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Greetings,
Quotaholics,
I really need a new computer. The desktop that I use is getting really
slow. My Internet Explorer tells me it needs to install Flash Player,
but when I tell it to install I get a message that says it can’t.
Opera however runs Flash Player just fine, so it’s already installed.
Another
problem I have concerns FTP. I need to load the images for RGQ to the
server, however when I try I can connect but the load times out. I get
an error message that says my firewall or anti-virus program is blocking
me.
At any rate, it’s probably time to buy a new computer but I really
don’t want Microsoft Vista. I’ve heard too many bad things
about it. And why should I get a new operating system when I’m
happy with XP?
I can understand that Microsoft wants to market a new product. That’s
how companies make money, developing and marketing new products. But
Vista ran into resistance from the consumers from the very beginning.
Microsoft will let you “downgrade” from Vista to XP but
you have to buy the more expensive Vista Business or Vista Ultimate
in order to do so. Why would you want to buy a premium edition of software
that you don’t intend to use? Because Microsoft say so, that’s
why!
According to Computerworld,
a woman in California didn’t think this was fair and filed a lawsuit
in a Seattle Federal Court. The suit claims that “…Microsoft
violated Washington state’s unfair business practices and consumer protection
laws by restricting computer makers’ ability to offer XP on new PCs
after Vista’s early 2007 launch.”
“‘Microsoft mandates that customers who want to downgrade
to XP must purchase the license to Vista Business or Vista Ultimate,’
said Dell spokesman David Frink last December. ‘[That’s] typically
about a $130 premium, though some retail outlets charge more.’”
The suit claims that Microsoft requires the upgraded Vista in order
to make more profit from Vista. Microsoft spokesman David Bowermaster
denied this.
“‘Microsoft does not charge for downgrades,’ he said
in an e-mail Friday. ‘Some Windows Vista licenses, including Windows
Vista Business and Ultimate, include downgrade rights to various versions
of Windows XP. If a customer exercises those rights, Microsoft does
not charge or receive any additional royalty.’”
Well OK Microsoft doesn’t receive additional royalty on the downgrade,
but they got more money on the Vista upgrade.
At any rate, the lawsuit will continue. Class-action status has been
requested which would allow others to join the suit. But I’m sure
that with the size of Microsoft this will still be in the courts long
after both Vista and XP are long gone.
Shouldn’t a consumer be able to load whatever operating system
they want? I’ve bought several computers that came with XP on
them. Why can’t I transfer XP from one of my old computers. Why
won’t Microsoft allow people to sell their operating system when
they junk their old computer?
Do you think it is reasonable to allow Microsoft to market their new
product anyway they want to? If they are still selling XP should it
be up to the customer to decide which operating system they want? Should
you be required to buy a Vista upgrade first?
XPertly,
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it worth $1 a month to you to keep RGQ going? Please click the
link and direct your contribution to reallygoodquotes@gmail.com.
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“If the NBA were on channel 5 and a bunch of frogs making love was on
channel 4, I’d watch the frogs even if they were coming in fuzzy.” -
Bobby Knight
“The only difference between a good shot and a bad shot is if it goes
in or not.” - Charles Barkley
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Going or Coming
So, I’m on
my way home yesterday and I decide to stop at a bar. Okay, so I’m
on my way home from another bar, but what does that have to do with
anything? So, I stop at this bar, and I’m trying to get up onto the
barstool, and the bartender says, “Hey, buddy, I can’t serve you,
you’re already drunk!”
Now, this is only the third bar I’d been to–or was it the 4th?–
so how could I be that drunk? So I says to the bartender, “Oh, yeah?
Well, if I’m so drunk, how come I can see that cat coming across the
street’s only got one eye?”
“Because,” said the bartender, “that cat’s going, not coming….”
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“If I am what I have and if I lose what I have who then am I?”
“In the nineteenth century the problem was that God is dead. In the twentieth
century the problem is that man is dead.”
“One cannot be deeply responsive to the world without being saddened very
often.” – all from Erich Fromm, born on this date in 1900
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E-Mail
the Imp
If
you were upset or grossed out by my “substitute Viagra”
article, stop reading now. Go to this
internet Jukebox and listen to some 1960’s music. I’m
going to continue with a new discovery of a “substitute”
medication.
There’s
a study that claims depression in women is less pronounced when
the amount of semen they come in contact with increases. We’re
not talking about ingestion of semen exclusively, since it apparently
applies to women who have sex without the use of condoms also.
I’m not going to make this a long article. It’s going to
be short and sweet. Trying to write a whole bunch about the affect of
hormones on the female of the species when it pertains to depression,
coupled with the environmental factors that can modify the chemical
responses in the body is depressing to me. It’s also extremely
confusing. Besides, the more you read after the teaser or lead in paragraph
gets you further into logic and less into the bizarre. I’m going
to opt out right now for some chocolate covered raisins which are my
first choice for an antidepressant since I quit drinking.
I can envision guys reading no further than the teaser and getting all
worked up. I read a little further and a few questions popped up. Just
who did they get for test cases? Obviously females that didn’t
enjoy sex probably wouldn’t be in the tests. Those that enjoy
sex would probably be less depressed with having more sex. Which makes
me wonder how they administered the semen; naturally or with a mini
turkey baster? Did they have guys in the study donating in shifts in
one room, and the gals in another scarfing up semen Slurpees?
Some guys who read the article will be advertising on the internet that
they are opening a clinic to treat cases of female depression. Someone
will take a page out of 1950’s television for an advertising slogan,
a takeoff on “Have
Gun, Will Travel”. Of course our modern day “Dr. Paladin’s”
will have their biz
cards inscribed, “Have Cum, Will Travel”.
I told you to quit reading and listening to music on the possibility
of being grossed out.
The Bad Sied 
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Speak
right up!
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Going
Green
Everyone
seems to be "going green" these days. It seems to be the newest
fad. "Going
Green" is advertised in everything from cosmetics to the family
car. Every manufacturer is claiming their product is environmentally
friendly and lists the ways it feels it meets this criteria.
I
have been amused by advertisers whose products have been damned over
the years because their products are damaging the environment, or have
been doing so in the manufacturing process, are now touting their greenness.
Power companies who burn tons of coal highlight the lack of emissions,
and/or their better methods of transmission. Auto makers focus advertising
on their better mileage than the competition even though their products
contribute the most to the air pollution problem.
Government
and private industry have joined forces to try to get everyone to convert
from incandescent bulbs to the compact florescent bulbs. Automakers
have rolled out hybrid
(gas & electric driven) cars that claim no
better mileage than other conventional petrol fueled models. Wind
turbines are recommended for individual property owners even though
current zoning laws prohibit construction of things this size except
in rural settings.
New
products are being advertised as replacements for traditional products,
much like the light bulbs I mentioned. Biodegradable chemicals are again
in the limelight. With less impact to Mother Nature, biodegradable products
are considered more "green", however, nothing is ever mentioned
about the manufacturing process. Questions arise whether biodegradable
products offer any benefit in the "footprint" the manufacturing
process creates.
"Going
green" is advertised as being better overall. I even considered
it, but I was told green was too close to another contributor’s font,
so I’ll stay red.
Here’s
your quiz:
Have you purchased more "green" products?
Do the "green" aspects of products make you feel better about
purchasing that particular product?
In your opinion, are "green" products produced in more environmentally
sound manufacturing methods?
Is a product "green" because the product itself is environment-friendly,
or that the manufacturing process is more environment-friendly?
As an example, would you buy a hybrid car over a conventional car if
the mileage figures were equal, or if the conventional car got better
mileage?
Going
Green - Not Just The Color Of Frogs And Lawns
Cliff (the High-Tech Redneck who doesn’t rate a fancy ’signature pic’)
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Email Kirsten
“Cleaning
your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling
the walk before it stops snowing.”
~ Phyllis Diller ~
We have officially survived our first full week of fish ownership.
When we picked out the fish and brought them home on Day Zero, we
really didn’t know what we were letting ourselves in for. We knew
that allowing my older son access to a tank of water could be an issue,
since he has an endless fascination with the idea of dunking Mr. Potato
Head. Even leaving a simple pot to soak in the sink is a mistake,
so Lord alone knew what would happen with a five-gallon tank.
We took what preventative measures we could. Our tank has a hinged
lid with a little flap in the front that you just open up when you
need to feed the fish. Once the tank was set up and the temperature
of the water was stable, we figured that we wouldn’t need to open
the lid except for weekly water top-ups and monthly cleanings. So
we invested in a roll of packing tape and simply taped the lid shut.
This worked like a charm until Son Number One discovered the little
flap in the front. Then the packing tape proved to be a massive inconvenience,
because while the flap was nowhere near big enough for Mr. Potato
Head, it was plenty big enough to accommodate Mr. Potato Head’s eyes,
ears, and nose. So I had to remove the tape, open the lid and - er
- fish for Mr. Potato Head’s bits. While I had the lid off, I rearranged
the tank a little to remove the necessity for the little flap. I replaced
the lid, waited for long enough to ensure that the water temperature
was still stable, and taped the thing shut again. This time, I also
taped shut the little flap, since there is a permanent opening in
the back of the lid where the filter feeds into the tank. That little
opening now doubles as the food-dispenser.
That was all on Day Zero. On Day One we woke up, turned on the aquarium
light, and fed the fish. We counted them to ensure they were all OK
- sometimes fish just cannot survive the stress of being moved to
a new habitat. All fish were present and accounted for. We went off
to our various jobs, schools, and daycares. I came home a little earlier
than usual that day. Before we went to pick up the kids, my husband
and I checked out the fish. Sadly, Des the neon tetra had met his
maker and gone to Fishy Heaven. My husband fetched a Kleenex and folded
it into the shape of an elaborate coffin. I fished out The Late Des
and placed him solemnly into the Kleenex. My husband and I watched
him swirl down into his watery grave as my husband intoned some kind
of chant in faux-Latin. It was a very moving occasion.
Days Two and Three passed uneventfully. No fish died, the tank stabilized
and all the fish lost their shyness and found their appetites. No
foreign objects were placed in the tank courtesy of the kids. It was
one big happy aquatic world. On Day Four things got a little hectic.
Son Number Two discovered the little opening in the back of the lid
and showed said opening to Son Number One. My husband went into the
room to discover that the filter had been dismantled, the water plants
were floating all over the place, and both boys were waving their
hands around in the water. Both boys were severely reprimanded and
sent to their beds for time-outs. The tape came off, the lid was lifted
off, and I spent a bit of time reassembling and reorganizing the tank.
The fish, fortunately, handled the invasion into their world without
too much trouble.
Days Five and Six were fine. The boys appeared to have developed respect
for the fish and their environment, and they didn’t try anything weird.
On Day Six, Son Number One spent the better part of the day playing
with Mr. Potato Head in front of the tank. He didn’t seem to want
to leave his pets alone. He wanted himself and Mr. Potato Head to
keep them company. It was lovely to see.
Today is Day Seven, and it’s been somewhat eventful for the fish.
Son Number Two came running up to me as I was making the tea this
afternoon, and he said, “Mommy, I decorated the fishies’ house!” Now,
I didn’t like the sound of that. I abandoned the tea and went
to investigate. And there in the tank were the following: a clean
pair of my son’s underpants; an empty milk bag that I had rinsed out;
a pen; a couple of fake aquarium plants that I had removed.
Heaven only knows what was going through the minds of these poor fish.
With all of this stuff in their tank, they barely had enough space
to swim in. Four of them were cowering in the fake shipwreck, and
the fifth was hiding behind some greenery. Once order had been restored
in their tank, I fed them, and all of them came out of hiding to eat,
which I think means they’re OK.
So now we embark on Week Two. Hopefully it will pass uneventfully
- or as uneventfully as it can when you combine a fish tank with two
young kids.
Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten
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I actually got comments to last Wednesday’s article, so I’m going
to answer them here. I really don’t have anything else to write about.
Pathetically lazy? Perhaps, but I’m on vacation, so the excuse works
for me.
First, Noella suggests, “Tim, you can always tell her it was the
cleaning people who got on. That happened to me once.”
That’s happened a few times, but the problem with that excuse is
I have to then find the cleaning person responsible for breaking into
the computer. Since they don’t exist, that would be like shooting
myself in the foot. But I know it happens, that’s why I always check
to see if they have their password written down on a sticky stuck
to their monitor. This ditz isn’t quite that stupid anymore, but she’s
close.
Then Linda advised, “You know, Tim, just because it doesn’t matter
to you, or even to the whole world in general, does not mean it doesn’t
matter to the ditz. The thought of being responsible for an infection
is scary, and she wants to have some assurance of being able to avoid
it in the future.”
Yes, it is scary. I know I don’t want me walking into my office and
telling me to step away from my computer. But I don’t do that much
anymore. I’m nice now.
I explain that an infection can come from anywhere. Most times you
won’t even know you’re infected. The criminals want your computer
to run as usual while they use it to steal your passwords and empty
your bank accounts. But our firewall doesn’t allow such activity,
so that’s why I’m here. Somebody tried. You didn’t do anything wrong,
and nothing bad happened. I just know about it, and want to fix it.
Linda continues: “It doesn’t matter” that you can’t provide her
that guarantee.
I’m taking this waaayyyy out of context, but yes, it does matter
that I can’t provide her that guarantee. I wish I could. You could
follow all my security suggestions, and still get infected. I can
load software that will tell you something is bad, but I can’t “train”
you not to automatically click OK when you’re directed to a bad link.
You have to figure that one out for yourself.
Linda adds: Just tell her something that calms the fear, like
the fact that you can trace the source of problems and get them solved.
Must work harder to stop all internet crime. Got it..
But
I can’t stop stupidity. After I cleaned her computer and went on
vacation, she got infected again, this time so bad her computer wouldn’t
even boot.. I had her on my highest security lockdown. She is either
a mastermind at giving me grief, or a ditz too stupid to run a computer.
I’m too lazy to decide. Your call.
Tim a’Musing
Having a Ball with Yarns
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Uses for old newspaper
Place on top of snow with bird feed on it
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I seem to be slipping on the quality of my opening lines!
Next opening line…
As I walked down the street in the rain…
Hints:
Here’s a great new rhyming/composition tool. http://www.writerhymes.com/
There’s also a great rhyming dictionary at http://www.rhymezone.com/
Limerick rules. http://freespace.virgin.net/merrick.sheldon/limerickrules.htm
Submit
Opening Line
Submit
Limerick
I
knew a guy who’s so dumb—
That he couldn’t be a street bum—
the look on his face
it just calls for some mace
especially while sucking his thumb. - Cassandra in New York |
I
knew a guy who’s so dumb
He can’t both walk and chew gum
‘Why not?’ we would ask
‘I can’t multi-task’
He’d reply, ‘My brain just goes numb’ - Julian,
England |
I knew a
guy who’s so dumb
He diddled his girl with his thumb.
She turned over and grinned
And said do it again,
Except this time, keep it out of my bum. - Bonnie |
Last night
I had too much green beer
Way too much I fear
When I woke up with my "date"
I discovered he was my mate,
Now, I’m feeling just a little bit "queer". - Bonnie
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A thousand
times I must have told you
No, maybe a million time or two
I say with importance
If I have told you once
You shouldn’t exaggerate (but you knew!). - Anne Onimous |
A thousand
times I must have told you
I don’t know why you must argue
I’m still on that trip
By air, foot, and ship
I’m still searching for Ellyn’s gnu. - Anne Onimous |
A thousand
times I must have told you
I saw a male wildebeest that’s blue
Mate with a big horned sheep
The pic I took (though cheap)
I called of course "what’s gnu with ewe?" - Anne Onimous |
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Re:
Jury Talk
There’s a fairly big difference between an individual reading about
a matter of law, researching criminology, or perusing case histories
in text books and reference documents and the discussion of particulars
in the case for which you’re a juror. That research should be allowed.
You’re allowed to ask for clarification of points of law, but that tends
to slow down the trial process as well as deliberations. You hope the
answers you receive aren’t slanted by the prosecuter
The bias or bigotry of your fellow jurors could slant your opinion Even
scanning media reports concerning your assigned trial could affect your
opinion, we all know that most media reports are slanted, if not based
on media outlet policy, than at least by the reporter.
The one trial I sat in on as a juror was a landlord-renter dispute over
liability for injury. A renter slipped on a flight of wooden stairs
in the rain and sued for damages. The landlord had posted signs on all
staircases that read "Watch your step. Slippery when wet."
The plaintiff’s lawyer claimed that warning signs weren’t adequate and
that the landlord should have applied non-skid material to all stairs.
I did some esearch to see what might be considered "reasonable"
in the way of precautions that the landlord needed to take under the
law. What I found is that what may be considered "reasonable"
has nothing to do with common sense. It boils down to what the jurors
think should be reasonable under or within the specificate conditions
of the litigation they’re involved with. That meant my reasearch was
out of bounds. I don’t think it should have been, but it was.
If all juries were sequestered and isolated from each other, all cell
phones and PDA’s confiscated, and then all other outside influences
were removed, you’d have a solution as impractical as it may be.
As long as we’re are living in the information age, it’s going to be
hopeless task. I suppose you’ll have to rely on the jurors behaving
ethically. Hah! - sied
Re: Cliff and Advertising
Hi Cliff.
Advertising is usually a two-part process of making people discontent,
and then offering a particular solution. The discontent is free and
reliable, the solution, expensive and chancy. I respond to ads that
are local, cheap, and offering something I’ve been missing already.
Occasionally, an ad has tickled my fancy, but I’ve always been bemused
by the effect. Once, when I’d seen no TV for years and been meditating
some, I visited a house that had a TV on. At first, I could barely contain
my astonishment and amusement at the blatant subconscious manipulation
I saw being attempted in the ads. After an hour, I was no longer consciously
aware of it. I was in 3rd grade before my family got a TV, and I have
never had one myself. A friend’s family that were early adopters were
still watching their 4" oval B&W console TV in the 60s. I remember
them when I see the tiny screens that are again becoming popular, without
the bulk. - Bob of the North
Re:
Surveys
Hey Tim–I
was looking at some of those surveys, also, that you can supposedly
do to make money at home. The biggest percentage of them are absolute
crap, they just have endless page after page of offers you are supposed
to fill out to get the freebie. I just wonder if anyone has actually
ever gotten anything from them? I do answer surveys from one company
to which you have to get an invitation to join. I even get paid a few
dollars for each one I complete. It’s not much, but every so often I
can use a few bucks for something and the surveys are quick. If anyone
knows of another one, I’ll swap information with them! - Ruth in WA
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Disclaimer- All quotes printed in this publication are believed to be
accurately attributed, but no guarantees are made that some incorrectly
attributed, or even outright false quotes won’t get in here from time
to time. I assure readers that I will do my best to weed out incorrect
quotes, and will print a retraction as soon as I become aware of any errors.
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