Carl Setzer

Google SketchUp - Home Another tool from the Google toolbox, which seems to just keep on giving. A free gadget that let's you produce basic drawings and other renderings. Reading the review, it seems to be akin to Visio. I've downloaded it and will play around with it shortly.

"The American male doesn't mature until he has exhausted all other possibilities." ~Wilfrid Sheed   Oh, how painfully true this is.

I Think in Pictures, You Teach in Words Quite an interesting article, illuminating my own experiences. This was forwarded to me by a friend, for which I am much obliged. It explains a lot of my own misery.

I just watched a speech by the Heritage Foundation. It's interesting to see those so solidly committed to conservatism speak. They seem quite disconnected from me. One of the more interesting statements was the reiteration of their committment to the free market as well as traditional values (i.e.: the importance of family) without any sense of irony. Are they blind to the corrosive affect of the free market on family? Do they completely ignore the late 18th and early 20th centuries? Unfettered markets are destructive, they devalue the human existance and exacerbate suffering. There are several places I find myself aligned with conservative ideas. For instance, I'm no fan of welfare. However, it's not out of any sense of rage that there are people gaining subsistence without adequate effort. My concern is one of human dignity. The way most US welfare systems were constructed did not provide for getting oneself off the dole. The system actually resisted efforts to improve on...

Clint Eastwood as an Anglo-Catholic Liturgist « haligweorc This title is worth a mint! Derek is insightful and deeply knowledgeable of Anglican liturgy.

Yesterday I read about Michael Savages' ignorant tirade against Islam. I realise I don't have much bandwidth left to deal with this. They don't deserve my attention or energy. It's time to stop giving these people justification by reacting. Ideally, we'd just shake off their speech for the petty and childish behaviour it is. Not ignored, just acknowledge quietly for what it is, and then the discussion returning to a dialog amongst adults. Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Official Gmail Blog: Gmail + chat + AIM = crazy delicious An interesting development. However, it seems pretty one-sided. You can log into AIM from Gtalk, but can you talk with your Gtalk chums from AIM? Not that it matters that much to me. I have a few friends that I regularly chat with in Gtalk, and even more occasionally in Yahoo. As someone who doesn't live in a chat client (well, I use a variant of MS Messenger at work, but that's integrated with the network...blah blah), this isn't too impactful. At one time, though, this would have been huge news.

A goodly amount of blog posts are written in a stream of conciousness style., which may help with the discounting of the medium. I am a great offender in this area. However, I happen to value this way of writing. That might also explain why I enjoy reading blogs so much, too. Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

These were emailed to me over the weekend. Some are new, some are "oldies but goodies", but all are amusing. Enjoy! Here are six reasons why you should think before you speak - the last one is great! Have you ever spoken and wished that you could immediately take the words back...Or that you could crawl into a hole? Here are the Testimonials of a few people who did.... FIRST TESTIMONY: I walked into a hair salon with my husband and three kids in tow, and asked loudly, 'How much do you charge for a shampoo and a blow job? I turned around and walked back out and never went back. My husband didn't say a word...He knew better. SECOND TESTIMONY: I was at the golf store comparing different kinds of golf balls. I was unhappy with the women's type I had been using. After browsing for several minutes, I was approached by one of the good-looking gentlemen who works at the store. He asked if he could help me. Without thinking, I looked at him and said, I think I like playing...

My 5 year old son has discovered Rankin and Bass' "Frosty The Snowman". I, the fan of Calvin and Hobbes, can't help but superimpose "Snowgoons" for "Snowman". Adding snowgoons to the story would certainly add an interesting new dynamic. Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Inside the Black Hole, a Spare Parts Warehouse for Nukes Oh, the things we'd find here. I'm sure it would bring back memories of my nuke days.

Governor declares weather-related state of emergency     This sums up my day nicely. Gah!

Pasta monster gets academic attention - Technology & science- msnbc.com I'm impressed with this piece of satire. Particularly, it does an excellent job at communicating its point.

» Apple QuickTime under siege | Ryan Naraine’s Zero Day | ZDNet.com Calling Apple the next Microsoft due to the security vulnerabilities in QuickTime might be a bit much. QuickTime is used rather infrequently, at least by me. Certainly nowhere near as much as an average Windows user would use IE. This is not meant to minimize these weaknesses, but simply to put this in proportion.

I would never have guessed that I would sit and "watch" Baba O'Riley with my 4 year old son. However, my boy is huge Blue Man fan.

Ok, this is one of the strangest things I've seen in quite some time. These folks have made their own instruments...out of vegetables.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives: TV: Food Network I know this marks me as somewhat less cultured, but I love this show,and am a bit jealous of Guy. This just sounds like a wonderful job, driving around the country and trying out, shall we say "all American fare".