Kelly's Blog

Since last year’s square-foot garden was so successful (lettuce was still growing through January), I’ve planted this year’s garden several weeks ago. Everything has sprouted and growth is exceeding expectations. Except for the bell peppers. Absolutely nothing. Until this evening I figured it was just a failed crop. But I found that the seed packet hadn’t been opened yet. I had forgotten to plant the peppers.

Note for the future: Something must be planted in order for it to grow.

In another attempt to control how people view digital content, Warner Brothers is now offering Ultraviolet Digital Copies in their blu-ray combo packs. This requires the download and installation of Flixster. After the redemption code is entered on their website, Flixster opens and you’re allowed to either stream the movie or download a copy to your computer. Ok, fine. However, the movie will not import into iTunes to be viewed on iDevices that are wifi only (iPad, iPod, etc).

Oh, but there’s an app for that!

To view the movie on aforementioned devices, simply install the Flixster app and then download the movie. But, if you want to delete the movie after viewing it, the only way is to uninstall the app. What if you want to view the movie a day, week, or month later? Well, reinstall the app and re-download the movie. Here’s the part that chaps me. You’re only allowed to download a title five times. I’ve already downloaded Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 twice because the first copy was corrupted and wouldn’t play. Two copies in a 14 hour window since the movie was released at midnight. I’ll need to use caution since I have only three allowances remaining.

I called Warner Brothers and was transferred to a number that was setup to deal with this issue. From what I gathered, I’m not the only one that’s a bit red over this. Whether they return my call is another story. I doubt they will. They have my money, that’s all that matters.

In the past, blu-rays and dvds would come with a redemption code that could be entered into iTunes and a permanent digital copy was loaded into my library. What was broken about that? All this is a great reason to vigorously support media piracy.

No more Ultraviolet Digital Copies. Bring back the device-neutral digital copies that don’t require logging into the cloud for permission to watch a movie for which we’ve already legally purchased.

update: I got my way. Within an hour of emailing Flixster with my gripe, they sent an iTunes redemption code so I can now watch the movie as I please. Warner Brothers also returned my call. Apparently I’m not the only person steamed up about this. They’ve setup a site for this specific issue and are dolling out iTunes codes like candy. Go figure.

(CNN) — Steve Jobs, the visionary in the black turtleneck who co-founded Apple in a Silicon Valley garage, built it into the world’s leading tech company and led a mobile-computing revolution with wildly popular devices such as the iPhone, died Wednesday. He was 56.

The hard-driving executive pioneered the concept of the personal computer and of navigating them by clicking onscreen images with a mouse. In more recent years, he introduced the iPod portable music player, the iPhone and the iPad tablet — all of which changed how we consume content in the digital age.

More than one pundit, praising Jobs’ ability to transform entire industries with his inventions, called him a modern-day Leonardo Da Vinci.

“Steve Jobs is one of the great innovators in the history of modern capitalism,” New York Times columnist Joe Nocera said in August. “His intuition has been phenomenal over the years.”

Jobs’ death, while dreaded by Apple’s legions of fans, was not unexpected. He had battled cancer for years, took a medical leave from Apple in January and stepped down as chief executive in August because he could “no longer meet (his) duties and expectations.”

On Saturday I took the car in for an oil change and tire rotation. The day before, with only 17 miles of factory warranty remaining, the electronic door lock on the left rear door began to malfunction. After the oil change, I took the car next door to the dealership and opened up a work order so the repairs would be covered under warranty. No problem so far. The part was ordered and an appointment setup for this morning (Tuesday).

Arriving promptly at 8am, I handed over the key and walked home, a short distance of only two miles. Thirty-eight minutes later I arrived home. After a brief rest the phone rang. It was the dealership informing me that the part was bad and would need to be re-ordered.

I should have stayed at the dealership as I had originally intended.

* Note * To the man that pulls cars around to the pick-up lot; don’t fart in other people’s vehicles. From the smell of it, you’re a heavy beef eater and had eggs for breakfast.

An article excerpt from LewRockwell.com written by The Economic Collapse

#1 The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and the largest total prison population on the entire globe.

#2 According to NationMaster.com, the United States has the highest percentage of obese people in the world.

#3 The United States has the highest divorce rate on the globe by a wide margin.

#4 The United States is tied with the U.K. for the most hours of television watched per person each week.

#5 The United States has the highest rate of illegal drug use on the entire planet.

#6 There are more car thefts in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world by far.

#7 There are more reported rapes in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.

#8 There are more reported murders in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.

#9 There are more total crimes in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.

#10 The United States also has more police officers than anywhere else in the world.

#11 The United States spends much more on health care as a percentage of GDP than any other nation on the face of the earth.

#12 The United States has more people on pharmaceutical drugs than any other country on the planet.

#13 The percentage of women taking antidepressants in America is higher than in any other country in the world.

#14 Americans have more student loan debt than anyone else in the world.

#15 More pornography is created in the United States than anywhere else on the entire globe. 89 percent is made in the U.S.A. and only 11 percent is made in the rest of the world.

#16 The United States has the largest trade deficit in the world every single year. Between December 2000 and December 2010, the United States ran a total trade deficit of 6.1 trillion dollars with the rest of the world, and the U.S. has had a negative trade balance every single year since 1976.

#17 The United States spends 7 times more on the military than any other nation on the planet does. In fact, U.S. military spending is greater than the military spending of China, Russia, Japan, India, and the rest of NATO combined.

#18 The United States has far more foreign military bases than any other country does.

#19 The United States has the most complicated tax system in the entire world.

#20 The U.S. has accumulated the biggest national debt that the world has ever seen and it is rapidly getting worse. Right now, U.S. government debt is expanding at a rate of $40,000 per second.

This plane has flown over my place a few times. It was always a joy to run out and watch it pass.

From the L.A. Times: A World War II Flying Fortress bomber crashed and burned Monday in a cornfield southwest of Chicago, but seven crew members and volunteers walked away without serious injury.

The B-17, christened the Liberty Belle, took off from the Aurora Municipal Airport at 9:30 a.m. and made an emergency crash landing in Oswego, 44 miles outside Chicago, after the pilot reported an engine fire, said Sugar Grove Fire Chief Marty Kunkle.

Witnesses said the pilot set the plane down between a tower and a line of trees.

The crew had smelled smoke and was trying to pinpoint the problem when the pilot of another plane, a single-engine T6 Texan, radioed them about the engine fire, said Tim Sorensen, an air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.

The plane was headed to the Indianapolis Regional Airport, said airport spokeswoman Allisa Pipes, and was scheduled to give flights to the media Monday and to the public over Father’s Day weekend.

Don Brooks, founder of the Liberty Foundation, said the seven people on board were crew members and volunteers who helped with the foundation’s tours around the country.

The foundation had been flying the Liberty Belle since it was restored in 2004, Brooks said. The plane, manufactured in 1944, had not missed more than “a couple days” because of mechanical problems, he said, once flying to England and back with no problems.

The B-17 was primarily deployed by the U.S. Army Air Forces in daylight strategic bombing of German industrial and military targets.

From CBS News June 4th, 2011

Collier County, Florida — Have you heard the one about a homeowner foreclosing on a bank?

Well, it has happened in Florida and involves a North Carolina based bank.

Instead of Bank of America foreclosing on some Florida homeowner, the homeowners had sheriff’s deputies foreclose on the bank.

It started five months ago when Bank of America filed foreclosure papers on the home of a couple, who didn’t owe a dime on their home.

The couple said they paid cash for the house.

The case went to court and the homeowners were able to prove they didn’t owe Bank of America anything on the house. In fact, it was proven that the couple never even had a mortgage bill to pay.

A Collier County Judge agreed and after the hearing, Bank of America was ordered, by the court to pay the legal fees of the homeowners’, Maurenn Nyergers and her husband.

The Judge said the bank wrongfully tried to foreclose on the Nyergers’ house.

So, how did it end with bank being foreclosed on? After more than 5 months of the judge’s ruling, the bank still hadn’t paid the legal fees, and the homeowner’s attorney did exactly what the bank tried to do to the homeowners. He seized the bank’s assets.

“They’ve ignored our calls, ignored our letters, legally this is the next step to get my clients compensated, ” attorney Todd Allen told CBS.

Sheriff’s deputies, movers, and the Nyergers’ attorney went to the bank and foreclosed on it. The attorney gave instructions to remove desks, computers, copiers, filing cabinets and any cash in the teller’s drawers.

After about an hour of being locked out of the bank, the bank manager handed the attorney a check for the legal fees.

“As a foreclosure defense attorney this is sweet justice” says Allen.

Allen says this is something that he sees often in court, banks making errors because they didn’t investigate the foreclosure and it becomes a lengthy and expensive battle for the homeowner.

CBS News

From CNN: Former “Gunsmoke” actor James Arness, who played Marshal Matt Dillon in the western TV series for 20 years, died Friday from natural causes, according to his website. He was 88.

Over the two decades of “Gunsmoke” episodes from 1955 to 1975, Arness worked with hundreds of actors, some of them just up-and-comers such as Harrison Ford, Burt Reynolds and Charles Bronson. He also worked with Bette Davis.

Arness left behind a letter to his fans, which was posted on his website after his death:
“I had a wonderful life and was blessed with some many loving people and great friends. The best part of my life was my family, especially my wife, Janet. Many of you met her at Dodge City so you understand what a special person she is,” Arness wrote.

“I wanted to take this time to thank all of you for the many years of being a fan of ‘Gunsmoke,’ ‘The Thing,’ ‘How the West Was Won’ and all the other fun projects I was lucky enough to have been allowed to be a part of. I had the privilege of working with so many great actors over the years.

“I was honored to have served in the army for my country. I was at Anzio during WWII and it makes you realize how very precious life is,” Arness wrote.

“Thank you again for all the many letters, cards, emails and gifts we received from you over the years. You are and always have been truly appreciated,” he concluded.

Read more…

German newscaster Mick Locher of channel N24 explains the meaning of the US Navy Seal Six Team emblem during a segment about the raid on Bin Laden’s compound.

“And they also have the ‘Team Six’ that carried out the mission. They don’t have the skull in their emblem for nothing,” Locher said.

The only problem is the emblem he’s describing is not that of the US Navy Seal Six Team. It’s a fan-made emblem for the fictitious “Maquis” rebel group from Star Trek and nobody knew any different at the news station. The skull to which he’s referring is that of a “klingon” and those are “bat’leths” (klingon weapons) surrounding it.

This is a perfect example of why I don’t trust broadcast news.