Here's an interesting search phrase that brought someone to Ron's Log: "male testicle bags are meant to be level." I'd like to have a little chat with that searcher to try to determine what he really meant.

Ye Li creates 5 minutes of flash entertainment with Billy Joel's We Didn't Start The Fire

Hey! I stood right here, chatted with this guy, and watched the queries flow by. But that great big monitor wasn't present the day I was there.

NY Times caption: "Greg Rae, a Google engineer, scans the company's Live Query display on a 3D monitor." Interestingly, a Google search for the exact string "Texas PBL 730" returns zero hits.

The "top 100 blogs" according to some standard or other.

USS Clueless suggests an explanation for why the Bush administration wants to attack Iraq which fairly closely coincides with my own guesses, except USS Clueless suggests our occupation of Iraq will herald a bright liberated golden age of tolerance in Iraq. Other than that super-pie-in-the-sky dream, here's what I think: Bush wants Iraq as a base from which to prosecute an ongoing war against Al Qaeda. With Iraq we get not only the space we need for military bases, but enough oil that we could be independent of the Saudis. The Saudis could collapse or retreat further into fundamentalist Islam, and we could still be sure that oil would flow. I don't think Bush has any plans to create a liberal government in Iraq like we did in Japan. I don't think he gives a damn about the Iraqis one or another.

Panorama of the Charles River behind the Watertown Arsenal at dusk (using the Canon in stitch-assist mode).

It's great when the first snow of the season is a real one, with lots of sticky wet stuff that clings to everything. I took a buncha photos with the Minolta and put them up on Fototime.

The Liberty Dogs, a weblog solely to discuss the Homeland Security Department. Or, as they say, "The Liberty Dogs is a group of individuals who monitor, report, and bark about Homeland Security Department activities and plans."

An unofficial Google weblog.

SF Board of Supervisors vote to ban Segways from sidewalks. Some kind of vote. I don't know the details of SF city government structure, but the article says that the vote is subject to "final approval" next week and a possible veto from the Mayor, so it ain't law yet. But if it passes…do they really want the Segways out in the street competing with bicycles and motor vehicles? The Segways are slow. If you're gonna have 'em, I think they'd be safer on the sidewalks.

Here's an idea on how to rob an ATM: carry it away with a front-end loader.

John Kass is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune [and, yes, you may have to register to read the Chicago Tribune on-line, just like you do for the NY Times or LA Times, but you can always give 'em a ton of fake info, so don't complain to me].

The son of a Greek immigrant grocer, Kass was born June 23, 1956, on Chicago's South Side and grew up there and in Oak Lawn. He held a number of jobs -- merchant marine sailor, ditch digger, waiter -- before becoming a film student at Columbia College in Chicago. There, he worked at the student newspaper and caught the attention of Daryle Feldmeir, chairman of the journalism department and former editor of the Chicago Daily News. Feldmeir and journalism professor Les Brownlee helped him obtain an internship at the Daily Calumet in 1980, where Kass worked as a reporter until he left for the Tribune.

Look at that. Almost as old as I am. South Side of Chicago, and then Oak Lawn. Not exactly Podunksville. Merchant marine, ditch digger, waiter! And then film school! Now a big-time journalist at a big-time newspaper. What do you suppose are the chances that such a person would never, ever have learned what a "bong" is? Close to zero? So would I. But apparently he's kept his pointy head way, way up his ass…or he's a liar. See here his column of November 21. His reader's take him to task in today's column:

In your column you said, "I had no idea what a `bong' is." Then you said you finally found a definition on the Internet. All I can say is, "Who you crappin'?"
Frank M., River Forest.

Salman Rushdie surveys the peace-loving Muslims of the world and asks where "…in the Muslim world can one hear the voices of the fair-minded, tolerant Muslim majority deploring what Nigerian, Egyptian, Arab and Dutch Muslims are doing? Muslims in the West, too, seem unnaturally silent on these topics. If you're yelling, we can't hear you."

Popular Science article about the technology use in Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers to create battle scenes with thousands of autonomous digital warriors.

Well! I never thought I'd see this common punctuation/grammatical error in the holy NY Times!

Where Would Jesus Park?

A photo taken by my friend John Murphy somewhere in Texas. This dusty, old photo has been living on my kitchen bulletin board for years.

I've replaced a rather unsatisfactory panorama photo of a residential street in Allston with this better one which I made just this morning with the Canon.

I got another posting at the Mirror Project.

What follows is the text of a personal ad that appeared in Bay Windows in 1985. It was considered pretty surprising then, but would probably not even be published now. I kept it because it was so unusual and just ran across it today. I've removed the phone number and PO Box number that were in the original.

HOUSEBOY — STUDENT

This is a very serious-attempt to find one or two very special boys, 18 or 19 years of age (Birth Certificate Required) who are willing to give of themselves in many ways in order to obtain -their education. To be cared for and to be trained properly.

REQUIREMENTS —

Physical:

1. Very boyishly straight appearing.

2. Short — 5'8" or (preferably) shorter.

3. Very thin — 130 lbs. or (preferably) thinner

4. Appear significantly younger than your chronologic age.

5. Extremely (boyishly) handsome

6. Very smooth (beardless) facial skin

7. Little or (preferably) no body hair

8. Large amount of wavy scalp hair

Emotional:

1. Be Gay.

2. Have need to be emotionally and sexually dominated and disciplined by a mature man.

3. Have need to be guided, sponsored, loved and trained by a mature man.

4. Have need to dedicate self to fulfilling and satisfying all the needs of a mature man.

5. Possess I.Q. over 120 and/or a special artistic talent.

6. Have strong desire to advance yourself through education (at academic college or arts school in Metropolitan New York City area).

7. Possess the willingness to work quite hard to attain your goals:

a) School work — Maintain a 3.0 or higher average

b) Domestic duties — Maintain my large home

c) Personal duties — Satisfy my needs as a sexual "slave" and social "nephew."

8. Enjoy being a boy.

9. Be totally honest and trustworthy (references required).

10. Be devoted and dedicated to your sponsor.

11. Be willing to involve yourself on a 7 day/week basis for at least the duration of your studies.

12. Be interested in frequently accompanying your sponsor to live theatre, ballet and opera, to fine restaurants and to sports events, and be able to stimulate him with your insights into the world of arts and ideas.

13. Desire living without drugs, cigarettes, soap opera, T.V., promiscuity and the gay-bar scene.

14. Enjoy living in a 12 room penthouse apartment in Westchester County (20 minutes north of Manhattan, New York City) with a gay (but totally straight-appearing), bearded, youthful, financially and emotionally secure, 49 year old professional man who will be your sponsor, counsellor, master, and uncle.

All costs of your education, food clothing, travel, dining out, entertainment, hospital insurance, etc., will be fully paid for by your sponsor.

This can be the opportunity of a lifetime for one or two special boys who are intellectually and emotionally geared to thrill to this type of lifestyle.

If you sincerely believe yourself to be the person(s) whom I seek, telephone me, collect, at (212) xxx-xxxx

Weekdays: 7am — 8am or 7pm — 9pm
Weekends: 7am — 9pm

If no answer or if line is busy, call again. (no collect calls will be accepted outside of the above-listed hours) You may, as well, send a self-descriptive letter with two recent photos and your address and/or telephone number to:

P.O. Box xxx New York, NY 10462
Thank You
Good Luck


BAY WINDOWS July 26 - August 1, 1985

I've replaced a rather unsatisfactory panorama photo of the Fens with this better one taken in September with the Minolta.

Been meaning to post this photo for quite awhile. It's (L to R) Emrys & Bill, my hosts in California back in July.

Pudic (Adjective)

Pronunciation: ['pyu-dik]

Definition 1: Modest as a result of being chaste, having a very sensitive sense of shame.

Usage 1: American dictionaries no longer list this word but it continues to be used widely in Britain (thanks, cousins). The adverb is the standard "pudically" and the noun, "pudicity." This word is entrenched in our vocabulary from the days when pure and chaste maidens were supposed to be ashamed of their attraction to men. Blushing or, better, fainting at words like "love" and "kiss" were taken as strong signs girls were pudic and behaving themselves.

Suggested Usage: Historically, this word was used to described proper young ladies, "She always lived the pudic life her father wanted, even when he was away with his various mistresses." Of course, it is a mistake to think that just because this word was associated with girls in the past, it refers only to that gender: "Bigelow was so pudic in his demeanor, girls were attracted to him like blind moths to an unlit candle."

Etymology: Latin pudic-us "shamefaced, modest, chaste" via French "pudique." From pud-ere "to make or be ashamed."

yourDictionary.com

The Sigma SD9 is available now. This is the first camera available to use "Foveon X3 Technology": "While current digital cameras capture only one color per pixel, Foveon's new CCD will capture red, green, and blue in each pixel location." The benefits should be better photos, smaller file sizes, simpler cameras. It'll be only $1799.95* at B&H. *Lenses not included.

Imaging Resource review here. They say "Resolution is indeed higher than one would expect from a 3.4 megapixel sensor, but not quite on a par with the current crop of 6 megapixel SLRs from Canon, Fuji, and Nikon." And "Image noise is a mixed bag, with the noise level varying greatly as a function of color."

There's also a first look (inconclusive) review at Steve's DigiCams

Here's a great idea (and we hope the marketing improves): the Netac UCF Card is a compact flash card with the USB connection built right in! No card reader or slot needed. Just plug the card right into your computer via a USB cable. Where can you get it and for how much? Who effin' knows? Theoretically, this Creative New Tech in Westford, Mass., sells it, but I can't find a price or any way to actually order it. These guys in Australia seem to be selling a 32 Mb version for $59 (Australian $).

Netac has some fabulous Chinglish on their site. In the press release for the new card they show us the bright future: "The multifunction NETAC USB-CF-CARD are challenging the traditional CF-CARD and implying it will be the new milestone on digital living road when the digital storage are important same as removable storage." Not to miss this press release: "Netac Shows a Big Pose in COMDEX Atlanta 2002"

Daypop is back up again! Let's hope it stays up now.

The unadorned photographic history of Michael Jackson's face. This site is heartless, mean, and hilarious!

I had never heard of a Holga camera before today, but now I'm interested! Cheap piece of crap that uses 120 film.

• I started here
• Which led to here
• Then here
• Ultimately here

"Venice at Night" by Greg Sterling

In Texas…

It's illegal to "wholesale promote" obscene materials or devices. Texas statute says an obscene device is a simulated sexual organ or an item designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs. The law allows investigators to assume that anyone with six or more of the items is intending to promote them.

…and so the White Oak police arrested the woman.

Here's one of the Zipcar Minis. This one lives in Central Square Cambridge, and it's MINE on Sunday night, when I will use it to ferry friends over to Brian's where he will share his great big TV-thingy with us so we can enjoy LOTR FOTR all right and proper.

New photo of me over to the right (and up) was taken by Ken (see photo here). Both photos taken with the Canon, of course, handheld, no flash.

Woman attempts to lose weight by switching to a semen-only diet! Why didn't I think of that?! [slaps forehead]

A database of 565 priests. It doesn't say Roman Catholic priests, but it does identify the diocese, so they would have to be priests in churches that have dioceses. So for example, no Methodists (no priests) and no Native American religions (priests, but no diocese). Here are the requirements for this special list:

• Database includes priests and seminarians in the United States
• Database includes sexual misconduct: rape or assault with minors or adults, child porn, sex solicitation
• Database excludes nuns, brothers, deacons, and laity employed by church (e.g. choir director)
• Database excludes all non-United States, including Canada and Mexico
• Includes activities which involve sexually deviant behavior (child abuse, child porn, rape), does not include theft, murder, fraud, or drug related activities. 
• Also does not include priest fathering babies, unless allegations of rape or sexual assault are involved.

If you go to their home page you will find a list of the three priests who have been cleared of false accusations.

A "top" cardiologist at MGH had his license revoked for downloading child pornography on MGH's computers. This is astonishing. This guy should be intelligent, but he didn't think that 15 gigabytes of child porn on the hospital's computer would be noticed?? Sure, he was addicted to the porn, but why was he addicted to keeping it in a spot where it was sure to be found? Didn't he know how to burn a CD?

NY Times has a good survey of many of the mini digital cameras that are available right now. They go from low quality to high, ending the article with the Minolta Dimage Xi, which they like a lot.

Pretec will be selling before the end of 2002 their 3 gigabyte compact flash card. No, that should "3 fucking gigabyte compact flash card." While the initial price of $2499 (yes, those are US dollars) sounds a bit rich, that's only $833 per Gb. Amazon sells a Lexar 1 Gb card for $856. At $2499 it's only 81.3¢ per Mb. At that price, my first HD would have cost $16.27.

I got a bit of mail from a reader today to let me know that Mark Ciommo, candidate for Boston City Council, has created a campaign website. And lovely, understated site it is, too! One page, with a simple flash animation. One link to the city's website, and one link to the company that designed his site. Beats all hell out of the website of whoever that other guy is who's running.

Remember these? I spotted this one today in Allston. I have to know why, if they were so sure the rapture would come before Bill Clinton could even get elected to his first term, did they waste money on such durable material? There it is, more than 10 years later, hanging on a completely exposed post, south-facing. It's only suffered a bit of vandalism, but almost no fading or weathering.

• Fotolog looks like a very attractive idea. Someone else pays for the space and bandwidth to put MY photos out on the web?! However, it seems to be down today. Golly. But consider Fotki (similar to Fototime, perhaps) which charges a little bit of money and is UP.
• Ziboy's photoblog
• David F. Gallagher's photoblog in NYC, including the High Line
• Pallalink from Osaka
• la photo du jour
• tenfifteen photoblog
• subinev dot com photoblog
• slower.net photoblog
• rion.nu photoblog
• quarlo.com photoblog

VERY good flash animation!

An Iowa blogger.

Last week I had a visit with Nurse Kevin at Dr. Morgentaler's office. Besides a stimulating discussion, he had my blood drawn. When I called on Friday for the results I was told "our computers have been down for a couple of days so call back next week." I thought that with the money I'd spent there, they could have bought at least a couple of new PCs and networked them. And of course if they had bought Apple products, why, there simply would be no downtime ever! This article in today's Globe explains it. It seems the computers at Beth Israel, whose lab did the blood tests, suffered from system wide crashes repeatedly over 3½ days last week. I smell Windows NT.

But to the point. Here are my numbers from September 11, 2002, when I was a wasted, feminized, girly-boy:

• Free testosterone: 1.7 ng/dL (range 1.5 - 3.5)
• Total testosterone: 335 ng/dL (range 270 - 1100)

By the way, my hematocrit was 44.1% so I was legal for either the Olympics or Tour de France. But no more. Here are the manly numbers from 11/12/2002:

• Free testosterone: 1.5 ng/dL (range 1.5 - 3.5)
• Total testosterone: 485 ng/dL (range 270 - 1100)

Yes. It looks like my free testosterone has dropped. Nurse Kevin explained, however, that over the course of a day the free testosterone level could easily range from 1.7 down to 1.2, so 1.5 really isn't any worse. Well…that's not good enough for me! I want to see the FT level going up, not just holding. Therefore, the nettle root is making a comeback in my morning pills.

• A photo taken with the Canon showing the blue-lighted Zakim bridge and work on the new Green Line tunnel
• Damage on a saguaro cactus. Taken with Kodachrome in the then Saguaro National Monument in Arizona. Late 80s.
• Panorama of the Cambridge side of the Charles from the Longfellow to the Museum of Science. Taken with the Minolta Dimage X.

I tell you, boys, Google has definitely changed their indexing. Based on the hits I'm getting on Ron's Log I can tell you that Google re-indexed SOMEthing on both the first and second weekends of November. They used to re-index the entire web monthly. Now, I can't tell you whether they are re-indexing the whole web weekly, or if they are somehow selecting only parts of it — and Ron's Log lives in the more frequently updated part.

I'm not sure what caused the NY Times to print these two articles at this particular time, but here they are:

• The Pan-Mass Challenge, a popular, multi-day bike ride across Massachusetts that raises money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute of Boston and the Jimmy Fund. Minimum pledge $2000. The ride has never returned less than 90% to the charities. This year the rate of return was 94%!
• The Pallotta [you knew we were going to mention him, didn't you?] Canada-U.S. AIDS Vaccine Ride, which was the most successful of the vaccine rides but had a rate of return well below 50% in 2001, and was canceled this year.

Stanford Guidelines for Web Credibility. Ten easy points. We seem to be just oozing credibility here at Ron's Log, and we could ooze even more if we published our home address (like hell!) and remembered to urn that spellchecker more often.

Frustrated that no one ever buys you anything from your Amazon wishlist, even though it has some very low-priced items on it? Sign up for Secret Santa and let some total stranger take on the role that your friends have neglected.

Finally! Create and distribute your own running commentary on any movie on DVD at dvdtracks.com or listen to the commentaries created by other dweebs.

Check out the blog of Kenneth Sutton (or his home page here). Have I finally found another gay male Bostonian blogger?? Hard to say. Quakerism and knitting and Abe (who's Abe?) may be a smokescreen for stolid heterosexuality. And speaking of gay male Bostonian bloggers, does anyone know what's up with Cory? Nothing posted since August 11. I know I could write to both of these guys and probably get my questions answered, but mystery adds charm, ya know.

Kenneth Sutton

I've taken delivery of the Platinum Edition of The Fellowship of the Ring today. If anyone with a large screen TV would like to share, I'll bring it over!

Oh hey, I forgot to mention that if you have using a Minolta Dimage Scan Dual (or one of any other several film/slide scanners) you want to download Vuescan scanning software. Much better than the software that comes with the device.

I've decided the easiest thing for me to do is to put up a batch of photos from the Canon Powershot G3 at Fototime. If you go to this link you'll be shown an index of thumbnails. If you click on any individual picture, a larger version will pop up. That larger picture is still smaller than my original photo, in most cases. In order to see the full size original photos you can click on the photo (not the thumbnail) or click the "Full Size" icon: 

I can't link to individual photos in Fototime, but here are a few thumbnails from what you'll find there.

All the photos there today were taken handheld. I am not a professional critic (or photographer), so if you are looking for a professional evaluation I would suggest either dpreview.com or Steve's Digicams who has G3 sample pictures here.

Adobe is planning to release a plug-in to deal with RAW mode photos. They demo-ed it on Canon RAW format, so I am pleased. The graphic software that comes with the Powershot handles downloading, editing, stitching and converting RAW images. It works, but I think it's a bit goofy. I'd much rather be able to convert RAW to Tiff in Photoshop.

Recent searches that brought hapless users to Ron's Log:

• gas and lesbian veterans: after I attended the dedication of the gay and lesbian veterans memorial I got gas at one of the stations along Ramon Road heading back to Palm Springs. You'll find plenty along there.
• pictures on Albanians snakes: what can I say?
• ZAKIM-BUNKER HILL BRIDGE best spot to photograph: Get on top of one of the buildings in the West End or Spaulding Rehab, or set yourself up on the Tobin Bridge. Or rent a helicopter. Obviously, none of those are spots you can just saunter into on a sunny afternoon.
• can a man get boil on penis area: well duh!
• Free Prostate Exam Pics: No, sorry, been there, done that, not interested in pictures.
• nude, photography, female, high definition: Ha! Not on this blog!
• sweaty hockey player pics: it's in Dr. Morgentaler's exam room. I don't have a copy.
• what are some culter of mexico: I am pleased when I see someone who realizes he needs to inform himself better.

Renewing "Live Update" subscriptions on Norton Anti-Virus: have you ever tried it? It's an insane circus, a cross between Firesign Theater and Monty Python, but without the laughter. I know it's not just me, because intelligent friends of mine with lots of good computer experience get trapped in the same Bermuda triangle (no offense intended to Bermuda - or geometric figures).

First what happens is that Live Update kicks in, but instead of getting new virus definitions, it displays a message saying your subscription will soon expire and you should "go to the Web" to renew it. There is no direct link or URL provided. In fact it doesn't even say "Norton" or "Symantec" on the message. Just the generic sounding "Live Update." No help button. You can click either "Next" or "Skip." (There's probably a "Cancel" button too). Being the savvy user I am, I clicked "Next," thinking it would take me to a website where I could give them money. Instead, it took me to a screen asking me to enter my new subscription code! I tried my old subscription code from a year ago, but it didn't work, of course.

I launch IE (no need to take this opportunity to find out if Symantec uses some java that Opera won't recognize) and I go to www.Symantec.com and you'll find right there a link for "Subscription Service & Support." But if you go there, it only wants to deal with problems with subscriptions. It does seem that one of the leading problems is "How do I renew my subscription," but they don't give you any answer that works.

I will spare you the endless repetitions of cycles of drilling down into the useless website which offered help on renewing subscriptions on nearly every page, but no link to a place where they would take my money. But after several relaunches of Live Update and closing and re-opening IE, the functionality of one of the pages changed slightly. This page specifically. Right now as I look at it again, if I select Norton AntiVirus and then try to select a version the list displays only the 2002 and 2003 versions. I have 2001. If I select "Other" and click continue I go to a useless page that tells me that phone and "Ask Symantec" support for my product is no longer available. And I should care? Eventually that page changed to show the 2001 version. Ultimately, that was the breakthrough.

During one of the iterations I got to this help page with almost accurate info. Sometimes Live Update does what this page says, and other times it doesn't.

I can't tell you how I did it, but I did eventually renew my subscription ($14.95/year now). I've no idea why they can't make it as easy as any other software registration process. Just gimme a button to buy, take my credit card info and go. They don't need to put you through the process of indicating what product you have, because after getting your $14.95 they give you the subscription codes for a couple of dozen products!

Humpy, nearly naked men dance and prance in this flash animation. WARNING: brief token heterosexual behavior. Notice the subtle references to Missouri. Kikkoman ad.

I avoid linking to Ananova, since the stuff they post is so incredible and you can never check the validity of it. But this thing about a 700 year old Mickey Mouse image is just too good! I especially like the guy who says it's a weasel or a beaver. Right! Didn't he used to have a job at the air force debunking UFO claims? Swamp gas.

John Derbyshire of the National Review has got one helluva hardon for Google.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who jointly founded Google in September 1998 […] are up there with Edison and Marconi, in my estimation. July 1945 brought in the Atomic Age; in October 1957 we entered the Space Age. I'm not sure of the precise sequence of ages after that, but, speaking for myself, as a knowledge worker, this, for me, is the Age of Google.

It's worse than we thought! The Army has discharged nine linguists (six of whom speak Arabic, two Korean, one Mandarin Chinese) because they are gay. We may all die of small pox, nuclear attack, or sneaky sabotage, but as our bodies rot/burn/disintegrate we will be able to proudly assert that our Army is nothing if not a solid bastion of purest heterosexuality. What're the chances they'll take these guys into the FBI or CIA? That would make too much sense: "After their discharges, Gamble and Hicks applied for other federal jobs where they could use their language skills in the war on terrorism, but neither was hired, Gamble said."

Do you suppose the Iraqis are silly enough to excuse gay men from military service? Ha. And double ha!

"There is a delirium that is breaking out at every Dunkin' Donuts shop across the state of Massachusetts that would be hard to capture." That's a lotta Dunkin' Donuts! That quote is from Representative Ed Markey and he's talking about the 2004 Democratic Party convention which is going to be in Boston.

• $20 million in corporate contributions to convince the Dems to come here. But what is that to be spent on? "Kennedy aides said the solicitations were legal and were classified as charitable, not political, contributions, even though the money is to be spent for activities related to the convention."
• The convention will be in the Fleet Center, not the new Massachusetts Convention Center, probably because the convention center isn't scheduled to open until a month before the Democratic convention. Probably not a good idea to use the Democrats for the building's shakedown run.
• It seems someone stretched the truth a bit in the proposal to the Dems by claiming the Big Dig will be complete in 2004! This Herald story says the elevated artery will be completely demolished before the convention! But they might leave part of it up to use as parking for media vehicles! The Silver Line tunnel from South Station to the "World Trade Center" will open in July 2004. And the new North Station "superstation" will also open that month [man! that is slow!].
• Congestion is expected.
• Huh. Look what you get if you go to www.democrat.org
• The party itself is at democratS.org This is not a site I go to much. In their official announcement the Democrats even suggest they might be able to swing a World Series win for the Red Sox that year. Why not? The Dems are always promising things that are none of their business and that they can't deliver anyway.
• In this NY Time story Joe Tecce comes out all for it! For Italian food, I recommend Joe Tecce's to any delegate who has never tasted Italian food and comes from a state where there are no Italians. No disappointment that way. It's very convenient to the Fleet Center.

Don't know how I missed this in all the noise from Photokina, but Minolta will soon release the Dimage Scan Dual III. This is an upgrade from the slide and film scanner that I use (the Scan Dual II). The reviews don't highlight the changes from the II to the III, but I think the major changes are that it will be USB 2.0 and the price is down to about $300 (that is, down from what I paid a couple of years ago). BTW, the Scan Dual II is still available for $250 if you don't need USB 2.0. Maybe there's an improvement in color depth. Here's how it's described on the B & H site:

• Minolta Dimage Scan Dual II: "36 bit RGB, Output data: 8 bits or 16 bits per color channel"
• Minolta Dimage Scan Dual III: "16 Bit per channel input, 24 or 48 Bit RGB output"

Sounds like there's overlap between those two descriptions, but if you are more informed as to these nuances, please let me know.

BTW, it was the purchase of this scanner that convinced me that B & H is a wonderful, wonderful place to do business and that Hunt Photo is dogshit. In the time it took for Hunt to respond very inadequately to my e-mail asking if they had this scanner, I had already ordered and received it from B & H.

Some excellent cartoons here. Besides funny, they're higher graphic quality than most web cartoons. Here is "Christmas Morning at the Spammers"

U.S. Army discharges gay man. This is a little bit more than a "dog bites man" story. The gay man was an Arab linguist. Do you suppose the Army is so overloaded with Arab linguists that they can afford to pick and choose based on who's sucking cock? (The answer is "no," in case you're not sure).

Yer classic AOL consumer: Terry Thompson in McCook, Nebraska, ran up $916 in long distance charges in 3 weeks using AOL's "free" trial. "It didn't make sense to me that they would give me free AOL and then bill me for the (long-distance) time I was on it."

Is The Onion being just a bit more acerbic than usual?

Deadline midnight November 15! Send your very own name to Mars on the Rover mission, which will be launched in two parts in May and June 2003. And remember kiddies, it's NASA, so "Note: It is a violation of U.S. Code to improperly use Federal computing resources."

Here some guy Gareth gives advice on how to write well. It's not bad advice, but if he had read a bit more widely he'd have known that George Orwell had already written it, and better too. I should go find that Orwell essay. And, lo! Here it is: Politics and the English Language.

New public, open air urinals appear in London.

The winners in the preliminary vote for the Allston-Brighton city council seat are Ciommo and McDermott. Two guys with really poor web-presence.

Since I posted my list of candidates last Saturday I received a mailing from Bruno and a phone call with a real live human being on the other end. From McLaughlin I got an automated phone call. If you want me to hate you forever, just use a machine to call me. Funny thing about the phone message McLaughlin sent is that he didn't allow for answering machines. He mentions his name once at the very beginning of the message before voice mail and answering machines would have started recording. Then he goes on and on, and you never get his name unless you wait patiently to the very end…which I did just so I could comment on it here. I also spotted McLaughlin on a public access program on TV over the weekend.

Sims Online this month? The Sims site itself.

"value, diversity and a unique educational experience," at the University of Iowa.

Four virtually unknown Grant Wood paintings surface in Omaha — given to Des Moines Art Center.

Weight limits in air ambulances: if you are more than, say, 350 pounds and counting on a helicopter ride to the hospital when you have your big one, think again!

What the hell is going on with dogs in Iowa?!

• Doberman shot in the head.
• Two dead dogs found by movers in Keokuk.

And this:

HAVELOCK
Missing K-9 dog is found shot to death

Pocahontas County's K-9 dog, which had been missing for about a week, has been found shot to death, the sheriff's department said Tuesday.

The black Labrador retriever named Bear was found Saturday in a ditch in the northern part of the county.

Sheriff Bob Lampe said his office received a call about a dead dog. When deputies arrived at the scene, they confirmed that it was the department's dog and that it had been shot.

Bear disappeared Nov. 1 from the farm where he lived with his handler, Deputy Scott Devereaux, outside Havelock, about 30 miles northwest of Fort Dodge.

Also gone was the family's dog, a black and white collie.

The collie still was missing, Lampe said.

Lampe said Bear, who has been with the department for about five years, had made several drug finds. He also found a 9-year-old boy who'd been lost in a cornfield a few ago years ago, the sheriff said.

Archaeological Collage. Fascinating site for those interested in the transformation of cities. Uses Shockwave to morph old photographs to today's view.

Here's another "Man Bites Dog" story:
Iowa Farm Boy Wants To Be Farmer
Shocking, but true. He's the only 1 of 97 students in his high school class who wants to be a farmer.

Even Future Farmers of America, an agricultural education group for young people, says the overwhelming majority of its members are not future farmers at all. The 75-year-old nonprofit organization now calls itself FFA -- just the initials -- and only 4% of its 461,000 members are considering a career in ranching or farming, according to a recent survey.

Map shows La Porte, Iowa

Daze Reader is a weblog "All about sex, culture, technology, art, politics, gossip, ideas, drugs & rock & roll … but mostly sex." It could be work safe, too, depending on where you work. It led me to this Dear Abby column

DEAR ABBY: My daughter, "Rhonda," hosts several "soft porn" Web sites, and it upsets me greatly. She's 24 and a very bright, sweet and loving person, which is why it's so difficult for me to understand why she does this.

Rhonda earned more than $100,000 last year and has a sizable savings account, but her small business is pornography! We don't discuss her occupation, and no one but myself and my ex-husband know she's involved in this kind of thing. As far as everyone else is concerned, she "designs Web sites."

Rhonda wants me to be proud of her accomplishments, but I'm not. I love my daughter very much and keep hoping she'll grow out of this; however, I'm not sure she will. I hate lying to everyone about what she does, but I would never want anyone to know.

How do I come to terms with this -- or can I?
-- HER LOVING MOTHER

DEAR LOVING MOTHER: You and your daughter have very different moral values. While it's against your principles, what she's doing is legal. She's built a successful business and wants you to respect what she has accomplished.

That said, I doubt you will ever see eye-to-eye on this issue. Love her as your daughter, try to accept that this is a choice she has made, and focus on her positive qualities: She's bright, sweet and loving -- not to mention a whiz at business. At this point, I doubt you can change her.

The schedule for the lights on the Empire State Building. Sometimes ya just gotta know!

Sid Sackson died November 6, 2002, at the age of 82.

Sid, in case you are wondering, was the creator of Acquire

along with 46 other games.

A photo I took at the dedication in May 2001 of the first gay and lesbian memorial to be placed in a veterans cemetery. It's in Cathedral City, California. The ubiquitous Patricia Nell Warren showed up for the ceremony.

Belgian man arms his house with 19 death traps and dies when he accidentally triggers #18.

The Colossal Colon is a 40-foot long, four-foot high replica of a human colon. Visitors who crawl through the colon, or look through the viewing windows, will see healthy colon tissue, colon disease, polyps and various stages of colon cancer. The Colon was modeled after a real colon taken from colonoscopy film footage, and was built by Adirondack Scenic, known for their building of Broadway theatre sets and theme park sets.

And you can visit it yourself by going to "The Colossal Colon Tour." It'll be in Boston Wednesday, October 15 -- Saturday, October 18th, 2003.

"Norwegian penis ring can replace Viagra"

Surfing at work? Check out Ghostzilla for enhanced "discretion."

Years ago I used to get the "Third Hand" catalog for hard to find bicycle parts and equipment. I just re-discovered it as this website Loose Screws where you can get your Presta valve rim grommets for only 60¢ each!

This might be entertaining. It might just be stupid. It might be both. The world is full of lies and ambiguities. I can't figure out everything for you.

A few very effective optical illusions.

Video camera discovered in the Brookline High boys' locker room! Heavens. Whoever the guilty party is, they certainly picked the right school: middle to upper middle class (healthy boys) and an excellent racial and ethnic mix. But the police are claiming that the tape in the VCR shows no boys.

Zipcar update: I've been a member for over a year now (just got billed for my $75 renewal) and Zipcar is one of those things that works so well I hardly think about it. They've got 100 cars around the Boston area now. They've also got cars in New York City and Washington, DC. Every time I've needed a car I've been able to reserve one that was conveniently near. It was always there at the reservation time. The cars have all been in good shape, clean and running well. There's never been a billing error. I can cancel a reservation up to 2 hours before it starts (I think it's 2 hours) and not pay a dime! And I've done that, too. I've had no problems using the gas cards (each car is equipped with a credit card for gas). Things have gone so well, I feel obligated to list here ALL of the offnotes during the last year, so you can see how ridiculously minor they are:

• The car I most frequently use has handcrank windows. Most have power windows, but this one is only 2 blocks from home and is the cheapest ($5 an hour) so I tolerate the windows.
• Once, one of the front tires seemed to be losing air fast. I finished my errands and returned the car to its spot. Went home and called Zipcar and left a message saying what tire and what car. When I took it out again a week later, it had a new tire.
• Once I got a car and the fuel level was just a hair below a quarter tank. That's not supposed to happen, but it was such a thin hair I didn't bother to report it.
• Once when I returned a car some blind fool in a big Mercedes had parked in my assigned spot, which spot is outlined in bright green paint and identified with an obvious sign. I parked next to it and reported this offense to Zipcar. Theoretically they could have towed the offender, but they probably didn't.
• Once an earlier driver left a bottle of water in the car. I didn't drink it, but left it there. I had once left something in a car and went back a week later to retrieve it and it was still there in the glovebox.

That's all! They're cheap, too, in case I didn't say that already. If you're thinking of signing up, I'm sure I can get a referral credit, so e-mail me first and I'll check on what you or I need to do.

Exciting news at Zipcar is that they've bought 3 Mini Coopers for the Boston market. They haven't put them out for our use yet, but have warned us there will a $1 premium added to their hourly rate. You will get pictures as soon as I get to test one of those!

A Mini Cooper - not a Zipcar

And on that subject of referral credits and things that work well, Netflix is similar. Works really well, and I can get a credit if I refer you. Same deal, just drop me a note about Netflix before you go to sign up.

This is very strange. I think with a little redesign it might go over well in the backrooms of certain gay bars.

Thanks Alexandra!

What the hell?? In New Mexico:

Voters also defeated a proposed amendment that would have removed language in the state Constitution that prohibits Asian immigrants from owning land. With 98 percent of the precincts reporting, 47 percent voted in favor and 53 percent against the measure. New Mexico and Florida are the last two states to have such a law on the books. Kansas repealed a 1933 state law in May.

The language in the Constitution that prohibits aliens "ineligible to become citizens" from owning property was common at the turn of the 19th century and was aimed at Asian immigrants, who came to the West to work on railroads.

While Asians and people of Asian descent own property here, supporters of the amendment say if their rights are guaranteed by only the U.S. Supreme Court, the composition of the court could change in a way that would put those rights at risk.

I find this hard to believe. Maybe the ballot wording was confusing?? I hope!

Florida has a similar law.

Residents of Allston-Brighton (map | aerial photo): you've got one more vote to cast! I don't know how this scheduling came about, but the primary election to replace Brian Honan on the city council is coming up on Tuesday, November 12. Yessirree, you read that right. One week after the election, and it's already time for another. Vote, vote, vote. The final vote will be on December 10! Every time I turn around this democracy thing is slapping me in the face.

You can be assured there are no libertarians running. So how to vote? I think I'll take a look at the web presence of the various contenders. It's a shallow approach, but, look, if somebody is invivisible on the web, then how could they represent the bustling mongrels of Allston-Brighton?

• Cathi Campbell has her own website, not 100% up-to-date, but she's got kids. Is an attorney (not good), and seems to be a runner!
• Rose Hanlon has a campaign website — a website that is mostly incomplete. But she seems to get herself around. Here and here. She brought the refreshments for the 9/11 anniversary memorial in Oak Square.
• Arturo Vasquez is a different character. A genuine Mexican! We don't have many of those in Massachusetts. Born in Acapulco, studied at the University of Texas. Moved here only in 1986. A ballsy architect, I guess. His architectural firm has a website.
• Mark Ciommo is executive director of the Veronica B. Smith Multi Service Senior Center in Brighton, so we see his name mentioned in several spots on the web because of that. But the Senior Center itself doesn't seem to have a website. Pretty lean web pickin's for Ciommo.
• Jerry McDermott, no website, but his realty business has one. A not very complete site, though. Check this page where a photo of seven people is captioned "From left to right: Jerry, Susan, Aveen, etc." Further down the page you'll find this: "Jerry, I need you to write something here. Also, we'll replace the photo with your staff." and the Listings link simply doesn't work. Really bad! When you float over the Rentals link it changes to Services. Glitch. And the three rental links you find there are broken. Hope he hasn't paid much for the website work. He worked for Joe Kennedy II for a bit, and his campaign flyer shows him standing between Joe and John Kennedy, Jr in Brighton Center. In an unwise move, he made that a small photo off to the side. The big highlighted photo in the flyer is a family portrait of him and his 9 siblings when he was about age 5 or so. (Which he duplicates on the front and inside. What is the point Jerry?! Do you want to let us know your mother was abused?) Man, I'd've made the Kennedy photo big, bright and centered. It's Brighton! Everybody who grew up here had a big family. And everybody has a picture with a Kennedy. But not everybody has a picture with TWO Kennedys, and one of 'em John Jr.
• Gary Dotterman, much to my amazement, seems to be gay and a communist (or Marxist, if there's a distinction) as shown in this article on the Communist Party USA site. Yikers. He fails to mention either of those facts in the campaign flyer he mailed me. Some people argue that gayness is irrelevant in an election, but I'd hardly think communist party affilliation would be considered irrelevant. I don't recall ever running into this guy, but it's not likely I would. He's a union member and may work for UPS.
• John Bruno has made no contact with me at all. Brookline Bag & Paper seems to be his business. He seems to active in the Brighton Board of Trade and understands that housing shortages are best addressed by the rapid creation of additional housing [as opposed to rent control, I say].
• Dan McLaughlin has also made no contact with me, but he's got a website. Looks like your basic working class, liberal, Democrat Catholic. Yeah. We need another one o' those! "Post Election Party at the Green Briar" O ay! Traditional Boston politics. Wonder who's a-buyin'? A fine group of Irish organizers he's got there.
• Mark D. Trachtenberg, former librarian, hsn't found me in his card catalog yet. Apparently class of '82 at Johns Hopkins. He writes (in February 2000) "In September I started my new assignment as a tax librarian at the Massachusetts Department of Revenue in Chelsea, Massachusetts. I am still studying part-time for my MBA in the Public Management Program at Boston University. Greetings to my cousin, IVAN STRUNIN '77." And he's a member of the Business and Finance Division of the Special Libraries Association.

My sparse postings recently can be attributed to my new camera, the Canon Powershot G3. 4 megapixels. Suddenly every photo is consuming 4x space and time than I'm used to. We've had to do a bit of backing and filling, buying some new computer bits to help me deal. The interface on the camera itself is wonderful. After only 1½ days I was able to operate the buttons in the dark flawlessly. Almost. Somehow I unknowingly set it to shutter priority mode for some night shots. Fortunately, I had also unknowingly set the shutter speed to 1/60, so the pictures came out okay.

But to the point: I've already produced some really good photos, and they will be showing up here shortly.

I've just finished watching The Bridges of Madison County. Kee-rist that was tedious! It took me all week. I could hardly take more than 10 minutes at a stretch. I suppose it must ring the bells of lonely heterosexual women in dead end relationships. Highlight was seeing the hair on Clint Eastwood's back. As far as I'm concerned, Winterset Iowa is the birthplace of John Wayne. End of story.

A short history of the use of blue in technology ultimately leading to blue LEDs (and thereby white LEDs) and that really cheap bike headlight I just bought. It all starts with Blaupunkt.

In the midst of the gloomy news that our nation is sliding into a shallow pit of gray scum comes a bright (but not quite bright enough) light: Question 1 to repeal the Massaschusetts income tax got 47% of the vote yesterday! Failed, but frighteningly close for those who are so satisfied with the status quo.

You know you've always wanted to own a MIG 21. This one's for sale, and it's sitting pretty right there in Santa Maria, California. As I write, the bid price is only $62,400.

P.S. It runs and still goes supersonic.

The Boy Scouts make it official as they give the boot to their 19-year old atheist Eagle scout and assistant scoutmaster.

Young Justin Timberlake becomes tongue-tied when questioned about his gay following by HX.com. [No, this was not just a weak excuse to include a link to HX which, by the way, is definitely not "work-safe") Ah, yoot!

Here's the original HX article.

A wonderful bit of writing came to me today via a Yahoo Group where the thread was concerned with the safety of hiking in areas where there might be poisonous snakes. [Yes, I might dabble in such macho things, but I try to be discreet about it.]

Subject: Re: encountering critters when out for a hike...
Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2002 20:53:26 -0800 (PST)

I live in Az and rattlesnakes DO NOT always rattle. I had one under my water tank that was so docile that I had to pick him up and move him. I think he had just eaten. Another time I was walking into the laundry room and I thought "fucking dogs shit in here Damn It! Then I thought , shit doesn't have diamonds. 'Bout a three foot rattler. Moved that pup too. Hold their head down with a stick and grab them right behind the head and then toss them somewhere (preferably across an irrigation ditch). One time I walked into my shop and thought I heard something like a spring or one of those Katadid things. This snake was under a bench and pissed. I took the 12 gauge and shot through the bench and made a two part snake. A .44 with shot loads is also great for clicking their off switch. A .22 is bullshit, they can still hook you with one fang and that's all it takes. Just back off when you see one, remember, you're in their backyard. Would you be pissed if someone came in your yard? We all live on this planet, think before you put your hand on a rock above your head, and if you see a snake, steer clear. You are too big for him to eat and that is what his venom is for, getting fine dining. Don't fuck with him and he won't fuck with you. Sounds like the streets of Tucson with the gangbangers, huh?

Kent Freeland - Tucson, AZ

Some photos:

• The view from atop Hoover Dam, looking downstream.
• Part of the memorial at Hoover Dam.
• Boats tied up at MacMillan Wharf in Provincetown.
• An exhibit at the Museum of Science.

susannah likes Ron's Log, and some of you will like her's too. For example, amongst the credits in her bio: "'The E! True Hollywood Story: Larry Flynt,' where she accidentally condoned urination-porn." Hey, I saw that program!

Fun, interesting, well-made site.

You can e-mail Saddam, but there's no guarantee he'll read it. Story here.

In a horrendous bureaucratic fuck up, the Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center left a body decomposing in its morgue for almost a year. He was brought to the hospital for a drug overdose. When he died they did not report it to the coroner. They listed him as a "John Doe" even though he had his own name tattooed on his neck, along with his gang's name on his back and his son's mother's name on his leg. When the family came to the hospital with a photo shortly after his disappearance the hospital told them he was not there.

Homo e-cards.

Some of the places where I go trawling for interesting and timely web bits:

• Metafilter
• Daypop (down again)
• Blogdex
• Yahoo's Most E-mailed News Stories
• Webqueeries (pretty sparse)
• Gaymundo (also sparse)
• Bay Windows
• The Los Angeles Times obituaries (the washed up and forgotten)
• Blog Of The Day
• Obscure Store (a rich source!)
• Robot Wisdom (technology, by the same guy who does Obscure Store)
• Gizmodo
• BoingBoing
• Everlasting Blort

Google Glossary

Onelook, a multiple dictionary search site

Salman Rushdie clarifies the reasons for (and against) "regime change" in Iraq.

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe will be monitoring the election in Florida. The delegation includes Russians and Albanians. What, no Jimmy Carter?

Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (Platinum Series Extended Edition) will be coming out on November 12. You can pre-order at Amazon, ya know. This version is 30 minutes longer than the theatrical release. The movie consumes 2 discs; the package includes a total of 4 discs. Includes a coupon for one adult admission (up to $10.50) to The Two Towers in December. Four commentary tracks. DTS ES 6.1 audio. $26 at Amazon. Wowzer. Remember the days when a single VHS tape of some feature films could cost nearly $100!?

The Globe's interview with Carla Howell. (A copy of it here)

photoblogs.org: "Photoblogs.org is a resource designed to help people find high-quality photoblogs."

What is a photoblog?

A photoblog is a type of blog that is regularly updated with photos. Some photoblogs focus only on photography, while others have photos in addition to other content. All photoblogs, however, consider photos to be an important part of their chronological blogging structure.

Based on that generous definition, I seem to have a photoblog.

photojunkie.org

And, to prove my worthiness, some photos. Y'all remember Ellis The Rim Man, I'm sure. It's now finished its transformation to a charter school, the Media And Technology Charter High school, or MATCH school.

Note the seismic reinforcements, which are pretty rare in these here parts. But I suppose if you're going to put children into masonry construction, you've got some obligations. Another photo here which is a closer view of the street level front of the building.