My mom doesn’t even know this woman’s name, but she mentioned she was just home from basic training and going to be deployed soon, although she didn’t mention where to. I know we don’t all have the same beliefs, but if you see this post, please say a prayer or a thought to keep this woman safe on her tour.

It’s run by the Thoughts from the Sidelines blog. Now you might think a gadget blog is a gadget blog, and you’ve got your Gizmodo or your Engadget, but this site has a more intimate feel that those behemoths are missing, and not just because it’s smaller. The clean layout of the site is so refreshing, and because they post less, each post is more important and better quality… you don’t have posts getting lost in the shuffle.

So shout me out over there - I’m KatGamer!

Sign here

I Am a Constitution Voter

* I believe that no one — including the President — is above the law.
* I oppose all forms of torture, and I support both closing the Guantánamo Bay prison and ending indefinite detention.
* I oppose warrantless spying.
* I believe that government officials, no matter how high-ranking, should be held accountable for breaking the law and violating the Constitution.
* I believe that the Constitution protects every person’s rights equally — no matter what they believe, how they live, where or if they worship, and whom they love.
* I reject the notion that we have to tolerate violations of our most fundamental rights in the name of fighting terrorism.
* I am deeply committed to the Constitution and expect our country’s leaders to share and act on that commitment — every day, without fail.

We need to let our leaders know that when we step into the ballot box the Constitution will be the first thing on our minds.

Our goal is to sign up 300,000 Constitution Voters by October 15th to demonstrate our power.

Times forums

I was never a talk show viewer, but my friend really loves Steve Wilkos and so we went to see a taping yesterday. (He used to work on, and guest hosted, the Jerry Springer show.) It was fun, but tiring. The taping started more than an hour late, and some people in the audience would not shut up and ended up getting kicked out. We didn’t have the best show… one of the guests on the show would not stop yelling and cursing, and she simply wouldn’t change her ways so Steve could help out. Our show also didn’t have the usual lie detector test, either. They did try to salvage it and think it will air in a couple of months. We have a phone number to call every Friday and wait until we hear when our taping will air.

Neat things about the taping:

The producers (mostly the executive producer, I think) don’t hesitate to pipe up during the show. When the one guest wouldn’t stop yelling, he first told Steve “you need to take control of this situation.” Later, the producer even yelled at her to shut up.

The stage manager (a great, friendly woman named Annette) told us ahead of time not to curse. I never heard anyone in the audience cursing (although admittedly it was very loud in there when we were applauding), but boy the guests did!

Steve is very friendly and seems to be just like he is on TV… very genuine. He answered questions before the taping and stuck around afterwards for pictures and autographs. Also, they do several tapings in one day.

The set looks a lot more orangey in person than it does on TV. I knew that most of it had a rust-colored look, but it never looked so vivid on TV as it did in person.

It was a neat experience to have. I’d love to go to a sitcom taping next.

If you travel outside the United States this summer, you can kiss your right to privacy, and perhaps your laptop, digital camera and cell phone, goodbye.

Did you know…

1. Border security can seize your laptop, cell phone or camera with no suspicion or explanation.

2. Many airports use scanners that conduct a virtual ” strip search” of passengers.

3. There are over one million names on the terrorist watch list.

4. The TSA recently expressed interest in having every airline passenger wear “electro-muscular disruption” bracelets that could be used to shock passengers into submission.

Traveling shouldn’t mean checking your rights when you’re checking your luggage. It’s time for some sanity when it comes to security.

I just asked my members of Congress to rein in travel abuses by the Department of Homeland Security. You can learn more about this and email your members of Congress here:

ACLU

Not Always Right
Customers Suck
Acts of Gord (an owner of a video game store)

I think if I were going to use candles to light a walkway, they’d have to be sheltered in some way, like placed inside small lanterns.

My 3 favorite bento blogs:

Bento Yum, with lots of great sets for beginners.
Adventures in Bentomaking
Lunch in a Box

Now, however, some e-tailers are offering that kind of guarantee as a checkout extra–a service that you pay for, like extended warranties. And like so many other services these days, it’s outsourced.

read more

1. We Shout - Tatu
2. I Want Someone To Love - Sailor Moon soundtrack
3. Hands - Jewel
4. I Can’t Stand It - Danielle Paris
5. Wild One - Faith Hill
6. YMCA - Village People
7. Never Get Over You - Expose
8. The Lover After Me - Savage Garden
9. Home Is In Your Heart - Care Bears
10. Fernando - Abba

Huh, I love dance music and not a single dance song came up in that list. Oh well, that’s randomness for you!

via UberReview

via Coolbuzz

Story on Eagle Tribune

Fifteen hundred people died the night the ship sank. That is half the number of people who died in the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York. In 80 years, will there be banks and lamps that appear to be collapsing in a cloud of dust, modeled after the twin towers? With only a few people left alive who lived through the attacks, will it be seen as something to model art after?

I’m guessing if the Titanic had sunk in 2001, and had the same massive loss of life, it wouldn’t be so cool… in fact, these designers would be shamed. Imagine losing a loved one to the sinking ship, or being on it yourself. Memorial my ass… these are tacky souvenirs of a horrible disaster.

To those who are looking for someone to do work for free… please wake up and join the real world.

Every day, there are more and more CL posts seeking “artists” for everything from auto graphics to comic books to corporate logo designs. More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative service.

But what they’re NOT doing, unfortunately, is realizing how rare someone with these particular talents can be.

To those who are “seeking artists”, let me ask you; How many people do you know, personally, with the talent and skill to perform the services you need? A dozen? Five? One? …none?

More than likely, you don’t know any. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be posting on craigslist to find them.

And this is not really a surprise.

In this country, there are almost twice as many neurosurgeons as there are professional illustrators. There are eleven times as many certified mechanics. There are SEVENTY times as many people in the IT field.

So, given that they are less rare, and therefore less in demand, would it make sense to ask your mechanic to work on your car for free? Would you look him in the eye, with a straight face, and tell him that his compensation would be the ability to have his work shown to others as you drive down the street?

Would you offer a neurosurgeon the “opportunity” to add your name to his resume as payment for removing that pesky tumor? (Maybe you could offer him “a few bucks” for “materials”. What a deal!)

Would you be able to seriously even CONSIDER offering your web hosting service the chance to have people see their work, by viewing your website, as their payment for hosting you?

If you answered “yes” to ANY of the above, you’re obviously insane. If you answered “no”, then kudos to you for living in the real world.

But then tell me… why would you think it is okay to live out the same, delusional, ridiculous fantasy when seeking someone whose abilities are even less in supply than these folks?

Graphic artists, illustrators, painters, etc., are skilled tradesmen. As such, to consider them as, or deal with them as, anything less than professionals fully deserving of your respect is both insulting and a bad reflection on you as a sane, reasonable person. In short, it makes you look like a twit.

A few things you need to know;

1. It is not a “great opportunity” for an artist to have his work seen on your car/’zine/website/bedroom wall, etc. It IS a “great opportunity” for YOU to have their work there.

2. It is not clever to seek a “student” or “beginner” in an attempt to get work for free. It’s ignorant and insulting. They may be “students”, but that does not mean they don’t deserve to be paid for their hard work. You were a “student” once, too. Would you have taken that job at McDonalds with no pay, because you were learning essential job skills for the real world? Yes, your proposition it JUST as stupid.

3. The chance to have their name on something that is going to be seen by other people, whether it’s one or one million, is NOT a valid enticement. Neither is the right to add that work to their “portfolio”. They get to do those things ANYWAY, after being paid as they should. It’s not compensation. It’s their right, and it’s a given.

4. Stop thinking that you’re giving them some great chance to work. Once they skip over your silly ad, as they should, the next ad is usually for someone who lives in the real world, and as such, will pay them. There are far more jobs needing these skills than there are people who possess these skills.

5. Students DO need “experience”. But they do NOT need to get it by giving their work away. In fact, this does not even offer them the experience they need. Anyone who will not/can not pay them is obviously the type of person or business they should be ashamed to have on their resume anyway. Do you think professional contractors list the “experience” they got while nailing down a loose step at their grandmother’s house when they were seventeen?

If you your company or gig was worth listing as desired experience, it would be able to pay for the services it received. The only experience they will get doing free work for you is a lesson learned in what kinds of scrubs they should not lower themselves to deal with.

6. (This one is FOR the artists out there, please pay attention.) Some will ask you to “submit work for consideration”. They may even be posing as some sort of “contest”. These are almost always scams. They will take the work submitted by many artists seeking to win the “contest”, or be “chosen” for the gig, and find what they like most. They will then usually have someone who works for them, or someone who works incredibly cheap because they have no originality or talent of their own, reproduce that same work, or even just make slight modifications to it, and claim it as their own. You will NOT be paid, you will NOT win the contest. The only people who win, here, are the underhanded folks who run these ads. This is speculative, or “spec”, work. It’s risky at best, and a complete scam at worst. I urge you to avoid it, completely. For more information on this subject, please visit www.no-spec.com.

So to artists/designers/illustrators looking for work, do everyone a favor, ESPECIALLY yourselves, and avoid people who do not intend to pay you. Whether they are “spec” gigs, or just some guy who wants a free mural on his living room walls. They need you. You do NOT need them.

And for those who are looking for someone to do work for free… please wake up and join the real world. The only thing you’re accomplishing is to insult those with the skills you need. Get a clue.

First up are Quik Tops can sealers, which attach a pouring spout, and the lid doubles as a little cup you can pour your pop into, although I’m not sure why you’d want to. It’s a screw-top bottle to prevent leaks, and probably a great choice for using in the car too. You can find them in a set of two at Urchin.co.uk for GBP 6.99, or about USD $14.

If Quik Tops seem a bit too complicated and expensive, you’ll be much happier with Top It Can Caps, which are available in a 2-pack for $1.99 at Organize.com. It has the small, filtered opening shown for drinking, and snaps closed to keep in the fizz.

While they won’t help with spills, you can certainly keep the bugs out with these stylish drink umbrellas from Miles Kimball. The set of 4 are color-coded for easy drink identification and come with 100 straws at only $6.99.

And finally, for indoors or out, a wonderful mug set for coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. These 12oz mugs have their own lids which double as coasters. They are available in sets of 4 - each set is only one color - red, yellow, or blue - for $19.99.

One of their arguments is that kids should not call adults by their first names. Um, hello, why do you think he was Mr. Rogers to all of us, and Fred to other adults on the show!!

There’s a ton of screwed up teaching going on in the world, in high school, college, and the workplace. But to go back decades and read something else into what people like Mr. Rogers was trying to say is pushing it.

Besides, let’s put the blame where it really rests: Oprah and Dr. Phil. They’ve screwed up more people than Fred Rogers ever could. And that continues into adulthood.

via TV Squad

Also, right now Amazon has a 4-for-3 deal going on. Add any 4 items to your cart (eligible items include some books, CDs, DVDs, magazines, and home & garden items) and you will get the least expensive item free. Here are the promo details.

So we went to Arby’s yesterday and saw huge posters plastered all over, advertising their new strawberry & banana swirl shake. We ordered 2, only to be told they were out, so we got their orange dream shakes instead. Now, I understand it is probably a popular item, especially during the hot summer days, and that it was the 4th of July, so they may not have gotten any deliveries of whatever mix they use… but when advertising a brand-new promo item with huge posters, you would think they could plan ahead and not run out.

via Apartment Therapy’s Home Tech

via TechCrunch

After lunch, around 12:30, the aide brought him a refill without asking if he needed one. In fact, since he’d had iced tea with lunch, he didn’t. What I found appalling was how she brought it. Rather than dumping the water in the pitcher and refilling it, she brought in a plastic pitcher liner full of ice water, took the one inside the pitcher out, dumped the old water and threw the liner away. What a waste of plastic! Wouldn’t just washing the pitcher in the hospital’s dishwashers solve the problem of germs? And how germy is a pitcher sitting there for 2 1/2 hours going to get? It’s not like anyone was drinking from it, and my dad wasn’t contagious.

I’ve been reading a blog called Plastic Free by EnviroWoman. She’s taken a pledge to not purchase any new plastic in 2007. The plastic she’s bought, by desperate need (deodorant) or by accident (inside cans of pop!) are in a very small pile that she’s posted pictures of. Her blog has definitely made me more aware of all the plastic in my life, most of which won’t degrade for hundreds or thousands of years (this site says a plastic jug will take a million years!) And not all plastic can be recycled.

Check out Plastic Free and then think about how much plastic comes into your life every day.

“Can you please quit linking keywords in your posts to categories or tags? Especially ones that have only one post in their category, like Consumerist’s link today to Palatine. It really feels like that IntelliTxt advertising and is very annoying. It is irritating to have to mouse over a link to see if it’s a pointless link that goes to an internal category, or a real one to an external site. Trust me, if I want to see all your posts on the Space Station, I’ll either search the blog myself or click tags on the bottom of the posts.

While we’re at it, I’m not too thrilled with the metacategories - categories that appear in small text above each headline and make every RSS feed have a colon title, like Technology is Awesome: Baby Monitor Monitors Space Station instead of just what’s after the colon. I don’t like the search box searching all the Gawker sites instead of just the one I’m one, and I don’t care how many views a post has - CERTAINLY not enough to have it in large print right next to the headline.”

Naturally, being from Google, Gears is in beta. If you are running Firefox 1.5+ or IE6+ on XP, Vista, Mac, or Linux, at the top right in Google Reader, you should see an Offline link. We can only hope offline Gmail is to follow. Google Docs & Spreadsheets (& Presenter) shouldn’t be far behind, either.

via Download Squad

$20 at Fred Flare

at Fred Flare

For example, the other day I got a comment on this Burger King customer service post. The commenter said, “I was in your Location X store and got crappy service, I’d like something done about it.” First, there’s nothing on my blog that says I work for BK, and even if I did, I couldn’t do anything about her situation - she’d need to call corporate.

Then, I got a comment on this pizza post - I don’t run a pizza shack, but a lady commented and said she would like to submit some ways to market my pizza, could I please tell her how she should submit this to my site. People, use your noggins and realize that just because we blog about a place, doesn’t mean we work with it.

So here’s Lorelle’s major points, and click over using the above link to read more about them.

1. Say Something Intelligent - write like you passed the 8th grade!
2. Ask Something Intelligent - this relates to what I said above
3. Write Something Intelligent -if u write like an idiut & u cant spell or use propr grammr, you look stupid and not intelligent, funny, or cute. Or as Lorelle puts it, “If you want an intelligent response to your comment, write intelligently. Use complete sentences.” Oh, and by the way, blogs are public places - don’t publish your private details.
4. Add to the Conversation - try to stay on topic and share your knowledge
5. Your Comment is a Mini Resume - your comments can encourage people to visit your website, if they’re intelligent, and if not… well, they can discourage visits just as easily.

Most of her post can be summed up in two words: Comment intelligently.

I don’t carry an exceptionally large purse, but when I type out what’s inside, it’s a huge list. My current purse is no longer listed, but I got it at Purses Boutique. My secret to packing it all in is my Purseket organizer and using mostly travel sizes.

• My wallet (soon to be split into an ultra-slim credit card holder and a coin sorter wallet).
• A Rainbow Brite metal wallet (also known as a “cigarette case”) from a seller on Vendio that holds my coupons.
• A change purse that holds nail clippers, Listerine Pocket Pack, mini folding scissors (like in a sewing kit), mini dental floss, artificial tears, and a spare chapstick
• A metal business card holder that has business cards and address labels.
• My cell phone, keys, and USB thumb drive
• A separate keyring that holds keyring-sized store loyalty cards, Blockbuster card, etc.
• Toiletries/cosmetics: Lotion and chapstick (I can’t live without them!), hand sanitizer, travel size deodorant (for those emergencies!), feminine supplies, Ocean (saline nasal) spray (yes, I’m an allergy sufferer), Band-Aid brand anti-itch gel (I occasionally get hives too)
• A small pill box filled with an assortment of Advil, Tylenol, Claritin, and Benadryl (tip: tear off a fourth of a kleenex and stuff in the top to keep the pills from rattling like a box of Tic Tacs).
• Another cylindrical pill container (technically from Gaviscon) that holds my Pepcid AC
• A travel container, like above, of Dramamine
• A telescoping backscratcher (not the best thing in the world… it tends to want to turn as you’re using it)
• Starlight mints and Zetts sore throat drops (15 cents each at CVS but well worth it - best sore throat remedy ever!)
• A mini flashlight clipped inside the top (great for seeing inside your purse in the dark - I got a dozen for $4.95 at Oriental Trading, so I can toss one out when it dies and put a new one in.)
• Sunglasses
• My prescription reading glasses, since I got them about a week ago, in a hard case with a cleaning cloth
• Zeiss Lens Wipes, around before the glasses, since they work great for my cell phone, iPod, DS/PSP, etc.
• Occasionally, one or more of the following: My iPod Mini or 1st gen Shuffle with earbuds, my DS Lite, or my PSP, with games
• When I remember to pack them, kleenex (being an allergy sufferer, I keep a family-sized box of Puffs Ultra in my car, so I always have some around).

Phew, what a list! So, what’s in your bag?

I’m on an organic beekeeping list of about 1,000 people, mostly Americans, and no one in the organic beekeeping world, including commercial beekeepers, is reporting colony collapse on this list. The problem with the big commercial guys is that they put pesticides in their hives to fumigate for varroa mites, and they feed antibiotics to the bees. They also haul the hives by truck all over the place to make more money with pollination services, which stresses the colonies.

Her email recommends a visit to the Bush Bees Web site at Bushfarms.com. Here, Michael Bush felt compelled to put a message to the beekeeping world right on the top page:

Most of us beekeepers are fighting with the Varroa mites. I’m happy to say my biggest problems are things like trying to get nucs through the winter and coming up with hives that won’t hurt my back from lifting or better ways to feed the bees.

This change from fighting the mites is mostly because I’ve gone to natural sized cells. In case you weren’t aware, and I wasn’t for a long time, the foundation in common usage results in much larger bees than what you would find in a natural hive. I’ve measured sections of natural worker brood comb that are 4.6mm in diameter. …What most people use for worker brood is foundation that is 5.4mm in diameter. If you translate that into three dimensions instead of one, it produces a bee that is about half as large again as is natural. By letting the bees build natural sized cells, I have virtually eliminated my Varroa and Tracheal mite problems. One cause of this is shorter capping times by one day, and shorter post-capping times by one day. This means less Varroa get into the cells, and less Varroa reproduce in the cells.

Are you surprised that the major media reports forgot to tell us how the dying bees are actually hyper-bred varieties that we coax into a larger than normal body size? It sounds just like the beef industry. And, have we here a solution to the vanishing bee problem? Is it one that the CCD Working Group, or indeed, the scientific world at large, will support? Will media coverage affect government action in dealing with this issue?”

Original article

If Real ID happens:

* Every state’s DMV database will be linked and tons of information from social security numbers and birth dates to copies of birth certificates and bank statements will be accessible to DMV employees across the country.
o This will be a dream for identity thieves.
o The potential for insider fraud and the issuance of false licenses is very real.
* All of these problems led to an almost unprecedented revolt among the states. Five states, Maine, Idaho, Arkansas, Montana and Washington, have passed anti-Real ID resolutions or legislation. This type of legislation has been filed in more than 30 states.
* Drivers licenses will cost each American approximately $100.
o Since the federal government has appropriated only a small fraction of the necessary costs to implement REAL ID, the driver is now going to have to shoulder the burden of higher costs at the DMV.
* DMV locations will be completely overburdened.
o Lines will be longer because it will take more time to process applications.
o Mail and Internet renewals will have to be suspended.

The law that created the Department of Homeland Security prohibited a national identification system. By trying to implement REAL ID, the Department of Homeland Security is breaking the law and violating the public trust.

Use the link above to send in your comments (you can do so anonymously at the government site, without even an e-mail address) against RealID.

More info:
BoingBoing
Privacy Coalition
Electronic Frontier Foundation

Overall, though, I don’t think I’ll be going back anytime soon. They used to be great - my favorite was the pizzadillas (cross between pizza and quesadillas) but now their menu is just too small.

Kind of a Big Dealio

“Cancellation penalties are anti-competitive and deprive consumers of the benefits of competition in the markets where there is more than one broadband provider,” says Kenney. “The justifications for them are suspect. Once enticing consumers to sign up, broadband providers should rely on quality
and service to build customer loyalty, not onerous contract terms that hold consumers hostage.”

Like wireless phone companies, broadband providers who have started including early termination fees and requiring long term contracts for promotional offers say they are justified. That’s because consumers are usually getting a break on monthly rates, as well as free or discounted installation and equipment, such as modems.

“Basically, we are charging the (early termination) fee to regain what we have been giving the customer for free,” says Bobbi Henson, director of Media Relations at Verizon. “Customers who sign a (high-speed Internet) contract with us get free installation and sometimes free equipment. They also save $2-$8 on their monthly rate.”

Check on what your broadband provider is charging here, and then go here and tell the FCC via an already-written e-mail to stop early termination fees.

The airlines fear “crowd control” problems if cell phones are allowed in flights. They believe cell phone calls might promote rude behavior and conflict between passengers, which flight attendants would have to deal with. The airlines also benefit in general from passengers remaining ignorant about what’s happening on the ground during flights, including personal problems, terrorist attacks, plane crashes and other information that might upset passengers.

However, the airlines know that some kind of plane-to-ground communication is coming, and they want to profit from it. Simply allowing passengers to use their own cell phones in flight would leave the airlines out of the profit-taking. Airlines would prefer that phones be banned while they come up with new ways to charge for communication, such as the coming wave of Wi-Fi access. Meanwhile, the ban is potentially more profitable.

There is much more in the article, including why the ban is beneficial to cell phone carriers, the government, and why the government is irresponsible for “not knowing” if cell phones can crash planes. As the last sentence of the article says, we can place a man on the moon and let him talk to Houston the whole time… we can certainly let people use their phones on flights. (Though it might annoy others.)

via ComputerWorld

One of the entries was clearly much longer, so I e-mailed CrunchGear stating that it was unfair. At that time only 2 entries were posted - mine hadn’t even been posted yet. John Biggs wrote back, somewhat condescendingly, that not everyone writes as elegantly as me, and did offer me an opportunity to add to my entry. You can see the e-mail exchange below… he never responded to my second e-mail. At this time there are 5 entries, and out of curiosity I copy-pasted them into an online Javascript word counter - 3 of the 5 are over the stated 200-word maximum - one at a whopping 511 words, more than twice th