Category: Uncategorized

…like setting up a MySpace account (again).

Go ahead and go check it out, and while you’re there, feel free to add me… I’m feeling lonely…

United Press International reports that Sir Paul has made a deal with Apple to distribute the Beatles catalog of music. While no release date has been mentioned, we can hope to download the Beatles before the end of 2008.
This will likely become my first and only purchase of digital music. I guess I’ll get to use doubleTwist later on, too….

Wal-Mart’s decided to pull the plug on an in-store solution for inexpensive Linux boxes…

According to the article, demand wasn’t that great for the PCs at stores, so they’ve decided to stop sales in-store, but will continue to offer the gPC2 online.

Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern tells us that:

The homosexual agenda is destroying this nation–it’s just a fact. Not every lifestyle is equal; just like not every religion is equal.

She continues to say:

I even think it’s more of a threat than terrorism, or Islam–which I think is a big threat.

Yes, folks, she’s a Republican.

Not bad, I’m running just a few days behind the news, but…
Last Tuesday, a bill was introduced into the Commonwealth’s House, which would, if passed into law, make attempts at blocking anonymous posting of content to a web-site. HB775 currently reads as of March 10, 2008:

AN ACT relating to information technology.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:

SECTION 1.   A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 369 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:

As used in Sections 1 to 3 of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) “Information content provider” means any person, business, or entity that is responsible, in whole or in part, for the creation and dissemination of information through the Internet or any interactive service;
(2) “Interactive service provider” means any person, business, or entity authorized to do business, or doing business, in the Commonwealth of Kentucky that is responsible, in whole or in part, for the creation, development, or maintenance of any interactive service;
(3) “Interactive service” means any Internet-based Web site, blog, or message board that allows users to provide information to be viewed by other users; and
(4) “Internet” means the international computer network of both federal and nonfederal interoperable packet switched data networks.

SECTION 2.   A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 369 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:

(1) An interactive service provider shall establish, maintain, and enforce a policy to require information content providers to register a legal name, address, and valid electronic mail address as a precondition of using the interactive service.
(2) An interactive service provider shall establish, maintain, and enforce a policy to require information content providers to be conspicuously identified with all information provided by, at a minimum, their registered legal name.
(3) An interactive service provider shall establish reasonable procedures to enable any person to request and obtain disclosure of the legal name, address, and valid electronic mail address of an information content provider who posts false or defamatory information about the person.

SECTION 3.   A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 369 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:

An interactive service provider that violates any of the provisions of Section 2 of this Act shall be fined five hundred dollars ($500) for the first offense and one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each subsequent offense.

The story has been picked up by digg, TWiT, slashdot, Valleywag, and the Kentucky Democrat.
To be updated on revisions and actions related to this bill, register at kentucky.gov/billwatch, and search for HB 775(BR-1943).

Dontcha just love rumors?
Got an email this morning that spoke of a family whose home had burned down–the cause of the fire was a plug-in air freshener. So, figuring this was another half-way made up story, I hit Snopes in search. Yep. It’s just another urban legend.
According to Snopes, roots of the legend lie in a recall that SC Johnson did on their line of Glade Plug-ins–SC Johnson recalled a few models after it was discovered that a few had loose wiring. Glade plugins have never been established as a cause of fire; however other brands have–and in those cases, faulty residential wiring was ruled a possibility.
Just another reminder that you shouldn’t trust what you get in your email…

Well, the snow’s here, and it’s beautiful out there. Just what I’ve been waiting for. We went out and played for a short period of time. The kids loved it. I think we’ll head out again about an hour.
I’m not sure how much we got here, because I really don’t care. I guess I should measure it, just for the heck of it, that way I can actually record an amount. I’ve just been too overwhelmed by the fact that we finally got a good snowfall. So, until I go out with a ruler, I guess the following snippet will have to do for reporting an amount of snow:

…not that, you perve…
Just updated the EMA site to reflect the latest from the NWS, following the conference call. We’re looking at 6-10 (closer to the ten) when it’s all said and done.

Remember when i said I ran across a way to record streaming audio? Well, it can, of course be used to record video as well…
I’m planning on setting the thing up to record WKYT’s video stream (during local broadcasts, of course–when they’re using feeds all you see are commercials).
’tis easy to do, just change the script to save as asf instead of mp3 (unless ya wanna change the extension later) and pop in the stream location–WKYT’s is mms://a1832.l731147410.c7311.n.lm.akamaistream.net/D/1832/7311/v0001/reflector:47410
fun stuff…
[UPDATE – 6:45pm] I tried it unscheduled, so that i could monitor the thing, and it didn’t work so well… the first five minutes were crystal clear, after that, the thing started hiccuping… I don’t know whether it’s due to the process not having “high priority” or whether it was having bandwidth issues… I’m thinking it was both… Might’ve also been related to the fact that I was performing other operations (moving files–yeah, I know–moron for heavy disk-access during an operation which needed disk access)…

Remember that one little rant I made, which was inspired by a letter to the editor? St. Edwards had been looking into having a couple of adjacent properties burned by the Cynthiana Fire Department, and some old lady decided to fuss about it. Remember?

Well, a couple of weeks ago, we all found out that it wasn’t gonna happen. Several other factors came into play which nixed the plan.
Well, once again, that old lady wrote in–this time voicing how thankful she is “as a tax-paying citizen” that the church had no choice but to take down the buildings rather than burn them.

Maybe, as a tax-paying citizen, she should try and organize an effort to persuade Cynthiana to establish an ordinance on methods for demolition of property within city-limits…