General

Here‘s a reference sheet for the Nextel i60c phones.

Press the following keys: # * menu right-arrow
The unit will then display “TRACE MODE”

Lots of fun stuff listed in Trace Mode.

Woohoo! KBToys got sued –and lost— regarding some unsavory sales tactics.

The punishment? They have to hold a “30% off” sale on October 8-14. Note that the sale is unadvertised and the sales clerks won’t say anything about it, although there may be signs posted in the stores.

I think I’ll be doing some early holiday shopping…

Answers to Tara‘s interview questions:

1. What’s your favorite potato dish (for example, mashed potato, loaded baked potato, scalloped, etc)?

1a. Mmm, mashed taters. Mashed taters is good taters. Gotta fear them unmashed taters. They might rise up and overthrow the gubmint. They’d be dictaters then.

2. Describe the weirdest experience you’ve ever had while driving.

2a. Stop signs. I just noticed them last week. Really annoying. You people have put up with those things for how long?

It’s probably normal to think that “flash mobs” are a form of violence against those jerks who make Flash-only websites.

It seems that the terrorist organization known as the RIAA has claimed another thousand victims in their ongoing war against American culture.

I find it highly suspect that in these times of intense scrutiny of anything anti-American, certain politicians, among many others, can continue to fatten themselves on the funds of foreign–owned entities that have waged cultural warfare upon America.

Boycott the RIAA.

Matt Rossi‘s long-awaited first novel, “Things That Never Were”, is now available for pre-order.

Maybe Abel deserved it.

Maybe Abel was one of those people who just beg to be destroyed, crushed, smote with a rock and sacrificed.

Abel was driving the SUV who cut you off and made you miss your exit. He was talking on his cell-phone and reading a newspaper at the same time.

Abel works for the DMV. He also works for the Department of Labor, and answers calls with a smashed-together “Departmentoflaborholdplease-CLICK”.

My mom writes:

“We had a guy come into the hospital today, who had a fractured penis. I asked the doctor how something like that would happen. “Was he just being vigorous or did he have someone “enthusiastic” or gymnastic?”

“The doctor said it is usually (to put it delicately) caused by putting somewhere he shouldn’t be putting it. Also, a lot of people into S&M get penile fractures. Don’t ask me how; maybe somebody is bending it in weird positions.

Microsoft Outlook tries to be too smart for its own good. Its willingness to execute scripts and display attachments that only-heaven-knows-who may’ve sent is the reason the world heard of the MELISSA and ILOVEYOU email worms.

If you or someone you know is forced to use this steenking pile of excuse for software, by corporate policy or otherwise, you might direct them to two ways I found to give Outlook a well-deserved lobotomy: a registry hack from Microsoft to force Outlook to display email as plain text, and a different solution from Slipstick Systems that uses Outlook’s Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) implementation for good rather than evil.

Tara took a great photo of a street sign in Seattle.

When I was a wild young rebel [long hair and listened to KMFDM, grr!], we used to “correct” street signs, using black electrical tape.

“WATCH FOR LICE ON BRIDGE”