2002 July

This is quite possibly the best portrait that has ever been drawn of me. Then again, it may have also been the first. Even so, I'm extremely thankful – and honored.

Read more on It's Me!…

The Small Business Survival Committee released its 2002 Small Business Survival Index, which ranks the states with regard to a variety of factors relevant to the success of small businesses. Overall, Iowa ranked 44th in the nation and was considered to be one of the least entrepreneur-friendly environments, the study said. Iowa's highest marks came in the electric utilities cost and crime rate categories, where it ranked 12th and 15th respectively. The state's worst score came in the “top corporate income tax rate” category, where it ranked 49th in the nation. Iowa was middle-of-the-road in many categories, ranking 22nd in personal income tax rate, 20 in sales taxes, 22nd in workers' compensation and 21st in gas taxes. Iowa ranked No. 46 in unemployment tax and 36 in property tax. The District of Columbia had the least entrepreneurial-friendly polices, the study said. South Dakota ranked No. 1.

Read more on I Tried To Change This…

D'ya think Toronto could handle a couple of Pirillos? We'll be in SF for the foreseeable future, but after that…?

Thanks to everybody for sending along happy and healthy birthday wishes! Here's the real card the CFH staff gave me at the end of today's show. I thought about staging something but was truly caught off guard when they did it. If you see the rerun, you'll hear me trip over myself for about a minute before I gave the three-finger salute. Anyway, thanks to Evan for the fresh Kenya blend, and to Ginny and Dick for the fresh Peet's Kenya blend. You know me [Gnomie?] all too well. I just wish I had more time to do the things I enjoy doing – like blogging.

Read more on You're Too Cool…

Let the games begin.

Honestly. Today's show. Thoughts?

Just discovered Maltitol the other day.
Great flavor, but I fear the unburned 'carb' may be just as
fattening in the end. Here's the thing I don't understand: why
does a “fat free” label only apply to a food's dormant state in
its package? Plus, I wanna know why everyone who drinks a “one
calorie” soda doesn't look like it. And what's up with trading my
body's life for shelf life (read: what's up with hydrogenated
oil)? Dunno. Random observations from the commissary.

Read more on Is It Bad For Me?…

I'd love to repeat the phrases that spewed forth from of my mouth
when I gave the freshly-released WindowBlinds
v3.4 a run (but
I'll do my best to keep this issue family-friendly). In a word?
AWESOME. Now, I've praised Stardock's software in the past, but
they've really outdone themselves with this revision. I installed
it on my laptop to see how well it faired. You may not believe it,
but there didn't seem to be any performance sacrifice (at least,
visually) – and I'm the kinda guy who notices when things are off
by a few nanoseconds. Introducing non-essential UI elements has
traditionally dogged even faster systems. We may no longer be
slaves to that truth! When you're ready to
download it,
don't let anything stop you. When you're ready to
register
it, tell your significant other that it'll last longer than flowers.
New features include: the ability to
inverse window colors; can now color visual styles that weren't
designed to be colored; GUI controls can now paint different
versions of that control depending on the size; users can opt to
skin only the title bars on non-theme aware applications; etc.

Read more on Blinded By The Light…

I love y'all, but I got caught up in something big. Real big. Bigger than the biggest big thing ever imagined.

Regarding AOL 8.0, as a tester I can say that, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” The desktop colors and toolbar colors have changed, but still perform the same functions. Icons are different. It still has that stupid “Channels” bar on the left that does nothing but get in the way. Realplayer still is a part of the install. It add a tool that runs “outside” of AOL that supposedly makes using AOL a bit easier. IM is now the beneficiary of wallpaper – as long as the person with whom you are chatting is using the same version. Email allows you to categorize it and you can block SPAMMERS a bit easier with the NOTIFY button on the email list. The address book features a few changes that are noticeable as well. Connection options now include something called “Home Network” which seems to be the same as the LAN settings currently supported. It's still a resource hog, still extremely proprietary, and still “everywhere you want it to be.” It is handy for traveling but I would not opt for it unless there were no options. And, if you have made any calls to TS lately you know, their TS department is falling further and further behind. In this case, you don't get what you pay for. I agree with the assessment of ISPs listed in the August 2002 issue of PC Magazine – AOL is way down the list when it comes to quality and support. Maybe that is why I keep on testing in the hopes that I can make suggestions that will improve things in some way. [Scott Holder]

Read more on AOL 8.0…

I don't go to many concerts, but that doesn't mean I don't
appreciate listening to good
music at every waking moment. Tonight, a handful of Bay
Gnomies and I watched They Might Be Giants rock the Fillmore.
Melanie, Steve, Brent, Missy, Robert, Patrick, Gretchen, Matt, and
Mindy had a total blast. Well, it wasn't much fun when Robert got
his digital camera confiscated – but this was a show worthy of
five megapixels
(believe me)! Brent went to
the show last night, and I saw them play on the set earlier this
afternoon. They were selling a new CD (which had JUST been
released the other day); “They Got Lost” is full of a few
previously-unavailable tracks. If you aren't sure about purchasing
it outright, I strongly urge you to sign up for a trial EMusic account and download
a few of their songs in MP3 format. Oh, and check out the opening
act: Noe Venable. She's got
a few free MP3s on
her site, too. Give “Boots” a shot – very nice.

Read more on GnomeREPORT…

Remember the episode of The Simpsons where Bart and Milhouse take over comic book store? Fast forward to the part where Bart and Milhouse are closing up shop. Turn on the closed captioning. You'll see a different dialogue. Milhouse: “I finished marking down the South Park stuff.” Bart: “Better mark it down again. Keep marking it down until it sells.”

Read more on Easter Egg…

1. A cup of coffee looks good in the morning.
2. You won't fall asleep after a cup of coffee.
3. You can always warm coffee up.
4. Coffee comes with endless refills.
5. You won't get arrested for ordering coffee at 3 a.m.

Read more on Coffee Is Better Than a Woman…