bloggie blog

Dudes. I haven’t been to a big rock concert in many years. Elton John at Madison Square Garden (in 2000?) was probably the last big one, at which point I remember saying that I was never going to a large indoor rock concert again. I have kept my self-promised and managed to enjoy some serious 80s rock by going to an outdoor concert featuring Cheap Trick, Poison and Def Leppard. Dudes. Dudes.

What more can I say? You can look up my Tweets from last night, but there’s not much to share except a few observations:

• Cheap Trick’s logo has stood the test of time best.
• There were no mullets.
• The crowd was younger than I would’ve guessed.
• The bass player for Poison didn’t make it, so they got the guy from Cinderella. (So much for your theory, Danny. That positively proves they’re totally different bands.)

It’s very hot today. Well over 100 in the hot spots. You walk outside and boom you just feel it. But it’s okay. It’s great. It’s so much better than the hot days back east. I’ve been missing a few things about New York and Boston, but the misery I experienced back there during heatwaves, that I do not miss!

Hikes in the hills — a regular thing in my life these days — are tough, tough, tough. But a stroll on the beach after dark is in store this weekend. Excellent for this weather. Excellent.

On Saturday night, I watched The Wizard of Oz at a new friend’s house. This guy has prints of old movies and shows them in his backyard, with an old-time popcorn maker and the works. Good times! The 16mm print was about 20 years old, he said.

I haven’t seen TWoO in a while, and I got misty a couple of times: During the end of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” with lovely simple camera work panning to capture more of the tractor as Judy does her simple lovely thing and Toto just sits there being brilliant. I could only find this image on the internet, but the better moments are soon thereafter.

I got misty again when we enter Oz and see color for the first time. The camera work is once again subtle and powerful. Loved that! You know what, I got misty a couple of other times, too, okay? Okay. Congrats to Judy, Victor, Burt, Harold, the whole creative gang.

(Also, there were a couple of very very cute and engaging women there … but that’s a different story for another time and place.)

It’s time to get a little political. We need healthcare reform desperately, of that I am sure. If you disagree with some of the specifics that are being promoted, that is okay, I’m not convinced the current proposals are the best thing. But I am sure that the status quo must be improved, that change is necessary. If you are one of the millions of angry have’s who don’t see that … walk a mile, that’s all I’m saying. Freelance for a while, get sick just when you change jobs. You have no idea.

Time for a few videos. I decided not to embed these, just be sure to click through and watch.

First, one from The Daily Show. Fast forward to 3:13 to see a student at the University of Colorado in Boulder who complains to President Obama on behalf of all those poor private enterprises who can’t possibly compete against a public institution. Dude, you’re enrolled at a public institution! I don’t see a problem with our public-private way of education. My suggestion to the student: transfer to a private college before the irony and guilt lead you to harm yourself. My suggestion to Obama: open up cans of whoopass on douchebags like him.

Here’s another great video, from CNN. A woman says Nazi something or other in a town hall meeting in Massachusetts, and Rep. Frank rightly tells her off. Comparing the bringing of death to the Jews with the bringing of health to the needy should be insulted even more vigorously. I don’t always agree with Barney Frank, but good for him on this occasion.

There are so many other stories out there if you just listen. One guy paid for insurance for decades without using it, got an illness, lost his job and kicked out of his insurance. What is insurance for? Hello! So very, very wrong. As for the Democrats’ current plans, there are occasionally some thoughtful rebuttals out there, but not from the loudmouths on radio nor the TV pundits nor the angry townhall yellers.

One more video, from Dana Gould for Real Time with Bill Maher, whose last 30 seconds ends with the observation that the haves are pissed and angry and obsessed with Hitler, and the have-nots are well-behaved and grateful. Mandatory viewing.

This is how I get street addresses from my home computer to my iPhone with ease.

The tricky part for most users is this one requirement: Have a server somewhere that runs PHP and that can send you email. If you have access to such a server, here’s an easy solution I call Mappie Map. It’s kind of like iPhoneSender, but you don’t have to type in an email address every time you use it.

1. Create a file in the html root directory of your server and name it iphone.php.

2. Edit iphone.php with this text (replacing YOUREMAIL with your actual email):

< ?php
function mystrip($s) {
	$s = trim($s);
	$s = str_replace("\xA0",' ',$s);
	$s = preg_replace('/\s+/','+',$s);
	return $s;
}
$to = "YOUREMAIL";
$address = $_REQUEST["address"];
echo $address . "<br />";
$subject = "Map: " . $address;
$address = mystrip($address);
$message = "http://maps.google.com/?q=" . $address;
$from = "Mappie Map YOUREMAIL";
$headers = "From: $from";
mail($to,$subject,$message,$headers);
echo $address;
?>

3. Drag this link [Mappie Map] to your Safari bookmark bar.

4. Right-click the Mappie Map link in your Safari bookmark bar and select “Edit Address.” Replace YOURSERVER with the URL of your server root, such as www.FirstnameLastname.com.

5. You’re good to go! Click on the Mappie Map bookmark link after highlighting an address in your web page, a new window pops up showing the sent info which you must close manually, and you’ll soon get a message from Mappie Map. Just tap on its contents, and the address will now appear in your iPhone’s Maps app without you having to type it in.

I find this real real handy. Leave a comment if you find it handy, too!

During the 7:00 AM hike this morning with @actingkeith et al., there two German women, Natasha and Tanya. Since I couldn’t even remember the German word for “because,” I have decided to visit the LAPL for language CDs. Ich sprechen muß!