Latest Blog Posts
Lincoln’s First Staples—Sort Of
It seems Nebraska Bookstore is now affiliated with Staples. Nebraska Bookstore also recently partnered with Blick Art Materials. Here’s hoping the new partnerships serve one of Lincoln’s landmarks well.
Mourning Maynard
One of my favorite trumpeters, Maynard Ferguson, is dead at the age of 78. Maynard’s energetic, high-flying trumpet playing was extremely popular with my peers and me back in high school. I only caught his show live once, when he was 69, at a high school auditorium in Council Bluffs. Seeing a 69 year-old fat man perform with that kind of energy and enthusiasm was a lot of fun.
Friday Five
Five things I plan to do at the Nebraska State Fair this year:
- View the photography exhibits. The 4-H photography exhibits are especially fun.
- Compare my garden veggies to the blue ribbon veggies and continuously nudge The Missus while saying “Ours are way better than that!” (Even though they aren’t, of course.)
- Meander through the local foods exhibit and stuff myself with free samples.
- People watch, people watch, people watch.
- Eat at least three foods on a stick.
Death Wish
Having a tire explode on you is a little freaky when your driving on I-80 in the middle of traffic. Thankfully, it didn’t end up like a Grand Theft Auto “insane car trick.” Dear God - When I die, please, let it not be in front of the outlet malls in Gretna, Nebraska. Please.
Just Call Me a Masochist
Web developers don’t like Internet Explorer. It’s pretty much a rule; to be a hip web developer, you have to profess a hatred for IE. Some of the hatred is a bit irrational, but most of it is based on the fact that Internet Explorer is out-of-date software that should have disappeared three years ago.
So it was with a sense of masochism that I downloaded the new release candidate of IE7 today. (The phrase “release candidate” means that it is 99.5% finished, but that the developers will still go back and fix a few bugs here and there before declaring the product finalized.) A few minutes and several warnings from my anti-spyware and anti-virus software later, and IE7 was running.
The user interface is completely different from what users have come to expect from a web browser. I think it will confuse a lot of folks right off the bat. On the plus side, the IE crew fixed a ton of bugs related to how websites display. In my quick tests, Lincolnite, for example, displays pretty much as intended in IE7, whereas I have to feed IE6 a bunch of fixes to get the site to display passably.
I’ll keep trying IE7 over the next several days to see how it works out. Have any of you given IE7 a try? If you’re brave, you can download it yourself.
Website and E-Mail Problems?
Is anybody seeing either of the following two problems?
- After submitting a comment or a post on the forum, you see a page listing a bunch of PHP errors
- Even though you have subscribed to receive e-mail notifications whenever a comment or forum response is submitted, you are not receiving those e-mails.
Fetching Fido is a Weekday Job
Animal Control no longer offers services on weekends except for bats and bites. The department’s budget and staff were finally cut to the point that weekend hours are no longer possible. Department personnel are making a big deal about the change, as is expected. But it will be interesting to see how much the lack of weekend services really affects us. Hopefully somebody plans to collect data about the quantity and nature of unanswered calls so we can decide if this is a change we want to stick with.
Race War
In response to all the attention surrounding rumors about the new “Survivor” series (brought to you by the geniuses at CBS): Rush Limbaugh weighs in. More proof that Rush is still a super obese idiot.
White Nationalists are People Too
Did anybody else catch the 20/20 special last night on white nationalism in America? The portions I caught were remarkably even-handed. Almost too even-handed, in fact. The individuals they interviewed on camera were mostly well-spoken, clean-cut, normal people. Except they were unapologetic racists. I didn’t catch the entire show, but the parts I saw seemed like they would make for an excellent introduction into a discussion on journalistic ethics and the limits, if any, of “unbiased” reporting.
Rice is Hillarious
Robbie has been sampling a little rice cereal lately. He really went to town on it yesterday. In fact, he thought it was hillarious. I don’t know why it was hillarious. Uncle Ben has never made me so much as chortle. But to Robbie it was the funniest thing since he tooted just a few minutes earlier.
You can learn a lot from a baby. For instance, did you know that rice cereal makes a great shampoo and exfoliant? It’s true. Robbie proved it by grabbing a handful of cereal from his mouth and smearing it through his hair and across his skin. I must say, his hair and skin look fantastic as a result.
Unfortunately, Robbie has been fighting a cold lately. It started in his sinuses and now it has worked its way to his lungs. But my little man is one tough brute. He gives a few quick hacks, spits out the loogey, and grins with pride. I think I like this kid.
Robbie still hasn’t rolled over, but I’m not concerned. I think he just skipped that developmental step. He already loves to try to sit up and stand, for example, and his neck is NFL lineman-strong.
And the babbling. Boy oh boy does he talk. He talks to people, he talks to Daisy, he talks to his toys. Heck, last night he talked to a lamp. It’s not (all) just random noise, either. He actually tries to communicate. He loves to banter back and forth with people. Ask him a question and he’ll give you an answer. He’s like our own little Magic 8 Ball, but cuter.
Now that I think about it, that could make a great way to fund Robbie’s college education. Who wouldn’t go to the Ask Robert booth at the State Fair? Hmm…
Running on Empty?
Should Mayor Seng run for reelection? So far she hasn’t committed one way or the other. Who would you like to see run for election? Or, if you’ve decided, who would you like to see win?
News About the Bear
You Oso Burrito fans out there may want to take a peek in the forums…
(Note: forums are currently active for logged-in members only. That will change eventually, but not until the site redesign is completed.)
Where Am I?
- It’s Friday at Noon. There’s a colorfully-adorned man serving people outside. I look over my options and choose the one with M&M’s—my favorite. Where am I?
- I smell onion rings. Boys are playing basketball on the fenced-in court behind me. There’s a neat old church catty corner from me. I see some signs written en español. Where am I?
- There’s a game tomorrow. The people standing on chairs are wearing red shoes. Hey look, it’s Chris Fowler! It sure is crowded in here. Where am I?
- I’m standing in a long hallway. All sorts of people from all walks of life head to their rooms. He wants to be a mechanic. She, a chef. And that older lady there? She’s a quilter. Where am I?
- The flowers here are very pretty. I want to play in the water, but something tells me that’s not allowed. I’m at a fork in the path; I take my equipment and turn toward the high road. Where am I?
[Note: It appears this post is having some comment-related issues. The comments are showing up OK, but they aren’t being counted (i.e. it says “No comments").]
Pay Your Own Way
Jo Naber is still steaming about Lincoln having to foot the bill for celebrity-related security expenses:
I read by the morning papers that Vice President Dick Cheney may be here in Nebraska soon.
I’m sure Lincoln will be the recipient of a number of big names coming to campaign for candidates for office this fall. It is not too late for the City Council to issue a notice that any costs to the city of Lincoln for security or other reasons are to be borne by the political campaign benefiting from the appearance. This would be the same for Republican or Democrat.
We all remember the city being stiffed some $31,900 in 2004 by the Jeff Fortenberry campaign. Let’s not let starshine lead us down the primrose path again.
Jo Naber, Lincoln
Discuss.
It All Makes Sense Now
The Sister-in-law is headed to UT-Austin for grad school this fall. She never really seemed like the Longhorn type, so I was a little curious how she ended up there. Now I know.
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