Month: April 2012

FUN: My paradigm shift at the recent wedding as I was taught a new wedding meme

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Went 2 THAT wedding Saturday.

“We’ll see if I have the charm of my younger days and some beautiful young thing finds me young, thin, handsome, AND irresistible.”

… to my Russian co-worker, who wanted to schedule an early Monday meeting. She looks at me in her deadpan style mitt the thick accent and replies: “I C U. I schedule Monday meeting at 8!”.

After the rehersal dinner, as the Father of the Bride and I were leaving together, three “young” (30-ish) expressed graphically some interest. They must have been querying my “older” friend cause they couldn’t a been talking to me. Outside he and I got a lotta yucks out of that one. I have to go back to repentance again. I’m not sure who exactly came up with the very uncharitable comments — ‘Melanie Griffith” (our code for “Looks like a Working Girl”), “everyone is beautiful at closing time”, and particularly Not Zen like “that 1,000 mile journey can be seen on the your wrinkles”. And those were the bloggable ones.

At the reception, I got razzed about two female guests who expressed interest. One was just a “lost soul” and the other was on the hunt. Thanks to the Sister of the Bride’s Mother, who threw a key block to spring the running buck (me) to complete my run to the door. Yep, still got it. Yeah, I know. All it was, was that I was alive. ROFL!

And, thanks to the Husband of Bride’s Mom’s Sister, who thought it was hysterical to do something like “Hey have you met my friend John” every time “the tigress” cruised by our table. Glad to know my discomfort was SO entertaining. He was just paying me back for scaring him that my “reading” was really four pages long. He thought I was announce my run for Pope. It was a short reading that I reprinted and corrected. (Yeah, a fat old white guy injineer correcting spelling. What’s next? “CHURCH 10●19●62” wins a Pulitzer? More likely a “pull it sir; it blocking real books”!) Maybe I should HAVE read it as written originally from the Bride: “Don Ho Hot Love”! ROFL!!!

Sigh!

Oh well, on to work tomorrow. My Russian co-worker was correct. I’ll be back to the “fun” tomorrow.

If I survive the Beltway traffic?

# – # – #  

I survived.

The paradigm shift: SOME women saw me as “available”. And, at least, two made no bones about it.

The meme shift: Gone are the days when I can just go to a wedding and relax. Now I know how the chicken feels being chased around the barnyard.

Thanksgiving prayer: Thank you Universe for not making me, or letting me, do a “face plant” on the way to or from that sky platform. 

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FUN: Evaluating Taylor Swift as Sandy version 2.0

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Overheard: Taylor Swift should star in a ‘Grease’ remake
CNN (blog)

Lately, I’ve thought Taylor Swift could probably [play Sandy], because she’s very talented. And my daughter, I’ve always thought she could.” What do you think of the idea of a “Grease” remake? And do you agree that Taylor Swift would be a good pick?

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http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/27/overheard-taylor-swift-should-star-in-a-grease-remake/

Overheard: Taylor Swift should star in a ‘Grease’ remake

*** begin quote ***

It’s probably only a matter of time before “Grease” joins “Footloose” and “Dirty Dancing” as classic films being remade for a new generation, and Olivia Newton-John knows it.

The 63-year-old actress told “Showbiz Tonight’s” A.J. Hammer that she’s not opposed to the idea of a “Grease” remake, and even has an idea on who could star in her role as Sandy:

{Extraneous Deleted}

*** end quote ***

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63? She can’t be. She’ll always be that demur timeless “Debbie Reynolds as Tammy” girl who morphs into one hot “every boy’s fantasy”. If she is 63, what does that make me? OLD!

And, I just realized I missed my chance (in my dreams) to win her heart!

Argh!

I would advise Ms. Swift — as if she needs advice from a fat old white guy injineer — to be very careful. I believe that she can pull off the role of pre-transformation tightly-emotially-wrapped Sandy with ease. BUT, (and there is always a BIG butt), she might need a body double to out “hot” Olivia Newton-John’s Sandy as the more-tightly-physically-wrapped “trampy” vamp. I think that would be hard to beat. Boob job or not!

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INTERESTING: I find this unbelievable

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http://bbs.chinadaily.com.cn/thread-744542-1-1.html

Woman kills man by squeezing his testicles over parking dispute
Post time 2012-4-22 11:14:51

*** begin quote ***

During the fight, the middle aged woman manged to grab the man’s testicles, and squeezed them till he finally collapsed on the ground.

The man was immediately rushed to hospital, but unfortunately died there despite of efforts.

*** end quote ***

Some how; I doubt this but it’s reported?

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SOFTWARE: MARSEDIT v3.5 (5031) has what I’d call a “user interface” bug; resolved

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MARSEDIT v3.5 (5031) has what I’d call a “user interface” bug. It doesn’t crash, but it doesn’t respond the same as the old version and the result produced is “livable, but not as it once was”.

The last version (number unknown) on the macbookair a keyboard <shift><return> would do a “line feed”, but not a “carriage return”. This version <shift><return> and <return” act identical (i.e., extra white space of paragraph in the post).

So how do I get what I want?

I liked the old output. MarsEdit’s value has just dropped from 5* to 3*. Because now I’m asking what else has changed and what other bugs have been introduced?

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Excellent support from the folks at REDSWEATER.

Within hours I had a response.

It was a UI change. To do the old <shift><return> is just a <command><return>.

AND, they immediately agreed there should have been a “Heads Up”.

They now go from 3* back to 5* in my book.

As they say in the war movies: “That is all. Carry on!”.

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INSPIRATIONAL: Yankees show class

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http://www.theblaze.com/stories/couple-catch-foul-ball-fail-to-give-it-to-heartbroken-child-tv-announcer-not-pleased/

Sports Couple Catch Foul Ball & Fail to Give it to Heartbroken Child, TV Announcer NOT Pleased

Posted on April 27, 2012 at 1:21am by Becket Adams Becket Adams

*** begin quote ***

During a game between the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers Wednesday, one young fan almost had his world shattered when he failed to catch a foul ball tossed into the stands by the Rangers’ Mitch Moreland.

Instead, the ball was snagged by a couple who were quite pleased with their catch. So pleased, in fact, that they failed to notice the weeping, heartbroken kid right next to them.

*** end quote ***

(Anyone who knows me, knows the story I’m remembering about Our Girl and her foul ball. This story demos her character. But that’s not what this blog post is about.)

What a pair of Scrooges?

What I found “inspirational” is probably the Spirit of Old George S watching “his” Yankees from his ultimate “skybox” and taking care of the problem with his usual direct style. The instrument he “played” was Kaye, who moved several notches higher in my book on this story. He was already up there; just ascended further. (Not as if that matters.) And either Kaye called down, or some in the Yankee org was really “on the ball” in this case in more than one way. Giving the kid a ball

“Bravo Zulu” to all who made that happen.

I’m writing a letter to the Universe now: “Dear Universe, Attention: Karma Department, Please schedule this couple for remedial education in empathy, sharing (as in the fruits of good fortune with your neighbor), and specifically “suffer the little children to come unto me”. I’m sure the innovative boys and girls up there in the “Good Karma” section can come up with suitable scenarios. I’m equally even more sure that the bad and naughty, working remotely remote in the basement next to the fires and torments, can come up a suitable response. Please ask them to tone it down a little. Supply tells me that we are running low on plagues and locusts. Priority for those is given to corrupt politicians and evil dictators. Please pass along my kudos on the last two that they took care for us. The first should have already arrived at the stable basement for a few eaons of <synonym for excrement> shovelling, and I’m told the second will be there shorty. I’ll appreciate your prompt response. And hope it’s up to your usual standards. Humor’s been a little thin in the head office as a result of the Midwestern Tornados. That reminds me to check how the West Baptist Church’s prayer request got on the Action pile without being routed to the SPAM folder. Guess well have to put a support request for Microsoft Ou`tlook Really Big Enterprise Version 9. When is 10 due? Argh. Signed, God”

Yeah, I know don’t quit my day job!

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OBSERVATION: WalMartians; their behaviors

Published on by reinkefj2 Comments

FROM MY POST ON FACEBOOK

*** begin quote ***

“Lord, if it’s Your Will, please don’t let me screw up the reading or do something else dumb. If it is You Will that I do that or worse, please make it BIG, so Amy can win Big Bucks on Americas Funniest Videos. … But if there has to be a screw up, I will happily cede that “honor” to her (wonderful?) Dad, my “Older” friend. … ROFL! … Dona Nobis Pacem.

p.s., Amy Dandola Amy, stop playing on Facebook, and get going.

p.p.s., Thanks for picking a hotel next to WalMart. Been for my morning “walk”. It was empty. How kool to wander the aisles. But have to report that a fellow WalMartian, while browsing on one side of an aisle rack (thus blocking that path) had left her cart !across! the other side of the aisle. Thus effectively blocking the aisle. I the spirit of your Day, I said an “Irish prayer” and detoured. It must be genetic to WalMartians?

*** end quote ***

Maybe that’s my next book: “WalMartians; their meme, paradigms, and behaviors”!!!

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Apr-28 @ 08:58  

IPAD: Zagg keyboard. Did I get scammed? I think so!

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

I received the package. Opening it the packing slip. says “… ipad3 …”. However the instructions say “… ipad2 …”. Did you ship me the wrong one or are they interchangeable. If “interchangable”, then why did I wait and pay extra for the “ipad3” model? This has me wondering …

I await you answer.
fjohn

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I’m not happy because when I ordered there was no “back order”. After my order was in and sitting for a couple of weeks, then magically it was backordered. Since the ship date was a couple of days, what choice did I have? But even that slipped.

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On Wed, Apr 25, 2012 at 12:01 PM, The ZAGG Team – Matthew G. <questions@zagg.com> wrote:

Hello,

Thank you for contacting ZAGG, where we are Zealous About Great Gadgets! My name is Matthew G. and I appreciate the opportunity to assist you.

 The tracking number you have, 9405510200828351438398, is a USPS tracking number. You can look this up on USPS.com and find more information about your package. Please note that USPS tracking numbers are more of delivery confirmation numbers and do not provide actual tracking like UPS and FedEx do.

<<< Nothing like that is on the website. The confirm email points to those two vendaor to “track your shipment”!>>>

Please note also that USPS can take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours to update shipping information. Since your order only shipped as of the 23rd of April, USPS would not have any information in their system about your tracking number. I would check over the next few days for any updated information on your delivery confirmation number.

I hope this helps! Please feel free to contact us back with any questions or concerns.

Thank you for choosing ZAGG! We appreciate your business.

All the best,

Matthew G.

Customer Service Representative
ZAGG Inc.
3855 S 500 W STE C

SLC, UT 84115

800.700.ZAGG(9244) (toll free)
801.263.0699 (o)
Nasdaq Symbol: ZAGG
ZAGG.com

— Original Message —

From: “reinke (reinke cc)” <reinke@reinke.cc>
Received: 4/23/12 6:45:59 PM MDT
To: The ZAGG Team – Darren S. <questions@zagg.com>
Subject: Re: order IC5629043

9405510200828351438398

I got this tracking number. But neither UPS or USPS find it.

Help?

fjohn

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On Thu, Apr 19, 2012 at 2:15 PM, The ZAGG Team – Darren S. <questions@zagg.com> wrote:

Hello Keith,

Thank you for contacting ZAGG, where we are Zealous About Great Gadgets! My name is Darren S. and I appreciate the opportunity to assist you.

I apologize for any confusion you may have experienced regarding your order. I see that order IC5629043 was placed on April 2nd, 2012. Orders placed through ZAGG.com orders typically take 1-2 business days to process and ship. This may vary depending on product demand, however. In order to assist you with determining the current availability of a given product, the expected shipping date for an item has been included on the product page itself.

Having said that, I see that the expected ship date for this order was is April 23rd, 2012. The ZAGGfolio on this order is currently experiencing inventory issues which has caused a delay in the shipping of this order. Our processing facility is working as quickly as possible to fulfill each affected order, and we expect inventory for this item to become available around April 25th, 2012. Nevertheless, we regret any inconvenience to you and acknowledge the difficulty this has caused.

Once an order leaves our facility we will send a shipping confirmation email. You can also check the status of your orders on demand via ZAGG.com. Log in to your User Account Manager to check the status of your most recent orders and view a snapshot of your order history. You can also update your account information. Take advantage of this service by visiting our website at http://www.zagg.com/support/account.

We apologize for any inconvenience and we appreciate your interest in ZAGG. However, please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or comments. If you prefer assistance via a live customer service representative, our phone number is (801) 263-0699 or toll free at (800) 700-ZAGG(9244). Our office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5:30 PM, Mountain Time.

Thank you for choosing ZAGG! We appreciate your business.

All the best,

Darren S.

Customer Service Representative
ZAGG Inc.
3855 S 500 W STE C

SLC, UT 84115

800.700.ZAGG(9244) (toll free)
801.263.0699 (o)
Nasdaq Symbol: ZAGG
ZAGG.com

— Original Message —
From: reinke <reinke@reinke.cc>
Received: 4/18/12 11:52:51 AM MDT
To: “questions@zagg.com” <questions@zagg.com>
Subject: order

status on ic 562 9043?

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I think I was scammed. What’s your opinion?

ZAGGS is definitely “NOTRECOMMENDED”! 

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Apr-27 @ 04:25  

HERE’S THEIR AUTORESPONDER:

Hello reinke (reinke cc),

Thank you for contacting ZAGG, home of the invisibleSHIELD! We appreciate hearing from you and your email is very important to us. We will reply to your inquiry as quickly as possible. Most emails are replied to within 1-2 business days, but please allow up to 3 business days. Our hours of operation are Monday thru Friday, 8am – 6pm, Mountain Time.

If you need a replacement for your ZAGG product, please follow the below link for a quick instructional video: http://www.zagg.com/support/contact.php#hidden_replacementVideo

You can also visit our Frequently Asked Questions page below for information on our warranties, shipping, products, refunds, etc.:

http://www.zagg.com/faq

To help track your inquiry we have generated a reference number. Your message id 349264. Please add @zagg.com to your address book to prevent our messages from going to your spam folder.

Sincerely,

The ZAGG Team

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Apr-27 @ 04:48  

RANT: Michelle as “Marie Antoinette” and she and BHO44 are really “out of touch”!

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http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/26/group-michelle-obamas-spain-trip-cost-taxpayers-467k/

Group: Michelle Obama’s Spain trip cost taxpayers $467k

Published: 2:12 PM 04/26/2012

*** begin quote ***

It cost taxpayers nearly a half-million dollars for first lady Michelle Obama to travel to Spain in 2010, according to an analysis by Judicial Watch.

The right-leaning watchdog group estimated that the trip cost $467,585. It based its analysis on documents obtained from the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Air Force.

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said it took his group “two years and a lawsuit to get these documents out of the Obama administration.”

“It is hypocritical for President Obama to fire GSA officials for wasteful conference spending, while his family went on a luxury vacation in the Costa del Sol Spain that cost taxpayers nearly half a million dollars,” Fitton said.

*** end quote ***

And, the liberals, left slanted media, and the Hollywood comedians pictured Bush41 and Bush43 as “out of touch”.

That cartoon of Michelle Obama as Marie Antoinette was exactly right!

“Let them eat cake!”

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OBSERVATION: Not the the “Last Lecture”, but the Last Laff”

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THINKING ABOUT WHAT I’M DOING NOW:

I’m in a corporate apartment two blocks away from work.

I’m waiting to close on a condo about 3 blocks away.

So the commute is, and will be, trivial.

Since I have “no life”, I work 7am to 6pm. And eat two meals in the cafeteria.

So, i guess it’s like prison?

Once I get a handle on my new job, I’ll get back to my writing.

Right now everything is hectic.

Which my relatives think is good for me. We’ll see.

They may be humoring “grumpy”, Ihe fat old white ingineer.

In order to grow the estate, that will allow them to live in the style that they’d like to become accustomed to.

Lol!

Guess they’ve never read about some crazy old lonely loon who leaves everything to their cat.

And, they haven’t heard about me buying a dog called “Evlynn”.

He, who laffs last, laffs best?

Even if it’s a fat old white guy injineer!

With apologies to the “Last Lecture” fellow, <<<Randy Pausch, RIP 2007 at age 47>>>, who taught me “the fake” and the definition of “brick walls”.

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SERVICE: SkyDrive free storage space

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http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/window-on-windows/take-advantage-of-limited-time-skydrive-loyalty-offer-from-microsoft/6049?tag=nl.e064

Microsoft Windows
Take advantage of limited time SkyDrive loyalty offer from Microsoft
By Mark Kaelin April 24, 2012, 8:31 AM PDT

*** begin quote *** 

Takeaway: Get a free SkyDrive upgrade to 25GB just by clicking the right link, but don’t wait too long.

This story has been showing up all over my social media streams and on several of the websites I track, but I could not leave the news to chance when it comes to readers of the TechRepublic Microsoft Windows Blog. Whether you use Microsoft’s SkyDrive on a regular basis or just occasionally, you still have a limited time to upgrade your account to allow access to more free storage space.

*** end quote ***

I grabbed mine. You?

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TINFOILHAT: Another assertion around JFK

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2132334/JFKs-mistress-Mary-Pinchot-assassinated-CIA-knew-much.html#ixzz1sbj42adW

Book claims JFK’s mistress was assassinated by the CIA ‘because she knew too much about his assassination’
By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 17:09 EST, 19 April 2012 | UPDATED: 09:11 EST, 20 April 2012

*** begin quote ***

The suspicious death of one of President John F. Kennedy’s mistresses just months after his death has sparked numerous conspiracy theories.

The latest version posits that socialite Mary Pinchot Meyer, a beautiful divorcee who was close friends with the Kennedys and is widely known for having a lengthy affair with the playboy President, was shot in a cover-up operation by the CIA.

A new book alleges that, in her preoccupation with her lover’s assassination and ensuing personal investigation, she may have gotten so close to the ‘truth’ that the CIA found her to be a threat.

As a result, agency operatives staged a shooting to make it look like she died due to a sexual assault that turned violent.

Whether or not the theory is true, there are a number of questionable components to the story of the months leading up to her death on October 12, 1964.

*** and ***

He goes on to say that she was later murdered by the CIA, who he believes organized the assassination of the President in an effort to stop him from preventing violent escalation that they wanted in the Cold War.

*** end quote ***

 

This has all the earmarks of a good tin foil hat story.

But there’s just nothing to hang your hat on.

The assertion that the JFK assassination was to prevent him from going on a tear for “peace” has been repeated many times.

The assertion that the CIA is part of a shadow government again many times.

The mistresses, many times.

What’s interesting in this tale is the absence of a suspect. The connection to JFK. And, timing.

Did she get too close?

Maybe.

But this side of the Pearly Gates we will never know.

Baring a break through, I’d say that the evidence supposrts an assertion that we don’t know the real story.

Just on that basis alone, that’s enough to shut down the CIA.

Why do we have it?

Another vestige of the Cold War. And why I believe the word is a dangerous place, I’m not sure that the CIA makes it any safer. Too many rogue “elephants” tromping around.

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NOTRECOMMENDED: Google’s GDRIVE while live; when uninstalled leaves a mess. NOT GA; use only if you’re on the “bleeding edge”!

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

Looks interesting as a DROPBOX competitor.

I can’t tell if it uses real hard drive space. (It must.) 

So it’s behind DROPBOX. (You can tell DROPBOX that you don’t want a local copy.)

Also, it copies to the local drive all the docs on the GOOGLE_DOC account. (I don’t want them all on local. That’s why I put them up on GOOGLE in the first place Argh!)

Jury is still out!

# – # – # – # – #   2012-Apr-25 @ 18:51

GDRIVE puts down a “footprint” on your machine. I don’t know what all that crud it but in my case it’s two or three GIG!

Even uninstalling with APPCLEANER doesn’t remove the “footprints” (i.e., at least two directories with big files). One of which is PICASSA related if your believe the directory names.

I’d classify this as alpha software and leaving it the “bleeding edge” folks until it gets more exposure and “testing”. 

It’s imho NOT ready for prime time use.

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Apr-26 @ 02:47  

SOFTWARE:Suggestion to MARSEDIT, a blog posting client, for improving a great product

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

I’d like MARSEDIT (4? as opposed to 3.4.4 4949) to:

(1) Parse the message for tag suggestions.

(2) Have all the blog’s used tags in a right hand scroll bar like categories.

(3) On the change date, have choice for now.

(4) On the post to blog function, display the post date, allow a change, and say confirm. Like when I have no tags or categories.

(5) Support stationary for blog posts. Not colors, but predefined format with text.

(6) Make me thin, young, and handsome.

When can I have it?

At no extra cost, of course.

Thanks,
fjohn
“Customer F. John Reinke”

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And, shortly after I send it, I remembered: “And add the date to the individual post screen by where choose the blog it goes to.”

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SERVICE: Apple APPSTORE continues to befuddle me

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

Apple store asked for another reset after taking #2 to download epson ipad print (free) app. That app works beautifully. Unlike the APPSTORE app.

This is my THIRD password reset. I know I know it.

Interesting I went “up” to the APPSTORE for the free IPAD Epson utility. It challenged me for my password, I gave it, and it started to download. So, i thought: “Hey, stuff working. Let me update the 18 apps that I couldn’t do last time”. Silly rabbit.

It tells me I’ve forgotten the password I just used successfully.

Argh!

So I go thru the “i forgot my password” again. (After waiting a good 5 or 10 minutes. Reset it by incrementing the number to “3”!) Went back and retriggered the update. And, it worked.

Argh!

So here is something very funky with how Apple has the APPSTORE coded.

Argh!

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OBSERVATION: Why “we” fail? Hidden memes.

Published on by reinkefj2 Comments

THINKING ABOUT WALL STREET’S “PACE”

I can see the diff.

The day doesn’t seem to start until after 9 and seems to end promptly at 4ish. Official hours are 845 to 1715.

I caused a stir when someone was bemoaning the lack of time to meet and I said: “there’s always Saturday morning”.

They all laughed, thinking I was making one of my characteristic jokes.

I just smiled and filed that away for future use in a future blog post. (This is it!)

I wonder how committed I ever was to any work task?

Probably, just the same.

“[Luke:] I can’t believe it. [Yoda:] That is why you fail.” — Yoda (Fictional character from George Lucas’s “Star Wars” movie)

There’s a Zen adage for this. Hope it comes to me soon. That, in and of itself, is not “being in the moment”! LOL?

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FUN: Understanding Engineers

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Understanding Engineers
Is it possible to understand Engineers.  They are strange, you know!

(Joke #1)

Understanding Engineers #1

Two engineering students were biking across a university campus when one said, “Where did you get such a great bike?” The second engineer replied, “Well, I was walking along yesterday, minding my own business, when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike, threw it to the ground, XXXXXXXXXXXXXX and said, “Take what you want.” The first engineer nodded approvingly and said, “Good choice: The clothes probably wouldn’t have fit you anyway.”

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Anyone NOT heard this one?

From a lawyer, trying to get back at me some of my Lawyer jokes. Fat old white guy injineer don’t get the derision as lawyers do.

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Apr-23 @ 21:38

Categories FUN

SERVICE: GARMIN — caution warranted

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

Funny – peculiar.

I’ve reported to the SURVIVAL BLOG http://survivalblog.com, as have many others, of “death by GPS”. Some are funny, like the truck driver in England who followed the GPS into a river when there was no physical bridge where the GPS said there was one. Others are tragic — the German tourists who drove into Death Valley unprepared, unaware they were on a trail, and suffering a mechanical (breakdown). Or the tech fellow who followed the GPS onto a seasonal logging road in California – Oregon area and was trapped by snow.

I picked up Garmin to deal with confusing Virginia roads and poor signage. So far, I have been:

(1) trapped twice in a loop — once in VA and once in NJ;

(2) annoyed at least five times when it for example insists I get off a perfect good (and free) 295 to jump onto the Turnpike and pay to get to exactly the same place (i.e., the DE bridge).

(3) it insists on annoying me when I stop for gas or the WC.

(4) It’s sent me to a non-existent WalMart.

(5) Twice it couldn’t find an American Legion despite being given an address.

(6) And, numerous other little challenges. Like give it an address and, no matter how you enter it, it can find it.

(7) Finally, there’s not way to pick a spot and say take me there. (At least, that I could find.)

So, as self defense, I, if I’m going somewhere “new”, will Google map it and mapquest it BEFORE venturing out. (Prematurely opened my new VA printer, just so I can print those in case GARMIN develops a stubborn streak.

Sometimes it’s wonderful. Like when the corporate apartment’s dryer didn’t. Garmin with the word “laundromat” found me a 24/7 big one two towns over with the most interest Latino Customers. (Several of the Mexican ladies smiled at me as I loaded my wet tidy whiteys into a huge dryer. Not wanting to be in some Country Western tune where the big boyfriend takes exception to me with my high school Spanish saying “leave me alone, señorita”, I just focused on playing with my IPAD.

So, it’s like an idiot friend, who at random, dispenses both good (i.e., don’t drive home) and bad (i.e., buy us all a round) advice.

Caveat emptor applies to its directions.

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MACBOOKAIR: Didn’t resume for hibernate

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

One of the many petty annoyances.

* The Ghost of Hard Disk Space Past, when all the free space disappears and needs a reboot to recover the 4 or 5 gig.

* Fails to resume from hibernate

* Firefox fails to close

* Random app crashes

* The screen has a finger goo straight line of grease on it corresponding to, I guess, the CVBNM keys. Argh!

* The Apple App Store, Mobile Me, and ICLOUD can “lose their memory of you” when Aplle decides to “improve” stuff. Double Argh!

So I’m coming to the decision that Apple is as bad as Windoze.

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FUN: Early morning wakeup

Published on by reinkefj1 Comment

“Thanks, construction workers, for the <Expletive Deleted> 0530 wakeup call!”, thought Grumpy on Saturday morning.

(How kool is that referring to myself in the Third Person. Makes me feel more of like a writer than a mere blogger.)

After I was up from ~0200 to ~0400 with “the baby”, who couldn’t sleep.

(That’s me again in the third person. That’s how I think on myself when I can go back to sleep after a bad dream, on of any innumerable WC visits thanks to the Rx diuretic, or when I get the “next great idea” like online backup.)

It was really OK. Really.

See the Verizon phone doesn’t know the diff between workday weekday and weekends. Probably the kids in China who build and programmed the phone don’t have weekends off.

So the 0530 call was followed by Verizon’s 0600, 0615, and 0630 alarms.

(The 0600 is the worst. Reveille! For a minute, I think I’m back in basic. And I couldn’t find the phone so I had to hear it twice. How did it get under the bed? Hiding from the “dancing girls” that were in last night. In my dreams.)

Followed the corporate Berry’s at 0730. (I know where that was hanging from it’s charger in the kitchen. If it does get it’s full charge, it dies during the day and then the battery needs to be replaced. (Great engineering guys in China!) Which means I have to walk it two buildings over to “support”. (Boy, do I miss Wall Street. “Yes, Mister Reinke, sorry you’re having a problem. I send someone to replace it immediately. Is he there yet?”)

So, I’ll just say my “child like” prayer for all the people I’ve just maligned.

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INTERESTING: Re-release just repeats the lie

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2012/04/15/titanic-anniversary

Remembering James Cameron’s Titanic Inaccuracy 
by Rev. Austin Miles

*** begin quote ***

To kill a man’s good name, to deliberately slander and libel a fine gentleman officer, a heroic one at that, who saved others at the cost of his own life is unthinkable.

Cameron is too talented a filmmaker to resort this this kind of sensationalism at the expense of good people and their families. He does not need this kind of exploitation to put punch in his films.

So how did Cameron and the studio make amends for slaughtering the reputation of a beloved family member? Why they donated 5,000 pounds to the Lt. Murdoch Memorial Fund which of course, made everything right.

*** end quote ***

Argh!

At least they could have led with a disclaimer.

But, Hollywood has no morals or ethics. It’s whatever sells tickets.

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RANT: ZAGGS disappoints me

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

On Thu, Apr 19, 2012 at 2:15 PM, The ZAGG Team – Darren S. wrote:

Hello Keith,

Thank you for contacting ZAGG, where we are Zealous About Great Gadgets! My name is Darren S. and I appreciate the opportunity to assist you.

I apologize for any confusion you may have experienced regarding your order. I see that order IC5629043 was placed on April 2nd, 2012. Orders placed through ZAGG.com orders typically take 1-2 business days to process and ship. This may vary depending on product demand, however. In order to assist you with determining the current availability of a given product, the expected shipping date for an item has been included on the product page itself.

Having said that, I see that the expected ship date for this order was is April 23rd, 2012. The ZAGGfolio on this order is currently experiencing inventory issues which has caused a delay in the shipping of this order. Our processing facility is working as quickly as possible to fulfill each affected order, and we expect inventory for this item to become available around April 25th, 2012. Nevertheless, we regret any inconvenience to you and acknowledge the difficulty this has caused.

Once an order leaves our facility we will send a shipping confirmation email. You can also check the status of your orders on demand via ZAGG.com. Log in to your User Account Manager to check the status of your most recent orders and view a snapshot of your order history. You can also update your account information. Take advantage of this service by visiting our website at http://www.zagg.com/support/account    .

We apologize for any inconvenience and we appreciate your interest in ZAGG. However, please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or comments. If you prefer assistance via a live customer service representative, our phone number is (801) 263-0699 or toll free at (800) 700-ZAGG(9244). Our office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5:30 PM, Mountain Time.

Thank you for choosing ZAGG! We appreciate your business.

All the best,

Darren S.
Customer Service Representative    ZAGG Inc.    3855 S 500 W STE C
SLC, UT 84115
800.700.ZAGG(9244) (toll free)    801.263.0699 (o)    Nasdaq Symbol: ZAGG    ZAGG.com

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Who’s Keith?

I’m not sure, but I don’t think that the date promised was 4/25. It was out of stock, then came back. I wouldn’t have ordered that far out. No sense cancelling now, but I’m not pleased.

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Apr-20 @ 18:50

 

POLITICAL: Big Gooferment is even bigger than we think?

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/report-govt-may-be-bigger-than-you-think/

Business Report: Gov’t May Be Bigger Than You Think
Posted on April 2, 2012 at 6:45pm by Becket Adams

*** begin quote ***

But the tax break isn’t counted as spending. In fact, while the check for $2,100 is classified as “federal spending,” the tax break doesn’t even show up on the federal budget. So when you hear a policymaker talk about lowering the deficit or expanding/reducing the size of government, most of them don’t factor in tax breaks.

The CNN report goes on to argue that because tax breaks get the same results as government checks (e.g. giving homeowners deductions on mortgage interest, giving tax credits to “green” energy companies, etc), they’re practically interchangeable, right?

Not quite: the government check is directly funded by taxpayers while the tax break comes at a cost to no one.

But this is not to say that tax breaks should be disregarded from the deficit discussion. As taxes generate income, and fixing the deficit is all about balancing revenue with expenditures, then tax breaks should be included.

*** end quote ***

That makes me ill.

Bigger?

Seriously. Are you kidding me!

23.7%

Argh!

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Business Report: Gov’t May Be Bigger Than You Think
Posted on April 2, 2012 at 6:45pm by Becket Adams Becket Adams

POLITICAL: Why do we even have a Department of Labor?

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

DOL forcing media to use government computers | Campaign 2012 | Washington Examiner

http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/dol-forcing-media-use-government-computers/479421

April 13, 2012 4:39pm
DOL forcing media to use government computers
by Mark Tapscott Executive EditorShare

*** begin quote ***

Unrest is simmering in some quarters of the Washington news universe regarding changes in the way the Department of Labor (DOL) manages its pre-release media “lockups” on sensitive data like weekly jobless benefits and unemployment.

For years, journalists participating in the lockups have shown up at DOL at the appointed time, then entered a limited-access area to receive the new data and prepare news stories for release as soon as official embargoes end.

The system insures that major news organizations get the data as soon as possible and allows journalists covering the release get a jump on providing analyses and opinion about the data.

*** and ***

Fillichio reminded participants that there are only 20-30 seats available for the lockups and that priority will be given by DOL in selecting participants to those that “are primarily journalistic enterprises.”

He also offered a one-sentence assurance that “the department will not consider editorial or political viewpoints in making credentialing decisions.”

*** and ***

In other words, journalists will no longer be allowed to bring their laptops or other equipment to the lockups, they will have to use government-supplied equipment, described by Fillichio as including “a virtualized desktop running a Windows operation system, a web browser, word-processing software, an Adobe Reader application and secure file transfer capability. Equipment provided will not have wireless networking capability. Provisions will be in place for news organizations to transmit their stories over the Internet.”
The changes evidently are in response at least in part to worries that some of the non-traditional news organizations allowed in recent years to participate in the lockups may not be using their access simply for journalistic purposes.

Since the stock market can rise or fall by hundreds of points as a result of such a data release, making sure nobody gets an advance peek at the data is critical to insuring the integrity of the process.

*** end quote ***

Does anyone see the problems in this story?

(1) DOL won’t pick based on “political viewpoints”? TO even say that IMMEDIATELY raises a red flag an tells me that is EXACTLY what they are going to do.

(2) What’s a “primarily a journalistic enterprise”? So, as a blogger, I’m shut out. Sorry, excuse me. Put the DIKW (i.e., data, information, knowledge, wisdom) and release it to the Universe at the same time. The Press should get it at the same time as everyone else. Otherwise they are the “house organ”.

(3) Why am I the taxpayer paying for computers to benefit some segment of the business community? Are the costs of each seat in the “lockup” being paid by the organization renting them?

This whole concept STINKS!

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TECHNOLOGY: WiFi cell phones?

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://republicwireless.com/blog/wi-fi-waves-coming-soon

Wi-Fi Waves Coming Soon
Submitted by Jessica on Fri, 04/13/2012 – 8:08am

*** begin quote ***

Why are we taking this approach? Hundreds of thousands of you have voted with your keyboards to start using the power of the Internet with Hybrid Calling. Organizing the next round of beta in waves will allow us to serve more of you sooner. You’ll have plenty of advance notice of when you’ll be invited to join. It also allows us to reward those who’ve been waiting the longest, by letting them in as quickly as possible.

*** and ***

I also mentioned new phones. I’m pretty sure you want to know about those, too. We’re not ready to announce them yet, but I can tell you we’re all stoked about what’s coming your way. We’re also working on the updates Brian mentioned—the handover between Wi-Fi and cellular and a way to save money on your cell bill before you even switch to republic. Keep an eye out for more details on these coming up.

*** end quote ***

Interesting.

Maybe a winner.

We’ll see.

I’m on the beta maybe list.

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