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Putin Pockets Super Bowl Ring, Hilarity Ensues
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06/29/05 01:45 PM EST
posted by JER email web |
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 This sounds like something out of an episode of Three's Company but the AP is reporting that Vladmir Putin may have "accidentally" stolen Patriots owner Bob Kraft's Super Bowl ring. This seems like a good time to take a cheap shot at the Russian economy or Vladmir Putin's "pure soul", but honestly I'm just too surprised that no one said, "Hey Vlad, what the hell are you doing?" to make any comment at all. |
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What does Travis Hafner have in common with the Donk?
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06/29/05 12:12 PM EST
posted by alex email |
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So I am sitting here doing my work with today's gamecast of the Tribe BoSox on in the background. The tribe just went up 2-1 in the 6th off of a Victor Martinez homerun, but Manny just hit a double to dead center in the bottom of the 6th with no outs.
Anyhow, I was thinking of last night's game with Hafner's Grand Salami of about 310 feet around the Peske pole to win it in Boston. Then I remembered something I had heard a while ago.
Those of you that follow the tribe know that Hafner is an ugly dude. He is so ugly that his fellow players game him an "Ugly Nickname" of "Pronk." 
So you may be wondering, what does Pronk stand for? Well, I can tell you.
His team calls him Pronk, short for "Part Project, Part Donkey." And after last night's blast to win it, I would say he is a park Shiny Donkey. That is what he has in common.
And now, Trot Nixon just made the tribe pay with a 6th inning double to score Manny. Oh Manny, why have you done us so wrong? 2 - 2, all knotted up. |
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Grant Arnow back on TV... on Fire Me...Please
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06/26/05 10:44 PM EST
posted by JER email web |
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From 1997 - 2000 I was in an acapella group at Miami University known as Almost Five (five members, but one was really short -- weren't we clever...). One member of the group, Grant Arnow, was famous for two things: 1) taking his balls out at inappropriate times and 2) winning the MTV Spring Break Karaoke Contest, broadcast nationally 100s of times on MTV in the spring of 1999. The Karaoke Contest was American Idol before such a thing led to fame and fortune (and instead of Simon, it was judged by the not-yet-famous Kid Rock).
Anyway, Almost Five was all ready for our spring concert in April '99 when, the week of the show, Grant managed to secure an interview with MTV for a VJ job. He'd always wanted to be a rock star and this seemed like a great opportunity to get into the music business. So to make a long story short, Grant ditched us, we managed a decent performance without him and the VJ gig fell through.
Despite his bad fortune, I always knew I'd seen him on TV again -- but tonight's appearance wasn't quite what I had in mind. I Tivoed a new reality show, Fire Me...Please, a few weeks ago and just got around to watching it tonight. In the premier episode, Grant is an unsuspecting barista in who deals with a new employee's wild antics. Well, his 2 TV appearances still trump my 0, though I'm hoping to change that with my own reality show this summer, Blogging...Live!
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Darth Cruise
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06/24/05 09:04 PM EST
posted by nate web |
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In case you missed it being sent around the interweb...
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Many of us remember Paul Anka from such late '50s hits as Lonely Boy or Put Your Head On My Shoulder. Others know him as the producer of Michael Buble's jazz/swing albums. A 3rd group remembers him as the jingle guy from one of The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episodes ("To stop those monsters, 1, 2, 3...").
However you know of Paul Anka, he has a new album out, Rock Swings. While his performance is great, the song choice is so bizarre the album borders on Shatner-esque absurdity with "swing" covers of Wonderwall, Blackhole Sun and the "jazz classic" Smells Like Teen Spirit.
After all these years it really is remarkable how smooth Anka's voice is and the production quality is top notch. Anka is no longer the whiny spurned lover of his early days, the one who once told Dion (The Wanderer) that when you sing you "have to make the girls feel sorry for you." This new incarnation sounds like a mix of Darin & Buble. However, when Buble covers a song like Can't Buy Me Love, you're nearly entranced into believing it was meant to be a swing song -- he's that good. When Anka gets to the chorus of Bon Jovi's Eye of The Tiger, though, you're painfully aware that he's gone off the deep end. Taking risks is great, but setting Kurt Cobain & Bon Jovi to big band music? The world is not ready yet... |
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In honor of the oasis concert I'm catching in Philly this weekend, here's a great Noel Gallagher quote. |
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Windowed Controls and the absurd SELECT box "feature"
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06/22/05 12:56 PM EST
posted by JER email web |
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If you've ever written a DHTML menu, you've no doubt seen the IE 5.5+ bug that positions SELECT boxes on top of DHTML controls. No matter what you use as a z-index value, your menu simply will not appear in front of the select box. The "how and why" of this behavior is explained by Microsoft here: INFO: How the Z-index Attribute Works for HTML Elements
One workaround I've used in the past (I think I stole this from Blearns) is to hide all select elements when the DHTML menu pops up, then make them re-appear when the menu is minimized. This is Microsoft's 1st suggested solution & works like so:
for (j=0; j<document.forms.length; j++) {
var thisForm = document.forms[j]
if(thisForm.elements != null){
for(i=0; i < thisForm.elements.length; i++){
if(thisForm.elements[i].tagName == "SELECT" { // you can also use .type = "select-one", I believe
thisForm.elements[i].style.visibility = "visible";
}
}
}
}
That gets the job done and is barely noticeable, but I've received feedback that it was "a hack" or "disorienting." Another solution that I implemented this morning was inspired by Microsoft's bizarre explanation of how an iFrame is a "windowed control" but also somehow isn't a windowed control, because it can interact with both windowed & non-windowed controls. It's just as much of a hack as the first approach but is unnoticeable by the end user. Based on Microsoft's gobbledy-gook explanation, my theory was that one can sandwich an iFrame between a DHTML menu and a SELECT box, which will hide the SELECT box. After some tinkering, I came up with an iFrame solution works like so.
1. Create your DHTML menu however you normally do it but place an iFrame immediately after your control. Notice that the iFrame is not displayed by default:
<span id=myDhtmlMenu onClick="drawMenu()" style="position:absolute; z-index:99; width:200px; height:100px">Click Here!</span><iframe id="myIFrame" style="position:absolute; display:none" frameborder=0 scrolling=no marginwidth=0 src="" marginheight=0> </iframe>
<p><select id=someAHoleSelectControl><option value=1>Some Select Value</option></select>
2. In the drawMenu() function, you can then resize, reposition and lower the z-index of the iFrame to achieve the "hidden SELECT'" result:
function drawMenu(){
if(document.getElementById && document.getElementById('myIFrame')){
//Make the iFrame visible
document.getElementById('myIFrame').style.display = '';
document.getElementById('myIFrame').width = document.getElementById('myDhtmlMenu').style.width;
document.getElementById('myIFrame').height = document.getElementById('myDhtmlMenu').style.height;
document.getElementById('myIFrame').style.left = document.getElementById('myDhtmlMenu').style.left;
document.getElementById('myIFrame').style.top = document.getElementById('myDhtmlMenu').style.top;
//Set the iFrame's index to a value greater than everything EXCEPT our popup.
document.getElementById('myIFrame').style.zIndex = document.getElementById('myDhtmlMenu').style.zIndex-1;
}
// ... original menu drawing code resumes here
}
3. That's it...
My example has not been thoroughly tested in terms of "which style elements are required?", "how would this behave in FireFox?", etc. However, for my situation, this did exactly what I needed. I'm not even sure if the select box behavior IS an issue in FireFox, so this solution could potentially be workable for that browser, since you can just have it ignore the iFrame altogether. |
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The second rule is particularly good...
[reply] [2 comments]
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06/22/05 05:41 AM EST
posted by nate web |
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I recently saw an article in the paper version of the Washington Post that I wanted to forward on to someone. However, when searching on www.washingtonpost.com for the term "slug", the article, A Slug's Life, was the first to catch my eye even though it wasn't the one I was looking for.
The first rule sounds a bit like a movie that spawned a Donut Club. The second rule is particularly good. |
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| Don't forget, today is Bull's Birthday. Incidentally it is also the longest day of the year and the first day of summer. So be sure to pick up a gift for Bull off of his Amazon Wish List. Happy Birthday Bull!! |
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Argh... here's a breakdown of my Google AdSense revenue so far this year...
| Jan 31, 2005 |
$1.67 |
| Feb 28, 2005 |
$2.32 |
| Mar 31, 2005 |
$0.45 |
| Apr 30, 2005 |
$0.73 |
| May 31, 2005 |
$0.03 |
At this rate, I'll reach the $100 "We'll send you a check" threshold sometime in the year 2013. So clearly the Google Ads are not contributing to my site's financial well being. The Amazon.com links help me out occasionally but that's usually because someone like Bull clicks them. So my bloglines-like xml feed links will be replacing those ads very soon.
As for $$, I'm thinking of branching my ImageVerifier out onto it's own website and selling it for a nominal fee (I've seen competitors sell single-license versions for $20, multi-license for $75, source code for ~ $200 -- mine would be cheaper). I also have a few freeware components to put up there as well (Windows Key identifier, etc.). Though you can't see it from my use on this site, the ImageVerifier is a completely stand alone C# component that includes visual themes, user-selected Fonts, full Visual Studio .NET integration & many more developer-customization features... If any Shiny Donkey regulars are interested in using it on their blog or wherever, I'll be putting the finishing touches on it soon & you're welcome to use it for free, but there will be a small link to my "corporate" site to try to lure buyers -- just let me know! |
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| Here's a link to an awesome O'Reilly appendix listing all of the Visual Studio .NET shortcut commands. Quick, someone get a defibrillator to resuscitate Bull! |
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Developing a strategy to prevent idiotic casino postings
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06/09/05 08:17 AM EST
posted by JER email web |
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Several idiots and/or bots have been posting online casino links on this site lately and it's really starting to grate me. I've got a couple ideas on how to stop them -- what does everyone think?
- Add a "Enter the numbers you see in this image to verify" form field that requires manual entry of some random values. This will only work to thwart bots and will be a nuisance to regular posters. I could also have a link next to it, though, that says "Sick of entering these numbers? E-mail the administrator to disable this feature!" that will allow me to let "trusted" users post without the hassle of entering those numbers.
- Add a "this is spam/inappropriate" link to comments. If a comment is flagged X times, it is removed from the site...
I'm leaning towards #1... |
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 I was searching Google for sites that link to Shiny D and I found the CandyCam "Donator Roll" on geek' that lists all contributors. Among the list were some old Doceus friends, including Steve Poland, Rob II and Brenda Della Casa. I did a quick search for Brenda and found her blogspot homepage, which mentions her time at the White House, the Playboy offer and various acting gigs. Surprisingly, though, it doesn't mention her time at Doceus, her infamous tattoo or her unrequited love of Bull*. I would have thought at least a casual name drop of Elliott F would boost the resume, too -- but I'm wrong on a lot of things.
Rob II, on the other hand, can be found here. Unfortunately, the link that says "Click to enter..." doesn't actually work. Oh Rob...
And all I can find in searches for Steve Poland is some entrepeneur Flash dev guy.
* - EDITOR'S NOTE: This item may have been fabricated for comedic value. |
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Can anyone figure out where on their site trekfansunited.com contains a link to this site? My referral logs show over 2,000 hits in the last few days from http://www.trekfansunited.com/forum/index.php. It may be that they've just referenced an image file or something? |
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We all know that Nate refuses to listen to Coldplay because of their grandiose self-promotion. Nate seems to be in good company -- John Pareles, the music critic for The New York Times writes of X&Y, "... when the music swells up once more with tremolo guitar and chiming keyboards, and Mr. Martin's voice breaks for the umpteenth time, it sounds like hokum to me."
Coldplay Inspires Both Love and Hate
http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/ap/20050606/111809382000.html
Has anyone else noticed the major marketing blitz for X&Y? I've seen countless banner ads and TV commercials in the last few days, not something I'm used to seeing for a new album.
One more Coldplay bit: Bull told me that their bizarre cover art is based on an old computer punchcard?? Could've fooled me...
Amidst all this Coldplay hype I've also seen several very, very positive reviews for the new Oasis album, Don't Believe The Truth. This shocks me as I was under the impression that there were about 4 of us Oasis fans left in the US. I'm not talking about the always-positive reviews in NME, either -- the American press has been great. I even saw a glowing review in the Washington Post's Express last week. I've been listening to the album a lot lately and have a few comments...
- The Importance of Being Idle is the best song Noel Gallagher has written in 5 years and I'd highly recommend listening to a sample if you aren't quite sure why I'm still such a big fan of this band.
- Let There Be Love is actually a rehash of an old demo, It's A Crime. If you follow Oasis, you may remember that Noel rewrote the lyrics to The Hindu Times with mixed results. Most fans felt that the original demo was actually a far better song. In this case, however, LTBL is a vast improvement over the demo. Listening to the two side-by-side makes you keenly aware of how important Liam is to this band.
- Where the heck is Stop The Clocks? In the months preceding the album's release, Noel claimed that STC was the best he'd ever written and that it was bound to be a single...
- Mucky Fingers belongs on the scrap heap I'd reserved for I Can See A Liar and Digsy's Dinner.
- And, of course, track 6 is particularly good. It really does sound like "Elvis on Red Bull."
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The following is a list of websites I read everyday.
- slashdot.org
- engadget.com
- fark.com
What websites do you guys read religiously? |
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 ... fightin' round the world! Oh Russell Crowe, why can't you save your bouts of rage for the screen?
Btw, I hear they've cast Andy Dick in the title role to the Cinderella Man sequel. It's called Cinderella Man, Too: Nancy Man. There's not much boxing in the second film but the characters give new meaning to the phrase "I'll beat your ****." |
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 I went to pay my Sprint PCS bill online and was greeted by this featured screensaver of "David Lying on Beach." It took a while, but it look's like at least one service provider is finally supplying the softcore gay porn we've all been waiting for. Woohoo!!! |
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Alex sent me this picture from the Washington Post this afternoon that shows us in the front row of last night's 5-4 squeaker over Atlanta. I'm chopped off on the right hand side of the frame next to Alex & Doug. Bull is mysteriously pictured twice.
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Reno 911 is Back June 14
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06/01/05 09:55 AM EST
posted by JER email web |
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| Check out a clip from the first episode of Reno 911 Season 3, airing June 14!!! |
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AJAX.NET driver
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06/01/05 09:35 AM EST
posted by JER email web |
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Michael Schwarz has built a handy AJAX.NET driver that can be used to simplify asynchronous XML calls from your ASP.NET pages. He has painstakingly created tons of examples to show proper usage and has been so thorough in both design and documentation that he may have demotivated me from building my own version of this.
NOTE: Be wary, non-conformists: a few of his examples don't work in Firefox. |
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| Michelle just sent me this link from MSNBC bearing the headline:
Neil Armstrong wants back hair that collector got from barbershop floor and sold for $3
There are two things majorly wrong with that headline. First of all, I was shocked that anyone would pay $3 for back hair. However, if you read the article, you quickly learn that it's not actually back hair that was trimmed but that Armstrong wants his hair back. And even worse, the price is off by a scale of 1000 as his hair trimmings were purchased for $3,000, not $3.00!!! |
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 Naked Bull Lusty -- iPod style
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06/15/05 10:23 PM EST
posted by jerkass spammer |
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| test |
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06/01/05 10:45 PM EST
posted by Squash |
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Could this be related to SP4? One of our machines has SP4 plus a whole
lot of hotfixes and it is displaying this error. Our other computers
aren't displaying this error.
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