November 27th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
(Computing)
Back in October I installed a set of XP updates from Microsoft: KB933729, KB939653, and KB941202. Since then I’ve been getting all manner of blue screens, about once a week. Checking things out on the net KB933729 has been causing people tons of problems, especially the same I’ve been getting.
So now I’ve reached the point when I can no longer trust updates from MS. Nice, eh? I don’t know which is worse, that or the fact that Vista is little more than a flaming pile of dog poo. I guess the new direction the corporation is taking doesn’t include stability.
Well…I’m going to attempt to uninstall those fuckers. Wish me luck!
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November 26th, 2007 at 10:08 am
(Free Thought)
I read about this show in one of the blogs I check out, but I can’t remember which one unfortunately. It is a British show that as best I can tell does undercover journalism of some sort. This particular show was quite telling, and came under some amount of controversy for possibly being biased. After an investigation (because the police have nothing better to do with their time) it was shown that the show accurately depicted what their research and undercover tapes showed them. So all said I think it is a pretty interesting look in to the radical element in the UK.
Google, being the source of good bits these days has it on YouTube: Dispatches - Undercover Mosque (1 of 6). The other parts of the episode should be under the related videos. If you have a chance you can view it for what it is worth.
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November 24th, 2007 at 10:34 am
(Free Thought)
The fine folks over that NoGodBlog put up an announcement about Ellen Johnson speaking on Headline News about The Golden Compass. Though I’ve been listening to the American Atheist’s podcast I haven’t actually seen her on TV, so I figured why the hell not? I taped the two hour show she was on (which included a story about a lion getting loose in Ohio…comedy gold!), and caught it this morning.
Bill Donahue from the Catholic League accuses Atheists of being bigots. Especially these days. The funny thing about it is that in his saying such he was showing how much of a Bigot he is. He also likes to dodge any serous questions, such as the accusation that the Bible promotes hatred toward gays by trying to talk about adultery. Pathetic, really.
Ellen Johnson earned a lot of respect in her retort to Bill Johnson’s comment: “Now, if there were a series of books out there promoting how horrible gays are and then they made a movie based off of it, is anybody in their right mind telling me that gays wouldn’t rightfully object?”
“Well, let me get back to what you just said, Bill. There is such a book, it’s called The Bible. It says that homosexuality an abomination and in Leviticus that gays should be put to death.”
Huzzah!
So far reading through the books I have found that if Pullman casts religion in a bad light he certainly isn’t saying anything that is untrue. Yeah, everything with the church isn’t rosy. We know this. While some people like Bill Donahue like to stick their heads in the sand about it, it isn’t going to make it go away. Yes the church has tortured and killed people, yes the church wants to take over the entire world, and yes the church has perpetrated acts of abduction, violence, mutilation, and rape against children. I find it funny that he says he is trying to protect children in the name of the organization that has, and still does, perpetrate such things against them - especially rape, which seems to be the modern hallmark of the Church in the United States. He may find a children’s book objectionable, but I find covering up the rape of children at the hands of priests objectionable.
I guess Bill Donahue is concerned that some Atheists are negative about the church, but so far I haven’t seen any reason why they shouldn’t be.
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November 21st, 2007 at 10:39 am
(Web Comics)
Most who read web comics have at least heard reference to Bunny by Lem Davies. It is one of those comics that has a nice mixture of funny and geeky. Sometimes it is a little too smart for itself, but all said I look forward to it popping up in my RSS (the link for Bunny’s RSS is here). That reminds me. I have to pull that one out of my Comic Alert! feed and start using his own RSS to free up a little space for something else.
All said I think the best thing with Bunny is that they aren’t overly wordy as some tend to be. Reading Bunny is a nice, quick, pleasurable experience. Just what you need on a dreary day like the one we’re having in Buffalo today.
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November 21st, 2007 at 10:28 am
(Science)
So it appears that British scientists found the fossilized claw for a giant sea scorpion in some 390 million year old rocks. And by giant I mean eight feet long (the whole bug…not the claw). I find it simply amazing the things we manage to dig up. A lot of people are more interested in dinosaurs, but personally giant insects interest me a lot more since the little ones we have today are so fascinating. This one, though, was a lot bigger than any of the giant roach or millipede fossils I’ve seen pictures of.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m very glad we don’t have too many of the big ones still running around. I guess those African millipedes I see from time to time at the pet store are the biggest ones next to full-sized mantises. Those are plenty big enough for my taste. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have to spray for cat sized roaches, much less ones that are bigger than I am. 
The original news story on Yahoo.com.
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November 19th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
(Politics)
Following the Buffalo Bills’ rather sound defeat at the hands of the Patriots yesterday I’ve gotten quite a earful about various interpretations of sportsmanship and whatnot pertaining to the game and the Patriots in general.
Thinking about it this whole thing reminds me of how the rest of the world must view the US. They’re viewed by most as being on top, but then they’re such a bunch of dickholes about it everybody is just waiting for the inevitable fall. Of course the fact that the team in question is called the Patriots really adds something to the comparission.
Not that I know much about it…I don’t really watch sports much anymore. 
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