broomeman.com - a weblog by donny broome

The Official Rock Paper Scissors Strategy Guide

Heather was fired for posting negative comments about her co-workers on her blog. MeFi and MetaTalk discussions are ongoing, and Heather has responded to some of the comments.

This is funny. This is pathetic. The discussion continues at MeFi.

Amy Fisher vs. Tonya Harding - People will do anyting for money, it seems. An all-time low for TV?

It is COLD.

Pearl Harbor is being called a 'chick flick' by many. No wonder I didn't go see it and I still haven't rented it.

There are some sick people in this world.

"A Jersey City man who was fishing in his pocket for identification and inadvertently pulled out a crack pipe was arrested Thursday by Bayonne police and charged with possession of drugs, according to reports." I can't even make this stuff up!

Prediction: 'Watching Ellie', the new TV show that airs tonight on NBC, will flop, just like the shows that Jason Alexander and Michael Richards starred in.

Transcript of Larry King's interview with Gary Condit.

Leon Wieseltier: "The slaughter of Daniel Pearl did not make a mockery of what his slaughterers believe. It was the perfect expression, the inevitable consequence, of what his slaughterers believe...the murder of Daniel Pearl was not a martyrdom, it was an atrocity."

The local economy won't get a needed boost.

I disagree strongly with David Coursey. A 'lite' version of Windows would allow individuals to use good products like Windows XP, and not have to be concerned about buggy apps like Internet Explorer and Outlook Express.

Yeah, right. (via 120 Degrees)

An interview with Donald Rumsfeld.

Let me give you a piece of advice: Stay away from the food at Hop's. It sucks. The beer is good, but the food is consistently bad (at the Jackson, MS location). Yesterday, we were served raw hamburgers, and one person with our party was served raw pork loin. It was disgusting. A mixture of blood and grease literally dripped onto my plate from my hamburger. I immediately sent it back, but it was hard to enjoy my replacement meal afterwards, as you can imagine. I've emailed their headquarters with this report, and I'm anxious to see if they respond.

Swiss Cheese Update - "Microsoft has released patches for two security holes in its Internet software that could allow hackers to read files off a user's computer or information in Web pages that they visit. The company also patched server glitches that could let attackers crash Web servers or take over computer networks attached to Microsoft Web servers. Three of the four alerts were classified by Microsoft as critical."

My All-Cap Emails Demand Attention (via garret)

Drinkers Bitter Over 'Fast' Guinness - Whenever I order a Guinness, I expect it to take a few minutes to arrive. If the server/bartender brings it right out, I know they're clueless. Down with the fast Guinness!

I bought Courtney a pair of K2 inline skates this weekend, so now we both have a pair. They are very comfortable. We skated briefly yesterday, and we're looking forward to the warmer weather, which will permit us to blade around our neighborhood this spring.

Bin Laden Believed Still Alive

A story on how Segway was kept a secret.

I agree with Drudge. Set journalism aside. If you're in Pakistan and you're a reporter, you need to leave now! You're in danger.

"At Boeing Co.'s high-tech factory in St. Charles, Mo., three shifts are working 24 hours a day turning out smart bombs to replenish Air Force and Navy inventories that ran dangerously low during the Afghan war. Pentagon planners say it will take six months to produce enough Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), the precision systems that guided 1,000-pound bombs to Taliban and al Qaeda targets, to contemplate an attack on Saddam Hussein's Iraq."

Gertz: Russia's Nuclear Arms Deemed Vulnerable - "The system used to protect Russian nuclear weapons is "stressed" by military funding shortfalls and is vulnerable to an "insider" who could circumvent nuclear-missile launch controls, according to a U.S. intelligence report."

"Researchers believe the second hijacked plane to hit the World Trade Center tower was traveling about 100 mph faster than the first, according to a published report. Investigators are focusing on the speed of the two planes as they seek to explain what caused the south tower to collapse first, even though it was hit later, The New York Times reported Saturday."

"On Friday, the tide dramatically shifted. Patel, who called both sides "dirty," said that Napster's misguided attempts to build a business using illegally obtained music paled in comparison to what could be massive misuse and heavy-handed tactics by the recording industry."

Larry S does not understand this simple fact: Cheaters deserve a big fat zero. After some 108 comments, my original comment still holds true.

Hey, it's kickball in Zilker Park in Austin, TX. We were there last summer. What a great place to have fun!

ALA: How to Write a Better Weblog

I'm now convinced that the Olympics are plagued by a bunch of crybabies. Roll with the punches and get over it.

"Since this will be Aaliyah's only starring movie role, it's sad that her character has such a narrow emotional range." - Rober Ebert

Rollover - The Hidden History of the SUV - "They're the most popular vehicles in America. Are they also among the most dangerous?"

CSS Reference Table - My support page will soon feature a link to this great resource on CSS.

Iran's Dirty War - "American intelligence agencies see considerable evidence that Iran is working to destabilize the interim government in Afghanistan and undermine U.S.-led efforts to rebuild the country."

Liberation - The last article in a great series about Iraq, Part V.

I personally feel that too much Flash on a site is distracting. However, this site is impressive, simply from the standpoint of its full-screen use of Flash. Be sure to 'select your country' and click through a few times.

A little Al Gore humor from blackholebrain. Caption reads: "Bush congratulates Gore on his new 'eat less, campaign more' plan."

Trillian 0.725 is available for download.

War in the Shadows - Part IV of James Robbins' series of articles on Iraq.

Salon: Why Blacks Love Clinton - "DeWayne Wickham talks about African-Americans' overwhelming support for the 42nd president, and why they like him more than Colin Powell and Jesse Jackson."

A recent survey indicates that most HP employees are anti-merger. It's too bad that they're not anti-sucky customer service. Their Pavilion Support staff have repeatedly refused to answer my simple questions. Next time, dude, I'm getting a Dell.

Brandy is a boxer with a 17-inch tongue.

Angela Bassett, one of my favorite actresses, will star in The Rosa Parks Story, a CBS movie based on the life of the civil rights hero who refused to move to the rear of a segregated bus in 1955. The movie will air on Sunday, February 24, at 9 PM EST.

DVD's may soon be obsolete.

'Mary Jane for Pain' - "Mission Hill Junior High School officials will allow a seventh-grader to display her medical marijuana project when the school science fair opens today."

Man Kills Boss, Turns Her Into Pepper Soup

Matt says, "I no longer think the RIAA operates solely on fear. At this point, they're simply running on stupidity." Amen to that. They need to wake up and smell Morpheus and iMesh and concede the losing battle that they're waging.

On the Road to Baghdad - Part III.

The Iraqi Opposition - Part II.

Overthrowing Saddam - This is the first article in a five-part series by James Robbins.

The FBI now has a strong hunch about who mailed the anthrax last year.

"Yarner (w32.yarner.a@mm) appears to be a newsletter about Trojan horses from a legitimate security site, but is actually a dangerous worm. Yarner is a Windows PE EXE file about 434K in size, written in Delphi. It uses its own e-mail engine to send copies of itself to others. Once executed, the worm deletes the Windows directory on infected computers."

Bill Gertz: Iran Working with Afghan Rebels

The Georgia crematory story is just bad, bad, bad. Investigators have even found six bodies near the opeator's home. This guy is one greedy, sick person.

Wally World is the biggest company on earth, in terms of sales. Figures. I can't seem to get out of there without spending at least $50 each time I visit the place. They've got everything!

I'm not dead yet. I did succumb to my cold/sinus trouble and was home for two days. I'm feeling much better and enjoying the warmer weather that we're having here.

Jeff Jarvis no longer feels comfortable flying. "I was only a few hundred yards below two jets that hit two buildings, all full of lives that aren't here any longer. Death was too close. I used up my odds that day."

"On February 14, 2002, the Department of Justice made available to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia 47 comments received during the 60-day public comment period relating to the revised proposed Final Judgment."

HP Releases Linux Workstation - Too bad it's HP.

"Like cockroaches after nuclear war, online diarists rule an Internet strewn with failed dot coms."

First, Enron, now Global Crossing.

The latest newsletter from Scott.

Canadian Skating Pair Awarded Gold - Will this story ever die? Enough already! It's over. Stop crying, get your gold medal and go back to Canada.

Thank you, Amanda, for a new word that I really like: "link-alicious". (via The Great Plagiarism Debate)

Jen's plagiarism entry has already provoked 61 comments.

ALA: Better Living Through XHTML

"How did you like your Valentine's Day gift?"

Is this true? (via Cam, via garret)

I spent most of my youth in Prentiss, Mississippi. The county is so full of drugs that is has recieved national attention via this article in the NY Times. Sad.

J Lo's new remix album has entered the Billboard charts at number one.

OS Updates - Handy list from 3DSpotlight.

Yes, Bono is married.

"Describing the hot line as "permeated with fraud," the Federal Trade Commission said Thursday it wants to shut down Access Resource Services Inc. and Psychic Readers Network. The two companies in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., are behind the telephone psychic reading service that on television and the Internet promises insights into love and money."

AOL has given Trillian users the boot again, and this time a little bit more forcefully. This MeFi thread explains, as well as this BetaNews article.

Bush Officials Say War on Iraq Almost Certain - The report indicates that the U.S. is ready to act alone, if necessary.

FCC Rules Seek High-Speed Shift - "If adopted, the rules would hand large regional telephone companies a key victory: They would not be required to allow competitors to offer Internet access, e-mail and other services over the same souped-up telephone lines the regional carriers use to deliver high-speed service."

Ebert didn't like John Q or Crossroads. Here's the best quote from his review of Crossroads, the Britney Spears movie: "I'm not kidding. "Crossroads," which is being promoted with ads showing Britney bouncing on the bed while lip-synching a song, is a downer that would be even more depressing if the plot wasn't such a lame soap opera." Ouch.

Crack will soon be cheaper than cigarettes in NYC. Well, not really, but almost!

Say 'cheese'!

I can't wait to read Ebert's review of Britney's new movie tomorrow.

Courtney and I rented and watched 'Simon Birch' this evening. I had never seen it. I thought it was pretty good.

"Five months after the Sept. 11 attack, more than one in four jobs in lower Manhattan has been lost, and half of the businesses whose buildings were destroyed or damaged do not plan to return to the neighborhood, surveys have found."

The next time you enter the express checkout lane in the supermarket, COUNT YOUR ITEMS!

"Kenneth McKinnon, 65, shattered his right leg when he fell from a ladder on his remote rural property west of Bundaberg on Friday, but his plight wasn't discovered until his wife Bev returned home on Saturday evening. Mr McKinnon had managed to drag himself to a refrigerator where he staved off thirst by drinking the water from the drip tray, before starting on a carton of warm beer."

Here's some cheerful news from Baltimore.

CubeSolver - This guy is serious about Legos.

Here's the weekly dangling participle update. Ouch.

I'm going to be the best man in a wedding in May. Jason and Lenore will tie the knot in The Bronx. Giddy-Up!

US Targets Saddam - "The Pentagon and the CIA have begun preparations for an assault on Iraq involving up to 200,000 US troops that is likely to be launched later this year with the aim of removing Saddam Hussein from power, US and diplomatic sources told the Guardian yesterday."

Gregg Easterbrook: "On September 11 we learned there is a moral obligation to act in advance against those who plan to do mass murder. If ever a preemptive attack were justified by such obligation, it is against Saddam's Iraq. The target should be weapons facilities, not the country as a whole. The means should be the new technology and tactics of air war. And the time should be before it is too late."

Daisy Duke now looks like this. I am getting old.

How to Sell Your Soul to the Devil, Microsoft style!

The fix WAS in!

I own one of Waylon Jennings' greatest hits CD's. One of my favorite songs from that disc is 'Wurlitzer Prize'.

"...out in Luckenbach, Texas, ain't nobody feelin' no pain..."

Cajun Whitewater Rafting - LOL!

Digital Flick Picks - No more late fees.

Dan Gillmor: Entertainment Industry's Copyright Fight Puts Consumers in Cross Hairs - "If the business people who rule the entertainment industry had been as powerful 25 years ago as they are today, you'd be breaking the law if you set your videocassette recorder to tape your favorite Olympic event for later viewing. The VCR, assuming the entertainment industry would have allowed a manufacturer to sell it, would not have a fast-forward button because it would let you skip through the commercials without viewing them."

Elizabeth's 4th Annual Free Oscar Pool!

"For $10 and no aggravation, Mike Tyson is licensed to box in Georgia, paving the way for him to fight heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis on June 8 at the 80,000-seat Georgia Dome in Atlanta."

One airline passenger to another: "What's going on in the bathroom?"

Iraq Update - "Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said today that the administration was considering a variety of options to topple Saddam Hussein, amid indications that President Bush and his top advisers are close to settling on a plan."

My sinuses are either under attack or I'm getting a cold. Either way, my throat is a little sore and I have some congestion. I'm taking these to help eliminate some of the symptoms.

Big Brother is alive AND well. UPDATE: Comcast says it will stop.

Was the fix in?

Segway Update

What's wrong with this story? Prison Offers Viagra to Sex Offenders

Bush Decides to Oust Saddam

This guy has the longest ear hair in the world. "Yeah, that's just nasty."

Gertz: Former CIA Spy Calls for Overhaul

"Hold On, Please"

Microsoft Plugs Six Browser Holes - "Microsoft released a collection of software fixes Monday to plug six security problems in its Internet Explorer browser, including one that could be exploited to take over a victim's computer." Get the latest patch here.

Iraq Losing Allies in Face of U.S. Threats - Stratfor reports that Baghdad's allies are beginning to melt away.

The latest Bill Garner cartoon.

The Truth About Kuwait - "A recent "60 Minutes" painted a dark picture of Kuwait. The real story is much more promising." by Claudia Winkler

Handspring Treo - The new $550 phone/organzier.

This picture is worth at least a thousand words.

Man Held with 1,304 Diamonds in Intestines - "A man carrying no fewer than 1,304 uncut diamonds in his intestines has been arrested by Angolan authorities, Portuguese news agency Lusa reported on Monday."

'Friends' Cast Back for Ninth, Final Season - "The six actors who star in the show, NBC, Warner Brothers Television and Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions signed a deal Monday to wrap up the series with a final, 24-episode season starting in the fall."

Pilots' Group Wants Crews to be Armed - "The Airline Pilots' Security Alliance says it is advocating "a controlled, well thought out, rational and safe program for arming carefully screened and trained airline pilots with firearms," according to the group's website."

U.S. Snowboarders Sweep - "Through their gravity-defying acrobatics, the U.S. snowboarding team gave the United States its first Winter Games medal sweep in 46 years, single-handedly doubled the U.S. medal total -- from three to six -- and vaulted their country nearly halfway toward its best Winter Games medal total (13) on just Day 4 of these Games."

'Rings' Leads Oscar Nominations - I'll save my predictions for later. The full list of nominees is here.

Have you seen the video of the human cannonball that misses his target? Ouch.

Did anyone see 'The Practice' last night? It was pretty good. I'm not a regular viewer, but the few episodes that I have seen were interesting.

Everybody needs one of these.

Swiss Cheese Update - This time, it's Exchange that's full of holes.

Dog, it's what's for dinner.

Driven to Distraction"But in comparing cellphone use while driving with being legally drunk, he has discovered something chilling: The drunks are better drivers. When he put 21 cellphone-using subjects on his driving simulator, three of them had accidents. But when he switched to people who exceeded the 0.8 blood-alcohol level that is a commonly used standard of intoxication, none of the seven people he tested on the simulator had an accident."

I purchased Grisham's new novel, 'The Summons', and I hope to start reading it tonight. It's set in the same Mississippi town that 'A Time to Kill' was set in. Has anyone finished it? What did you think?

"...including his brief marriage to his then-15-year-old protege, Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash in August..." Aaliyah got married at 15. No wonder she tried to hide it.

Read this headline five times really fast!

Eldery Mistaking Gas Pedal For Brake - That's worse than mistaking your Efferdent for Alka-Seltzer!

Snake Kills Owner - Owner deserves it?

I hate the Olypics. I cannot bear to watch them on TV. Admittedly, there are a few events that interest me. However, these are buried under boring events with boring commentators.

Some Post-September 11th College Courses Take a Twisted Path - "Universities across the country have responded to student demand by adding courses relevant to the times. But critics complain that the professors teaching these courses are the same anti-American apologists who dominate today's campuses, and that some of these new courses have less to do with intellectual rigor than with personal political ideology."

Lawmakers Mull Action Against Iraq - This, as Russia's president warns the U.S. to leave Iraq alone.

MSNBC really screwed up on this one.

Courtney and I just returned from seeing 'The Count of Monte Cristo' (Ebert / IMDB), and we both enjoyed it tremendously.

Texan Infected With HIV From Donor - "A Texas ranch hand undergoing surgery was infected with the AIDS virus in what is believed to be the first U.S. case of the virus being transmitted through donated blood since rigorous new HIV-screening technology was implemented three years ago."

The Blue Marble - A very detailed true-color image of the earth.

If you haven't seen this, go check it out. (619K, be patient)

The new design was not ready for primetime. The permalinks did not work. It's back to the drawing board.

Dave Barry, from an undisclosed location (near a city with a salty lake).

Is Christina Aguilera really Dee Snyder, from the rock group Twisted Sister? This is nuts.

What were these people thinking?

Teacher Resigns Over Plagiarism Fight - I would have done the same thing. (Jen goes off)

A Hidden and Solitary Soldier - "Marion Pritchard, now 81 years old, rescued scores of children from the Holocaust, survived seven months in a Nazi prison and killed one Nazi who got in her way." (via Rebecca)

Here's some uplifting news for Texans. Note to Dubya and Jeb: Where are your children?

The Red Kitchen - Hungry, anyone? Here's a great food blog.

How to Bury a Drunk

The O2 xda is our new integrated phone and PDA (personal digital assistant), and will be the first combined Pocket PC and GPRS (general packet radio service) device on the consumer market with a colour screen."

Ebert liked 'Big Fat Liar', the new Frankie Muniz movie, and he hated 'Rollerball'.

The Smithsonian Institute now has a Civil War Exhibit online.

I don't know if these Tubcat photos are real, but they sure are funny.

Woman Kept Mother's Corpse in Bed for Year - This news item from Japan reminds me of William Faulkner's short story, 'A Rose for Emily'. What a classic.

Trillian 0.724 is now available for download.

I'm working on a new design.

"He inserted himself, you know his torso, into the cockpit. So I jumped on him and other individuals jumped on him" a passenger who was on the flight said. "What I learned later is that he was halfway into the cockpit, and then, on the other side, the copilot used an axe that they have in the cockpit to basically hit him bluntly on the head." I just love these stories about flight crews whooping up on terrorists.

I no longer use AIM and I no longer attempt to connect to the AOL network via Trillian. If you would like to instant message me, you can do so via Yahoo! Messenger, Windows/MSN Messenger or ICQ, using the alias 'broomeman'.

TrustworthyComputing.com - Ouch. Uncle Bill has gotta hate this.

Here's a SoloTrek update for you.

What Did She Want With Zanax?

Dear Osama: Will You Be My Valentine?

The security hole story about Morpheus is a hoax. I thought as much when I originally heard about it. The record companies will have to try a little harder next time. Hint: Stop charging $17.99 for CD's.

For as long as I can remember, my Dad has never worn a ring. He has a nice wedding band that he keeps in a safe place, but never on his finger. This story illustrates his feelings on the matter. He was involved in a similar, but less severe, incident when he was in his late teens.

"Iraqi President Saddam Hussein believes he has figured out a way to respond to a U.S. military invasion expected this summer: suicide attacks by Iraqi pilots with aircraft filled with chemical and biological weapons."

Gertz: China Buys U.S. Satellite Data to Target Taiwan

"We're sorry we killed your relative. Here's a thousand bucks for your pain and suffering."

You're the man, now, dog! - Go here now!

After seeing Dan's photos, I'm beginning to think that I would enjoy a cruise.

The video shot on 9/11 by the two French film makers will be aired by CBS next month. The NY Post calls the video 'graphic'.

Google, by Elmer Fudd. (via SVN)

Bumhunt.com - "Bums are fun."

The Blog Phenomenon

The contestants for Survivor 4 have been announced.

SP1 for IE 6 has been leaked to the internet. If you download it, consider it beta at best. Even final releases of IE are worse than most viruses.

The latest editorial cartoon from Bill Garner, regarding Enron.

America's Top Employers - Fortune magazine's list of the top 100 companies to work for.

How many Americans use the Internet? Over fifty percent!

How to Win World War IV - Commentary by Norman Podhoretz.

Another photo series illustrating a downward spiral into a life of crime. Yuck.

Nutshell Toolbar - This looks interesting.

What Price Glory? - Is any pair of sneakers worth $200? Doubtful.

Junkbot - Totally cool.

10 Ways to Poison Your Pet (Accidentally) - "As little as one [Ibuprofen tablet] can cause gastric ulceration, liver damage, kidney failure and death. It is the most common cause of poisoning in the pet" (via NowThis)

Album Recommendation: Beatles for Sale, The Beatles, 1964

Florida: 18-year-old Dies in St. Petersburg Machete Slaying.

"That's gotta hurt!"

"Yes, there are freaks in this world." - J. Sommer, 1999

Greta: Before & After. I saw her last night on Fox. She looks freaky to me.

Did Bin Laden Get Away?

Michael Jordan and his wife are going to attempt a reconciliation.

Pssst. Wanna See My Blog?

John Grisham's new novel, 'The Summons', will be on shelves tomorrow. I can't wait.

"The rusty remains of a U.S. Army plane that disappeared with three soldiers aboard during World War II have been discovered in the mountains of western Panama, authorities said Saturday."

We rented American Outlaws this past Friday. We enjoyed it.

Part VIII: Bush Awaits History's Judgment - The final article in the Washington Post's '10 Days in September' series.

2002 Super Bowl Ads

"The mLife campaign, which was ridiculed no less than three times on NBC's "Today Show" this morning, is another example of marketing people dictating corporate strategy, or at the very least, given too much money to play with."

I'm happy to report that the latest version of Trillian is having no problems connecting to the AIM network. Further, I'm publicly vowing never to use AIM again for personal use. If Trillian fails to support AIM in the future, look for me on MSN Messenger or Yahoo! Messenger as 'broomeman'.

I wouldn't wear a pair of these shoes to a 'dog fight'.

I feel sorry for this guy.

We were in Louisiana Saturday night and went to Columbia Sunday afternoon. Derek and Misha hosted a large Super Bowl party, but I played Spades for most of the evening, with those, like myself, who were not particularly interested in football. As far as Spades goes, I stink, much like Rams.

Drink Recommendation: Bicardi Limon and Coke.

Has anyone tried Torengos? If so, please tell me what you think.

Obligatory Link - Why? Simply because they don't like it when people link to their site. I think I'll post a second link to their site: Better Business Bureau (via NowThis)

We're in Louisiana enjoying cold beer and boiled shrimp. Giddy-Up!

Best Picture Ever!

Punxsutawney Phil says