blogging stuff In the meantime, I came across this interesting site that I want to keep track of: The Food Timeline, which lists when foods were adopted by people:

Food Timeline

I recently got a new cell phone - the VX8100 from VerizonWireless and have found some sites with downloads and info on getting the most out of it. So here they are:

• Forum re: ring tones, etc.
• Info about the VX8100
• Josh’s VX8100 Resource Site

I found myself yelling at the TV again this morning. There was a story on the Today show about Saddam Hussein’s trial and how he refused to go to court this morning, “throwing his trial into chaos.”

Why are they letting him run the show like that? Dan says they should gag him. Not a bad plan. I think they should lock him in his cell and show him the trial via closed-circuit TV. But it’s ridiculous to let him carry on like he does, insulting and lecturing the judge, disrupting things by telling his lawyers to walk out, etc. Time to show him he’s really not in charge anymore.

Interesting: I just discovered that Richard Engel, Today’s correspondent in Iraq, is doing a blog: http://baghdadblog.msnbc.com/. I really admire him - he’s been in Iraq for months, if not years. Really tough job he’s doing, and I think he does it really well. Way to go, Richard.

I went to the Stockley Gardens Arts Festival this past Sunday, primarily to see my friend Pat Vedomske and her primal percussion band Beleza. I just love their music - “Drum Thunder that Moves your Bones!”, as their site says. Here are a couple of photos of the group in action:

And here are some videos I took with my digital camera. They’re not the best for viewing, but you can hear the “Drum Thunder” and vocals pretty well. Note: They’re all about 1.3 megabytes, so will take a while to download unless you have a broadband connection.

• Pat starting off the singing
• The group singing together
• One of my favorite rhythms

My photos of scenes from our trips during the last few years will continue to be on display at the Daily Grind in downtown Portsmouth for the month of October. Shannon usually has a new artist each month, but sometimes there’s room for two. The second artist she is showcasing this month only brought enough works for part of the wall, so if you want to see mine, they’re still there. And you can buy an original Lewandowski for your own home or office

Here’s a sample. This church in Barbados was on the 80-mile, round-the-island tour we took on a visit there in 2003:

Came across this site today, also courtesy of the Umbrella. These always crack me up, too

The Darwin Awards

The Darwin Awards salute the improvement of the human genome
by honoring those who accidentally kill themselves in really stupid ways. Of necessity, this honor is generally bestowed posthumously.

This was on the Web site for the Umbrella, which used to be a group of local computer user groups. I’m glad to see Ann Harney is still doing the newsletter.

After every flight, Qantas Airways [Australia] pilots fill out a form, called a “gripe sheet,” which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight.

Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by Qantas’ pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers. By the way, Qantas is the only major airline that has never had an accident. … Enjoy!

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute
descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That’s what they’re for.

P: IFF inoperative.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you’re right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny. (I love this one!)
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

And the best one for last………………
P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget
pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget!

I’m writing this from a classroom at Tidewater Community College - the monthly meeting of SHRUG (South Hampton Roads User Group), a local computer user group of which I’ve been a member for over 10 years - to demonstrate how the blog works.

Well, look at that - I decided to change the theme These bright colors suit me better, although I’m going to get into the CSS and change the link colors, and I like how the link categories show up in this one. Also, I think it’s easier for people to leave comments - the other theme, Sunset, showed the comment box at the bottom of the page when you clicked on the icon, and one friend who shall remain nameless couldn’t see how to leave a comment. So go ahead, y’all- let me know what you think.

By the way, an online friend (Hi, Donna) reminded me that, if you use Mozilla, you can set a bookmark to check a bookmarked site (like this one) for updates periodically. To do this:

1. Click Bookmarks, Manage bookmarks.
2. Right-click on a bookmark and select Properties.
3. In the box where it says "Check this location for updates," make your
   selections.

Or, if you have an RSS reader (I use RSSReader), you can add this site as an RSS feed.

Just in case I want to change the theme of this site, here’s the best place to get ready-made themes. It’s cool how easy it is to change the theme - just download some files, upload them to my server, and choose the theme in the WordPress options.

• Alex King’s WP theme browser