The Dallas Observer has an interesting article on Ellis County 40th District Judge Gene Knize.
It’s partially focused on a request for recusal of the judge by Dallas Attorney David Finn, the rest focuses on accusations of the judge being biased towards attorneys and accuses the WDL of being biased towards the judge as well.
I covered the recusal hearing while I was with the WDL.
Interesting case.
Read the story online.
Category: misc
Google Calendar add-in for Firefox
Elias Torres has a great new add-in for Firefox that allows you to do quick adds to your Google Calendar anytime your browser is open.
Simply type CTRL+; and a small window will pop up letting you type things like, “Doctor’s Appointment Monday, May 7, 7 a.m.”
And of course — bing badda bang it shows up on your calendar.
I’m a huge fan of Google Calendar and now Google Notepad as well for keeping track of mine and Laurie’s calendars and to-do lists.
Give them a try if you haven’t and be sure to check out Torres’ add-in.
Google hiring for new Lunar Center
Google is hiring for Copernicus Center and their new Google Copernicus Hosting Environment and Experiment in Search Engineering (G.C.H.E.E.S.E.).
According to Google’s job site, the GCHEESE “is a fully integrated research, development and technology facility at which Google will be conducting experiments in entropized information filtering, high-density high-delivery hosting (HiDeHiDeHo) and de-oxygenated cubicle dwelling. This center will provide a unique platform from which Google will leapfrog current terrestrial-based technologies and bring information access to new heights of utility.”
If you’re intrigued by the opportunity to launch a new career, now is the time to step forward. For more information about the Google Copernicus Hosting Environment and Experiment in Search Engineering, please contact us today at lunarjobs@google.com.
Applicants must be at least 18 years of age by April 1, 2007 and have proof of earth residency. Google is an equal opportunity employer.
Hat tip to Eric for the link.
Tips to make your blog work
Lifehack.org has shared a list of 20 things to make your blog work.
Granted, many of you may not be concerned about this, but if you want to make any money from your blog and efforts they’re good pointers.
I’m still working on some of these. My biggest downfall might be that I have so many things I’m interested in that it’s hard to narrow my blog down to only one topic.
Here’s the top 10 pointers. Visit Lifehack for the rest.
- Pick a topic for your blog. Having a specific focus actually gives you more to write about. Like a novel, your blog takes on direction and purpose.
- Encourage comments. Allow comments, and respond to comments.
- Make it easy to subscribe. Make it easy to subscribe to your feed by placing an orange RSS button in a highly visible location.
- Route your feed through Feedburner so you can keep track of your subscribers.
- Include an About page.
- Present your ideas visually. Long blocks of text aren’t read.
- Keep posts short and to the point.
- Use subheadings for long posts.
- Link abundantly. Links increase readership and let others know you’re writing about them.
- Make headlines descriptive.
- Archive by topic. Rather than date.
What other pointers do you have to make my blog better or for others to improve their blog?
Getting “taken” by “the man”
So moving is no fun – and we’re not even done yet.
Doh! I think we’ve got Laurie fully moved but we’ll be moving my stuff in over the next 18 days or so.
There are definitely some companies who are now on my “avoid at all possible” list.
- U-Haul/Self-storage place on Highway 287 in Waxahachie
- Planet Beach Tan in Waxahachie
- AT&T
We’ve been “fighting” with AT&T since last Tuesday afternoon to get my phone service and DSL moved two miles down the road. I was tried doing the transfer online but they kept forcing me to accept an address with the wrong zip code. So finally after doing some Google searches (the numbers are not online) I was able to track down the proper number to call them with.
I got a hold of someone who assured me everything was inline for the move. My phone line (and DSL) would be cut off on Tuesday and the phone service would be re-established on Wednesday. The DSL was scheduled for installation on Monday (yesterday).
Wednesday afternoon I received a voice mail saying they couldn’t find my home in Cedar Hill.
I wonder why – we live in Waxahachie?!
I had to wait on the phone for 15-20 minutes so I could finally talk to someone and tell them I don’t live in Cedar Hill but in Waxahachie.
I finally thought everything was in line and they told me service should be connected later that day. Of course that didn’t happen.
I came to Laurie’s and the phone was still not working that evening.
I called again on Thursday and waited on hold again – and was assured someone would come to the apartment on Friday between 8 a.m. and 12 noon.
I waited. And waited. Big props to DirecTV though. They also said they’d be there between 8 and 12 and surprise – they were. The satellite service was up and running by 1 p.m.
By 1 p.m. AT&T still hadn’t shown up and I decided it was time to call them again.
I think I ended up talking with someone in India somehow before they gave me a number to “The former SBC, now the New AT&T.”
I waited on hold again and was then sent to their repair service. The repair service told me a ticket had never been filed.
Wonderful.
They promised they’d send someone out the following morning. Finally Saturday morning – four days after it was promised we had phone service at our new place.
Monday afternoon I showed back up at our new place to check the DSL (which we’ve been without since Tuesday evening) and surprise – nothing!
I was on the phone again for another 30-45 minutes trying to explain the situation and get something done.
Finally a manager guaranteed me the service would start on Wednesday (tomorrow) and we would receive a $25 credit on our phone bill for our troubles.
We’ll see tomorrow what happens.
—
As for Planet Beach Tan – This doesn’t really have anything to do with moving but it’s happened in the last week or so, so I feel like venting on it as well. I seriously felt like a woman in a mechanic shop. I got the great idea to get a tan before my wedding day and honeymoon. I don’t want to scare people at the resort when I walk around without a shirt on by the hot tubs.
I only wanted a few sessions but somehow ended up with a month membership and $35 lotion.
$35 for lotion?! They looked at me like I was the most backward, hick, cheap guy in the world because I only used $5 sun tan lotion from Walgreens in the past.
Somehow, if I didn’t buy their lotion I didn’t care about my body, my future wedding, marriage, future kids or grandkids. They would all be labeled by my poor decision.
I have to admit. I should have done some sort of research on tanning before I went or took Laurie with me, but I thought, “Heck, how hard can it be. You buy a few sessions and get tan.” But apparently they took me and somehow I ended up paying for way more than I ever expected or will probably ever use.
—
As for U-Haul – yeah I don’t even want to go there. But let me just say this, “They don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to renting trailers and such.”
We planned to rent a trailer and because we were told it would connect easily to my pickup truck and/or someone would be available to take care of it if it didn’t.
Well the light kit didn’t work and no one was there who knew anything about it.
I was told to go to Wal-Mart to get it hooked up.
Finally, frustrated after several other issues, I gave up and just spent three times what we had planned with a 22′ U-Haul trailer.
Granted that worked out OK but it was the most frustrating experience ever – well other than trying to move my AT&T service.
So there you have it. My venting over moving.
I think I’m going to do everything I can to just stay in the building we’re in for the next 10 years.
This just in…
This just in from Laurie…
I knew that you would want to be informed as soon as it aired but Anna nicole smith’s baby’s daddy is Larry Burkhead!
Now who is he?
Wait. Another update from Laurie…
haha, he’s the good guy..well as good as he can be. They were together before the guy she was with when she died.
So there you have it. You can all rest better tonight having that knowledge in hand.
Lonnie said he can sleep a lot better now, knowing that it wasn’t him.
