urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose Dustedrose dryas_caesium@yahoo.com Dustedrose 2009-09-13T04:12:38Z urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:96858 2009-09-13T04:08:42Z 2009-09-13T04:12:38Z I had a free North America map update for my Garmin. This is how I've spent my rare home-alone evening.<br /><br />Update message received and I went to the Garmin webpage, where I promptly had to request my username.<br />Logged in successfully.<br />Notified by Garmin that Opera is not compatible with Garmin's updating software.<br />Logged into Garmin using IE web browser.<br />Notified by IE that IE rejects Garmin's updating software.<br />Fiddled with IE settings and restarted HP.<br />Logged back into Garmin using IE web brower.<br />Notified by IE that IE rejects Garmin's updating software.<br />Ran Windows, Java, and Adobe updates. <br />Restarted HP.<br />Logged back into Garmin using IE web browser.<br />Notified by IE that IE rejects Garmin's updating software.<br />Created a Restore Point before completely editing all of IE's settings, and reworking how my HP deals with downloaded files.<br />Logged back into Garmin using IE web browser.<br />Notified by IE that IE still rejects Garmin's updating software.<br />In desperation, logged into Garmin using the Opera web browser.<br />Opera is still superior to Garmin, and refuses to be compatible with the lower life form.<br />Restored all IE and HP settings to "usual operating procedures".<br />Restarted HP.<br />As a last ditch effort, downloaded the hated browser Firefox.<br />Logged back into Garmin using Firefox web browser.<br />Firefox recognizes that HP has the required drivers and updating software.<br />Successfully begins North America map update after instructing Firefox to save the map update in my preferred folder.<br />Checks on download status, and receives message that download will take approximately ten hours.<br /><br />____<br /><br />Just kill me. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:96404 2009-08-18T20:38:26Z 2009-08-18T20:38:52Z Kevin: Imagine that I let you borrow $50, but in exchange for my generosity, you promise to pay me back the $50 with an extra $10 in interest. To make sure you pay me back, I take your Charizard Pokémon card as collateral…<br /><br />Let’s say that the Charizard is worth $50, so in case you decide to not return my money, at least I’ll have something that’s worth what I loaned out.<br /><br />But one day, people realize that Pokémon is stupid and everyone decides that the cards are overvalued. That’s right—everybody turned twelve on the same day! Now your Charizard is only worth, say, $25.<br /><br />At the same time, you’re having trouble paying back the $60 you owe me. So what would you rather do: try and pay me back the $60 or just default and give me your $25 Charizard?<br /><br />Olivia: I’d give you the Charizard.<br /><br />Kevin: Exactly. Who wouldn’t? Now, the bank — I mean me — has lost $25 when I expected to make $10. What’s the lesson here?<br /><br />Olivia: Pokémon is dumb.<br /><br />Really, our economy would be in a much better state right now if financial institutions had traded in something more stable, like Meowth cards. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:95943 2009-07-04T23:03:46Z 2009-07-04T23:03:57Z <lj-embed id="10" /> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:95731 2009-05-22T15:06:45Z 2009-05-22T15:24:41Z So basically, Walmart has refused to stock Green Day's newest CD, 21st Century Breakdown, because the band won't be offering a version of their CD that rates below a parent advisory. The band member's morals and politcal views drive me nuts, but I have to agree with their reasoning on this one.<br /><br /><a name="cutid1"></a><br />Green Day has the most popular CD in the country, but you won't be able to find it at your local Wal-Mart.<br /><br />The band says the giant superstore chain refused to stock its latest CD, "21st Century Breakdown," because Wal-Mart wanted the album edited for language and content, and they refused.<br /><br />"Wal-Mart's become the biggest retail outlet in the country, but they won't carry our record because they wanted us to censor it," frontman Billie Joe Armstrong said in a recent interview.<br /><br />While Wal-Mart sells CDs from acts known for raunchy content, including Eminem's latest, they offer customers the "clean" version of those CDs, which are edited for content that may be objectionable. But in Armstrong's view, "There's nothing dirty about our record."<br /><br />"They want artists to censor their records in order to be carried in there," he said. "We just said no. We've never done it before. You feel like you're in 1953 or something."<br />"21st Century Breakdown" contains curses and some references considered adult.<br /><br />Wal-Mart said that it's the company's long-standing policy not to stock any CD with a parental advisory sticker.<br /><br />"As with all music, it is up to the artist or label to decide if they want to market different variations of an album to sell, including a version that would remove a PA rating," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien said. "The label and artist in this case have decided not to do so, so we unfortunately can not offer the CD."<br /><br />But bassist Mike Dirnt said: "As the biggest record store in the America, they should probably have an obligation to sell people the correct art."<br /><br />Not being sold at Wal-Mart didn't stop the band — which kicks off a U.S. tour summer tour in Seattle on July 3 — from landing at the top of the album charts this week. "21st Century Breakdown" sold about 215,000 copies since it's debut on Friday.<br /><br />The album is the follow-up to their multiplatinum, Grammy-winning CD "American Idiot," and like that album, deals with weighty topics. While "American Idiot" spoke to the frustration over the presidency of George W. Bush and the Iraq War, this CD speaks to the loss of innocence and confusion in today's society.<br /><br />While Armstrong, Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool are still top-sellers without Wal-Mart, Armstrong said the store's policy is disappointing, considering it has become the dominant seller of CDs with the decline of traditional music stores.<br /><br />"If you think about bands that are struggling or smaller than Green Day ... to think that to get your record out in places like that, but they won't carry it because of the content and you have to censor yourself," he said. "I mean, what does that say to a young kid who's trying to speak his mind making a record for the first time? It's like a game that you have to play. You have to refuse to play it."<br /><br /><br />The issue here, is that somewhere Walmart executives are limiting what consumers have access to. If a person wants to avoid adult concepts and language, they should have the right to choose that option. On the flip side, a person should also have the right to purchase the version they want, even if their preference contains something that would rate as an adult concept.<br /><br />Being that Walmart is such a large retailer, the company is forcing the hand of bands to change how they present their music, which after all, should be up to the musicians involved. Ideally, the choice of the "orignal" or a copy with a reduced rating should be up to the consumer. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:94471 2009-04-13T05:33:26Z 2009-04-13T05:34:02Z Time to halt all amazon.com purchases. <br /><a name="cutid1"></a><br />Amazon.com recently delisted gay and lesbian titles from its sales ranking system it deemed "adult," raising the ire of some who characterize the move as online censorship. <br /><br />Author Mark R. Probst wrote on his blog Sunday that he noticed the change a few days ago: <br /><br /><i>On Amazon.com two days ago, mysteriously, the sales rankings disappeared from two newly-released high profile gay romance books: "Transgressions" by Erastes and "False Colors" by Alex Beecroft. Everybody was perplexed. Was it a glitch of some sort? The very next day HUNDREDS of gay and lesbian books simultaneously lost their sales rankings, including my book "The Filly." There was buzz, What's going on? Does Amazon have some sort of campaign to suppress the visibility of gay books?</i> <br /><br />Probst, the author of a novel with gay characters in the Old West, said he was perplexed by the move and used his status as a publisher to contact Amazon for an explanation. He said he received the following response from an Amazon Advantage service representative: <br /><br /><i>In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude "adult" material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature. </i><br /><br />Of course, being delisted from the rankings doesn't mean that the book giant has stopped selling the title; it just means that the title won't show up with a public sales ranking or in the best-seller lists--often a factor in how shoppers make their purchases. <br /><br />However, an Amazon representative characterized the move as a mistake but declined to elaborate. <br /><br />"Essentially, there's a glitch in our system and it's being fixed," Amazon spokesperson Patty Smith told CNET News. <br /><br />Certainly, one could make an argument that de-ranking titles with "adult" themes would make a reasonable policy for a site that attracts a wide range of the Internet population. But, as on online petition that has already attracted more than 4,000 signatures points out, the policy appears to be biased against books with gays, lesbians, and transgender characters. <br /><br />Here's a sampling of books titles the petition's backers noted are still ranked in the listing system (all notes and descriptions on the titles are supplied by the petition supporters): <br /><br />"Playboy: The Complete Centerfolds" by Chronicle Books (pictures of over 600 naked women)<br />Rosemary Rogers' "Sweet Savage Love" (explicit heterosexual romance)<br />Kathleen Woodiwiss' "The Wolf and the Dove" (explicit heterosexual romance)<br />Bertrice Smal's "Skye o'Malley," (which are all explicit heterosexual romances)<br />Alan Moore's "Lost Girls" (which is a very explicit sexual graphic novel) <br /><br />The petition supporters note that the following titles with gay and lesbian themes are no longer ranked on Amazon: <br /><br />Radclyffe Hill's classic novel about lesbians in Victorian times, The Well of Loneliness, and which contains not one sentence of sexual description;<br />Mark R. Probst's YA novel "The Filly" about a young man in the wild West discovering that he's gay (gay romance, no sex);<br />Charlie Cochrane's "Lessons in Love" (gay romance with no sex)<br />"The Dictionary of Homophobia: A Global History of Gay & Lesbian Experience," edited by Louis-George Tin (non-fiction, history and social issues)<br />"Homophobia: A History" by Bryan Fone (nonfiction, focus on history and the forms prejudice against homosexuality has taken over the years)<br /><br /><br />The move has raised the ire of heterosexuals, including Kassia Krozser, who wrote an open letter to the online retailer: <br /><br />Somehow, the brain trust of your company has decided to protect the "entire" Amazon customer base by restricting access to content that someone (who?) decided was offensive. In your zeal to protect me from myself, of course, you managed to leave content that I find singularly repulsive online (really, exploring the human condition is bad, but Mein Kampf is just fine?). <br /><br /><br />As a heterosexual, happily married adult female, I am deeply offended by this decision. As a customer, I am angered enough to take my business elsewhere, and I'd like a refund on my Kindle since, despite reports that your database sweep was not complete, you have decided to limit my ability to purchase books -- from literary classics like Lady Chatterley's Lover to newesque titles like Tipping The Velvet and Running With Scissors. <br /><br />It's unclear what--if any--impact this backlash will have on Amazon, but certainly many are troubled (and should be) that the bookseller is apparently trying to make certain books harder to find.<br /> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:94111 2009-04-07T21:15:51Z 2009-04-07T21:16:05Z Working? Nah...<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.frigginrandom.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/cactus-hug.jpg" /> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:93107 2009-03-24T01:44:39Z 2009-08-24T05:11:04Z Lady Astor: "If you were my husband I'd give you poison" <br />Churchill: "If you were my wife, I'd drink it." urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:91546 2009-02-03T05:52:29Z 2009-02-07T05:06:38Z <img src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/windows_7.png" /> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:90302 2009-01-23T23:26:22Z 2009-01-23T23:27:27Z Thank you, Mr. President.<br /><br />Apparently, each president since FDR has been judged by the things they do in their first 100 days of office. Thus far, I am pleasantly surpised.<br /><br /><a name="cutid1"></a><br /><br />Obama signs order reversing abortion-funds policy<br />By LIZ SIDOTI and MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writers<br /><br />WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Friday quietly ended the Bush administration's ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide information on the option. Liberal groups welcomed the decision, while abortion rights foes criticized the president.<br /><br />Known as the "Mexico City policy," the ban has been reinstated and then reversed by Republican and Democratic presidents since Ronald Reagan established it in 1984. Democrat Bill Clinton ended the ban in 1993, but Republican George W. Bush re-instituted it in 2001 as one of his first acts in office.<br /><br />A White House spokesman, Bill Burton, said Obama signed an executive order on the ban, without coverage by the media, late Friday afternoon. That was in contrast to the midday signings with fanfare of executive orders on other subjects earlier in the week.<br /><br />Obama's action came one day after the 36th anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion.<br /><br />The Bush policy had banned U.S. taxpayer money, usually in the form of Agency for International Development funds, from going to international family planning groups that either offer abortions or provide information, counseling or referrals about abortion. The rule also had prohibited federal funding for groups that lobby to legalize abortion or promote it as a family planning method.<br /><br />Both Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who will oversee foreign aid, had promised to do away with the rule during the presidential campaign. Clinton visited the U.S. Agency for International Development on Friday but made no mention of the step.<br /><br />Obama has spent his first days in office aggressively signing executive orders reversing Bush administration policies on issues ranging from foreign policy to government operations. TV cameras were invited in for Wednesday's announcements on ethics rules and for Thursday's signing of orders on closing the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and banning torture in the questioning of terror suspects.<br /><br />In a move related to the lifting of the abortion rule, Obama also is expected to restore funding to the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), probably in the next budget. Both he and Clinton had pledged to reverse a Bush administration determination that assistance to the organization violated U.S. law.<br /><br />The Bush administration had barred U.S. money from the fund, contending that its work in China supported a Chinese family planning policy of coercive abortion and involuntary sterilization. UNFPA has vehemently denied that it does.<br /><br />Organizations that had pressed Obama to make the abortion-ban change were jubilant.<br /><br />"Women's health has been severely impacted by the cutoff of assistance. President Obama's actions will help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, abortions and women dying from high-risk pregnancies because they don't have access to family planning," said Tod Preston, a spokesman for Population Action International, an advocacy group.<br /><br />Anti-abortion groups criticized the move.<br /><br />"President Obama not long ago told the American people that he would support policies to reduce abortions, but today he is effectively guaranteeing more abortions by funding groups that promote abortion as a method of population control," said Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee.<br /><br />Obama also is expected at some point to lift or ease restrictions on federal money for stem cell research, an issue that divides people along similar battle lines, but there was no word about any action on that Friday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has expressed interest in pressing legislation on stem cells in the first 100 days of the new Congress if the new administration doesn't act.<br /><br />Some scientists want broader use of embryonic stem cells than is currently allowed, hoping for new treatments for many diseases. Obtaining stem cells from four- or five-day-old embryos kills the embryos, and many opponents see that as taking life.<br /> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:89880 2009-01-21T20:00:10Z 2009-08-24T05:12:43Z This is copied and modified from a group I'm in. I thought it was silly.<i><br /><br />Let a= man; b=woman<br />a+b= marriage<br /><br />"But men and women are equal, right?"<br /><br />a=b<br />b=a<br /><br />"So, substituting, we get:<br /><br />a+a=marriage<br />b+b=marriage<br /><br />"It's perfectly logical," I conclude."Gays and lesbians could marry."<br /></i> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:88975 2008-11-24T23:01:53Z 2008-11-24T23:02:11Z <lj-embed id="9" /> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:88720 2008-11-13T07:11:27Z 2008-11-13T07:16:14Z I don't know what's up with all these people, but drabbles do not count as tories and I <i>will not</i> praise them as such. No one else should either. Anyone can spit out 200 words. My cat can take a one word prompt and do more with it than you. I don't want to see your tissue after you blow your nose. I most definately do not want to have the displeasure of reading some piece of crap you threw out and posted in less than 10 minutes.<br /><br />Can't write anything longer than 200 words? Then you suck. Peroid. Writing more of these drabbles won't make you better. Challenging yourself, sticking with a project for more than thirty minutes will.<br /><br />Write a damn plot, make caracters that work, and <i>then</i> you will have earned the right to call yourself an author, if not a good one. And I might even bother to read it. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:86712 2008-10-12T03:09:24Z 2008-10-12T03:09:33Z <img src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/flash_games.png" /> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:84961 2008-09-19T03:32:55Z 2009-08-24T05:15:14Z Things to do with your boss-<br /><br />1. Gossip<br />2. Transfer phone calls.<br />3. Provide back up.<br />4. Train volunteers.<br />5. Rework policies and procedures.<br />6. Go wine tasting.<br /><br /><br />and I'm not kidding.<br /><br /><br />Today was fucking crazy. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:83875 2008-08-28T04:25:58Z 2009-08-24T05:15:46Z So a three year old helped me smash a finger in the door today. I've got blood pooling under the nail, and my arm up to my elbow aches. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:81521 2008-08-10T03:52:09Z 2009-08-24T05:17:14Z take a hand saw to your dulcimer. After repositioning the strings across the fret board, we're going to have a much better relationship. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:79685 2008-07-02T03:48:21Z 2009-08-24T05:17:55Z <lj-embed id="7" /> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:78202 2008-05-30T23:39:13Z 2008-05-31T03:44:49Z Here's a good one. How do you not see a snake that close to your crotch?<br /><br />Edit: The link seems to hate me, so I've thwarted it with a lj cut.<br /><br /><a name="cutid1"></a><br /><br />Deadly snake bites man's penis<br /><br /><br />Thursday, May 29, 2008<br /><br />© The Cairns Post<br /><br /> <br /><br />A ROADSIDE toilet stop ended in pain, embarrassment and almost death for a tourist when a highly venomous snake bit the end of his penis.<br /><br />The deadly brown snake slithered between his legs and lunged at his manhood as he crouched on a roadside near Laura, 300km northwest of Cairns, about a month ago.<br /><br />Details of the incident only came to light yesterday after they were confirmed by a paramedic.<br /><br />"It certainly had a swipe at him," an ambulance spokesman said yesterday.<br /><br />"But it didn’t envenomate him.<br /><br />"As it came through it must have got a bit of a shock."<br /><br />The snake beat a hasty retreat, leaving its victim with a scratch, vomiting and abdomen pain.<br /><br />Emergency workers raced to the scene to treat the man.<br /><br />The wound was wrapped in plastic in case poison had penetrated the skin but medical staff gave the man the all-clear after conducting tests.<br /><br />He was taken to Cooktown Hospital where he spent a night recovering.<br /><br />The ambulance spokesman described him as "lucky", given his near encounter with one of Australia’s most poisonous snakes.<br /><br />"I think he was a bit shocked and embarrassed," he said.<br /> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:76653 2008-05-15T23:43:45Z 2008-05-15T23:44:12Z I love my little mods. While I was a work today, a troll spammed all over the group, and they squashed the nastly bug before it had the chance to do any damage. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:75672 2008-05-11T23:43:27Z 2008-05-11T23:58:32Z XD What a lightswitch.<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/jesusfail.jpg?w=207&amp;h=400" /><br /><br /><a name="cutid1"></a><br /><img src="http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/goldfail.jpg?w=400&amp;h=299" /><br /><br /><img src="http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/fail-boat-showingsailboat.jpg?w=644&amp;h=425" /><br /><br /><img src="http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/taxonomyfail.jpg?w=360&amp;h=480" /><br /><br /><br /><br />Found on failblog.org, a macro site that specializes in FAIL. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:71293 2008-03-13T00:35:53Z 2008-03-13T00:37:30Z Even when I only get two I <a name="cutid1"></a><br /><a href="http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e60/orundil/?action=view&amp;current=Daisy2-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e60/orundil/Daisy2-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><a href="http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e60/orundil/?action=view&amp;current=Daisy.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e60/orundil/Daisy.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /> out of 116 frames, the cuteness is definately worth it. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:70875 2008-03-05T23:49:42Z 2008-03-05T23:55:44Z <a name="cutid1"></a><br /><br />The doctor said, "Sean, the good news is I can cure your headaches.<br />The bad news is that it will require castration. You have a very rare<br />condition which causes your testicles to press on your spine, and the<br />pressure creates one hell...o of a headache. The only way to relieve the<br />pressure is to remove the testicles."<br /><br />Sean was shocked and depressed. He wondered if he had anything to live<br />for. He had no choice but to go under the knife.<br /><br />When he left the hospital, he was without a headache for the first time<br />in 20 years, but he felt like he was missing an important part of himself.<br />As he walked down the street, he realized that he felt like a different<br />person. He could make a new beginning and live a new life.<br /><br />He saw a men's clothing store and thought, "That's what I need... a new<br />suit." He entered the shop and told the salesman, "I'd like a new suit."<br /><br />The elderly tailor eyed him briefly and said, "Let's see...size 44 long."<br /><br />Sean laughed, "That's right, how did you know?"<br /><br />"Been in the business 60 years!" the tailor said.<br /><br />Sean tried on the suit; it fit perfectly.<br /><br />As Sean admired himself in the mirror, the salesman asked, "How about<br />a new shirt?"<br /><br />Sean thought for a moment and then said, "Sure."<br /><br />The salesman eyed Joe and said, "Let's see, 34 sleeves and 16-1/2<br />neck."<br /><br />Sean was surprised, "That's right, how did you know?"<br /><br />"Been in the business 60 years."<br /><br />Sean tried on the shirt, and it fit perfectly.<br /><br />Sean walked comfortably around the shop, and the salesman asked,<br />"How about some new underwear?"<br /><br />Sean thought for a moment and said, "Sure."<br /><br />The salesman said, "Let's see...size 36."<br /><br />Sean laughed, "Ah ha! I got you, I've worn a size 34 since I was 18<br />years old."<br /><br />The salesman shook his head, "You can't wear a size 34. A size 34<br />would press your testicles up against the base of your spine and<br />give you one hell...o of a headache."<br /><br />New suit - $400<br />New shirt - $ 36<br />New underwear - $ 6<br /><br /> for length.<br /><br />Second opinion - PRICELESS urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:70159 2008-02-27T22:10:12Z 2008-02-27T23:07:18Z Today, a patron metioned that he has proof that the little snow we had Monday night was part of a government conspiracy to boost the economy. Apparently, he heard planes in the clouds seeding the storm, the night before. Because, in a last ditch effort to save our economy from collapse, the government thought that if we all had to wash our cars, America would be lifted out of the recession.<br /><br /><br />If the storm truely was a conspiracy, government officals need to be a little more creative v.v' urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:69793 2008-01-30T21:50:42Z 2009-08-24T05:21:47Z Reply from the assistant director regarding a problem patron:<br /><br /><i>That is exactly what I thought happened. He must have been hallucinating how long Cecelia had been sitting by him. Either that, or he is just a cranky pants.</i><br /><br /><br />XD urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dustedrose:69486 2008-01-28T00:57:06Z 2008-01-28T01:15:17Z Several years ago, I created an lj account called dustedrose. Shit happened, an asshole found it, and I stopped posting there. Some months later I created a new lj account, orundil, to start fresh. Since then, I've become unhappy with the user name orundil- namely in the things it symbolized. Thus, here we are today. I bought a renaming token and combined the two accounts. Unfortunately, because of the risk of the asshole mentioned earlier, this will now be a 99.9% friends only journal. <br /><br />Hopefully this clears up any confusion the name switch has caused friends.