A very Silly weblog

This is just some of the silliness to be found here...



Rejected Crayola Crayon Colors




Self explanitory

Here is the link....
http://www.blogexplosion.com/members/surf.php

Hope you all enjoy it....
Larry

Terry Schiavo Die's

Terry Schiavo Shortly after having a heart attack that left her incapacitated


Terri Schiavo passes away
Death comes after courts repeatedly ruled against parents
MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 10:21 a.m. ET March 31, 2005
PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - Nearly two weeks after a court ordered her feeding tube removed, and after multiple attempts by her parents to get the order lifted, Terri Schiavo passed away on Thursday at the age of 41.
Schiavo died at the Pinellas Park hospice where she lay for years while her husband and her parents fought over her fate in the nation’s longest, most bitter right-to-die dispute.
The family battle over whether to keep her alive galvanized the nation over the last month, with even President Bush and Congress weighing in.
The case had spent seven years winding its way through the courts, with Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, repeatedly on the losing end.
They have been at odds with their son-in-law, Michael Schiavo, who consistently won legal battles by arguing that his wife would not have wanted to live in her condition.
Denied accessBrother Paul O’Donnell, an adviser to Schiavo’s parents, said the parents and their two other children “were denied access at the moment of her death. They’ve been requesting, as you know, for the last hour to try to be in there and they were denied access by Michael Schiavo. They are in there now, praying at her bedside.”
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to intervene for the sixth time. Hours earlier in an 9-2 ruling, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta declined to grant a new hearing in the case — the fourth time since last week that it ruled against the Schindlers.

We can all sit here and judge Terry's Husband or her parents that is the easiest part. Instead let us learn from her passing and the struggles that both sides of her family indured. Let us Thank god for the life we are granted, and pray for the soul of Terry, Her Husband and her parents.

Nuff said....
Larry

Terry Schiavo Dieing

Wedding Comic says it all...

In sickness and in health unless you suffer severe neurological damage, in which case I'd let you starve untill death do us part.

How To Record Streaming Net Radio

Forget over the air and Satellite broadcasting. Internet radio is FRESH, unfiltered, and Free!


Hosting audio content on a website used to be difficult, expensive, and usually required REAL PLAYER. But as with most technology, what's Tricky in one decade becomes trivial in the next. Today, any Blogger with rudimentary audio-recording gear can deliver high quality broadcast's.

Even better, intrepid hackers have written software that wil automatically transfer audio tracks from the net to an IPOD or any other MP3 Player - Giving rise to the term "PODCAST." Thousands of music lovers are now creating their own podcast's, featuring new music from podcast friendly indie lables. Production values range from Radio - Quality to dude in his van, but it's a fabulous way to find new music relatively untouched by the "Music Industry."

But you needn't limit your listening to what's most easily available. You'll find loads of streams from radio stations and other sources, and though they're often in difficult - to - copy formats, sucking them directly into your MP3 player is as easy as having the right software. You'll also encounter some programming that isn't streamed over the net at all; if you connect your AM/FM Tuner to your PC, you can record anything broadcast over the airwaves and listen to it anytime you like.

NOTE: LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Recording this material for your own use is perfectly LEGAL! However, Distributing these files are not! This Means any Broacast you find can be Saved, burned to disk for your own listening pleasure, But if your buddy wants a copy he has to get it the same way you did. ok nuff said, disclaimer is over now to the good stuff.

Listen to Podcast's:

The first thing you will need to listen to podcast's is a podcast app. I prefer IPODDER (ipodder.sourceforge.net) , but feel free to experiment with any client. Download and Install Ipodder and then click the status tab. There should be a few feeds already available and displayed in the window, but you will want to find your own favorite sites. You can find a MASSIVE amount of feeds at www.podcast.net , But I will also list a few as well.

INSOMNIA RADIO

http://webpages.charter.net/jevangelho01/IR.xml

RADIO CLASH

http://www.mutantpop.net/radioclash/rssfeed.php

INDIEFEED MODERN ROCK

http://radio.weblogs.com/0141318/catagories/altModernRock/rss/.xml

THE GOOD STUFF

http://rizzn.net/Scripts/podcast/rss/Nucks1.xml

Once you have selected a few feeds, click the schedualer tab. Set the app to automatically check for new podcast's every eight hours or so. Once you have configured the appropriate settings, click the Prefrences tab. Check "hide ipodder at startup" and "Check for new podcasts at startup," but you will probably prefer to have the "play downloads" unchecked. Note the location for your saved files (it defaults to a folder called "My Recieved Podcast's" in the my documents directory). You will need that fodler location to play your podcast's if you use a different player other than Itunes to copy music to your MP3 player. Go ahead and check for new podcast's at this time.if you use Itunes you are done and can begin playing as soon as the first file is downloaded. However, if you use Windows Media Player to manage your player's tunes, you will need to add the My Recieved Podcast's folder to the WMP 10's list of monitored folders for new media.

It a Minnesota joke, Doin cha know

Ole lived across the Minnesota River from Clarence Bunsen, whom he didn't like at all. They were yelling across the river at each other all the time. Ole would yell to Clarence, "If I had a vay to cross dis river, I'd come over dere an beat you up good, yeah sure ya betcha by golly!" This went on for years. Finally, the state built a bridge across the river right there by their houses. Ole's wife, Lena, asks, "Now is your chance, Ole. Vhy don't you go over dere and beat up dat Clarence like you said you vud?" Ole replied, "OK, by yimmy, I tink I vill do yust dat!" Ole started for the bridge but he saw a sign on the bridge and he stopped to read it, then turned around and came back home. Lena asked, "Vhy did you come back?" Ole said, "Lena, I tink I changed my mind 'bout beatin' up dat Clarence. You know, vhen I yell at him from across the river, he don't look so big. But dey put a sign on da bridge dat says "Clarence is 13 ft. 6 in."

Using Outlook Express to Post

I am posting this blog from my outlook express email server. Now this was easier than you think but why?

The most obvious reason that I can think of is simplicity. If you use outlook to recieve your email why not publish with it? Second and even more importantly is that Outlook will allow you to add HTML content. Now there are certainly restrictions, as in any time that you use an un intented format for a site. However one reason that yuo might want to is simply That it is easier to add pictures the way you want them to appear.

As an axample I inserted this photo and dragged the edges do that it would fit my blog format

however it is not restricted by the sizing that Hello determines..

it is also easier to add multiple photo's by simply inserting another photo....

Let us try one more thing now and add a few links to the page ohh say centered in bullet form

• http://drawinginkorporated.blogspot.com/
• http://northupfamily.blogspot.com/
• http://spruceup.blogspot.com/

OK that will do, do any of you want to know how you do this?

First you go to the dashboard and click the page you wish to send your post to and then click on the email tab for the page there is a line for you to send email to post just waiting for you to add your secret password and BAM you have the email url to send to Just add the link as a contact in your email address. And you are in like flint.

nuff said....Larry

Distorted Reflections in the media mirror

Dan Rather Cartoon with Cal Thomas

Did you know there is too much opinion and not enough reporting of the facts in the news you're getting? This shocking information comes from the Project for Excellence in Journalism, an affiliate of Columbia University.

The study's focus on 250 stories mainly looked at the way cable TV networks and Internet Bloggers addressed those stories. It concluded that such outlets represent a "journalism of assertion" that favors the personal opinion of the individual delivering the information more than reporting.
The Fox News Channel (where I work and where no one has asked me to write about this survey) is singled out for alleged imbalance on such story's as the Iraq war, where the study finds twice as many "positive" as "negetive" stories. Seven out of ten stories on FNC were said to have included opinions not attributed to reporting.

Reporting on the study, the Los Angelos Times referred to "the model of mainstream media," which it said is "taking the time to gather and scrutinize each piece of infomation."
But the mainstream public does not percieve that the "mainstream media" takes the time check facts and eschews opinion in it's "reporting." According to the Pew Center for the People and the Press, only 35% of Americans think the media get the facts right.

It is this distrust and the perception that the so called "mainstream media" is biased that has fueled the rise of alternative sources of information. It has also fueled the angst of the big media boys, who are being held accountable for their biasis for the first time. They don't like such accountability and so they are reacting by attacking cable TV and Internet Bloggers.

Were it not for these alternative sources of information, the Swift Boat Veterans might never have found an avenue to make their voices heard about John Kerry, and Dan Rather might still be sitting in the CBS anchor chair instead of being held accountable for misreporting on President Bush's National Guard Records. What ought to amuse and amaze many people is the sudden "discovery" of opinion journalism in the media.

The Media Research Center (www.mrc.org) has been chronicling liberal bias on the broadcast networks and in newspapers and news magazines for years, but the oganization is largely ignored by the big media or dismissed as "conservative" or "right-wing," implying it's work cannot be trusted. (In the interests of full disclosure, I'm serving as the unpaid emcee for the Media Reseach Center's annual Media DisHonors Awards in April.)

If opinion journalism is now regarded as something to be avoided, how about begining the purge at the broadcast networks. On the CBS Evening News last March 31, Rather suggested that American civilians had volunteered to work in Iraq because "in this economy it may be, for some, the only job they can find." Is that opinion or reporting, since no source was cited or interviews conducted with anyone who said such a thing?

CNN's Aaron Brown delivered what a fair-minded viewer might have concluded was a personal opinion on his Nov 10, 2004, "NewsNight" program. He refered to criticism of Kerry by the Swift Boat Veterans and whether Kerry deserved the three Purple Hearts and an early out from Vietnam.

Brown said, "Look at this picture here [in the Stars and Stripes military newspaper], if you can. 'Troops' bravery Honored in Iraq.' These are all Purple Heart Winners. Someday, one of them will run for president and someone will say they didn't earn the Purple Heart. Welcome to America."

The problem for the mainstream media (which isn't mainstream anymore) is that it's denial of it's own biasis has caused the rise of Bloggers and cable news, especially Fox. If they had been truly reporting and not indoctrinating, there would be no Fox news, or Bloggers to study.



This Artical was originally written by Cal Thomas, his column is distributed by Tribune Media Services

This is a new trick I just learned

The rough day

I am now rediscovering my computer, at these new lighting speeds it appears to work better than ever and I just feel silly that I hadn't realized that it was the culprit. It was the standing in my face screaming bloody murder thing That I overlooked. I counted the number of programs that were running and it was like 53 !!! Now I am back to normal, but I am petty sore from the weekend project. With us getting ready to move out in four weeks I knew I could not put off the inevitable. I started pulling the pool apart as the new owner said they did not want it and so I am tasked with moving it to our new home. Besides the fact that I put the above ground pool partially in ground; I had to purchase the type that has a steel corrugated wall that must weigh oh 125lb's easy. And wrestling with that and digging out the ground around the pool I am really beat. But at least I am almost finished, the pool is completely torn apart with most of it packed up neat and tidy. I just have a few more brackets and brace bars to wash and stow. Then the task of filling the hole back up and leveling.

5 minutes to the fastest computer speeds

Ok so in case you haven't noticed I haven't been around for a while... Two days to be exact, why the disappearance? Well it all started about a week ago with a little storm while Allison was home and we lost power. After it came back we couldn't get online, two days later I had fixed that problem and was dealing with a computer that was creeping around at dial up speeds. I dumped the TEMP FOLDER and Emptied the TRASH CAN. No luck... Next comes with an Defrag test... It could use it so I allowed the computer to DEFRAGMENT THE HARD DRIVE. This process took oh like 4 hours but it just had to work right? No luck... Next on the adjenda was sleep.... Day two home from work and ready to get started I had been thinking on it all day and my answer was either SPYWARE or ADWARE so I let Norton Scan the hard drive... It found four items that were suspicious but it was not able to delete them... Now came the extremely slow online search for a better Spyware program and guess what? Microsoft.com Has just released a new SPYWARE BETA for users of Microsoft windows free if you can prove that your version is a legal copy (note: the sticker on the back of your computer containing the SN # for your copy) after a three hour download( only takes 5 minutes at regular DSL speeds) I installed the BETA and ran it. First off let me just say W O W ! ! ! In roughly 5 minutes it had scanned my computer and found like 5 Adwares, 3 spywares, a reincarnated spyware, and multiple bad portals files. POWERFUL STUFF GUYS!! Stop what you are doing and go get it now!!!

but ok did it work? No #@#$%^&*())_!!!#$%%^$#@


ok I am better now... I call up Verizon DSL THREE TIMES FOR LIKE ATOTAL OF FOUR HOURS and do you think they fixed it? NO!!!! But sir as far as we are concerned all your settings are optimized for DSL, Your lines in and out of your computer report higher than normal speeds, there is nothing else we can do. So where do I go for help? I asked, no I groveled. Well, how about your manufacturer?

Emachines? Ha ha ha this is so laughable they won't help me...

So I crawled online and searched blogs for anything that might help....

then I crawled to bed

day three home again and online with Verizon....Same thing go to Emachines...

frustrated, tired exhausted I search for emachines.com.... find a tech support number and called...


Let me tell you it took 19 seconds for a tech support to answer the phone... NINETEEN SECONDS!!! He listened patiently and thoroughly as I begged for support....
"Larry" he started press the START button and then click on RUN. Now type msconfig and hit enter. Ok been there done that right? Click the startup tab and then click on disable all...

no I am sorry did you say disable all? Yes Larry, disable all of it. uhhmm are you sure? Yes just do it and trust me. uhh ok it is done... Now re-enable only "ccApp" that is your Norton anti-virus, "BigFix" that is our automatic recovery utility, and "msnmsgr" that is your default messenger that gets email. And reboot your computer.


did it work? It worked better than it ever has, EVER!!! NONE of these programs HAVE to be enabled,.... NONE you can them all to start by clicking on them.


nuff said

Acceptable Behavior: Spamming vrs Networking

Ok I have been learning the hard way and have made some critical mistakes... I figure this is sort of my redemption and help for the next guy to stumble apon as it was hard to locate some of this knowledge... This blog will finish with links to some of the areas I found these answers.


When you are allowed to become the member of another person's site, consider the trust involved in saying this is my house, come and make yourself at home. Go ahead you have permission to change the way my house look's; I trust you....

Think about that before you post anything to onther person's blog...
Think about being considerate of the space they have and why it looks like it does.
Then refer to these guidelines I have come up with....

• Post Relevant Content on the Blog: if for example I felt like blogging on Uncle ron's site I would need to know a few things about him and/or the site that he has published. I know from his content that he is a Vikings fan and uses the blog to discuss the current events. It would be proper to blog about the Vikings then on his site and keep the content in the same areas that he has set for himself.
• Comments Are Not Content: I had to find this out the hard way. when you publish your updates they are PINGED to search engines, but the comments are not. Only the number of comments. Think of it as text on the front page only. when posting a comment to a current blog it should be relevant to the original post in some way. people want to know what you think about it. Do not comment a link to your page with no real comment, this is spamming and it is RUDE. Instead comment to what you want and include your link as part of your SIGNATURE. (As an identifing signature) you can create a signature file in Yahoo for example that would include a link to your page. Many people include a short quote or phrase. for Example my signature is something like Nuff Said.... Larry Larry's Blogging spot
• Never Post a Direct Link to your Site: IE: Hey guys just wanted you to know that I updated my site.. here is the link This is just as bad as spray painting your name on someone's walls. Updates like this belong in email not on your friend's blogpage. Remember post relevant content that ends with your SIGNATURE (get it?)
• PARTICIPATION = RESPECT: The more involved you become at other people's Blog pages, posting / commenting / reading, the more likely that someone will find you interesting and seek you out. clicking on your name in a comment sends them to your profile page. Plus you are useing your signature right?
• Create Favorite Sites Links in sidebar of your Blog: The more you link to other people's sites, the more likely that you will be linked to as well. This is Networking.
• Profile Page should only display Your Pages: Someone seeking you out will be confused to find that you list all pages you participate in. They are seeking you out, not where you have been. The Dashboard will always contain the entire list of sites you are a member of.
• On Profile Page Interest's and Favorites should be one or two words Not a sentance: IE Cooking, Blogging, Motorcycles.....NOT Cooking at home, Blogging web sites, Riding Motorcycles Consider them search KEY words, connecting common interest's is easier if it is simple. Also when listeing Author's or Singer's use their Common name, not the name they were born with.
• List as many interests as possible keep updateing the list: you are only limited to like 1200 words so use as many as possible to best discribe you and make as many common connections as possible. Most people will never get to your page if they do not connect to your profile.
• Blog about what interest's you: Don't try to create content that you think people will be looking for. Talk about what you know and believe and you will show your passion and resolve in the writing. HAVE FUN!!
• People like photo's not Load times: a photo looks pretty good between 75 & 150 DPI online. For the most part people do not look for photgraphic images, or will never attempt to print them. If they do want a better quality of some specific photo, you have created a reason for them to contact you. Alway's consider the load times of dial up and slow connection speed's. A picture is meant to enhance a page not hold it back.
• It is possible to load several photo's through HEllO to the same post using the \\ .
• It is also possible to send a movie with Picasa by changing the settings (default is first frame)
• Also Hello will not load a file bigger than 500K so consider the pixel count if it will not post.

Blogger Help : Blogger Basics

Blogger Help : Advanced Use

New Settings:

Ok so you all have not found the helpfull Xp tips so helpfull or simply havn't found them. I added yet another search engine as it seams to be better you will find it on the sidebar. It is actually the best engine that I have seen yet. Dad it found your perry northup change, it came up number 5 on a list search for northup. 5 articals about that Anne Northup Congresswoman came up as more recent then your post. Try playing with it a little.

I read much of the new post's on Lia's site, she is a regular writing about 200 words a day I would guess. Not includeing the comments she post's as well. I also added a copy of one of her poems on the Drawers Inkorporated site. I sappose I should give some links here...

Drawing INKorporated

Blogger: User Profile: Lia

Also, on the Ink page is a new post from Frankie, he sent me an image that included a couple variations on some pencil scetches you really should check out. I have added this site to the growing network with Technorati, Though I think it mostly pastes my profile to the sites I maintain as well as allows me to track links to my page which is too cool! of course there are not many links out there right now so I may have to do something about that.

In due time I sappose. it is geting late and I am needing some rest so Adiue!!

larry

Phish or Foul?

These are examples of how clever phisher's can be.The Email appears to have been sent from Earthlink's billing Department, indicates that the customer's credit card has expired. For " Security Purposes," according to the email, this has prompted Earthlink to remove the customer's credit card information from their files.

in the first example the fisher failed to complete the sentence starting "designated trademarks...."

In the second Example, the URL displayed in the address window does not begin with "https." That is a sure sign something's wrong. Never submit credit card information over an unsecure connection.
This page was clipped from the Ultimate How to guide published by Maximum PC
I felt I should illustrate how similar to official documents that these can appear to look like.

Tips to stop phisher's cold

• Review Credit card information statements as soon as you get them and attempt to account for all charges. If your statement is late by even a few days, call your credit card company or bank to confirm your billing address and account balances.
• Use anti-virus software and keep it up to date. Some phishing emails contain software that can harm your computer or track your keystrokes. The anti-virus program and SP2's firewall can prevent such unwanted emails from ever being seen by you. Most corruptable files will be deleted without you even knowing it happened. Norton Antivirus gives you the option of reviewing the attempted attacks on your system that it stopped and took care of for you. (you would be surprised at how often it will happen)
  
• A firewall helps to make you invisible on the internet and blocks all communications from unauthorized sources. It is especially important to use a firewall when you are connected with a high speed internet connection. (like broadband)
• Your operating system may contain free 'patches' to close open portals in your system. To insure these patches are up to date, have your Windows update automatically or go to windowsupdate.microsoft.com
• Be very cautious about opening attachments in email unless you are sure of the sender and that the sender originated the email.
• When shopping online use only companies that have strong privacy and security policies.
• before disposing an old computer, remove all data from the hard drive. You can "wipe" it clean using a program such as, Erase your Hard drive, www.eraseyourharddrive.com
• Do not depend on the delete function to erase files as it only drops the first charcter and does nothing untill it is written over. this is to allow a user to restore the file. Phisher's are expert restorer's.
• Never email personal information or financial information. Email is not a secure method of data transfer. If you have initiated a transaction and want to exchange information, check for the indicators that the site is secure. Like a lock icon on the browser's status bar. Or a URL for a website that begins with "https"(the s in https stands for secure)
  

The New Blog Direction

I have for the most part Determined the direction that I want this blog site to take and decided to share it as a way to further inform you the reader of this blog. First and formost after much pondering and scribbles; I have determined that certain helpfull information is only readily available to those whom are willing to either devote much time searching online, or those who are willing to pay for it's deliverance.

Boy that is a mouthfull, What I really mean is that when I look for an answer it easy to find if I pay for it, or if much time is consumed searching for it. So I have decided that this site is going to primarily concern a sort of distribution of knowledge that I have found usefull.

The previous entry was just the tip of the iceburg so here we go.


Safer Email:
Recently we had a few emails concerning the need for Service pack 2 with Windows XP and Internet Explorer. Here is what I found out after some research;

• 1st concern is to insure that you have installed the Service pack 2 onto your computer if you havn't go get it at Microsoft.com right now.

• SP2 also brings a welcome addition to Outlook express's security options: The ability to convert HTML messages to plain text. Recieving emails formated in html is risky because Outlook Express processes header scripts in the html content, which means that malicious script is automatically executed. You can stop this from happening with SP2 installed by navigating to TOOLS>OPTIONS>READ and checking the box marked "Read all messages in plain text" If you are useing Outlook, you can do the same by navigating to TOOLS>OPTIONS>SECURITY>ZONE SETTINGS.

• We all hate those pesky pop ups and SP2 comes with an effective popup blocker for IE it is automatically enabled at installation. However if you wish to disable it for certain sites or turn it off at will; open the Internet Options settings window and and you can setup audio cues when a popup is blocked, choose between three levels of security, or set up trusted sites to be allowed the use of popup's.
  

Windows XP Tips and Tricks

• Alt + Shift + Tab: Goes through apps in reverse order.

• Alt + D: Moves the curser in IE to the address bar.

• Shift + insert a CD: Temporarily disables auto play.

• Windows Key + Pause/Break: Opens System Properties.

• Windows Key + F: Opens the search window.

• Windows Key + E: Opens the Windows Explorer.

• Windows Key + D: Minimizes all open windows to tray.

Add your own user account icon pictures:
Xp's default account icons are kind of lame. Here is how to add your own images.

• Resize your .bmp images to 48X48 pixels useing Paintshop or Picasa
• Copy your images to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User\Account Pictures\Default Pictures. (Application Data is a hidden folder) You may also want to delete some of the lame pictures while you are here.
• Click the START button and then click on your account icon image. This will open a new window that tells you to select another pic for your account. Find the image you wish to use, select it, and click Change Picture.
  

S O L D: 1981 Honda Silverwing

1981 Honda SilverWing GL-500 with 44,940 original miles this beutifull classic 2 stroke motorcycle has been garage kept it's intire life. Runs great with removeable saddle bags on both sides and rear compartment can be replaced with the 2nd passenger seat. AM/FM Cassette radio with dual in dash speakers. Original owners manual, and maintenance guide plus original tool pouch, and full length rain suit included. Black full face helmit with removeable chin and face shield for summer cruising with custom graphic's on rear. You must see this to believe it. I live in Gloucester, Virginia just pass the Coleman Bridge on 17.


This Motorcyle is now part of the past. She was a beutiful bike and she gave me one hell of a ride I will miss her, " The Queen" as she was called was the second bike I ever owned. The first was a Suzzuki 750LE and it was bored out to about 900 CC's Anyhow She is sold so your too late.

Graphic Artist Blog Forumn

Great Blog site that I found!!
Any of you guys that like to admire the scetches and graphic art ought to check this site out... it is simply amazing what I have come across!

Drawing Board :: View Forum - Girls

Here is a link to the page.

Taxes Really Suck

Man this is like the third time I have tried to get the taxes done and still having hangups. I really don't know why they have to be so doggone hard to get done. It seems like when I am ready to do them Allison slips away to something else bringing the answers that I don't have with her. I does appear that I will be bringing some home the year which is good as I have yet to get the taxes from last year paid off. but it is so much work waiding through the reciepts and copays... where is the 1099? where is the personnal property tax bills? sheesh I feel a headache coming on.