SOMEONE PUT ME TO WORK

To sail the seas is why man exists.

Help, help. I've been tagged. And since it is by a person I respect, I guess I've got to answer all the questions truthfully. Or at least as close as I can get to truth.

Rules of this tag 1. Name the person, with link, who tagged you.

My tagger is an attractive lady from Mumbai, India. How do I know she's attractive? Because of the way she writes. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind about her qualities. She goes by the name of Cuckoo and her blog is: http://cuculus.blogspot.com/ If it's new to you, visit and see what I mean. 2. Complete the questionnaire without changing the questions.

3. Tag people.

This tag is a questionnaire to be answered on the topic “What Does Blogging Mean to Me”.

Here I go with the questions and my takes.

Q1. Are you happy/ satisfied with your blog, with its content and look?Sometimes I look at my posts and wonder why in the devil did I write that? I ponder, and if it sounds like tripe to me, I often delete it. Most all my posts start off in the "Save Now" link. Other times, I think, Ha! That sounds close to alright. My biggest gripe is that I cannot get Google's Spell Check to work. I'm at a loss there, so I have to reread the post to correct my spelling errors (they're really phat phingers errors mostly). I'd like to add some other things to my pages, but have no idea how to use html (I've got a "learn html manual for idiots" in my favorites somewhere, but my other fault seems to have something to do with "Tomorrow"). After all, I live in the land of Manana. But I love my little watch cat.

Q2. Does your family know about your blog?

Yes. they do. One or two of them actually read it. Wild Thing does read it, though. Sometimes she makes editorial remarks when I put my foot in it, too. If you don't know who Wild Thing is, allow me to tell you. She is the worthwhile half of our alliance. She is my caretaker, the one who sees to me taking my pills, cooks my favorite foods and tolerates my mostly weird sense of humor. I've got to tell one more thing about her. When we first got together **** years ago, I had two female cats who adored her. One day, without warning me, she made a sign for me. The sign reads, "CATMOVE'S PUSSY PALACE".

Q3. Do you feel embarrassed to let your friends know about your blog or you just consider it as a private thing?

Not embarrassed at all. I am more than pleased to let anyone peek into my cluttered mind.

Q4. Did blogs cause positive changes in your thoughts?

Yes, very definitely. Since I have always taken exhilirating pleasure in travel, it's just great that I can visit people in lands all over the world. The only thing I'm unhappy about is that my smattering of foreign languages has disappeared. I guess that's a case of "use it or lose it". The blogs I visit almost always teach me things, be it new words, new ideas or viewpoints alien to me. Learning has always been a potent force in my life. I love surfing!

Q5. Do you only open the blogs of those who comment on your blog or you love to go and discover more by yourself?

As I mentioned, surfing is must sport for me. And all the pages have links. If you ask me what the most important add on ever invented for blogging is, I would say LINKS. There's so much world, so much enjoyment in seeing brand new things. I guess I'm hooked. Geeze, imagine me being a user.

Yes, I find blog sites done only in reverse type and when I can, I try to warn someone about the potential of the owner toward suicide. I find sites that can only be described as hate sites. They get short shrift from me nowadays. I can take only so much of that. But mainly, I think you might say I worship at the feet of links.

Q6. What does visitors counter mean to you? Do you care about putting it in your blog?

I'm impressed by high numbers on other sites (must mean my judgement is good) but have no desire to have my own meter. I value feedback comments more than numbers. I'll never be an accountant, 'cause people matter more to me than numbers.

Q7. Did you try to imagine your fellow bloggers and give them real pictures?

I could never visit a web site without making a mental picture of the writer. It's a human frailty with me. So, if you're reading this, and wonder what picture of you I have in mind, I have a one word answer: Guess.

Q8. Do you think there is a real benefit for blogging?

Ah, a Psych I question. Certainly there is. Next to our egotism, we like to share with others. It's a good, healthy mental exercise. In many cases (myself included) it exposes us to different ways of thinking, different ways of approaching problems. And besides, it keeps me off the streets.

Q9. Do you think that bloggers’ society is isolated from the real world or interacts with events? I do think of bloggers as real people, mainly in a real world (not all of us) who simply would like to make contact with other human beings. Those of you who have read my blog know how I feel about illegal aliens, yet I have blogger friends in the very countries I take swings at. (And not all of them agree with me, but we are still friendly.)

Bloggers seem to be able to report and talk about current events that other media don't have knowledge about. Many blogger posts break news that we would otherwise not hear about. Now, I admit, blogs from the kids are not my cuppa tea. Yet I have read posts from young children who write sensible and important articles on things that they are interested in. I applaud the wise of the younger generation.

Q10. Does criticism annoy you or do you feel it’s a normal thing? I love criticism. How else would learn of differing points of view? It's not only normal, it's innate in the human race. A good debate is an enlightening excitement.

11. Do you fear some political blogs and avoid them?

Why in the world would I fear a political blog? If you mean do I stay away from true Al Qaida blogs, I have to admit that, yes, I do. But only because I cannot read Arabic. I never avoid a pol blog because I might learn something from them. We have to try to control our politicians or they'll sell the farm from under us.

Q12. Did you get shocked by the arrest of some bloggers?

I really don't understand this question, unless you mean in countries such as China, where all media is controlled by the ruling political party and centralised ideology. Being raised in America, I had assumed that everyone should have freedom of speech, but, alas, such is not the case.

Q13. Did you think about what will happen to your blog after you die?

That's a morbid question. Since I have no intention of dying, it doesn't seem to pertain to me.

Q14. What do you like to hear? What’s the song you might like to put a link to, in your blog? Easy question. "Unchained Melody."

Rule 3: Your turn to tag some other victims. Let me think whom should I tag now. Ok, here is my list:

http://creekjournal.blogspot.com/

http://alphonsedamooseramblings.blogspot.com/

http://bloggin-babzy.blogspot.com/

http://fathairybastard.blogspot.com/

Don't forget to click on the header. It'll relax you...

WHAT WAS RICHARDSON THINKING?

Our Governator, Bill Richardson went to Iowa to talk up his campaign. And he stuck his foot in it.

"Iowa, for good reason, for constitutional reasons, for reasons related to the Lord should be the first caucus and primary,” Bill Richardson, New Mexico’s governor, said at the Northwest Iowa Labor Council Picnic. “And I want you to know who was the first candidate to sign a pledge not to campaign anywhere if they got ahead of Iowa." It was Bill Richardson.

Geeze, Bill, now you talk to God? Or maybe He talks to you? Not even Dubya goes this far.

Did you forget you come from a state where the largest religion practiced is Catholicism? And the runner up is Baptist?

When pressed further about that statement, he said Iowa should launch the primary calendar because “it’s a tradition in American politics that has worked.” “Iowa scrutinizes candidates through a grass-roots state. They are very good at winnowing down candidates", he said. “They don’t listen to national polls. Iowa voters are very independent and issue-oriented.”

I have no idea how Iowa scrutinizes candidates through a grass roots state. Maybe they have this huge magnifying glass and.... No, not likely. Maybe Bill got confused with his languages. Hmmmmm.

Our Bill also remarked: "I think it's important to stay positive in this campaign," he told about 100 people gathered at a co-op winery. "... Let's get into the issues important to the American people."

Oh, Bill, you could only get about a 100 people at a wine tasting? You should have stayed here in Albuquerque. We had about 3,000 show up at a local wine tasting.

As for the issues important to the American people, I'm waiting to hear how you would withdraw our troops from Iraq? And Afghanistan? And what you will do about the illegal aliens destroying our middle class? And how untrue are the figures Washington is releasing about our economy? And what you will do about China's attempts to wipe us out with lead paints and poisoned food? (That was sarcasm.)

Bill talks (usually) in high flown, grandiose phrasings, but real, concrete accomplishments are few and far between. His administrations have been rife with governmental theft, incompetence and general lack of understanding of just what the problems are in New Mexico. As for the quoted "International Policies", I, as are many others, am for Mom, Apple Pie and the American Flag, too. Actions, not flowery phrases, need to be the measure we use to elect anyone to the highest position in the United States.

A final note to this post:

Governor to battle with feds over marijuana law A battle is brewing in Santa Fe over medical marijuana. An angry Governor Richardson wants the feds to leave sick New Mexicans alone and let them grow their pot. But a Santa Fe County Commissioner is speaking out, saying he's going to fight to get rid of the medical marijuana law. The current law shields patients from state prosecution, but not from the feds. "I'm very concerned that the Bush administration instead of going after drug dealers, is going after people suffering from cancer, a paraplegic, most recently," said Governor Richardson. Agents raided 44-year-old Leonard French's home near Loving on Tuesday, even though he has state permission to grow and smoke medical marijuana. The D.E.A. says it did not know French had a medical marijuana license until after the raid. "The Bush administration seems to be, because they're unable to go after drug dealers, they seem to be picking on people suffering from cancer. That's inexplicable to me. And I'm gonna fight them," said Governor Richardson. Right now patients have to get the marijuana on their own, because the State Health Department won't grow or distribute the pot, fearing federal prosecution. Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya calls himself a strong Bill Richardson supporter, but he'll fight him every step of the way to get the law off the books. "Morally, physically, socially this is not good policy. It's still something that is addictive. And for our youth to start getting the message that this is something that is okay, is really not a healthy message," said Montoya. Montoya says patients can use the pill-form of the marijuana. Governor Richardson says he'll use every legal trick in the book to fight the feds on the issue. This is kind of unbelievable. If our Governator wants the law changed, he ought to know the porcess by now. Let me help you, gov.: Talk to your legislators, have real Constitutional lawyers write the correct law and get them to pass it.

And then we can have Marujuana patches in all our home gardens.

DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER

There's a fun surprise in the header today (just let it load). And all the pictures I put on here can be enlarged by clicking on them. Enjoy.

Will Robinson was the lead character in an old television show called "Lost In Space". He and his family had somehow gotten lost in the outer regions of space. There was a whacked out robot that, without fail, would say at some stage of each episode, "DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER".

Yeah, it was silly but it was harmless silly and tried to have a morality play with the play.

Anyway, Google (that means you and me, too) has a problem. Herewith the story.

Blogger hit with a Storm Watch Posted: 30 Aug 2007 10:39 PM CDT Storm Worm has begun attacking Blogger, littering hundreds of pages with juvenile messages designed to fool visitors into clicking on malware laden links. This worm has been around the block. Before attacking Blogger, it had recently been hiding in spoof YouTube email. A master of disguise, Wikipedia has a list of just some of the email titles Storm Worm has been hidden under. Not only well traveled, it is a virulent virus. Launched via email on Friday January 19, 2007 by Monday, January 22, it accounted for 8% of all virus outbreaks worldwide. Dan Goodin from The Register explains further: Storm has already gone through more lives than a pack of feral cats. It started out in January as an email promising information about a winter storm that was sacking Northern Europe. Since then it's offered sexy photos, electronic greeting cards and login credentials for various online memberships. According to researchers, Storm has infected more than 1.7 million hosts. So how has it gone from spoof emails to Blogger blog posts? Speculation is that the worm is exploiting Blogger's feature that allows blog owners to post to their blogs via an email. This feature does not require a login, just knowledge of the email address used to post. If you are a Blogger user who uses the email-to-blog feature (this author does!) make sure your email address is something unique. Watch for this spoof appearing in your blog comments as well.

And watch out for new commentators (I love that word) who drop in a link.

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Here's some "research" that I'm not too sure about. Especially since they only used 1,000 participants, only in the US, and are subscribers to their web pages. I wonder what they would have found out if the "survey" ran on YouTube? Or AOL? Or Microsoft, or Apple?

Survey: more women blogging than men as blogs hit mainstream Posted: 30 Aug 2007 03:05 PM CDT The blogosphere has hit the mainstream, according to a new survey, which reveals that 80% of Americans know what a blog is, 50% regularly visit blogs, and 8% publish their own blog. The survey also revealed that more women than men are bloggers, with 20% of American women who have visited blogs having their own versus 14 % of men. The Synovate/Marketing Daily survey was conducted online with 1,000 adults in the US using Synovate eNation from July 30 to August 1. "Because anyone can start one anytime, blogs are not necessarily seen as legitimate information sources despite the fact that some bloggers are experts in their area," said Tom Mularz, senior vice president at Synovate. "However, as their prominence and influence continues to rise, this could certainly change." When asked about the types of information they get from blogs, 65% said they get opinions, while 39% get news and 38% get entertainment. About one in three people read gossip on blog websites while only 2% use blogs to catch upon news about family and friends. Loyalty to specific blogs is also fairly strong with 46% of blog readers saying that they visit the same blogs regularly versus 54% who instead usually surf for new and different ones. Awareness blogs strongly correlates to age, with younger people being much more active. Nearly 90% of those aged 25 to 34 know what a blog is, compared to just 65% of those aged 65 and over. Similarly, 78% of those aged 18 to 24 who are aware of blogs say they have visited a blog, compared to only 45% of older Americans. As blogs have gained in popularity, so has the frequency with which they're read. Though the majority of blog readers (39%) view them less than once a month, another 28% visit them monthly, 15% visit them daily and 5% read them several times a day. Of course, while blog usage continues to grow, so does their attractiveness as a potential marketing tool. In fact, 43% of blog visitors indicated that they had noticed advertisements on blog websites, rising to 61% among those aged 18 to 24. Almost one-third of consumers have clicked on an ad while reading a blog. But even though consumers are spending more time with blogs, they aren't necessarily replacing other media. Only 13% of blog readers say they spend less time with other forms of media (newspapers, television, radio) since they've started following blogs. The main reason people read blogs? Almost half of those surveyed say it's because they find blogs entertaining, and another 26% read them to learn about specific hobbies or other areas they're interested in. Only 15% of blog readers say they do so for news, indicating that the more traditional forms of news consumption still have a stronghold. Among those who said they have never read a blog, the main reason cited was that they're "just not interested". Another 15% said that they don't care about the opinions and ideas typically expressed in blogs.

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Would you like to be a pilot? Here's your chance, fellow blogger. Guess I'm going to have to download Google Earth.

Hidden Google Earth flight simulator delights technorati Posted: 01 Sep 2007 03:00 PM CDT It's a thought that's crossed all of our minds at one time or another, wouldn't it be cool if you could fly around Google Earth in a jet. Well, someone at Googleplex must have had exactly the same thought, because there's a hidden flight simulator built into the latest version ( 4.2 beta) of Google Earth. South African computer science student Marco broke the news of the secret flight simulator to the delight of the Internet community. "All-in-all I think it's a great feature Google has added to one of their top products," wrote Marco. "I still remember the days when Microsoft Flight Simulator was considered so cool and that you had to pay for! With a bit more work this has lots of potential to greatly surpass other flight simulators." Mashable's Pete Cashmore described the secret flight simulator as the “best Easter egg ever!”. Despite the general perception that this is something completely new, this flight simulator appears to be an improvement of the flight simulator mode that appeared in Google Earth (version 4.0) last year. To access the flight simulator you need to position Google Earth over the US. Then press Ctrl+Alt+A, or if you're on a Mac Command+Option+A. According to Marco some people have reported that Ctrl+A or Ctrl+Windows+A works when the standard Ctrl+Alt+A does not. A dialog window should appear that allows you to choose between a F16 or a SR22, and which airport you'd like to start at. You also have the option of enabling a joystick. While the flight simulator is quite simple, the real imagery makes for an a very cool visual experience. Google Earth can be downloaded free of charge. Instructions on how to control the flight simulator are available here.