Vermyndax’s Lair

So you might find it unusual that the first blog entry concerns something that is apparently afflicting parents of all children in the U.S. - the sudden scare of lead poisoning. It seems that Mattel has hired some unscrupulous folks in China that cut a few corners and put some lead in products that made it into the hands of children.

Now, call it what you will. Sure, people everywhere can make a case for a possible invasion from China - a backhanded way at infecting our population beforehand. You could make a case of that. You could also point out that somewhere, someone was being cheap bastards (let’s see, where did the cheap bastard thing start? That’s right! In the United States! Congratulations, boys and girls!)

Folks, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Most Americans are too friggin’ lazy to accept a job making toys for $11.00/hour - let alone for minimum wage. Top that off with a company that is so concerned with the bottom line that they’re willing to pay other countries a few pennies to get these products to market and you’ve got one hell of a tempest. Again - this was brought upon ourselves. Americans did this, not the Chinese.

I’ll bet you’re wondering how this relates. Well, good news. There was one toy in Bunbun’s collection that might have been wrapped up in the recall. The wifey snatched the toy up with a ziplock bag and we investigated on the website. Fortunately, we discovered that the model of Sarge that Bunbun owns is not one of the affected products. Close call, that one. Apparently it was a narrow window anyway.

But still, we brought this on ourselves, folks. Really.

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Slashdot | Will Microsoft Put The Colonel in the Kernel?

Just in case you had any positive thoughts about Microsoft recently, here’s a new patent application to bring you back down to Earth. They’ve filed a patent application for an advertising architecture - to deliver ads straight to the consumer desktop… integrated into the OS.

Perhaps it’s just another patent for Internet Explorer and ActiveX, since that already works well for rogue advertisers.

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Next NASA mission: Twitter and Facebook | CNET News.com

NASA is trying to get hip. They want the socializing Web 2.0 generation to get interested in space. There’s an entire group of people at NASA devoted to this type of outreach it would seem.

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I love the ‘net. Only on the net can you say things and expect them to haunt you months, or even years later. Hell, I may be eating crow in a matter of minutes for calling Mary Jo Foley an idiot for claiming Apple licensed Exchange ActiveSync - and I’ll be proud to do it.

Somehow though, I get the feeling that Steve Ballmer will not be so proud of this 2:20 clip when Friday rolls around.

I have to make a very clear observation at this point.

This is a man who is absolutely proud of the Motorola Q. He’s proud of how much it costs and even goes so far as to call it innovative. This was January of this year (2007, in case this blog is around that long). As a person who carries a Motorola Q every day but barely uses it…

…BECAUSE THE IDIOTS THAT SHIPPED A BATTERY WITH THAT PIECE OF DOGSHIT DIDN’T REALIZE I MIGHT WANT TO SPEND MORE THAN 10 GODDAMN MINUTES ON THE PHONE, OR THAT I MIGHT BE ANNOYED BY THE FACT THAT IT FEELS SO INCLINED TO RETURN TO THE HOME SCREEN EVERY 10 SECONDS NO MATTER WHAT THE HELL I TELL IT TO DO… NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT WINDOWS MOBILE IS MORE CRASH HAPPY THAN WINDOWS VISTA EXCUSE ME… WINDOWS MILLENNIUM 2007…

Oh… my… God. Truly, this is a CEO out of touch with the world. Folks… run… run from Microsoft. They are killing you. You sad people pods are nothing but coccoons for your brains to swell up and burst from the terrible reality known as a Microsoft universe… those games that you so proud drown in… they are nothing but a hook sent there to make you swallow the wrong pill (sorry, I don’t remember the colors)… run… please run…

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The iPhone Matches Most of Its Hype - New York Times

You can end your speculation now - David Pogue does indeed have an iPhone. Here’s his review. He points out some glaring features that are missing, but you can tell he’s brimming with excitement over the experience. He doesn’t sound very disappointed in it at all.

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Proving that Mary Jo Foley knows absolutely nothing about what she’s writing, she claims to have “inside information” that Apple will announce it has licensed Exchange ActiveSync so they can hook up to Exchange servers.

Article is here: http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=534

Why do I say she’s an idiot?

Anyone who’s been paying attention knows that the iPhone already does POP or IMAP and Exchange supports this out of the box. Granted, it doesn’t support it well (that’s a story for another day kids), but it supports it. So, sorry Mr. IT Manager… come Friday, you will have those big boss cheeseheads scrambling to get their email from your Exchange server; security be damned.

Now, if you’re looking to also support server-side calendars/tasks and whatever other crap your company is slinging around in Exchange, that’s fine. ActiveSync is probably going to have to happen for you.

I would also say that there’s a bit more work that needs to go into supporting Exchange ActiveSync on OS X/iPhone - it’s not going to be a cut and dry implementation like another phone provider who licenses say… oh I dunno… WINDOWS MOBILE.

So with all of that in mind, this is a little sensationalist and at the moment, I’m not really buying it. We know Mary Jo Foley is just oozing with truth, so I’ll sit and wait for it to happen.

I almost hope I’m wrong.

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Ex-’Grey’s’ actor Washington, NBC in talks - CNN.com

Our country’s newest primadonna is the black gentleman who gained fame and furor by badmouthing gay showmate T.K. Knight.

This article reads as though he’s sitting around, fielding tons of offers… and hey, ya know, he’s just SOOO good that he “gets his pick” of anything he wants. Cough.

I predict you’ll be forgotten in a few years - maybe dead in an alley or something.

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I’m first in line for iPhone! « First in Line for iPhone

Goddess bless the Internet. Only with the Internet can you take a week off from work, go stand in a line, put up a website and beg for donations. I bet this guy is making a killing - not just off publicity but in the donations as well. He’s either the smartest and most patient guy in the universe or the biggest friggin’ idiot ever.

Only with the invention of the Internet can you too get a Flash Job (kinda like a Flash Mob). Get a job in a flash, make money in a flash, put an end to it in a flash. It’s a flash job.

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Unwitting woman votes, faces deportation - CNN.com

There’s an awful lot of injustice in this article, so please do not read it if you’re in a rotten mood.

Having married a foreigner, I’ve learned a lot about the immigration laws of this country and I can totally see how this happened. The immigration laws are full of heartbreaking stories like this with little remedy to get it straightened out. I’m against the legislation that many people are trying to put through that gives all illegal immigrants a shot at becoming citizens - that’s just uncalled for. However, this case definitely needs attention.

Having been through this ringer and about to start it again next January when the wife applies for citizenship just makes it all the more important. I wish this woman well. The article sums up the immigration problem quite well, however… although one could apply it to other portions of our country’s history over the past 7 years:

“It makes me feel like we’re all just numbers,” she said of her case. “I see people writing ‘this is my country.’ It really isn’t. It belongs to the government and they decide who stays and who goes … you think you’re free; you’re really not.”

Sometimes, I just want to move out of here.

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Iran moves to execute porn stars - CNN.com

Let me be the first to encourage adult film producers/directors/actresses to defect elsewhere ASAP.

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