August 28, 2005
Kurt Cagle on SVG
Kurt Cagle was nice enough to post a transcript of his keynote from SVG Open 2005. There is also an excellent report from the conference on Carto.net.
It's great to see such high-quality interest in a technology that I have fretted about. Again and again.
Posted by Bill Trippe at 9:20 AM
August 27, 2005
Odds and Ends
This is a very funny little story.
I happened to get a piece of email today from a law firm with the most curious slogan.
Maybe it's just me, but the two things seem related.
Posted by Bill Trippe at 2:10 PM
August 23, 2005
The Christian Thing to Do
I couldn't make this up.
Posted by Bill Trippe at 10:52 AM | Comments (1)
August 22, 2005
Sopranos
I don't subscribe to HBO, so I catch up on the Sopranos when the season-long DVDs come out. I am down with a cold for a few days, so have been watching the 5th season finally. I know there is a trend out there to think the Sopranos have gone downhill, but I still find it really gripping.
Posted by Bill Trippe at 8:16 PM
August 17, 2005
Overhead in Dunkin Donuts This Morning
"Think they would toast a donut? I'm going to ask."
Posted by Bill Trippe at 11:02 AM
August 16, 2005
My Favorite Moron
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Posted by Bill Trippe at 11:49 AM
August 13, 2005
Cleo
There are many pretenders to the throne, but this is the best dog in the whole world. Too bad her master isn't better with the digital camera yet.
By the way, she is a mutt. Her parents were two distinct breeds. Any guesses? She is about 85 pounds.
Posted by Bill Trippe at 11:49 AM
August 12, 2005
Well, Yeah
Bill Sinkford weighs in:
It is important to understand that when we say "people of faith" in this country, we are talking about a wide spectrum of Americans who have many different beliefs and practices. The United States of America today has become the most religiously pluralistic society the world has ever known. Americans are not only Methodists, but Mormons and Muslims; not only Baptists, but Buddhists and Baha'is.
Those of us speaking to you today believe strongly that no one religious group or political party can ever hold a monopoly on religious belief. No person or group can honestly claim to represent "the" single authentic faith perspective on a given issue. Americans of faith and good will differ on the issues facing our country today, but those differences should never be cause for questioning another's faith or patriotism.
People of deep faith can and DO disagree about political issues and about the application of religion in daily life. But to demonize those who disagree with us is at best misguided, and at worst, a cynical tactic to cloak a political agenda in the guise of religion.
As a certain wingnut blogger would say, read the whole thing.
Posted by Bill Trippe at 7:14 PM
Great Stuff
Bill Littlefield is the man, and this is only one of a thousand reasons why.
Posted by Bill Trippe at 3:42 PM
August 9, 2005
To Boldly Go...
This sounds about right.
Posted by Bill Trippe at 10:06 PM
August 8, 2005
City Boy Learns the Birds and the Bees
No lie.
I watched two birds mate yesterday.
For me, this was a first.
I was struck--astonished really--
at how hard the male had to work.
Flapping his wings madly while trying to hit his mark.
Over and over again,
He flitted, hopped,
seemed to find his place.
Then he and she flapping urgently for a moment.
And then, just as quickly, off again.
I lost count.
20 times at least before some decision was made,
some conclusion reached,
leaving her alone on the perch.
I smiled at my wife, squeezed her hand.
This love.
This pursuit.
It's a young man's game.
Posted by Bill Trippe at 5:15 PM
More Proof that All Politicians Suck
Remember that George Bush said this when you read that crude oil hit $63 a barrel today:
Source: Katherine Q. Seelye, NY Times Jun 28, 2000
You know, one of the reasons that the wingnut blogs like Instapundit are so completely useless is they seem to think Bush is an action hero, infallible in the face of everything. By checking their critical thinking at the side of the keyboard, they fail to recognize that Bush is, at the end of the day, just another hack, looking out only for himself and the interests of a few friends. A political blog with that complete lack of critical thinking is useless, no matter which party it is shilling for.
Posted by Bill Trippe at 12:16 PM
August 7, 2005
Guilty Pleasures
They say one of the advantages of having children is that you get to learn US history all over again (and basic math, grammar, etc, when you help them with their homework). The other advantage (at least when you have boys) is you have an excuse to see Jessica Simpson in Dukes of Hazzard. Jessisa is dazzling, but the movie is dumb, of course, but I liked that it had a few holdover techniques from the original show, including the freezeframe-with-voiceover bit at critical moments ("Now there are a few things you don't say to a Duke..."). It got me thinking about the original voiceover announcer, whom I remembered as Hoyt Axton, but it turns out it was Waylon Jennings. My bad.
I always had a soft spot for Hoyt, who appeared on camera in a Woody Guthrie tribute called Hard Travelin', in which he and Arlo Guthrie do a heartbreaking cover of "Deportee."
This could explain my Hoyt/Dukes confusion: busy actor that Hoyt was, he was a guest-star on an episode of Dukes, playing "Himself" in episode: "Good Neighbors, Duke" (episode # 3.10) 2 January 1981. For the record, I was in Greece that day, so I must have seen the episode in reruns.
How many people out there know Hoyt wrote a certain #1 song?
Posted by Bill Trippe at 12:03 PM
August 6, 2005
Number 8
When I was a kid, I had one hero, and his name was Yaz.
Posted by Bill Trippe at 10:22 AM | Comments (1)
August 5, 2005
This is Cool
An interesting historical note from a site I have mentioned recently.
Speaking of Hawthorne, of course there are some good Web sites dedicated to him. This one seems like the broadest, but this one has more primary material.
Posted by Bill Trippe at 12:17 PM | Comments (1)
