One Down!

Thank you Philadelphia!

How many more can we put you down for?

QA Summit commences tomorrow!

SR will be filling up the tank early tomorrow morning and commuting to the southland for some presentations and festive Quality Assurance activities!

We'll all be applying our keen senses to track down any bugs that might have found their way into this release.

Too bad we don't have a ferret.

Final Notice

This is the final notice that tomorrow night will be the final chance to see The Rewind Band play at Speakers Nightclub.

Don't say you weren't warned.

Heavenly shades of darkness falling...

Why is it that in the main conference room it's nearly always twilight?

Is it the romance?

Are we trying to conduct a scéance?

Are there electrical problems?

Friday Tea

Today's tea won't be anything special.

Except that SC (CC's s.o.) will be our guest for the first hour!

This is an onion dip week, and the Vodka Chocolate has returned. (Though it's still naked - no mixing is planned).

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UPDATE: RG (NR's s.o.) stopped by around 5:00, in honor of RA's birthday. Too bad most everyone had gone by that point... Good to see you RG - thanks for dropping by!

A New Policy Instituted - is this Fascism?

A new birthday hat policy has been instituted today. We wonder if it contravenes the Geneva Conventions. Maybe the ICC should hear about this?

Halfway to Vertical

RA turned 45 today.

Others whose odometers clicked today include:

Lynda Carter
Jennifer Lopez
Amelia Earhart
Bella Abzug
Simón Bolívar
Bindi Irwin
Banana Yoshimoto (We just like her name)
Pam Tillis
Charlie Crist (dang!)
Michael Richards (dang!)
Ruth Buzzi
Zelda Fitzgerald
Camrin Jade Schwartz

and many, many more.

Other July 24 Notes:

Today is the feast day of Christina the Astonishing.

In 1948, Marvin the Martian made his first appearance, in the cartoon Haredevil Hare.

In 1823, slavery was abolished in Chile.

In 1969, Apollo 11 splashed down in the Pacific.

In 1487, Citizens of Leeuwarden, Netherlands struck against ban on foreign beer.

In 1567, Mary Queen of Scots was deposed and replaced by her 1 year old son James VI.

SJ was here!

SJ was here - we know because of the BOXES of Munchkins she left this morning. Thanks SJ!

For this blogger, they were every bit as good as what you've brought us in the past. Neater, too.

Wanna be a Locavore?

Wanna be a locavore? But you're just to darned lazy or rich to do it yourself? Then hire Trevor Paque...

For a fee, Mr. Paque, who lives in San Francisco, will build an organic garden in your backyard, weed it weekly and even harvest the bounty, gently placing a box of vegetables on the back porch when he leaves.

[...]

“The highest form of luxury is now growing it yourself or paying other people to grow it for you,” said Corby Kummer, the food columnist and book author. “This has become fashion.”

Locally grown food, even fully cooked meals, can be delivered to your door. A share in a cow raised in a nearby field can be brought to you, ready for the freezer — a phenomenon dubbed cow pooling. There is pork pooling as well...

Franchises are not yet available.

The Pie has a long history.

The Egyptians invented a primitive form, essentially bread with stuff baked into it.

The Greeks created pie pastry.

The Romans absconded with Greek recipes, after conquering Greece. Marcus Porcius Cato recorded a recipe for his era's most popular pie/cake called Placenta, meaning flat. Could this have been a precursor to today's pizza pie?

The English placed not only live birds, but "rabbits, frogs, turtles, and other small animals" - as well as dwarfs inside them. The English were also good with meat pies - a more cruel invention all around.

George Washington was partial to sweetbread pies, according to a cookbook written by his wife, Martha.

Emperor William I of Germany liked his pies stuffed with stuffed birds. His favorite pie? It contained a whole turkey stuffed with a chicken, the chicken stuffed with a pheasant, the pheasant stuffed with a woodcock.

Today, we favor more civilized pies - and we celebrate them three times a year. Happy East Indian Pi(e) [22/7] day, everyone!

Hot enough for you?

Weather.com has it at 74 degrees (Feels like 74 degrees) and 85% humidity. Seems much worse than that...

What's it mean when

What's it mean when the lawnmower starts, runs for a second, then stalls? Over and over?

Hmmm?

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Update: Clogged jets, that's what it means.

Thanks AO!

And don't forget Rewind

Rewind is returning to Speakers in just over one week!

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UPDATE: It seems that this is likely to be the last gig by the Rewind band - internal frictions and differing aspirations have driven the band to dis-band. We guess we'll have to wait for A&E to tell us the whole story - but for now - this looks to be the last chance to see them...

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UPDATE: At their last gig, there will be a Hawaiian theme, with prizes for the best costume. Get your grass skirts out, and bring home something good for a change!

Tea

In honor of Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday today, we'll be having Appletini's at the usual time.

Eat your heart out, Stephen Colbert!

Huh

We were just reading our Beijing Olympics 2008 Coke can, and noticed that they claim to be a "Proud Sponsor of Active Living".

How, pray tell, does one underwrite "Active Living"? Is it the sugar or the caffeine that pushes one outside and onto the bicycle?

We await a serious answer from the Coke people.

Friendly Reminders

Don't go on vacation.




Don't nod off, particularly before giving a big speech.

New Kid!

Well, actually, CR has been around these parts for a while, but as RD might say, we've made an honest woman out of her.

Congratulations, and welcome to the machine.

Also, we should note

_{(Photo by Neil Coleman)}

Today is Bastille Day!

Please celebrate responsibly.

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UPDATE: And just where have we been? The Tour de France is in Stage 10!

This Bud's for EU

Bad news this morning: not only have the Fannie-ms been nationalized, but Budweiser has been sold to the Belgians!

Next they'll tell us that Bentley is owned by Volkswagen...

The Green Party has a candidate

The Green Party has a Presidential candidate.

From the AJC:

McKinney wins Green Party nomination

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, By Jeffry Scott, July 12

CHICAGO — Former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney reassumed the national political stage Saturday, winning the presidential nomination of the Green Party of the United States at the party's national convention here.

Amid chants of "Paint The White House Green" and signs proclaiming, "Truth. McKinney 2008," McKinney revved up a crowd of about 350 Green Party delegates from 38 states who elected her on the first ballot.

"I am asking you to vote your conscience, vote your dreams, vote your future, vote Green," McKinney told the convention in a 30 minute speech following an address by her running mate, hip hop artist and political activist Rosa Clemente.

She was joined by her father, former Georgia representative Billy McKinney; her mother Leola, and her son Coy, on the stage in the elegant Michigan Avenue hall where the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performs.

[...]

Since last fall, McKinney has campaigned in 30 states on the slogan "Power To The People" and a platform that calls for single-payer universal health care, the immediate withdrawal of American forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, the creation of a Department of Peace, and reparations for African-Americans.

[...]

She as much conceded winning the presidency was not her goal in her speech Saturday. She said the thrust of her campaign would be to get 5 percent of the vote in November, effectively establishing the Greens as a third party that would not have to fight state-by-state to get on the ballot every four years.

"We are in this to build a movement," said McKinney to roars from the crowd. "A vote for the Green Party is a vote for the movement that will turn this country right-side-up again."

ABC notes that you may remember her for a couple of things:

1) Her alleged altercation with a Capitol Hill Police Officer.

2) "What did this administration know and when did it know it, about the events of September 11th?"

In our opinion, just the sorts of things you'd want in a presidential candidate...

The Nation has some notes on her platform:

Resolutely anti-war and anti-imperialist, firmly committed to defending individual liberties and determined to hold the outgoing president and vice president to account – as a member of the House in 2006, McKinney introduced the first articles of impeachment against President Bush – McKinney is an ardent advocate for national health care, expanded education spending and energy policies that emphasize mass transportation and conservation rather than rewarding oil-company profiteering.

And, as she notes, "I have a record of standing up on all of these issues."

We are leaning towards taking Molly Ivin's advice - and urging those who (electorally) can, to vote Green this November. 5% from those states that are solidly red or blue can't be too hard to achieve, right?

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UPDATE: Wikipedia lists two other minority parties that theoretically have a shot at a majority of the electoral delegates in play: The Libertarian Party, and The Constitution Party.

The Libertarian Party has nominated Bob Barr to be its presidential contender.

Robert Laurence "Bob" Barr, Jr. (born November 5, 1948) is the Libertarian Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 election. He is a former federal prosecutor and a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He represented Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Republican from 1995 to 2003.

Barr attained national prominence as one of the leaders of the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. Barr joined the Libertarian Party in 2006, and until May 2008[citation needed] served on its National Committee.

Barr was born on November 5, 1948, in Iowa City, Iowa to Bob and Beatrice Barr. His father, a West Point soldier, moved the family to various locations around the world while pursing his career in civil engineering. The second of six children, Bob Jr. spent his boyhood in Malaysia, Pakistan, Panama, and finally Tehran, Iran (Something in common with Mr. Obama...) where he graduated from Community High School in 1966.

Barr returned to the United States, attending the University of Southern California and joining the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity in 1967 (where as of 2008 he holds the position of Grand Histor). Barr also joined the Young Democrats of America, and rallied against the Vietnam War. His parents disapproved, and threatened to cut off financial support if he continued his "flaming liberal" activities. During this time, Barr's mother introduced him to the work of Ayn Rand. (Mrs. Barr, have you no shame?) This fostered a new-found appreciation for conservativism, and prompted Barr to join the Young Trojan Republican Club. Barr completed his B.A., cum laude, from University of Southern California in 1970.

Barr earned a master's degree in International Affairs from George Washington University in 1972, and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1977. From 1971 to 1978, Barr was employed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

[...]

In 2002, he was described as "the idol of the gun-toting, abortion-fighting, IRS-hating hard right wing of American politics".

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The Constitution Party has nominated Chuck Baldwin.

Charles "Chuck" Baldwin (born May 3, 1952) is an American political figure, activist in the Constitution Party, and pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida; located in Escambia County on the far northwestern Florida Gulf Coast. In 2004, Baldwin was the Constitution Party nominee for Vice President, and on April 26; Baldwin was named as the 2008 presidential nominee.[1] Baldwin hosts a weekly radio program and writes a weekly news column carried on his website and on the VDARE.com site as well.

A former member of the Republican Party, Baldwin has been a longstanding critic of U.S. President George W. Bush. Baldwin is known as a staunch opponent of what he calls the "New World Order", the "North American Union" and amnesty for illegal immigrants. Baldwin has also suggested reopening the investigation into the September 11, 2001 attacks, believing that the 9/11 Truth Movement have a right to have their conspiracy theories investigated including the possibility of U.S. government involvement in the attacks.

Rewind's World Tour Continues!

AND by the way, only two more weeks (and one day) until the inimitable Rewind Band returns to Speaker's nightclub for the next stop on their world tour. Please don't miss it this time...

Microsoft Retires Windows 3.11 for Embedded Devices

Or so The Register's apparently been told.

And Speaking of T

T!

We're sorry to hear of your little automobile mishap. We hope that the car is found soon, or the insurance pays up.

Also, should you decide to decamp to California, we wish you the best of luck.

We'll have to get someone else to tend to the Internet Cafe, however.

Chocolate Vodka

To continue the celebration of JM's 3/4 century mark, NR has produced some Chocolate Vodka for today's tasting.

Tea will also feature the freshest cheese plate seen in these parts since Summer started.

There will not be any Marshmallow Fluff.

Marshmallow Fluff

The History of Marshmallow Fluff can be found here.

Baseball game?

What baseball game?

So, Big Papi, how many instruments can we put you down for?

Is there such a thing as a quadfecta?

Because if there is, we've hit it.

XN, HD, JM and SJ all have birthdays this week!

To celebrate, we'll only be having one party, today at 2:30. Ice Cream Sundaes for everyone! (Though we'll have to mail yours, SJ).

Virginia Internet Cafe

The mission was one fraught with danger and uncertainty. Our agents traveled to deepest Virginia on a mission to establish another outpost of teh Internets.

You can see the happy result, the latest in mobile Internet cafes. Positioned just inside the neighbor's WiFi reception area, the van provided hours of daylight Internet access to the inhabitants of this remote area. (At night, no such daylight shield was necessary, so canvas folding chairs on the back lawn sufficed).

Soon, a proper link to teh Internets will be established, and the day of this mobile Internet cafe will be over.