Passed along by Mashable, a video that’s worth watching today.
“I made this song using only sounds from Apple products and Steve’s 2005 Stanford commencement speech. Every instrument, including drums, has been sampled from a Mac product, tuned by ear, and replayed in the context of the song.”
I saw those weirdo “Impeach Obama” guys at the corner of Golf and Roselle again on my way home. Took a picture of the guy (sorry for bad quality, blown up from mirror shot) talking and laughing with the guy behind me. The driver actually gave money to this… Bozo. They must travel around the area with their little signs and clipboards – here’s a story from a while back:
The middle-aged man hoisting an “Impeach Obama” poster appeared to be intelligent, level-headed, and sincere. But the fliers he handed out at the intersection of US 30 and Mississippi Street in Merrillville sort of defeated his efforts.
They showed a large image of President Obama – sporting a Hitler mustache – under the headline, “WHY OBAMA MUST BE IMPEACHED.”
The flier, dated Feb. 7, 2010, was created by the (Lyndon H.) LaRouche Political Action Committee, a well-known organization for such materials.
The man handing them out seemed eager to give me the flier and even more eager to take my name and phone number before I had to speed away to make the green light.
I’ll let you know what his staffers tell me when they call. Stay tuned. In the meantime, does anybody take these people seriously?
These same affable, slightly kooky middle-aged guys were at the intersection of Golf and Roselle again today, complete with the Hitlerized Obama picture on the front of the sandwich boards they wore. On the front, it read “IMPEACH OBAMA he is a socialist!” (in what appears to be Comic Sans) and on the back it read “Obama is a cracker.”
I locked my door and shook my head as he went by, but he hit pay dirt with the car behind me – the driver was very jolly as he handed over some cash! I kept hollering “Are you kidding me? are you KIDDING me with this?” but fortunately for my blood pressure the light turned green. They were still talking and laughing behind me, as horns started to honk.
They’ve been out there before, but hadn’t seen them in months. I suppose today’s passage of START and the signing ceremony of DADT was enough to put them over the edge again.
I promise to get a better picture next time. That picture of Obama makes me feel sick to my stomach.
Because the Christian Science Monitor is not that into it, frankly.
I’ve visited AA.com a number of times recently, and here we are at the gate waiting to board the London flight. In coach, because I didnt have elite mileage status (and being a travel agent is actually negative status mojo these days).
I agree that AA.com is ugly, hard to navigate, and nearly impossible to use. And I also agree that RyanAir has them beat for ugly, diffuculty of use, and likelihood that it’ll time out while you’re reading terms and accepting policies. Ugh.
On the other hand, WE’RE HEADED TO LONDON but will keep in touch with family.
Posted with the iPhone, barely
1. American Airlines
The website design expert’s opinion on the major airline’s homepage is blunt:
“It looks like a government form. Believe it or not, American Airlines’ site stresses me out just by looking at it,” says Gabriel Shaoolian, CEO of Blue Fountain Media, a website design company with clients such as Nike, United Nations, and Harper Collins Publishers. “It looks like it was created 15 years ago.”
The airline’s static homepage comes off even worse once compared to those of its competitors, JetBlue.com or United.com for example. Both have more relaxed designs – less clutter and easier on the eyes color schemes.
Planning a flight can already be a harrowing experience. Add to that an unappealing interface and users may subconsciously avoid purchasing from American Airlines.
via 4 ugly websites from companies that should know better – American Airlines – CSMonitor.com.
Adobe Flash is officially banned from Apple iOS software. So does that mean you can’t view Flash content on your iPhone or iPad? Well, not exactly. Beginning at 9 a.m. on Thursday morning – mark your calendars – the Apple Store will reportedly begin selling a $2.99 app called Skyfire, which effectively lets iPhone and iPad users perform an end-run around the Flash ban.
via How to get Adobe Flash on your iPhone and iPad – CSMonitor.com.
No matter the beauty flaw, there’s a tool to roll it away.
Nose too fat? There’s a roller for that.
Jowls dangling? Roll them away.
Cheeks sagging? Roll them up.
Cottage cheese thighs? Roll them bye-bye.
Thank goodness I can get some at the local Japanese supermarket for a variety of dry skin needs!
Not that much to see yet, I’ve just installed a new video plugin called “Smart You Tube,” by Vladimir Prelovac, the designer of the WordPress theme I use, Amazing Grace. I need to make a note so that I remember to add the “v” to the URL so that it works correctly. If it DOES work, this will make it a lot easier and more fun to share videos here (especially via the iPhone, as this plugin is supposed to work with them).
To use the video in your posts, paste YouTube video URL with httpv:// (notice the ‘v’).
Important: The URL should just be copied into your post normally and the letter ‘v’ added, do not create a clickable link!
Example:
(Added: Substituted this vid of baby otter Sydney just stone cold being all cute. Because of the otter cutness.)
If you want to embed High/HD Quality video use httpvh:// instead (Video High Defintion).
(Added: Holy Moly! The farce is strong in this one.)
To embed playlists use httpvp:// (eg. httpvp://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=528026B4F7B34094)Smart Youtube also supports migrated blogs from WordPress.com using [youtube=youtubeadresss]
* httpv:// – regular video
* httpvh:// – high/HD quality
* httpvp:// – playlist
* [youtube=youtubeadresss] – supported for blogs migrated from wordpress.com
About an hour ago I booked a tentative reservation at HawaiiConnection.com. Within 5 minutes of submitting, res manager Ed called me to say the email was on its way. WOW. Service!
Hawaii Connection
Thank you for visiting the Hawaii Connection web site. Our company was founded in 1978 and 2009 celebrates our 31st year in business. We represent more than 125 condominiums and hotels on the four major Islands in Hawaii of Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii.
Our website utilizes advanced pricing technology so that you will always receive the best rate, promotions and offers available.
When you call us, you will be talking with a specialist who has visited the properties and has first-hand knowledge of the properties. In 2009, our specialists average almost 14 years of experience each so you can always find someone who can answer a question from first-hand experience.
Our company has served hundreds of thousands of our loyal customers over the past 31 years in Hawaii. Since we were asked to take our first reservation back in 1978, we strive every day to make sure that the Hawaii condo, hotel or suite that you are booking will allow you to have a memorable vacation and book with us again next year.
I’ve used this website, www.hawaiiconnection.com, at least 4 or 5 times in the past to book my own vacation condo rentals. I haven’t been in vacation travel in nearly a decade, but I would totally use this site for my bookings if I were. It may look old-school with lots of text and small photos, but it’s fast, easy to use, and a snap if you really know your clientele and have a good grasp of Hawaiian hotel and condo properties, locations, and relative comparisons. They don’t require a deposit right away, although we will have to be under deposit within 10 days and prepay in full at least 45 days prior.
ALL PAYMENTS FOR ALL CONDOMINIUMS, HOTELS AND CAR RENTALS MUST BE MADE TO HAWAII CONNECTION (NOT to the properties). Payment can be by check (only if received 21 or more days in advance), certified check or by credit card. We offer a 3% discount for payment by check. Please deduct the 3% discount when sending payment. We will need a signature before we can disburse vouchers. Late booking fees may apply. Vouchers can only be mailed to the address of record of the credit card holder.
…
Cancellation policies vary widely with each property. A good general rule is a three night cancellation penalty. We will let you know at the time of booking if a stricter penalty is enforced. A full refund of all monies paid is generally available if cancellation is made 45 days prior to scheduled arrival (Christmas holiday period by October 1). No shows and early departure refunds are solely at the discretion of the management companies. Condominium programs, however, are NOT like hotel programs in that the condominium that has been reserved for you has been set aside. The owner of the unit depends on the reservations for his unit income, and the management company may be required by contractual agreement with the owner to offer no refund. All refund decisions by us are final.
They offer a 3% discount to anyone paying in full by check rather than credit card – nothing to sneeze at if you are staying long-term. Popular properties, even in this economy, can book out far in advance of prime whale-watching season. I’ll know more about cancellation policies for the property we’ve selected (actually, that we’ve stayed at before) once I get the confirmation email.
Which, holy cow, has already arrived. Very impressive. I think that if I can swing the vacation bid process to convince my teammates at work to let me have the dates (I will let them know we’ll have to be under deposit) this may work. Problem is, I’m the last person to go through the bid process as the newest member of my relatively small team, so I’ll have to get their cooperation for this to work.
But, with luck, we’ll be Maui-bound in February. And as the weather this year has been cool and wet, the local lore seems to forecast a really cold and wet winter.
We went to a really fun event last night at a friend’s home – he and his girlfriend had a luau theme party and it was a great time. This, naturally, motivated me to check availability and get a gut-check; our favorite condo property wasn’t showing any availability for the time we wanted to be there on the first few sites I checked. But then I fell back on HawaiiConnection.com and of course they had the space (they must block space or something, they always have space at a selection of reasonable properties).
And of course, I did the whole thing on the iPhone. This technology still continues to amaze me.
@93XRT just played two excellent songs bookending a great Lin’s Bin podcast celebrating their station manager’s 30th anniversary. I just wish Shazam’s iPhone app could send custom tweets.
WXRT – 8/28/09: Norm’s Anniversary
There doesn’t seem to be a way to customize the tweets when using the Shazam iPhone app – I wish I could vary the text from “I used Shazam to discover…” And so, I won’t be using Shazam to send tweets very often, because frequent, robotic auto-posts get really annoying really fast.
… they’re the American uniform at home and abroad.
UPDATE: Just wanted to add what inspired this:
And Far Away | Footwear that should be burned and buried
The way American tourists dress drives me crazy. Khaki shorts, worn-out and drab-colored t-shirt (or shirt), and the infamous sandlas, often with socks. Damn. It’s as if this “uniform” comes stamped out with their visas. I’ve never been to the US so I don’t know if that’s how they dress in their daily lives, but I sure hope not.
Yes, well, many Americans dress like this in our daily lives, because it’s easy, cheap, and comfortable. I was amused by And Far Away’s post, because it was totally true and funny. I actually wore khaki shorts to work today with those gawd-awful green Tevas, because we’re pretty casual at my office (especially in summer). As it happens, I was glad I had some water-friendly shoes on as I left (ON TIME for the first time this week) as it was raining pretty hard.
It actually felt nice to be out in shorts and sandals on a warm, wet evening. I got rain between my toes and thought about how fun it would be to run around without the umbrella, and just stomp in puddles like a little kid without a care. This propensity by Americans to run around stomping in puddles like a little kid without a care has gotten us into trouble before (see Bride, The Princess: Land War in Asia).
Not all of us can be fashionable people. Our neighbors to the North, Canada, routinely go out wearing much more stylish clothing than we do, especially on summer weekends, even before nightfall! Yet we Americans do not -we will go out to dinner so casually dressed that no one will look twice as we show up at a restaurant in what charitably could be described as “leisure” wear. I myself can’t stand to shop for clothes, and have very, VERY limited options in my closet for “dressing up.” So I “go casual” because it’s a lot less stress, angst, and self-loathing.
See those lumpy, bolsterlike structures up above my shoes and below my shorts? Those, my friends and robots, are my knees. Below them, if you care to look, are my cankles. There’s really no point in spending a lot of money on attractive shoes that draw attention to one’s cankles, is there? Especially if high arches require orthotic supports be worn in order to avoid extra foot, knee, and back pain. Sure, I’m now in my second week of avoiding processed sugar, reducing portions, and drinking lots of water. And I had a good workout last night at the health club, walked 2 miles with no major foot problems. So maybe I’ll be able to improve the look of my cankles with weight loss in a few months, and think about buying something nice to wear. Maybe.
I do have some nice slacks and tops that I bought for last year’s England/Ireland trip, and in fact I didn’t take a pair of jeans with me. Which is TOTALLY WEIRD, if you ask me. And then on a recent weekend trip, I once again didn’t take a pair of jeans. But I did take khaki shorts (sure, they’re big and roomy, and comfortable to walk in). And I took the Tevas, because they have some arch support as they’re built on a kind of hard-shelled chassis. My feet start to ache if I wear the older pair, the ones with soft soles and no support.
So I’m afraid that I, at least, will continue to wear the American leisure uniform of Fashion Slack. After being traumatized by watching too many episodes of What Not To Wear that never featured pear-shaped be-cankled women such as myself, I concluded that there’s just no point in bothering with fashion when you’re up against a multitude of competing figure faults in a weird size that’s too big for regular size clothing but too small for “queen size.” Comfort rules! Although I do avoid unflattering clothing as much as possible (I took that much away from WNTW), I just won’t wear uncomfortable shoes, no matter how fashionable they may be.
Like And Far Away, I think extra-long, extra-pointy shoes for either women or men are just one big steaming pile of NO. The examples from there were entertaining, but I recently encountered shoes too bizarre for real life:
See, I actually own an outfit a lot like this in Second Life – short plaid skirt, kitty tail and ears, braided hair. It’s kind of a common look on SL, that I like to call “Neko Schoolgirl.” I do like to dress up more in SL, because it’s…
wait for it…
… cheap, easy, and comfortable. You just click on an item, or a folder of items, in your game inventory, and presto! you’re wearing different clothes (or sometimes a body of a different species). It’s fun “shopping” for stuff to wear or attach (I don’t mean anything like THOSE sort of attachments).
But what is with those crazy instruments of torture on her feet?? They’re like platform shoes gone ballistic, or ballet shoes with buttresses. That’s just… so very wrong. Also, the claws and crouching pose are slightly disturbing.
Strangely though… I don’t think I’ve ever seen truly baggy khaki shorts and virtual Tevas for sale in Second Life, even in the most American of shops. Guess we’re not willing to look like slobs if it’s just as cheap, easy and comfortable to be stylish.
Ginny
I can has iPhone?
Via: Flickr
Title: Shorts And Sports Sandals
By: GinnyRED57
Originally uploaded: 19 Aug ’09, 7.10pm CDT PST