and Britta have some songs on their MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/deanandbritta I like their music a lot, nice harmonies wrapped up in solid melodies. Lookup their videos on YouTube.

The Darkness (Canadian’s I think?) have songs on their MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/thedarkness They are mimics of 80’s big haired rock bands and do a damn good job at it. They are in the process of breaking up and reforming as something completely different, so keep an ear to the ground. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-4VOLeKBOw

Division Day hail from LA CA and have a solid sound, but I wouldn’t call them remarkable. They consider themselves “Alternative”, but I don’t think they rank that http://www.myspace.com/divisionday

Dogs Die In Hot Cars, out of the UK are a lot of fun http://www.myspace.com/dogsdieinhotcars They don’t take themselves too serious and I bet they would be great to see live. If you remember Madness from the 80’s, that’s a bit what they sound like, but I like DDIHC better. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9N1jgaXbl8

The Doves http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-v02c4sx6o have been around for a while. I think they got some airplay in the US. They are in the studio right now working on a new Album. I won’t put up a link to their web site because it’s having problems. Look around though, check out “The Last Broadcast”, great CD.

Editors, another UK band I like a lot. Here’s one video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xRVm-JX5Rk They are still active, putting out new stuff. The Back Room is a great CD if you want to check them out. They have a lot of media here; http://www.editorsofficial.com/music.html

Erlend Øye is out of the Netherlands and used to be ½ the band Kings Of Convenience (who I will cover later). After the band folded (the other guy wanted to finish his Psych degree), Erlend struck out on his own and has made quite a splash across Europe. His music ranges from Electronic Dance to almost easy listening, but every song has a beat you can dance to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M6Ym6yMY0c I am not a fan of dancing, but his music makes it hard to stay in my chair. A few more tunes; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBc9So685A4 . This is one of my favorite tunes of his http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e72uI3HsGTk

How did the US lose in IRAQ?

The simple answer is, we didn’t try to win, from the start. Go back to the first days of the UN sanctioned “war” where we had news reports of US troops (oops, I mean “coalition” troops) advancing 20 miles a day. They were reporting how far we had left to go till we reached Baghdad from the beginning. Nothing was said about what we passed and left along the way.

Ask any Military officer and they will tell you that to win a war, you have to take ground and hold it. We didn’t bother with that in Iraq and pay the heavy price for the mad dash to Baghdad now. All of the weapons and explosive ammunitions we sauntered by so easily are now being used every day as IEDs. Duh. I was pissed off the day this war started because of the poor management of it, which all points to Dick Cheney and Carl (the Architect). Look at what you built guys?

You failed at the basics, to reach an unrealistic goal set by Bush. I watched the Saddam statues being pulled down and in the crawler text, read about US troops being kidnapped. That wouldn’t happen if you cleared and held your ground. It has been a mess ever since.

If the US had established a line of defense and fortified it, all of the bad guys would have lined up to attack it. We could have killed them all. Nope, not Dick’s plan, let’s spearhead into the Capitol and let all the elite troops fade into the populous, so they can come back later to infiltrate the new national forces, that we need to take over control. Oh, please also have all those explosives we ignored while we rushed in to attack all these statues! They have it all now.

At this point in time, we can’t undo the mistakes, but we can only undo the mistaken. God rest all the souls lost in this atrocity and may sanity prevail some time soon. We can’t leave, because we started it and you all voted for it. Start a small draft. Finish it right and don’t run, or all those who have fallen were for nothing. That’s no way to live or die.

The 2007 Atlantic Hurricane prediction…

SUMMARY
NOAA’s 2007 Atlantic hurricane season outlook indicates a very high 75% chance of an above-normal hurricane season, a 20% chance of a near-normal season, and only a 5% chance of a below-normal season. This outlook is produced by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center (CPC), National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Research Division (HRD), and Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC). See NOAA definitions of above-, near-, and below-normal seasons.
The outlook calls for a very high likelihood of an above-normal hurricane season, with 13-17 named storms, 7-10 hurricanes, and 3-5 major hurricanes. The likely range of the ACE index is 125% to 210% of the median. This prediction signifies an expected sharp increase in activity from the near-normal season observed in 2006.
The prediction for an above-normal 2007 hurricane season reflects the expected combination of two main climate factors: 1) the continuation of conditions that have been conducive to above-normal Atlantic hurricane seasons since 1995, and 2) the strong likelihood of either ENSO-neutral or La Niña conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean.
An updated Atlantic hurricane outlook will be issued in early August, which begins the peak (August-October) of the hurricane season.

End of the official message.

So it’s now almost August and I haven’t heard of a single “named” Hurricane yet, and only two little tropical storms. So where are all these terrible storms? Why can’t NOAA get it right? They blew it last year too (go look). Um, maybe…it’s…because…YOU CAN”T PREDICT THE F-ing WEATHER?? No better than you can look out the window and see what fer.

We pump tons of dollars into these institutions for nothing, most of the year. They should shut down in October and open up again in June each year. The rest of the year is a waste, much like their “predictions”. I am so sick of predictions from all parts of the government. It’s like we are Gypsies. And if one of these A-Holes gets something right (rare) they jump up and down saying “Look at me, I guessed right”!! Ok dude, you are a psychic, …you ass. Go apply for Mrs. Cleo’s job. Get out of my government.

I really feel like I could puke right now.

Rugby Queers?

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4135077a19715.html
Too funny. Take a long look at the picture.

Music you haven’t heard…The C’s

I have to give Brian Eno honorable mention (yes, I am back stepping again) and I understand that many people are “aware” of his many accomplishments, but I know even more people are not, so this is for your sake. Check out this terrible amateur video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6n9s1e8EXs Don’t watch it, just listen to the song, trust me. It’s from the album “Another Green World”, which I listened to fist as a teenager. It’s like taking a tour of sounds you never encountered before and even today I hear everyday random sounds that remind me of one part or another of this album. Some of the songs give me goose bumps every time I listen to them. If you like this one explore his other stuff!! I will toss these in (bonus) I love these songs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zVNAZI-c-M This is one of my all time favorite songs, and it makes me feel like crying, but very relaxed, and I don’t even know why http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erOVB0bZi1A And finally Ascent, which is part of what Eno did for the Apollo IMAX documentary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOgQyIMX_XU
So that’s my props for Eno!

Child Bite sounds like they need to take a chill pill. They make me laugh. http://www.suburbansprawlmusic.com/artist.php?a=Child%20Bite
A Michigan band with no direction, because they are all over the place.

Cibo Matto are a Japanese duet that have a very haunting sound (I don’t think they are still a band). This is a really neat video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=659LXeV9ZPQ

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is a band that I think wants to be the next “They Might Be Giants. Draw your own conclusions… http://www.clapyourhandssayyeah.com/video.php I still think they are missing an “And” in the title of the band.

Clearlake. I will just say that I love this band and go do your own Googling and buy their CDs. You won’t be disappointed. They are all over Youtube.
Ok, I can’t resist; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntA7NdgB4qA

Conjure One has a top 40-ish sound (sometimes) but when you aren’t looking for it, they slink into something historical and epic. Very rich and sometimes religious. http://www.myspace.com/conjureone I love the music though.

Cornershop got some airtime in the US and UK, but a lot of their music has gone unnoticed, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rQmB7SCrzc Do some digging fool.

Cursive is a band I have just scratched the surface of. Let me know if you find anything interesting about them.

Clem Snide: I think they want to be country, but I think they are a cross-over band http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-JTVNuHCJU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kUEZzmH1x8
I am not a fan of their videos, but I like the music!

Music you haven’t heard…The B’s

I have to start by adding an omission from the A’s. Air is a really cool band from France (I think). This video has balls, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV_oBB1iQQk Another video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6INvkUrrPg and one more, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkgfmWfJ11s You get the idea, damn good sounds.
This is a funny cover of them from a freak band, stop watching when you stop laughing, but wait till the dancing girls show up, at least. The guy looks like Doug Henning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZnXCX1Qx2Y
There are some videos from their latest CD here, but I like their earlier stuff better; http://www.astralwerks.com/air/ Enough of these guys..

While I was looking for audio from the band Air, I stumbled onto “The Air Band”. A cheap way to get hits on a web site if you ask me and the music is mostly noise, but you haven’t heard it. The Brownstone song is interesting and Peter Gunn Funn is probably the worst produced song I have ever heard, but it’s still yet another Peter Gunn cover (that rhymes). All of their instruments are custom made electronic interfaces. http://www.theairband.com/main.php?mod=music

Honorable mention: I can’t find much media on a band I heard called Ali & Arzu. They do semi-traditional Turkish music that is so rich and colorful it would have a quadriplegic tapping their toes (a-hem). If you run across them, stop and listen. I found these videos, but they are a slower tempo… http://www.myvideo.de/watch/51070 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVLhAvUGOds .

This blog is a mess, it’s supposed to be the B’s! Ok on to them now…

Bright Eyes is about the most depressing band I have ever heard and I don’t think they care one little bit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaV-nGQ5yqw They are musicly qualified to be a band, but just need some “happy pills”. Plug “Easy/Lucky/Free” into google and watch the video. If you aren’t searching your house for a razor blade, you must have your own “Happy Pills”!

Built To Spill is a good humored band that doesn’t take themselves too seriously, which I love. They have several tracks here http://www.myspace.com/builttospill and videos on YouTube, if you want to look them up.

Bob Nelson has a CD out called Atom Shop that I liked enough to buy. I can’t find any online media (shocker, everyone is so uptight these days about their "media") but he used to be in a British band called Be Bop Deluxe. If you want snippets, go to Amazon.com and plug in “Atom Shop”. It’s pretty good, like he wishes he was David Byrne.

Broken Social Scene has several excellent CDs out. They hail from Canada and put a lot of wit into their snappy tunes. This is one of their slower tunes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwBg_wrbJhE. This one's funny http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWGwylbB3PA This is more upbeat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h_yQDyEhqw

That wraps up the B’s. There are other B’s you haven't heard, but I don’t like them enough to mention here.

Music you haven’t heard…The A’s

Music you haven’t heard…The A’s

I think you haven’t. You should, though.

Andrew Bird: http://www.andrewbird.net/news.htm With a free MP3 Download.

Action Biker: http://www.myspace.com/actionbiker A few interesting songs here.

Akeboshi: http://bliinkk182.free.fr/22-Wind.mp3 it works best if you right click the link and save the file.

Andy Hunter: http://www.mp3.com/albums/551751/summary.html The site only has previews of the music, but it’s all really good. Yes, I know it’s a “I love God” CD, but the music kicks ass. Some songs don’t even have lyrics.

Apollo Moon: http://music.download.com/apollosunshine/3600-8591_32-100393950.html
A Boston band with some rockabilly funk, if you only want to hear one song pick I Was On The Moon, but they are all good!

Athlete http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=17404576 They are a bunch of wimpy white guys, funny name for a band. You have to click the songs and Play them. I wish they had “If I Found Out” on the web site, great tune! Half Light is really good too.

Aveo: http://www.sideload.com/cb/track/?id=112509 Click the Listen To This Track button. Sounds a bit like the Smiths, but they rock a little harder.

Ok, one “B” for today, but I will have to continue this tomorrow…

Bloc Party: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=5152238 A self proclaimed “Indie Rock” band. Listen to “I Still Remember” at least. Not a bad band at all and I expect much deeper material as they mature (which is a nice way of saying they have a lot of shitty life events left to go through to make them more bitter).

President for 2020

I am today officially announcing my candidacy for President of the USA in the election year 2020. This gives me plenty of time to gather funds and get my message out. It will also take some time to figure out what my message actually is or what “party” I would be part of.

I think my platform will be based on stamping out stupidity and will probably be made of pine wood. I would impose abortion on those deemed stupid, so we can beef up the gene pool. Is that too controversial? If it is, just disregard it, because I don’t think I’m really qualified to decide who is or is not stupid. I might have to think about this more, but I have time on my side.

By 2020 the wars should be over and I figure the middle east problems will be settled, one way or another. Social Security will have imploded by then, and will no longer exist. The terrorist’s will have blown all of themselves up. Global warming will have been proven to be a farce. So I won’t have any issues to worry about, so I will probably just run based on my snappy magnetic personality and boyish good looks.

If you would like to contribute to my campaign, please send your entire wallet to the address below.

BozThx 2020 Presidential Campaign
North Pole, 00001
(Not Santa’s place)

Vista Reduced Capability Mode

Vista Reduced Capability Mode

I work in IT and have been testing Microsoft Windows Vista, their latest Operating system (OS). It seems to work OK and they tout it as “more secure”, but I have no evidence for or against that yet.

So we finally got our act together at work and setup the server so the new OS can validate its authenticity (yes, Microsoft is worried about LOSING money because of piracy. How many times have they been dragged into Court for doing that themselves???). After the techs set my PC up to use that server, I took off for home and booted up my laptop there. It came up in Reduced Capability Mode, because I was outside the secure work network and could not connect to the server.

In Reduced Capability Mode, all you get is an IE browser window, that's it. It will tell you it is in this mode, but not why. What you HAVE to do is type in “c:\windows\explorer.exe" into the Address Bar in the browser, so you can go start your network and/or wireless services, so you can connect. In my case I had to also start a secure network connection to work, which worked fine. I was up and running normally in minutes.

So please remember this when you are in Reduced Capability Mode, because without doing this, you are screwed!

Stop Bashing Flat Panel Displays!

This one has bothered me for a while....

I have heard over and over (mostly from Al Gorey) that flat panel TVs and flat panel computer displays use "more energy than CTR displays" and thus contribute to Global Warming. Bunk!

I just got a new PC that came with a viewable 21" (measured to opposing corners) flat screen and draws 1.5 Amps. Amps are the measure of power usage for any electronic device.

My old 17" CRT screen is rated at 2.0 Amps. I am saving the world .5 Amps here people. Go get a flat panel display immediately!! Don't believe everything you are spoon fed and look into the facts yourselves.

Has Evolution Stopped?

I wondered if it has, but the story I read earlier this year about a kid in the Orient that had a perfectly formed third arm made me think otherwise. The extra arm was fully functional and protruded just below one of the usual arms. How many times have you or I wished we had a spare hand to do something? Think about that, third arm, what a bonus.

When I heard the news about this boy, I was ecstatic. What a great improvement! Maybe the wave of the future. Then I read on and the parents of the boy had decided to have the arm “removed”. They mutilated their child to give him a “normal” life. Who the hell has a “normal” life anymore?

It would be like realizing your child could sing real good, so whack him in the throat so he doesn’t go through the punishment of being a rock or opera star. WTF?

My point is we are trying to arrest change in this world, and that covers natural and unexplained change. Without change, we die, because the world changes all the time and we have to be allowed to adapt and evolve. It makes us smarter and better.

Remember; one day a “freak” walked out of the Ocean and onto the land, for the very first time. We owe that “freak” our existence, unless you don’t believe in evolution. In that case, get back into the Ocean you freak.

Climate Change (the new Global Warming)

There is some big concert this weekend for all those folks overly concerned about man kind’s introduced climate change. It will be quite a suck fest, I am sure.

Just today BBC reported on a paper from The Journal of Science that provides evidence that Greenland was once Forested and had insects, at least in the south of the Island. This was over a ½ million years ago, before mankind had industry. Today, it is completely covered with thick glaciers, which the scientists core drilled to get the DNA evidence.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6276576.stm

Ok, with that said; Why is Greenland covered with ice now (and some glaciers are growing), if we humans are causing climate change? If that part of the world was forested that long ago and the glaciers there are melting now, could this be a natural long term shift in temperature? If you think about it, almost the entire North American continent was covered in glaciers (fact) thousands of years ago, way before man had any industrialization or manmade pollution. Why did they melt, too many manmade farts?

I just hate the panic over “global” climate change, when the amount of “global” science inspection is nil. Every bit of evidence for climate change is regional and these change often.

Ever heard of a drought? Look at this from NOAA; http://droughtoutlook.com/maps.html

So looking at 1860 (well before industry was prevalent) and 1950 (well after industry was prevalent), why isn’t the 1950 chart worse and what made it change anyway? Because it’s a regional condition!!

Stop panicking, it’s not that bad and we are working on the Carbon emissions. A friend of mine from years ago used to quote his father as saying “Don’t worry about the planet, it will take care of itself”. And it will. Maybe in 35 more years we can have another panic like we did in the 1970's that we were entering a new ice age. Silly.

What is Comedy?

What is funniest about the question is that a multitude of books have been written about it, that dissect every type of “Comedy” these authors can define. I sum it up as; it is what makes me laugh. Need there be more discussion?

Today my friend John and I went to a Chinese Restaurant we had never tried out. I warned him that we have never had a positive or negative endorsement for the joint, but we still went.

When we walked in, the place was completely empty and I am not just talking customers, there was no staff. We could have grabbed all the laid out silverware and made off with a ton of moderately clean utensils.

An elderly man appeared and pointed to the booths, so we sat and ordered drinks, then food. They old guy didn’t write down the orders, just kept saying “Yes” as we spoke. The drinks arrived, which were a flat soda and an odd tasting Iced Tea. The food came, not quickly as some places. I hated the Egg Rolls that came out first. Then the main dishes arrived, which were smaller portions than I am used to seeing. I wasn’t upset because I usually get portions that are too large.

The old guy who brought the food and took the order was real slow moving and John compared him to a character Tim Conway played on the Carol Burnett show. Funny comparison.

We finished and went back to work. I noted to myself that I had the song “It’s Raining Men” stuck in my head, which was on the music service at the restaurant. After a trip to the potty, I went by John’s desk and said “We won’t be going back to that place; Not because of the flat soda, slow service or crappy egg rolls. We aren’t going back because I have “It’s raining men” stuck in my head.” Funny too, but not a belly laugh.

John and I went into a meeting and I was seated between John and Phil, which is always a prescription for trouble. I tried the previous joke on Phil after John brought up the Tim Conway comparison. Then at the request of one of the ladies present, Phil and I broke into “It’s raining men”. Funnier.

We were shooed, because the meeting was supposed to start and we were reviewing several system change requests (the system is not important). One request came up that was really old and John commented “Why is this coming up again?” To which I replied, “You are talking about lunch again.” which brought everyone to tears. That is “Comedy”.

Hollywood gets stupid

I could't agree more with this;
http://www.hollywoodtuna.com/?p=3235 What is she thinking?? Maybe she will go to Africa and adopt a baby, or worse. It's pretty sad, to me anyway.
It's a good site to visit.

Has al-Qaeda has gotten wimpy?

I say yes. If the best they can do are little car bombs, I have to say they have lost their bite and are now just a nuisance. The taking of life on such a small scale is futile (though bad), which will eventually sink in. When they run out of fanatics willing to die in these minimally spectacular attacks, they will just go away.

If you look at their organization, they are spread out all over the globe. Mistake number 1. What “force” has ever been effective in that posture? With today’s communications monitoring ability, they will have no chance of coordinating a large attack almost anywhere.

The last big holy war that I can think of was the Catholic Crusades. That was a nice one. They were terrible, but successful, because of their sheer size.

Another mistake al-Qaeda makes is lack of a clear message. If they sent a quick note saying why they are doing what they do to us, it might have more impact. I know they are mad about Israel and non-Muslims on “their land”. To that I would say, why are so many Muslims on my land (or any land outside the Middle East)?

What are they getting away from? Uh, DUH!! Maybe extremists? So how much good are you doing when your own people abandon their homeland? Come on guys, wake up. You are losing. If you would like to come speak to your Cell in person, please let me know. You will have to cover travel and lodging, but I have no speaking fee.