Things I've learned about Seattle

I’ve learned a few things about my new hometown since moving here. Some of them are apparent as soon as you step off the plane, while others are more subtle.

  1. Seattle is so liberal that one of the sections, Ballard, sent not one but two Kucinich delegates to the DNC.
  2. In Capitol Hill, the area I live in, if you’re not pierced, tattooed or gay you’re generally considered an outsider. You get bonus points for looking like The Ramones.
  3. You need a tape measure and a compass to park.
  4. All the rumors about people in Seattle taking their coffee seriously is the understatement of the century. I hear oders like “grande non-fat latte with extra foam” every day in any of the 3 (yes 3) Starbucks in my building.
  5. Don’t walk on the metal parts of the sidewalk when it’s raining.
  6. The rain is actually more like mist and nothing like the rain back in the midwest.

Overall, I rank Seattle behind only a few of the cities I’ve visited in my few years on this planet. San Francisco is still tops and San Diego is either tied with Seattle or slightly ahead.

How Google Works

Getting to the top of search engines can be a daunting task. Just ask anyone who has tried. Because a certain someone is a famous heavy metal guitarist it is doubtful I will ever be numero uno on any search engine, much less Google, but there are things you can do.

First off, you can read The Anatomy of a Search Engine written by the founders of Google when they were still graduate students. The formula for PageRank is described as are the basics of how Google indexes webpages. It may not seem ground breaking now, but at the time it took the search industry by storm and, since then, Google has been the defacto standard in searching.

Some things to check out are their idea of building a feedback system into Google to rate result sets and their discussion on advertising.

What You'll Wish You'd Known

I ran across a great story that fits in nicely with a conversation I had early this morning about going after your dreams. I was discussing with Rob my recent web endeavors. I mentioned I was trying to build a few small websites large enough to pay the bills. He talked about how he wanted to take his writing more seriously. Today I found an essay titled What You’ll Wish You’d Known about this subject. My favorite quote:

I’m not saying there’s no such thing as genius. But if you’re trying to choose between two theories and one gives you an excuse for being lazy, the other one is probably right.

I’ve started to seriously work on creating a website or two that can sustain my needs and I’m going to either fail trying or succeed. Personally, I’d rather fail trying than not try at all.

Image Hosting Site

I’ve recently spent a little money and quite a bit of time completely rewriting a side project of mine called Picture Corral that does image hosting. I’m pretty proud of the cool features I was able to build into the new system. A few of the image and photo hosting features include:

  1. Unlimited uploads and bandwidth
  2. Email images as attachments into your account
  3. Share images with folders that double as photo albums
  4. Import entire ZIP archives of images (ie. put 10 images in a zip file and upload the single zip file)
  5. Works great for auctions, avatars and bulletin boards

At any rate I’m getting a crash course in internet marketing. Thankfully, I have a few friends who work in the business and they are giving me pointers.

Crash Blogs

Taking the lead from Emma, our cat, Crash, has created an online space for himself. Lauren set it up a few days ago and, I must say, it’s pretty funny. I wouldn’t expect any less from Crash, though. My favorite quote from his first entry:

Once we made it to Seattle I started adjusting to my new surroundings. Just when I settled in, my parents decided to adopt another pet. I was no longer king. I now had an evil half-sister. A scrappy, hyper chihuahua. Her name is Maya but, for the purposes of this diary, she will be known as my arch nemesis.

See what cat owners do in their spare time? Yes, we’re losers.

Gay Marriage Used in Defense of Domestic Abuse

You all asked for amendments in state constitutions banning gays from marrying and about 12 of you states got it. One of the side effects is that experienced lawyers from places like https://www.colepaschalllaw.com/ are paid to find loopholes opened by new laws and they’ve found a huge hole in Ohio’s ban on gay marriage. The new Amendment states the following:

Article XV

Section 11. Only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this state and its political subdivisions. This state and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage.

You see that last sentence there? It’s causing a bunch of problems for prosecuters in domestic dispute cases.

In at least two cases last week, the Cuyahoga County public defender’s office has asked a judge to dismiss domestic-violence charges against unmarried defendants. The attorneys in the two cases argue that the charges violate the amendment by affording marriage-like legal status to unmarried victims who live with the people accused of attacking them.

If these defense attorneys win dismissals then you better run for cover, because victim’s rights advocates will be on the war path to get this and similar amendments removed from the books. Visit website to learn how to defend your rights in such situations. You see what happens when you try and create double standards? Eventually, in a free country, they can turn on you.

Beating iPod's not-so-randomness

It has been mentioned on other sites that iPod’s aren’t very random in their shuffling. I have lots of problems with my iTunes not playing songs that I want to listen to for days and days. I’ll be lucky to hear a song I *really* like once every month. I’ve created a playlist to get around this by doing the following:

  1. Create a new Smarty Playlist
  2. Put one of the criteria as “Last Played”, “is not in the last” X and “days” (I put 10 in for days)
  3. Add a “My Rating” criteria (I used greater than 2 stars)

Now you have a list of songs you haven’t heard played in the last 10 days that you have rated highly. The songs pop off this list as you play them so it will eventually exhaust itself.

ACLU Documents Point to Executive Order

The ACLU has posted some interesting documents they received through a FOIA request. The following was an email from what appears to be an FBI agent in Iraq dated May 22nd of 2004.

We also have instructed our personnel not to participate in interrogations by military personnel which might include techniques authorized by Executive Order but beyond the bounds of standard FBI practice.

We are aware that prior to a revision in policy last wee, an Executive Order signed by President Bush authorized the following interrogation techniques amonth others sleep “management,” use of MWDs (military work dogs), “stress positions” such as half squats, “environmental manipulation” such as the use of loud music, sensory deprivation through the use of hoods, etc.

I have been told all interrogation techniques previously authorized by the Executive order are still on the table but that certain techniques can only be used if high-level authority is granted.

So there you have it. The President authorized, through and Executive Order, the use of military dogs, sleep deprivation, hoods, stress positions and sensory deprivation. According to the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War the following are rights of POW’s.

1. Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.

To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:

(a) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;

(b) Taking of hostages;

(c) Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment;

(d) The passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.

I would say that the sexual degredation clearly violates clause (c), while the use of military dogs clearly violates clause (a).

I love slippers

Why aren’t slippers socially acceptable public footware?

I’ve never been much of a slipper man, but since I received a pair for Christmas I’ve become addicted to wearing my slippers. I suppose I get this trait from my father, who is an avid slipper fan (we won’t even start talking about his socks obsession).

Lauren thinks it’s simply abhorrent that I wear slippers outside of the house to do anything but check the mail. I, on the other hand, think it’s perfectly fine to wear them to the local coffee house or down the street to where we sometimes eat dinner. My slippers are extremely comfortable and are not bad looking so I don’t see the problem.

The next step is to strategically put a pair of slippers at the office and other places I frequent.

Things you have to believe to be a Republican today

  1. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush’s daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him and a bad guy when Bush needed a “we can’t find Bin Laden” diversion.
  2. Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.
  3. The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing UN resolutions against Iraq.
  4. A woman can’t be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multinational corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.
  5. Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.
  6. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while slashing veterans’ benefits and combat pay.
  7. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won’t have sex.
  8. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our longtime allies, then demand their cooperation and money.
  9. Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.
  10. HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.
  11. Global warming and tobacco’s link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.
  12. A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense.
  13. A president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.
  14. Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.
  15. The public has a right to know about Hillary’s cattle trades, but George Bush’s driving record is none of our business.
  16. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you’re a conservative radio host. Then it’s an illness, and you need our prayers for your recovery.
  17. You support states’ rights, which means Attorney General John Ashcroft can tell states what local voter initiatives they have the right to adopt.
  18. What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the ’80s is irrelevant.

Thanks Chad!