Accidental Horror

So, they apparently made a remake/ripoff of "Fantastic Voyage" in 2002 called "Antibody". Such an all-star cast. Ech.

A Matter of Time

Hate time-sync issues. Nothing Kerberized works with inconsistent time-keeping. You wouldn't think that, in 2010, time synchronization would be an issue. I mean, pretty much every OS has a method for pulling time synchronization data from a central source, now. Given how critical time accuracy is, you'd think it'd just be a "given" that it was set up and working correctly in any kind of business entity. Newp.

Admittedly, In bad taste

Steinbrenner had a heart?? Bad day to be a Yankees fan, maybe.

Markings

I guess that's one way to spice things up a bit? Maybe support that "girlfriend in Canada" story? http://ping.fm/lP9h0

So, what does it say?

There's a phenomena in psychological studies called the "just world" phenomena. Basically, it states that most people, to one degree or another, equate outcomes to actions or choices, even when the two are either not closely or not at all related. An interesting quote I found on the subject was:

“Zick Rubin of Harvard University and Letitia Anne Peplau of UCLA have conducted surveys to examine the characteristics of people with strong beliefs in a just world. They found that people who have a strong tendency to believe in a just world also tend to be more religious, more authoritarian, more conservative, more likely to admire political leaders and existing social institutions, and more likely to have negative attitudes toward underprivileged groups. To a lesser but still significant degree, the believers in a just world tend to ‘feel less of a need to engage in activities to change society or to alleviate plight of social victims.’”
-- Claire Andre and Manuel Velasquez from an essay at The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

So, it kind of makes me wonder, when politicians or people of a "progressive" mindset talk about "fairness" and things that people "deserve", are they exercising "just world" thinking? Are they more or less like what's described in the preceding paragraph? I suppose, in the end, it comes down to what you do about your perceptions of "just", "fairness" and "deserve": is it the basis for taking action or is it just the basis for bemoaning the state of the world.

Maybe it's only loosely related or not even related at all.

When's She Drop?

So, what's the dead-pool on Lohan looking like, any ways?

Corporate Defacement

It still sickens me to see the Oracle logo tagged all over the old Sun sites (like BigAdmin) like some kind of lame corporate graffiti.

"Snuck" really should be a word.

On the menu this evening:

• mustard-grilled porkchops
• deep-fried okra and horseradish sauce
• succotash (with just off the stalk corn and beans)
• tomatoes w/ pesto

Who Cares About the Law

So, I read things like this, and it really makes me wonder whether cops bother to know the laws they're charged to enforce http://ping.fm/XceRe

Things Best Left Unsaid

So, the plastic surgeon says, "any more questions." I was sorely tempted to ask if you really can make soap from the lipo leftovers.

Which Is My "Good Side"?

I have no "best angle" when it comes to photographs: they pretty much all look like "axe-murderer".

Dear Chase:

Fuck you and your "invalid payment date". If it's too late to use that date, don't fucking offer it. Asshats.

The more I use other banks' web portals, the more I like USAA's. How hard is it to do a banking portal correctly. I mean, USAA manages it on a regular basis and is often in the vanguard for offering things. So, at the very least, these other banks have existing examples of how to do things right. It's not like they're innovating and fucking it up because there's no good available "prior art" to use for guidance.

Too Close to Maryland

One of the (many) bad things about living in Alexandria: so many PG county drivers. Is PG really that awful (rhetorical) that you have to fuck up Alexandria, too?

Parking and Retail

So, they built this lovely new "destination" retail center in PG county: the National Harbor complex. It's like they took a bit of northern Virginia and tried to transplant it into Maryland (hell, they even went as far as to dig up a long-time piece of art from Arlington and move it over there). They're still in the "attracting patronage" stage of things. While there are many stores already there, there's a LOT more storefronts that are empty or in the "coming soon" phase. They're in that phase where they should be concerned about attracting customers, not trying to scare/piss them off. Establishing a retail center by having fascist parking enforcement generally isn't "recommended". Ticketing would-be-customers within two minutes of the expiry of the time on the meter really doesn't seem to be part of that whole "create an inviting shopping experience". Then again, when you have very successful, very established places (like the Tysons Corner shopping complexes) that don't charge for parking (let alone charging $3/hr), you really gotta wonder who it is they're trying to attract at National Harbor. I mean, they seem to be trying to set up something more suitable to the area where Fairfax and Montgomery counties border each other; not repurposed PG county ghetto.

Gotta Be In There, Somewhere

I need to find a copy of the MD driver's manual to see where it says "drive in the far left lane as soon and slow as possible"

Dreamland Funtime

Never a night's sleep so refreshing as one in which you're in some kind of zombie FPS.

Garden Progress

looks like five of the asparagus plants have decided to grow. The daily tomato harvest has gotten too big for the one container, too.

Too Well Rested?

It's kind of amazing that 2 days in a row of more than 6hrs of sleep and I feel more tired than days I only manage 3 or so.

Release the Hate

Sometimes, you just feel like being hateful.