Author: cosmo

Eric S. Raymond, one of the pioneers of the Open Source software movement, received a call from a Microsoft recruiter about setting up an interview. After politely informing the guy that someone was having a joke at his (the recruiter’s) expense, Eric followed up with a hilariously scathing e-mail message. The best part was probably this paragraph near the end:

“On the day I go to work for Microsoft, faint oinking sounds will be heard from far overhead, the moon will not merely turn blue but develop polkadots, and hell will freeze over so solid the brimstone will go superconductive.”

Nice!

AmaroK, my completely awesome music program, automatically downloads album covers for things in my playlist. The results are often hilarious, as shown by this cover that appeared when I was listening to the “Peanuts” theme (you know, the one with Snoopy).

The fishing’s great… wish you were here!

There’s no doubt that the scope of the disaster in New Orleans (and other areas along the Gulf Coast) is tremendous. There’s also no doubt that rescue forces (military, government, and private) are facing a monumental task. And finally, there’s no doubt that George Bush has to act decisively to face a challenge unlike anything he’s seen in his time in office.

I don’t want to have Bush’s job, and I know he must be struggling with how to respond. But today he said this:

“We’ve got a lot of rebuilding to do. First, we’re going to save lives and stabilize the situation. And then we’re going to help these communities rebuild. The good news is — and it’s hard for some to see it now — that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast, like it was before. Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott’s house — he’s lost his entire house — there’s going to be a fantastic house. And I’m looking forward to sitting on the porch.” (laughs)

Wow.

At least Trent Lott’s house will be sweet when this thing is over. I mean, I know our country is under wise leadership when I hear how the President himself is committed to rebuilding one guy’s pad. I’m sure the millions of displaced refugees– who very possibly have lost their houses too– will cheer when they hear it.

Sheesh.

In two weeks, Zing will have a total of four employees (woo hoo!). Two of them, including me, are in Colorado… and through long experience I know all of the tax rules and documents I need to file for the state. However, one employee is in California and another is in Oregon. Thus, I’m faced now with figuring out all of the arcane tax laws of those states so we can properly pay everyone and submit our taxes to The Man.

I’m doing my homework on the California stuff, and when I downloaded the 107-page tax manual (whee) I was struck by the introductory message. For some reason, the phrase “Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger thanks you for choosing to do business in the great State of California” made me bust a gut.

This world map shows the distribution of spam sources across the internet. Although it’s not terribly scientific, I must say I’m shocked– shocked!— that the United States is the “hot spot” of spam in the world. What about all those Nigerians?

The kids have been asking to see the new movie Two Brothers, which is a heartwarming tale about two tiger cubs who get lost in the woods or something. I headed over to Blockbuster today and used up the last of our free movie rentals, and we all sat down to watch it this evening.

According to the box, the movie is “enthralling”. After about twenty minutes I couldn’t stand it any more, so I left to do some work. Laralee’s comment: “Well, I don’t know about ‘enthralling’. More like ‘appalling’.”

So two thumbs down from the adults in the household, although all three of the kids liked it.

Turn up the stereo!

“What can I do with a constitution if I have no water, gasoline, and electricity?”

— Hanan Sahib, Iraqi woman

As part of a seminary recruiting campaign, some Catholics are using a poster modeled on The Matrix to make the priesthood look somehow “cool” or “hip”. Interesting idea; I wonder how it’s viewed at higher levels in the church.

No, this isn’t a joke, although the possibilities are endless.