archshrk » General Ranting

It’s been a problem for some time

archshrk — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:21:01 +0000

The spelling of English is one of its most difficult aspect. It’s hard to say how many writers of English, native speakers or not, have at one time or another used one of the pair its/it’s in place of the other. – Education Bug

It’s is a contraction for it is or it has.
Its is a possessive pronoun meaning, more or less, of it or belonging to it.
And there is absolutely, positively, no such word as its’.

This has been the bane of my writing existence. Despite my earnest efforts to keep this rule, I have repeatedly failed to keep them straight. And as I’m sure you’ll notice (if you haven’t already) I typically get them wrong. In fact, I’m so confident that I’ve reversed this rule and almost never use the possessive form, that I could replace all my its with it’s and be 99% accurate – meaning I’m 99% wrong up ’till now. But have no fear I finally have the trick to remember them from now on.

The word “its” signifies possession, and needs no apostrophe, nor do yours, his, hers, theirs, and ours. So there you have it, a quick and easy way to check, if not remember, when to use its vs it’s (or is that it’s vs its). Either way, let me know if you catch me making this mistake so I can quickly cover up my ignorance.Similar Posts:

It’s been a problem for some time

Good (supplemental) Health to You…you’ll need it

archshrk — Fri, 28 May 2010 04:58:17 +0000

Some people will do anything for their health. Others will sell you anything to improve it. While this may seem to be an ideal situation, the reality is far from it.

The methods, claims and results of a large number of supplements is reminiscent of snake oil salesmen of the 1930′s. While it’s true that there’s usually some medicinal qualities to the product in question, as the old adage says, if it sounds too good to be true… it usually is.

Let’s take Proargi 9 for example. A google search will yield a lot of results. Most of which are very glowing reports of what it can do for you, including such claims as improving cardio-vascular health, increasing nitric oxide and sexual function benefits. Some pages claim that if you take the pills at a different time, you will see anti-aging results. At the time of writing, these type of results fill the first 50 google pages, after which it starts into non-English languages.

Not surprisingly, most of these pages are constructed in very specific way. You’ll see the words ‘Proargi9′ more often that one would think is reasonable. One page I’m looking at lists: ProArgi9… Benefits, …Caution, …Directions, …Ingredients, …Nutritional information, …Suggested Serving, Top 10 benefits of ProArgi9, How to get the Benefits of ProArgi9, the accompanying text, and not much else – except perhaps links on where to buy it.

Why does it do that? Quite simply, it’s the dark side of Search Engine Optimization. Construct a page that has a singular purpose, an overuse of keywords and plenty of links to similar pages, it will float up to the top of most search engine results – at least temporarily. Quite shortly after, the glut of these sites will be banned. It is a continuing arms race between the sites and the search engines.

What’s actually in these pages? A lot of semi-true information. It cites a 1998 Nobel Prize in medicine as ‘proof’ of it’s claims. What it doesn’t say is that it was an award for discoveries concerning nitric oxide as a signaller – nothing to do with the supposed health benefits. The most touted active ingredient is l-arginine which, as noted earlier, does have some medicinal properties. That proves to be something more worthwhile to look up. You’ll see what they don’t tell you: Most people produce enough in their own bodies, and if they can’t, it’s readily available in many foods – including but not limited to – dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, seafood, wheat germ, flour, granola, nuts and seeds. Of course, the manufactures would have you believe that their combination of ingredients and riders can “unlock it’s awesome potential”. In the same breath they say that every other formulation is garbage – if not downright dangerous. Remarkably self-serving, isn’t it?

Just as important is what it leaves out. Wikipedia and HowStuffWorks both list a number of well-cited side effects. As the FDA doesn’t regulate herbal supplements the to the same degree as pharmaceutical drugs, it’s buyer beware.

Considering the underhanded tactics used to advertise, the strained credulity of many of their claims as well as the exorbitant price, I’m going give this stuff (and many, many things like it) a wide berth.

This article was written by regular commenter (and good friend) Adonis after learning (on FB) that someone he knows is now a distributor for the aforementioned “product”. Please take a moment and visit his site to learn more about Photographs and Photochops. He really knows his stuff and knows how to explain it to us mere mortals.

Holidays I don’t celebrate

archshrk — Wed, 05 May 2010 15:59:14 +0000

I don’t celebrate Boxing Day, Bastille day or even Guy Fawkes Day so why should today be any different.

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Holidays I don’t celebrate

Why I dropped Google Buzz

archshrk — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 03:26:23 +0000

Google and I have a love/hate relationship. I love its spam stopping capabilities and threaded emails but then there was Tip Jar, Google China and Emoticons. Not to mention the hotly debated EOM.

Now Google offers it’s latest service – Google Buzz. On the surface this sounds like a harmless tool that is intended to compete with or at least respond to the popularity of Twitter and Facebook. I don’t use any social networking tool/site (other than LinkedIn) but I thought I’d give this a shot. After all it was integrated into my Gmail and didn’t even require any setting up to get started. And that’s where we have a problem.

As of now, Google’s algorithm just picks people out of your email box for you to follow and be followed by, regardless of whether they are friends, spouses, mistresses, stalkers, or enemies.

Worse, the list of your followers and followees is made public by default, so anyone can see it.

Put simply, Google just let the whole world peek into your email Inbox, without ever asking you if you wanted it to do that.
- Henry Blodget

I use my private Gmail account to email my boyfriend and my mother. There’s a BIG drop-off between them and my other “most frequent” contacts. You know who my third most frequent contact is. My abusive ex-husband.

Which is why it’s SO EXCITING, Google, that you AUTOMATICALLY allowed all my most frequent contacts access to my Reader, including all the comments I’ve made on Reader items, usually shared with my boyfriend, who I had NO REASON to hide my current location or workplace from, and never did.
- Harriet Jacobs

Whether you call it a huge privacy flaw or just an annoyance, Google Buzz can put the contacts you automatically follow—a.k.a. those you most frequently email or chat—on a public profile page. Here’s how to undo that. Want Google Buzz gone entirely? Log into Gmail, then look at the bottom of your inbox page for a “Turn off Buzz” link.Similar Posts:

Why I dropped Google Buzz

Piss Off!

archshrk — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:18:51 +0000

I hate liars and I try not to use the word “hate” very often. After all, scriptures tells us “Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer” but the liars I’m thinking of are not my brothers (or sisters) but deceivers and are “of [their] father the devil”. So I guess it’s OK to hate them. But back to the point. They seek to deceive you and make you a fool for their own gain. When we lie to cover our guilt, we are just revealing our weakness, when we lie in the course of a joke or story we are not intending to keep the listener in the dark (rather we show them the truth of our actions). But when we lie simply to be dishonest, we are actively attacking others.

Case in point. There are many urban legends and old-wives tales circulating the globe and many were originally believed to be true or simply a piece of fiction someone mistakenly took to be true (like a ghost story). but there are those who create lies with the intent to mislead people in believing the lie. And many people fall victim to these lies thanks to the internet.

Recently, I received an email with a story about the design of a men’s room which turns out to be false – not in error, but a bold-faced lie. What makes this one so offensive is that the actual designers and client are not credited for this work.

Edge Designs is an all-women run company that designs interior office space. They had a recent opportunity to do an office project in NYC…The client was a company that was also run by all women execs…

Why not just say it was a client with an all-women staff and only women customers in an all-women country?

The mural was actually designed by Perron Developments and graces a second floor men’s loo in a Sofitel hotel in Queenstown, New Zealand. An October 2005 article on Hotel Industry News notes:

The second floor men’s toilet, which services the complex’s restaurants including Bezu and Fatz Cat, has been tastefully and aesthetically designed by the complex’s developers Cam Marsh and Mark Perriam of Perron, and Brett Taylor of Group CDA. It features six unique individual ‘stands’ manufactured by Three Sixty Limited in Auckland.

But it’s not the tasteful design or subtle lighting that has tongues wagging in the New Zealand resort town.

It is the six-metre long backdrop of life-size photographs featuring local models in varying poses directly behind each of the six stands – each with a full view of the action. – Queenstown, New Zealand Hotel Unzips Eye-opening New Loo :: Hotel News Resource

So next time a piece of email comes through your inbox, take a moment to verify if it’s true before sending it on to your entire contacts list. Because next time, I’ll “reply all” with the proof of the lie to all your friends.Similar Posts:

Piss Off!

Blow the Bridge (and other home improvements)

archshrk — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:16:43 +0000

I’m not know as “Mr Fix-It” around my family but I can manage the rare project when the time calls for it. After all, I did install my own wood flooring (with some great help) and can safely replace light switches, outlets and ceiling fans as needed. I’ve even been known to replace a dishwasher and install an over-the-range microwave. But aside from those relatively minor projects, I don’t have a lot of remodeling experience. That’s why one recent project really had me stumped.

Now I may be no Norm Abram but I’m a pretty smart guy and can usually figure things out. Besides being able to decipher complex instructions, I can usually reverse engineer anything given enough time.

Usually.

For those who don’t know, we’re getting ready to move into my in-laws house to consolidate during these tough economical times (what recovery?). There are several added benefits besides the obvious financial ones. Moving from a condo to an actual house will give Corbin a yard to play in. Living with the in-laws will give Julia an extra pair of hands and eyes needed when our second child is born and there’s always the gift of getting closer as a family (did I mention they have cable?)

As a result of this move, we’ve been slowly preparing the house for our arrival. We moved Mom’s office fully into the garage (she works from home) and cleared out two of the upstairs bedrooms (there are 4 bedrooms total). Then we began repainting the boys’ room, adding a chair rail and replacing the outlets and wall switch. And this is where I ran into trouble.

You see, the wall switch didn’t work a ceiling light fixture, but rather powered on of the wall outlets – specifically, one plug on a duplex outlet. Now careful attention to detail would allow me to disconnect the old outlet and correctly connect the new outlet with the same results. But it didn’t work. No matte how I configured the wiring, the wall switch was irrelevant. The outlet was always “hot”. I checked the wiring from the switch to make sure I hadn’t mixed up the wires. I opened up another switch outlet to see if the wiring was mismatch, I tried every reasonable configuration and still, no controlling the outlet from the switch.

Eventually we went online and found a ho-to video describing this very condition. I started watching it and thought – “yeah, I did that” and “but that’s what I did”. It wasn’t until the second time that I caught the subtle maneuver that made all the difference. You see, outlets have a copper piece called a “bridge” that connects the top outlet to the bottom outlet. This allows you to have one “hot” wire and one “neutral” wire power both outlets. The trick to making the switch work the one outlet was to snap the copper bridge in two thus interrupting the power link between the two outlets.

You can learn how to Blow the Bridge at 1:12.

How to Wire a Half Switched Electrical Outlet

Elizabeth Lambert can kill you with her mind

archshrk — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:42:25 +0000

New Mexico women’s soccer defender Elizabeth Lambert has been suspended indefinitely after engaging in rough play — including hauling an opposing player to the ground by her pony tail — in the Lobos’ 1-0 loss to BYU in the Mountain West Conference semifinals.

I’m not much for sports (people can get too competitive) but I recognize the subtle fouls that occurs on the court/field but one in a while, someone takes it too far.

It’s bad enough this kind of behavior was happening but even more alarming is the lack of action by any officials (during the game).

Happy Ho Ho Holloween

archshrk — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:12:37 +0000

Well, Sunday is the official start of the Christmas Season.
Have you started your list yet? We have.

I remember as a child how the time spent between Halloween and Christmas felt like an eternity. Heck, even Thanksgiving seemed a long way off. it’s easy to blame the retailers for putting up seasonal items far too early, but for a child, that makes it even more difficult. It simply reminds their little minds (with short attention spans) that there’s some wonderful day to look forward to when they should be distracted by everyday things (like jumping in leaf piles or building snowmen). Instead, they spend everyday thinking about what’s next. And in this day of instant access and unlimited information [all lies! but that's another post] they can’t enjoy the here and now, rather, they are worrying about tomorrow.

So I say, make the most of each holiday or special occasion and don’t focus on the next one until that day comes. otherwise, you’ll live your life waiting instead of living.

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Happy Ho Ho Holloween

Here Comes Science

archshrk — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:33:18 +0000

On the heels of the Grammy winning “Here Come the 123s” They Might Be Giants have created a new album of songs related to science. The entire album has been fully animated on a second disc that comes with the specially priced set. Here Comes Science (Amazon.com Exclusive) [CD/DVD]

For me, this is great news. I’ve been a big fan of They Might Be Giants (TMBG) for about 20 years now and really enjoyed their previous kids’ albums Here Come the ABCs and Here Come The 123s. More importantly, Corbin loved them. These two DVDs were the only children’s shows that would cause Corbin to instantly stop what he was doing and hold his attention from start to finish. He would literally stop what he was doing and hold the same position and facial expression the whole time the DVD was playing. He’s since grown out of that but on those occasions when you needed to keep him out of the kitchen or needed to calm him down, these were life savers.

So it’s no surprise that we’d be equally excited about a new “Here Comes…” DVD from TMBG. Unfortunately, I do have a reservation about one or two songs. Specifically, track number six – My Brother the Ape. Simply put, Evolution is not science, it’s a faith. I do not believe that the earth is millions of years old, nor do I believe we are descended from apes (or any other animal). Setting aside my Creation beliefs, the real problem I have is the lack of evidence. I know, I know, “but what about all the findings and carbon dating?” you say. But let me explain how this is an issue…

Evolution and the Earth’s age are based on flawed science. Primarily, Carbon Dating as a means to determine geological age. The problem is, the rate of decay is assumed to be constant and the accuracy of the measurements is typically too broad (meaning the margin for error is too big to rely on). Since this is not a topic you and I are not likely to have a large background in, I’ll lead you to the RATE Project for further reading.

The other big problem is the assumption that the fossil record does in fact show an evolutionary chain. But in reality, it simply shows a variety of species that have similar characteristics. The ‘lineage’ of these creatures relies on inaccurate carbon dating. Worst yet, is that dating the fossils is circular in its method. They date the geological level and assume fossils found in that “level” are the same age. Then any other fossils found are assumed to be of the same age without testing the samples directly. Again, I don’t want to get into the details but you can read more about it here.

So what are the songs? Well here are the titles:

lukousaurus dinosuar

The album is produced by TMBG and Pat Dillett, and was record in downtown Manhattan! Oh, I plan on getting the CD/DVD, I’ll just be sure to explain that not all science is equal and a lot of it is based on stronger faith than I have. Before you comment, ask yourself this: Since evolution can’t be proven, why do some people insist on making everyone believe it? I know what motivates creationists. What motivates your beliefs?

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Here Comes Science

I put the CAKE in pancake

archshrk — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:02:51 +0000

Julia doesn’t have a ‘job’. Rather, she takes care of Corbin and the house while I deal with “Improving the human condition through innovation, leadership, and design.” And Corbin likes to start his day around 7:00 am which means Julia does too. That is, Monday through Friday -weekends and holidays, he’s all mine. That’s not a problem since I can’t sleep past 8:00am to save my life and am usually up by 7:00 anyways.

One of the benefits of this arrangement is that I get to make breakfast and I usually make chocolate chip pancakes. They’re like regular pancakes except I mix in chocolate chips and Cinnamon into the batter before cooking. Unfortunately, I make them too thick. Thick like a scone. They taste fine, but they are a little too heavy for my liking.

I carefully follow the directions and measure out the portions described but it continues to come out wrong. Now Julia pointed out that I need to add more water but finding the right amount that keeps if from turning into a blintz. I’ve made instant and I’ve made from scratch, but i still can’t seem to find the right balance of wet to dry ingredients to make nice fluffy pancakes that melt in your mouth.

Any advice would be appreciated.Similar Posts:

I put the CAKE in pancake