The third issue of "The Crooked Man" came out this week. This series was the creepiest and best Hellboy series in forever. And this is coming from the fellow who last year said the Hellboy family of comics was the best being published.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
The best Hellboy comic in a long time
The third issue of "The Crooked Man" came out this week. This series was the creepiest and best Hellboy series in forever. And this is coming from the fellow who last year said the Hellboy family of comics was the best being published.
DHP online
I think we missed this issue when it came out. I didn't even look at it yet, so I have no idea what's any good.
There is a print volume of all the best stuff from the earlier issues. I didn't buy it yet, but I probably will.
There is a print volume of all the best stuff from the earlier issues. I didn't buy it yet, but I probably will.
Done been gone
Yes, I have, indeed.
In the last two weeks, I have experienced a major power outage that affected about 300,000 people in Louisville and lasted at my house for five days. The power went out so suddenyl Sunday afternoon, I didn't even have time to pre-blog things while I was gone. During this time, movers shipped me and the rest of the family away to Newport News, Va.
Of course, it took nearly a week to get the house unpacked enough to set up the computer and then get the cable folks out here to install the stuff that brings the wonderful Internet to me and allows me to bring all this mediocre claptrap to you.
There are a number of interesting stories related to all this stuff, but the greatest lesson I learned from living in a house without power for five days is: Gas water heaters work when the power goes out; Internet telephones don't.
A brief sub-lesson is this: libraries are great places to use the Internet in a pinch.
I have a story to post shortly about standing in line at Wendy's for 35 minutes. human nature is amazing.
In the last two weeks, I have experienced a major power outage that affected about 300,000 people in Louisville and lasted at my house for five days. The power went out so suddenyl Sunday afternoon, I didn't even have time to pre-blog things while I was gone. During this time, movers shipped me and the rest of the family away to Newport News, Va.
Of course, it took nearly a week to get the house unpacked enough to set up the computer and then get the cable folks out here to install the stuff that brings the wonderful Internet to me and allows me to bring all this mediocre claptrap to you.
There are a number of interesting stories related to all this stuff, but the greatest lesson I learned from living in a house without power for five days is: Gas water heaters work when the power goes out; Internet telephones don't.
A brief sub-lesson is this: libraries are great places to use the Internet in a pinch.
I have a story to post shortly about standing in line at Wendy's for 35 minutes. human nature is amazing.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Petting my pet peeves (Part one of an undetermined number)
I really, really hate seeing someone use "alot." I saw this in a headline on a story in a Fostoria, Ohio daily newspaper's Web site. It's not one word; it's two, as in,
"I have a lot of ridges on the surface of my brain, but I am not using them when I type."
From "Englishplus.com:"
A Lot or Allot?
A lot (two words) is an informal phrase meaning "many." It can take an adjective, for example, "a sizeable lot."
Example: Karl needed a lot of time for the job.
Allot means "to distribute between or among." It has the same root as lottery.
Example: He allotted three breaks a day to everyone in the department.
Alot does not exist as a word. (Bold text is mine.)
If you ever see it here, it's a typo. Point it out, and I'll fix it in bold. And italic. And, I'll change the font color to whatever you request.
Affiant further sayeth not.
"I have a lot of ridges on the surface of my brain, but I am not using them when I type."
From "Englishplus.com:"
A Lot or Allot?
A lot (two words) is an informal phrase meaning "many." It can take an adjective, for example, "a sizeable lot."
Example: Karl needed a lot of time for the job.
Allot means "to distribute between or among." It has the same root as lottery.
Example: He allotted three breaks a day to everyone in the department.
Alot does not exist as a word. (Bold text is mine.)
If you ever see it here, it's a typo. Point it out, and I'll fix it in bold. And italic. And, I'll change the font color to whatever you request.
Affiant further sayeth not.
What Not To Wear: Blog Edition
I gave the Blog a face lift. What do you think?
And, I know, I need to post some more long-form essays or columns to keep this from becoming a page that should be called, "Look At All These Cool Links I Found When I Was Bored At Work!"
I promise to do that. In fact, I have a pet peeves entry coming up very soon.
And, I know, I need to post some more long-form essays or columns to keep this from becoming a page that should be called, "Look At All These Cool Links I Found When I Was Bored At Work!"
I promise to do that. In fact, I have a pet peeves entry coming up very soon.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Paul and Storm song-fuing again
Here's a link that will take you to the latest "Masters of Song Fu" challenge in which our intrepid heroes Paul and Storm are competing. You have to scroll down to see what they will have to do next. It promises to be amusing.
Voting begins tomorrow, so vote early and vote often.
To tide you over, here's a link to the other song they wrote for round two.
Voting begins tomorrow, so vote early and vote often.
To tide you over, here's a link to the other song they wrote for round two.
If you need something for your computer desktop ...
... here's one from Dark Horse Comics. You'll see a few familiar characters there, like Usagi Yojimbo, Groo, Hellboy, Grendel, Concrete and many others. This is what is currently adorning my desktop.
In fact, if you go to this link at Dark Horse Comics' Web site, you'll find all sorts of wonderful artwork you can add to your desktop. There's a lot of really nice Conan drawings there as well as lots of others, including the characters mentioned above.
(Could this read any more like an advertisement?)
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Scientific advancement or certain doom?
This is an interesting story about scientists arguing about ... oh heck, just go see.
The story reads, "Will the Large Hadron Collider save the world, or destroy it?" Sounds like something out of a science fiction novel, but it's real.
And, if it gets used, there may be a black hole coming to a neighborhood near you!
The story reads, "Will the Large Hadron Collider save the world, or destroy it?" Sounds like something out of a science fiction novel, but it's real.
And, if it gets used, there may be a black hole coming to a neighborhood near you!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Ancient Corbin secret, huh?
Here's a story about the original, handwritten recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken. (For those of you who don't get the headline, the first KFC was in Corbin, Ky.)
Nine years, but not nine lives
Here's a lost cat story:
LONDON - A British couple have been reunited with their missing cat after nine years, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) said on Wednesday.
LONDON - A British couple have been reunited with their missing cat after nine years, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) said on Wednesday.
I knew it!
This story tells us that a study has linked investor speculation to the rising price of oil earlier this year. Whodathunkit?
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
More "Amazing" art
Coming out tomorrow, a new issue of "Amazing Spider-Man" with a truly awesome cover that I am not going to buy.
After my computer crash ...
By now, both of you reading this site have probably noticed the light posting.
All I can say is: If I were you, I'd think twice about installing Windows XP Service Pack 3 no matter what your computer tells you. I, of course, listened to my computer and did what it said. Three times. And guess what happened?
SP 3 crashed my computer three times. Usually, when Windows tells you to do something, you should do it. I subscribe to this theory because I know about as much about how computers actually work as I do about, say, plumbing. Therefore, I figure that whatever the system says is best probably is.
I did a little research on the Internet, and it seems I am not the only one who had trouble with SP 3. You can examine the Google search here.
On top of that, when I did get everything fixed, the updates to SP 2 wouldn't install, so I had a list of things called "priority updates," and "security updates" that I could see and download, but when I tired to install them, the computer said something like "A problem with your computer prevented these updates from installing." Nothing specific, no link to follow for help, there was only that message. Here's an article that tells about what is happening and how it may be fixed. Nothing worked for me, though.
What did I do? After the third SP 3 crash, I let Windows do it own thing, without going to the Windows updater Web site. So far, it has done pretty well, finding and installing some of the updates that were listed in my previous tries. There were something like 84 updates, and so far Windows has found and installed maybe half of those.
Far be it from me to say bad things about Windows and Microsoft, seeing as how I have used them both for far longer than I care to admit. However, this little episode has made me think seriously about getting a Macintosh for my next computer. Fewer virus problems, fewer problems in general, or so I understand.
Technology is wonderful, but only when it works.
All I can say is: If I were you, I'd think twice about installing Windows XP Service Pack 3 no matter what your computer tells you. I, of course, listened to my computer and did what it said. Three times. And guess what happened?
SP 3 crashed my computer three times. Usually, when Windows tells you to do something, you should do it. I subscribe to this theory because I know about as much about how computers actually work as I do about, say, plumbing. Therefore, I figure that whatever the system says is best probably is.
I did a little research on the Internet, and it seems I am not the only one who had trouble with SP 3. You can examine the Google search here.
On top of that, when I did get everything fixed, the updates to SP 2 wouldn't install, so I had a list of things called "priority updates," and "security updates" that I could see and download, but when I tired to install them, the computer said something like "A problem with your computer prevented these updates from installing." Nothing specific, no link to follow for help, there was only that message. Here's an article that tells about what is happening and how it may be fixed. Nothing worked for me, though.
What did I do? After the third SP 3 crash, I let Windows do it own thing, without going to the Windows updater Web site. So far, it has done pretty well, finding and installing some of the updates that were listed in my previous tries. There were something like 84 updates, and so far Windows has found and installed maybe half of those.
Far be it from me to say bad things about Windows and Microsoft, seeing as how I have used them both for far longer than I care to admit. However, this little episode has made me think seriously about getting a Macintosh for my next computer. Fewer virus problems, fewer problems in general, or so I understand.
Technology is wonderful, but only when it works.
Friday, September 5, 2008
I don't get the math, but apparently, it works
Mark Evanier has been talking about this on his blog here and here. No matter how many times I read it, it just doesn't make sense. Then again, I am arithmetically impaired.
It involves Monty Hall, three doors, two goats and a car. Somehow, if you pick door number one and get a goat, switching your original pick for the second door opening doubles your odds of winning.
I wonder if anything like that would work on "Deal or No Deal?"
It involves Monty Hall, three doors, two goats and a car. Somehow, if you pick door number one and get a goat, switching your original pick for the second door opening doubles your odds of winning.
I wonder if anything like that would work on "Deal or No Deal?"
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