It appears that Microsoft is quietly slipping in a Firefox extension with updates to the .NET framework. The extension is named "Microsoft .NET Framework Assistant" and, based on the description, "Adds ClickOnce support and the ability to report installed .NET versions to the web server." According to reports, this extension:

  • Cannot be uninstalled through Firefox
  • Changes the Firefox user-agent string
  • Does God knows what else

Happily, people have figured out how to uninstall the extension. This move seems pretty dirty to me, but Microsoft has been pointed in this direction for some time now. If you find yourself 'infected' with this piece of malware, do yourself a favor and remove it.

Eye on Springfield

Feb 2, 2009

A week or two ago, I was introduced to the Eye On Springfield blog. For a Simpsons nut like myself, the site is pure enjoyment. According to the site's official description:

Eye On Springfield is a retrospective of Simpsons hilarity spanning from seasons 1 to 9, when it was still funny.

I would disagree with the "still funny" bit; there are plenty of classic episodes in seasons 10 through about 18, though the most recent seasons have definitely fallen off. Site posts range from scenes in an episode, sometimes with an accompanying quote, to sound clips. It's a great site, and I highly recommend it for a laugh.

I'm also glad to see that I'm not the only one who, in the words of Patrick Cassels, has:

that annoying habit of beginning half my sentences with, "Remember that Simpsons episode where..."

This meat sauce recipe makes for an excellent spaghetti sauce, sloppy joe filling, or "meat pie" filling.

  • 1 pound ground turkey or beef
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 small bell pepper (optional)
  • 1 can tomato soup
  • 1 or 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp dried parsley
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1/8 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Pepper
  • Ketchup
  • Grated Parmesan cheese

Mince both the onion and bell pepper. In a skillet, combine the olive oil, minced onion, bell pepper, and meat, and brown over medium-high heat. Once the meat is fully browned, reduce the heat to simmer. Add the can of tomato soup and, using the same can, 1/2 a can of water (don't add the water if you want a thicker sauce). Add the Worcestershire sauce, sugar, and a good squeeze (or dollop) of ketchup. Mix the ingredients together well. Now add the spices: basil, oregano, dried parsley, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, about 1/2 tsp salt, and ground pepper. Shake Parmesan cheese over the top of the sauce, and mix everything together well. Taste the sauce; more salt and pepper may be desired.

RIP Train Sim 2

Jan 28, 2009

As a part of its recent layoffs, Microsoft closed Aces Studio, the team behind Microsoft's stalwart Flight Simulator line of games, and the upcoming Train Simulator 2. According to the report, Train Simulator 2 is officially dead, and will not be revived. The Flight Simulator counterpart may be brought back at some point, but even its fate is undetermined at the moment.

I know I'm one of the only people on the planet who cares about it, but I was looking forward to Train Sim 2. The graphics looked great, and I was really looking forward to the migration to the Flight-Sim game engine. But, alas, it's not to be.

Onward and upward, I suppose.

The Ultimate Apple Ad

Jan 23, 2009

Twenty five years ago today, the oh-so-epic 1984 ad from Apple debuted during the super bowl. This ad is as powerful today as it was back then. If there's one thing Apple can certainly do well, it's marketing. They have perfected the art of making their products cooler than the rest, something lots of other companies would love to learn how to do. If Microsoft had learned how to market as well as Apple, perhaps there would be no Apple at all. But alas, that was not to be (and we're all the better for it).

Here's to one of the best advertisements in the history of advertising!

Avatar Finale

Jan 21, 2009

I just completed the final season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and all I can say is wow. This show is, without any doubt in my mind, one of the top 5 television shows I've ever seen. It ranks up there with The Simpsons and Pushing Daisies, in my opinion, and that's saying something (seeing as how big a Simpsons nut I am).

The series finale takes place across four episodes, each more epic than the one before it (and the episodes leading up to this finale are just as good). There are some excellent surprises throughout each episode, with the vast majority of the lingering mysteries finally being resolved. A surprising twist occurs in the finale's climax, and it's safe to say I was thoroughly surprised. The ending was fulfilling beyond anything I imagined.

If you haven't checked out this series, I cannot recommend it highly enough. I will definitely be purchasing the entire series on DVD (Season 1, Season 2, and Season 3).

There are only two things that could have made the series better. First, I was disappointed that we didn't learn more about the air bender society. If Aang is the only one left, what becomes of their heritage? Has this nation therefore truly become extinct? Second, there were still a few strings left dangling at the series end. I won't list them here so as to avoid spoilers, but I'd love to know what becomes of these threads. Another episode (or two ... or three) would have been really appreciated to see where everyone ends up. Perhaps the creators of the show will come back in the future to wrap up these threads.

All in all, I had an enjoyable time with this series. Even though I'm a little sad to say goodbye to it, I'm oh-so-glad I took the journey. I now have other shows to catch up on, both old and new, and that's what I'm off to do next. So long, Aang and company. It's been a wonderful ride.

Circuit City Closing

Jan 16, 2009

It seems that Circuit City is closing for good. Deep down, does anyone care? Part of me does, and part of me doesn't. I've been to Circuit City probably twice in my life; both times were to pick up games that Best Buy didn't have at the time. Since that time, I've come to hate stores like that (hence the part of me that doesn't care). At the same time, with Circuit City exiting the market, the market for certain things becomes that much smaller. That bothers me, especially since the competition is so lame. What do you think? Will you miss Circuit City?

I never thought I'd get around to saying this (especially so early in its lifetime), but Windows 7 is really starting to appeal to me. Over the past few days, both Gizmodo and Lifehacker have been showcasing some of the cool new features. Several have caught my eye:

The New Taskbar
The new taskbar inside of Windows 7 looks great. Gone is the separation between the quick-launch menu and the standard list of task buttons. Instead, the two have been merged into one entity; very clever! However, I wonder what it's like with a large number of icons. I'm a huge quick-launch user and couldn't live without it. For instance, here on my laptop, I've got 28 icons at my disposal, with another 7 squirreled away in a sub-menu. The screenshots at the Gizmodo story only show the large icons in use. At those sizes, my taskbar would clearly take up a lot of screen real estate. Hopefully, the icon sizes are either settable via a preference or scale down on the fly.
20 New Themes
Windows 7 ships with a total of 20 themes, all of which look fantastic. This will be a welcome change from the 3 ugly themes in XP.
Problem Steps Recorder
Being able to create a web-based slideshow of a problem recreation scenario is awesome. My only fear is that, if it's like any other web-based stuff Microsoft has done, the resulting HTML is bloated, ugly, inaccessible, and devoid of validation.
Improved File in Use Messages
Knowing exactly why a file is in use is totally rad. Why hasn't anyone thought of this before?

Improved performance looks like it will be making its way to Windows 7, another great reason to look forward to the new OS. The sound virtualization introduced in Vista is a great feature, and one I wish existed in XP.

With all of these great new features, there are still a few things I'm apprehensive about. The graphical intensity of it all still seems ridiculous, especially the 'Aero Peek' feature, which feels like a cheap gimmick. I'm not a fan of the ribbon interfaces, simply because it's an entirely new paradigm (I can work with menus just fine, thanks). And what of the new user security model introduced in Vista? Are the problems solved?

If Microsoft continues to head in their current direction, I'll seriously consider upgrading once the OS is released. That's a far cry from my opinions in the early Vista days.

Contact Form Fixed

Jan 15, 2009

The contact form here at this website has been fixed. I did some debugging after my recent breadcrumbs issue, and managed to forget to restore things back to their original state. Many thanks to Archaeopteryx for finding and reporting the issue.

I'm really on a roll for bugs this month, huh? :oops:

Buttermilk Pancakes

Jan 11, 2009

Dry Ingredients

  • 1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients

  • 1 egg
  • 1-1/3 cup buttermilk
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil

In a bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. In a suitable measuring cup, measure out the buttermilk. Add the egg and vegetable oil to the measuring cup, and mix together well (beating the egg in the process). Pour the wet ingredient mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring until blended, but slightly lumpy. Add additional buttermilk to thin the batter as needed (not too thick, and not too thin). Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto a lightly oiled (e.g. PAM cooking spray), 325 degree griddle. Cook until the pancakes are golden brown on the bottom, turning them over when the surface shows bubbles and the sides are slightly dry. Makes around 10 large pancakes.

Where to Buy a Wii?

Jan 5, 2009

It's incredible to me that over 2 years after the debut of the Nintendo Wii, you still can't buy one. Several of the "in stock finders" online indicate that everyone is out of stock. I'd like to get one, but I can't find them anywhere. Does anyone know of a place that might actually have one in stock at some point?

I was in the grocery store last night cursing the paper shopping list I had written out. The list had grown messy from scratching out stuff I had already picked up, and items weren't organized in any fashion, resulting in my backtracking across the store three or four times. So I got thinking about how this is a perfect solution for a PDA. I want a PDA that:

  • Can handle customized shopping lists, saving entered items for future use (perfect for groceries)
  • Can organize said list into categories
  • Has a user-friendly interface
  • Is not an iPhone

Does anyone have any suggestions on what might fit the bill? I'm not terribly interested in using it to do any networking; I mainly want something that can handle data input and the like. Ideally, the device would be affordable, but I'm willing to explore most avenues. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.

Enjoying Avatar

Dec 27, 2008

I am really enjoying the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. This cartoon, which was launched in 2005 and wrapped up earlier this year (for a total of 3 seasons), is outstanding. It appeals to all ages, and is a joy to watch. Here's a brief premise, as taken from Wikipedia:

Avatar: The Last Airbender takes place in a fantasy world that is home to humans, fantastic animals, and spirits. Human civilization is divided into four nations: the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Air Nomads, and the Fire Nation. Each nation has its own natural element, on which it bases its society. Within each nation exists an order called "Benders" who have the ability to manipulate the eponymous element of their nation. The show’s creators assigned each Bending art its own style of martial arts, causing it to inherit the advantages and weaknesses of the martial arts it was assigned. The Bending types are Waterbending, Earthbending, Firebending, and Airbending.

The Avatar is the one person who is able to bend all four elements. He (or she) serves to ensure that the nations all live together in peace. One hundred years before the starting point of the series, Aang, a young airbender, learns that he is the next incarnation of the Avatar (each generation yields one Avatar to preside over the nations). He disappears out of fear of his looming responsibility. With the Avatar gone, the Fire Nation attacks the others, and essentially takes complete control.

As the series begins, two water nation siblings, Sokka and Katara, happen to find the Avatar frozen in a block of ice. They remove him from the ice, along with his giant flying bison Appa, quickly become friends, and set out to help the Avatar master the four elements, so that he may restore balance and order to the world.

I'm currently half-way through the second season, and I'm greatly anticipating the rest. The overall story-arc is wonderful, and each episode also has a great side story. Action scenes are incredible, the animation is fantastic, and the dialogue is very funny. I highly recommend this series to anyone even remotely interested in animated series' (or good television for that matter). I'm really looking forward to finishing out this season and the next!

Breadcrumbs Disabled

Dec 23, 2008

I have had to turn off the breadcrumbs feature here at this site, due to an unfortunate bug causing my contact form to stop working. My contact form is not a part of WordPress (it's a standalone package), and I'm sure that the root cause lies in that fact. I'll work on fixing this issue after the holidays.

Many thanks to Ingo for pointing out this problem.

LOST Season 1

Dec 20, 2008

Well, four years later I'm finally catching up on LOST (hat tip to Dustin). So far I'm enjoying the show: I gave the first season a 4-star rating ("I Really Like It") at Netflix. There's obviously a lot left for me to catch up on, but so far, so good. Mystery abounds, the characters are interesting, and the plot twists and turns all over the place. Hopefully things will start making a little more sense in season 2. Here's a brief rundown of my current opinions of the main characters:

Jack
Probably my favorite character and the most practical (which is why I think I like him best).
Kate
I started out liking her, but the more I see, the more I dislike her. She's "peas in a pod" with Sawyer.
Sawyer
Not much to like about this con-man, though I do feel a little sorry about his childhood trauma.
Locke
Meh.
Jin
I'm liking him more and more. His "business" dealings with Sun's father are mysterious and pretty violent.
Sun
I'm enjoying her character more as well. She's becoming much more independent, and is stepping into a leadership role. Here's hoping that continues.
Sayid
Moderately interesting guy. Definitely someone you want on your side.
Charlie
Another of my favorite characters. I came to enjoy Dominic Monaghan in the Hetty Wainthropp series, and he shines here as well. I know how this character ends up, so it's a bit of a bummer.
Michael
Started out a jerk, but has improved a great deal.
Walt
Along with his dad, he's improved as a character. Gets abducted. Oh no!
Hurley
Another of my favorites, and great for a laugh. Has some of the best lines in the show, and a great back story.
Shannon
One of my least favorite characters. Snotty, boring, and someone I wouldn't want to be around.
Boone
Again, one of my least favorite characters.
Claire
Always seems to get the short end of the stick. Very likable, however, and the kind of person that would be fun to get to know.
Rousseau
I know she's been stranded on this island for 16 years, but someone needs to shoot her. Multiple times. Now.

I'm looking forward to season 2. Do you follow the show? If so, what do you think? No spoilers please.

Netflix Encoding

Dec 19, 2008

I ran across a thoroughly engaging article at the Netflix blog that discusses the various encoding techniques they use for delivering "Watch Instantly" content. It sheds light on a number of the issues they face, and some of the decisions they are making. Silverlight is apparently their future player platform of choice, and the article discusses a little bit about why they chose this path. The technical details are appreciated, and it's cool to see them being open like this. Maybe they'll share similar information about other aspects of their business in the future.

Whither Apple?

Dec 17, 2008

Oh, noes! Steve Jobs is skipping MacWorld! Not only that, but this will be the last time Apple attends the event! What ever will we do? Can Gizmodo survive? What about Digg? The end is nigh. Run; run, I say! Oh, what a world!

DHTML Arkanoid

Dec 16, 2008

I recently ran across an interesting implementation of the classic Arkanoid game. The game is coded completely in object-oriented JavaScript / DHTML. I'm really impressed with what the author was able to do. The game has all kinds of features: a level editor, power ups, decent sound effects, and more.

I found this via a handy list of other JavaScript Games. What a good way to waste some time!

WordPress 2.7

Dec 11, 2008

I have just updated my various WordPress installations to the new 2.7 release. I really like the new admin interface. It's sleek, simple, and doesn't get in the way. The new dashboard is much cleaner as well, and provides some nice new options. I particularly like the ability to hide certain screen elements that you aren't interested in (this is particularly useful on the "Write Post" page).

Version 2.7 now includes an auto-updating feature, which is interesting. I still think that updating via Subversion is super easy, though an auto-update feature is a great step forward for this platform. WordPress is becoming more and more robust, and I'm oh-so-glad I chose to use it.

How Do You Budget?

Dec 7, 2008

When I moved into my new house at the end of September, I took on a lot of new financial responsibility that I've never dealt with before (mortgage, monthly utility payments, outstanding debt on large purchases, etc). As such, I've been a little overwhelmed in trying to keep up with what payments I've made and, more importantly, where my money is going each month. In short, I want to track my money.

There are a number of avenues I've briefly explored, some of which require a lot more effort than I think I'm willing to exert. Mint.com looks really interesting, and looks a lot like what I want, but I'm leery of giving out my banking and credit card information to a third party. The same can be said for Quicken Online. Non-web software solutions are a possibility, but obviously restrict my ability to view the data from anywhere. They also often require more manual input than their online counterparts.

How do you keep track of your money? Do you have a tried and true means of seeing where you spend? How do you keep track of what bills have been paid? Any tips from you seasoned veterans would be helpful for a newbie like me.