March Madness Doesn’t Have to End

March Madness is one of my favorite times of the year. So why should it end, just because the month is coming to a close? Most assuredly not. So I ventured to find an appopriate, uh… condition for each month to come and we can celebrate year-round! [In case it isn't obvious, this is purely a jest and I apologize beforehand to anyone who might unfortuantely be afflicted with any of these.]

April Acousticophobia
May Mysophobia
June Jakob-Creutzfeldt Disease
July Jejunoileitis
August Alcoholophobia
September Selective Memory
October Onomatophobia
November Nostophobia
December Dental Anxiety
January Jaundice
February Freakish

Terri Dies. What Have We Learned?

Today Terri Schiavo passed on. There has been an incredible amount of discussion on this and related matters for the past several months; which is a very good thing. I’ll just briefly list what I’ll be taking away from this experience.

1. Whether to live or die is a decision that should be left up to the individual; not the spouse, not the parent and certainly not the state. This penultimate decision should be in writing and revisited from time to time.
2. Michael Schiavo is not a good person. Any reasonable person should be able to view the evidence and come to this conclusion.
3. The judicial third of our government has purposefully ignored the checks and balances built into our system of governing by the Founding Fathers. Correcting their power grab should be of prime importance to every freedom loving citizen.
4. This life is not all that there is. Something must come next. We should all do everything we can to investigate and decide what makes the most sense.

For the Love of Duke

Ok, quick one.

<rant>
“Why were Coach K and former Duke player J. Williams chosen to be announcers on last nights McDonald’s All-Star game?”
Answer: “Because ESPN is deep into a ACC television contract.”
</rant>

Survivor: Week 6

Well, my strategy worked marvelously, I must say. While others shied away from the guaranteed negative points, I embraced them, as well as, the additional 94 points. If I had stuck with my existing lineup I would have only received 16 standard points. Instead I garnered 110 and I’ve moved up to 2nd in my tribe. Woo hoo!

Since we’ve lost James (and his annoying demeaner) I need to find a replacement. As Ulong is down to three members, I’ll maintain this strategy and keep all three and chose one from Koror. Based on past performance, Katie has the highest average but I’m hoping that Tom will get some coconut chopping airtime. Fingers crossed!

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The Bachelor, v.Slutfest

Look, I’m not a prude, really I’m not. You’ll have to take my word on that. But after tuning in for the last 20 minutes of this season’s The Bachelor, it has to be on its last leg. Why else did they get this guy? To reference Seinfeld, he’s a mimbo. So they surround him with (for the most part) dim-witted, Hollywood wanna-bes and let the mating ritual begin!

Not that the previous seasons were high-brow dissertations on the nature of male-female relationships, but this show has gone Fox on us. Consider me disinterested.

Cuban and the Future of Digital Content

Mark Cuban is a bright fellow. One must be to accomplish all that he has. David Goldenberg (a contributor to the piece) passed along an interesting interview with the Internet-insider who knows a thing or two about using the Internet as a broadcast medium.

This is particularly relevant given that the Supreme Court is now hearing arguments in MGM vs. Grokster case; sure to be a landmark decision. So what does Cuban do? He puts his money where his mouth is. Good thing he’s got a lot of money.

How Long Do Discs Live?

Anyone who’s rented the latest action-thriller from Blockbuster knows that DVDs are fragile objects. Who wants to drive back to the store? Or worse, have to mail it back to Netflix?

Unlike the floppy discs, which protect the data covered disc with a retractable “door”, DVDs and CDs only use a thin reflective layer of polycarbonate. So how long should we expect them to work?

Well, the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Government Information Preservation Working Group (gotta love their acronym, GIPWoG) is debating how to label the longevity of discs. Any info would be helpful, but they should really work on a better way to protect the data inside of the disc. Titanium comes to mind.

Making with built-in expiration is just plain wrong.

Heard It on My Watch

How would you like a watch that can receive news broadcasts and stuff? And it’s only $150! Sure it’s made by Swatch but how cheap-looking could it be? Oh… very cheap. The idea sounds great, we won’t have to have those extra pool of minutes from our mobile company but if you think about it, the screen is awfully small. How would we input our requests? Do we even get to? I’m guessing we’d need to subscribe to MSN Direct as well. Hrm.

Definitely something you’ll want to test drive before you buy.

Site Redesign: Version 2005

I’ve received enough comments about the difficulty of reading white text on a black background to force my hand. (Not much of a shove, as I love designing.) So today I release the newest version of 21st Century Paladin.

As many of you may or may not know, I’ve been posting thoughts, links and pictures to the Web as far back as 1994. This was done under a gaming nic but apparently I have this urge, since it’s about 10 years later and I’m still doing it. So it’s even difficult for me to estimate the number of site designs I’ve had over the years. For awhile, I did a new one each year, recently less frequently.

All this to say, I’d love to hear what you, my readers, think about the new design. I’ve already heard from my brother and he hates it, but that’s just because it reminds him of buttscotch pudding and it’s a phobia of his. (Just kidding.)

Hope you enjoy!

Sony PSP Absolutely Roars

Today I saw one. Bathed in the glow of electric light was this… this thing of complete and utter beauty. One must see it, touch it, dare I say, handle it to appreciate the ecstasy such a device affords. Reviews are largely glowing, so the only question is, “When will you get yours?”

I guess I should actually buy mine before I so carelessly promote the game system, but such was its charm that I’m held, fully captivated even now, hours after our encounter. Yes, I’m smitten.

The Bill of No Rights

Caltechgirl put up the Bill of No Rights. Common sense has a sense of humor. Nice job.

Soldier Kills 15-20 Terrorists Singlehanded

Ace of Spades is talking about Timmy Haag who last year went on the war path. [Note: Harse language.]

How come we’re not hearing about this stuff? CNN should be ashamed. Certainly they could squeeze in an hour or two for an American hero amidst their almost non-stop coverage of the latest Hollywood trial and their “news” piece on how Martha Stewart’s rose garden looked when she returned home. Sheesh.

The War Is Over

No, no, no. Not Iraq, the war between Basil and that droopy-pants wearing know-nothing Sortapundit. The details are a bit sketchy but I think they traded baked goods and Twizzlers to seal the deal.

Maybe I’m new to these cyberfights but I expected more dead pixels.

King of the Bluegrass

Very few states love their hometown heroes like Kentuckians. They build online shrines commemorating the people and their stats. They boast one of the country’s most active online community, called aptly enough, Wildcat Faithful. They build charts and tables of stats and… ok, enough about me.

It’s an undisputed fact that in Kentucky basketball is king. So who’s the king of Kentucky basketball? Ever heard the name, King Kelly Coleman? I didn’t think so. Neither had I.

In Texas it’s football, Minnesota is hockey, but Kentucky is basketball and no one made a bigger impact on high school basketball than King Kelly Coleman. Check out these stats:

All-time Kentucky High School leading scorer with 4,263 (33.57 ppg, 46.8 in his senior year)
Record 185 points in 1956 KY State Tournament (46.25 ppg)
Record 68 points in single Tournament game
Record 28 rebounds in single Tournament game
Record 75 points in a single game
[source]

All this was before the 3-point shot. Amazing. There’s a book coming out in August called, King Kelly Coleman, A Kentucky Basketball Legend. Oh that we had video footage of his accomplishments.

Link Dump 3/29/05

1. Lakers’ 7-game losing skid longest in 11 years
   Sixers got them, make that 8.
2. New technology uses human body for broadband networking
   Talk about crazy.
3. A Style Guide for Blog Parodists
   For all you parady fans out there.
4. How far could I go before they would check my credit card signature?
   This guy does it right. No wussy signatures here.
5. Mark Cuban to finance Grokster defense
   Yet another reason to love the Cube.