I saw an interesting article over at cnn.com that somebody out in Colorado is throwing a funeral for IE6.  And it's about time.  I took this occasion to switch off IE6 scripting for this site as well.  If you're trying to view this site in IE6, don't take it personally, but please go away and come back with an updated browser!

In all fairness, I should elaborate on why this is being said and why I am taking the time to deal with it here.  MS browsers are notoriously standards non-compliant.  Furthermore, they are a security nightmare and fundamentally allow anybody with a web site to become an administrator on your pc.  A good indication of the health of your browser is to head over to acidtest.org and view acid3.  Most desktop browsers do fairly well while most mobile browsers get tripped up pretty quickly.  For instance, the browser on my Blackberry returns FAIL/FAIL and never makes it to any numerical score.  The browser on my iPod touch scores 100/100.  This means that when I'm trying to look something up on the internet, if I'm in range of wifi, I ignore my BB and use my iPod Touch because I have high confidence in being able to actually get the data I'm going after.

An Imam has come out with a 600 page Fatwa saying suicide bombers are destined for hell.  Those who wish to use Islam as an excuse for violence and hate have never really had anything to hide behind, but Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri spelled it out for them in his Fatwa.  I'm reminded of that joke email that was going around after Sept 11 about the real "virgins" that await suicide bombers.  More at CNN.com...

I stumbled across an interesting story over at NPR.  20 years ago, at the urging of Karl Sagan, Voyager's camera was tasked with snapping a photo of earth. More at npr.org.

The only way the Lions go to the Super Bowl is if they work the concessions so this year we rooted for the New Orleans Saints.  And they won!  Go Saints!  

Today was our second annual Super Bowl Chili Cook Off at church and I won one of the prizes this year for "most original".   I offered two flavors: "Who Dat?" which was spicy but tolerable and "Why Me?" which was 3 times hotter.   I wonder if I'll ever get to root for the Lions?  Yeah right...

After all the trash that's been talked in only two days since the iPad was unveiled, I found a nice hands on review that confirms my good impression of the device.   It's over at roughlydrafted...

Be sure to read along as she recites this palindrome.

A friend passed this youtube video along to me today by email and it is definitely worth sharing...

I'd like to share my reaction to Steve Job's new tablet.  People are making fun of it with tampon commercials.  People are ripping it because it doesn't support flash.  People are ripping it because it's still on AT&T.  They aren't happy about the internal memory, lack of removable storage and lack of usb host or video out.   Many of these rants are valid if you're talking about a general purpose computer.  Of course the AT&T rant is just plain valid.  Apple is making record profits sticking with AT&T but that doesn't help those of us who prefer another carrier.

The iPad promises a device which weighs 1.5 pounds, is 1/2 inch thick and feels like a notepad in your hand.  Yet it sports a 1024x768 screen, unlike my Acer Aspire One which sports a mere 1024x600.  Those extra 168 pixels along the bottom are essential.  That's where all the dim-witted form designers put the OK buttons. 

Will I buy one on "day one".  I don't know.  I picked up a Mac Mini on day one and it eventually drove all the Windoze out of our household.  I think I can wait for the iPad.  I might opt for the model with the 3G radio, especially if I can "pay per view" rather than being stuck with an ongoing $15 a month whether I need it or not.  I'm sitting in front of my Macbook right now, down in the basement office. If I had an iPad, I might just as well be on the couch or at the kitchen table with a bluetooth keyboard. 

What's that?  You ask if there is a catch? 

If you're not willing to pay for an iTablet, have no fear! You can watch Star Wars episode one in a telnet window...

                                                                       
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                 And don't let me catch      |oo )                       
                    you following me         _\=/_                       
                    begging for help.    #  /  _  \                      
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       \____________________________________/_]_[_\______________________^Cit
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In terminal, enter the following: telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl On windoze, who knows if the terminal emulation will allow you to actually see the ascii animations. But isn't this cheaper than buying a tablet?

Please visit whitehouse.gov for links to ways to support Haiti including donating to the red cross or simply texting "haiti" to 90999 to make a $10 donation using your cell phone.

I ran across a video where a Chevy Volt made it's way into Jay Leno's garage. He was speaking with Andrew Farah about the Volt and they took it for a drive. It was filmed on my birthday while we were "up north" skiing. Here it is...