Last week in the newspaper, we received a notice (as did thousands of other subscribers along the Wasatch Front) that the Newspaper Agency Corporation (NAC) would no longer be placing the dailey newspaper on the porch. They quoted some bull-crap research they had done saying that it would “save time” and “provide a better service” to us the subsribers by “getting the newspaper earlier”. Horse-hockey!

The day after we got this bull-crap notice, the neighbor across the street was over saying that she was going to call and complain. She has MS and walking to get a paper that was once just within her reach on the front porch wasn’t an issue…now she has to get dressed and walk 20 yards in pain and agony….yeah genius service. I decided to wait it out and see how long I could last before I called and complained.

The next morning, having forgot all about the conversation with my neighbor from the day before, I awoke and headed to the bathroom for the morning visit, as per the norm. Also, as per the norm, I made the stop at the front door to get the paper. To my utter disgust it was not there of course…and then I remembered the new “service”.

I stomped outside in a rage looking for the dang paper. I walked out to the drive-way where they said it would now be but I didn’t see anything. I walked around our large SUV to the other side and still I saw nothing. I got down on the cold concrete on my belly to see if it was underneath our very large SUV and, yes, there it was. I shimmied under and stretched just able to reach it.

By this time, my morning movement moment had passed…no, I no longer needed to go. Instead, I went straight to the phone and called the NAC ( Newspaper Agency Crapperstoppers). I gave the lady on the other end an earfull and then some more. I then jumped on the systems and sent an email to every NAC email address I could find telling them that their service idea had failed and I was going to “start throwing their sorry excuse for a newspaper into the street” and “call the city saying that they are littering.”

Today, I got an email from someone in their customer service department. It said that my paper would be on the proch from now on. Well….thanks….what would make you idiots think I wanted on the driveway in the first place?

Posted in: The Good Times are Over | Comments(1)

Once again these bitter herbs,
The perfect complement to all your cryptic words.
I nod but don’t know what to say,
But I know you,
And I believe you’re who you say you are so I,
I will follow you,
Lay down my life.
I would die for you,
This very night.

Once again the bread and wine,
But it seems the meanings may be deeper still this time,
And you surprised me when you said I’d fall away;
Don’t you know me?
I could never be ashamed of you.
I,
I will follow you,
Lay down my life.
I would die for you,
This very night.

I’ve never been this cold,
The fire’s gravity compels,
Like planets cling to Sol,
I feel my orbit start to fail,
Like moths to flame I come,
Too close and all my oaths are burned
As stars begin to run,
All my accusers take their turn,
And calling curses down.
From my lips lies like poison spill,
And then that awful sound,
The sound of prophesy fulfilled,
And then I met your eyes,
And I remember everything,
And something in me dies,
The night that I betrayed my king…

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SOTW – Song of the Week: Audioslave Cochise.
Select in the player below playlist SOTW 5-23-6

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Wow folks, I’ve been so flipping busy lately….my blog has been pushed to the bottom of the pile of stuff. So, I post when I can….just look throught the endless supply of past posts and enjoy!

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Read to rock? Check this out, select the SOTW 5-16-06 and hear Royal Bliss pounding out “Brave”, their hit single.

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http://www.tornadostream.com

We (me and blogdor) have been working on this project for the last couple years and it has finally got to the beta testing stage.

Lemme ‘splain what it is and what it does.

The basic concept is an online radio station where you create your own
playlists from a list of songs and then place the player on your website,
blog, whatever…to share your “stations”. The player plays a true stream of
the audio files so a higher bandwidth is required.

Once you’ve created your user account, you can create your list(s), you
add them to your site using just a snippet of JavaScript code. There are 2
radios to choose from. Select the one the fits best into your site layout,
and then copy the accompanying code and paste it into your web site code.
All of the radio stations you’ve created will now be accessible from your
web site!

Thanks for your help and let me know if you have any questions.

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SL Trib Article about Royal BLiss

Despite all the chaos, Royal Bliss plays on
By Dan Nailen
The Salt Lake Tribune

Jake Smith, left, Neal Middleton, Chris Harding, Taylor Richards and Brent Bruschke of Royal Bliss.

Bruised egos can split up a band. So can the frustration of trying to make a living on tour or dealing with shady music-industry types. Some acts simply run out of steam.
Salt Lake City’s Royal Bliss has been making music and touring the West for eight years, but the past three have been the most trying, offering plenty of chances for the five members to call it a day. Despite a run of bum luck that included a temporarily paralyzed lead singer, an unexpected pregnancy, several broken bones, totaled cars, ski accidents and surgeries, as well as lawsuits, failed recording sessions and broken relationships, they survived to record a new album, “After the Chaos II,” arriving in stores Tuesday.
“It was like the forces were working against us, trying to stop us,” said singer Neal Middleton, who was paralyzed from the waist down three years ago when he fell about 35 feet from a Southern California balcony. That led to a couple of surgeries and a slow progression from paralysis to performing onstage with the help of a cane.
Middleton and his bandmates – guitarists Taylor Richards and Chris Harding, drummer Jake Smith and bassist Brent Bruschke – never gave much thought to quitting even as they weathered “low, low points,” especially after Smith unexpectedly found himself a father-to-be and the band realized it needed to keep earning money because, as Middleton said, “our only form of working was playing with this band.”
“We’ve always told each other, as long as we keep moving steps forward, we’ll never give up, we’ll never quit,” Middleton said. “As long as each year we advance as musicians and we advance as people, then we’ll never give up. It’s kind of like going to school to become a doctor for eight or 10 years. That was our college, playing in a band.”
The recent disasters – including Smith wrecking his car and Harding breaking his jaw and needing reconstructive surgery after a ski accident – forced Royal Bliss to take its time in recording its sixth album. The musicians started work in a million-dollar California studio and finished it nearly two years later in a Salt Lake City home studio, and the resulting set of straightforward, anthemic rock cuts is sure to please fans who have helped the band sell more than 20,000 copies of
Bliss national radio airplay.
“It’s the first CD that all of us collectively agree that this is the one we need to go out and shop to labels and tour on and really push as heavily as we possibly can,” Middleton said. “For the first time, we’ve hired a radio promoter and we’ve hired a publicist and ended up signing a distribution deal” that will get “After the Chaos II” into stores nationwide, while giving Royal Bliss control of all the music.
Royal Bliss had opportunities to leave Salt Lake City for greener pastures, but “it’s always been our goal to come from Salt Lake City, because we believe the talent in Salt Lake deserves to be noticed.” And with the Internet, it’s even easier for bands to make an impact without leaving their hometowns.
Royal Bliss plans on touring and pushing “After the Chaos II” as far as it can. And with their recent travails now in the rearview mirror, band members are optimistic.
“It’s actually starting to feel better than it’s ever been before,” Middleton said. “We’re all feeling good and we’re all healthy. I still don’t have all the feeling back in my leg, but it doesn’t bother me.”
—
Contact Dan Nailen at nailen@sltrib.com or via his blog “Urban Spelunker” at www.sltrib.com/blogs. His phone number is 801-257-8613. Send comments to livingeditor @sltrib.com.

Acoustic Bliss

Royal Bliss plays an acoustic show tonight at 9 at Cabana Club, 31 E. 400 South, Salt Lake City; hosts a CD release party Tuesday at 4 p.m. at the Taylorsville Graywhale CD store, 1763 W. 4700 South; and plays a free show Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Gallivan Center, Gallivan Plaza, 239 S. Main, Salt Lake City, with The Contingency Plan, Holloh and Spencer Nielsen.

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This week’s song of the week is a good one. A solid song with fluid riffs and rocking melodies. One of the best rock songs of all time.

“Post Script” by Finch from “What it is to Burn” Album.
I recently found out that Finch decided to call it quits after a mere two CDs.

You will be missed Finch, but never forgotten.
(click on the SOTW station and enjoy Post Script by Finch)

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Can a Monkey Live off of Pepsi for a week?

I plan on doing research on this…

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Here is a simple click counter for Flash. You need two items on the stage: a button (give it an instance name of “myButton”) and a dynamic (text field and set the var of that dynamic text field to “myVar”).

Here is the code that you need to put on frame 1:

myVar=0;
myButton.onRelease=function(){
myVar++;
trace("click");
}

That’s it. Simple little click counter just counting away.

here is the fla – clickCounter.fla
and the swf – clickCounter.swf

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Here is an easy way to create and use the Window Component in Flash.

Copy and paste the following code into a button:

on (press) {
import mx.managers.PopUpManager;
import mx.containers.Window;
var myTW = PopUpManager.createPopUp(_root, Window, true, {closeButton:true, title:"My Window"});
myTW.setSize(200, 200);
myTW.title = "ALERT!"
windowListener = new Object();
windowListener.click = function(evt) {
_root.myTW.deletePopUp();
};
myTW.addEventListener("click", windowListener);
}

To add content to the Window Component, this value can be the linkage identifier of a movie clip in the library, or the absolute or relative URL of a SWF or JPEG file to load. The default value is “” (an empty string).
Have a look at the Window Class in the Flash Helps.

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Introducing the Song of the Week (SOTW). Each week I will feature a new song for your listening pleasure. To listen to this week’s selection, select the SOTW station on the player below. The song will begin to stream and play for you.

This Week’s SOTW: Of All the Gin Joints in All the World by Fall Out Boy

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In my multiple years on our mother-ship, planet earth, I have come to understand that we are governed by rules and regulations. These rules are not only set by others but by ourselves as well. Some rules we set for ourselves may not be apparent to our conscious minds but they are more apparent as we look at our subconscious.

For example, here are 3 main rules that I have found that I live by:

1. Never talk to another man in the men’s room.
A simple, “Hi”, or “Hey!”, is all that is required. We all know the nature of the business of why we are in the men’s room and we just want to conduct this business and move on. Save all the talking for another time.

2. Never pick your nose while sitting at a stop-light.
We all need to pick at some point but if you do need to fulfill the urge to pick, never do it at a stop-light. Wait until the light turns green and then have at it.

3. Never look in the mirror after an important conversation.
After a meaningful conversation with a superior at the office, or someone you highly admire, or a person you are trying to impress…never go and look at yourself in the mirror immediately afterwards. Why, you ask? You may find that there is some sort of uncharacteristic flaw on your face that normally isn’t there…like something hanging from your nose, or something stuck in your teeth. It’s best to wait an hour or so and then look. Waiting for awhile will eliminate any emotional let down that might occur from looking right after the important conversation. And, by looking a few hours later…that possible facial flaw could’ve happened sometime in the subsequent hours of the important conversation. It’s a way to trick yourself into thinking that anyway….

Posted in: The Good Times are Over | Comments(1)

Eolas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eolas is a United States company and patent licensee. It was founded in 1994 by Dr. Michael David Doyle. His UCSF team has claimed to have created the first web browser that supported plugins. They demonstrated it at Xerox PARC, in November 1993, at the second Bay Area SIGWEB meeting. The claim has been contested by Perry Pei-Yuan Wei, developer of the earlier Viola browser, a claim supported by Sir Tim Berners-Lee and other Web developers.

Eolas is currently in litigation with Microsoft over validity and use of the patent.

After the 2003 judgment, awarding Eolas $521m from Microsoft for infringement of Eolas patent, in October 2003 Microsoft proposed a change to its Internet Explorer browser in an attempt to avoid having to pay license fees to Eolas. Other browsers such as Opera, Mozilla Firefox and Apple’s Safari might have to implement a similar change to avoid infringement, or to license Eolas’ patent. A decision to change the browsers, rather than to license the patent, would force a disruption in the normal functioning of millions of existing unmaintained web pages that use multimedia plug-ins, and would cause ripple effects through the web, causing re-design of tens of millions web pages that are currently being maintained.

The inventor of the World Wide Web and the Director of the W3 Consortium Tim Berners-Lee wrote to Under Secretary of Commerce, asking to invalidate this patent, in order to “eliminate this major impediment to the operation of the Web”. In a remarkable turn of events, the leaders of Open Source Community sided with Microsoft in fighting the patent due to its threat to the free nature of the Web and to the basic established HTML standards. The specific concerns of having one company (Eolas) controlling a critical piece of the Web framework were cited.

The USPTO had agreed to re-examine the patent, but on September 27, 2005, it upheld the validity of the patent. The PTO ruling rejected the relevance of Pei Wei’s Viola code to the Eolas patent. According to the University of California press release, “In its ‘Reasons for Patentability/Confirmation’ notice, the patent examiner rejected the arguments for voiding UC’s previously approved patent claims for the Web-browser technology as well as the evidence presented to suggest that the technology had been developed prior to the UC innovation. The examiner considered the Viola reference – the primary reference asserted by Microsoft at trial – as a prior art publication and found that Viola does ‘not teach nor fairly suggest that instant ‘906 invention, as claimed.’â€? [1]

In March 2005 the District Court judgment in favor of Eolas was overturned, though the infringement and damages parts of the case were upheld. The appeals court ruled that the two Viola-related exhibits that had been thrown out of the original trial needed to be shown to a jury in a retrial.

In October 2005, The Supreme Court of the United States refused to hear Microsoft’s appeal, leaving intact the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in favor of Eolas with respect to foreign sales of Microsoft Windows.

In February 2006, Microsoft modified its web browser to side-step Eola Patents. All ActiveX controls will now need to be “activated” before they can be interacted with. Users will need to click once on an ActiveX control before being able to use its interface. A workaround is to load in the object/embed tag from an external Javascript file using one of these methods.

A potential workaround that Microsoft (or any other browser creator) may employ to avoid the need for users to “activate” the ActiveX controls would be to issue a plugin for IE that intercepts all HTML communication before it reaches the browser. This plugin would parse the HTML looking for OBJECT or EMBED tags, and replace them with Javascript calls as described in the above methods. In this manner, you would have a mechanism for scripting the browser, which technically avoids the patent’s claim (assuming it is even a valid patent to begin with). A result of this is that when a user ‘Viewed Page Source’, they would not see the HTML as it originated from the Web Server – rather they would see the altered source (with injected Javascript) as it was interpreted by the browser. The plugin would not be in violation of the patent, since all it is doing is removing the markup which the patent’s claim challenges. The browser would not be in violation of the patent since the patent does not cover scripting.

Additional Links:
http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/activecontent/articles/devletter.html

http://msdn.microsoft.com/ieupdate/
Information for Developers about Internet Explorer
Updated December 2, 2005

After a forthcoming update, Microsoft Internet Explorer users will not be able to directly interact with Microsoft ActiveX controls loaded by the APPLET, EMBED, or OBJECT elements. Users will be able to interact with such controls after activating their user interfaces. A new MSDN topic describes how Internet Explorer will handle ActiveX controls, shows how to load ActiveX controls so their interfaces are activated, and describes the impact of this behavior on accessibility tools and applications hosting the WebBrowser Control.

For more information, please see Activating ActiveX Controls.

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The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot by Brand New

If it makes you less sad, I will die by your hand.
I hope you find out what you want.
I already know what I am.

And if it makes you less sad, we’ll start talking again.
And you can tell me how vile I already know that I am.

I’ll grow old and start acting my age.
I’ll be a brand new day in a life that you hate.

A crown of gold.
A heart that’s harder than stone.
And it hurts a whole lot, but it’s missed when it’s gone.

Call me a safe bet. I’m betting I’m not.
I’m glad that you can forgive.
I’m only hoping as time goes, you can forget.

If it makes you less sad, I’ll move out of the state.
You can keep to yourself.
I’ll keep out of your way.
And if it makes you less sad, I’ll take your pictures all down.
Every picture you paint, I will paint myself out.

It’s cold as a tomb, and it’s dark in your room, when I sneak to your bed to pour salt in your wounds.
So call it quits or get a grip.
Say you wanted a solution.
You just wanted to be missed.

Call me a safe bet.
I’m betting I’m not.
I’m glad that you can forgive.
I’m only hoping as time goes, you can forget…
So you can forget
You can forget

You are calm and reposed.
It lets your beauty unfold.
Pale white, like the skin stretched over your bones.
Spring keeps you ever close.
You are second hand smoke.
You are so fragile and thin.
Standing trial for your sins.
Holding onto yourself the best you can.
You are the smell before rain.
You are the blood in my veins.

Call me a safe bet.
I’m betting I’m not.
I’m glad that you can forgive.
I’m only hoping as time goes, you can forget.

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