http://www.jimporett.com Fair warning that my random thoughts, opinions, useful info and downright goofy humor are bound to show up in this website. Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:05:34 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Regular vistors here may have noticed I added my Twitter updates to the sidebar.  Some are very aware what Twitter is all about, however I assume many of you have never heard of it.  With that assumption comes how in the world do I explain it easily?  It's not complex ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/twittering-real-life/ WordPress is the software guts of what you see here. It's easy to use but can be difficult at times to upgrade.  I just completed the main piece of upgrading, but there are still some fixes to clean up.  For instance, the tags and categories of posts are missing.  I ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/upgrading-wordpress/ Yes, I'm a blog posting slacker.  Summer has yet again been a bit on the busy side. I had all these great ideas for posts that I never wrote... Oh well, at least I remembered to put this post up! :) http://www.jimporett.com/archive/im-a-blogging-slacker/ I came across a series of columns by Thomas Sowell posted last week. He discusses how politicians play to voters emotional responses to things like current gas prices, the U.S. economy or the housing market problems. Giving the appearance that these economic things are too complex to understand ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/its-not-complex/ Today I decided to take up some new hobbies.  I have many hobbies these days so why not add more?  Many that know me know I like to try new things, so I decided to learn some extreme sports: moto-cross jumping and rattlesnake wrangling. You may ask "Jim, Why such dangerous ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/a-new-month-a-new-hobby/ Apparently some parents will do literally anything to ensure their child arrives on-time to a tennis lesson. Even of it means flying them in a small plane, landing it in the snow of a nearby golf course! Just can't make this stuff up... What makes this story even more wild for me ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/running-late-for-tennis-lessons-take-a-plane/ Another large, horrific campus shooting spree occured earlier today, less than a year after the horrific day at Virginia Tech. This one was closer to home at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois. It's about 60 miles West of Chicago. My prayers go out to the victims, families ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/pray-for-niu/ I know I'm not the first to post a link to this video but it's fun to see. Recently a couple hundred people froze in place at the same time inside NYC Grand Central Station. It's not a protest, just a fun prank. Enjoy! Also available on YouTube. http://www.jimporett.com/archive/stopping-time-at-grand-central-station/ The latest daily talking points the media seems to be harping on is the so-called impending doom of a recession. While I try to stay away from politics and the economy in this blog (for my own sanity), I just had to broach this topic. I'm tired of hearing the ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/economic-fear-mongering/ Short but classic dumb criminal story: "MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Two Australian robbers were sentenced Tuesday for their April Fools Day heist at the Cuckoo Restaurant, where they thought they were hauling away a big sack of cash that turned out to be bread rolls. Benjamin Jorgensen, 38, and his accomplice ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/sack-o-bread-from-cuckoos-for-cuckoos/ A great Washington Post article yesterday about some issues facing amateur photographers who share their work online.   It focuses on unauthorized commercial use of photographs.  Many photographers never know that their work has been stolen (intentionally or not) until it is already in use or more commonly never are aware ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/amateur-photographers-trouble-protecting-copyright/ Recently I ate some popcorn from a store I have not been to in a couple years. And believe me that was far too long! Garrett Popcorn is in my opinion the best popcorn ever made. Here in Chicago it's a well known, long-standing tradition to wait in line 2+ ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/the-worlds-best-popcorn/ Original Thanksgiving Holiday Proclamation from President George Washington (full text) : (Note: The letters 'f' where there should be the letter 's' is not a typo, it's just the way they wrote the letter 's' in those days.) "General Thanksgiving By the PRESIDENT of the United States Of America A PROCLAMATION WHEREAS it is ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/washingtons-thanksgiving-proclamation/ Well clearly I've been a blogging slacker this past summer. Some was due to other priorities and a busy schedule, but mostly I was just too lazy or didn't feel like writing. So lets see whats been going on... Bought a new suv... Yes... For those of you that ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/blogger-block/ Its been a while since I posted maily due to being on vacation and busy times this summer. Nothing like getting back into the groove with this article in the Washington Post yesterday that is quite a surreal tale of an attempted robbery. What robbery ends with the ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/robber-likes-wine-and-group-hugs/ http://www.jimporett.com/archive/footprints-at-sunrise/ http://www.jimporett.com/archive/mini-golf-eiffel/ Not much to say about this story other than it cracked me up today (pun intended). At least this alleged thief's name makes sense based what they were stealing. Even the cops were chuckling: "She's facing potentially three years of incarceration for three rolls of toilet paper," Chief ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/butts-charged-with-stealing-toilet-paper/ Now that Zooomr has launched its new version - Mark III, the next week or so will mean fixing "post launch jitters". This mainly means fixing bugs, releasing new functions, scaling servers, etc. Things should be settled in soon though. Here is a post launch ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/promoting-zooomr/ I've been keeping tabs the past couple weeks on the upgrade to Zooomr, a photo sharing site that I have started to use as noted in a previous post. During that time (still ongoing) I have received a quick education about the realities of running a website like that. ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/zooomr-mark-iii-launch-continues/ The Wall Street Journal had an interesting write up today about the airlines padding schedules to allow for the congestion in the skies delaying flights. Flying out of Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) I see this all the time. Of course the main reason I recommend this article is my good ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/traffic-jams-of-a-different-sort/ http://www.jimporett.com/archive/never-forget-the-fallen-veterans/ Jeremy Casella is an independent musician I highly recommend giving a listen. “Recovery” is his latest project due for release May 22, 2007, however if you pre-order the CD on his website, you get access to download the entire record now! [Full disclosure - I know Jeremy from ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/recovery-by-jeremy-casella-buy-it/ The senseless, horrific massacre that occurred on the Virginia Tech campus this morning was shocking and tragic to say the least. My prayers and sympathy go out to the families, friends and acquaintances of the Virginia Tech students and faculty that perished today. I can never know their pain and ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/horrific-day-at-virginia-tech/ Today Major League Baseball honored Jackie Robinson on the 60th Anniversary of him breaking the color barrier by playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Many players or in some cases, entire teams wore his retired number '42'instead of their normal uniforms to honor him. It cannot be stated enough what an ... http://www.jimporett.com/archive/jackie-robinson-day/