Homosexuality

Hmmmmmm...................

Well...............................

Difficult...........................

Okay, firstly I will say that I am a happily married straight guy with absolutely no homosexual tendencies.

So, what about gays? Well, we usually don't want to know about them but when the subject arises or we see them we are generally very opinionated. We straights generally talk or think about homosexuality as being an un-natural thing. I've been wrestling with the rights and/or wrongs in my mind for a long time and I experienced something that I had seen many times before, but it just did not sink in, that firmed up my views.

I was sitting on the verandah one afternoon a few weeks ago at my parents place having a few beers with my father. He has a grand total of two fully grown chickens that lay an egg each almost every day. Every afternoon they come past the verandah to scatch around in the garden but on the way one of them, and always the same one, agressively tries to ride the other, just as if she was a rooster, and it is always the same one doing the "riding". She is gay!!!!!!! No, her little brain is telling her that she's a rooster.

Conclusion: That chicken has never read a news paper or seen a pornographic movie or even gone to an all girls boarding school in her life. So, for that chicken homosexuality is a very natural thing. Homosexuality can be normal for those that are homosexual without being influenced by others.

Gay marriage? Well, I'll have to think about that one just a bit longer.

RSS Readers

I've been using RSS more and more as a form of receiving the information that I want to read about directly to my computer rather than wading through "Bookmarks" (Firefox and Opera) or "Favorites" (dear old IE).

I've played with quite a few ranging from the Online types, for example Yahoo and Google, to the Desktop varieties such as Thunderbird, principally an e-mail client, and Opera, a Browser that tries to do it all and then SharpReader and FeedDemon which are just readers. Oh, I also tried Firefoxes "Live Bookmarks". For one reason or another I just got fed up with them all.

The best was Thunderbird but it was buggy and also quite bandwidth hungry.

Then I discovered GreatNews. All I can say is that it is impressive even if it is still in Beta and still free!!!!

Bottom line is that an e-mail client is an e-mail client, a browser is a browser and a reader is a reader.

If you use Firefox then you need to get the extension Feed You Reader to make subscribing a breeze.

P.S. This is the first blog entry using Performancing so lets see how it goes.

P.P.S. Performancing is lovely..................... worked a treat. This is the future of blogging.

Nuclear Power - The Future?

What the hell is the fossil fuel alternative?

I've been thinking about this for some time and I believe that Nuclear Power is the way to go but there are some serious issues. I believe that they are not so serious anymore.

I've been running this by a few friends lately and they agree.

What are the issues?

1. Another Chernobyl. Technology has come a long way since then and, lets face it, the old Russian technology and methodology was never really up to sratch. There are many sucessful power plants around the world.

2. Nuclear waste. That is just soooo easy to solve. Firstly realize that the amount of waste per year per power plant is just so small. I have read figures of one plant producing less than a shoe box of waste per year. Let's say we have 10 x 200 litre drums of waste per year in the world. Why can't we just put it put it all into a rocket and point it to the sun. It will simply burn out long before it gets anywhere near it's destination and dissipate at tiny concentration levels into the universe.

3. Terrorists. Sure the plants are a target but put them out of harms way. Bury them into the ground or a hillside. Bombs don't penetrate very deep at all if they just hit the surface of the ground. They really need something serious like a nuclear bomb to penetrate much more than 6 metres deep. If they have a nuclear bomb then why waste it on a nuclear power station, better to just go straight for down town New York.

Am I wrong? What am I missing? Please comment.

Below is an article from a recent "The Bulletin with Newsweek". It seems that Australia is getting keen on the idea also.

Windows Update..........

Well, I'm back in Broadband land (Brazil) and out of the Indonesian jungles. I just completed my Windows Update that I started some weeks ago in Sumatera.

I did it through Firefox and not Internet Explorer using IE Tab which is, I think, just so cool!!!

Here's a screen shot!!

Aussie Gold!!

No, I'm not talking about the Olympics. I'm talking about GOLD, the real meaning of the word.

I was cleaning up my e-mails and found a mail from back in September of 2003 from my mate Pete. He had been out "west" earlier that year on a quest.

And this was his most significant "one hit" find.


So, a bit closer and it looks like this


220 grams or about Euro 2,500. A nice find to say the least!!!

Edit:
Woops that's not €2,500 but €3,337 based on yesterdays prices (or for our part of the world AUD 5,352).

Classic Rumsfeld

I was doing a bit of archive housekeeping on my PC today and found an article that I saved back in 2003.

Have a go at this:

Rumsfeld Ramble Wins 'Foot in Mouth' Award
Mon December 1, 2003 09:09 AM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's curious statement at a press briefing was named on Monday as the year's most baffling comment by a public figure.

Rumsfeld, usually renowned for his uncompromising tough talking, was awarded the "Foot in Mouth" award for a confusing message which probably left his audience in the dark as to its meaning, Britain's Plain English Campaign said.

"Reports that say something hasn't happened are interesting to me, because as we know, there are known unknowns; there things we know we know," Rumsfeld told the briefing.

"We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."

John Lister, spokesman for the campaign which strives to have public information delivered in clear, straightforward English, said: "We think we know what he means. But we don't know if we really know."

Rumsfeld, whose boss President Bush is often singled out by language critics for his sometimes unusual use of English, took the booby prize ahead of a bizarre effort from actor-turned politician Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"I think that gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman," was the odd statement from the new California Governor.

Previous holders of the award include U.S. actress Alicia Silverstone and British chancellor Gordon Brown. Last year's winner was actor Richard Gere.

Internet Explorer Never More :)

If you've spent any time here at my blog you will already realize that I am not an Internet Explorer, or for that matter, a Micro$oft fan.

So far I have not used a better browser than Firefox by Mozilla and it just got heaps better (see the numerous links elsewhere in this blog).

IE Tab

This is a small extension that you can add to Firefox so that you can open a "non-compatible" Firefox site inside Firefox but using the Internet Explorer rendering "engine".

I just did a Windows Update from within Firefox.

Never again do you need to open Internet Explorer as a window.......... no matter what!!

Excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nice Burger!!

I was a bit hung over today after watching firstly the Wallabies get totally outplayed by England and then the All Blacks trounce the Irish. Stupid me I thought I'd try the local Indonesian Vodka, Manison.

Well going down was OK but the head later was not good.

So! I've laid up in the Hotel room all day and ordered a Hamburger with Cheese and Fries. I've had it before and it'd been quite a nice, hearty meal.

This is what turned up.





A Micro Burger!!!

Click on the photos for a larger view of a very small burger.

By the way, no cheese.............. I'm also holding that burger with the bread running left-right so it is appearing much larger than it really is.

The Meaning Of "Switchroom"

We stumbled across something during my latest "experience" that I thought was worth sharing.

Where I come from the meaning of the word switchroom is the room where inside all switchgear is installed.

Here in Indonesia we have found a new meaning of this word. It can also mean where switchgear is installed outside the room.

Maybe it was the On/Off switch for the plant or something, we haven't worked that out yet!!!!

And..............here it is:

I know it's a bit small but that is a 3 phase circuit breaker on the OUTSIDE of the switchroom door. So click on it to see a larger image.

World Series Baseball

I've been watching ESPN, Houston and Chicago, and I don't get it!

How is "World Series" defined?

Is the whole world of baseball defined as The United States of America or am I missing something?

I thought the Japanese and Cubans were pertty good.

Can someone me help here?

And how about the Chicago "White Sox". Does "sox" translate into "socks". If so then why do they play in "Black Sox"?

Looks like beards and spitting are "In" too.

General Dribble

Sorry; no posts lately. I've been busy doing two things: one - moving house and two - working.

We have just moved from a rather large 450 square metre house into an appartment around 280, still quite big. And, I surprising must say, I prefer the appartment. And the Wife is happy!!!! We are on the 8th floor of a high rise and have 360 degree panoramic views of downtown Ponta Grossa. I'll try and post some photos later.

So, regards working, I am currently sitting in a hotel on a hot, wet Sunday afternoon in southern Sumatera (Indonesia) and that means I've got a bit of time to kill. I've been here a bit over 2 weeks and have anything from one more week to months to go. That will depend on the ideas of my client and how serious he is on re-starting this factory that has been shut down since 2003. My guess is that I'll be here for another week and then come back for a couple of months next year when they are ready to seriously start this place up.

There's been a few interesting things in my areas of interest going on over the last few weeks so lets have a look (and in no particular order):

Firefox
For anyone that has been reading my blog you will already know that I am a Firefox fan. Congratulations to Mozilla and all of the community on 100,000,000 downloads in less than 12 months; an absolutely fantastic effort. Yes, that's 100 million downloads!!!!!! This blog has >57% Firefox (FF) users with Internet Explorer (IE) just over 40% and I assume that the FF % will continue to grow. I will write about this a bit more in a future post.

Cricket
The ICC series of the current no.1 cricket nation against the "best of the rest" disappointedly turned out to be a farce. Australia won the One Dayers 3-0 and the 6 day test in less than 4. To no surprise the ICC have immediately abandoned any idea of a future similar series. But, in retrospect, it is very easy to see why it failed. You can't just put a "team of greats" together to play a "great team". I think that any of the top 4 teams in their home country would have achieved a similar result.

Tri Nations Rugby League
The teams are Australia, New Zealand and England. The Aussies and Kiwis have played twice, once in Sydney where the Kiwis won for the first time since 1959 (in Sydney) and once in Auckland where Australia won. 2 great games of rugby league and full credit to the Kiwis who really were the underdogs. Now they are both off to England where the Kiwis have a tough ask and back up after a loss to play England the following weekend. Wait and see!!!

Bird Flu
Will it mutate to jump from species to species? My guess is no but it is certainly going to wipe out millions, probably billions, of birds either by natural causes or extermination. What will that do to the fragile balances of some ecologies? It will also kill anything thing or one that consumes an affected bird that has not been cooked sufficiently to kill the virus.

The South Asian Earthquake
Terrible, horrible, catastrophic. I think that countries that can afford to give aid should be doing it with action rather than money. The money will, as usual, be consumed by corruption with only a small percentage of the value actually reaching the true victims.

Democracy
I think that democracy is the way to go BUT the country must be ready to receive it and it can't be forced. Education is the key. If the general population is not educated to a sufficient level then forget it until it is. This responsibility lies with the governing bodies to create an educational infrastructure that educates both sexes equally and adequately with a program that is politically and socially unbiased. Religion should also play a minor role.

As a matter of interest I am using Micro$oft FrontPage as my HTML editor and so far it looks like a good offline alternative to preparing a blog. Let's see.

There's more but enough for now; it's beer o'clock.

Albyxx

Edit: Well, FrontPage was horrible. I'll stick with notepad.

Free Gmail Invitations

I've been using gmail now for over 9 months and I reckon it is great for a few reasons:

1. Huge storage. 2.6GB and counting. It looks like Gmails (Googles) aim on storage is to add a GB per year; the first year they had 1GB then to celebrate their 1st birthday it was increased to 2GB's and since then it is counting up every day and will reach 3GB's by its 2nd birthday and I guess it won't stop there.

2. It's Free!!!! Need I say any more to this point? I guess not...

3. It is not linked to your ISP. What happens when you change your ISP when you can get a better deal at another? Well, the first thing that happens is that you lose your e-mail address provided by your old ISP. Then you need to tell everyone your new address, etc.....

4. Web based but Pop accessable. You can get your mail with all the popular e-mail clients such as Outlook Express and Thunderbird AND leave a copy archived on the Gmail servers. When you travel you can just log on anywhere and, "wola", there's all your mail. Furthermore, if you have a PC crash or the such and happen to loose all your mail then when you are set up again just download the lot that is archived on the Gmail servers; that's cool!!

5. No spam!!!!!!!!!! So far the only spam I've received is the spam that I have been resopnsible for. By that I mean sites that I left my address.

6. I could go on but you get the idea!!

But it is different in that it does not use folders as per other web based services. You do need to do a bit of "labelling" and house keeping though, directly on the web based application or it will get out of hand. 5 minutes a week is more than enough for a 20-30 emails per day user. I use 4 accounts for various reasons and it is a breeze once you work it out.

So, if anyone wants an invite then find my email address on this blog and send me a mail. In return I'll send an invite.

Tchau for now..............

P.S. Don't take my word for it, go and check it out for yourself.........

Opera 8.5 Cleaned Up!!

Well; looks like the penny has finally dropped!!

I can only guess that Opera have realised that to grab market share they need to be "Ad" free as well as free of charge.

Here it is; Opera 8.5; free of a banner advertisement. It's certainly worth a test drive.

It is only logical that those that are aware there are alternatives to Internet Explorer are not interested in paying USD40 to remove a banner ad when there are free alternatives like Firefox with nothing.

Anyway, I've played with Opera since the 8.0 launch and it is a good, fast browser with a built-in e-mail client and RSS reader. The main reason that I have only played with it on and off is because the banner bugs me.

I'll continue to play with Opera but I still like the browsing control that the Firefox extensions give me.

Bottom line is that Opera will now certainly increase their market share at the main expense of Firefox and somewhat of IE.

But!!!!

How will they pay the bills?

Google Talk and Skype

"Skype" is a great telephony product; quite feature rich.

"Google Talk" is also a great product but with more limited features.

For PC to PC calls they are both free :-)

I've been using Skype now for 12 months and it has revolutionalized my use of telephony BUT you need a minimum of 36.6 kbps dial-up or broadband for it to function well enough to overcome the latency factor (delay and breakup).

Google, on the other hand, needs only 24-28 kbps to maintain an excellent quality conversation without latency.

The only problem is that you must have a gmail account but they are not too hard to come by (if someone wants an invite then let me know).

So, for those of you with "not so great" dial-up that have been missing out so far then give it a go.

Cricinfo - The Ashes in numbers

Here are some interesting historic batting and bowling stats.

Cricinfo - The Ashes in numbers

Goes to show how "great" Bradman was.

But look at the bowling. Lillee is still my bowling "great" but have a go at McGraths average; impressive!!!

It also shows how "not great" Warne really is. He bowls a lot of balls for his wickets.

Firefox Statistics

Here are some Firefox stats that have been prepared by Asbjørn Sloth Tønnesen.





















All good stuff!!

PC Tweaks, Twiddles, Security, Software Part 4.

I was going to continue with some more tweaks and stuff that I have tried out but now I won't. If anyone has got a query then leave a comment or send me a mail.

albyxx@gmail.com

I think I'll just summarize instead.

Take security and maintenance of your computer seriously. If you don't then you will pay the price. Simple as that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Albyxx.

PC Tweaks, Twiddles, Security, Software Part 3.

Part 3. Well I think I'll just stick with Firefox this time around. If you've stuck with me this far then you are more than likely using FF and "good on ya!!"

I love to be in control of my situation and with Firefox and its about:config, extensions, user.js, etc, etc it gives me the warm, fuzzy feeling that I.E. (Internet Explorer) does not have.

Here are some of my favorite bits but bear in mind that this is a pin prick in the ocean; the options and tweaks are mind boggling:

Firstly there are some **Must Have** exensions. Extensions are small, add-on "programs" that enhance how Firefox presents the web sites you surf and what you see within your browser.

To install an extension then check this out

Here's my list:

* Tweak Network 1.1
* FlashGot 0.5.9.6
* Adblock 0.5.2.039
* Tabbrowser Preferences 1.2.7.1
* Forecastfox 0.7.9.2
* PDF Download 0.4.1.3
* IE View 1.2.4
* Download Manager Tweak 0.6.6
* Tab Clicking Options 0.5.2
* Super DragAndGo 0.2.4d1
* ScrapBook 0.15.5
* Flashblock 1.2.9
* TargetAlert 0.8.7.1
* Greasemonkey 0.3.3
* Platypus 0.4
* InfoLister 0.7.5
* MR Tech About:About 1.1.0
* MR Tech Local Install 2.5.0
* CustomizeGoogle 0.19.5
* NoScript 1.0.9
* Edit Config Files 1.3
* BlogThis 0.3
* miniT (drag+indicator) 0.5

Time to post.

Part 4. to come!

Albyxx

PC Tweaks, Twiddles, Security, Software Part 2.

I managed to blog some info about "Software Must Have's and Must Do's:" in Part 1 so check it out before this one.

Here are some more:

8. A light Micro$oft Outlook alternative. Another great product from Mozilla Organization is Calendar. I recommend that you install it as an extension of Thunderbird rather than a stand alone application.

9. Did you know there is a free alternative to Miro$oft Office. Open Office has pretty well all the same features and in some areas more. Another Open Source Software project so *way to go*.

Keep your eye out for Open Source Software!!! It is the future!!!

Time for some configuration settings (remember that I'm writing about XP only):

1. The Task Bar. There are 2 things I don't like. The first is that, by default, the bar is only one icon high. The second, also by default, is the auto hide function of inactive icons or, more simply, to not show you what is running.

To change the task bar to 2 lines of height then right click on the task bar and uncheck the "lock taskbar". Now simply drag the top of the task bar higher to as many lines you like, let it go and *wola*. Now lock the task bar by checking it again.

To remove the auto hide of inactive icons then right click on the task bar and select properties, then uncheck "hide inactive icons". Remember I'm translating this from a Portuguese operating system so forgive me if the text is not right.

2. Automatic updates. While automatic updates downloaded "automatically" are fine I believe that it is much better to be notified when something is available and YOU make the choice when to download. If you have everything set to "auto" then when it doesn't work you may not know. So, make sure you have your antivirus, antispyware, windows and firewall programs set to notify YOU before they download. Then, when they don't notify you every week, month or so you know that something is wrong!!!

3. Be aware of your running tasks or programs once you have booted up. If you press Ctrl, Alt, Del then task manager will appear and you can check out the "processes" tab to see what is going on. If there is something that you don't know or recognize that is running then search for it using Google. 9 times out of 10 you will get info on the item. If you are not sure then NEVER delete or remove anything but find an expert in an online forum somewhere or ask your local nerd.

4. My Documents. Have a goooood think about how and where you want to save your data whether it be your e-mail, music, text documents, videos, photos, whatever. Most applications do a default to My Documents but not all. Micro$ofts Outlook Express stores your mail in an absurd path something like this (sorry for the PT language): C:\Documents and Settings\Pessoal\Configurações locais\Dados de aplicativos\Identities\{8F9E0089-E442-4816-8B09-B3373C0F106A}\Microsoft\Outlook Express. You can store it where you want but you need to specify it. Why the hell is it not default in My Documents? So; how do you do a backup of your email? It is actually very easy to change the path to My Documents but you need to know how. That goes for many, many applications. Think about it and find the OE parameters, search the web or send me a mail for an answer. By the way, the Mozilla products that I love don't store their profiles in My Documents, you need to specify something different if you want it to be.

Enough for Part 2.

Albyxx.

PC Tweaks, Twiddles, Security, Software Part 1.

There are almost an infinite amount of configurations you can assign to your PC so there are almost an infinite amout of problems that can occur. There are also an increasing number of security problems that leaves our PC's open to atttack every day. Mix that with those of us that struggle to keep up with the technology or are yet to have developed PC skills then there is a recipe for disaster.

I have now been bumbling along since 1993 and am on my 6th notebook. Through the years I have had my share of heartaches, don't you worry about that. So I've got a bit from the school of experience.

What follows here are some things that you may find useful.

Software Must Have's and Must Do's:

1. If you are running Windows then keep it up-to-date. Micro$oft has what it calls Patch Tuesday that occurs every 2nd Tuesday (obviously) of the month. Run an update every month.

2. An alternate browser to Internet Explorer and and alternate E-mail client to Outlook Express. I run Firefox and Thunderbird from Mozilla Organization because I believe they are the safest and the best. I also believe in Open Source Software. Mozilla are serious about security, so should you.

3. A Firewall. I use Zone Alarm Pro from Zonelabs and it has been good to me over the last 5 years. They have a good free version. There are also many others out there but do the research before you chose. When you do then make sure that you do not create a conflict by running more than one Firewall at once. Windows XP also has one. I reckon you are better off using a 3rd party and disabling the XP one.

4. Antispyware. It is absolutely not enough to run one single antispyware program. I use Ad-Aware, Spybot Search & Destroy, Micro$soft Antispyware, CWShredder, Spyware Blaster and Trojan Defence Suite. Then I have HijackThis installed so I can see what the hell is going on. Before you use these programs do an update before scanning your PC.

5. Sick of how awkward Windows Explorer is? Do yourself a favour and get Total Commander. It is simply a great utility for managing your drives, folders and files. Launch an application by just double clicking directly on the particular file. This program has been around for years.

6. Want more than Task Manager (loads by Ctrl, Alt, Del)? Then Process Explorer is for you. Detailed memory statistics, etc, on your running applications.

7. An Antivirus program. This probably should have been the first item to mention but, anyway, here it is. I don't thing I need to say more; you MUST have one. I run Norton Antivirus but you can get a pretty good freebie called AVG Anti-Virus from Grisoft

Look, that's about it for now but note that everything that I have mentioned above has a free version of software that is generally adequate.

The wife is giving me a hard time so it's tchau for now. Part 2 will come soon.

Albyxx

PC Regular Maintenance

It never ceases to amaze me how many people have PC problems and don't know what to do about it. I reckon 70% of personal PC's out there in the average home are in some way or another a mess.

You should really aim at doing a monthly routine to keep your computer free of nasties and also up-to-date on those ever so frequent Windows patches. As these patches occur on the 2nd Tuesday of every month I think it is a good idea to do this maintenance a week or so later. So, aim for the 3rd Tuesday of each month or there abouts. That way if there has been any patches that went wrong then Micro$oft has had a week to fix them.

I think the following steps should go a long way towards maintaining a leaner, cleaner, meaner computer without over doing it.

I use Firefox and Thunderbird from Mozilla Organization as my browser and e-mail clients respectively. I use them because they are high on features and security. So, I am assuming that you use the same. If you don’t then you should. If you don't believe me then do some research out there on the "net" for yourself. I am also considering that you are using Windows XP SP2 (Service Pack 2).

One thing to ALWAYS rememeber when you are working with a PC; be logical and use common sense and quite often you will not create a problem in the first place.

The following is an idea for a once per month maintenance program that you can do yourself. I recommend that you also stay with the order as listed below:

1. Delete all cookies. But remember that cookies often store password and user information so make sure that you keep a separate record of such data. To do this open Firefox and go to Tools → Options → Privacy and then click on the Clear button beside the Cookies title.

2. Delete internet cache. To do this open Firefox and go to Tools → Options → Privacy and then click on the Clear button beside the Cache title.

3. Delete all Temporary Internet Files (Internet Explorer files if you’ve used it) and Recycle Bin. You can do that by clicking on Start → All Programs → Accessories → System Tools → Disck Cleanup . It will then take some time to calculate the capacity of the cleanup. Once it is complete make sure that only Temporary Internet Files and Recycle Bin are checked. Then click OK, confirm the action and the cleaning process will begin.

4. Delete all Prefetch files. Go to My Computer and double click on Local Disk (C:), then double click on the Windows folder and then double click on the Prefetch folder. Left click on the first file and then hold down the "Shift" key and then hit the "End" key. All files in that folder should now be highlighted. Now hit the "Del" key and confirm the deletion.

5. Now it is time to reboot before we go on.

6. Run all spywares and clean out the crap but remember to do an update on each beforehand. I use Ad-Aware, Spybot Search & Destroy, Micro$oft Antispyware, CWShredder, Spyware Blaster and Trojan Defence Suite installed AND up-to-date.

7. Reboot.

8. Run HijackThis, review its log file and action where necessary. This is optional but it will capture critical data about your PC and what it is doing. If you are not sure then you can go to a forum site such as CastleCops and look for similar configurations.

9. Check out your Firewall program and remove any entries that look odd. If you are not sure what it is then generally you can remove it because the next time the program tries to access the Internet then your Firewall will ask you what you want to do with it.

10. Reboot.

11. Windows Update.

12. Reboot if there was something new.

13. Antivirus update and a complete virus scan of your hard drive

14. Reboot and enjoy.

Every 1-3 months, depending on your usage, I recommend that you do a defragementation of your hard drive. You can do that by clicking on Start → All Programs → Accessories → System Tools → and then Disk Defragmentation.

I hope that helps.

Albyxx

P.S. My Notebook PC and the majority of my software is in Brazilian Portuguese so I appologise for any discrepency in the translation of texts used above.

PC's And You

We are back in Australia at the moment and since arriving here I've had a cry for help from a couple of mates.

Some of us take for granted how to troubleshoot a PC problem whilst the majority of us sit and sweat for days, weeks and months and grow ever so more frustrated and, quite often, end up deeper in it.

So, in light of the majority, I'm going to do a few posts that may help folk out there configure their computers for a faster and more user friendly operation with less problems. Hopefully they will learn some stuff along the way.

Please wait and see the upcoming posts.

Well Done Brazil

Here is a "copy and paste" of a posting from Boing Boing:

Tuesday, May 3, 2005
Brazil rejects Bush's faith-based AIDS money
Brazil has rejected Bush's AIDS-relief money because it came with strings attached: a requirement to condemn prostitution, rather than working with sex-workers to promote safe sex. The Bush AIDS money comes with requirements to block abortion, birth control and sex-ed in favor of abstinence programs. Developing countries can't afford the luxury of hypocritical "faith based" HIV/AIDS prevention (e.g., if you believe hard enough, prostitutes will stop plying their trade), but Brazil is the first country with the guts to stand up to America's extraterritorial bullying. This is gutsy as hell -- bravo, Brazil!

Yesterday Pedro Chequer, the director of Brazil's HIV/Aids programme, said the government had managed to resist US pressure during negotiations on the Aids funding to focus on promoting abstinence and fidelity rather than condoms - another ideological battle being waged by the religious right. But the US negotiators insisted that the clause on prostitution had to stay.

"I would like to confirm that Brazil has taken this decision in order to preserve its autonomy on issues related to national policies on HIV/Aids as well as ethical and human rights principles," he told the Guardian.

You can go to the Boing Boing post here and to the full article from The Guardian here.

Accountability???

The US are just not accountable for anything are they!!

Italy agent death was 'accident' The US military has confirmed that it will not discipline soldiers who shot dead an Italian agent in Iraq as he escorted a freed hostage to safety.

Who will police them!!

Edit:

Part 1.

You are probably aware of the famous "censored" PDF format report that was released by the US regards the killing of the Italian agent in Iraq during a rescue mission.

You can get more information about it here and also download the actual censored PDF and see for yourself how easy it is to view the censored content.

I have to say that after reading the uncensored version I mostly take back what I said above about the US being accountable.

My brief summary and interpretation of the document is as follows:

1. The majority of accountablility was the Italian driver who did not slow down. He was driving far too fast, with many distractions and did not realise he was arriving at a US blocking point. He passed the "warning line" still at high speed.

2. The minority of the accountablility rests with the US military for the following reasons:
a. less than adequate signs.
b. less than adequate procedures.
c. less than adequate communication.
d. longer than necessary blocking position was required to be maintained for this particular incident.
e. lack of education of locals and foreigners as to US military procedures within Iraq.
f. less than adequate vehicle slow down devices at blocking points.

3. Also the minority of accountablility rests with the lack of co-ordination between Italian and US officials and US military.

4. The censored areas of the document were there to protect US military personnel, procedures and local knowledge. It did not hide any critical information pertaining to responsibility or accountablility.

It was a sad, tragic event that should never have happened.

You still must wonder though - how the hell could they release such a leaky "censored" document?

Part 2.

Then there is the Italians version and I don't think we will get a convenient "censored" PDF with "copy and paste" capabilities.

According to them the reponsibility lies with the inexperience of the US military.

Here's a partial quote one article of the net that can be found here

An Italian report released on Monday blamed the killing of Nicola Calipari, while he was escorting a freed Italian hostage, on the "inexperience" of US troops acting under stress and without proper rules of engagement.

Also looks like Italy's big boy does not want to upset the yanks!! The same article as above in Part 2.

So, conclusion at this stage.

If you look at any argument between 2 parties then there is there is always 2 conflicting stories and the truth somewhere within.

I don't normally go with the US but this time I lean their way and think the major reponsibility lies with a speeding Italian driver with numerous distractions aided somewhat by US troops without adequate training, procedures, etc.

Bush's Good Friend

A friend of mine pointed something out quite interesting.

Bush's "best mate" in the middle east, asia area is a chap by the name of "President" Pervez Musharraf, the military dictator of Pakistan!!

I thought Bush was all about spreading democracy?

WMD's

Here's an article for you :

Vietnam pledges to pursue Agent Orange compo

Wouldn't Agent Orange classify as a WMD. It was used as a massively destructive defoliant and now, many years later, we link the dioxin that it contains to all sorts of cancers, birth defects, etc.

The US veterans of the Vietnam war have been awarded compensation. The Vietnamese have not.

So how can George W. use WMD's as an excuse to go into Iraq when the USA will not take responsibility as to what they did in Vietnam and compensate the victims?

He's a bloody war criminal.

Who Has Heard Of Marla Ruzicka ???

For those of you that don't know who was Marla (including myself until less than a week ago) then here is some information about an amazing human being.







I think the best way to express sentiment towards her and more importantly her cause is to list these links, you'll get my point after that:

Raed In The Midle

And this!!

And this!!

Why didn't I see anything about Marla on CNN or BBC? Maybe it was there but I didn't see it!!!

It just goes to show that there is a God (pick the one you believe in) and Marla was a part of his living desciples,; male or female, it doesn't matter. It also goes to show that many of us are not "famous" until we are dead. This young life of hers appears to have been lived to the fullest in the only way she knew how; "helping others".

Is He Good?

Schumacher came from nowhere, a starting postion of 13th to finish on the bunda (ass in portuguese) of Alonso in 2nd. He is the best whether we like it or not!!!



Good to see Jenson there, he and BAR might have some surprises for us this year.

Renault; well what can anyone say, it's just a pleasure to have a new top team.

Must say that Williams (I'm an Aussie so I support Webber) is in a deep hole. Doesn't seem to be the drivers, they come in on equal times.

Sport

I've been neglecting sport and have started to get more "Political".

Let's look at what is going on in sport:

1. Cricket: The MCC want to ban Australian captain Ricky Ponting's revolutionary cricket bat ahead of this year's Ashes series in England.


My comment: If England don't take the first test in the upcoming "Ashes" series they will not win one.

2. Tennis: A stab in the dark is that the up coming French Open "Roland Garros" will go to a woman from Begium (2 possibilities) and a man from Switzerland (only one).


3. Rugby "Super 12" Style: The Crusaders are continuing to post points (they should considering the amount of ex-internationals they have). I'm a Brumbies supporter but my money is with the Waratahs.


4. Golf. A big congrats to Vijay for his recognition into the "Hall of Fame". Small countries like Fiji don't have an opportunity to have their very own sporting hero too often.


5. Looks like Chelsea have it wrapped up.


6. Looks like Barca have it wrapped up also.

Well, I'd put an image in here but Barca don't need help. They are the best and they will win!!!!! Ronaldinho didn't win the FIFA footballer of the year by accident.

7. I don't have a 7. Let's see what happens from here.

Comments

Blog open to comments again; feel free!!!

So,

tell me I'm wrong!!!

No. 265

We now have the 265th Pontiff!!



Is he a good choice?

Will he really help those that will be born into poverty?

Will he really help those that will contract AIDS in developing countries?

Will traditionalism be good for them?

I don't care what anyone believes, we weren't born to suffer!!

I really thought that one of the Latin American or African candidates were (are) the correct (progressive) choices.

Looks like it's more years of head-in-the-sand stuff....................

Boing Boing Stats

Firefox has made a real impact over at the Boing Boing tech blog for the month.



Quote:
Kris sez, "Firefox has taken the lead in the Internet Browser war for Boing Boing! Firefox currently leads with 38.4% of visitors using the browser, and Internet Explorer is in 2nd place with 35.1% of visitors using it. This is probably the first time in Boing Boing's history, that Internet Explorer is not #1... Microsoft, watch out!" I switched from Mozilla to Firefox a couple months ago and never looked back.

Go here to see the article and here to see full Boing Boing stats.

Way to go :-))

It's All About Protection

The world of Mozilla has been turned upside down trying to decide whether or not to use this photo as an "Official" advertisement or is it just "too controversial".

I think it's great!! Check out what they are all saying about it here

For those of you that don't know what Firefox is then click the "Get Firefox" button on the right hand side below "Links"

Past Time Of The Week

Pretty obvious isn't it.

Chimney spotting!! Rivetting stuff <:-))

Edit:
I'm a bit dissappointed that is was over so quickly!!

Currencies

All these countries that use the "dollar" need to think about the confusion they create and how much easier it could be. Here are some examples:
Australian dollar
New Zealand dollar
Hong Kong dollar
US dollar
Singapore dollar
Canadian dollar

I've got a mate working in Latvia at the moment and they have the Lat. Makes good sense!!! The currency name with a piece of significance to the country.

What about this:
Australian ozzy
New Zealand kiwi
Hong Kong honky
US yankee
Singapore sling
And Canada, well they can have the dollar

That'll be five ozzys twenty thanks.

Today one yankee equals one point three nine kiwi.

How much sling will I get for 100 euro? Just over two hundred and fifteen.

There we go, much better!!

Democracy

Food for thought!!

George W. constantly preaches democracy to and for the world at large, especially over the Iraq debacle and one of the reasons for "going in".

He ignored the "No" vote of the democratic institution of the United Nations, comprising 191 members, went ahead and declared war on Saddam Hussein? The rest is history.

At the moment of attack on 20 March 2003 he had the supposed support of 30 nations, many with dubious reason, but with only 2 others active; Australia and the United Kingdom.

Was that democracy at work?

I ask you?

The list of 30:
Afghanistan, Albania, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and Uzbekistan.

Firefox Concerns

Well I am back after another stint in hospital and some more surgery and then after that a visa trip to Buenos Aires.

I had no idea how tricky an appendix can be but I am now well and truely on the mend.

Anyway if you are a Firefox supporter then you might like to visit something I wrote at Spread Firefox and add a comment.

I dont want to see such a fantastic thing fall over because of some stupid political Mozilla bulls--t.

Mike needs help!!

Edit:
Mike got his help AND a new job so everything is cool!!

Calle's Bet

I just got this link from a mate currently stationed in Thailand but a Swede. I was suprised to see that it is about another mate, a Cuban, Carlos (nickname Calle), who now lives in Sweden.

I'm suprised that this bet made an internet posting but I'm not suprised about the bet at all. The bet is NO sex for 40 days and 40 nights.

He's a "dude". Check him out!!

I don't think he'll make it!!!

Edit:
Well, nothing surprising. He lost the bet in less than half the time.
The link has dissappeared. Sorry.

Another Post At Baghdad Burning

Pop over to Baghdad Burning and see what the lass has to say about the elections

As you will pick up she is probably Sunni therefore joined so many that boycotted the elections.

I think that they are all a bit dissappoited what they did and lost their opportunity to get some representation into the new government.

I bet they don't do that again.

Edit:
I can't link to a specific article at Riverbend but please don't let that stop you from frequent visits to the site. Get an educated, inteligent, english speaking, Sunni point of view of the real picture from a 23 year old woman. (I hope I've got your age right?)

Twenty/20 Cricket Success!!

You can get a match report here from www.baggygreen.com.au

Or

from here at www.stuff.co.nz

I didn't see the match but from what I read it seems that the inaugural Twenty/20 international "raged". It went down between the Kiwi's and Aussie's in NZ. I guess there IS a Twenty/20 international future.

There was lots of action, drama and comedy with the game being played a litle less seriously than we have seen of late of the Test and One Day versions of the game.




The music was retro (1980's), both teams in retro gear, McGrath was is in retro Chappell bowling, Billy Bowden, well, he was just Billy Bowden and the crowd rocked.



Ponting? He was nothing short of brilliant taking Mills for 4x6's, 1x4 and 1x2 for a total of 30 in 1 over!!!!



It is hard to argue with the match being a success, with 31 fours and 17 sixes hit in three hours and one of the biggest crowds seen at a New Zealand cricket match in recent memory with over 29,000 at Eden Park, Auckland.

The problem now is how to include this new format of the game into an already overflowing schedule within a tour. Also there is the fear that the game will loose respectability in the other 2 codes with batsmen "slogging" rather than "batting".

Let's wait and see from the powers that be!!

Back On "The Road Map" Track?

The Arafat era is gone, welcome to the new!!

????????? Ceasefire ?????????

A very careful period we are entering now.

Who will falter first; the Israeli's or some crazy Palestinian faction.

The odds must be about 2:1 on Islamic militia.

Whoever does break it will be alienated by the rest of the world of "modern" thinkers.



Yasser Arafat was the image of a terrorist in his younger day. His more recent years were good and bad. He made a monumental f___up by supporting Sadam Hussain in his quest to take Kuwait. He made a big impact for his part in the Oslo Accords, hence a Nobel peace prize. But he still looked like the terrorist, guerilla militia that we know he once was. I don't think his army fatigues did much for his image appart from promote (or maybe help justify) militia activites within the Palestinian factions.



Mahmoud Abbas appears to come from an educational and later political background to become president although he was probably one of the brains behind some of the PLO nasty stuff such as the Munich massacre in 1972. At least he doesn't look like a terrorist and appears to have a cleaner image.



Ariel Sharon, well!! Interesting chap as he was one on the drivers behind the illegal Israeli occupation into the territories in the first place. Can he handle an about turn?

This time, for Gods sake (it doesn't matter in which one you believe), get it right guys.

By the way, where are Arafat millions?

More NZ Snapper

They're still about in the Taranaki area. This one went to an Aussie called Jock.



If I understood the email correctly it came in at 11kg. That's SOME fish!!!!

Baz, correct me if I'm wrong with names or details.

6 Nations Rugby

England must be wondering what to do to win a game.

Last night they were beaten by France 18-17 although they scored 2 tries to 0.

If my numbers are right that's 8 losses in 13 games for the world champs.

At the moment Wales and Ireland look the form sides but don't write off the poms yet.

Beirut Is Back

Too quiet for too long!!



This could be the start of a very ferocious election campaign for the next few months.

Was it Syria, was it Mafia, was it someone that "don't like Mondays".

My bet - Syria.

Keep out of it Bush!!

Out Of Bed

It's been 12 days since my last posting; I am finally on the mend enough to get back to the blog.

Well, the slight stomach bug turned out to be Appendicitis. To make matters worse I also picked up a 72 hour virus that was going around with a really wicked cough; imagine that on the lower abdomen after surgery. It also turned out to be a great weight loss program as I lost 6 kg's in the period.

Another bonus so far is the fact that even before the surgery but after I became unwell I have not had strong urges for cigarettes after more than 25 years of smoking. I must admit that I did have a couple of smokes after the surgery but not one in the last 6 days!!! I have heard of others giving up smoking after Appendicitis operations; interesting!!

Hopefully I'll get back to that job next Monday.

Wait and see!!!

The Allan Border Medal

Clarke is Australia's Player of the Year



The Allan Border medal has gone to one of the bright new stars of world cricket, Michael Clarke.

Let's just hope he can keep it going and continue to thrill spectators around the globe. (I think he will)

In Bed

You wouldn't believe it!!

I haven't worked since back in September in Malaysia and also haven't had a day in bed crook apart from the odd sleep-in due to big nights out.

I started work on Monday this week and today, Wednesday, I'm off crook with some stomach bug. Should be back on deck tomorrow.

Oh well, that's how it goes!!

No News

I'm back at work for a few weeks so probably won't get a chance to add any news or updates until weekends,

Tchau.

Aussie Cricketers Down

Well this wasn't very good but at the same time it won't hurt them. (I'm a bit late with this news)

Australia suffers first loss as Pakistan triumph in Perth

The Dream Lives On!

Hewitt had his chance but was beaten by a better player on the day. Dreams normally don't come true so I guess that is a fitting end for "C'mon" If any player other than an Australian was to win the Aussie open then who better than Safin. He has been there twice before and earlier he was talking about destiny (I'll look for the post about destiny that I read earlier and put a link here later).

He's a real personality; a nice guy.

For those of you who did not see the final then you did't really miss much. The fighting spirit of Hewitt was not really there. Maybe overwhelmed by the occasion.

It is Brazilian time so I'll come back and add some decent stuff to this post later. Time to go to bed. Actually I glad that it's over; I'm sick of waiting till 00:30 and getting up at 6:30 for a match to start.

Internet Explorer And You

If you are still using Internet Explorer (and Outlook or Outlook Express) and are concerned about the integrity of your computer then check this out!!! If you don't care about your computer and your personal information then ignore this post.

GROKLAW article on Firefox and Internet Explorer

Be aware that this article in Groklaw is one of thousands with the same theme.

Do yourselves a favour and install Firefox. Internet Explorer will be there on your computer and you can still use it any time you wish but you will have an alternative; safer, faster, better.

I've been using Firefox (and Thunderbird, the Outlook Express equivalent) for 3 months now and I can honestly say that using the Internet is a safer, cleaner and more enjoyable experience. I am in control whereas with IE was not. I was forever checking for new updates and patches and running a whole bunch of antispyware and malware tools to clean out the crap. No more!!!

Also no more Ad's, NO MORE ADVERTISMENTS!!!!!

Furthermore no more pop-ups, NO MORE POP-UPS!!!!!



Don't just believe me. Have a look at what thousands of people have to say about Firefox at c|net.com, one of the most popular tech sites for downloads, equipment and software reviews, etc on the web

Habib celebrates long-awaited freedom

Okay, he's home. But what about the 3 years holed up in Guantanamo Bay? I'm not a supporter of evil but I'm certainly a supporter of justice. If he is allowed to come home after all this time without the US coming down on him then what did he do wrong?

What will be his compensation? Nothing, I guess.

What will be his freedom of mind? Nothing I guess.

And the Aussie government want to stop him from telling (selling) his story!!!!

If he was guilty then prosecute him, if not then give him his freedom of rights including his right to sell his story. I can't wait to hear it.

Below is a link to his home coming.

Habib celebrates long-awaited freedom

Nice Snapper

A couple of mates in Kiwi land picked up a few nice snapper last week. The one Terry has is 6.4 kilos and the two that Baz has are 6.7 and 4.0 kilos. So for those out there in "Snapper Land" ; Not Bad!!



Wish I was there!!!

Lara's cracking 156 seals emphatic win

One of the modern day greats in cricket has done it again. This time against Pakistan in the triangular one day series in Australia with, obviously, Australia as the 3rd team.
156 runs off 138 balls with 12 x 4's and 5 x 6's.
1st 50 off 81 balls (S/R 61.7)
2nd 50 off 36 balls (S/R 138.8)
AND
3rd 50 off just 19 balls in 17 minutes; a strike rate of 263 runs per 100 balls; incredible!!!
He already holds the world record for runs in one innings in test matches at 400 runs not out and also holds 3rd place at 375.

You can get a match report at the link below from www.baggygreen.com.au

Lara's cracking 156 seals emphatic win

Who will (or can) be the first batsman to get 200 runs in a one dayer?
Brian Lara?
Adam Guilchrist?
Virender Sehwag?
Maybe even Michael Clarke who has been earmarked as a future great and Australian captain!!

Aussie Open Update

Well, I can't say that I like the little upstart but you must admire the Lleyton Hewitt never say die, never give up attitude. It has taken him over 14 hours of tough tennis to reach the final against some really tough competitors.

Safin, in my opinion, was the only one that could have beaten the Federer type of game and he did!!! His metal toughness has improved over the last 12 months and he was runner up last year.

I admire them both.

We are going to be in for a fantastic final.

Come On!!!!!!!!!!!!

Baghdad Burning

Hi folks,

I can't say that this is actually something I "LIKE" but I find it compelling reading to get a residents view of life in Iraq. Visit this site and have a little think about what Bush and the "willing" have created.

Are they really better off???

Baghdad Burning

Imagine it!!!

Top 10 Microsoft Flaw Update Comments

I received these comments from a subscription news letter and thought I'd share them with you. You may guess that I'm not a real MS fan!!

• Number 10: For the first time in digital history, Microsoft has issued a patch which actually patches flaws in Windows without the need of a patch to fix the flaws created by the patch after the installation of this patch which is supposed to fix flaws in Windows which was supposed to have been corrected by the previoius patch. which created other flaws in Windows...
  
  
• Number 9: In a press conference Steve Balmer said, "We've needed to resort to the patch because we can't figure out how to get the software to chew gum."
  
  
• Number 8: Is Windows Flaws the next release then, and will it come in 64 bits?
  
  
• Number 7: Didn't the P, in XP, stand for PATCH?
  
  
• Number 6: ... with the help of hackers, virus writers and even some student coders...
  
  
• Number 5: "MS Glazes Overs Pains in Windows"
  
  
• Number 4: "Security experts today announced the discovery of a gaping operating system in the Windows patch."
  
  
• Number 3: While not revealing the size or scope of this patch, un-named officials did say that MS is thinking of offering special financing on the shipping costs.
  
  
• Number 2: Which one?
  
  
• and the Number 1 Wisecrack: Is it a patch or a tourniquet?