New Widget

I've added a new widget to my page. You can see it to the right over there --->


It's a tool to compare foods and to give you a better idea of what you are putting in your body with the foods you eat. A friend of mine was involved in the creation of this tool. Check it out.

http://blog.foodessentials.com/

Happy New Year

Bring it 09!

Auto Bailout #2

I have a great plan. I think with the $13.4 billion bail out, each tax paying american should get stock in both GM and Chrystler. Here's how I would propose it work:

When you file your taxes this year (the IRS will have this record), each tax paying citizen will get a share in GM and Chrystler. I figure and use the logic, if our tax money is keeping them afloat, then we should gain from their future returns (which I doubt will happen).

Then after a period of time, they can opt to purchase the stock from you at no less than what it was worth when you received it (to prevent the dropping of stock price to have a buyout of less than what the value will be in the future).

I'm sure I could come up with a more thorough explanation, but I'm tired and lazy.

OH AND HUM IS PLAYING AT THE DOUBLE DOOR ON New Year's Eve and Day!!! Tickets are sold out for NYE and scalpers are being assholes ($200 a ticket...please)...however, you can find tickets on StubHub.com for $60 for the day show. Plus, The Life and Times are opening!!!

Done!

So I'm done with a few things:

School for the semester
Xmas shopping


that's about it really. nothing profound. I have to find a purpose for this blog. A focus if you will. I've been tossing random thoughts up here all willy-nilly and it's not necessarily good for readership. I've been thinking music, maybe recording techniques...who knows...maybe more Web design stuff (standards and what nots). Or, I'll just keep this random, sometimes political, sometimes sporadic (see: all the time).

Let me know...if anyone reads this.

Microsoft Office 2007 HTML Email and Dreamweaver

This post goes out to all HTML e-mail designers and coders.

As most of you know (I didn't until just recently), Office 2007 removed much of the CSS rendering capabilities of 2003 and earlier. The most important styles removed are: background-image, position, float.

OK, that's my opinion, but I'm pretty sure I'm right. So now, instead of using divs to design, we now have to go back to tables to do it. Well, that sucks. You can do a search for "Office 2007 and CSS" in google and the top result will be Microsoft's page on what is supported and what isn't supported or just click here.

Microsoft did one nice thing and created a "CSS validator for Office 2007" for Dreamweaver. If you have a PC and Dreamweave MX/MX2004/8/CS3 you can download it here.

However, if you are on a Mac you have no such luck. Until now. Basically, the installer installs a XML document and a text file with the CSS definitions that are supported. So I installed it on a PC, took the files and put them on my Mac and viola! the definitions work in Dreamweaver CS3 on a Mac. You can download the files here.

Download the zip file, open up Applications > Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 (or Macromedia > Dreamweaver MX/MX2004) > configuration > BrowserProfiles.

You can then open up the zip file and place the two files in the BrowserProfiles folder.



To use it, restart Dreamweaver, click the Check Page button (I don't know if it's that in MX versions), click Settings..., make sure Word 2007 is check, and hit OK. You are done! Now you will know what CSS you put in that isn't supported and will have to change.

Hopefully this will help one person. Oh, and no I don't use the WYSIWYG portion of Dreamweaver. Code view only.

Auto Bailout

First: Happy Late Eat Lots of Turkey Day.

Second:

I'm disappointed by the automaker bailout for the big three. I understand, they are trying to save jobs for the people that will lose them if the plants close. But as an industry, to say the automakers didn't see this coming is ridiculous. The technology to build greener, and more fuel-efficient cars isn't new technology. This is stuff that has been worked on for the last (at least) 20 years.

As Americans, we've been so consumed by the oil industry (thanks to politicians who are funded or own stakes in oil companies) that maybe they honestly didn't see this coming but I find that incredibly hard to believe.

I think some of the workers who possibly may lose their jobs should look into applying at Toyota. While the big three companies have been expanding overseas, Toyota did the opposite and opened plants here. And if someone wants to get into that "Buy American" argument, look no further than Chevy, Ford or GM. American made? Nope. Toyota is just as much American as those companies. I'm all for creating more jobs here in the states.

Hopefully the Obama administration keeps good on promises to create green-energy fueled jobs.

Hope and Disappointment

So Barack Obama will be our 44th president. This could be the most defining moment of our time (well, next to a black, woman president...or hispanic or asian...you get the point).

I'm really proud that America (52% of you) realized that we are not in a bubble and it matters how we interact with the world. President-elect Obama is proof of that. He has a hard road ahead (either candidate would have).

John McCain left the race with dignity and respect. This is the John McCain that should have ran the race. He might have done much better. After all the mudslinging (on both sides), hopefully we can get this country back on track with the rest of the planet.

Now for the Disappointment:

Proposition 8 passed creating a ban on same-sex "marriage" in California. This is very disheartening as the very people who want to "protect" traditional marriage have a 50% divorce rate. Also saying that kids need a mother and father is bullshit. Children need a loving home where they can prosper and grow up to be strong intelligent human beings. That can be fostered in both heterosexual and homosexual households. I hope in my lifetime I see the dissolve of the antiquated view of marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

What do I know though (probably nothing)?

PRESIDENT OBAMA!!!

This could be the best day ever.

America made our voices heard and here we are now with the first African-American president of the United States of America!!

Thank you for not disappointing me, U.S.A!

Vote Today!

The title says it all. Please vote. I don't care who you vote for (well...I do have a preference), but the point is to actually vote. So do it! Now. Stop reading this.






I said stop.


Go! NOW!

Debate #3 and more

So I watched the debate last night (well...the last hour of it) after I got back from class and London (yeah, I was in London).

I think McCain is seeming a bit tired with the Ayers and ACORN thing. It's not news. It's not a swing issue. As much as the GOP wants it to be, it's not.

The other thing is the "Joe the Plumber" shit. I wish Obama would have addressed the tax issue on air last night as Joe the Plumber is having a hard time separating Annual Business Gross Receipts vs Annual Personal Income. Under Obama's plan, Joe would actually get a tax break if he bought the "plumbing" business he works for.

Oh yeah, he also isn't licensed (not a big deal), but he did lie and say he was part of the Union (local 149 I believe) which he is not, nor ever applied for.

I think Sam Donaldson said it best this morning on GMA, McCain could have run the best campaign, it just happens to be a Democrat year.

London is bad ass. Go there.

wowza!

Today's Megan's B-Day...HOORAY!

We're going out to dinner and then wrapping up the evening with VP Debates!

I'll have more tomorrow on the debates.

Office Live and Javascript

Today I came across an interesting little tidbit while here at work. I just finished a client's Web site and had posted it onto their server (they are using Windows Office Live...which is important to this story). I also installed swfobject 2.0 and lightbox 2.0 to switch out the navigation menu and create a photo gallery, respectively.

Everything worked great on my test server (which I believe is an apache server). So, I proceeded to upload the files to the Microsoft server (Office Live). I then received and email this morning from the client asking why the photo gallery wasn't working.

I was like, hrhhhh?

So, I checked it out. And sure enough, it didn't work. I tested it on a PC with IE 7/Firefox/Safari(PC) and then on my Mac with Safari. So then I did what I normally do, googled "Lightbox and Office Live". I came across one post that sort of pointed me in the right direction. The moderator basically gave an answer to the effect of, "change the extension names from .js to .jsx, that way the server won't cache the .js files".

So I did that, yet the gallery wasn't working quite correctly. I'd click on an image and it would remove my menu. It turns out there's another step you need to do to get it to work correctly.

Open the scriptaculous.jsx file (you renamed it, remember..if not it'll be scriptaculous.js, but it should be changed) and find the three (3) .js in this section:

$A(document.getElementsByTagName("script")).findAll( function(s) {
return (s.src && s.src.match(/scriptaculous\.jsx(\?.*)?$/))
}).each( function(s) {
var path = s.src.replace(/scriptaculous\.jsx(\?.*)?$/,'');
var includes = s.src.match(/\?.*load=([a-z,]*)/);
(includes ? includes[1] : 'builder,effects,dragdrop,controls,slider,sound').split(',').each(
function(include) { Scriptaculous.require(path+include+'.jsx') });
});
}
}

and change them to jsx (like they are in above) or just copy that and replace it in your file.

And there you have it! Working Lightbox on your Office Live server.

On a related side note: I was also having issues with the menu not loading using the swfobject.js, but it didn't concern me as I had a css menu in place if it didn't load correctly. But I changed that to jsx and viola! it works.

Hopefully this helps somebody out there searching for the same thing.

lying liars and the lies that the tell.

this video is awesome:

Check it.

Also, head over to myspace.com to check an awesome debate between my friend Chris and a fundamental christian.

Check it here

You can put Lipstick on an asshole and it's still...

The news media covering this "Pig in lipstick remark" is a bunch of shit. Also, to the Republicans, grow up already. People in your own party have used this remark.

McCain repeated the folksy metaphor when he criticized Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on health care. McCain was never accused of being sexist when he uttered those words.

Here's the link to the full story.

In fact, Nightline is running segments right now of Bush, Cheney and Edwards using the phrase.

ASSHOLES

Obama Tax Plan

My friend Chris brought this site to my attention today:

http://alchemytoday.com/obamataxcut

It's awesome. Everyone should check it out.

Also, I watched the McCain speech (to be fair, I would like to hear both sides). The one thing that pissed me off is the "booing" after McCain would mention Obama's name. Apparently American Republican's are a bunch of fucking 3rd Graders.

NOT ONCE, did I hear booing at McCain's name during Obama's speech. For once the democrats have a solid leader. Now, we just need everyone onboard. Yeah, I'm talking to you, Hillary-didn't-win-the-primary-so-I'm-voting-for-McCain asshole.

60 days. 3 debates. It's on.

More Rants!

So it's been a while since I've posted...so:

I went to Canada for a little over a week to go fishing with my dad. It was a blast. I didn't realize how much I enjoyed fishing, although, I have to admit I was kind of a sissy about putting leeches on the hook. What can I say? They won't kill me, but damn are they weird little creatures. Little mini vampires.

I'll post some pics when as soon as I can.

Next:

Did Whirllyball. That was fun too. Megan and I went to a birthday party for Meg (Reptoids) and her girlfriend Michelle. We're all old now. Logan's Run style. I injured myself good doing it. Whirlyball is basically basketball + la crosse + bumper cars. I rammed the wall a few times, as well as opponents. I think I have internal bleeding.

Finally:

So, I was watching ABC's coverage of the Republican Convention and they were showing some of the parties/soirees that our elected officials were attending. Basically a bunch of lobbyists and industry insiders get together, party it up with our government, and then give money based on promises (OK, you all know what lobbying is). However, this is the part that pissed me off:

As the camera people would film these individuals, they would duck out of sight, go into "closed" door areas or just tell them off. Why does this piss me off? Because as an elected individual to our government — you have a responsibility to the public (for which you represent) to show your face, have better judgement and be accountable for your actions. You aren't some rock star — you make policy decisions for our nation. Oh, and the man you chose to run for Commander-in-Chief (McCain) asked that the festivities be toned down in the wake of Gustav. Nice work.

If you are embarrassed about where you are or what your actions are — you shouldn't be doing them. I'm talking about politicians still, most of the general public has my blessing to be bat-shit-crazy.

Anyway..silly rant, but damn did it make me mad. I'm sure Democrats have the same, but it just happened I caught the report on the Republicans.

Final words: Sarah Palin should continue the advocation of abstinence-based sex education. It works like a charm. I think I read some where that an individual thought sex education in high school was inappropriate and gross. I'll have to find that. Gross is awesome. That's what they should teach kids, "Don't have sex, cause it's gross. You don't want to be gross, do you?"

Time for more politic funtime

So I'm over at cnn.com reading about McCain questioning Obama's recent visit to the middle east and I find myself getting pretty pissed off.

One comment on the article was:

McCain you may question only his judgment, but those of us who know him, also question his loyalty and patriotism to the United States.

Apparently you did not listen to his speech in Germany. He made it perfectly clear where his loyalties lie, and it is not with us. He is a
citizen of the world. We the electors want a citizen of the United States.

You will do a great service to our country if you tell the truth about Obama. Continue where Hillary left off.

Use his new video on U-Tube to let the public know where Obama stands on the future defense of the United States. - Bayou Joe

and then:

I question Obama's judgment for many reasons . . the most recent being his trip abroad where he is acting as if he were already the President of the United States. - California Voter

Let's address these in their inherent idiocy:

"He made it perfectly clear where his loyalties lie, and it is not with us. He is a citizen of the world. We the electors want a citizen of the United States." All I can say is holy shit this man is an idiot. First, the man must not have listened to that particular part of the speech or he got the Fox news breakdown. He actually did say he was a citizen of the United States and then followed it up with "citizen of the world". Next, does America live in a fucking glass bubble that nothing in the world affects us? Seriously, people should really take the time to think before they post on public forums (perhaps myself included). Yes, we are citizens of the U.S., but we are also global citizens. Our actions affect what happens else where and vice versa. I could go on for days about this moron, but Darwin will take care of him.

Next up we have California Voter. "he is acting as if he were already the President of the United States". OK, so basically you want our next Commander-in-Chief to go into his job completely blind without gathering any information of things he/she may face when elected. Shut the fuck up. I wish I could post with out the expletives, but I can't. I'm too angered by stupidity.

Regardless if Obama becomes president, he's still showing the world that America is committed to solving problems on a global scale. McCain can whine all day long about Obama, but do you think his POW experience from 41 years ago gives him some sort of greater scope of knowledge to be president? Now I'm not saying McCain is inexperienced and that his Vietnam experience is all for naught, but nobody is prepared to be president...no one.

Also, do we really want a whiney little bitch president? I don't.

Microphones!

I picked up an AKG D112 on ebay yesterday for about $100. This pleases me. I've been using the Shure Beta 52 and using all sorts of placement options, and musical styles, I found it just never worked for me. I don't know.

I might find the ATM-25 (Audio-Technica Mic) cheap and get that too. We'll see.

I'm also getting rid of the PG52 I have (poor mans Beta 52)...maybe I could buy lunch with what I get for it.

Great Quote

A co-worker of mine shared this quote with me today and I couldn't agree more.

The most annoying trait of Right-Wing Outlaws in general is a lazy incuriosity about the real world. They know their lines, they're sure who the good guys and the bad guys are. Therefore they view the passing world as a kind of animated "Bartlett's Quotations" - that is, as handy source material with which to illustrate, rather than challenge, preconceived views.

James Fallows

R.I.P. George Carlin

Sad news over the weekend with the death of George Carlin at the age of 71

He was a brilliant comedian and although his style changed over the years, becoming more crass and cynical, he still could make us laugh.

I was lucky enough to see him perform live and wished to again. I have a feeling the George Carlin estate is going to get a bump up in monetary flow with this event from the sales of DVDs, Books and CDs.

Rest in peace George.