Letterman v. McCain rages on

Hope Dave's grudge ends soon. Specifically after Nov. 5.

Adding cheese to a crap sandwich

Okay, I admit the revised Senate bill for the bailout is more enticing with renewable energy incentives and a higher FDIC limit, but that's cheese on a crap sandwich in my opinion. Cheese does make everything taste better but it's still crap. But then again, it might be enough to turn the bailout into a cheese sandwich with crap. We'll see.

A progressive bailout

Despite what John McCain says, I'm still calling it a bailout, but that doesn't mean I'm against it. I was definitely against the particular bailout proposed by Bush, but a more intelligent package, one that recognizes the flaws that led to the problem, such as Dean Baker's approach, would earn my support.

Mysterious stuff? On Fringe? No way!

First things first

"The first thing I would do is say, 'Let's not call it a bailout. Let's call it a rescue," McCain told CNN. -- That's straight-talk, maverick-style!

McCain loves bailouts

"Senator John McCain is in favor of the bailout. He loves bailouts — he bailed out on me." -- David Letterman. Yep, still pissed.

House drops crappy bill

The House voted against a plan by President Bush to put hundreds of billions of dollars in the hands of his treasury secretary. It is impossible to gauge whether it was the wise decision, but given Bush's track record of being wrong on everything, I'd prefer we not take our chances on this bill.

Here I Am: Ledo Pizza Sterling

I am at
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=39.036795,+-77.408016

McCain invents time travel

Winning a debate that hasn't happened yet is pretty impressive. Congrats. Or should I say "Mission Accomplished!"

Honey seals cat-inflicted wounds

Bailout looks even worse up close

Read through the transcript of Bush's address from last night to review the details. Some key points. 1. He expects us to make back all the tax dollars invested. Last I checked, an investment that breaks even sucks. Why not just stuff it under the mattress? 2. His stated goal is to maintain the ease with which we can borrow money. Isn't easy credit a core problem of this mess?

Smarter than you think

I went to bed last night with a piece of grit in my brain. This morning I awoke with a pearl. T-Mobile is receiving praise for doing the smart thing and dropping their 1GB limit on 3G. Actually, as I realized this morning, their only claim is that it's no longer in their policy statement, and they even left the door open to include it later. Basically they're being praised for being less transparent. Smart move? I'd call it masterful.

Biden fuels my hot streak

Sometimes I hate being right, like when I commented that Joe Biden has a poor grasp on when he should shut up. Well, he's reinforcing that with his comments on clean coal and an Obama attack ad. Good man, but damn, you got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em.

I'm on fire today!

I'll be spilling ink on this too, but in the meantime, let it be known that Pandora is now running banner ads on their iPhone app, in a manner much as I suggested they should. You're welcome.

I'm nailing the analyses

A few days ago, I commented on Lifehacker that the differences in hardware for Android, Google mobile OS, would be a deterrent for developers, and I cited Trism as an app that wouldn't work for all phones. Today, word is out that the developer of Trism is quitting his job to work full-time on Trism and doesn't want the hassles of porting it to Android. Surprising.

More on broken iPhone adapter

Tracked down the guy who posted that photo to his Twitter page. Seems to have been his only mention about it.

Photo of a broken iPhone power adapter

Since news of the iPhone power adapter recall broke, I've been wondering why I hadn't read anything about broken prongs before. I finally tracked down a photo... from four weeks ago. Four weeks and no one pursued this story? Is this the only one?

Must be mushroom season

Free iPhone 3G power adapter

Apple just issued a recall on their new iPhone 3G power adapters. They say to return the old one, but I say, free adapter. I use mine everyday, but always in an extension cord or car adapter, so even if mine broke, I could easily unplug it at the source and not get shocked. C'mon Apple, free adapter.

iPhone app: Under Pressure Football

Friend of the blog Michael Venini has published an iPhone game. Will investigate further when I get home, but I thought I'd ramble it first. Here's the link:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=290528718

Palin's hacked email: irony or karma?

Poor Sarah Palin. She used Yahoo! rather than a gov't account to keep her email beyond Alaskan freedom of information laws. That in turn made her email more vulnerable to hackers who have now freed it to the Internet. Irony or karma? And now the Secret Service is trying to stuff that toothpaste back in the tube. Nice timing.

Note to self: beef up email password

Hackers broke into the Yahoo! email account Sarah Palin used for official government business. While I suspect her password was not nearly as strong as my more than 10-character, alphanumeric monster, I think I'll beef up my password nonetheless. Is 30 characters too long?

Others now thinking about sustainable sushi

More than two years into my 50-year fish boycott, others are starting to take notice of the seafood sustainability problem. Makes me hopeful I can end my boycott early.

NoVA GOP to hold ethnic unity rally

NoVA Republicans, including George Allen, will hold a "unity" rally on Saturday to build up support from ethnic minorities. I might have to attend, if only to show my support for racial unity, as demonstrated by my marriage to my white VA-born wife. Maybe they'll put us on stage and encourage everyone to follow our example... except maybe for the part about us voting for Obama.

Air Mouse for iPhone

I am so buying this when I get home...
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=289616509

Offshore drilling I can support

The House passed a measure that allows off-shore oil drilling. Way, way off-shore oil drilling. As in twice the distance Republicans wanted, where no one wants to drill. Or as Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) put it: "The drill-nothing Congress has brought a bill that says drill almost nothing." I personally favor no off-shore drilling, but almost none is good too, particularly when provisions for renewables (and against oil) are included.

John McCain: Miracle Worker

Today, one of McCain's top advisers help up a Blackberry and said, "You're looking at the miracle that John McCain helped create." It's not so much the contention that McCain helped create the Blackberry (whereas Al Gore did sponsor the legislation that lead to the Internet), but the implication that McCain can create "miracles" that has me going WTF? And since when is the Blackberry a "miracle"? By that logic, Steve Jobs is the second coming of Jesus.

Underscores in file names

I find it quite amusing how many people use underscores when naming files, which accomodates systems that break file names with spaces in them, but then stick a space before the version number, as in "DOT_RGB_FFF V2.tif". Pretty much defeats the purpose.

Width and pen defaults

Inking in the sideblog

Here I Am: Reston farmers market

I am at
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=38.968290,+-77.340213

Still not commander-in-chief yet?

Remember when Obama said he'd target al-Qaeda in Pakistan with or without Pakistani approval? McCain called the idea "naive". Turns out, in July, President Bush secretly approved this type of action. Funny how that works out.

Here I Am: Reston Animal Hospital

I am at
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=38.933006,+-77.368370

"Oh, it's you guys."

What a difference a few miles make

Stopped at Rite Aid on the way home. Getting full data here. Email, Internet, Pandora, all working even with only one bar in the store.

AT&T network down again?

Running into the same problem as last time: wifi works, wireless data does not. Earlier, I had some problems with Pandora kicking out too.

Dogs can't drive... or can they?

1 day sale on meat loaf? Kinda shady

That's one cheap tablet dock (not really)

That's one cheap iPhone dock

Network is back up

Yes, there is a data outage

I should always check the tech sites first. Turns out there is an AT&T data outage in the Northeast. I guess Reston is included.

Finally having a real iPhone connectivity problem

iPhone shows full bars in 3G and makes calls, but I'm not getting data. Works fine when I walk downstairs and connect to wifi, but nothing over 3G or EDGE. I suspect a network node is down, but there seems to be no way of knowing.

Sleeping Buddies 2

Mother Ship CE3K

Space Shuttle Enterprise

The Concorde

Enola Gay

SR-71 Blackbird

Here I Am: Udvar Hazy Air & Space Museum

I am at
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=38.912051,+-77.443314

Homer hopes for freedom

Who needs a special bowl for garbage?

Sleeping buddies

I am here: Taco Bell Reston

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=38.950803,-77.334394

A-GPS @ Plaza America Starbucks

Woot! Port replicator less than 50%

A butterfly in hand

Oatlands plantation house

I am here: Oatlands plantation

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=39.040990,-77.616949

Here I Am: Willowcroft

I am at
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=39.071470,+-77.659092

iPhone reports usage in hours

Found another quirk of my iPhone: voice usage is reported in hours and minutes. Sounds fine except service plans are in minutes only so why would I want to see hours?

A-GPS @ Northpoint Starbucks

Freshly ground & brewed 100% Kona

jk on blog comment registration

James Kendrick shot off a mini-rant against blogs that require registration before commenting. I don't like registration either, so if I run into it, I don't leave a comment; I post the commentary on my blog instead with a link back to the source.

FCC chairman wants national broadband

Finally, an FCC decision I can support. Chairman Kevin Martin has stated high-speed Internet is so important to the welfare of U.S. consumers that we can't afford not to offer it to anyone free of charge. Falls right in line with my own claims we need at least a low-cost service, like the post office is for mail delivery. Free would be even better.

Must be a lot of Sumitomos in Japan

Of all the folks you'd think would get my name right, it'd be people from Japan, but apparently the "Sumitomo" name is really dominant because I've gotten that from two different Japanese authors this week.

Platform agnosticism and the Kindle

"...why can't it figure out that I don't want a Kindle and actually resent the thing? I am not 'platform-agnostic.'" -- That quote comes from Robyn Blumner. I found it fascinating because it seems in direct contrast with the late Marc Orchant's love for the Kindle, as described on his blog Platform Agnostic. This makes me wonder if Marc's love for the device was directly connected to his tech agnosticism, something that had not occurred to me before now.

Yes! All cats eating together!

How much are those kitties in the window?

Fat cat in a little bed

Alien pod or watermelon?

Stream iTunes to your iPhone

A company called Simplify Media is offering an app to stream music from iTunes to your iPhone. Free for the first 100,000 downloaders only. Don't say I didn't tell you.

Harmony of lunch

If you support the troops...

...be aware, the troops overseas support Obama with six times the money they give to McCain. Even Ron Paul, who stopped campaigning, is pulling in more donations from the troops than McCain.

I'd like to agree with McCain on this but...

Straight-talking John McCain hit the right sentiment when he said "In the 21st Century, nations don't invade other nations", but unfortunately, nations do still invade other nations in the 21st Century, like we did - TWICE.

Homer just got vaccinated

jk on the Apple roller coaster

Both j and k at jkOnTheRun have posted entries addressing iPhone 3G issues, specifically problems with the 3G connectivity. Mine has typically been great, particularly at the office, but when I do encounter a problem, a restart fixes it. More thoughts on that later.

What's up with fake Olympic fireworks?

Of all the places I'd think could put on a real fireworks show, China would be at the top of my list, yet they added CGI fireworks effects to the Olympics opening show. Impressive that they could insert the effects into a live TV feed, but still, one would not expect fake fireworks from the home of fireworks.

Who the hell is Homer?

A friend of Tanya's aunt had a litter of kittens to give away. We offered to take one if homes could not be found. That one is Homer.

Meet Homer

Mozzarella & Portobello

I am here: Panera

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=38.958002,-77.357268

Patience and logic

Patience and logic may not be the cure for all the world's woes, but they are very effective tools when dealing with rumors about Apple (and the inevitable backlash of emotion), as demonstrated by John Gruber at Daring Fireball in his research into the iPhone app blacklist story. Oh, how I love it when patience pays off.

I am here: at the HoFo

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=38.952005,-77.348492

Even when they do nothing, Apple stirs emotions

Been hopping between jkOnTheRun and GottaBeMobile reporting on how Apple can remove apps from your iPhone. Only problem is the reports don't support this conclusion. One story appears to be a fluke. Another is a report on a possible malware disabling system. Neither indicates Apple can intentionally remove an app from an iPhone. Ah, Apple. They stir emotions even when they do nothing.

Speedtest straight from my iPhone

Speedtest via iPhone & Netshare

 

McCain gets schooled by Paris Hilton

It's a sad day in American politics when a presidential candidate not only opens himself to ridicule by the nation's favorite "dumb blonde", but gets smacked by her more intelligent retort. McCain, next time you compare Obama to someone, try to pick someone who can't make you look like an ass.

Cool Swag!

Delivery for a Mr. Sumocat

ritePen screencast part 2 coming

Part 1 of my screencast of ritePen + nirCmd is posted, but part 2 is stalled at Revver, my video sharing service. Ran into several upload problems last night. Finally completed, but it's stuck on their end. Waiting on response from them.

Here I Am - Reston UU church

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=38.962938,-77.332163

ritePen screencast recorded

I recorded the video for my promised ritePen + nirCmd screencast last night. A bit long but I think it will break nicely into two parts. Hope to edit it today.

I got Netshare!

It got pulled from the iTunes store shortly after it was posted, but
now Netshare is back up and I downloaded it over EDGE. Wish I'd
brought my tablet to try it.

Mobile blogging from Elkton

Spending the day in Elkton, as mentioned in my previous posts, so I'm
taking the opportunity to test my iPhone. Working pretty well even
without 3G. Using "Here I Am" to mark my locations. Fun.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=38.403869,-78.613830

Shameless little dog - Ginny

I am here... in Elkton

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=38.392654,-78.598587

En route to Elkton

en route to elkton

Robeks in Reston

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=38.960856,-77.355638

My iPhone AC adapter

I'm using my retractable iPod cable with my iPhone AC adapter. Very
compact. Will be useful for today's trip to Elkton.