Slippery Slopes: the first

I have always wondered…

Why is it that we never see any really good goth golfers?

[It is my intention that "Slippery Slopes" posts will be a (near) daily event.  The name was selected in honor of one of the crappiest arguments of all time (because in my opinion it concedes the opposition's point, yet persists with the claim that the opposing view would have horrible effects, when taken to its extreme).  It is my hope that Slippery Slopes -- at least once in a while -- makes your thought process step back and gather itself to take another run at a concept.]

Flag Day coming — reason to look back

Words have power.

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

Now it’s ours … a republic, if we can keep it.

Fathers Day Gifts

Just a reminder: If you are planning to mail Dad something this year, better get it in the mail soon! (Like right now.) And if your father is a man of discerning taste, why not give the classic!

Zombie Dub: a new cd from Scott Arford

Sample some of Scott’s new project.   Additional details here.

Get the entire cd here.

 Streaming Audio: Download

Blue Star Service Banner

• The Blue Star Service Banner was designed, and patented in 1917 by World War I Army Capt. Robert L. Queissner of the 5th Ohio Infantry who had two sons serving on the front line. It quickly became the unofficial symbol of a child in the service.
• On Sept. 24, 1917, an Ohio congressman read the following into the Congressional Record: “The mayor of Cleveland, the Chamber of Commerce and the governor of Ohio have adopted this service flag. The world should know of those who give so much for liberty. The dearest thing in all the world to a father and mother - their children.”
• During World War II, the Department of War issued specifications on the manufacture of the flag, as well as guidelines indicating when and by whom the Service flag could be flown, or the Service Lapel button could be worn. The Department of Defense updated the guidelines on December 1, 1967 with DoD Directive 1348.1, which implemented an Act of Congress authorizing a service flag and a service lapel button (U.S.C. 179-182).
• The Blue Star Service Banner typically displayed in windows is an 8.5 by 14-inch white field with a blue star(s) sewn onto a red banner. The size may vary but should be in proportion to the size of the U.S. Flag.
• Today Blue Star Service Banners are displayed by families who have a loved one serving in the armed forces, including the National Guard and Reserves of all military departments ( https://www-perscom.army.mil/tagd/tioh/FAQ/ServiceFlagFactSheet.htm). The banner displayed in the front window of a home shows a family’s pride in their loved one serving in the military and reminds others that preserving America’s freedom demands much.
• The blue star represents one family member serving in the armed forces. A banner can have up to five stars, signifying that five members of that family are currently in military uniform on active duty.
• If the individual symbolized is killed or dies while serving, the star representing that individual will have superimposed on it a gold star of smaller size so that the blue forms a border. On flags displaying multiple stars, including gold stars, when the flags are suspended as against a wall, the gold star(s) will be to the right of, or above the blue star(s), a place of honor nearest the staff.
• Blue Star Mothers and Gold Star Mothers organizations were established during World War I and remain active today.

Source: American Legion

For Joe and Jennifer

Love to Compete?

So, your quick is quicker than my quick?  Prove it.  I beat you. 

Now you can challenge the world.  For beginners — the classic staring contest.  More advanced users might appreciate trying their hands at Most Creative Motivational Poster.

(Are you going to try it?  If you’re like me, you almost have no choice.)

Alltop: looking for a few good feeds?

  What to read, what to read.  Let’s say you don’t already have a dozen opml’s here and there, and let’s say further that you don’t constantly struggle to pare down your feeds to 50 or so.  Take a gander at Alltop.  Not a show-stopping sort of deal, but good at what it’s good at.

I’m going to call it some kind of hybrid between newser (but without the news-only focus and pictures) and a kind of ready-made netvibes page.  It’s, quite simply, an index of topics with a sub-index of high-quality blogs.  Right away, I can see the allure for at least a couple fairly distinct demographics:

•  you’re a little new to the feed thing (RSS what?) but ready to step out past google news, your yahoo page, and a half-dozen newspaper sites; Alltop is a great place for you to click up a couple of interest areas, and find a steady stream of varying perspectives respecting that scope; or
• you’re feeling a little lulled to a discomforting level of complacency… you’re suffering from a little bit of group think since it has become more and more evident to you that fully 1/2 of the feeds you read spend 3/4 of their energy covering well-duplicated stories and the other half spend 7/8 of their keystrokes covering one another’s coverage (of the same stories already well-duplicated by that first 1/2 of your feeds); in the end, there you are feeling like only 3/8 of the posts you read have some shot at showing you something original and to be honest, only two-fifths of that is of interest to you; enter stage left: Alltop; you go to Alltop, you find maybe a dozen new feeds (and the quality is there, so I’ll bet you can) to put in your main opml; then you follow a classic honing rule for feed-lovers — you remove two of your current feeds for every new feed you add.  Voila! The time you spend (compulsively) reading feeds once again has a broadening effect on your mind.  And it isn’t that the aim?

For this writer (and as you know I’m in that latter demo), Alltop brought me a nearly instant reward:  Lifedev.  Don’t ask me what internet I’ve been reading, but thanks to Alltop for getting me here.  I can somewhat fairly say I’ve been a devoted reader of Gina and the gang at Lifehacker for quite a time (and by devoted, I just mean that it’s in all of my (both mobile and non) opml’s and I glance its way probably 15-25 times a week). However comma the “Lifehacks” index at Alltop has introduced me to Lifedev, and I have to say my DIY brainscan now indicates additional areas of cerebral activity.

See for yourself, Lifedev’s last few:

• 11 Steps to Becoming Addicted to Running
• Maybe Friday is the New Saturday?
• The Freelancer’s Guide to Setting Perfect Deadlines

So go, delight … prosper.

Dude.

Did you lose a bet?

Toshiba Drops Price on HD DVD Players

Link: Toshiba Deploys New HD DVD Marketing Initiatives Based on Strong Fourth Quarter Unit Sales.

So, if you pay any attention to the format battle or CES, you know big studios went with BluRay a week ago. Now Toshiba is pricing its players as follows: HD-A3 at $149.99, the HD-A30 at $199.99, and the high-end HD-A35 at $299.99. Depending upon whether you already have a player, you may be thinking:

- “I’ll get to Amazon and buy up a ton of titles at $14.99“;
- “I’m staying with standard DVD until whatever HD players’ prices tumble, but at these prices, I’ll go ahead and get one to upconvert“;
- “I’ll wait it out and get a nice collection of HD DVD action flicks for $5 in a few weeks”; or
- “Whew, glad I went with BluRay!”

Since I grabbed the A2 a few months back for $98 (including 5 freebies titles by mail), I’m now in the wait-and-see-about-pricing-on-HD-movies-but-good-upconverting-player-for-$98-anway camp.

SEC to Dell: Dude You’re Getting a Continuing Probe

Per Bloomberg,

Dell Inc. shares rose after the computer maker completed a yearlong investigation into accounting errors and admitted executives manipulated financial results to meet quarterly earnings goals.

I see that CFO Don Carty pulled one out of the play-down-a-probe playbook, in stating:

“This is not a happy story for Dell or one that we’re proud of,” Carty said yesterday. “Both the leadership team of the company and the board feel that we have taken the necessary remedial action.”

Mr. Carty is likely a terrific and honest CFO, and maybe the snafu was an honest mistake (I mean this literally, not to be read tongue in cheek), but it bothers me how reminiscent this is of the play-book apparently consulted by the folks featured in a book I enjoyed a couple summers back — “Smartest Guys in the Room“. If you know even the highlights, you know that one didn’t end so well for lots of folks.

Again, Mr. Carty and Dell? probably great people … I’ve bought dozens of their machines and have known them to be a decent company (in my limited consumer capacity), but just once, I want to hear the CFO (the COO or the CEO) stand and deliver, “We cannot give any names due to privacy rights, but I can tell you we fired everyone involved, we’re taking responsibility to the shareholders, and we will make this right.”

Paul Potts: Nessun Dorma

This does not need words.

(So, I’m Johnny-come-lately to this story, but in any event, if this performance doesn’t touch you, perhaps you should have your barometer checked.)

Find People in Greensburg, Kansas: Red Cross Safe and Well List

Search for a loved one in Greensburg or add your name to the Red Cross Safe and Well List. This is  a registration service provided by the Red Cross and its service partners.  Know someone who needs to find people or learn about their well-being in Greensburg, but has no internet access, share this number: they may telephone 1 (866) GET-INFO which is 1-866-438-4636, also provided the Red Cross. And again, contributions may be made to the Red Cross securely, online.

Help the Red Cross Help Greensburg, Kansas

The news of the catastrophic tornado in Greensburg has caused us all to stop and take a breath, to pray for all of those families in a terrible time, and to wonder just what we could do to help. Well, if it has not already crossed your mind, consider contacting the Red Cross and doing what you can. The following is an excerpt from their website. Read it, then do what you can. I do not know who coined the phrase, but “give until it feels good.” You will be glad you did, and you know it will help.

WASHINGTON, Saturday, May 05, 2007 — A deadly tornado struck southwestern Kansas Friday night, destroying most of the town of Greensburg. As local officials continue search and rescue efforts in Greensburg, KS, the American Red Cross is preparing safe shelter, food and relief services for those affected by the tornado.
Red Cross staff, volunteers, emergency response vehicles (ERVs) and mobile feeding units are mobilizing from Red Cross Chapters across Kansas to help their neighbors in need. Red Cross workers have set up emergency shelters in the affected Kansas counties, providing food, water and other services.

Due to widespread power and telecommunication outages, family and friends may not be able to reach each other. If you have been affected by the tornado, please visit www.redcross.org and click on Safe and Well to inform your loved ones of your well-being. This secure website provides a way for you to identify yourself as “safe and well.” From a list of standard messages, you can select those you want to communicate to your family members - who may be worried about your safety. If you hear from a loved one in the affected area, you can input their information so other family members will also know their well-being.

As with any other Red Cross service or product, Safe and Well safeguards the privacy of disaster victims and protects their information according to privacy law standards. Messages – but not locations – will be viewable by friends and family. The Red Cross recommends that people affected should determine how best to communicate their contact information and whereabouts to family members. During the initial hours of this disaster it is important to stay connected with loved ones. Take action now by visiting www.redcross.org.

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster, please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.

You may have heard local attorney Charles Herd on CNN by now. Lawyers, reach out to your fellow attorneys (and families) in Greensburg: Charles H. Herd, Candace R. Lattin & Eric W. Marshall. You know what they say about a friend, in need.

Make Taxes Less Taxing — Vow to Get Organized Now

Here’s timely advice from Denise O’Berry at AllBusiness: Tax day is just around the corner. Did you find yourself spending countless hours searching for those all important documents again this year? Filing taxes is a fact of life. Why waste time once a year when taking a few small steps throughout the year can save you tons of time? Make this year the year you take action to do it differently.

To help get you organized, visit www.officedepot.com/getorganized for advice from organizing expert Stephanie Winston, The New York Times bestselling author of Getting Organized.
“Taxes can be less of a hassle if you file receipts and records consistently throughout the year,” Winston said. “It’s never too early to get organized.”

According to Winston, following these steps will help save valuable time and minimize frustration when preparing to file taxes.
Create An Expanding File: At the beginning of each year, make sure to create an accordion file with tabs to store receipts. Label the sections for W2 and Wage Statements, Investments, Mortgage, and so on. Make sure to continue to update these files throughout the year so you don’t find yourself frantically searching for documents when it comes time to file.

Schedule Time For Taxes: Don’t wait until March when the collective panic starts to set in. Make an appointment with yourself or with an accountant by mid-February to get your tax materials organized so you can file on time without an extension.
Keep It Together: It’s important to have a single location that holds all tax information. File any new paperwork in a single place as soon as you receive it to ensure you can locate it when it’s time to file. If you don’t already have a system in place, create one.

Record Storage: Even as you begin to file your taxes for this year, you will also need to start collecting and organizing next year’s materials. To avoid confusion, Winston suggests labeling two sets of accordion folders — utilizing one expanding file folder for the new materials, while keeping records from the preceding year in a separate file.
Additional tips and solutions to get organized and prepared for the tax season can be found in the Office Depot Five-Day Office Makeover, which is available for free download at www.officedepot.com/getorganized