Phun Phone Photos

Here are a couple of images that I got in the course of my duties:


How's that college education workin' out for ya?

Always make sure when you throw away your emu that you hide it under a mattress. Wouldn't want the disposal company to refuse it.

Hey, You Got Weasels on Your Face

Sometimes I wonder if there isn't more AI built into our computers than we're led to believe. Case in point: Windows Media Player.

For two days in a row now, when I select "Shuffle List Now", it's put Weird Al Yankovic's Albuquerque at the top. The first thing I get in the morning is eleven minutes of Werid Al ranting maniacally to music. That suggests to me that maybe my media player likes Weird Al.

And if I just hit "Play Shuffled", it seems to go through moods. Which, of course, are completely opposite to mine. If I'm in the mood for some Alter Bridge or Black Stone Cherry, it'll play Norah Jones and Harry Connick, Jr. If I want Beatles or ELO, it's serving up Disturbed and Black Label Society (although I will say it tends to lean toward the Harry Connick sound).

I've tried resetting my play counts to see if that affects it. It doesn't. Nothing seems to. My media player just appears to feel like listening to certain music. So either my computer has moods, or some Microsoft tech guy is sitting at his workstation, monitoring my every keystroke, and going, "Nah...I don't like the Black Crowes. Let's put on some Shawn Colvin." I figure it's only a matter of time until music I don't remember buying starts showing up in my library ("Wait--when did I get Air Supply's Greatest Hits?").

If you're reading this, covert-big-brother-keylogger guy, knock it off with all the Joan Baez crap and let me listen to my Buckcherry when I want.

Credit Where...

Just a quick post to say thanks to Neil for the header photo.

What's the Word for "Fear of Networking"?

I'm behind the times again. It's due to my paranoia, my cynicism, my conspiracy-theory hobby. I've worked hard these many web-based years to keep my personal information off the internet. Mostly it's been to keep my high-school reunion committee from finding me (in the hopes that they'll think I'm dead and give up.)

This means that I have not joined any social networking sites. No Facebook, no Myspace, and defintely no Twitter (I have no delusions of self-importance that would cause me to think that anyone would be captivated by my every thought in 140 characters or less.) Which of course, means I'm behind again. The closest I come to social networking is that greatest of all chat rooms, World of Warcraft. And that goes beyond mere chat, as you have to kill and pillage and return to questgivers with a backpack full of body parts.

I recently decided, however, to attempt Myspace, but only so I can follow my favorite music artists. Look for the page with the balding, middle-aged administrator guy who's unhealthily obsessed with pirates. That'll be my page.

Nothing to Write Home About

It's been quiet aboard ship lately. Not much interesting happening. Just mostly procedural stuff, shifting cabin assignments and such. We seem to have sailed into administrative doldrums. And while I enjoy these quiet times, they don't make for good reading, which is why I'm starting a second blog to just keep writing. Find it here: http://last10miles.blogspot.com/