Ramblings
March 31, 2003
Refrigerator Stuff, part 2
This was taken from a plane's safety card. The picture of the "child" and the look on his face just made me laugh so much, I had to take it and put it on our fridge. And on a mug. (You might have also seen this on Airtoons.)
This was taken from a plane's safety card. The picture of the "child" and the look on his face just made me laugh so much, I had to take it and put it on our fridge. And on a mug. (You might have also seen this on Airtoons.)
March 30, 2003
Refrigerator Stuff, part 1
While getting a tasty beverage yesterday, I noticed that we have some pretty weird things on our refrigerator. So I figured, why not scan some in and put them here?
This first entry is not really wacky: it's the latest ultrasound Jill had taken last month. This is also my first mention of this on the site: Jill's pregnant and due in mid-July! ("The world must be peopled...")
While getting a tasty beverage yesterday, I noticed that we have some pretty weird things on our refrigerator. So I figured, why not scan some in and put them here?
This first entry is not really wacky: it's the latest ultrasound Jill had taken last month. This is also my first mention of this on the site: Jill's pregnant and due in mid-July! ("The world must be peopled...")
March 29, 2003
Despite a little snow in the forecast, it looks like spring is finally here. And today was what I've been waiting all winter for: it's the first time I was able to spend some significant time in the garden. For the most part it was just cleaning branches from the yard and raking the gardens, but it was great to see the tulips, crocuses, and yellow-tipped daffodils making their way up. I was even treated to a little early color, thanks to some violets.
Also, we're the only people in the neighborhood with any snow left, thanks to a good-sized pile at the end of our driveway that never gets sun this time of year. So if anyone on our street wants to have one last snowball fight, you're on!
Also, we're the only people in the neighborhood with any snow left, thanks to a good-sized pile at the end of our driveway that never gets sun this time of year. So if anyone on our street wants to have one last snowball fight, you're on!
Labels: gardening
Saw Ted Leo & the Pharmacists at the Middle East last night, and despite the fact that Ted starting to lose his voice near the end of the show, it was great. Perhaps a little late for an old fart like me, but well worth the loss of sleep. (And maybe it's not my place to say, but am I the only one who thinks his drummer isn't, shall I say, the best?)
March 27, 2003
IL law will punish slow drivers
And one of the things about Italian drivers that I noticed most — and sorely missed after only a day or two back in the States — was that they understood that the right lane was for travelling and the left lane was for passing. It made driving so much easier (OK, so Jill actually did all the driving...) and if it takes a law to get American drivers to understand obvious traffic rules, so be it.
Slowpokes in the left lane might have to pay for holding up traffic, under a bill passed in the Illinois House.That is fantastic, and I can only hope that Massachusetts will do the same. While in Italy last year I couldn't help but notice that while Italian (especially Roman) drivers are quite aggressive and borderline maniacal, there was a certain order to the traffic patterns. What seems like total chaos to an outsider (like me) probably makes perfect sense to Italians — after all, the traffic did keep moving, and damaged & dented cars were a surprisingly rare sight.
And one of the things about Italian drivers that I noticed most — and sorely missed after only a day or two back in the States — was that they understood that the right lane was for travelling and the left lane was for passing. It made driving so much easier (OK, so Jill actually did all the driving...) and if it takes a law to get American drivers to understand obvious traffic rules, so be it.
March 26, 2003
Well, that's some unusual spam I got today: The subject is "Had difficulty collecting an insurance claim?" But the first thing I see in the email is a graphic that says "You need child custody!" I don't quite see the connection there.
And although it appears that the email is from a law firm -- with, no doubt, a suspect reputation -- it includes the note "You are receiving this email as a member of Rocket Entertainment" (which I most certainly am not). But the kicker is the final line in the email's footer:
And although it appears that the email is from a law firm -- with, no doubt, a suspect reputation -- it includes the note "You are receiving this email as a member of Rocket Entertainment" (which I most certainly am not). But the kicker is the final line in the email's footer:
"`This must be Thursday,' said Arthur to himself, sinking low over his beer, `I never could get the hang of Thursdays.'"Uh ... what?
March 24, 2003
Well, that's disappointing. While riding with Brian this weekend, I shot a roll of film of him -- not trying to get anything in particular, but just to get back into shooting again, and maybe get a cool photo or two out of it.
Instead, I got nothing. Zilch. A disappointing pile of 24 photos. (OK, one of the non-riding photos wasn't total garbage...) It just proves that I still need a lot of practice. (I made some stupid mistakes on this roll -- I should've known better.)
So the next day I went to my mom's -- along with Brian, who doesn't go anywhere without his bike -- and was fooling around with my digital camera. And while the photo here isn't the best photo I've ever taken, it was better than anything from the day before. And it didn't cost a thing for film and developing...
March 23, 2003
Spring seems to finally be here in New England, and I for one couldn't be happier. Yesterday Brian came up to ride -- it was good to get out on my bike again (only the second time since November). But the real reason I'm ready for spring (much to B's dismay) isn't riding, but to start gardening again. None of my bulbs have started poking through the ground yet, but this week I had a spring surprise of sorts with a small Japanese maple from my grandfather's.
The tree wasn't doing well last year anywhere in my yard, so I put it in the basement for the winter ... and sort of forgot about it. Finally remembering it again (and assuming it dead), I checked on it and was happy to find new growth. So in a month or so I'll take another shot at finding it a permanent home in the yard.
The tree wasn't doing well last year anywhere in my yard, so I put it in the basement for the winter ... and sort of forgot about it. Finally remembering it again (and assuming it dead), I checked on it and was happy to find new growth. So in a month or so I'll take another shot at finding it a permanent home in the yard.
March 20, 2003
Well, this is timely (regarding my last post):
Deflating the fear (Christian Science Monitor)
Deflating the fear (Christian Science Monitor)
High on everyone's list of practical steps to reduce fear is this advice: Go on a media diet! ...
"The broadcast media wants to get people's attention, and the way to do that psychologically is to make people anxious," says Mr. Gerzon, author of "Finding Serenity in an Age of Anxiety." "Stay informed but in a way that doesn't fill your mind with images of catastrophe on a daily basis."
According to Barry Glassner, professor of sociology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Americans have long been afraid of the wrong things because of distortions by the media and politicians. His studies in the 1990s showed, for example, that Americans had exaggerated fears about crime when the crime rate was declining and about drug use by young people when such use was at record lows.
The print media have done a good job on the terrorism problem, he says, but TV's nonstop, repetitive news coverage whips up fears. And, he adds, "I haven't yet heard any reasonable explanation from government officials about why the general public should be put on high alert when they can take no specific actions."
A few weeks ago Jill & I finally saw Bowling For Columbine, which was an excellent and entertaining movie (or film or documentary or whatever you want to call it). Yes, Michael Moore was fully "on" and he can be annoying at times, but that's his style and it works. If you're a right-winger and/or a gun-loving NRA member (surprising fact: Michael Moore himself is a member), you may not appreciate Bowling For Columbine (or, were I an optimist, perhaps you would).
But the movie isn't just about guns in America. I found it to be more about how Americans live in a state of contant fear, partially brought on by our sensationalist and alarmist media. The comparison between America and Canada -- even cities like Detroit and Windsor, separated only by a river -- was quite interesting. The difference between American and Canadian news is worlds apart as well. And while all of society's fears and problems can't be blamed on TV and TV news, it definitely plays a part.
Which brings me to my point (of sorts): While I like to be informed on what's going on in the world, I've been purposely avoiding the news on TV, including (or, perhaps, especially) the 24-hour war coverage. (You just know CNN and everyone else were just dying to show off their new kick-ass "Showdown with Iraq" graphics!) And after the past few weeks of this, I'm already feeling less stressed and fearful. So no, I didn't know about the mysterious new killer flu that's appearing around the world. Do I really need to know about it? While I'm not going to crawl into a cave and ignore the problems of the world, I don't need to pile on more things to worry about that I have no control over and, statistically and realistically, won't affect me. I feel common sense will get me through life better than fear.
So no more TV news for me ... other than the weather and the Red Sox (relatively harmless subjects). I'll get my news from other sources. (OK, I still turn on the morning news -- old habits die hard. But at least it's not channel 7's infotainment!)
But the movie isn't just about guns in America. I found it to be more about how Americans live in a state of contant fear, partially brought on by our sensationalist and alarmist media. The comparison between America and Canada -- even cities like Detroit and Windsor, separated only by a river -- was quite interesting. The difference between American and Canadian news is worlds apart as well. And while all of society's fears and problems can't be blamed on TV and TV news, it definitely plays a part.
Which brings me to my point (of sorts): While I like to be informed on what's going on in the world, I've been purposely avoiding the news on TV, including (or, perhaps, especially) the 24-hour war coverage. (You just know CNN and everyone else were just dying to show off their new kick-ass "Showdown with Iraq" graphics!) And after the past few weeks of this, I'm already feeling less stressed and fearful. So no, I didn't know about the mysterious new killer flu that's appearing around the world. Do I really need to know about it? While I'm not going to crawl into a cave and ignore the problems of the world, I don't need to pile on more things to worry about that I have no control over and, statistically and realistically, won't affect me. I feel common sense will get me through life better than fear.
So no more TV news for me ... other than the weather and the Red Sox (relatively harmless subjects). I'll get my news from other sources. (OK, I still turn on the morning news -- old habits die hard. But at least it's not channel 7's infotainment!)
March 19, 2003
I'm not going to be commenting on the Iraq situation (at least I don't plan to), but Jason Kottke has some well-thought-out thoughts on the war.
March 17, 2003
I don't know why this cracks me up so much. Jeff was kind enough to send me this link and accurate description:
"Some kind of mutant Japanese Cosby..."
March 12, 2003
As I mentioned before, my attempt to use only CSS for liquid layout page design failed, and I was unable to avoid using tables. So now tables control the columns -- with horrible spacer GIFs keeping things aligned at smaller window sizes -- and CSS controls everything else.
I also wanted to use a separate printing stylesheet and adjust the column widths (among other things) when a page is printed. Unfortunately, the spacer GIFs I was using to keep the layout in check on screen was preventing my printing stylesheet from working correctly.
The solution/hack is pretty simple: put the spacer GIFs (and anything else on the page that I don't want printed, such as the search box) in DIVs with style="nonprintingItem". In the printed stylesheet, add:
.nonprintingItem {
display: none;
}
Then, anything defined as nonprintingItem won't print. And while I haven't done extensive testing on it yet, so far so good...
I also wanted to use a separate printing stylesheet and adjust the column widths (among other things) when a page is printed. Unfortunately, the spacer GIFs I was using to keep the layout in check on screen was preventing my printing stylesheet from working correctly.
The solution/hack is pretty simple: put the spacer GIFs (and anything else on the page that I don't want printed, such as the search box) in DIVs with style="nonprintingItem". In the printed stylesheet, add:
.nonprintingItem {
display: none;
}
Then, anything defined as nonprintingItem won't print. And while I haven't done extensive testing on it yet, so far so good...
March 5, 2003
I plan on rewriting the code for this site -- slowly -- to use stylesheets instead of tables for layout. It's about time I start to fully embrace the CSS standards, since in the long run it'll make my life easier. Of course, unless you're one of those source-viewing types, you won't even notice I'm doing anything at all. (Which often doesn't seem much different than any other day on this site, now does it?)
What inspired/convinced me to do this is a project I'm doing at my job. But while the transition here shouldn't be too difficult, I'm running into annoying problems at work. Where most CSS sites use a fixed width for the page size (making positioning and aligning relatively easy) the one I'm working on for my job uses a liquid layout, and trying to get things to align correctly at any screen size is trickier than I had thought. Even resorting back to tables and (ugh) spacer GIFs isn't consistently working...
Update: After scanning the web for answers, looks like I'm stuck with tables and spacers for now (for the liquid-page site design at work). Most help I can find is of this sort:
What inspired/convinced me to do this is a project I'm doing at my job. But while the transition here shouldn't be too difficult, I'm running into annoying problems at work. Where most CSS sites use a fixed width for the page size (making positioning and aligning relatively easy) the one I'm working on for my job uses a liquid layout, and trying to get things to align correctly at any screen size is trickier than I had thought. Even resorting back to tables and (ugh) spacer GIFs isn't consistently working...
Update: After scanning the web for answers, looks like I'm stuck with tables and spacers for now (for the liquid-page site design at work). Most help I can find is of this sort:
If you plan to use CSS-P exclusively for layout, i think you will run into a lot of headaches... much as it pains me, i would stick with tables for layout, and take comfort in the fact that you are ditching your <font> tags in favor of CSS1...
March 4, 2003
A quick kieranchapman.net update:
got my wisdom teeth out on Friday, recovering nicely
March is here, but spring is nowhere in sight
planning to add new photos (obviously haven't yet...)
working on new articles for the next eWire update
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