The Chronicle of Anthony K. Valley

Bible Pathway #031 - January 31 - Exodus 40

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Exodus 40
Highlights: Tabernacle completed and erected — Furnishings arranged — Consecration of Aaron and sons — Glory of the Lord fills theTabernacle

Did I every post this? Create FavIcons from a picture.

Need a really good/free Favorite Icon (favicon) Editor? Wait no more, Html-Kit has one in it’s online tools.

FavIcon from Pics @ HTML-Kit.com

Would you like to display your own icon on the browser address bar when visitors view or bookmark your web page? The favicon feature makes it possible to brand address bars, bookmarks / favorites, and/or tabs with custom icons.

The FavIcon from Pics makes it easier to create icons for your web pages. Simply select a picture, logo or other graphic (of any size/resolution) that you already have for the “Source Image” and click “Generate FavIcon.ico”

Steve's place- Perl Tutorial

Steve’s place has a nice Perl Tutorial.

Just in case you need a refresher.

Bible Pathway #030 - January 30 - Exodus 38-39

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Exodus 38-39
Highlights: Brazen Altar of burnt offering — Tabernacle courtyard — High priest’s garments

Microsoft may drop Xbox to $99, launch Xbox 2 in 2005

CNN Money released this article that may interest gamers of all kinds, “Microsoft may drop Xbox to $99, launch Xbox 2 in 2005.” Now isn’t that something to ponder.

Wired News: MyDoom Spawns More Potent Variant

Wired News reports, “MyDoom Spawns More Potent Variant” We should expect a little more viral mayhem.

A new, nastier variant of the MyDoom worm has been released and is beginning to spread across the Internet, according to antivirus experts.

Computers infected with MyDoom.B will launch a 12-day denial-of-service attack on Microsoft.com beginning Feb. 1. They will also launch a separate attack on the SCO Group’s website on the same date, just as the original version of the worm is coded to do.

MyDoom.B also alters system files in order to block infected computers from accessing a list of 65 websites, most of them belonging to antivirus vendors, in an apparent attempt to stymie users attempting to download antivirus application updates or information.

Update your virus definition files. Please.

Bible Pathway #029 - January 29 - Exodus 35-37

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Exodus 35-37
Highlights: Freewill offerings for the Tabernacle — Construction of the Tabernacle — The Ark of the Testimony — Mercy Seat — Table of Showbread — Candlestick — Altar of Incense

Reverend Mike's House of Homiletic Hash: Which Founding Father Are You?

Which Founding Father Are You?

Imitated from : Reverend Mike’s House of Homiletic Hash

Netflix: the fly in the ointment of VoD

The Register in the UK has posted this article that specifically deals with the possibility of movies being legally delivered to homes via broadband internet connetions as an alternative to renting from the local video store. For contrast, Netflix’s business model is mentioned.

I informally consider myself as an evangelist for Netflix, a US based video-rental-by-mail company. It’s a wonderful service with rock solid execution.

The question that most people as it exactly how long does it take to receive the next DVD in queue? For me, since I am two mail days away from the Houston, TX distribution center, my complete DVD life cycle is six to seven days.

How so? If I mail a DVD on Monday, it arrives at the Distro on Wednesday and is processed as a return. A confirmation email is sent when Netflix receives the DVD in the the warehouse. Usually, the next DVD in queue is processed and mailed the same day, but the next day at the latest.
Let’s say that the DVD was shipped Thursday. It will then arrive in the mail on Saturday or Monday.

My family in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have a three to four day DVD cycle since they are closer to Houston.

Bible Pathway #028 - January 28 - Exodus 32-34

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Exodus 32-34
Highlights: Moses delayed on Mount Sinai — Aaron’s golden calf — Its destruction — Death of 3,000 Israelites — Law renewed — God’s Covenant — Three feasts

MT Extensions: Removing Duplicates Using MySQL 1.0

An essential for your Movable Type toolbox: MT Extensions: Removing Duplicates Using MySQL 1.0

update:
I updated the SQL query so that it better suits my needs:

SELECT DISTINCT CONCAT as ‘SQL’
FROM mt_comment AS t1 JOIN mt_comment AS t2 ON
t1.comment_entry_id = t2.comment_entry_id &&
t1.comment_author = t2.comment_author &&
t1.comment_email = t2.comment_email &&
t1.comment_text = t2.comment_text &&
t1.comment_url = t2.comment_url
WHERE t1.comment_id < t2.comment_id;

Music Royalties Rise, Even as CD Sales Fall

From the New York Times article, “Music Royalties Rise, Even as CD Sales Fall”:

Despite the travails of the music industry, with CD sales still slumping and record executives still suing suspected Internet pirates, one part of the business is thriving. Royalties paid to songwriters and music publishers from radio and television broadcasts of their songs, and from live performances, are at record highs.

“When it comes to the downloading issue, which is killing record labels and music publishers, we’re only indirectly affected by it,” said Bill Velez, the head of Sesac, one of the leading performing rights organizations in the United States. “We’re able to weather economic storms better than other segments of the entertainment industry.”

In 2003, America’s three recognized performing rights organizations - Sesac, B.M.I. and Ascap - reported record revenues, which, in turn, have generated bigger royalties distributions to songwriters and music publishers.

[ Full Story @ New York Times ]

Source: The New York Times © 2004 New York Times

Bible Pathway #027 - January 27 - Exodus 29-31

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Exodus 29-31
Highlights: The rules and sacrifices for the priests — Continual burnt offering — Altar of Incense — The ransom of souls — The holy anointing oil — Sabbath regulations — Moses receives two tablets of stone

Bible Pathway #026 - January 26 - Exodus 26-28

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Exodus 26-28
Highlights: Directions given for constructing the Tabernacle, court, furniture, and enclosure — Plans for altar — Aaron’s priestly garments — Ephod

RE: Blacks and Latinos Try to Find Balance in Touchy New Math

David L. Evans, my cousin in whom I am well pleased, responds to the New York Times article, Blacks and Latinos Try to Find Balance in Touchy New Math

In his email, David prefaced the letter as such:

Descriptive political terms like African-American, black, Hispanic, Latino, white, women, etc., have never been monolithic. There was always overlap and subdivision—even in the one-drop-of-black-blood era. It is, therefore, too simple to say that “Hispanics outnumber blacks…,” when overlapping membership runs into the millions. Moreover, white citizens who were born in South Africa are technically “African-Americans” and blond, blue-eyed Americans whose ancestors came from Spain are technically “Hispanics.” With this in mind I wrote the following letter that appeared in Saturday’s New York Times. — David L. Evans

First a snippet from the New York Times article under scrutiny, Blacks and Latinos Try to Find Balance in Touchy New Math:

The Web site for Black Entertainment Television put the question bluntly: “Does it bother you that Hispanics now outnumber African-Americans in the U.S.?”

The response has been torrential. One visitor to the site wrote, “Blacks are beginning to experience another wave of racial bias and favoritism not in our favor.” The writer complained that employers now have a preference for bilingual applicants, and bemoaned “attempts to replace our threatening stance against discrimination with a Hispanic vote.”

But another cautioned: “Sounds like the same old trick to me. `Divide and conquer.’ Are we really going to let some numbers dictate how we treat one another?”

The BET.com message board is only one forum, but it has evoked some of the emotions, worries, hopes and even awkwardness that have been felt nationwide over a singular moment in American demographics. Last summer, the Census Bureau announced that Latinos had surpassed blacks as the country’s largest minority, with blacks making up 13.1 percent of the population in 2002, and Hispanics 13.4 percent.

Finally, David’s response, posted in the New York Times on Saturday, January 24th.

To the Editor:

Re: “Blacks and Latinos Try to Find Balance in Touchy New Math” (front page, Jan. 17):

The numbers don’t permit an exact comparison, but the political relationships of blacks to Latinos and blacks to women is somewhat analogous. The groups are not mutually exclusive, and the millions of black women members have dual identifications imposed on them.

The common experience of widespread discrimination, however, doesn’t guarantee a seamless coalition between either of these overlapping demographic couples. Their histories are different and their political issues are not always the same. Occasional conflict is inevitable.

As an African-American, I suggest that liberal blacks and Latinos do what conservative women and Hispanics have done: recognize that mutual political interests sometimes require selective interaction inside and outside their political groups.

DAVID L. EVANS
Cambridge, Mass., Jan. 17, 2004

David, thank you for sharing.

Michael Bremmer's Sola Scriptura!

Sola Scriptura!
A Reformed Theology Resource — Dedicated to the Praise of His Glorious Grace

A wonderful resource for the Reformed/Calvinist Christian

Bible Pathway #025 - January 25 - Exodus 23-25

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Exodus 23-25
Highlights: Laws instituted — Three feasts which must be kept — Angel promised for a guide — Instructions for Tabernacle furnishings

What is Open Theism?

What exactly is Open Theism? Antithesis offers this explaination of Open theism

What is Open Theism?
Open Theism (also called Free Will Theism) connects with the spirituality of many Christians throughout the history of the church especially when it comes to prayer. Many Christians feel that our prayers or lack of them can make a difference as to what God does in history. The Openness of God is an attempt to think out more consistently what it means that God enters into personal relationships with humanity. We want to develop an understanding of the triune God and God’s relationship to the world that is Biblically faithful, finds consonance with the tradition, is theologically coherent and which enhances the way we live our Christian lives. On the core tenets of the Christian faith, we agree, but we believe that some aspects of the tradition need reforming, particularly when it comes to what is called “Classical Theism.” We believe that some aspects of this model of God have led Christians to misread certain Scriptures and develop some serious problems in our understanding of God which affect the way we live, pray and answer the problem of evil.

The General Tenets of Open Theism
“[Open Theism] . . . Presents an understanding of God’s nature and relationship with his creatures, which we call the openness of God; in broad strokes, it takes the following form. God, in grace, grants humans significant freedom to cooperate with or work against God’s will for their lives, and he enters into dynamic, give and take relationships with us. The Christian life involves genuine interaction between God and human beings. We respond to God’s gracious initiatives and God responds to our responses . . . and on it goes. God takes risks in this give-and-take relationship, yet he is endlessly resourceful and competent in working toward his ultimate goals. Sometimes God alone decides how to accomplish these goals. On other occasions, God works with human decisions, adapting his own plans to fit the changing situation. God does not control everything that happens. Rather, he is open to receiving input from his creatures. In loving dialogue, God invites us to participate with him to bring the future into being.”

Resource: John Sanders: The Openness of God

TTLB - A bear, the world, and the strong urge to hibernate

The Truth Laid Bear, TTLB
A bear, the world, and the strong urge to hibernate
More about the bear
The Blogosphere Ecosystem at TTLB

Passion Tickets not available yet at MovieTickets.com

The Passion of the Christ @ MovieTickets.com
Still waiting for tickets to come online…

Passion Tickets
Tickets for “The Passion of The Christ” at a premium cost of $9.50 per ticket plus a $1.50 for processing.

Bible Pathway #024 - January 24 - Exodus 20-22

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Exodus 20-22
Highlights: Ten Commandments and other laws and regulations given

Convert a URL to an image with -- url2bmp

Now this is a sweet little application to capture websites into images :: url2bmp

And just like that...Booble no more

You know, sometimes it is just scary, how predictable the internet can be. We all knew that Google would crack down on nuisance that was Booble, the inappropriately named vaporware (because it disappeared as fast as it came online) that was an adult search engine.

Jane Perrone contributed this to the weblog at the Guardian Unlimited.

Google/Booble part two
January 22: My calls to the Google press machine have borne fruit. Here’s the entirety of the message I received last night from David Krane, Google’s director of corporate communications:

Greetings Jane…thanks for your inquiry.

We were just made aware of the Booble.com website yesterday when theylaunched. Upon discovering these types of sites, Google typically takes the appropriate action necessary to protect our trademarks.

Thanks and regards,

David

I guess that answers my question, then …
· Jane Perrone

Google/Booble mystery
January 21: While my colleague Neil McIntosh is discussing Yahoo’s latest moves in the competitive search engines market over at the Guardian Unlimited weblog’s stablemate Onlineblog, I’ve been investigating a slightly more lowbrow development in the world of search: an ‘adult’ search engine called, ahem, Booble. After a story in today’s Sydney Morning Herald, Booble appears to have been unceremoniously yanked from the web, perhaps because it’s a self-confessed parody of Google’s less-is-more front page design. (Google has kindly provided a cached version if you’re curious about the logo). I have calls in with Google’s UK and US press offices but no word on whether Google’s lawyers were involved.
· Jane Perrone
Update: I’ve just seen Tom Coates’ exasperated post about Booble.

Dean Goes Nuts

Must… resist… cannot.. control linking…
Aaaaah. Forget it.

Blogos brings www.deangoesnuts.com to the Blogdom.

I’m still touched.

Gay man attracted to undercover officer -- Drug bust ruled entrapment

Now I have seen it all. When a man’s attraction to an undercover officer can be ruled as entrapment, where does it end?

An appeals court in Florida ruled Wednesday that a detective working undercover was too good-looking for a gay man to be charged in a drug sting.

According to the Sun-Sentinel, a Florida newspaper, Detective Mike Nahum went to a gay club in Fort Lauderdale in 2002 to investigate suspected drug activity. According to court records, he met Julio Blanco, a self-described “lonely gay man.”

Blanco testified that Nahum said he wanted to have a “good time” and to “party.” While Blanco hoped Nahum was making a pass at him, the officer thought he was clearly asking for drugs.”

Seems like standard cop talk for drugs to me… Not necessarily Nahum making a pass at Blanco.

Blanco said Nahum started asking for cocaine repeatedly. After the third request, Blanco said he had enough and tried to leave, but the undercover detective said, “Come on, can you get me some?”

Here’s the so-called “entrapment”

Blanco said Nahum was too good-looking to resist. He went to the restroom, where he bought some crystal meth and gave it to the officer. Nahum gave him $60 for the trouble, bought him a beer and even exchanged numbers, promising to call in a few days.

Police arrested Blanco two weeks later.

But wait, there’s more, even the lawyer and the judge play vital roles in this undermining of the American justice system.

During Blanco’s hearing in 2002, Broward Circuit Judge Susan Lebow said “The whole situation seemed very clear to me. I mean, the detective walked in dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, and, for the record, he was a very attractive man and … “

That’s when Blanco’s attorney, Kevin J. Kulik interrupted and asked Judge Lebow to enter her opinion of Nahum’s attractiveness as an official finding.

She did.

Can the attorney/judge do that manuever ethically?

On Wednesday, the Fourth District Court of Appeal agreed with Judge Lebow’s assessment that Blanco had been entrapped by “nonverbal communication used” by the undercover — and, as a matter of record, very attractive — detective.

[ Unopinioned Story @ Yahoo!News ]

Source: Yahoo!News © 2004 Yahoo! Inc.

Bible Pathway #023 - January 23 - Exodus 17-19

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Exodus 17-19
Highlights: Thirst causes murmuring against Moses — Water from the rock — Amalek defeated — Jethro’s advice — God speaks at Mount Sinai

Bible Pathway #022 - January 22 - Exodus 14-16

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Exodus 14-16
Highlights: Crossing the Red Sea — Song of Moses — The waters of Marah — Murmurings — Manna and quail

Inspired by sleeping (Sleep Essential for Creativity)

Got a creative block or need to make a big decision? Sleep on it. That’s what this study mentioned at Yahoo! recommends, sleeps spurns creativity. Maybe we can sleep at the office when big issues arise.

For the first time, scientists say they have proved what creative minds have known all along: that our sleeping brains continue working on problems that baffle us during the day, and that the right answer may come more easily after eight hours of rest.

The German study is considered to be the first hard evidence supporting the commonsense notion that creativity and problem-solving appear to be directly linked to adequate sleep.

Some researchers said the study provides a valuable reminder for overtired workers and students that sleep is often the best medicine.

Bible Pathway #021 - January 21 - Exodus 11-13

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Exodus 11-13
Highlights: Death of the firstborn —The Lord’s Passover —The Exodus — Pillar of cloud and Pillar of fire

RANT :: On recent searches at In the Faith and the depravity of Mankind

I am really baffled, I mean completely baffled. The obviously Christian Blog, In The Faith is constantly searched for keywords that a rational thinking person would not expect to find on a Christian website. For some reason people think that “In The Faith” houses a hidden treasure trove of depravity and debauchery.

Who are these people and why do they search for Mel Gibson’s email address, Kirk Talley Nude, Kirk Talley Nude Pictures, Nude pictures the Abercrombie catalogs, and a myriad of other stuff.

Understanding Google’s preference for weblogs, I am sure that the searches will now bring the readers here.

Thus, here is my message to the wandering searcher:

Dear Sir/Madam:

I regret to inform you that neither In The Faith - A Chronicle of the Christian Faith or The Chronicle of Anthony K. Valley contain links to the aforementioned questionable material. We do offer several links to a promote a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, feel free to explore those sites, instead.

God Bless you, and good bye!

Thank God for His Sovereignty

I am SO grateful that God is absolutely sovereign.

Considering my propensity to sin and inability to purge myself completely of the “lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and the pride of life”, it’s reassuring, to say the least, that God ultimately controls all things.

My “free will” does not override His plans. While I am on that note, if my “free will” could override what God has already planned in eternity, who is really the God here? Apparently, He could not be God, since I was able to do something that He had no idea about. Discounting him being the Omnipotent One, as He bends to my will and the Omniscient One, as my decisions are a mystery to Him.

But that is not the case, He is still God and I am not.

A Google-like search engine for the porn-impaired

As if smut was difficult to find, really has anyone not checked their spam-riddled inbox, lately?

Yahoo!News mentions a search engine for the “lust of the flesh.”

The unnamed (he knows what’s good for him) investor interviewed states this about his take on Google, named Booble:

“We don’t have any relationship with Google but we have put a link to their site on outs and so far we haven’t heard from them,” the anonymous founder said.

“We don’t want to do anything is illegal — it’s a parody, it’s funny and we’re not out to confuse anybody so we hope they will take the joke in the spirit in which it was intended.”

I expect the Google Lawyers to make a move pretty quickly.

[ Continued Idoicy @ Yahoo!News ]

Toyota Offers Automatic Parallel Parking Option

Sigh… I knew that this day would come. No need to learn how to parallel park.

From Slashdot

For drivers who can’t parallel park very well, relief is available in Japan. Toyota Motor Corp. is offering a $2,200 option package for its Prius (a gas-electric hybrid car) that includes a computer imaging system which stuffs your car into parallel parking spaces on demand.

I wonder when it will be available in America.

If PETA only knew about this one...

I wonder if PETA knows about this game — Smack the Penguin

Bible Pathway #020 - January 20 - Exodus 8-10

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Exodus 8-10
Highlights: Plagues of frogs, lice, flies, death of cattle, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness

Bible Pathway #019 - January 19 - Exodus 5-7

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Exodus 5-7
Highlights: Moses’ demands to Pharaoh — Aaron to speak for Moses — Moses’ rod turned into a serpent — Plague of blood

The Big Five Personality Test

This is another test circulating around the Christian Blogsphere…

The Big Five Personality Test

Extroverted	||||||||||||||	52%
Introverted	||||||||||||	48%
Friendly	||||||||||||||||	70%
Aggressive	||||||	30%
Orderly	||||||||||||||||	70%
Disorderly	||||||	30%
Relaxed	||||||||||||||||||	72%
Emotional	||||||	28%
Openminded	||||||||||||||	58%
Closeminded	||||||||||||	42%

Take Free Big 5 Personality Test

Bible Pathway #018 - January 18 - Exodus 2-4

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Exodus 2-4
Highlights: Early life of Moses — His flight into Midian — The burning bush — His commission to free the nation of Israel — His return to Egypt

What Christian Theologian Am I?

I am Desiderius Erasmus. Walloworld posts the results from his taking the “What Christian Theologian Am I?” eval. So I thought that I would, in turn, do the same.

Bible Pathway #017 - January 17 - Genesis 49-Exodus 1

Bible Pathway #017 - January 17 - Genesis 49-Exodus 1
Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Genesis 49-Exodus 1
Highlights: Jacob’s prophecies — Deaths of Jacob and Joseph — The Hebrews oppressed in Egypt

All the News Aggregators you'll ever need

The RSS Feed Reader / News Aggregators Directory over at hebig.org/blog basically covers the ground that I intended to cover in a new post.

Enough said…

Bible Pathway #016 - January 16 - Genesis 46-48

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Genesis 46-48
Highlights: Jacob’s vision at Beersheba — The journey to Egypt — Joseph and the famine — The best land given to Jacob — Joseph’s sons blessed

Bible Pathway #015 - January 15 - Genesis 43-45

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Genesis 43-45
Highlights: Jacob’s sons return to Egypt for food — Judah offers to take the place of Benjamin — Joseph makes himself known to his brothers

Bible Pathway #014 - January 14 - Genesis 40-42

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Genesis 40-42
Highlights: Dreams interpreted by Joseph — Joseph made a ruler of Egypt — His brothers buy corn and bow down to him — Simeon detained

Bible Pathway #013 - January 13 - Genesis 37-39

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Genesis 37-39
Highlights: Joseph’s dreams — Joseph sold into slavery — The cruel lies of Potiphar’s wife — Joseph imprisoned

Homegrown Google RSS Feeds

Google RSS Feeds are a hot commodity if you can find them. A perl script, not recommended or supported by Google, that parses the Google topic pages has been released to the public.

Note of caution, do not abuse this hack as Google will ban your IP address, then try to live without Google.

Google may be the site that we love to hate, but honestly, who does searches better?

"The Matrix Revolutions" DVD Details

Revolution WILL be televised, well, sort of… You can have your own on April 6th, 2004.

Dark Horizons has all of the details on “The Matrix Revolutions”

The third and last Matrix film may not have had the warm reception that many were expecting, but it still earned a heap and is getting a pretty good DVD release. Despite the January talk last year, the two-disc set in both full and widescreen editions is now confirmed for an April 6th release. Below are the final specs and artwork for the release courtesy of DVD Answers:

- 2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- English Dolby Digital 5.1 Track
- English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Track
- French Dolby Digital 5.1 Track
- Matrix Recalibrated (Making Of) Documentary
* Neo Realism: The Evolution of Bullet Time
- CG Revolution (Effects) Documentary
* Super Big Mini-Models Segment
- Super Burly Brawl Featurette
* Double Agent Smith Segment
* Mind Over Matter: The Physicality of The Matrix
- Before the Revolution 3D Timeline
- Future Gamer: The Matrix Online (Game) Feature
- Multidimensional Stills Gallery
- Matrix Revolutions Theatrical Trailer
- DVD-ROM Features: Weblink & Matrix Test
- English, French, Spanish Subtitles

Goodbye Levi Strauss...

Levi’s Strauss has left the country. Prefers China for “less expensive labor”

Levi Strauss, the privately held 150-year-old maker of jeans and more, is closing down its last two sewing plants in America. (We pause now for a 21-button salute.)

Call it an inevitable result of free markets or call it a crying shame. Either way, due to difficulties competing with clothing stitched overseas at a fraction of the cost, the denim icon has struggled in recent years. A recent article by Dave Marino-Nachison pointed out some other problems, including sub-optimal distribution methods that ignored discount chains such as Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) for too long.

Levi’s has also been criticized for neglecting its brand, allowing it to fall from that top shelf of American icon brands that boasts the likes of Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), Ford (NYSE: F), and McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD).

Levi Strauss’s revenues peaked in 1996, at $7.1 billion, but that plunged to $4.1 billion by 2002 and is projected to come in even lower in 2003. Twenty years ago, Levi’s 63 plants across the U.S. cranked out millions of pairs of jeans annually. Soon, the company will abandon the continent altogether, once three remaining Canadian plants are closed. Who’s getting the business? China, and other nations with less expensive labor.

[ Full Story @ The Motley Fool ]

Source: The Motley Fool © 2004 The Motley Fool. All rights reserved

Bible Pathway #012 - January 12 - Genesis 34-36

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Genesis 34-36
Highlights: Dinah, daughter of Jacob and Leah, is raped — Simeon and Levi’s revenge — Jacob’s return to Bethel — Abrahamic Covenant renewed

Bible Pathway #011 - January 11 - Genesis 31-33

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Genesis 31-33
Highlights: Laban’s jealousy — Jacob flees — Jacob wrestles with the Angel of God — His name changed to Israel — Peace between Jacob and Esau

Bible Pathway #010 - January 10 - Genesis 28-30

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Genesis 28-30
Highlights: Abrahamic Covenant conferred upon Jacob — Vision of Jacob’s ladder — Journey to Padan-aram — Jacob’s marriages to Leah and Rachel

Searching for the true RSS 2.0

I am looking to optimize my RSS files for my blogs for cool aggregators like Bradbury Software’s FeedDemon. While looking around at the site, I browsed the FAQs to see find additional information on building a better syndication. That perusing lead my to an article at Harvard Law about RSS 2.0 Specifications.

Of course in the circle of life, all things point back to Six Apart’s Movable Type templates. Not really being satified that SA’s MT is the answer for all things, I googled a little more down the road finding a nice RSS haven of rest at Dancing About Architecture. The search still continues…

Bible Pathway #009 - January 9 - Genesis 25-27

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Genesis 25-27
Highlights: Abraham’s death — Birth of Jacob and Esau — Esau sells his birthright — Isaac blesses Jacob with the Abrahamic Covenant

One of my favorite songs of ALL TIME

OH THE GLORY OF YOUR PRESENCE
Steve Fry @ 1983 Birdwing Music
(ADM. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) / BMG Songs, Inc./ ASCAP

Jesus all glorious
Create in us a temple
Called as living stones
Where you’re enthroned
As You rose from death in power
So rise within your temple
Rise upon our praise
And let the hand saw you raised
Clothe us in your glory
Draw us by your grace

Oh the glory of Your presence
We your temple
Give you reverence
Come and rise from Your rest
And be blessed by our praise
As we glory in Your embrace
As your presence now fills this place

Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ' Advance Tickets Available NOW!

Per per Yahoo, advance tickets for “The Passion of Christ” are available.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ — Never before in motion picture history have tickets been offered this far in advance as they now are for Mel Gibson’s much anticipated film, “The Passion of the Christ.”

To view the Multimedia News Release, complete with video go to: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/thepassion/11685/

The film, which depicts the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ’s life on earth, is set to be released on Ash Wednesday, February 25, 2004.

The demand for tickets has been so great, hundreds of thousands of tickets have been secured already.

Individual and group orders are now available through Prelude Worldwide Ministries donation line by calling 1-800-235-1197 or on the Web at www.passiontickets.com

[ Full Story @ Yahoo!Financial ]

Source: Yahoo!Financial News © 2004 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

OK, I admit it, I lied about the lottery ticket

Now it can be told, Elecia Battle has fooled all of us! Well, not really, but she did have us going for a little while, didn’t she? The flashlights, the store searching, the tears, we felt her grief over the loss of this fortune. But now we see that it was all a scam, that’s right, our trust has once again been violated. (Can you sense an sprinkle of lightheartedness and sarcasm mixed into here?)

CLEVELAND - A woman admitted through tears Thursday that she lied about losing the winning ticket for a $162 million lottery prize, saying: “I wanted to win so badly for my kids and my family.”

Elecia Battle, 40, is dropping her lawsuit to block payment of the 11-state Mega Millions jackpot to the certified winner, her lawyer Sheldon Starke said.

“I wanted to win,” Battle said. “The numbers were so overwhelming. I did buy a ticket and I lost it. I wanted to win so bad for my kids and my family. I apologize.”

The Cleveland woman had filed a police report saying she lost the ticket, possibly when she dropped her purse outside a convenience store. The lottery dismissed the claim and declared Rebecca Jemison, 34, the winner on Tuesday.

Police Lt. Kevin Nietert said Thursday he expected Battle to be charged with filing a false police report, a misdemeanor punishable by 30 days to six months in jail.

Battle apologized to her husband, her lawyer and Jemison, saying she wanted to use the money to help her family and recently laid-off Cleveland police officers.

[ Full Story @ Yahoo ]

Source: Yahoo © 2004 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved

Bible Pathway #008 - January 8 - Genesis 22-24

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Genesis 22-24
Highlights: Abraham’s willingness to offer Isaac — God’s Covenant renewed — Sarah’s death — Rebekah’s marriage to Isaac

Want a foolproof way to turn $1 a day into $67,815?

It’s not just pocket change anymore. MSN Money points the way to a nice 30-year nest egg. Not necessarily a new or ground breaking approach, but it is quite solid.

Want a foolproof way to turn $1 a day into $67,815? It doesn’t take a lot of money or time or personal sacrifice. There’s no magic, no multilevel marketing and no salesman will call at your door.

In fact, it’s the simplest and most-proven way to get richer, and if you extend this concept to other parts of your life, you could end up with an enviable retirement nest egg.

To start, all you have to do is take your pocket change at the end of the day and drop it in a jar. If you can do that, and you put away about $1 a day, that’s just $7 a week. At the end of the month, you’ll have about $30.

Since this is money in your pocket, you’ve already paid taxes on it in the form of withholding from your paycheck. (If you’re self-employed, that’s not true, but we’ll ignore that to keep things simple.) Every month, deposit your savings in a Roth IRA account, where it can grow tax-free and — more important — be withdrawn tax-free in the future.

What’s a paltry $30 a month going to do for you? Growing tax-free for 30 years, with a 10% annual return, your investment account will be worth $67,815. (Stocks overall have returned an average of more than 10% a year since 1926, so buying a broad-based stock index fund the Vanguard Total Market Index Fund (VTSMX) is the easiest way to capture that kind of growth.)

Not bad for pocket change, but that’s just the beginning.

Well, let’s all get Roth IRA accounts!

Bible Pathway #007 - January 7 - Genesis 19-21

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Genesis 19-21
Highlights: Sodom destroyed — Lot and his daughters — Birth of Isaac — Hagar and Ishmael — Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Explosion Rocks Conway Plant, Area Evacuated

Explosions rocked a chemical plant in Conway Tuesday, shooting fireballs into the sky and forcing the evacuation of schools and businesses.

Police say two people suffered burns, one critically. All plant workers were accounted for. The cause of the explosions isn’t immediately known.

Fires were spread throughout the Detco Industries plant on the city’s south side and the smoke was so thick that meteorologists 30 miles away in Little Rock detected the plume on radar screens.

Flames climbed to 30 or 40 feet, but fireballs reached higher during a number of smaller explosions.

What was in the smoke wasn’t immediately known. The state Emergency Management Department said federal documents from 2002 show that the plant has hydrofluoric acid, sulfuric acid and methanol on the premises, though it did not know if those chemicals were involved in the fire.

The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality set up portable air-quality monitors in an effort to detect what was in the cloud.

Detco makes industrial chemicals and aerosol products, such as cleaners and disinfectants.

John Patton, a spokesman for Conway Regional Medical Center, said one of the injured was taken to Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock and the other was going to the Little Rock’s Arkansas Children’s Hospital, which has the state’s only burn unit.

Black smoke rising from the site could be seen as far away as Little Rock, 30 miles away. The plume was being carried southward on a light north wind.

Emergency workers evacuated buildings within a half-mile, including an elementary school, a 64-child day-care center and a Kimberly Clark paper factory that employs 540. Students were taken to schools elsewhere in the city of 46,000.

Conway school administrators were gathered with evacuees in a high school auditorium and not available for comment Tuesday afternoon.

Also evacuated was an adult education center operated by the Conway school district and the Oakwood Village mobile home park near the plant.

Stokes said there were a number of unknown chemicals in the Detco building and that emergency workers were concerned about the possibility of another explosion. Another dozen or so plants are nearby.

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department closed an Interstate 40 exit south of the city because all of the roads leading from the exit were in the evacuation zone, spokesman Randy Ort said.

The evacuated area reached one mile to the southwest, south and southeast of the plant and to an area immediately north of it. Schools and businesses that did not close were on standby in case the wind shifted.

The city’s airport, just northeast of the plant, closed briefly after the explosion so people who work near the plant could cut across its runways to escape the plume, airport manager Tim Huey said.

[ More Coverage @ Arkansas NBC ]

Source: The Associated Press © 2004 All Rights Reserved

Text of 911 Calls After Conway Plant Explosion

Just this morning about 1/2 mile from my office an explosion occured at a chemical plant. The Associated Press has released the transcripts of the 911 calls for the emergency.

Verbatim of the first emergency calls to come in after the Detco plant explosion in Conway.

First call, 11:05 a.m.

*First person: “We need the fire department at Detco, 601 E. Robins.”
*Woman: “Do we need to exit the building something else could blow up?”
*Operator: “What’s your emergency?”
*First person: “I don’t know. Something just blew up. There’s black smoke coming out of the building.”

Second call, 11:05 a.m.

*Another woman at Detco, screaming: “Come on.”
*Operator: “Where are you?”
*Woman: “Detco, we need an ambulance and a fire truck.”

Third call, 11:06 a.m.

*Third woman: “The building behind me just made a big boom.”
*Operator: “Is it Detco?”
*Third woman: “I don’t know. It’s next to the adult education.”

Other quotes from 911 callers include: a woman screaming, “Oh my God, a guy’s on fire,” another woman telling the operator, “We need a paramedic.”

[ Full Story @ Arkansas NBC ]

Source: The Associated Press. © 2004 All Rights Reserved.

Did I say I lost MY ticket? I meant to say I lost YOUR winning ticket...

Well, after that moment of prayer about the ticket, the real lottery ticket holder has surfaced and claimed her loot.
I read this at Reuters today. I love their tag line, “Know. Now.”

CHICAGO (Reuters) - An Ohio woman on Tuesday collected a $162 million lottery prize, saying the winning ticket was in her hands all along and had not been lost, as another woman had claimed.
Rebecca Jemison, 34, of South Euclid, Ohio, near Cleveland, produced the winning ticket and was awarded the prize. She elected to take a one-time $94 million payment rather than collecting the larger amount over a number of years.

The jackpot in a multi-state drawing had gone unclaimed since Dec. 30. On Monday news leaked out that a woman had filed a police report saying she lost the ticket outside the store where it was purchased.

Elecia Battle, 40, said she was sure the ticket she lost when she dropped her purse was the winner. The disclosure prompted a number of people to descend on the area near the store to search for the supposedly missing piece of paper.

But Jemison told a news conference when she claimed the prize that she had played the winning combination of numbers previously.

“I knew the proof I had,” she said. While she was angered at first that someone else was claiming the ticket was their’s, she said, in the end “It didn’t bother me at all.”

She said the report of the lost ticket prompted her to come forward to claim the prize, and lottery officials said they believed she was the legitimate winner.

You know that I have to ask this question: Why did it take so long for the winner to claim the prize? I cannot imagine anyone delaying to claim $94 million dollars. Maybe the controversy over Ms. Battle’s claim prompted Mrs. Jemison to redeem her winning ticket.

UPDATE: Per an interview on CNN.com, Mrs. Jemison said that she first contacted her attorney and accountant prior to offically claiming the winnings, hence the aforementioned delay.

Jemison said she “went into shock” after learning she had won the jackpot, and came forward after making arrangements with a lawyer and an accountant. She said she tried to keep her win quiet, even going to work on New Year’s Day in order to avoid drawing attention to herself.

Jemison said she was angered by the claim that someone else had the winning ticket, but: “I knew … what I possessed. I knew the proof I had, so it didn’t bother me at all.”

David L. Evans Scholarship at Harvard

From my cousin, David L. Evans, on his being honored by Harvard.

From October 3rd through 5th this campus was host to Harvard Black
Alumni Weekend 2003. More than 600 graduates returned which represented
approximately one-fifth of all black persons who ever matriculated as
undergraduates at Harvard in 133 years! Some of those in attendance were
Frank S. Jones ‘50, Henry Ford Professor Emeritus of Urban Studies at
M.I.T.; Walter C. Carrington ‘52, former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria and
Senegal; Wilbert C. Jordan ‘66, MD, founder and director of the OASIS
HIV/AIDS Clinic in Los Angeles; John A. McCluskey, Jr. ‘66, Chairman of the
African American and African Diaspora Studies Department at Indiana
University; federal judge Deborah Batts ‘69; Kenneth R. Manning ‘70, Thomas
Meloy Professor of the History of Science at M.I.T.; Lee A. Daniels ‘71,
director of publications for the National Urban League; Wayne R. Curtis
‘76, Vice President of Fannie Mae; Laura Taylor Swain ‘79, also a federal
judge, and Suzanne Malveaux ‘88, White House Correspondent for CNN.

While this shortened list of participants is impressive, it is
matched or bettered by the list of panelists. For example, one panel
included Thomas S. Williamson ‘68, Partner at Covington & Burling in
Washington, DC and former president of the Harvard Board of Overseers;
Democratic Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott ‘69 of Virginia; Renee M.
Landers ‘77, law professor at Suffolk University and former president of
the Harvard Board of Overseers; Stephanie Bell-Rose ‘79, President of the
Goldman Sachs Foundation and James E. Johnson ‘83, former Under Secretary
of the U.S. Treasury. Another panel on careers in media included A’Lelia
Bundles ‘74, biographer of Madam C. J. Walker, former producer of ABC World
News Tonight with Peter Jennings and former President of the Radcliffe
Alumnae Association; Henry W. McGee ‘74, president of Home Box Office; Mark
T. Whitaker ‘79, managing editor of Newsweek and Sharon E. Epperson ‘90,
columnist for Time Magazine. There was also a panel of graduates who agreed
to discuss their careers in the corporate world. They were Walter H.
Morris ‘73, partner with Ernst & Young LLP; George H. Yeadon ‘75, a senior
manager in Corporate Treasury at XEROX; Eric M. Turner ‘78, former Vice
President of the State Street Corporation and Carla A. Harris ‘84, Head of
Morgan Stanley’s Equity Private Placement Group. Still another panel
moderated by James S. Hoyte ‘65, Associate Vice-President of Harvard,
included Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Dr. S. Allen Counter,
neurobiologist and Director of the Harvard Foundation, and Lani Guinier
‘71, professor at Harvard Law School.

At the formal dinner Saturday night Pamela Thomas-Graham ‘85,
president and CEO of CNBC, was the keynote speaker and Raymond J. McGuire
‘79, managing director of mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley was
master of ceremony. The Reverend Dr. Dwight N. Hopkins ‘76, Associate
Professor of Religion at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago
gave the invocation and Alphonse “Buddy” Fletcher, Jr. ‘87, CEO of Fletcher
Asset Management, offered brief remarks at the dinner. Other panelists
included Harvard’s Professor of Law, David B. Wilkins ‘77; Professor of
Anthropology and African American Studies, J. Lorand “Randy” Matory ‘82;
Rev. Eugene Rivers ‘84 of the Ten Point Coalition in Boston and Judith
Jackson Fossett ‘87, Associate Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity
at the University of Southern California.

The last action taken at the dinner was the announcement of the
David L. Evans Scholarship at Harvard. If you click on the following link, it will take you to some photographs of the Weekend.

http://clubs.harvard.edu/university/BSA/pictures.htm

In the next to last row (third picture from the left) you will see
yours truly smiling in response to such a gracious deed.

Congratulations, David.

Bible Pathway #006 - January 6 - Genesis 16-18

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Genesis 16-18
Highlights: Ishmael — Abram’s name changed — Covenant of circumcision — Sarai’s name changed — Isaac promised to Abraham and Sarah — Abraham’s prayer for Sodom

I lost my lottery ticket...

This morning in the UK’s Guardian Unlimited — An Ohio woman is distraught about losing the winning ticket to the Mega Millions lottery jackpot. That’s a loss of $162 million. Ouch!

CLEVELAND (AP) - A woman has told police she picked the winning numbers for the $162 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot but lost the ticket before the drawing, according to a police report.

Elecia Battle, of Cleveland, told police she dropped her purse as she left the Quick Shop Food Mart last week after buying the ticket. She said she realized after the drawing last Tuesday that the ticket was missing.

The Ohio Lottery said that the winning ticket was sold at the store in South Euclid, about 15 miles east of Cleveland.

Battle, 40, would not talk about the specifics of when she bought the ticket, how she lost it or even if she was a regular lottery player. She planned a news conference Tuesday to announce a reward.

“I’m praying that someone finds the ticket, brings it forward and gets rewarded and from there we all live happily ever after,” said Battle, who cried as she talked to The Associated Press.

That’s my prayer, too.

Locating Stephen Christian's CD, "Call Me Christian"

Here are all of the places that I have found for “Call Me Christian” as recorded by Stephen Christian.

Onino
Amazon.com
Lightyear.com
CrossRhythms Direct
Artist Direct
Lifeway Christian Stores (Digital Download)
Best Buy
Circuit City
Wal Mart
Tower Records
CD Universe
Barnes and Noble
Books-a-Million

Dean Makes Bible Gaffe, Uses Religion to Appeal to Southern Voters

Before quoting the Bible, please check your references, Mr. Dean. Small mistake, albeit sadly, southerners have long memories.

STORM LAKE, IA (Talon News) — Democrat presidential front-runner Howard Dean said in an interview with reporters last week that his favorite New Testament book of the Bible is Job.

The former Vermont governor said he could relate to the story of a man who had to endure personal struggles in a test of his faith. Unfortunately for Dean, the book of Job is found in the Old Testament.

Within an hour after the interview concluded, Dean sheepishly returned and admitted he had made a mistake with the reference to Job being in the New Testament.

“Many people believe that the original version of Job is the version where there is not a change, Job ends up completely destitute and ruined,” Dean asserted. “It’s been a long time since I looked at this, but it’s believed that was added much, much later. Many people believe that the original ending was about the power of God and the power of God was almighty and all knowing and it wasn’t necessary that everybody was going to be redeemed.”

When asked again about what his favorite New Testament book was, Dean responded by saying “anything in the Gospels,” which are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and tell the story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[ Full Story @ GOP USA ]

Source: GOPUSA.com

BitTorrent users chuckling over Pew peer-to-peer report

Do you REALLY think that people have stopped downloading or did they move on to greener pastures?

According to a report released Sunday by the Pew Internet & American Life Project and comScore Media Metrix, the number of individuals illegally downloading music from the Internet plummeted from 35 million to 18 million between late May and mid-December. “Nothing has ever fallen off the cliff the way that downloading has,” Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet project, told Newsday. “Obviously the lawsuits were a watershed, and they dramatically changed some online behavior.” But just how did they change it? Pew researchers would have us believe that fewer people are downloading music illegally. But they sampled only four peer-to-peer applications - Kazaa, WinMX, BearShare and Grokster — each of them known to be heavily monitored by the RIAA. What of BitTorrent? Or eDonkey and eMule? Or Carracho? Isn’t it possible that more of the trafficking is just moving off the radar?

Maybe IRC for the more technically savvy users.

update: I neglected to cite the source
Source: SiliconValley.com

Matrix Revolutions DVD in May - from the Rumor Mill

As reports from the MatrixFans.net are streaming in, we might have the Revolution in May.

The Digital Bits’ Rumor Mill reports that we may see the Matrix Revolutions DVD in May. We’ll have confirmation of this after the press conference in a week or so, but until then, this is the first we’ve heard of a possible release date.

If it is in May, then we may be in for a great month of DVDs.

“We’ve heard from additional retail sources that New Line is telling them to expect the 2-disc The Return of the King theatrical version on DVD on May 25th, and the 4-disc extended version in the August-November timeframe. Of course, we’ll let you know when we have official confirmation.”

It’s an excellent time to be a movie fan.

DigitalBits : The Rumor Mill @ http://www.thedigitalbits.com/rumormill.html

Go to MFN forums for more information.

New Worm Strikes MSN Messenger

PCWorld.com - New Worm Strikes MSN Messenger.

Buyer beware…hehehe…
Well, at least Messenger is free.

A new worm targeting users of Microsoft’s MSN Messenger software has squirmed through the instant messaging application.

The Jitux.A worm comes in the form of an instant message inviting users to click on a URL. By clicking on the URL, users download the jituxramon.exe file, which then becomes resident in their computer’s memory and sends new messages containing the link every five minutes to all contacts stored in MSN Messenger.
…
Jitux.A isn’t the first worm to wiggle into popular instant messaging networks, particularly MSN Messenger. More than 60 IM vulnerabilities have been published, according to security researchers from Symantec. They range from security holes that could be used to crash IM clients in denial of service attacks to those that allow attackers to install and run malicious code remotely on computers running the vulnerable IM clients.

In short, don’t click on strange links and update your virus definition files.

What is CompleteMovies.com and why do I think that the police will be knocking at my door?

Here’s my first distraction, while I was chasing the Google rabbit down the rabbit hole by following up on all of the interest to this site for the Matrix Revolutions on DVD, I saw CompleteMovies.com listed as one of the “Sponsored Links.”

What is this about and how can they say that you can “Download all the lastest movies!”

Well, I checked the COMPLETEMOVIES.com Disclaimer/Terms of service for my answer.

Lo and behold:

4. ENROLLMENT IN THE SERVICE

… To begin the enrollment process, you must complete the Service registration process located on our web site at http://www.COMPLETEMOVIES.COM/register.html (“COMPLETEMOVIES Site”). You will only be charged for the effort it took us to compose a webpage helping you to comfortably find and download movies online and to have all the tools needed in one place. We do not claim to own any software provided to our members. Any of the software provided could be obtained for free at the owners’ respective sites. We do not promote illegal activity and respect copyright laws. We cannot be held liable for whatever you do once you start using peer-to-peer software available in our member’s section. You understand, that no files can be downloaded directly from this site in any way, shape, or form.

[emphasis mine]

Basically, it’s a pre-paid peer-to-peer file sharing site. Thus, claim “Download all the lastest movies!” is BARELY legal.

Pre-Order The Matrix Revolutions on DVD, Kinda...

I have noticed quite a bit of traffic coming from Google (and the like) with surfers looking for the Matrix Revolutions on DVD

Well, here’s the thing, it actually does not have a public release date, yet. But, Amazon will let you know as soon as it is available by using their nifty, E-mail me when available process.

And that’s the best that I can do…

Bible Pathway #005 - January 5 - Genesis 13-15

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Genesis 13-15
Highlights: Abram and Lot separate — Abram moves to Hebron, builds an altar — Lot rescued — Melchizedek blesses Abram — God’s covenant with Abram

Have you seen the Property Room @ Stealitback.com?

Auctions with a twist are on at the Property Room.
NY Times reports “Police-Seized Loot Is Online, and Yes, It’s a Steal”

In late August the New York Police Department signed a contract with the Property Room, a California company that runs the Web site propertyroom.com. The site, which auctions just about every imaginable item that has been seized by the police besides cars, receives some 12 million hits a month, said Tom Lane, a former New York City officer and one of the company’s founders.

The Web site lists nearly 200,000 registered bidders, far more than the handful of early risers who used to show up for the Police Department’s live auctions at the otherwise deserted — and remarkably hard to find — 1 Police Plaza in Lower Manhattan.

A new twist on internet auctions, apparently it’s working for the NYPD. Maybe other Police Departments will join the band?

The Glider: Proposal for an Appropriate Hacker Emblem

Do you hack? No, not that illegal stuff, but are you an able, useful contributor to the good of all?

Maybe you too should consider the Glider, a seemingly relatively new badge of honor for those who are proficient in the art of hacking.

Huh? You say. Read this from the source, please:

What will I be saying if I display it?
When you put the glider emblem on your web page, or wear it on clothing, or display it in some other way, you are visibly associating yourself with the hacker culture. This is not quite the same thing as claiming to be a hacker yourself — that is a title of honor that generally has to be conferred by others rather than self-assumed. But by using this emblem, you express sympathy with hackers’ goals, hackers’ values, and the hacker way of living. See the FAQs page for further discussion.

Yes, as of a mere four days after this proposal was floated, there are mugs and T-shirts.. Please note that I had nothing to do with this and I’m not getting a cut; in fact, proceeds are going to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Now there’s a second source with different designs.

Who should not use this emblem?
If you break into other peoples’ computers, those of us the emblem was invented for do not want you displaying it. Go invent your own emblem. We’ll find some way to shame and reject you publicly if you mess with ours.

I used to have a prohibition against commercial use here. A number of people have argued convincingly that this is impractical and perhaps unfair. Keep it tasteful, or you will be flamed.

How can I use it?
The glider is not copyrighted or trademarked. The recommended way to use it is on a web page, with an image and a link back to either this page or direct to How To Become A Hacker. Here is a snippet of XHTML you can paste into a page.

<a href='http://www.catb.org/hacker-emblem/'>
<img src='http://www.catb.org/hacker-emblem/glider.png' alt='hacker emblem' /></a>

Here is how it looks:

Don’t forget to read the FAQs.

Bible Pathway #004 - January 4 - Genesis 10-12

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Genesis 10-12
Highlights: Descendants of Noah — Babel — Origin of languages — God’s call and covenant with Abram — His journey to Canaan and Egypt

The King Reigneth! LOTR-ROTK

Lord of the Rings : Return of the King is still reigning at the Box Office, per a recent article at Reuters.

Expect deja vu all over again at the box office this New Year’s weekend. No new wide releases are out to challenge the status quo, so New Line Cinema’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” is fated to remain the most popular attraction.

Last weekend, the epic conclusion of the J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy trilogy suffered a drop of just 30% from its mammoth opening round. This time, “King” could fall 50% and still dominate the field with a $25 million tally.

The Peter Jackson-helmed “King” has generated more than $220 million at the domestic box office since its Dec. 17 bow. After becoming the second-fastest film to cross the $200 million mark — behind only “Spider-Man” — “King” could well exceed the $340 million racked up by its 2002 predecessor, “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.”

I know that I will loose some points with this next statement but, I have STILL not seen it yet. Going to the movies is rough with a new baby at home.

Independent Artist vs. Record Major Labels

Downhill Battle is plotting the destruction of the major label monopoly and they say that CD’s make bad gifts for kids.

Music Activism, whew… These folks are serious.

Bible Pathway #003 - January 3 - Genesis 7-9

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Genesis 7-9
Highlights: Noah, his family, seven pairs of clean and one pair of unclean of every living creature enter the ark as God had commanded (Genesis 7:2,9,16) — The great flood — The Rainbow Covenant

A Simple Backup Plan for your MT Blog

Allegheny College has a tutorial wrapped around their implementation of Movable Type at the campus, an interesting thing to note is that the tutorial stresses having a backup plan for your blog.

While this template is a good start for protecting your data, it will not ensure that your filenames are the same if you have to do a rebuild.

Mileage may vary, please season to taste:

<MTEntries lastn="1000" sort_order="ascend">
AUTHOR: <$MTEntryAuthor$>
TITLE: <$MTEntryTitle$>
STATUS: <$MTEntryStatus$>
ALLOW COMMENTS: <$MTEntryFlag flag="allow_comments"$>
CONVERT BREAKS: <$MTEntryFlag flag="convert_breaks"$>
ALLOW PINGS: <$MTEntryFlag flag="allow_pings"$>
PRIMARY CATEGORY: <$MTEntryCategory$>
<MTEntryCategories>
CATEGORY: <$MTCategoryLabel$>
</MTEntryCategories>
DATE: <$MTEntryDate format="%m/%d/%Y %I:%M:%S %p"$>
-----
BODY:
<$MTEntryBody convert_breaks="0"$>
-----
EXTENDED BODY:
<$MTEntryMore convert_breaks="0"$>
-----
EXCERPT:
<$MTEntryExcerpt no_generate="1" convert_breaks="0"$>
-----
KEYWORDS:
<$MTEntryKeywords$>
-----
<MTComments>
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: <$MTCommentAuthor$>
EMAIL: <$MTCommentEmail$>
IP: <$MTCommentIP$>
URL: <$MTCommentURL$>
DATE: <$MTCommentDate format="%m/%d/%Y %I:%M:%S %p"$>
<$MTCommentBody convert_breaks="0"$>
-----
</MTComments>
<MTPings>
PING:
TITLE: <$MTPingTitle$>
URL: <$MTPingURL$>
IP: <$MTPingIP$>
BLOG NAME: <$MTPingBlogName$>
DATE: <$MTPingDate format="%m/%d/%Y %I:%M:%S %p"$>
<$MTPingExcerpt$>
-----
</MTPings>
--------
</MTEntries>

Techonorati :: I barely exist

Well… In this vast world, I barely exist.
In The Faith @ Techorati
Anthony K. Valley @ Techorati

And you too can have polls

I signed up for Pollhost today. Watch out, now…

I'm back

I took off for most of last month, but now I am back to blog with a fury, or until I abruptly stop blogging over here again.
Been busy with In The Faith. I have made a few changes that I will note later.

Bible Pathway #002 - January 2 - Genesis 4-6

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Genesis 4-6
Highlights: Sacrifices of Cain and Abel — Cain murders Abel — Genealogy from Adam to Noah — Noah’s ark

Bible Pathway #001 - January 1 - Genesis 1-3

Reading the Bible in a Year with Bible Pathway. Today’s Reading — Genesis 1-3
Highlights: Creation of all things — Creation of Adam and Eve — Temptation by Satan — Adam and Eve rebel against God and forfeit garden of Eden

Introduction to Genesis