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I love hate mail

I Hate Linux — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 08:05:01 GMT

Between work, work and more work, my time for blogging, let alone side projects has been limited... but as I sit back in a hotel room in Webster, SD in between stakeouts near a local farm field as part of the 2010 muzzleloader season (white tail deer is the target), I was... entertained this morning by the following piece of hate mail: Subject: There are so many ways to be a loser From: Sam Handel [schmandel@gmail.com] Date: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 7:40 AM Thanks for personally embracing so many...(read more)

Red Eye Podcast!

I Hate Linux — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 21:33:03 GMT

Admittedly this blog has been silent for too long. Work you love can do that. Tonight I had to break the silence with grand news... the Fox News hit show Red Eye with Greg Gutfield ... now has a podcast! Unfortunately they only advertize it as being available through iTunes and this link ... luckily any serious podcast fan will have a copy of iTunes installed only to extract the actual RSS URL for those who do not have an iPhone/Pod/Pad or similar listening device. I present... the raw URL: http...(read more)

Predicament

I Hate Linux — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:23:02 GMT

Despite being raised in the Democratic People's Republic of Minnesota and disliking almost everything about it... I still find myself listening to Garage Logic (one of the few redeeming products/exports (aside from scotch tape))... I still tend to root for the Vikings and Twins as I've not found new teams to root for. While working on some coding this evening I've had the Vikings vs Packers game on and honestly in a predicament... do I root for the hated Packers... or for the 'hometown'...(read more)

One more reason to distrust Jay Inslee

I Hate Linux — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:40:04 GMT

Today I received what amounted to a bulk email from my congressmen Jay Inslee which attempted to answer a question I wrote down at one of the town hall meetings back in August ... unfortunately his office conveniently ignored my question and opted instead to address one that is tangentially related. That's not the problem. I hit Reply in Outlook, typed a response, clicked send... and got a nice little bounce back a moment later which said: Please do not respond to this message. This is an auto...(read more)

See ya in Rio!

I Hate Linux — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:59:00 GMT

Given the recent failure of President Obama to secure the 2016 Summer Olympics for his home town of Chicago and the growing realization that the President is not as competent as people once thought , a fter seeing this image on the New York Times website , only one thing could be done with it:...(read more)

I knew I heard it before...

I Hate Linux — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:04:02 GMT

For the second time this evening I saw the following commercial: Both times the tone was very similar to something I'd read several times before... then I remembered the quote: "The John Galt Plan," Wesley Mouch was saying, "will reconcile all conflicts. It will protect the property of the rich and give a greater share to the poor. It will cut down the burden of your taxes and provide you with more government benefits. It will lower prices and raise wages. It will give more freedom...(read more)

Most moronic bumper sticker EVER!

I Hate Linux — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:23:02 GMT

A few years back Channel 9 had a video about "sensecam" , a device that one could wear from their neck and which would take periodic pictures of your day so as to augment your memory of what you saw/encountered through the day. I want the same thing.. but in a high-resolution form, and for my car as last weekend I saw three things that were not only shocking, but almost unbelievable, especially considering I was not able to take photos of any. The first... while driving through Bellevue...(read more)

"Speaking truth to power"?

I Hate Linux — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:47:05 GMT

A few weeks back I wrote about my cowardly and disingenuous Congressman Jay Inslee and his lie of omission that illegal aliens would not be covered under the current health 'insurance' reform being considered in congress. While I certainly can sympathize with the President and having his Congressional Address momentarily interrupted by a heckler... when one is going to go out of their way to call someone a liar while not being honest themselves... even then civility has it's limits, even...(read more)

Seattle area oddities – the homeless

I Hate Linux — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 20:33:02 GMT

Since moving out to Redmond last year I’ve encountered countless oddities that were quite different than what I’d come to know in South Dakota and Minnesota... a few weeks back I finally put words to something that I'd not been able to quite explain... the homeless and other beggars here are not of the sort I've seen in past. Despite being raised Catholic (and still technically caucusing with them for cultural and family reasons)... I am not a God fearing man... the same it seems can be said...(read more)

"Wild" Bill Janklow Sues Dell?!?!?

I Hate Linux — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:19:04 GMT

I've got another political post in the queue... but I had to post this first after hearing about it while chatting with tdaxp on the phone this afternoon while waiting for the ferry. Former South Dakota Governor, Congressmen (at large) and convicted manslaughter(-er?) Bill Janklow has recently decided to sue Dell over some tech support issues . While I voted against him every chance I could (granted only once)... watching the following video I am reminded of part of why I voted against him when...(read more)

Photos from the Jay Inslee town hall (8/30/2009)

I Hate Linux — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:53:00 GMT

Do note the box sitting on top of the garbage next to the bench on the left... we'll come back to that later: Planned Parenthood was there as well... complete with pink shirts (shame it's not my color): Hand outs about the bill, unfortunately they aren't the most accurate given they to make the false claim that illegal's will not be covered under the plan : Those with questions were asked to write their name and city on a peice on a card and put it into one of 3 boxes... Agree, Undecided...(read more)

Are Seattle drivers that bad? Apparently so...

I Hate Linux — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:56:03 GMT

...as are the pilots who fly here it seems. If you aren’t familiar with the Seattle area... it’s best to start with a map: While the city of Seattle is on the left side of the map, the ‘East side’ (Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, etc) rests on the right, separating them is Lake Washington over which run a pair of relatively narrow highways (I-90 & SR-520). Every summer the city of Seattle has it’s summer fair known as Seafair , part of which often involves an air show over Lake Washington. This...(read more)

It better not happen again...

I Hate Linux — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:19:03 GMT

On Wednesday night as I sat in my living room watching some Torchwood I heard someone fumble with my apartment’s door. Being puzzled I got up to see what was going on and was met by a person with a grocery bag in tow who opened the door, looked around for a moment, saw me and said “oops, wrong apartment.” That night I lay awake in bed with some some work related design bits preventing sleep... at one point I got out of bed, walked into my second bedroom to grab my Zune when I heard some rustling...(read more)

An unfortunate contrast

I Hate Linux — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 10:20:03 GMT

What does the Google home page show today? That's right on this the 65th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy Google honors.. Tetris: For comparison... Bing: CNN: Fox News: MSNBC: Shameful Google, shameful....(read more)

When beta software attacks

I Hate Linux — Fri, 29 May 2009 20:50:02 GMT

One of the (many) interesting parts about working at Microsoft is the opportunity to see, use, test and give feedback on early versions of a wide variety of products... it all depends on what your interests are and the openness of other teams. This evening while working with a beta service something rather… strange happened, so strange that it was flat out wrong and shouldn’t have happened, ever. What’d I do? I emailed the Program Manager who is my contact for the product explaining the issue, expressing...(read more)

And you want me to pay my bills ACS Education?

I Hate Linux — Sun, 17 May 2009 23:16:00 GMT

In these times of a difficult economy and people struggling to make ends meat and pay their bills, its refreshing to see some companies offer options to current and future customers, be it car companies that will make your payments for you for a time, or even let you return your car if you lose your job, or credit card companies that take out advertisements, asking for you to call them if you are unable to pay your bills to them. It seems though that at least one student loan company ( ACS Education...(read more)

Proof of Concept: Silverlight based VNC client

I Hate Linux — Sat, 16 May 2009 11:03:04 GMT

Forward: I would advise not looking for potential meanings of the below post or infer potential new features of Windows Home Server as it all involves things I was doing on my own time and for my own nefarious purposes. The other weekend I had a little free time on my hands and thought: “Wouldn't it be cool (and useful) if there was a Remote Desktop client that ran completely within the context of Silverlight ?” After a quick read of the core spec behind RDP ... I decided that a simpler protocol...(read more)

What’s wrong with this picture?

I Hate Linux — Tue, 12 May 2009 11:38:03 GMT

... and the answer is not that I was using Google: (click for larger) Do note the address:...(read more)

Weight Loss – 3 years (and 5 days) in

I Hate Linux — Fri, 08 May 2009 10:20:03 GMT

With all that is going on both professionally and personally, I forgot to celebrate an important day on Sunday... the 3 year anniversary of me starting Nutrisystem! History thus far: Start (5/3/2006): 415.2 lbs End of Year 1 (5/3/2007) : 291.2 (down 124) End of Year 2 (5/3/2008) : 224.2 (down 191) 8/10/2008 : 215 lbs (down 200.2) End of Year 3 (5/3/2009): 252.8 Your eyes do not deceive you, despite having lost ~205 over 30 month period... I've since gained ~40 of that back... to explain some...(read more)

Guess who I’m not buying?

I Hate Linux — Sat, 02 May 2009 23:03:01 GMT

This Saturday night I’m sitting here watching some Harry Potter: The Prisoner of Azkaban, I was writing an email to a former co-worker when a commercial break (which I normally ignore) caught my ear when I heard the following line and suddenly had to pay attention: ...and a 3 year, 36,000 mile warranty backed by GM and the US Government … um no… it’s backed by US taxpayers! As it turned out, the ad was for a local car lot. At present I’m driving a 2002 Pontiac Aztek with ~140,000 miles on it and...(read more)

Crazy People

I Hate Linux — Fri, 01 May 2009 13:58:04 GMT

Since moving to the Seattle area I've encountered many new different sorts of people (more on that another day)... unfortunately I've also seem to have found a few… seemingly insane people, the most recent case involved a person who kept insisting that I stop IMing them... even when it was she who was IMIng me repeatedly. Yes... I could have just blocked her and ended things... though I was curious just how much she intended to harass me so I kept watching and even warned her that if she...(read more)

Drop baby drop! ... or 2TB becoming price competitive?

I Hate Linux — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:09:03 GMT

Even before joining the Windows Home Server team I could just never have enough hard drive space and was always thrilled as new and bigger drives came out and prices across the board eventually came down due to competition. This morning I got an email from Fry’s with their weekly specials and the one that caught my eye... an internal 2.0 TB HD for $229 , something that completely blew my mind as largely the same drive is sold on NewEgg (and elsewhere) in an OEM configuration for $300 and the lowest...(read more)

Brendan’s Brilliant Idea #244700 - Pirates

I Hate Linux — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 09:47:01 GMT

Given the recent news of the kidnapping of Captain Phillips at the hands of Somali pirates and his eventual freeing by the US Navy and Navy Seals, there has been much talk about what can be done to prevent such kidnappings and attacks in future... things ranging from attacking the base camps of these pirates all the way up to unleashing a mass wave of Vikings against the pirates , something I am all in favor of. Though as an amateur constitutional scholar... it's important to note that such authority...(read more)

Earth Hour: What are you doing Saturday night?

I Hate Linux — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:59:05 GMT

Recently I was forwarded an email about “ Earth Hour ”, a concept where well... to quote them: This year, Earth Hour has been transformed into the world’s first global election, between Earth and global warming. For the first time in history, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background have the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote – Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming. I’m confused... you mean by turning off...(read more)

M&M Time!

I Hate Linux — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:46:03 GMT

As is the custom… this morning I put 1 pound of M&M’s outside of my door to celebrate my 1 year anniversary with Microsoft: It’s been one heck of a year and here’s to many more, and more versions and updates to Windows Home Server. Btw… have you downloaded Power Pack 2 yet? As nifty as this tradition is (sadly not all honor it, tisk tisk!)... it can be a bit dangerous at times, take for example the bucket one co-worker left out his door for his 15 year anniversary back in January: I’m not going...(read more)