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  1. I’m everywhere! August 31, 2004

    With the addition of the new Mac OS X release of Skype, there are now a veritable plethora of ways to get ahold of me online, should anyone be so inclined.

    Posted in Internet, Technology.

    1 comment
  2. G5 iMac August 31, 2004

    The new G5-based iMac is up on Apple’s site. Haven’t spent a ton of time on the site, yet, but first impressions are that it’s a damn impressive piece of engineering, packing all that into such a tiny little space.

    Posted in Technology.

    No comments
  3. New glasses are on the way August 30, 2004

    So I’ve got new eyeglasses on the way. Rimless, fairly small and rectangular, with very thin silver bows, and they come with a set of clip-on shades that match the shape of the lenses exactly. Prairie assures me that they look incredibly good and nearly disappear from my face, not nearly as dominating as my current pair.

    Posted in Life.

    1 comment
  4. Rent August 30, 2004

    As mentioned briefly last week, Saturday’s evening entertainment was wandering down a couple blocks to the Paramount Theatre to see Rent.

    Posted in Life, Music.

    No comments
  5. Former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes on George W. Bush August 27, 2004

    …for the Republicans to jump on John Kerry and say that he’s not a patriot, after he went to Vietnam and was shot at and fought for our freedom and came back here and protested against the war - ‘he’s a flip flopper.’ Let me tell you, John Kerry is 100 times a better patriot than George Bush or Dick Cheney or Donald Rumsfeld.

    Posted in Politics.

    9 comments
  6. The Seattle Times: Kerry for President August 27, 2004

    The Seattle Times has officially endorsed Kerry for President.

    Posted in Politics.

    8 comments
  7. Happy Anniversary! August 26, 2004

    Today is the 37th anniversary of the marriage of John Hanscom and Roberta Ward — also known quite fondly by me as Mom and Dad (though not respectively…I have an odd family, but not that odd).

    Posted in Life.

    2 comments
  8. Untrusted content, nofollow, etc. August 26, 2004

    Phil Ringnalda pointed to an idea that Ian Hickson just tossed out while brainstorming ways to battle the ever-increasing issue of comment spam. Personally, I’d love to be able to wrap the comments section of my individual entry pages in something like this — and actually, it reminds me a lot of a technique I used to use when I had my website running on my own webserver.

    Posted in Technology, Weblogs.

    4 comments
  9. A good UI is a good thing August 26, 2004

    Terrence has a review of his Nomad Zen Xtra mp3 player posted, and while it’s essentially a positive review, one line stood out to me. After having had the unit for six months and using it on what sounds like a near-daily basis, he mentions that he has ‘basically mastered the controls.’

    Posted in Music.

    6 comments
  10. I had an *rtion August 25, 2004

    More with me finding humor in places I really probably shouldn’t.

    Posted in Humor.

    1 comment
  11. Just keep calm August 25, 2004

    My, what amazingly calm passengers those planes had.

    Posted in Humor.

    No comments
  12. Cheney suddenly supports gay marriage August 25, 2004

    Talk about flip-flopping. Dick Cheney, who until now, despite having an openly lesbian daughter, has steadfastly stuck with the party line on gay marriage, suddenly seems to be a little more open-minded about the issue.

    Posted in Current Affairs.

    5 comments
  13. Upcoming events August 24, 2004

    Things that are going to be happening in the near future, things I need to get around to doing, and things that are distracting me from doing the things in the previous list.

    Posted in Life.

    3 comments
  14. To gmail or not to gmail? August 23, 2004

    So I’ve finally given in and gotten myself a gmail address. I have no idea how much I might or might not use it — I already have e-mail addresses @speakeasy.net, @myrealbox.com, and @mac.com, plus a literally infinite number of addresses available @michaelhanscom.com — but I finally figured it was worth jumping on the bandwagon.

    Posted in Life.

    1 comment
  15. Aircraft maintenance problems and solutions August 23, 2004

    AF Form 781 is aboard all Air Force aircraft to record any malfunctions so maintenance personnel can fix the problem before the next flight. Here are some of the problems (P) as posted by the aircrews and solutions (S) of the maintenance personnel to clear the write-up…

    Posted in Humor.

    1 comment
  16. But what about ‘janitor’? August 22, 2004

    …due to what is described as an ‘unfortunate error in translation,’ the Spanish version of Windows XP ‘gave users an option to select their gender from not specified, male, or ‘bitch.” Uh, whoops.

    Posted in Humor.

    No comments
  17. Hempfest 2004 August 21, 2004

    I spent some time today wandering around this year’s Hempfest. I’ve avoided this particular Seattle festival for the past few years I’ve been down here, mostly because of my personal opinions regarding pot. Today, though, I had nothing else planned, and figured it might be worth wandering down with my camera for some peoplewatching.

    Posted in Life, Photography.

    9 comments
  18. Google Talk August 21, 2004

    Jesus Christ died for our sins. BY his blood we shall be Free from defects in material and workmanship.

    Posted in Humor, Links.

    3 comments
  19. It’s only a matter of time August 20, 2004

    Citing an unstable political climate, proven stockpiles of chemical and nuclear weapons, a rigidly government-controlled media, and the need to confront emerging threats in a timely fashion, President George W. Bush announced today that the United States has launched a full-scale invasion of the United States.

    Posted in Humor, Politics.

    No comments
  20. Let’s do the time warp again… August 20, 2004

    I would so love living in a building when after riding the elevator to the 4th floor, you got off and asked, not where you were, but when you were. Unfortunately, I’m afraid it’s nothing more than an amusing typo.

    Posted in Humor, Photography.

    No comments
  21. Schwarzkopf avoids endorsing Bush August 19, 2004

    Four years ago, retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf enthusiastically endorsed George W. Bush in his presidential bid. This year, however, ‘Stormin” Norman appears to be singing a different tune. On Tuesday’s Hardball television show, host Chris Matthews tried to sound out who Schwarzkopf would be voting for.

    Posted in Politics.

    No comments
  22. Preaching to the Choir August 19, 2004

    More of Bush and company applying his ridiculously nearsighted ‘if you’re not with us, you’re against us’ policy to his own constituents. It’s very clear now: if you’re not a raving fan, you have no business being anywhere near the President of the United States.

    Posted in Politics.

    1 comment
  23. Just stop already! August 17, 2004

    If this actually gets made, I just hope they all die. No resurrections. No sequels. There obviously isn’t anything more that can actually be done with any of the characters that actually involves any amount of creativity, so just let them die already.

    Posted in Film.

    7 comments
  24. Costco Caskets? August 16, 2004

    This is just silly: in case you’re looking to save a few bucks while shopping for the latest death in the family, you can now pick up coffins at Costco.

    Posted in Links.

    10 comments
  25. M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village August 16, 2004

    A few weeks ago, Prairie and I went out to see M. Night Shyamalan’s latest, The Village. I’ve been holding off on writing about it for a bit, as I wanted to let it rumble around in my head for a bit. However, after turning it over in my head for a while, I’m pretty sure that I can stand by my first impression — The Village is by far my favorite of Shyamalan’s films.

    Posted in Film.

    13 comments