Miscellany

I am sick and tired of tech support staff who have no idea what open source is and who have never heard of common open-source software applications, e.g. tech support at Comcast who have never heard of Mozilla Firefox and/or Thunderbird, people at the Apple store who have never heard of OpenOffice, etc. etc. Can't some basics about open source be folded into the orientation?

The spring fashions are so ugly this year. I went into a couple of big department stores and walked by a lot more windows, and I saw countless pairs of white pants* and other utterly unflattering eye pollution. When I go to the mall, I take a picture of the display when I walk in, so that when I'm getting ready to leave I know I'm going out the right way. Just look at this:

Where do I start? First, there's the boxy, fluffed-out, pleated skirt, then the three layers of shirts (like I really want to wear that in the summer), TIED IN A KNOT. Yuck.

* Sorry, friends with white pants. I have no idea why I have this aversion to them.

Two finds in one day! Exposition:

So, who is this Sheila devotee? A man? A woman? What prompted this public declaration? Why Energy Park Drive, a rundown industrial park area in St. Paul? Did they just get married? Is their marriage in trouble, and was this a way to affirm their commitment? Did the person show it to Sheila proudly? Was she appropriately mortified?

Inspired by Jenny's presentation, here's something I found (probably about a year ago). When I mention this bathroom in conversations with people -- which I do every chance I get! -- I usually find that they've never noticed the sign, even though the bathroom is in the tunnel connecting the student center on the St. Paul campus to one of the big administrative buildings. Without further ado:

Huh huh. See what they did there? They blacked out the "W" so that it looks like "omen." Heh heh...yeah...it's funny 'cause it's true.

Ah, I've replaced the heatsink fan, so no siren noise anymore. What a pain, though. This is what I've been looking at for the last little while:

A couple of people have told me my site doesn't look right in Safari. They both said my main middle column was super-narrow, and one person mentioned that he had to do some horizontal scrolling to see everything. I changed the width of the main column and changed the margin padding, but I can't test it in Safari. Safari users, would you mind clearing your caches and telling me how it looks now? CSS-savvy people, is there any way to make the width of the middle column variable? I'd appreciate the help immensely.

New 5ives! Especially funny is Five terrible fake LiveJournal memes.

Last Saturday nights, some friends and I got together at Bryant-Lake Bowl in trendy uptown Minneapolis. I'd been to the place a couple of times before; it's a combination bar/restaurant/bowling alley/theater, and most of the plays and shows in the small venue are experimental, Fringe Festival-style performances. I once saw a performance of Mark Ehling's brilliant The Bath of Surprise and Other Failed Lectures, and as the actors delivered their monologues, I heard bowling balls thunder down the lanes and knock down pins. I'm curious about two that are coming up: Point Break LIVE! and Eat! A Karen Carpenter Buffet.

Of the two, Point Break LIVE! is the less expensive and more interesting-sounding:

Pinwheel Theatre presents the Midwest Premiere of the 100% pure
adrenaline, live theatrical adaptation of the 1991 Extreme-Sports
blockbuster, Point Break. The film has no less than 5 back-breaking action
sequences, and the play promises no less--including the 2 skydiving
battles. Come thrill to this one-of-a-kind theatrical experience that
features a new, unrehearsed Keanu Reeves pulled at random from the
audience just moments prior to each action-packed show!

I don't know if they'd pick a woman, but if so, I'd love to do it. Eat! might be fun, too; I'll admit to both liking Karen Carpenter and being curious about how far this show pushes the boundaries of decorum.

Equal parts musical revue, variety hour, and loving accolade to our
favorite 70's songbird, Karen Carpenter, this smash hit from the 2004
Minnesota Fringe Festival returns to the Bryant Lake Bowl in January! Join
Karen as she serves up your favorite songs, welcomes special guests, does
a cooking segment and invites you to sing along!

Probably only Jonathan will appreciate this, but just now I gave in to my curiosity and typed wegotussomemedicalwaste.com into my address bar. Lo and behold, some devoted fan Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. has put some content there. Confused? Well, in a third-season episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force (more at Wikipedia), a show starring (L to R) Master Shake, Frylock, and Meatwad,

a show I introduce people to every time I have the opportunity, the Aqua Teens have to rebuild their neighbor Carl's body. They finally get their hands on some organs -- eyeballs only -- ordered from wegotussomemedicalwaste.com.

I assume the site was created after the episode aired, after the fashion of whatbadgerseat.com but obviously not so contrived.