June 05, 2005

Life

A quote I heard today:

Life is not about being easy.

Life is about doing what is right.

Think about it.

Posted by: Ogre at 11:11 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Michael Jackson Case

I'm sure if you were truly interested in news about the Michael Jackson case that you would be somewhere else. I haven't followed this case at all, but I have been attacked with news from it at various times from various locations. News about this case always seems to make the cut with every single radio station, so I hear about it anyway.

What I find most interesting is that this one is not quite as big as the recent California cases. Sure, it's plastered all over the place, but I don't hear anyone talking about this case. With the Peterson case, there were always people talking about it here and there. With this one, it seems forced -- no one wants to know, but the media is going to report it anyway.

The case has gone to trial. This week even the Homespun Bloggers are asking about it. Their question for this week:

What's the verdict going to be? And why?

Posted by: Ogre at 09:32 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

June 04, 2005

ACLU Shredding Documents

Just a quick note to any liberals who were "outraged" at the Enron scandals, convinced that the actions of Enron showed that all big businesses are evil, corrupt, and Republican -- the ACLU is taking action the exact same way Enron did, strangely shredding large numbers of documents against legal advice, against internal management advice, and without any tracking or apparent reason.

Now will those who screamed about Enron come out and scream the same way about the American Communist Lawyer's Union? Gribbit's got more details.

Posted by: Ogre at 08:54 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

My Brain, Your Brain

Found at Phin's Blog, and he found it at The horrible, evil llama butchers. It's two tests to measure your brain.

Test #1 is the "Empathy Quotient" Test. I scored a 4. Yes, 4 measley points. According to that test, it means I have a "lower than average ability for understanding how other people feel and responding appropriately. Most people with Asperger Syndrone or high-functioning autism score about 20. On average, most women score about 47 and most men about 42."

Well what does that make me? Oh, right, an Ogre! My response: It's not that I don't understand your feelings, I just really don't care!

Test #2 is the "Systemizing Quotient" Test. I scored 65. According to the test, it claims I have "a very high ability for analysing and exploring a system. On average women score about 24 and men score about 30. Three times as many people with Asperger Syndrome score in this range, compared to typical men, and almost no women score this high."

Now isn't that interesting.

Posted by: Ogre at 11:18 AM | Comments (15) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 I need to take this test.

Last BE Reunion, we were all sitting around talking and something came up about certain foods I cannot eat due to consistency issues. (Marshmallows, whipped cream, etc.) _Jon said something like, 'You know, that is a characteristic of autism..." Heh. I have a few from thst list you went through, but I don't have Aspergers. Not even close. I have questioned, however, the men I work with in the engineering field... I feel certain a lot of them do. ;-)

BTW, A-6's are still one of my fave's.

Posted by: Boudicca at June 04, 2005 01:49 PM (z7nbM)

2 I'm in trouble, I scored a 23 on the Empathy Quotient. Just not a 'sensitive/feeling' kind of gal. Ok, Bou... I bet you score about a 10. ;-) And Ogre, I'm scared that I'm right there with you. Sigh.

Posted by: VW Bug at June 06, 2005 10:58 AM (5b1PM)

3 forgot to add I got 49 on the Systemizing.

Posted by: VW Bug at June 06, 2005 11:13 AM (5b1PM)

4 Damn, I make you look down right empathic. You did twice as well as I did. No wonder people try to avoid me!

Posted by: Contagion at June 06, 2005 01:16 PM (Q5WxB)

5 Shut up, you, what makes you think I care what YOU scored, you insensitive, 2-scoring... oh, um. I mean, Hey, great! Thanks for stopping by!

Posted by: Ogre at June 06, 2005 02:06 PM (/k+l4)

6 I'm more insulted because I thought I was more personable then you!

Posted by: Contagion at June 06, 2005 02:20 PM (Q5WxB)

7 Oh that's real nice, VW! Heh! I'll have you know, I scored a 30 on empathy. So there! I scored a 40 on that other one, that systematic thing. I think I got dinged for not giving a crap how my house is wired.

Posted by: Boudicca at June 06, 2005 02:26 PM (z7nbM)

8 I scored 26 on Empathy and 57 on Systematic.

Man Bou, I'm disappointed in you. I thought for sure you would score higher on the systematic quiz.

Excuse me while I go drool in the corner while rocking back and forth.

Posted by: Machelle at June 06, 2005 02:40 PM (ZAyoW)

9 Drool wherever you want, clearly Contagion and I don't care in the least...we just want to do drool in an orderly manner.

Posted by: Ogre at June 06, 2005 02:46 PM (/k+l4)

10 Honestly, I think I scored so low on the systematic stuff because... ready? I truly don't give a crap about all that stuff anymore. 10 years ago I wanted to know how everything worked. Now I have three kids. I'm in full survival mode. I only want the facts I need. Period.

Posted by: Boudicca at June 06, 2005 11:17 PM (z7nbM)

11 True, the kids will find out how it works, anyway. That's what boys do.

Posted by: Ogre at June 07, 2005 05:37 AM (YgrHs)

12 True and I bet, like me, she is constantly putting things back together.

Posted by: VW Bug at June 07, 2005 11:58 AM (t8+yq)

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Saturday Morning

I try to take it a bit easier on the weekend, as I've not completely figured out how traffic flows on the internet on the weekends. Some weekends it seems that there's more people with time to surf on the weekend, while other weekends, especially here in North Carolina, people tend to go outside and do things.

However, today I'd like to announce that I found out yesterday that I got a 4.9% raise! Isn't that awesome? How many of you, my good readers, can say that you got a 4.9% raise this year? Pretty cool, huh? So, what I am I going to do with my raise?

Posted by: Ogre at 08:53 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

June 03, 2005

Evil Glennn

This week, The Alliance discovered some pictures of Evil Glennn, and was wondering what the REAL story was behind the pictures.

I examined one of the pictures and found that it had been altered, so our crack team went to work to determine the original picture. We found it and posted it here. I don't think there needs to be any story to go with it, the picture speaks for itself:

And yes, those ARE puppies.

Posted by: Ogre at 05:47 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Llama + Cat = ?

Provide your own caption. I think everyone, including you, know who's in charge in this picture:

Posted by: Ogre at 05:15 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Battle Cry!

What Is Your Battle Cry?

Rampaging across the tundra, attacking with a bladed baseball bat, cometh Ogre! And he gives an ominous cry: "I'm going to flog you until your mortal mind doth snap, and launch you into deep space!!"

So what's your battle cry?

Posted by: Ogre at 02:01 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Proper Appearance

I have noticed that some people are not seeing the blog as it should be. Of course, if you don't know what it's SUPPOSED to look like, you don't know if you're seeing it correctly. Here is a screenshot of what the page should look like to you:

(click to view larger)

Posted by: Ogre at 11:53 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

First Reviews

The first reviews are trickling in regarding the new site design. I have to say it's really about what I expected. A few people really like it, some think it's real neat, and others absolutely hate it.

I've done a bit of high-level educational research (doctoral-level at a research institution) regarding human-computer interaction, especially as it relates to the internet. The biggest thing related to design and the internet (and computers) is user expectations.

When viewing a blog, you, the good reader, EXPECT to be able to read from top-to-bottom and scroll down. When you're confronted with something else, your natural reaction is to rebel.

Posted by: Ogre at 10:34 AM | Comments (11) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 I love it! Welcome to Mu.Nu. I should be up shortly as well

Posted by: Oddybobo at June 03, 2005 10:39 AM (6Gm0j)

2 I like the horizontal thing, it's fine, but the wallpaper and color scheme seems to be making me somewhat queeeeasy.

Posted by: Oorgo at June 03, 2005 01:48 PM (lM0qs)

3 Yes! Now if I can just get someone to lose their lunch, I'll consider myself a success!

No, I'm kidding. I was just trying to go with a bunch of blues this month, since last month was green. Then the left side I was working on a cave, but that just didn't work out, so I got left with the cavewall and nothing else.

Posted by: Ogre at June 03, 2005 02:02 PM (/k+l4)

4 I don't know why I've not had a problem with it. It's like reading a book... kind of like flipping a page.

I'm bummed you're changing it back.

Posted by: Boudicca at June 03, 2005 11:02 PM (z7nbM)

5 Well it's pretty definite that it will stay this way for the month of June. After that, we'll see. Some people like it a lot, but there's a lot of strong dislike for it, too. I'll wait and see until the end of the month and see if people adjust to it at all.

Posted by: Ogre at June 04, 2005 08:16 AM (YgrHs)

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New Blog Technical Notes

For those who are technically-inclined (you geeks know who you are) who are interested in how this blog was done, I'll include some notes here and answer any question about how it was done here as well.

First note to make -- this is no longer a Blogspot Blog. There's no way I could do this with Blogspot that I can think of. The reason is that this formatting and layout rely primarily on large amounts of php (and javascript).

For those less technically inclined, I'll mention that php is a server-side processor, while javascript is client-side. What this means is that when you request a web page, some of the work is done on the server, before the page gets sent to you (the php stuff), while some work is done by your browser, after you receive the page (the javascript).

Posted by: Ogre at 07:50 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

In God We Trust

You've seen it every day (if you look at your American money). The ACLU and other atheists hate seeing it, like they hate religion and God. However, a federal appeals court actually got it right, ruling that the saying "In God We Trust" isn't a violation of the imaginary separation of church and state.

In this case, two idiots lawyers stated that having that motto carved in a building (on a new building) does not violate the U.S. Constitution. The phrase was established by Congress, using their power of self-rule, in 1956.

These cases are not yet over, with the Supreme Court expected to rule on two displays of the Ten Commandments this year. I just wonder how twisted these people are to try and apply laws this way. The law is very, very clear. CONGRESS isn't allowed to make a law declaring an official American religion. That's all.

Posted by: Ogre at 06:11 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

June 02, 2005

What's wrong with the ACLU?

This week's ACLU Blogburst is an "open" topic. The topic this week is "What I Dislike The Most About The ACLU."

Oh, there's so much wrong that the ACLU does that this is a hard question to answer. I guess my best answer is what I try to judge all political decisions on -- freedom. What's most wrong with the ACLU? They honestly hate freedom. The ACLU works as hard as they can to destroy freedom anywhere they can.

Sure, they claim to be for "civil liberties," but that's an outright lie. The ACLU is a communist organization that's primary purpose for existing is to destroy the American way of life. They dislike freedom. They dislike Democracy. They think everyone is an idiot and must be controlled.

Posted by: Ogre at 09:55 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

How to Destroy Earth

In case you needed to know, here's how. It's real. Really real. It shows how to use the science we know...or at least we think we know, today! Go read.

Posted by: Ogre at 05:27 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

First Horizontal Blog

Well, this is it! This is the first horizontal blog design that I've seen. It may not be the first horizontal blog ever, but I haven't seen it done before. So, sort of like those who climb mountains because they are there, I just had to try and make this, just to see if I could.

Some credit has to go to Dave Shea and Molly Holzschlag -- the authors of The Zen of CSS design -- that's where my idea first came from.

It was challenging, it was fun, and I hope you enjoy reading from left-to-right for just a little while.

For more about this setup and layout, see the next post -- it's over there to the right, instead of just below here.

Posted by: Ogre at 12:40 PM | Comments (13) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 How cool is this? I may actually like this more...

Posted by: Boudicca at June 02, 2005 11:16 PM (z7nbM)

2 *Urp* Seasick.

{cleaning keyboard}
{cleaning up chair}
{washing hands}

No really, Ogre, this is very cool! Almost as if another dimension has been added to blogging... OK, call it a half-dimension. I'm working out the ergonomic implications such as discriminate use of the mouse scroll wheel (chum bucket near by).

N.B.: Don't take that as an insult, bud! It's me with the problem here. I'm getting used to it already! This is new territory, be darn proud! :-)

Posted by: The MaryHunter at June 04, 2005 12:46 PM (SRaIZ)

3 Yes, we have cookies! My goal has been reached!

Thanks for the comments -- I've been trying and trying to find a way to interpret the scroll mouse to go sideways, but I simply cannot find a way to do it!

Posted by: Ogre at June 04, 2005 12:50 PM (YgrHs)

4 Cool... just like the olden days of using microfiche.

..like visiting the amusement park ride that spins and the floor drops out. *grin*

nicely done.

Posted by: cin at June 06, 2005 11:44 AM (oj+Z/)

5 Thanks, cin, now don't look down while you're scrolling right...

Posted by: Ogre at June 06, 2005 11:56 AM (/k+l4)

6 OK, this is just, well...hmmm...let's just say "It's wide" and leave it at that.

Posted by: Jeff H at June 06, 2005 11:07 PM (Bz06/)

7 Hey, are you calling me fat?

Posted by: Ogre at June 07, 2005 05:37 AM (YgrHs)

8 It really is cool! Now, can you do diagonal?

Posted by: That 1 Guy at June 07, 2005 07:59 AM (b7JDn)

9 Diagonal. Hmmm... Now that one really WILL be a challenge!

Posted by: Ogre at June 07, 2005 08:59 AM (/k+l4)

10 Nice! What a cool and seemingly original idea!

I kinda like it... you got any donuts here?

Posted by: Kari Holtz at June 07, 2005 02:14 PM (C5kJN)

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June 01, 2005

About This Site

I know this site is a little odd. It's supposed to be. This was an exercise in creativity, just to see how it would turn out. Yes, I'm well aware that the site scrolls horizontally and not vertically, as most blogs do.

I also realize the site is a little slow to load. That's from all the external links that are included here. Some are the huge blogrolls that take quite a while to load (like the Alliance), while others are external links that are just plain slow on some days (like Google). At least the content loads first, so you have something to read while the rest of the page loads.

For those of you used to using your scroll button to scroll down the page, you may still do so here! Just press down and hold the scroll button and drag your mouse left and right and the page will scroll for you. Click in an individual post or box and you can use the scroll button to scroll down in that block.

Posted by: Ogre at 12:32 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 I am in awe of all the work you must have put into this blog to get it to work to your specifications...I'm just trying to get color right and I feel good about myself. It is kind of interesting to go horizontally, but I must go vertically as well, so, I don't know that the enjoyment of the layout will outlast the fun of the newness. Congrats on the work and experimintation however.

Posted by: Rachel Ann at June 01, 2005 02:18 PM (Jgwqx)

2 Thanks for the kind words!

You should not have to scroll up and down -- I'm still tweaking the final settings to make sure no one has to.

And yes, I bet when the newness wears off, people will quickly tire of this layout and I'll have to make something new for next month!

Posted by: Ogre at June 02, 2005 10:16 AM (/k+l4)

3 Very nicely done! I hate it, but I appreciate the work and skill that went into it.

In Firefox, your "recent posts" box is a bit of a scroller (not much), and your blogroll isn't showing up at all. That might be a problem with blogrolling itself, I dunno.

Congrats on doing something interesting and different. Excellent job.

Posted by: Ted at June 03, 2005 09:01 AM (+OVgL)

4 Thanks for the nice comments, I think...

Yes, both the boxes on the left there resize depending on your browser height. Sometimes they will have scroll bars and sometimes they won't.

Posted by: Ogre at June 03, 2005 10:49 AM (/k+l4)

5 Where's the RSS feed? Someone got me hooked on using Thunderbird for RSS. I can't remember if it was you, Flannel Avenger, or Shanktified. Anyway, new blog calls for a new link!

Posted by: Echo Zoe at June 03, 2005 07:53 PM (keU2o)

6 Oh, I hate to share this with you now that you have gotten this blog up and running, but there is a key feature to Wordpress 1.5 that is perfect for you. You can have many different layouts stored fro your blog and can switch between them with just a click, no replacing stylesheets and index files.

That said, I am sooooooooo happy to see you are moving on and leaving blogger.

Posted by: Echo Zoe at June 03, 2005 07:56 PM (keU2o)

7 RSS Feed? Oh yeah! I know I had something small I was going to place in the blank space over there on the left! I'll get that in today (I read all the blogs I can with a newsreader, too).

Posted by: Ogre at June 04, 2005 08:18 AM (YgrHs)

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New Neighbor #41

This week's new neighbor is

Uncle Sam's Cabin

One of the first things that attracted me to this blog was the entry from Feb 11: Cartoon Rage: Nothing new under the sun. I mentioned something similar over at The Wide Awakes -- these cartoons are just being used as an excuse. However, The Blog Mistress gives a great example from Acts that shows how old this story REALLY is. Powerful stuff there.

She also has some good advice for those in love. Really good. There's actually a series of posts on this vein ("Love is..."). She also clearly subscribes to my exact theory on foods and diets.

There's lots of other good stuff over there, so take a minute this evening and head on over!

The layout is clean (close to default, I think), and easy to read. The blog has archives back to December 2003, so the blog has been around for quite some time, yet I've never seen it. Weird, huh?

What are you waiting for? Go visit!

Posted by: Ogre at | Comments (5) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

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