Saturday, March 15, 2008
7:02 pm
Daniel J. Summers
I know, the day after I post that I won't be here, I find this (strong language warning) over at Rachel Lucas's blog. This was simply too funny to not reblog.
This is a scene from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the faux-news show on Comedy Central. They took a patronizing look at the protesters in Berkeley, California, who are trying to shut down the Marine recruiting center. My favorite exchange comes starting at 3:12…
Code Pink Feather Boa'd Protester (CPFBP) - It is our responsibility, as the public, to shut this station down, to shut this recruiting station down. Another Code Pink Protester - Code Pink stands for free speech. CPFBP - It's very important to protect free speech, and so we clearly have the right to be here. Rob Riggle, Reporter - If only there was an organization that was sworn to defend that free speech! CPFBP - Wouldn't that be great? Rob - That would be outstanding, right?
(Update: the embedded video has been removed at the source; glad I wrote the transcript!)
Sorry I haven't been around here much - it's certainly not been for lack of things to talk about. Every day, I'll see or hear something that's just begging for a-blogging, but I've been rather busy. Here in Albuquerque, NM, there's a community-based project called Not So Extreme Makeover: Community Edition, where we are going to share our abundance with those who need it. Our biggest focus is going to be an area of town affectionately known as the “War Zone.” I am working with them, managing the public web site, as well as developing an interactive database application for the leaders to use to manage the resources needed to make this effort a success. I'll be back here once April rolls around.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
7:46 pm
Daniel J. Summers
Do you spend 28 minutes a day commuting? Doing housework? Reading e-mail? If so, you've got the time to listen to the Bible. Faith Comes by Hearing has created a dramatized reading of the New Testament, that can be completed in 40 days, 28 minutes each day. Starting February 11th, running through Good Friday on March 21st, Albuquerque is encouraged to listen - and you don't have to be in Albuquerque to do it, either! They offer a free download on their website - I encourage each of you to join me in listening to the Bible over 40 days.
There will be a list on this blog of the chapters that make up each day - at the top of the page, just below the Verse of the Day, there will be an entry with that day's chapters. Also, if you're using Linux, I was not able to get the free download to work. However, I did get my paws on an actual CD, and you can download the ISO here. (Edit: This is no longer hosted here.) (Please try to get it from them first - only download this if you can't.)
Saturday, January 12, 2008
10:06 pm
Daniel J. Summers
It was about five months ago that I put the NightLight Idea theme out here, but I wasn't really crazy about it. I decided to look for a one-column theme, without a sidebar taking up space the whole way down the page. I found this one, a very minimalist theme, with nice background images, which I customized for use here. It is called “Mimetastic,” and it is now the default theme here for my blog. Since it's somewhat different, I thought I would take a minute to let you know where all the goodies are…
Archives, Categories, Daily Reads, and Search are now in drop-down menus on the top of the page.
Verse of the Day is now the first “entry” on the main page. It isn't shown on archive, category, or individual pages.
Theme Switcher, Spam Count, Standards, and I Support are located at the bottom of each page.
Feed Links and Blog Info are also in the footer of each page.
Log In and Register can be obtained by clicking the “Admin” link.
As I did with my previous theme switch, the NightLight Idea theme will remain in the theme switcher. So, if you prefer it (or the Pool theme before it), you can view the blog with those themes. They continue to be supported, so if anything looks funky with any of the themes, just let me know. (I don't do anything with the “WordPress” themes - they're shipped with the software, and I upgrade them whenever a new version comes out.)
Enjoy!
UPDATE - 14 Jan 08: If you've ever used the theme switcher, you may not be seeing the new theme. Just click “Mimetastic” from the theme viewer to see it.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
2:39 am
Daniel J. Summers
Continuing the tradition started last year, I'm writing a three-part series “2007 Year in Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Ridiculous.” And, as I did last year, I'll post them in reverse order so they're in the right order when they're done. Without further ado…
Global Glow-Bull Warming
During 2007, the global warming movement was exposed for the political, not scientific, issue that it is. As with any movement which sees its power diminished, its adherents ramped up their rhetoric; and, in many ways, the movement has become a parody of itself. In April, Sheryl Crow suggested limiting how much toilet paper we use at each sitting, and suggested we wear “dining sleeves” - devices on which we can wipe our mouths, then remove them and replace them with a clean one. (I'm not sure if the extra water for that laundry offsets the lack of a paper napkin - and wouldn't cloth napkins do the same thing?)
Carbon offsets were also shown to be next to useless. Carbon offsets, for the uninitiated, are fees one pays to a company which claims to do something “environmentally friendly” to offset one's carbon emissions. (If that sounds familiar, it should - I believe this technique was pioneered by the Roman Catholic church under the name “indulgences.” Can't stop sinning? Just get forgiveness beforehand!) A group of three environmentally-conscious people (not right-wing fanatics) created a site called CheatNeutral. It aspires to create a network of fidelity to offset those who cheat on their significant others. It illustrates the point beautifully - ten faithful people mean nothing if you're the one being cheated on.
In October, Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on global warming, including his film An Inconvenient Truth. Inconveniently, though, many of the claims made in his film have been debunked. Also, a site called Surface Stations shows some of these temperature monitoring stations - these are the stations whose readings have been used to claim that temperatures are increasing. However, many stations are by air conditioning exhausts and other heat-producing structures. Finally, in December, at a UN conference in Bali on global warming, the man leading the negotiations broke down and cried. It must be rough to see all that power slipping away.
Never-Ending Political Cycle
I won't talk much about this, because I'm pretty much tired of it just when it becomes time for it to actually happen. Do we really need a 2-year period of time to pick our next President?
Celebrity Culture
This could probably be a ridiculous item every year, but this year seemed especially ridiculous. Earlier in the year, after Anna Nicole Smith passed away, a circus erupted over the paternity of her young daughter. I don't even know where to start - if every one who claimed that they were the father had a relationship with her that would result in a child in the timeframe where it would be believable… Sheesh.
Train wrecks all over - Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears… Even Britney's sister got into the fray. The biggest problem I have with all this is the amount of press they get, distracting people from other important issues. But, I don't know whether to be more exasperated with the media for putting out the information, or the people who give it such good ratings that they keep pumping it out.
That's enough ridiculousness for one year - up next, the bad…
Saturday, December 22, 2007
5:09 pm
Daniel J. Summers
Morgan Freeberg over at House of Eratosthenes has tagged me. I guess I've now arrived as a blogger! :) Anyway, here are my answers. In keeping with his tradition, the questions will be colored red and green.
1. Wrapping or gift bags?
Mix and match. Oddly-shaped gifts are pretty well suited for gift bags. When wrapping for kids, though, paper is definitely the way to go. It's a lot more fun to rip paper than just pull a few pieces out of a bag.
2. Real or artificial tree?
I grew up with real trees, and really prefer the look and scent. However, the cost and trouble have won out, and we have an artificial tree. Pulling a pre-lit tree out of the box, putting three pieces together, and plugging it in is a lot easier than getting a real tree. Plus, we know that all our ornaments will fit!
3. When do you put up the tree?
Thanksgiving weekend, usually Friday.
4. When do you take the tree down?
The weekend after New Year's Day.
5. Do you like egg nog?
I used to, but the older I get, the more I think it's way too sweet.
6. Favorite gift received as a child?
One year, as an “early” Christmas gift, I got a boom box (think mid-80s). It was a high-quality one - AM/FM radio, dual cassette decks, large speakers. It was stolen out of our car at church one Wednesday night. :(
7. Do you have a nativity scene?
We have a couple of versions, none an actual “scene” that you would put out on a table. We do have one in a snow globe, that you can wind up and hear a song.
8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Undergarments. Now, that's fine, but as a kid, you're thinking “What?!?!?”
9. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards?
Mail, on December 1st. (However, this year we were traveling, so we got them mailed late. If you're reading this and haven't gotten yours yet, hang on - they're coming!)
10. Favorite Christmas movie?
It's a Wonderful Life
11. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
December 26th! Of course, it's not a constant thing, but we usually wrap up the major shopping by the first week in December. Again, this year has been a little different, as we were on vacation.
12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
My wife makes the best hashbrown and chicken casseroles - they're my favorite! And, since they're not a specific holiday food, we can have them year-round. (I put up her recipe for her cheesy sausage hashbrown casserole earlier this year.)
13. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Clear.
14. Favorite Christmas song?
I'd like to gripe about Christmas songs I can't stand, but this is a positive question, not a negative one. :) My favorite would probably be “O Holy Night.”
Friday, December 21, 2007
4:59 pm
Daniel J. Summers
There has been a ton of news and evidence about glow-bull warming that has come out in the last few weeks. But, alas, other pulls on my time are keeping me from chronicling them here. I did want to share this comic, though, that I found today in an e-mail.
The artist is Lisa Benson, whose work can be found on TownHall.com.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
11:51 pm
Daniel J. Summers
You may notice something new in the header of each post on this blog. Native tagging support is new to WordPress 2.3, but most themes didn't support it. I have added it to the “NightLight Idea” theme, and 2.3 added it to the “WordPress Default” theme. Clicking on a tag will show you all posts that have been tagged with the same tag. Of course, since it's new, most of my old posts aren't tagged. I've tagged the ones back about six months, and I'll get to the others as I have time. Enjoy!
If you don't care about the difference between tags and categories, you can stop reading now…
One reason it's taken me so long to add tags to this theme is that I had a hard time wrapping my head around the concept of a tag versus a category. It may not be scientific, and there was no one moment where a light bulb went on above my head and I said “wow - that's it!” But the way I understand it (and the way they'll be used in this blog) is this; categories are broad and should be few, while tags are narrow and may be many. Basically, a category is where you would file the post, were you to print it out and put it in a filing cabinet, or make a card for it in the card catalog of a library - for this post, the category is “Site Info”. A tag is more a collection of keywords or topics that may appear or be referenced in a post. Look at the tag list for this post, and you'll see what I mean.
And, by the way - I know I have some readers who are WordPress bloggers. Here's how I did it - it was a piece of cake!
Saturday, November 24, 2007
10:45 pm
Daniel J. Summers
Once the turkey has settled, the Christmas season swings into motion. (Yes, I know the Christmas trees are usually up before Labor Day - but that doesn't mean I have to go along with it!) Let's start this one by trotting out a “new classic” of Christmas. The house in the video is real - it isn't a computer-generated animation. The guy would broadcast the sound on a low-frequency FM transmitter, so if a car were parked in front of the house, they could listen on their radios. The music is “Wizards in Winter” by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, from their album The Lost Christmas Eve.
