June 21, 2004
Bill Clinton: My Life
The other Mr. Bill has a big new book and even better blog.
Bonus: President 42 demonstrates rail safety:
From www.clintonpresidentialcenter.org/photo-gallery.php?theme=portraits&pg=0&i=127.
March 31, 2004
google redesign vs self cache
This week's google interfacelift removed some tabs.
Forgot what the google looked like before the facelift ?
View the google cache.
(As a pedant I observe google disowns its own cache.)
Click on thumbnail for pop-up enlargement.
Yes, I use tabs.
Previously about Google:
google is sixth brand
google adverts' contextual dissonance
better google rankings
brand yourself with google
google spell checking finds the mode
silly google searches
...
all previous posts on google
February 25, 2004
Truth in marketing: Subaru diagnostic guide
A vocabulary for describing your Subaru. Refreshing candor from
corporate publications.
Does your vehicle produce any of these sounds?
Noise Description
Boom Thunder, drum
Buzz Low-pitched, like a bee
Chatter Rapidly repeating metallic sound
Chirp High-pitched, birdlike
Clang Loud single metallic sound, not repetitive
Click Ballpoint pen; depressing the keys on a computer keyboard
Grind Abrasive; metal on metal
Growl Low-pitched rumble
Hiss Air escaping
Hum Hummingbird; various pitches
Knock Repetitive heavy sound; knocking on a door
Ping High-pitched knock
Rattle Marbles in a can
Roar Deep, prolonged, like timpani
Rumble Rolling thunder
Squeak High-pitched; hinge that needs oil
Squeal High-pitched, continuous
Tap Light repetitive sound, similar to a click
Whine High-speed electric motor
Whistle Shrill, sharp tea kettle
Does your vehicle produce any of these odors?
Odor Description
Antifreeze/coolant Sweet odor
Electrical short Acrid
Emissions Sulfur, rotten eggs
Gasoline Gasoline vapors
Oil Heavy odor, usually accompanied by smoke
Overheated friction material Burnt smell (brakes/clutch)
Overheating Sweet smell accompanied by steam
Does your vehicle produce any of these movements?
Feeling Description
Brake fades Feeling of losing stopping ability
Drifts Slight, continuous movement to the side
Grabs Sudden engagement of brakes when applied
Hesitation Lack of response to gas pedal pressure
Low pedal Unusual pedal travel before brakes engage
Play Looseness, lack of response to steering wheel
Pulls Moves sharply to the side
Shimmy Rapid side to side
Spongy Soft, unresponsive
Surge Speeding up and slowing down with no gas pedal movement
Sway Soft side-to-side movement
Vibration Quick shaking feeling in seat or steering wheel
Does your vehicle produce any of these visible signs?
Observation Description
Axle grease leak Heavy, dark stain/puddle
Antifreeze/coolant leak Sweet smelling, greenish stain/puddle
Engine oil Brown stain/puddle
Power steering fluid leak Red oil stain/puddle
Smoke Black, white, etc.
Check engine light Steady, intermittent
Unusual gauge reading Outside of “normal” range
November 16, 2003
Y0UNG-HAE CHANG HEAVY
Y0UNG-HAE CHANG HEAVY INDUSTRIES'
flash videos remind me of Bob Dylan's
Subterranean Homesick Blues.
Examples: 1, 2, showcase fast paced
text over sultry Nina Simone vocals.
October 06, 2003
s/sense/stop/
Woodbridge Crossing Wooded Frk ?
That's how some direct mailer approximated a neighbor's address.
August 01, 2003
Doors Closing, AirTrain, SFO
SFO's new AirTrain.
Doors are closing.
Stand clear of the mechanism. [PhotoFriday].
April 18, 2003
Lady Madonna
I searched for sex worker in the NYT, and the first
match was Madonna. Why search for sex worker ?
Excerpts from the review of the Material girl:
As she blankets the media yet again, Madonna is the exact opposite of a
politician striving to stay "on message." Madonna's priority is to keep people
watching whatever she does; she maintains a presence, not a message.
...
A few weeks ago, Madonna withdrew her original "American Life" video
because, she said, she was worried that it might be misinterpreted during
wartime. It had intercut a fashion show of camouflage fantasies with images of
bombs and destruction, and it ended with Madonna tossing a grenade that was
caught by a George W. Bush look-alike. He opened the top — it turned out to be
a cigarette lighter — and nonchalantly lighted a cigar.
Madonna told VH1 that the video, made before the war with Iraq, was meant
to insist that viewers should "stop being distracted by all of your entertainment"
and try to avert a war. Having the grenade turn out to be harmless was, she
said, "wishful thinking, symbolically, that we could find a different way to deal
with our conflicts with Iraq." But the video could also have been seen as a Bush
endorsement (he could bravely defuse a grenade) or a callous equation of
dancing and preening with bombings.
...
The music of "American Life" continues Madonna's collaboration with the
ingenious French producer Mirwais Ahmadzai, who produced the album "Music"
in 2000. It uses a similar mixture of acoustic guitar-picking, ticking drum
machines and swooping, buzzing synthesizer lines. The guitar signals the
sincerity of a singer-songwriter, while all the gizmos add the retro catchiness of
the synth-pop music now being revived under the name electroclash.
Bigger screenshot:
April 10, 2003
Correction: liberal weenies
An article in Business Day yesterday about the influence of Rupert Murdoch on the
News Corporation's properties misidentified the Fox News Channel commentator
who accused competitors of dwelling on casualties in Iraq and misstated the term
he used for them. He was Fred Barnes, not Bill O'Reilly; he called the competitors
"weenies," not "liberal weenies". New York Times 2003 April 08.
March 30, 2003
Interstate bugs
A few species of rare bugs are found only within two counties in Texas.
Therefore, they are regulated as interstate commerce. A nice way to
start a career.
The Bee Creek Cave Harvestman, the Bone Creek Harvestman, and the Tooth
Cave Pseudoscorpion are subterranean, eyeless arachnids (arthropods bearing four
pairs of legs and no antennae); they range in size from 1.4 to 4 mm. The Tooth
Cave Spider, a subterranean arachnid with eyes, measures 1.6 mm in length. The
Tooth Cave Ground Beetle and the Kretschmarr Cave Mold Beetle are subterranean
insects, the latter being eyeless; they vary in size from 3 to 8 mm..
Noted in appellateblog, and Greenlaw.