More toys!

Geek toy lust of the day: the Logitech Cordless Presenter (more details). Because, you know, I need a bluetooth mouse/presentation remote/laser pointer. My excuse for not buying it: Logitech won't support it on Macs.

Bush's SEC Scam

Here's a typical Bush administration scam: when there's public heat on an issue, promise that you'll fix the problem and allocate the necessary resources to do the job. Then, months later, quietly renege on the deal, usually by a press release on a Friday afternoon. Today's example is funding the SEC's expanded enforcement, which of course would inconvenience Bush's rich buds: Bush Seeks to Cut Back on Raise for S.E.C.'s Corporate Cleanup. Bush has milked his fake show of concern for all it's worth, so the excuse is that the US can't afford to police corporate crooks, because we'll need that money for the military and the "fight against terrorism." What's more, this pathetically lame excuse will probably get a pass from most of the media and Congress. I can barely wait for the day that Dim Son leaves the White House. In the meantime, I'll be working for Democratic candidates in next month's elections. It's still possible for the Dems to take over the House and keep the Senate. The latest forecasts suggest that the GOP will lose something like 8 net governors this year, which will help the Dems retake the WHite House in future years.

Shake it, dinner boy!

Unexpected technology effect: Making dinner while wearing an iPod leads to dancing.

Screw ME? Screw YOU!

From the Boston Globe: Trade-show chief hints he'll squeeze Apple: Attending Calif. show may depend on adding Boston. Woof. What fascinated me about this piece was what people were willing to say on the record. I bet what they said off was even jucier.

Yummy CSS details

From Eric Meyer on CSS, Tricking Browsers and Hiding Styles. It's a good introduction to all that @import and high pass filter stuff that you need for 21^st century web design, all explained simply and elegantly. Yeah, it's all hacks, but it works.

iwant iwant iwant

Geek toy lust of the day: the Plantronics M1000 cordless headset. It's hard for me to justify spending three times the money on the headset than I spent on the phone originally, though. Anyone know of a cheaper competitor?

Hating Bill

From ABCNEWS.com's excellent political daily, The Note, this cracked me up:

The most anti-Clinton feeling gathered in one place, except when Ann Coulter dines alone: Page Six says Dick Morris met Richard Mellon Scaife at Le Cirque the other day.

Going, going, going...

Only 24 hours left on my G4/400 tower on sale now at eBay. The bidding is waay low so far, considering some of the extras that come with the computer.

Too much time on your hands?

This is cool: TimeHunt.com.

Pinch me!

Be still my heart... Jeffrey Zeldman linked to our JavaScript book in his daily report. I'll bet that that is good for a few copies.

One quibble (which I need to say before Tom does): it's by Tom Negrino and Dori Smith, not Dori Smith and Tom Negrino. And if you were married to a Sicilian Scorpio, you'd know why that matters.

Another damn geek toy I NEED

Tom has an iBook. I have a TiBook. Mine has speed and a gorgeous display. Tom? Well, he's got wireless range that makes my beauty look pathetic. In the Wired article Mac Toters Push Wireless Bounds, Paul Boutin (whom I met at the O'Reilly OS X Con) discusses the possibility for extending my TiBook's wireless capabilities. It looks like Senao's EnGenius Long Range Wireless LAN PC Card is the way to go (and less than $100!). (Via Boing Boing)

Two good tastes that taste great together

We heard about this last week: Peachpit and New Riders Join Forces to Serve the Creative Community. Given the way the two overlap, we saw this one coming and think that it's about time.

As two people who've been very happy writing for Peachpit Press, with many friends who've written for New Riders, we say: welcome to the Peachpit family!

The T68i is Good Eats

She's such a geek (that's why I love her): Dori has successfully programmed her new Ericsson T68i cellphone to ring with the Good Eats theme song. For those who are interested, it's: f1 g1 d2 c2 b1(flat) f1 f1(sharp) g1 g1 g1. The tempo is 250, and the style is staccato.

Update: Raquel, from the Good Eats mailing list, reports that the sequence above also works with the Ericsson R300LX.

One more drop in the bucket

I have the skin tone of a redhead, the eye color of a redhead, and finally, the hair dye of a redhead. Now, NewScientist.com reports that Redheads suffer more pain.

People with red hair are more sensitive to pain and consequently need more anaesthetic during operations than other patients, according to new research.

So, do I now have to also tell anaesthesiologists that I dye my hair, or should I follow my gut instinct that i probably have this marker of being a redhead, too?

No comments on whether I have the temper of a redhead, please. You really don't want to go there.

Now you see it, now you don't

Ignore that link below... I guess Microsoft decided that they were getting so much negative PR that they pulled the page (heh!). If you follow the link, you'll just get a 404 error.

Later note: here's Google's cache of the page.

And yet another note: Microsoft "regrets" Mac-to-PC ad. Ooops!

Microsoft "regrets the action" and said it did the right thing in removing the page. The company has no plans for an ad campaign featuring Mac to PC "converts."

Anonymous switcher

Okay, now I'm really laughing my butt off. Microsoft tries to create a reverse switcher campaign, and falls flat on their ass: Mac to PC: Mission Accomplished, Convert Thrilled. Let's cover just some of the problems with this:

• This person has no name. Is it a real person or just a PR stunt? No way of knowing.
• The photo of the woman that they're using is a stock photo. Here's another one of her. Having been involved in the stock photo biz, I have to laugh at the fact that they paid Getty Images for this one, given that Gates owns Corbis.
• Nobody, but nobody, seriously puts AppleWorks head to head with Office XP. Of course Office is going to win. Sheesh. Why didn't they put it up against Office:Mac? Scared of losing, maybe?
• Why did they compare Netscape/Mac to IE/Win? Again, were they afraid to go head to head against IE/Mac?
• She says, "I love that we can define completely different user experiences without messing with each other's settings." Of course, the Mac supports this just fine, too.
• In fact, absolutely everything she loves about Microsoft is also available for the Mac. About the only things that aren't quite as transparent are those places where you can't get info out of Windows machines as easily. And hmmm... I wonder who makes that software?

But anyhow, it's good for a laugh. I wonder if MS realizes how stupid this one made them sound.

In space, you must pass the cocktail sauce

I love the title of this article: Spacewoman Stuck in Orbit with Too Much Shrimp.