23-May-2010 by dawog.

<BEGIN RANT>
Is it just me?  Hasn’t both the length & number of commercials gotten utterly ridiculous over the past few years?  I timed two programs over the past month, one on cable at a friend’s house & one on commercial broadcast TV.  Both averaged nearly 5 minutes of commercials for every 6.5 minutes of content.  If the time & number of commercials isn’t bad enough, add in that they also repeat the SAME crappy commercial numerous times during a 2 hr period.  I don’t know about the rest of you, but too much airing of the same commercial pretty much turns me off on ANYTHING that commercial sponsor offers.

Maybe I’m just oversensitive.  My only source of TV (of which I watch very little) is via over-the-air commercial broadcasts.  When they made the transition from analog to digital last year, as expected I lost more than half of our previous stations (I live in a rural area).  For those stations we lost, I now download from the Internet what we used to watch on those stations.  Uh… gee… uh… OUTSTANDING QUALITY & NO COMMERCIALS!!!  Maybe watching all this high quality, commercial-free content from the Internet over the past year has made me overly sensitive?   Nyah… that’s not it.

Don’t get me wrong — I understand the business model for commercials & free over-the-air broadcast TV.  It’s just that, IMHO, the length & number of commercials has gone way beyond what is reasonable or tolerable.  I, frankly, can no longer tolerate it.  It just amazes me that all the millions of cable subscribers out there continue to tolerate their steadily increasing rates, coupled with increasing quantity of commercials.  When I last had cable (over 14 years ago), all the channels had significantly fewer commercials than broadcast TV (except for the local broadcast channels, TBS & WGN).  Now nearly all the channels on cable appear as dicked up with commercials as regular over-the-air broadcast TV.  SUCH A DEAL!!!

As mentioned previously, I’ve never watched much TV and after 12 yrs of “getting screwed by cable” in Northern Virginia, I vowed I’d never again get cable.  I’m also not interested in satellite TV.  But seeing how many (& how long) commercials are aired, not just on broadcast TV but now even on cable & satellite, well… I’ve pretty much had my fill of it.  I understand that with a DVR I could fast forward through all the commercials.  What I don’t get is how frakking stupid the networks are!  With everybody fast forwarding through the commercials with their DVRs over the past several years, what do the networks do?  Show even more & longer commercials?  AND… they now steal screen real estate & put them on while the program is still airing?  WHAT A BUNCH OF FRAKKING IDIOTS!!!  In my opinion, they’re doing everything within their power to turn people off on broadcast/cable/satellite TV.  And I tell ya… it’s definitely working for me.  About the only channel we watch in our household anymore is PBS.  Granted - their fund raising drives can get a little irritating, but hey… that’s kinda how they survive, and it’s only a few times a year.  My recommendation?  Support your local PBS!

Just my “2-cents” opinion…
<END RANT>

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16-May-2010 by dawog.

 (RE: Gizmodo article; Wired article “Facebook’s Gone Rogue“; Washington Post article “Facebook meets the ‘Unlike’ Button“)

Yip-pee!  I feel vindicated!  I’ve ignored OODLES of requests to join Facebook over the past few years from family & friends.  Most folks just think I’m unsocial.  Well, they’re right.  Let’s see… let me look up the technical definition of what I am… oh yeah… I’m supposedly an anti- or unsocial turd (& proud of it, I might add), or just call me a “social introvert.”

Whatever… I actually prefer having my own web site and blog, where I have some control over what I release (or don’t release) about myself and that nobody reads except me.  Not so with Facebook.  In my opinion, whatever you put on Facebook… it’s going to get out (if not already out there for all, or at least advertisers, to see).  Of course… whether or not you have a “presence” on the web, there’s still likely info about you on-line.

What kinda’ irritates me about “Facebook Invites” is that you have to create an account just to see what whomever invited you to see.  No thanks.  I’m kind of an “anti-sheep” kind of guy.  Whenever a large # of people think something is really great, then I begin to wonder why & tend to move in an opposite direction.  I detest fads, and avoid them like the plague.

Is social networking like Facebook & MySpace a fad?  Don’t know, don’t care.  I’m just not interested in social networking.  Don’t forget — I’m what you call a “social turd.”

For reasons NOT to delete your Facebook acct, see this.

And for the ultimate reality check & why the blame ultimately rests with “us,” see this.

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25-Apr-2010 by dawog.

Here’s what Spring in Colorado looks like this year, 15 miles NE of Colorado Springs.  Received approx. 22″ of snow between midnight Thurs and Saturday afternoon:

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20-Apr-2010 by dawog.

We never saw these birds the first several years we lived here, but they arrived one Spring 7-8 years ago.  We quickly constructed some bluebird nest boxes and they have been returning ever since.  These photos were taken April 7, 2010, on or near the bird feeder.

(They kinda’ look fake, eh?  But I assure you, they’re real!  Mighty purdy birds they are.)

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10-Mar-2010 by dawog.

Normally I’d just put a link to an interesting article, but in this case I don’t think you can get to it unless you’re a subscriber.  So… I’ve taken the liberty to post a copy (pdf file) of the article — at least until I’m asked to remove it.  It’s an opinion piece from the Feb 18th issue of “The Economist.”

A lot of people, especially my mother who turned 91 on Feb 19th, think our country & political system is in a mess.  Well, I say — it’s ALL relative.  If you read (or watch) only the main stream U.S. news, then “Yes” — we certainly are ‘in a mess.’  I think it’s extremely refreshing to read an article from ‘the outside’ (outside the USA, that is), that expresses an opinion that what we’re experiencing today in America is “American Democracy at Work.”

Personally, I find this article extremely refreshing!

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03-Mar-2010 by dawog.

High Country News article “Charles Bowden on The War Next Door“

This isn’t something I planned on writing about, nor referring to, but I found this article disturbing.  As an “Old Fart,” I’ve been observing our so-called “War on Drugs” (WOD) for over 40 years.  I must say… it doesn’t appear that we’ve made much, if any, progress over that time period.  I had primarily noticed that I hadn’t seen much news lately on the WOD (until I saw this article).

I don’t know… seems to me it’s time we try something else… no matter how ‘off the wall’ it is.

Anyway’s… Wikipedia has a nice write-up on the WOD here.  There’s even a “WOD Clock” website.  Amazing…

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17-Feb-2010 by dawog.

Is it:

• a 1964 TV series about a Bottlenose Dolphin?
• a punk band in San Francisco, CA in 1979?
• a 1995 TV series (remake) about a Bottlenose Dolphin?
• a 1996 movie about a Bottlenose Dolphin?
• one (of a pair) of diving fins?
• one (of a pair) of flip-flops?
• a stinkin’ acrylic contraption with a fake tooth; that hurts like hell; and that you wear when they’ve removed a REAL tooth from your mouth?
• an enhancement device that attaches to the top of your cordless mouse?

If you picked the next to the last one, you are correctamundo — and that’s what I’ve been wearing since the oral surgeon removed my upper front tooth exactly two weeks ago.  The mouse helps keep it properly positioned in my mouth.

    
Logitech Cordless Laser “Flipper” Mouse

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05-Feb-2010 by dawog.

Aren’t I just the cutest little thing you ever saw?

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05-Feb-2010 by dawog.

Hey Baby… are you busy tonight???

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05-Feb-2010 by dawog.

Is it just me, or my ears just too damn big?

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04-Feb-2010 by dawog.

There I was, just getting used to finally enjoy being outside in my own yard, without giving a care or thought as to whom (or what) was quietly sneaking up on me, just to bite me in the ass (or leg, or any body part within reach of his snake-like neck)…

Yup… George the “mean” goose is back.  He only lasted 8 days at his new home, which was complete with lonely female goose & loving kids.  After 5 days, he wouldn’t eat or come out of his new dog house.  The owner called my wife stating that “George just seems really sad.”  (Too bad I didn’t answer the phone, so I could tell her that I’ve been REALLY happy since George’s departure!)

Oh well.. they say geese mate for life, and apparently George has a ‘thing’ for my wife.  So now he’s back.  If only he’d just terrorize the goats & leave me alone….

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22-Jan-2010 by dawog.

A bit of good news today, which is nice, seeing as I lost one of my upper front teeth at the endodontist this past Tuesday.  (er, uh… I didn’t actually lose it… the endo-douche pulled it out)  Anywho’s… George, the big, mean goose that’s been terrorizing both me and my son for the past 8 years… is going to a NEW home!  Why, you might ask?  Well… he finally started attacking my wife, who is the proper ‘owner’ of all our pet farm animals (goats, chickens, guinea hens, etc.).  And when I say a new home, I really mean that.  George is going to a farm that has a single female goose.  George used to have a mate, but she died a few years ago.  Her death has nothing to do with his meanness… he became a vicious little shit when he was only a year old, and has only gotten worse over the past 7 years.  During most of that time George was sweet to my wife, and only directed his hostility toward everyone else (mainly me & my son).

Anyway’s… now I can freely roam about in our yard or barn without worrying about who’s trying to sneak up on me to bite the shit out of my leg.

G’bye George!  I won’t miss you!  NOT-ONE-SINGLE-BIT!!!  Have a great life & I hope the coyotes and/or foxes don’t get you!

(Actually… I lied.  I really don’t mind if the coyotes or foxes DO get you)

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21-Jan-2010 by dawog.

• Intellectual Property (IP)
  • Watch out for ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement).  Don’t know what it is? Google it.
• Copyright
  • From US Constitution: “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”  We’re WAY beyond “limited” now… it’s frakking ridiculous!
• DRM
  • I don’t think so!  No.  Never Again.  Uh Uh No Way.  No.  No.  No.

I’ll have more later…

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21-Jan-2010 by dawog.

It’s about time, too.  Of course, the fact that I just bought six new keyboards (3 mini, 2 compact, 1 regular) has given me the urge to type… and type… and type.  And I’m really sick of typing into a text editor & deleting the file when I’m through.  I think it would be MUCH more meaningful to type here & make other people sick, too.  No?  Oh well, I’m sure I’ll eventually get tired of these new keyboards and this blog will probably cease to exist.  Seeing as I’m probably the only person looking at it, I don’t suppose it will be missed.  (boo hoo, I’m soooooo depressed)

I’ll have you know that I also gave a great deal of thought & spent considerable time trying to come up with an interesting and/or intriguing tagline, but… I got nuttin’.  Maybe later…

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