ComputerZen.com – Scott Hanselman’s Weblog – [OT] 22,000 dead, and This White Guy – Western Media and the Devaluing of Brown People

For what it’s worth, the picture on the front page of the Seattle Times and my hometown page (The Wichita Eagle) was of an Indonesian national crying over her loss.

Let’s also think about the Iranian, Palestinian, African, and other countries that are sending help during these trying times.

oh wait….

Brian found this link via Instapundit. For those of us that don’t have any Google AdSense revenue, you can donate via Amazon.com.

<insert deity of choice> bless everyone who is helping out.

update via Brian: Brian found this article which details what countries have donated to the Earthquake/Tsunami victims so far.

The Seattle Times: Local News: Gregoire catches Rossi, Democrats say

So if Gregoire wins by 8 votes like the Democrats are predicting that means that the Republicans will go to court next to try and force another recount. If this keeps up, maybe we’ll just be governor-less until the next election.

I’d like to point out to all of the “United Cities of America” citizens that it looks like the biggest problem with the vote occured in King County (home of Seattle) NOT out where the hicks are. Apparently those dumb hicks can at least count their votes correctly.

NCAA Football AP removes its poll from BCS ratings – CBS SportsLine.com

Whoo hoo! Now if we can just remove the computer rankings and the coaches poll I think the BCS will be fixed.

Half-Life 2 demo invades the net! – Joystiq – www.joystiq.com

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, finally. I’ve been waiting for the demo to come out so I can see if it runs on my current home system.

www.childsplaycharity.org

Today is the last day of the official Child’s Play charity drive. There is still time to donate via an Amazon wish list. Popcap games will also donate $1 for every game purchased until Dec 25th this year to Child’s Play.

I only received one trackback after my challenge, which pretty much confirms how large my readership is. Rather than donate $1, I bought a movie and a toy from the Amazon wishlist for the Seattle Children’s Hospital.

I’d encourage more Seattle area people to donate, you never know when a child you know will have to spend time at Children’s Hospital. Why not help make it a little less boring and painful for the kids?

Ctrl-N and Alt-Tab. Learn them. Use them. Love them.

See, tabbed browsing rocks, for some people, because it doesn’t clutter up that damn taskbar that Microsoft insists makes life easier for us dumb folk. I can always find my browser instance because it’s the ONLY ONE OPEN. Neat trick. Of course it doesn’t quite solve the entire problem I still have to find the browser tab that I want. I do that by cycling through them using ctrl-tab. So rather than alt-tabbing through ALL my windows I only have to ctrl-tab through my browser windows. A miniscule time savings to be sure.

Another nifty trick I use is one of my one making. I end up having multiple instances of Firefox open, but each one contains tabs with a specific context. So I might have a bunch of blogs open in one instance of Firefox, tabs with online API references in another, and my webmail in yet a third. So instead of alt-tabbing through 20 or 30 browsers instances to find my webmail, I just alt-tab over to one that has a webmail page loaded. Then I know all the tabs open in that browser instance contain webmail. I then just ctrl-tab through the 4 or 5 tabs open in that browser instance.

Actually, I think you should be able to ctrl-tab through all instances of a single program. That would be nifty. Instead of alt-tabbing through all my Word docs, I could just select Word from the taskbar and then ctrl-tab through all the Word docs open. In fact, a taskbar-tabbing system that allows you to create custom groups, maybe via keywords, would be nifty.

via: Kim(my wife).

I am typing this in a fit of rage that will have an everlasting impact on my opinion of Sears. My husband and I bought a dishwasher from your Shorline, WA store only to return it 3 weeks later and start over again. The dishwasher never worked, we waited 5 1/2 days after notifying your service department for the repair person to arrive, push 4 buttons, and leave. The dishwasher still did not work. My husband wasted a day of vacation on this. I called the service center again (1-800-4-MY-HOME) I was told a senior technician would arrive the next day between 1-5pm to disassemble it and test the heating element and attempt to actually fix it. 1:00pm the day of the “scheduled” appointment I received a phone call from the service center who had no appointment scheduled and had no information about the “scheduled” appointment and insinuated that I was lying. She also did not care when I told her we had been without a dishwasher for 1 month and made no effort to correct the situation, only offered to “schedule” a service call for the following week. I am also appalled to find out that this is a common problem with this model (Whirlpool GU2500) and you continue to sell it and you do not inform the consumer of a potential problem. In the past I always trusted the products sold by Sears. I will not make that mistake again. I will also, be canceling my Sears credit card.

So looks like we’re going to Albert Lee tomorrow to buy a dishwasher. Sears is supposed to pick it up and refund the dishwasher and installation fee.

This is a follow up to this post:

As an aside, my previous experience with Sears, which actually includes three generations of experience, mine, my parents, and my grandparents, was going to be the basis of a post about brand loyalty and why I trust certain names over others. I was much more comfortable buying from Sears than I was Best Buy because of my past experiences with Sears. My past experiences with Sears were always positive where any type of customer service experience I’d had with Best Buy always seemed to be negative. Guess that fantasy is over. Has the K-martization of Sears begun? Is “Customer Service” a thing of the past? Do corporations really care about “one customer” anymore?

A couple of weeks ago we purchased a new dishwasher. We ran the dishwasher once, it stopped and a light on the front panel would just blink. It wouldn’t run after that. I called service out and waited at home today for the service person to come by and fix our dishwasher.

Yes, I had to wait 5 hours for a guy to come out, press 2 buttons, and tell me that until Whirlpool releases a fix (yes, I need to PATCH my dishwasher) I should run the hot water in the sink for a while before starting the dishwasher.

I was not aware that Microsoft had purchased Whirlpool?

I have to run the hot water in the sink because the dishwasher water line taps off of the same shutoff valve as the kitchen sink. If the water is too cold the dishwasher freaks out and thinks that there’s no way it can heat the water up hot enough to wash dishes. Apparently my dishwasher has low self-esteem.

This thing may be going back soon.

Rip-off!

Chris is disappointed in the weather. Hey, it rained yesterday and the day before. A little bit.

He’s probably lucky that he missed the “pineapple express” over the weekend. That REALLY would have disappointed him.

CNN.com – Jury recommends death for Peterson – Dec 13, 2004

In another little bit of delicious justice.

If Delucchi upholds the sentence, Peterson will be sent to death row at San Quentin State Prison outside San Francisco, the infamous lockup where prisoners gaze out small cell windows overlooking the same bay where Laci Peterson’s body was discarded.

World of Warcraft items aren%u2019t yours to sell – Joystiq – www.joystiq.com

Jeez, I figured Microsoft would be the first company to tell you that you can’t resell software that you’ve purchased. It looks like Blizzard is saying you can’t sell any item in the World of Warcraft game. The Joystiq article specifically mentions the CD.

So that means that, since Blizzard doesn’t offer a downloadable demo of WoW, I have to plunk down $40 just to try the game out and if I don’t like the game I can’t even eBay it or sell it used to EBGames?

Man, that’s enough to make me not even want to try it.

update I just read the news item that Joystiq is referencing in their post. It doesn’t mention any of the physical media. It’s referring to people trying to sell in-game content (potions, weapons, etc…) on eBay. So it looks like Joystiq is full of crap. Ah the power of blogs to impart incorrect information. Gotta love it.

So far, Rossi has picked up an extra 28 votes giving him a 70 vote lead over Gregoire instead of the 42 vote lead he had before the recount.

I understand the thinking behind the Democrats paying for a recount. It still seems kind of funny that the Democrats are paying to get beaten worse. I think. It’s pretty representative of the Democratic party of the past 6 years. Just clueless, completely out of control, and with no one at the helm. They seemed much more organized when Clinton was in office.

komo news | Hand Recount Continues in Governor’s Race

The Seattle Times: Local News: Initiative is filed to block viaduct tunnel

Of course it is.

Yahoo! News – Ski For $15 At Angel Fire

They are already skiing down there. I’m waiting for this slush they call snow up here to build up.

Oh well, Angel Fire is where Kim broke her leg on her very first ski trip ever. I bet I couldn’t have gotten her to go there again.

Any of you New Mexicans reading this, please regale me with tales of how good the snow is in Taos/Angel Fire and Red River this year. Make me jealous hehe

KU Wichita: Clinical Skills Lab – Exam; Prostate exam simulator & lubricant kit

Apparently they just have the one. You have to reserve it.

U S S Arizona Memorial (National Park Service)

Pearl Harbor Raid, 7 December 1941 — Overview and Special Image Selection

Right about now you are probably saying, “Oh that’s right, today is THAT day.”. 63 years ago today was THAT day. The defining moment for our country in the 20th century. The ripples from the bombs splashing in Pearl Harbor are still moving outward even today. You can see the ripples in the conflicts in the middle east and in eastern Europe. Until 8AM that morning the war in Europe was just that, the war in Europe. That war was someone elses problem according to most of the U.S. citizens. The men and women at Pearl Harbor didn’t storm any hills, or charge any machine gun nests. They were barely able to fight back at all. They were only heroes to each other. All they had, floating in the wreckage of the ships , was each other that day. The words that Abraham Lincoln spoke in Gettysburg reverberate in Pearl Harbor today.

If you see a WWII veteran today, buy them a cup of coffee or a beer or a meal and say “thanks” or “we remember”.

New to me.

ABBOT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: Thanks. I’m setting up an office in my den, and I’m thinking
about buying a computer.

ABBOT: Mac?

COSTELLO: No, the names Lou.

ABBOT: Your computer?

COSTELLO: I don’t own a computer. I want to buy one.

ABBOT: Mac?

COSTELLO: I told you, my names Lou.

ABBOT: What about Windows?

COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here?

ABBOT: Do you want a computer with Windows?

COSTELLO: I don’t know. What will I see when I look in the windows?

ABBOT: Wallpaper.

COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.

ABBOT: Software for Windows?

COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write
proposals, track expenses and run my business. What have you got?

ABBOT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?

ABBOT: I just did.

COSTELLO: You just did what?

ABBOT: Recommend something.

COSTELLO: You recommended something?

ABBOT: Yes.

COSTELLO: For my office?

ABBOT: Yes

COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?

ABBOT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!

ABBOT: I recommend Office with Windows.

COSTELLO: I already have an office and it has windows! OK, let’s just
say, I’m sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I
need?

ABBOT: Word.

COSTELLO: What word?

ABBOT: Word in Office.

COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.

ABBOT: The Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?

ABBOT: The Word you get when you click the blue w.

COSTELLO: I’m going to click your blue w if you don’t start with some
straight answers. OK, forget that. Can I watch movies on the Internet?

ABBOT: Yes, you want RealOne.

COSTELLO: Maybe a real one, maybe a cartoon. What I watch is none of
your business. Just tell me what I need!

ABBOT: RealOne.

COSTELLO: If it’s a long movie I also want to see reels 2, 3 & 4. Can I
watch them?

ABBOT: Of course.

COSTELLO: Great, with what?

ABBOT: RealOne.

COSTELLO; OK, I’m at my computer and I want to watch a movie. What do I
do?

ABBOT: You click the blue 1.

COSTELLO: I click the blue one what?

ABBOT: The blue 1.

COSTELLO: Is that different from the blue w?

ABBOT: The blue 1 is RealOne and the blue w is Word.

COSTELLO: What word?

ABBOT: The Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO: But there’s three words in office for windows!

ABBOT: No, just one. But it’s the most popular Word in the world.

COSTELLO: It is?

ABBOT: Yes, but to be fair, there aren’t many other words left. It
pretty much wiped out all the other words out there.

COSTELLO: And that word is real one?

ABBOT: RealOne has nothing to do with Word. RealOne isn’t even part of
Office.

COSTELLO: Stop! Don’t start that again. What about financial
bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with?

ABBOT: Money.

COSTELLO: That’s right. What do you have?

ABBOT: Money.

COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?

ABBOT: It comes bundled with your computer.

COSTELLO: What’s bundled to my computer?

ABBOT: Money.

COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?

ABBOT: Yes. No extra charge.

COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?

ABBOT: One copy.

COSTELLO: Isn’t it illegal to copy money?

ABBOT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.

COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?

ABBOT: Why not, they own it.

Halo 2: Bungie delivers with second update – Joystiq – www.joystiq.com

mmmmmmmmmm, Halo2 multiplayer update. Looks like new matchmaking and a new game type: Team Slayer.

Moving
Ponzi’s Schemes :: Moving

Well, we have officially decided we will be in Seattle for Christmas this year. After some heavy negotiations on a rental in Leschi (a neigborhood in Seattle, WA) I must say I’m finally comfortable with the outcome.

Looks like We’ve snagged another techie for the Emerald city. I’m sure they’ll love Leschi. It’s not too far from the Madison Park area, Kim and I almost bought a house in that area. Lots of great places to eat, shop, and relax. Close to Lake Washington and great views of the air show and boat races during SeaFair.

It looks like our plan to complain about the weather and keep out the tourists and Californians has failed again. Curses!

I’m going to repost a link to my Survival Guide for Dave Winer for them to enjoy.

Hmmmm, why do I get the feeling that we’ll soon be seeing the title “Microsoft Evangelist” after Chris’s name?

Michael J. Totten: A Photo Tour of Libya

Amazing photos of Libya.

via: