Blog Master G

Hot off the press: “A federal appeals court postponed California’s Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall election, ruling the historic vote cannot proceed as scheduled because some votes would be cast using outmoded punch-card ballot machines.”

This is good news indeed. More time to rally the vote against the recall. Hopefully this will have a positive impact at the polls and result in higher voter turnout.

(Thanks, Dad, for the heads up.)

I was reading my Special Election pamphlet this morning and came across what’s got to be one of the top reasons why this recall is such a bad idea (reason number one, of course, being to prevent the wealthy right-wing conservatives from buying an election when they’re not happy with the results): Trek Thunder Kelly, who has the following statement in the voter guidebook:

Dear Voters, Please vote for me, thus breaking the Seventh Seal and incurring Armageddon. I will legalize drugs, gambling, and prostitution so they may be taxed and regulated, the funds derived would subsidize the deficit, education, and the environment. I believe in peaceful resolutions backed by a strong military; I don’t care who you marry or have sex with.

These ideas are presented with good intentions, of course, and I do agree with this candidate on some level (especially with regard to legalization of certain drugs like marijuana, and making marriage gender blind), but what more proof do we need that this recall election has become a joke? The Seventh Seal? Armageddon? Hmm. I’m all for a sense of humor, but running the world’s sixth-largest economy is no joke.

Vote no on the recall — whenever it may be.

Ananova: “United States police are searching for a man who paid for his groceries with a forged 200 dollar bank note bearing the image of President George W Bush.”

Gotta love this country. Where else but in America would someone accept currency that doesn’t exist and displays the picture of the man currently living in the White House, the image of which on the back of the bill depicts lawn signs that include “we like ice cream?”

(Thanks, Shrey, for the link.)

Published with kind permission of Jose Luis Martinez

Jen and I stepped out of our cavelike apartment this morning at about 10:30 to take the dogs for a walk. The sun was shining so brightly I could barely see. I quickly dove into my car to seek respite from my sunglasses. And damn is it hot. According to Yahoo Weather it’s currently 83º and could hit a high of 92. Summertime in San Francisco has arrived.

September and October are the hottest months here and the past few days have reminded us that, despite spending the official summer months planning our wedding and getting married, we still have a couple months of San Francisco heat to enjoy.

This is one of those rare days when we are appreciative of living in an apartment that doesn’t get direct sunlight and stays cool. Yes, we are wimps when it comes to the heat. That’s what happens when you live in San Francisco, where it’s normally about 55 to 65º year-round. Sure, I grew up in Sacramento, where it’s supposed to hit a high of 101 today, but I’m glad I don’t have to put up with that kind of ridiculous heat anymore. I like my moderate climate.

When it comes to the heat, our dogs our wimps, too. Here’s what happens to them when they’re hot:

Stella pants

Who? Me?

(All photos were taken in last night’s heat, except Foil Head Happy, which was taken August 13, 2003.)

“It however saddens me greatly that the proponents of Evolutionism have corrupted this true purpose of science and are instead using it as a propaganda tool to spread Secularism.” —Dr. Richard Paley

This is absolutely hilarious: The Fellowship Baptist Creation Science Fair 2001, whose winners included these gems:

Elementary School Level
1st Place: “My Uncle Is A Man Named Steve (Not A Monkey)”
Cassidy Turnbull (grade 5) presented her uncle, Steve. She also showed photographs of monkeys and invited fairgoers to note the differences between her uncle and the monkeys. She tried to feed her uncle bananas, but he declined to eat them. Cassidy has conclusively shown that her uncle is no monkey.

Middle School Level
2nd Place: “Women Were Designed For Homemaking”
Jonathan Goode (grade 7) applied findings from many fields of science to support his conclusion that God designed women for homemaking: physics shows that women have a lower center of gravity than men, making them more suited to carrying groceries and laundry baskets; biology shows that women were designed to carry un-born babies in their wombs and to feed born babies milk, making them the natural choice for child rearing; social sciences show that the wages for women workers are lower than for normal workers, meaning that they are unable to work as well and thus earn equal pay; and exegetics shows that God created Eve as a companion for Adam, not as a co-worker.

High School Level
1st Place: “Using Prayer To Microevolve Latent Antibiotic Resistance In Bacteria”
Eileen Hyde and Lynda Morgan (grades 10 & 11) did a project showing how the power of prayer can unlock the latent genes in bacteria, allowing them to microevolve antibiotic resistance. Escherichia coli bacteria cultured in agar filled petri dishes were subjected to the antibiotics tetracycline and chlorotetracycline. The bacteria cultures were divided into two groups, one group (A) received prayer while the other (B) didn’t. The prayer was as follows: “Dear Lord, please allow the bacteria in Group A to unlock the antibiotic-resistant genes that You saw fit to give them at the time of Creation. Amen.” The process was repeated for five generations, with the prayer being given at the start of each generation. In the end, Group A was significantly more resistant than Group B to both antibiotics.

[via Dave Reed’s blog]

Wireless Internet rules. This is my first time accessing the Web without wires (cell phones aside). It was a pain getting the PowerBook G4’s AirPort Extreme card, which I installed last night, to connect to my wireless network, powered by a new Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G router. But I finally got it to work. Here’s what I had to do:

• Restart in order for the AirPort to find the network
• Enable SSID Broadcast in router settings
• Disable WEP
• Set router Mode from G-Only to Mixed (this was key in establishing the connection)
• To secure my wireless network, enable Wireless MAC Filter and “Permit only PCs listed below to access the wireless network” (add my AirPort’s MAC address to list) — thanks to Ben for this pointer

And voila! I’m up and running no wires attached. I don’t know why I’ve never had a wireless network before.

The WEP authentication is confusing, so I don’t think I’ll bother activating it, especially since only my PowerBook can access the network. From what I’ve read, though, you need to turn on 128-bit hex encryption and enter one of the keys into your AirPort’s network connection as the password, preceeded by $.

But for now, I’m going to leave well enough alone and enjoy the fully functioning wireless action.

My wife and I enjoyed espresso together this morning before she headed out to work. We kissed and she left for the bus. It was really a perfect moment. As Jen said not too long ago, “We should be making perfect moments all the time.” How true that is. Life is too short and we should all enjoy every moment as much as possible.

After Jen left, I found myself wiping down the espresso machine and shedding some tears, as I did on this day last year and the year before. The tears were for those who died so tragically two years ago. That day was the first major tragedy that many of my generation had lived through — and that was so close to home. I’m sure my tears will continue to flow on this day for the rest of my life. I can only hope that the world will somehow be a better place one day.

Above all else, today is a day of remembrance. It is a day to think about the lives that were lost and the family and friends who were left behind. It is also a day to enjoy life and to appreciate every moment we have on this Earth.

Tristan Louis asks: “Who were you before and who are you now? How did the September 11th experience changed [sic] your life, if it did in any way? How are things different in your life now? What have you done/not done as a result of September 11th?”

September 11, 2001 certainly changed me as a person. Before then, I had a greater sense of security. I didn’t think twice when I drove across the Golden Gate Bridge, boarded a plane, or rode an underground train. I had a deeper sense of inner peace. As many other Americans, I felt safe and impenetrable in this great country. The attack on America that day was a wake-up call. It shattered my sense of security and also my sense of peace about the future. I used to look forward to the day I would bring children into this world. Now Jen and I question whether that’s the responsible thing to do (not that we’re close to ready for that). The world is now a scary place. What will be left for future generations?

Despite this, I am not afraid. I am more cautious, more aware of what’s going on around me, but I don’t live my life in fear. That’s the goal of terrorism and I do not let it win me over.

This country may be more vulnerable today than it was before September 11, but the spirit of its people is stronger. The greatest lesson of all from that day is not to live in fear, but to appreciate each day and live it to the fullest.

Today tell your friends and family that you love them. Life is precious. Enjoy it.

Woohoo! This is my first post from the new PowerBook G4. The mouse and Airport Extreme card arrived yesterday, and the machine itself today. The LinkSys WRT54G wireless router I ordered from Amazon also arrived today. And so far, that’s where the only problem lies.

The router itself works great — got the desktop PC online in no time and am connected to the Internet via good ol’ RJ-45 right now. But for some reason, I can’t get the Airport to recognize the wireless network. Both are 802.11g, so what gives?

Sure, I’ve never configured a wireless network before, but I didn’t think it would be this much of a pain in the ass. But apparently I’m not the only one who’s run into this problem.

One of the solutions I found was to limit the transmission rate (TX setting) in the router configuration to 2 Mbps. No luck. Even using the AirPort Setup Assistant does no good. All I get is “No Networks Found.”

I’m hoping I didn’t buy the wrong router. I guess I should’ve researched it a bit more before buying. It’s just that my old Linksys worked just fine, so I assumed there wouldn’t be any issues with the wireless.

In December 2002 I began to pay attention to where in Google’s search results my site was showing up. The last major overhaul of my site was in that month, so I think that’s when I began to take an interest in this.

At the time, a Google search for Gabe yielded about 68,800 pages. Now, the same search produces 138,000. More Gabes in the world? Or more Gabes and more A_ndersons?

Regardless, in the past few months as my blog has gotten more and more popular (or the Internet more and more use?), I began to notice my site popping up in results following a simple search for gabe. Today that search produces 1,260,000 results. I’ve watched my site climb and see that today, for the first time, I’ve reached that coveted number 1 position.

So now, type in “gabe” on the Google home page, press that “I’m Feeling Lucky” button, and here is where you’ll end up. Of course, with bragging rights also comes a significantly reduced sense of privacy.

Gulp.

Imagine it: You wake up in the morning and you want to know what the weather is like. What do you do? Go to the window? Take a step out the front door? Turn on the radio or the Weather Channel? Nah. Too much work. Just look at the magical egg on your nightstand.

Ditto for the stock market, if your egg’s channel is set to the DOW instead of the weather.

I read this morning in Newsweek about Ambient’s latest product, the Beacon, which is more expensive ($199) and not as flexible as the magical egg — the company’s $149 Orb product.

Strange concept indeed, but of course it’s also very cool. Your magical color egg does not connect to your computer. Rather, it accesses market, weather, pollen, and even IM data via a wireless cell phone-like network. You control what your egg senses via a members-only Web site. The colors shift (thousands of ’em) based on what is happening in the world.

Apparently the company will soon offer a Homeland Security setting. I can see it now: Thousands flock to the streets in chaos because their magical eggs turned red. Or maybe that means the market is tanking. Or there’s a thunderstorm in town. Better make sure your egg is set to the right channel.

[ Ambient FAQs | ThinkGeek ]