My mom walked into a yarn shop in Provence. The owner said (in German) "Jew OUT!" She's encounter that before growing up in the 50s. I'm pulling the same thing by not spending my money on business run by Mormons. Or stepping into a Walmart. Or contributing to the Salvation Army (their media director recently said…

I didn't know they were anti-gay, just Mormon. They would use part of my fees to defeat marriage equality. I tell anyone and everyone to stay clear of these bigots.

The problem I have with bluehost is that it's run by Mormons who tithe a portion of the profits to their Church. I don't want my money used to fund church-based projects like the anti-marriage equality campaigns in California and other states. And their system is constrained to only allow one account to be…

The problem with this is that we don't have such things on the west coast. Nor is there someone who you hire every year to "blow out your lines" in preparation for winter.

This is just one customer's reaction to his Microsoft experience. And he writes a widely read column for several PC magazines. And he writes for a living although he says he plots revenge professionally. You do not want to piss him off. The idiots in Glendale did. There will be blood.

If they made this of shiny titanium/metalized plastic, they'd sell a boatload at Fry's. Perfect for the "don't know what it is but I gotta have it" crowd.

Shortly after the Supreme Court decision saying "you have no resonable expectation of privacy", a reporter went through the local DA, a judge, and the Chief of Police when it was on the curb to be collected. He published his results. The DA tried to have him indicted. The Chief of Police threatened him with arrest.…

We don't have automated ticketing at movie theaters in my area. But we can buy half-price tickets for all the local chains at CostCo. It's not cheaper than a matinee but worth it for the full-price adult price after 2pm.

Alan, I'm glad you found this book. When the "I drink to much coffee" question came through a couple weeks ago and you started looking into changing your habit, I thought of you. Next you should give your copy to Dachis so he can _really_ kick his nail biting habit. Awareness only goes so far. Change the cue and…

This was some artwork from ALIEN CRITIC back in the 70s.

It's most curious that your opinion of Acupressure and TCM do little to change it's effectiveness for certain things. It's fine really. They've been using this chi-based model of healing in China for over 5000 years. Doctors don't get paid over there unless their treatment makes you well. At some point in your…

Glad you got this in there. Stross' ATROCITY ARCHIVES has some amazing and frightening stuff in it. The Frost Giants were just the beginning. In a follow up novel, his character Bob does buy a "Jesus Phone" noting the display model has a Class 4 Glamour on it.

I was bored by the first book. I kept listening to the rich characters on the booktape but they never got any deeper or contributed much to the plot except for the love of his life that gets slaughtered. That was it for the first book. And I never bothered with the others.

There is some "science" around this—the paletine bones connect up to the ethmoid and go "by" the sinus cavities behind the zygoma (cheek bone). These bones _do_ move. Wish Adam had done a video. But I don't think he would have been able to keep a straight face during filming, at least without being stoned (with…

Buying top-off cards is actually a better way to go since their billing system doesn't produce receipts. Since I use my phone for business, I need an electronic receipt for the IRS. New rules won't allow just my credit card bill as a receipt. Buying a card at Walmart et al is just fine. But I won't be giving them…

If offered both, I'll choose the cheaper. A local outdoor market has mostly conventional, locally grown stuff (there's still dirt on it) and all the local immigrant population shops there. Who knew there were so many expat Soviet grandmothers? They're usually on-par or cheaper than the local super market. I never…

After my $90 CostCo chair died (spot welds don't last more than 10 years, it seems), I went to a used office furniture place. The guy goes into high-tech companies that are either liquidating or redecorating and buys their chairs, desks, and other stuff.

What happens when you get tired of the floor? Removing that from concrete would be hard. I'd think it would be better to put this sort of thing on a thin underlay of plywood laid on top of nailing straps. That way there'd be some give to the floor. Concrete floors look great but hurt my feet and knees now.