Should This News Feed Be Adjusted?

I just found out that the news feeds are not being sent out in the way that I thought. Before I make any changes, please give me feedback, whether or not you use it.

Honey Traps In Relationships

I read about women who are hired to catch men cheating by sleeping with them: The grandma and mum of four who is a £50k-a-year ‘honey trap’. There are guys who do the same to women. Read the remainder of the blog entry for my comments on the Biblical perspective.

Grecian Formula Update [end of week 15; last update]

This past week, I tried a couple of applications. On Wednesday morning, before bed time, I applied the remainder of the formula. Needless to say, it did not produce much. My hair does seem to shine a little less, which makes it darker.

This is my last blog entry on the topic, unless I buy more, and then come up with something new. I think that the biggest problem in general is that people like me cannot wash our hair for a month, and that you cannot apply it when you have hair styling product in your hair. Maybe, if they had some kind of hair styling product that colours hair, then they would sell much more.

I encourage you to look at the photos of the men. All of them do not seem to have hair with much style.

I recommend this product for people who have the time to not put any styling product in their hair, and/or who have dry hair. Dry hair does not need to be washed as often. Also, bear in mind that people with thick hair are not good candidates for this product. I read somewhere that Asians tend to have thicker hair, than Caucasians.

Group Discount Web Sites

Earlier on, I mentioned Groupon and Wag Jag. Here is more information on the other web sites out there. Most of them are US focused, so Canadians should not spend too much time on these pages that I shared below, but it would be worth looking into, to see if you could benefit. Maybe you could create a better group web site, since these sites are beginning to saturate the market.

So far, Groupon seems to be my favourite overall pick.

• Groupthink: Grading Group Discount Websites
• Best Social Group Buying Sites For Killer Daily Deals And Deep Discounts

There Should Be No Wall Between Church And State

Atheists say that there should be a wall between church and state. See what Ron Paul said, when he quoted Thomas Jefferson George Washington.

George Washington himself, at the request of the very Congress which passed the Bill of Rights, proclaimed a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God. History must judge whether it was the Father of his Country in 1789, or a majority of the Court today, which has strayed from the meaning of the Establishment Clause.

Grecian Formula Update [end of week 14]

I did not use any Grecian Formula this week, because I had styling product in my hair, and I do not think that the formula can reach the hair, when there is product in the hair.

Grecian Formula Update [end of week 13]

I am not sure that I noticed any difference. I tried putting some Grecian Formula 16 on the whitest parts of my head, but it did not seem to make a noticeable difference. This seems to prove that the soap and different shampoos did not make a difference for me.

Next week, I will use it on the darker grey areas, to create a more even black.

Overall, I am a little disappointed, because I want to be able to use this product, which seems like a great idea.

Asperger's And Christianity

Read the remainder of my blog entry to see what I wrote to somebody on the topic of western churches, and how they deal with Asperger's Syndrome.

Start Your Own Advertising Business

Interestingly, enough, there are opportunities for you to start your advertising business. Read the remainder of the blog entry for my ideas.

WagJag Is Also Good For Advertising

My regular readers probably remember a previous blog entry about Groupon. It seems that Groupon has a competitor on the market: WagJag. Read the remainder of the blog entry for my comparison, commentary, and disclaimers.

Grecian Formula Update [end of week 12]

I started using Grecian Formula 16 again, but on only a couple of spots, since I do not have much of it left. Read the remainder of the blog entries for the details.

Our Brains Slow Down When We Have Too Much To Do

This article explains that our minds do not react as quickly when we are given too much information. The idea is that our minds need to clear or reset, or something like that.

This is true for me. I find that when I try to play the trumpet really quickly, my mind tends to freeze. From reading a particular book about training people and animals, I get the impression that it just takes repetition.

How to Count to 60 on Two Hands

Go to this page to learn how to use 1 hand to count to 12, instead of 5.

Using iPad With Kubuntu

I wanted to start using my iPad, which I won back in September [or perhaps another month], but I unpleasantly discovered that Apple requires us to install iTunes. Of course, with Linux, this is impossible, as of the time of writing this. Read the remainder of the blog entry on how to get Kubuntu to work with you Apple mobile device.

Grecian Formula Update [end of week 11]

I did not use any product this week, because I did not start using the shampoo for oily hair. My grey hair seemed much more noticeable. When Grecian Formula 16 worked at its best, my grey hair seemed like it had very subtle highlights. Now that I have not used it for some time, the grey hair returned to a bright white.

I anticipate using the formula again this coming week, since the current shampoo is almost finished.

Use Craig's List To Promote Your Business

Read the remainder of my blog entry for 4 tips on how to make the best use of Craig's List.

Groupon Is Good For Advertising

For those of you who have a business, I encourage you to check out Groupon. Read the remainder of the blog entry for my opinion and the disclaimers.

OpenOffice.org: Bezier Curve Explanation

I found it very difficult to use the OpenOffice.org curve tool. I suggest that you try this OpenOffice.org curve tool explanation. Be sure to scroll down to this quote.

Curve Tool sequence: Click to start > Hold-drag-release-move > Click but hold to end FIRST Curve > Hold-drag-release-move > Click but hold to End SECOND Curve, etc. >> DblClk to end.

Another thing that I took away from this was the idea that the curve points are being dragged, and that they are invisible. It is not good design, but it is easier to use, now that I know that they are invisible.

Grecian Formula Update [end of week 10]

I did not use any/much Grecian Forumla 16 this week, because I want to save the last bit for when I start using a shampoo that is for oily hair.

I did not see much colour, this past week.

I am debating about whether or not I will get more Grecian Formula 16, after this. I doubt that I will.

Grecian Formula Update [end of week 9]

I got lazy, and only used it a few times. I did not see any significant change. It does seem better than when I first started, but not much better.

Recommend: Noodles With A Side Order Of Bacon

On Monday night, I had a meal of dry noodles, with a side order of bacon. It was very delicious. Try it. Seriously. The noodles cleansed the tongue in between bites of bacon.

Book Review: "Dust"

I finished reading the first 3 chapters of Dust. Read the remainder of the blog entry for my opinion.

I Cashed My First Book Cheque

I have already received money from Lulu.com and Paypal, but I only received my first cheque this past Friday. It was from Vancouver Public Library. I finally cashed it, and reconciled my invoice with their cheque stub. I never felt such a sense of satisfaction and achievement. With God's grace, I started it from scratch, and attended to it until completion.

It felt like such a good feeling to be able to do things the way that I wanted to, and to not have to do things just because a boss says that I have to.

My First Thoughts On The First Chapter Of Dust

I read the first chapter of the book, "Dust". It wasn't too bad. There was a light seasoning of feminism, and a few sentences which were confusing. The author was trying to start off with a familiar tone, but the problem is that the reader probably cannot follow everything.

I Am Reading A Book Called Dust

I am participating in a word of mouth campaign, for the book called, "Dust". Right now, I am reading the sample chapter. I will let you know my first impressions with a new blog entry.

Pop-Up Stores: Useful For Small Temporary Retail Businesses

Some of you might have great ideas on what and how to sell. Read the remainder of the blog entry to see some links that might help you test ideas at lower price.

Grecian Formula Update [end of week 8]

I did not use it very much this week, but I have developed the habit of shaking the bottle, while I apply the liquid.

That being said, my hair does appear to be darker, but it is hard to tell.

Keep reading for important information regarding my hair and why Grecian Formula 16 might not work with my hair.

15% Off Of My Book

For those who do not read my other blog, Lulu.com is offering 15% off of my book. It will come out of their pocket, not mine.

Grecian Formula Update [end of week 7]

I noticed this week, that my hair does start to darken consistently, but it still washes out. I tend to apply more of it these days, just to see if it might soak in better.

I checked the instructions again, and it seems that I missed a few things. Read the remainder of the blog entry for more information.

Intelligent Design Vs. Evolution: Banana Designs

Ray Comfort claimed that a common banana is evidence of God's design, and then apologized for his misunderstanding. I am not phrasing it exactly as it was said, so you have to see it for yourselves. After you have looked at what he has said, read the remainder of the blog entry for my commentary on his statements.

Ontario Court Rules On Niqab [Muslim Veil]

I just read an interesting article about wearing the niqab. I personally believe that we do not need to give that religious freedom to them, and I would even argue that it is morally wrong to cover up a face in many circumstances. That being said, I think that Justice David Doherty wrote an interesting quote about the sincerity of person with respect to his religious beliefs. If you are into religion and politics, then read the remainder of the blog entry for the quote and my opinion.

OpenOffice.org Arrange Toolbar

I had such a tough time figuring out the Arrange toolbar, but this wonderful wiki entry, Aids for positioning objects explained it really well.

Grecian Formula Update [end of week 6]

On Friday, I was beginning to see barely noticeable progress, but the shower washed it out again.

I did see progress throughout the week, but the shampoo did not make a difference, as far as I can tell.

Has it been 6 weeks already?

Redesigning Or Improving Lulu.com ODF Templates

Just yesterday, I came up with the idea of having a single separate template for the title page, copyright page, and table of contents, which can all be sized with the page styles. Read on, for the details. Reminder: I would appreciate some feedback.

My Bad Experience With Bad Lulu.com

Overall, I am very dissatisfied with Lulu.com's service. Read the remainder of my blog entry for things that you might like to know, before you start publishing.

Intelligent Design Vs. Evolution: Averages

Improve Your Musical Listening Skills [i.e. Ear Training]

If any of you want some ear training, then take a look at the links in the remainder of the blog. I appreciated these links, because they give you a lot of practise, and because they help you to memorize the sounds.

I Just Dropped Off 2 Copies At The Surrey Public Library

What a great feeling.

Large Print Edition 1.0 Of "The Blog Entries Of Hosiery Advocate"

This is the same as the standard version, but it is in letter sized paper, and contain 16 pt fonts.

Grecian Formula Update [end of week 5]

I used it only once or twice, this week.

On Tuesday night, I decided to use shampoo to wash my hair, because that is what the instructions call for. Up until this point, I did not do that, because I forgot, and because I did not have any bottles of shampoo left. I completely forgot about the samples that I have. On Wednesday morning, I applied a bunch. I did not see a lot of colour, but I felt that it did darken the hair enough to reduce any white shine.

I will keep on going, because I want to make sure that I used the product properly, before I pass judgement.

Economical Edition 1.0 Of "The Blog Entries Of Hosiery Advocate"

It has been published. The remainder of the blog entry contains the details.

Edition 1.1 Of "The Blog Entries Of Hosiery Advocate"

It has been upgraded. The remainder of the blog entry contains the details.

Improve Your Rythm

I have been using this special metronome. It stops ticking, to challenge you to keep the beat on your own. I use it for that, as well as double tonguing, triple tonguing, and syncopated rhythms. I recommend it for all people who need to practise this stuff.

Suggestion To Dan Ariely: Experiment For Considerate Behaviour

I think that it is so important that we be considerate members of society. Consideration implies that we consider what the other person needs, and wants, and therefore make an effort to get along. I think that consideration is good because it helps us to deal with issues that are difficult to enforce.

Carry on, to read my suggestion that I made to Dan Ariely. He is the author of "Predictably Irrational", and "The Upside Of Irrationality".

Intelligent Design Vs. Evolution: Defects And Suffering

Sorry for not publishing this sooner. I only got a chance to really start writing it about 4.5 hours ago. I kept putting it off.

Evolutionists and atheists, seem to ask, If God really designed the world intelligently, then why did _______ turn out the way that it did?.

To be concise: the complexity of animals [people included], and plants, is a testament to creation, but defects of animals, and of plants, do not prove evolution. Read on, for my more detailed answer.

Cheap [Free Or Almost Free] Tongue Scraper

I have come to believe that a tongue scraper is an important part of our regular oral hygiene, because it helps to scrape off the germs. If this interests you, then keep reading for a suggestion on how to get the benefits, without the costs of the high tech solutions on the market.

Vancouver Public Library Agreed To Buy 1 Copy Of My Book

They confirmed it by email, on Thursday afternoon. This just keeps getting more and more exciting.

Surrey Public Library Agreed To Buy 2 Copies Of My Book

Last week, they confirmed it via email. It is only 2 copies, but I find it to be exciting, because it means that 2 books will not sit here, collecting dust, and that Surrey's citizens will have access to my wonderful ideas. ;^p< It was also good, because I managed to save them money. Amazon makes a lot of money.

Once the book comes in, I will start trying to schedule public events at the library, to promote the book, so that the books will not collect dust on the shelves.

I Won An iPad

This past Tuesday, I went to a special event, and they held a draw. Read more for the details.

Grecian Formula Update [end of week 4]

This week, I only started applying the stuff on Friday, if I recall correctly. In general, I have been applying more than normal, and it seems that just like previous weeks, it started showing more colour after about 3 days. Read the remainder of the blog entry for more information.

Questions For Accepting An ESL Contract In China

When I was looking for a job to teach English in China, I found this page, that I thought others might like: 45 Questions to Ask before Accepting that Contract to Teach English in China.

Self Mummification

Here is a sad piece on self mummification. I hope that things like that do not happen today.

Book Sizes That Are Eligible For Lulu.com Distribution

I found out that only certain book sizes are eligible for distribution by Lulu.com. If you want to get a free ISBN number from them, then you'll need to look over which book sizes are available.

The link might not work for some of you. The important thing that I took from it is that A5, which is eligible for distribution, is a good replacement for Digest, which is not eligible.

The End Of The Week About Opera Web Browser

The end of the week came quicker than I thought. I am glad that I did it. I have a couple more tips that I would like to share, but they are small tips, so I will save them for later. It would be nice to have another week of blog entries that follows a certain theme.

The Failings Of Peer Review

Peer review is a good thing.

My main complaint with it is the people. Read on for my complaints.

Uploaded Sample Of My Puzzle

You can try it at my storefront, by printing the page, or just using a text editor as a scratch pad.

I Got A Job Offer To Teach ESL In China

I will go for a January contract.

Send To-Do List Items To Your Mobile Phone With Opera's Notes Tool And An SMS Portal

You can use SMS web portals and Opera's Notes tool to send to-do list items to your phone. It's easy enough to copy and paste things into and out of Notes, but read the remainder of the blog entry for tips on saving clicks, and streamlining your process. I think that this blog entry will really help you to be more organized.

Bear in mind that this idea is geared for cell phones that are no longer capable of using the web, and therefore, are not capable of using Opera Link, and for those who are allowed to send free text messages from the web. There are Opera widgets that help you to get organized, but if you do not like those widgets, and/or do not like widgets at all, then keep reading.

Use Opera's Windows Panel To Organize Your Tabs

This will be old news for those of you who follow Haavard at the My.Opera.com community.

You can organize your tabs [i.e. dragging and dropping them] by using Windows Panel. You can even transfer them from 1 window to the other, for better organization.

Overall, Windows Panel gives you better control, because you can drag and drop more than 1 at a time. The only good reason to drag and drop your tab, using the tab bar, is when it is a quick drag and drop.

Organize Opera's Bookmarks, Sessions, Personal Bar, And Speed Dial

Most Opera users should already know how to use bookmarks, the personal bar, and speed dial, but from my own experiences, I feel that I did not get the best value out of them. As I started using them more, I began to keep my tab bar less and less cluttered.

Some of you will be happy to have many tabs open. How much time do you spend trying to find your tab, because it gets buried in the other tabs? How often have you clicked on a tab, only to find that you clicked on the wrong tab?

Read the remainder of the blog entry to see my suggestions.

Grecian Formula Update [end of week 3]

I cannot believe that I did not use it even once this week. I guess when the stuff does not work very well, and when it leaves a little bit of brown residue, we tend to have a lot less incentive to use it. Maybe I will use it tomorrow, since I am planning on going to bed now.

Use Opera's Start Bar And Google's I'm Feeling Lucky To Avoid Polluting Your Address Bar History

There are times when I want to type in an address, but not want the address to remain in the address bar's history.

To accomplish this, I enabled the start bar, which is a tool bar, that appears below the address bar, when you click in the address field. Next, I added a Google "I'm Feeling Lucky" search box, to the start bar. To keep the field accessible in smaller window sizes, I kept it on the left side of the bar.

To use it, I just click in the address field, then click in the "I'm Feeling Lucky" search field. So in 2 clicks, you are ready to type in an address.

This will be very handy for when you need to type an address that you might only need to visit a few times or less.

How To Middle-Click In Hotmail's To-Field

For me, Hotmail's email composer does not seem to work very well, when I use Opera. I have not tried it with the other web browsers. Even though the text field appears very large, I cannot use Linux's middle-click to paste in an email address, as I should be able to.

I found out, by chance, that there is a small part of the field that is available for middle clicking. To make it easier to find, I recommend that you disable any styling of forms.

• View Menu -> Style -> Manage Modes
• Deselect "Enable Styling of Forms".

Use Opera's Inline Search To Help You Edit Your Blog Entry

This blog entry was written about using Opera web browser, but it should apply very well to any web browser that highlights all the searched text in the web page.

Opera does not have a search-and-replace feature for correcting typos. However, I found out that you can use the search feature to highlight and find stuff, and then correct them manually. I would probably get the best use out of it, by searching for apostrophes, and then breaking apart contractions [e.g. break apart "don't" to "do not"].

Opera's Kubuntu Font Problem Partially Solved

I have been experiencing font problems lately. I know that others have. Install metapackage ubuntu-restricted-extras and 10.62 Release Candidate

A Week About Opera Web Browser

For those of you just joining us: I decided to post a week's worth of hints and tips about how to get the most out of Opera web browser. Read this blog each day.

Bible's View About End Times And About Increase In Wickedness

There have been a few unbelievers that claimed that we ought to be sinning more, if we really believe what we believe about the Bible. The Bible states that the increase in wickedness will correlate to us getting closer to the rapture. From a simplistic view point, the more we sin, the closer that day will be.

So, if we truly want to be raptured as soon as possible, then what stops us from sinning as much as possible? Read the remainder of the blog entry for my answer.

Challenges To Being Grateful

I was on the way home on Tuesday night, and I was touched by a woman's kind gesture to me. At first, I thought that she was the only person who had done anything nice to me, in a long while, but I realized that it is not true. It took me a while to realize that I had forgotten all the good things that my parents and friends did.

Read the remainder of this blog entry for how I intend to be more grateful.

The Concept Of Interruptions Implemented In Entertainment [i.e. DVDs, Movie Theatres]

Dan Ariely, in his book "Predictably Irrational", introduced the concept of interruptions affecting pleasure and displeasure.

Read the remainder of my blog entry to read about my suggestions on how to increase the pleasure of entertainment, such as DVDs and movie theatres. You are more than welcome to use this idea for your profit, without attributing me, and without giving me any money, royalties, or compensation.

Grecian Formula Update [end of week 2]

Read the blog entry for the results of my second week of using Grecian Formula 16. I was not happy about the results.

Mark Of The Beast And Biometric IDs

I like to pay a little bit of attention to privacy issues, regarding trade and business, because I think that the more we move towards a 1-world currency, and towards attaching our identification to our bodies, the closer we will get to the end times.

I read an article about biometric IDs being forced upon India's inhabitants. I began to wonder if this could be the mark of the beast. Read the remainder of the blog entry to see what I came up with.

Chinese Language Puzzles Ready For Demonstration

I managed to get the sample puzzle uploaded to my on-line bookstore. Would you be willing to check it and try it, please? Since they are only images, you'll need paper or a text editor to do it yourself.

Market Research: Chinese Language Puzzles

On Friday, I did some market research for a new product that I am trying to test. I want to be able to sell language learning puzzles. So far, the results have been quite positive. I think that I will need to refine the survey, and the product. It seems so new, that people are struggling to figure out how to do the puzzles.

I intend to upload a sample to my Lulu.com store, so that you can try it, as well.

Negative Product Placement And Your Products

It seems that companies are resorting to giving their competitors a negative image, by giving those products away to people who will tarnish the image. It makes me sad to read about methods like this.

• Forget Product Placement; Get Ready For Product Anti-Placement
• How Snooki Got Her Gucci: The Dirt on Purses

A Week's Worth Of Blog Entries About Opera Web Browser

I have discovered some neat little techniques to using Opera, to improve my web browsing experience. I would like to share them. Therefore I am writing a special feature of 7 blog entries, that I will call, "A Week At The Opera Web Browser". Starting September 19, 2010, I will post 1 blog entry per day, for each of the 7 days.

Publish Several Blog Entries Ahead Of Time

A while ago, I discovered that we can publish our blog entries ahead of time. This means that we can write a bunch of them at once, publish them, and then have them appear in the blog, at the time and date of our choosing.

If you already do this, then I would love to read about your experiences. Please comment.

If this sounds like a useful feature, then read the remainder of the blog entry, to see how to do it.

Grecian Formula Update [end of week 1]

I have used Grecian Formula for 1 complete week.

I will post another Grecian Formula update, next Thursday.

Read the remainder of the blog entry for the results.

Wonderful Howto [tutorial] For Playing DVDs On Kubuntu [also Ubuntu and Xubuntu]

I am so happy to finally be able to play DVDs on my Kubuntu 10.04 desktop computer thanks to the Comprehensive Multimedia & Video Howto. It was made for Ubuntu, but it has a good amount of information for Kubuntu.

This is the holy grail that we've been searching for. The DVD that I tried plays wonderfully.

True Type Fonts Available For Kubuntu

The web seems to classify fonts into 5 categories: serif, sans-serif, mono, cursive, and fantasy. Read the remainder of the blog entry for my recommendations to Kubuntu users. Other Linux users should be able to get them as well.

I Uploaded My Photos From Grouse Mountain

I added photos to the blog entry about the hike up the Grouse Grind.

The First Few Chapters Of Genesis

I like the first few chapters of the book of Genesis, from the Bible, because they act as a go-to reference, for comparisons of a perfect life, and an imperfect life. Throughout our lives, we can ask so many questions about life in general. Our culture portrays those questions and answers as trivial, but I prefer to portray them as critical. I believe that it is important that we answer these questions correctly, and answer them early on in life.

Read the remainder of the blog for all the questions that I can think of off the top of my head, that can definitely be answered [or at least answered in a reasonable way].

I Am Using Grecian Formula [that transparent liquid]

On, Wednesday, late afternoon, I decided to try some Grecian Formula. I found this appealing, because it is a clear liquid, which would be less likely to stain, and because it did not need to be used up each time, like other colouring products.

Bear in mind that at 1 time, they used to use lead in them. For Canada, I think that they no longer use lead. The best thing to do is just check the ingredients, and just avoid the lead.

Those of you who know me, probably know that I never intended to colour my hair, until now. In the remainder of the blog entry, I'll explain how the Bible influenced me both ways.

ODF Text Template Containing All ISO 216 And ISO 269 Sizes

The other day, I uploaded a new ODF template, that contains most of the ISO paper sizes.

In the remainder of the blog entry, I'll try to explain my technical choices for the design of the template.

KDE Lets You Rename Files In Numbered Order

In this blog entry, I discuss a new discovery that I made, while downloading photos from my camera: you can easily rename many files at once, in consecutive order.

Finding Parts Of OpenOffice.org [area dialog; colour tab; colour palette folder; colour palette load button]

Apparently, 1 or more people were having trouble with using the colour palettes that I distributed. This blog entry is a tutorial on how to find these things that are related to colour palettes.

• the Area dialog
• the Color tab
• your color palette folder
• the Load button for your color palette

I Just Received My Canadian Forces Release Papers Arrived Yesterday

It was a little unsettling. I felt that it stirred up memories: so many lost hopes; a little bit jealousy because of others getting opportunities that I did not get; bad relationships.

There were positives, though.

Use FujiPlay To Connect Fuji MX-700 With Linux

I discovered that Fujiplay does a great job of connecting my Fuji MX-700 to my Kubuntu computer, while digiKam & gphoto2 fail miserably. Fujiplay is not KDE or Kubuntu specific, or specific to any desktop, so it should work fine with all Linux computers.

• Fujiplay
• ubuntu hardy fujiplay binaries
• ubuntu hardy fujiplay man pages

In the remainder of the blog entry, I give the details of why I tried Fujiplay, and then rant a little.

Announcement: Added New Page, Listing Where To Find Me

I thought that it would be useful to have a page of links of where to find me. The page is at the top. Let me know if you cannot find the page.

I Climbed The Grouse Grind

[Update: I've added photos that I took, before and after the hike, to the end of the blog entry.]

I've been waiting to climb the Grouse Grind for ages. I finally completed it, yesterday. I did it in 1 h 20 m. I thought that I did well, but I was below average.

In the remainder of the blog entry, I'll talk about my experiences, and give you some important information.

Our Christmas Performance

We, the Vancouver Orchestra Club, will perform on Dec. 4. For tickets and times, check back at this blog, or our concerts page.

So far, it's been fun, listening to the Star Wars music on my computer, and reading the 3rd trumpet music at the same time. I think that I should be able to play most of it.

Asperger's Syndrome Update

I went to the walk-in clinic, about an hour ago. The doctor said that it seems that I probably have it. He referred me to a counselor, who will help me through the next stage of diagnosing this. He said to keep on reading up on it.

Article: "Vancouver parking spaces will be transformed into parks"

It seems that people are trying to do something fun and clever to make a point: Vancouver parking spaces will be transformed into parks. In the remainder of the blog entry, I write about my impressions and ideas.

Employment: No Thank-You Note Could Mean No Job

It turns out that an employer might actually not hire you simply because you did not send a thank-you note. I've never heard of such a thing, before.

I copied the relevant text from that page, and pasted it in the remainder of the blog entry.

Article: Gain Perspective On Innovation And On A Quarrel

Here is a great blog entry on how to balance 2 views, to bring about progress: a field guide to transit quarrels.

Even though the blog entry is applied to transit, it is clearly applicable to all forms of innovation, whether that be church ministry, innovation in business, or just growing your activity club.

Survey: Environmental Actions And Beliefs

Here is a survey that I made for practice: Environmental Actions And Beliefs. It was made from a template that came with SurveyMonkey. I modified it just a little to make it more user friendly. Hopefully, I can get some good experience from this.

Why Google's Services [e.g. Gmail, Analytics, etc.] Are Slow

I think that I discovered why Google Analytics and Google Gmail are very slow. I'm an Opera user, and I thought that Google made changes to its services which made it incompatible with Opera. I don't know if that is the case, but I found out that we can adjust the network connections settings to receive data in the way that Google wants to send.

I'll try to give Opera users a walk through, but I'm sure that the overall principles still apply to Firefox users and other users.

Announcement: Minor Improvement To Blog Entry Jumps

I've tried to improve the text for the link that leads you to the blog entry, to avoid redundant text. I also decided to add better phrasing in the final paragraph before the link, to let you know what is in the remainder of the blog entry.

I haven't gone back to the previous entries to make corrections, so some of them are still a bit weird.

Counting In A Faster Tempo

I've struggled, all of my music life, with counting. "Playing In Half-Time" is a web page that helped out a little.

This is just 1 of the tips that I need to do well at this Christmas's performance.

Announcement: I'm Distracted With The Possibility Of Asperger's Syndrome

I've have discovered that I might have Asperger's syndrome, so I am feverishly pouring through all the information that I can get my hands on. I've even sent a questionnaire to people.

I'll try to start posting blog entries again, soon.

Environmental Survey

I created a new survey about the environment.

ODF Template Survey

It took me a while to get around to it, but I decided to offer this survey. I'm really interested in quality control for my templates. Please take the necessary 5 - 10 minutes to complete the survey. You'll be doing your part to improve the state of free/open software, because free/open software needs templates too. Click here to take survey.

Type 2 Diabetes Update [dark eyebrows & grey hair]

I didn't get a call from any doctor on Thursday. I waited until the end of Friday to be even more sure. I should be okay.

Grey Hair Update

I've been reading a bit about grey hair formulas, and lead acetate. Right now, it's supposed to be okay to use in Canada, but I will definitely take a close look at the ingredient list, before soaking my hair with it.

Videos: State Of Masulism Is Encouraging

My friend, Jack Day, of Masculism.ca, in Vancouver shared with me these 3 videos.

• Defeating Feminism- Part 1
• Defeating Feminism- Part 2
• Defeating Feminism- Part 3 Conclusion

We shouldn't break open the champaign, yet, but I'm encouraged by them, because the end seems to be near, for the feminists. Hopefully, we won't push the pendulum too far. Until then, we have to remember that women have too many rights.

For now, I'm going to be optimistic, as if we have already won, yet, fight as if the war is almost over.

Spanish Bullfighting Banned

I'm very glad to read about this: Spanish bullfighting ban: 'Finally, we've overcome this evil curse' - Out of Bounds - NBC Sports. It seems like such an unfair sport. I don't see any value to it, at all. I think that if I grew up in that culture, then I might be more inclined to appreciate it, but I think that my external perspective gives me more clarity.

Links On Posing For Cameras

Today, I'll go with my friend to Coal Harbour. I'm volunteering to help him with a client. I'll help her pose, so that can he take some great photos of her.

Here is 1 link that he recommended that I read over, and 2 links that I found useful. There are YouTube videos, as well, but these explain a lot, and should be enough to keep us busy.

• Model Posing Secrets For Your Next Fashion Modeling Job
• Posing women silhouette illustration stock photos - Search results
• Posing men silhouette illustration stock photos - Search results

I Might Have Type 2 Diabetes [dark eyebrows & grey hair]

[Update: I wrote a blog entry on the results, or lack thereof, of the diabetes test: Type 2 Diabetes Update [dark eyebrows & grey hair]

I went in for a test for Type 2 Diabetes. I decided to colour my hair a natural black, to get the grey out. Read on for the details.

Free Beer At Free Beer Camp

I don't encourage people to drink beer, but this seemed a bit much to pass up.

Sierra Beer Camp

Announcements: I Added HTML

If you've been having trouble reading through a blog entry, because the paragraphs were not displayed, then you are probably 1 of the people that will want to take another look, since it should be easier to read, now.

The remainder of this blog entry explains why the problem happened in the first place, and how I solved it for most of the blog entries.

Creating Surveys

Lately, I have been playing around with SurveyMonkey.com, to try to create user satisfaction surveys for my Lulu.com templates. So far, it seems to be going well. It probably took a full work day to complete it, because there seems to be so much information to get from participants, and so much information about designing surveys to learn.

I'll probably have to finish it in a couple of weeks. I want to make sure that the survey works well, as soon as I release it.

Once it is ready, I'll give you the link.

Motivating Employees

Dan Ariely & allyourcode wrote about motivation, and how easily managers can take that away, by just rejecting our projects.

• An interview with Miguel Barbosa
• Meaning at the High-Tech Workplace

Read more for my response, and a suggestion on how to break bad news to employees.

How I Spent My Birthday

I'd like to give you all a rundown on what happened on my birthday. This is a cross post from my hosiery blog.

My Birthday

Tomorrow is my birthday.

Volunteered For ESL Organization

I volunteered to tutor ESL. I think that it is important to practice my skills, so that I won't lose it. It'll ensure that I have job opportunities, if i decide to teach again.

I Joined An Orchestra

I joined an orchestra yesterday, because I'd like to start performing again. I feel kind of nervous, because I suspect that the trumpet player is quite good. I feel kind of sad, because I wish that I could join a good orchestra that played only Christian music.

We'll see how it goes. The concert will be in December and June.

Removing Spammy Templates From OpenOffice.org Templates Web Site

The OpenOffice.org templates web site had many templates that were kind of spammy. They didn't offer a whole lot. In 1 case, it was so poorly done, that using it would waste time, which is exactly opposite of what templates are supposed to do.

I manged to send a list to the web site admin, and most of my suggestions were used, so the web site should be better now.

There are still many improvements that I'd like to see, but the admins don't seem to have much incentive for it.

Opera 10.11 & Hotmail

I tried to use Hotmail with Opera 10.11, and it wouldn't let me reply to the emails. I found out that I could easily use their mobile version of the site. It's so speedy and easy. When I tried to login, I just clicked on the link that pointed me to their mobile version.

Almost Last Lulu.com ODF Template Is Uploaded

I finished making and uploading the last Lulu.com template that corresponds to Lulu.com's current offerings. I must say that it was a little anti-climactic. I don't know why, but I thought that it would almost be like...well, I don't know.

The reason that it wasn't the last Lulu.com template, is because we will need more than what Lulu.com offered. Keep reading to see what the future holds for the Lulu.com set of ODF templates.

Open Source & Free Software Failure

People like to say that many eyes make all bugs shallow. That's not true. It flies in the face of conventional wisdom: "Too many cooks spoil the broth.". The idea is that each set of eyes will bring a person who has different standards. Some have standards of excellence. Some have standards of innovation. Some are just bureaucrats.

I personally find it very insulting when I make a suggestion or report a bug, and nobody responds via messages, or by fix the bug.

Lulu.com Template Trivia

Would you believe that the image of the scissors on the Lulu.com book cover templates actually have 2 colours? I never noticed, because I never zoomed in very closely. It turns out that the handles are grey, and that there is a bit of black in them, to give a slight 3 dimensional effect.

It really makes me think about the effort that we put into projects. Do we put a lot of effort in, only to not be recognized?

The person went so far as to make the pivot screw a flat head screw.

I admire the detail, but I just feel sorry for the person who created that image.

Book Response: "The Upside Of Irrationality"

I finished reading "The Upside Of Irrationality", by Dan Ariely. I was hesitant to write about it, because I didn't want to take away any thunder from the book. I changed my mind, because I feel that my thoughts about his thoughts would help people to look into the issues further, and perhaps my thoughts might encourage you to consider reading his book.

You might be interested in his previous book, "Predictably Irrational, Revised And Expanded Edition". This book came before "The Upside Of Irrationality", and is very similar, in that he helps us to understand the decision making processes.

Keep reading my blog entry to see my response to the author, but please bear in mind that you probably won't understand all that I am saying, because I don't want to give away what he wrote in the book. Also, I don't want to try to explain things, since I probably would explain it incorrectly.

Learning To Program With GNUstep Libraries And Objects

I added a few more links to GNUstep to XCode. The guide and the 2 references should keep us busy for some time.

I have noticed that when tutorials and documentation use strange jargon, it is hard for me to keep track of what is what. I find that they do not specify whether or not something is part of Objective-C, or part of the GUI libraries, or part of the iPhone libraries. With the references, we should be able to see where most of the stuff fits, even if we do not understand what they are talking about.

These references should keep us satisfied, at least until we are intermediate GNUstep programmers.

I also rearranged the links in the Relevant Links section. I felt that creating subsections helped for speed reading, and clarity.

I also added a section on installing GNUstep, Gorm, & ProjectCenter.

Photos: Glowing Algae

Noctiluca Scintillans glows in the dark. It's very beautiful.

Glowing algae turn Australian lakes electric blue

Get Paid To Live In A Museum For 1 Month

It seems that there is an interesting contest: "Month at the Museum". The winner gets $10,000, and lives in the Museum of Science and Industry for 1 month. I think that that is a great deal, for somebody who has time on his hands. He needs to send in a bunch of stuff to enter the contest, but it'll be great. They'll get you to actually do some work, but it'll be mostly/only fun stuff. The contest entry must be in by Wednesday, August 11, 2010.

I'm interested in trying this out. I'm going to start planning on what to do. I'm excited.

Optimus Prime Replica Created In Beijing, China

This great stuff. Looks like some people in China built a replica of Optimus Prime. The blogger from the first link says that it weighs 6 tons and is 33 feet tall. The blogger got photos from People's Daily, which has 2 more photos.

• Bootleg Optimus Prime is actually the most badass Transformer ever
• Scrap metal Transformers statue debuts in Beijing

When I was young, I actually wanted to build my own Transformer. Looks like a lot of work. These guys did a great job.

More ODF Book Cover Book Templates

I uploaded a few more ODF templates to the OpenOffice.org templates web site.

• Lulu.com US Trade Sized Casewrap Cover
• Lulu.com 8.25 x 10.75 Sized Casewrap Cover
• Lulu.com 8.25" x 10.75" Sized Book

We'll only need 1 more book cover template to make the Lulu.com template set complete!

ODF Demonstration Template [contains a KDE's Oxygen colour palette]

I just wanted to update you on the ODF Demonstration template. I replaced that colour palette with KDE's Oxygen colour palette. Now you can make images with the exact same colours. Also, I added a grey colour palette, which contains more shades of grey, plus the shades of grey from Oxygen's colour palette.

Fixing ProjectCenter & Gorm

I finally compiled my first program in ProjectCenter and Gorm. Read about it in GNUstep to XCode.

I'll include the walk through for the dealing with the compile errors in the remainder of the blog entry, but the other walk through details will be mentioned in the above links.

Labels [a.k.a keywords] Are Available In 2 Places

I finally discovered that there were no keywords for you to click on. Sorry!

I figured out that I could list the labels in several different ways. Instead of doing it just once, I listed them twice.

The first way is at the top of the right column, at the time of writing. It lists only the most commonly used labels that are used more than once, and this list doesn't include, "misc". The idea is that any label that is used only once doesn't deserve your attention. The same goes for "misc". "misc" is used for topics that I will probably only write about once. The other labels that I wrote about only once are topics that I will probably write about again in the future. I hope that that clarifies things a bit.

That being said, the other list is at the bottom of the right column, at the time of writing. In this list, I listed all the tags, in alphabetical order.

I encourage you to click on "templates", because I sense that many of you are unaware of all the other blog entries that I have regarding ODF templates.

iPhone 4 Not Recommended By Consumer Reports

I trust Consumer Reports to come up with meaningful recommendations. They don't recommend iPhone 4. They recommend iPhone 3G S.

America And Its Right To Bear Arms

I think that everybody has a right to bear arms. There is a bit of a discussion on Slashdot.org on the right to bear arms, and how it relates to murder rates. Keep reading to see my response.

ODF Demonstration Template [contains a colour palette]

[Update: I wrote a new blog entry that should help you find things that are mentioned in the instructions.]

For those of you who don't follow the OpenOffice.org template site, I want to point out that I created a template, which contains a different colour palette. The template is meant to demonstrate that you could save a colour palette with the template.

Technically, you can't attach a colour palette to a OpenOffice.org document or template, but you can copy the colour pallet file's content into the template or document. The colour palette file's content is just text. There are instructions available in the demonstration template's properties.

Afterwards, be sure to check out that blog label, "templates", where you will find more of my discoveries on how to make use of templates.

I'll Own Up To The SMS Mistake

It turns out that the SMS service did require you to give out information. I didn't realize that. I seem to recall not needing to give out private data, when I first started using the service. I'm sorry about that. I apologize.

Please forgive me.

Anonymous Posting is Now Allowed

I didn't realize that readers could not post anonymously. My apologies. You should be able to post now.

The Bachelor[ette] And Broken Relationships

I saw a bit of the interview between the recent Bachelor, his ex-girl, and the host. Unfortunately, they can't see eye to eye anymore. I'd like to comment on why I think that they fail.

Adversity And A Woman Named Lizzie [50th Blog Entry]

I read Thu's blog entry about a woman, named Lizzie, with a rare disease. It causes her to not gain weight, which has more serious consequences than bulimia and anorexia, in my opinion.

This is my 50th blog entry, for this blog, and I think that it is very fitting to write about this very meaningful topic, even though it is only a small milestone. Read more to find out what this means to me.

[I'll also write about it in my hosiery advocacy blog.]

Niece Rode With Pedals

Well, we put the pedals on the for the first time. She was very happy to do it. She did well. I found that it was hard for her to build up enough momentum on her own. She needed to ride down the drive way, and into the cul-de-sac.

She did fall once, but she wasn't discouraged, and she didn't cry. It's good that she wasn't put off of biking, at all. She fell because she was getting too close to her brother, and she lost focus, and thus, she lost her balance. Also, I should have reminded her to put her feet down. So, 1 lesson is to remind her to stay away from others, and to put her feet down.

I guess that I get too excited, and forget that she is starting out for the first time.

It's good to see that she is growing up without losing her childhood innocence.

Temporary Work Around For Blogger Image And Photo Upload Problem

[Update: a Blogger employee said that the new editor is buggy, and that we must use the old editor, just as I suggest below]

Having trouble uploading images and photos to your Blogger blog entry? Feeling a little frustrated?

I found a way to do it. Honestly, though, I can't remember whose idea it was. We can use this temporary fix until Blogger/Google deals with it.

Home Entertainment Has Bright Future, As HDMI Might Be Phased Out While HDBaseT Is To Be Phased In

Another interesting Slashdot.org article came up. I think that you ought to know about this because it has to do with consumer electronics and standards. That means that if you are currently considering a purchase, then you might want to wait a short while, to consider buying home entertainment equipment with this new standard, to give you better value for your money.

TV business kisses HDMI goodbye

Read the rest of this blog entry for a couple of highlights, and a possible reason why you might not want it.

Unusual Linux Distributions

An interesting artcle came up on Slashdot.org, the other day. It presented 12 Linux Distributions.

12 of the most interesting, unusual and useful Linux distros

After reading their article, read the rest of this blog entry to see my favourites of the 12.

How To Ride A Bicycle [I taught my niece how to ride a bike.]

Remember all those painful experiences of falling down? Believe it or not, we didn't actually have to go through all of that. I put a lot of thought into it, and I discovered a way for us to teach our kids to ride without falling.

In this entry, I'll share with you my teaching technique on how to ride a bike, without any special attachments, and without falling. The teaching method is so safe that your child could learn without a helmet. That being said, I still recommend that your child wear the helmet, because none of us know how careful your child will be.

Running Technique

I was amazed at this video and this article that somebody shared.

• Girls in high heels race in Berlin's Stiletto Run
• Running Shoes Changed How Humans Run

This really seems to verify what I believe about running. In order to protect myself, when running, I would try to "float". In other words, I would try to make sure that I don't pound the ground, and that my feet don't feel much pressure.

The only way to do it, is to use the knees, hips, and connecting muscles to absorb the shock. You almost have to imagine that your skin on your feet has been worn off. Try walking like that. You will probably instinctively try to absorb the shock.

Practice walking like that, and your feet will thank you. Practice running like that, and you'll be much better off.

VIA Rail Will Experience No Work Stoppages

Here's some great news. It turns out that VIA Rail shouldn't experience any work stoppages, because it has reached a tentative agreement with the employees.

• VIA Rail and CAW Reach Tentative Agreement
• VIA Rail et les TCA concluent une entente préliminaire 

I'm very glad to read that, because the summer is such an important time for travel the travel industry. Since VIA Rail depend heavily on its tourism, it can't afford to wait for a second chance. I'm sure some foreign tourists would be willing to try again on another date, but most tourists would probably just not come again.

Harnessing Opera's Links Panel

I created a mini web site with links moved to Links Panel. The links are still available in the HTML, but the CSS set the display to none. The pages seem very uncluttered now.

I just want to warn you, that there are Adsense ads on the site.

Panel Assisted Browsing

Uses Of Opera's Info Panel And Link Panel

I've often wondered how to make use of the info and link panels that Opera provides, because I think that Opera's panels are so underused. In the remainder of this blog entry, I share 2 wonderful discoveries that might help you out. Power users probably know about them, already, though.

Customized Version Of OpenOffice.org

I found this web site by mistake: Go-oo. It seems that this project is making a better OpenOffice.org version. It also seems that Ubuntu offers it by default. Interesting. As a Kubuntu user, I didn't even know that I was using it.

How To Install OpenOffice.org ODF Templates

I was going to write about how to install ODF templates in OpenOffice.org, because I accidentally discovered that we can actually get them listed in the dialogs. It turns out that there already is a decent explanation: Adding Template Files to an OpenOffice.org Installation.

In the remainder of this blog entry, I share my experiences, and offer installation tips.

Afterwards, be sure to check out that blog label, "templates", where you will find more of my discoveries on how to make use of templates.

Thoughts On Latest Web Traffic And ODF Templates

I can see that my earlier blog entry, "ODF Templates For OpenOffice.org [Lulu.com, Turabian, misc]", seems to resonate well with my visitors. I'm not entirely sure why that is. I suspect that each visitor is just a curious person who wants to see what's happening. I suspect that each person is skimming through.

I also suspect that it's a case of visitors being curious about ODF templates. I've felt, for some time, that there are not enough templates out there to allow us to harness the power of ODF. These templates don't need to be very complex. They just need to save us a few key strokes. I wish that there were a way to figure out which templates users are demanding. It would be so much easier to meet their needs, that way.

Currently, there seem to be a lot of spreadsheet templates, and presentation background templates. These don't really excite me. I wish we could make more use of Writer and Draw.

ODF Template Update Notifications

[For those of you who don't know, I have uploaded many ODF templates to OpenOffice.org Templates.]

I try to create quality products, but I'm just a volunteer, so obviously, I don't always manage to release the templates at their best. Sometimes I discover new ways of doing things to improve the quality. Any time there are changes, I upload. For quite some time, it took me a while to figure out how to notify my followers that there are significant changes. Read the remainder of this blog entry to see how I now do it, and why I choose this, over other methods.

After that, be sure to check out that blog label, "templates", where you will find more discoveries on how to make use of templates.

Bad Publicity For Oprah

I'm not an Oprah Winfrey fan, so I was quite excited when I read this search term: oprah hates the handicapped.

Email Scam Alert

My mom just got an email, claiming to be from a friend, who visited Scotland, and had stuff stolen. The "friend" asked for $4500.

It's obviously a scam. She just needs to phone her friend to confirm that it is, if the email isn't obvious enough.

I wanted to throw that out to you, because the email was signed by the name of the friend, and sent from the friend's email address, making it just a bit more convincing.

Fixing gnustep-devel In Kubuntu 10.04, And Building My First Objective-C Program

Update: I moved the text that was here to GNUstep to XCode. I will keep all of my information there, so that everything will be in 1 place. Watch this journal for updates.

Keep reading this blog entry for the highlights of the walk through that used to be here.

Programming iPhone & iPod Applications With Kubuntu

Lately, I've been trying to get involved in programming iPhone applications, but it has been quite difficult. My dad paid for tutorial videos, but it's been difficult to follow along because of the accent and slang of the speaker. To make it even more challenging, I'm trying to get started, using Kubuntu 10.04, instead of Apple products.

This is the information that I found so far.

• Wikipedia Entry On Objective-C
• Objective-C Beginner's Guide [teaches us how to set up the environment for Linux & BSD] 
• Apple's Introduction to The Objective-C Programming Language

Fair Taxation Organization: FairTax.org

A slashdot.org user shared this link: FairTax.org.

It's a proposed system where people would pay a relatively flat percentage sales tax. The poor would get money from the government. Every other tax would be eliminated.

I think that there is a huge potential for this movement. It isn't just a grassroots organization of disgruntled tax payers. The system was created by economists, accountants, and MIT people. John Stossel supports it. Many Republicans, Democrats, and Libertarians also support it. I think that it is really going to be implemented.

You could check out the YouTube videos on the topic.

I am actually quite jealous of America. Hopefully, we can get something like this going.

VIA Rail Web Site Redesign

A while ago, VIA Rail redesigned its web site. I took a more detailed look, just a moment ago.

I'm a bit surprised by it, because I can't seem to find the train names. Before, I could find almost anything on there. Now, there is still a lot of information, but it seems so empty by comparison. I wonder if they did any usability tests.

Via Rail Summer Service During Potential Strike

I'm sad to read about a potential VIA Rail work stoppage, on June 28, 2010. Fortunately, it won't affect the entire network: "VIA services between Sudbury - White River (Ontario) and Victoria - Courtenay (British Columbia) are operated by a third party and will continue to operate as normal.".

This is important news for those who plan to travel with VIA Rail during the summer. I know that they already have offered Canadian Forces members and veterans the opportunity to travel.

Take note that VIA Préférence will be affected by this.

• VIA to Provide Basic Service In the Event of CAW Strike
• VIA Preference Information
• VIA fournira un service de base en cas de grève des TCA 
• Information VIA Préférence

Keep reading for my opinion on the matter.

Summer Is Wonderful

I'm very grateful for this warm weather. It's nice to be able to not feel gloomy and cold.

I had my doubts about the summer being warm, because we had such a cool spring.

This year, I'd like to hike the Grouse Grind, and go to the beach. Maybe I could volunteer in the outdoors. I'm planning on buying a new bike, so I'll probably go for a bike ride.

Today Is Juneteenth

Today, many people in the US celebrate Juneteenth. From the article, "People celebrate on Juneteenth the end of slavery.".

Juneteenth Day has its history

Commentary: Subway Accuses Sandwich Artist Of Thievery & Fires Her

This is sad. A woman got fired when she gave away a couple of 6" subs. According to the first article, she gave away her daily entitlement, but forgot to record it.

• Former Sandwich Artist: Subway Fired Me For Feeding Fire Victims
• Subway employee fired for feeding fire victims 

I think that the honour system is best. The boss should have been more understanding. He could look at the records to confirm whether she took her entitlement. If she didn't, then he could have accounted for it that way. This works well, if she literally lost a sandwich or forgot to get somebody to pay. He could just account for it as her daily entitlement.

I like my idea, because behaviourly responsible people get more choices and freedom, and people who are authoritatively responsible for the products are the people who gain and lose. The idea is that this honour system would pass the responsibility down as far as possible.

The opposite of this honour system is that the manager comes in and watches them every moment, and/or performs an inventory check every day, and goes ballistic when something goes wrong, even if it is all legitimate.

Thoughts On The Mac Mini

PCWorld has an article about the Mac Mini, and its title says it all.

New Mac Mini Guns For Your Living Room

I think that if they are really going to make a solid effort, then they are welcome to my living room. Read the remainder of the blog entry for what I think.

GoldenEye Remake For Wii

I wasn't too enthused about it, when I first read about it, because I expected it to fail like typical movie remakes. After watching a preview video, it seems that it might be better.

1 significant change is that they'll use Craig for James Bond. I wish that they would have stuck with the original, though, just as a tribute, and for consistency.

The video preview is in the second link.

• Nintendo unveils new Zelda Wii
• GoldenEye 64 Wii-make revealed, see Craig's Bond in action

It seems that Chatroulette is making a serious effort ban vulgar images of male body parts in chat rooms.

I respect that, because people don't want to see them, and they shouldn't have to. I think it is unfortunate, that people can't be bothered to show a little bit of respect. That being said, it's a good sign, that we can put an end to all of this.

• Chatroulette Plans Penis-Recognition Algorithm to Block Pervy Users
• Chatroulette Enlists Shawn Fanning In The Fight Against The Masturbators

Web Site For Damaged Wildlife In BP Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill, In Gulf Of Mexico

Here's a web site that gives us an updated count of the dead wildlife in BP Oil Spill, in the Gulf Of Mexico. I'll add this to the other 2 links that I gave in the previous blog entry. I said, "damaged", in the title, because the site also gives counts of animals that are oiled yet are alive. They get their numbers from each Fish & Wildlife Collection Report.


Read below to see the complete 3 item list of useful links regarding the BP Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf Of Mexico.

There Seems To Be No End To The BP Oil Spill In The Guif Of Mexico

I think that there is no end in sight, because they are starting to share information, and make a call for high-tech help.

ODF Templates For OpenOffice.org [Lulu.com, Turabian, misc]

For quite some time now, I have been creating ODF templates.

Eugene T.S. Wong's Templates

The only template that I did not create is the Turabian template. I just downloaded it, and modified the properties, so that it would work with the templates web site.

Keep reading for more information.

Afterwards, be sure to check out that blog label, "templates", where you will find more discoveries on how to make use of templates.

Gary Coleman Photos On Globe Magazine Cover

Photos of Gary Coleman just before and after death are supposed to appear on the cover of Globe Magazine, on Friday. It seems so sad that people are doing this for money. I could imagine wanting to get a last memory of him, even though it might be kind of weird, but it would have never occurred to me to try to make money off of this.

Todd Bridges seems to be the only outspoken person who cares. Other caring people seem to have to remain silent.

Second Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill?

Wow. A second spill?

Talk of Second Oil Spill in Gulf Grows Louder

A-Team First Impressions

I saw the commercial for the movie, "A-Team". I haven't heard the reviews yet, and it reminds me of G.I. Joe. It seems to have unrealistic action. I guess that all movies have unrealistic stuff, but there is a certain point when unrealistic action doesn't get more exciting.

I think that I'll pass on it. I recommend that you avoid it, too.

BP Buys Search Terms On Google & Yahoo

BP bought some search terms, it seems. When we type in phrases, such as "oil spill", we are supposed to be redirected to a BP site that gives information on the clean up.

BP attempts damage control, buys search phrases on Google and Yahoo

I tried searching "oil spill" and couldn't see the results or any advertising. Maybe my system isn't set up in a standard way.

I think that it is unethical for BP to do this, only if they make the search results hide the other information that the users are looking for. If they are just making legitimate information available, then more power to them. After all, they should be telling us what they are doing about the problem.

More Bad News About BP's Oil Spill

Newsweek has a good article about problems beneath the surface of the Gulf Of Mexico, regarding the Deep Horizon oil spill: What the Spill Will Kill. It seems that the news just gets worse and worse. In this situation, it seems that we face serious problems if we do something or if we don't.

BP should be the people to clean this up, and they should pay for it, completely. They won't do much of either.

At times like this, people moan about capitalism, and the free market. These problems aren't results of capitalism or the free market. It's a result of "the tragedy of the commons".  The "tragedy of the commons" is what happens when a certain resource is consumed and/or destroyed, but nobody has the responsibility to replenish.

Nobody should support oil drilling in the US, because there is no will to prevent serious problems, nor is there any will to really clean it up.

Who Is Kendra? Why The Fuss Over Her Movie?

Wikipedia seems to explain it the best.

I  think Kendra, her friends and relatives, shouldn't be too mindful of the consequences of her movie. As it is, she chose the life of pornography, and/or being connected to pornography. People want to see her naked, so they buy her movie. What was everybody expecting? Privacy?

Don't get me wrong, it is good to be concerned about a person's privacy. That is why I think that the movie shouldn't have been made in the first place. Also, she should have chosen a more private life style.

It's not good, but that's the way that her life is.

End Times, Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill & The Guatemala Sink Hole

I like to think about the end times, so I'd like to share my beliefs and the 2 events.

The reason that the 2 events reminded me of the end times, is because the oil spill seems to be big enough to kill off a third of the oceans, and the sink hole looks like some fantasy type of entrance to an abyss. I believe that the oil spill may not be as bad as I just said, and that the hole is just a hole, but they both do stir up imagery.

The end times will be characterized by adversity and big disasters. The disasters will also be characterized by unusualness. I don't think either of the 2 events are tied to a specific end time prophesy, but it does kind of fit the overall pattern. In other words, prophetic events aren't going to happen just out of the blue. There will be non-prophetic events that warm up to the phophetic events. For example, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill will affect the local economies and government policy, which will affect prices, which will affect the way that the oil companies do business. Every time there is a big problem, there is policy change. Every time there is policy change, there are opportunities for governments to move closer to the end times by grasping more power.

The anti-Christ and his high priest are supposed to show up on the scene and provide a great solution to our problems. I'm expecting the anti-Christ to show up on the scene in about 15 years. I predict that he will be American [I have nothing against Americans; it's just that they seem to be the people who control the world], and will replace the presidency with a new role. I expect that he will be some kind of corporate overlord, with a business background. I admit that it is very crazy, but the overall trend in the USA is for corporate lobbyists to try to gain power by being appointed high level governement positions.

The book of the Revelation says that many kings, without kingdoms, will go out to rule. At the time, I thought that they would be catholic priests, or something similar, but with the current world events catholic priests tend to have so little influence, no matter what you believe about the issue. Appointed lobbyists do have influence, though. They don't really rule over any country or physical territory in the way that presidents, senators, and representatives do.

I'd like to comment a bit more on the BP oil spill. I truly believe that they had the technology and knowledge to fix the spill. I also believe that even if the spill were too complex to fix immediately, then they do at least have the technology and knowledge to have prevented it. It's absurd to think that other nations have policies in place to prevent this, but the US is destined to live through months of spills. Would an intelligent company allow its precious oil to be spilled just because it couldn't afford to prevent it? It's absolutely impossible. Obviously, preventing months of oil spilling wasn't worth while to them, just as pulling staples from paper before recycling probably isn't worth while to you. If I am right, then why would they want to allow or do it on purpose? My best guess is to scare people into overreacting. I suspect that somebody wants the public to lose faith in the current president, and prepare the way for somebody to come on the scene and offer a better solution. How else would the anti-Christ come on the scene, take complete power, and have such a high approval rating? Somebody having complete power in government goes against liberal, libertarian, conservative, Democrat, Libertarian, and Republican values. The only way for the anti-Christ to win over the United States is to make them lose confidence over the current type of administration.

I admit that it is very crazy.

Sad: Guatemala Deals With 2 Volcanic Eruptions & 1 Sink Hole

I already mentioned the sinkhole in a previous entry.

It turns out that they lived through 2 volcanic eruptions, also.

News Story Of 2 Volcanic Eruptions
[scroll down to bottom of their page to see their story]

Sad: 2 Year Old Smokes Cigarettes

It bothers me so much.

News Story Of 2 Year Old Smoking

Guatemala Sink Hole: Big & Unbelievable

Here is an interesting story. There is a huge hole in a city.

It's what you'd expect to see in a science fiction movie. I wouldn't have expected to the walls of the hole to be so steep, and I wouldn't have expected the hole to be so deep and round.

News Story With Image

Amazing.

New TV Show, Starting On August 2: "Legally Blondes"

I'm looking forward to it, because I enjoyed the first movie. I didn't get a chance to watch the second, and I know that remakes or TV versions don't always work so well, but the first movie was better than I expected. Keep reading to find out why I found the first movie very respectable.

Waste Of Time?

I just stayed awake all night, and can't remember what I did. This makes me sad. I hope that it was useful.

Update: I just remembered that I spent all night creating a post about creating a transit map, and relabelling the frequent service transit network.