StarFire

closing down soon

This post is just a reminder, that this blog will cease to exist either toward the middle or end of this month (May 2008). If you have been coming here once and awhile, the blog is now moved to here, or you can cut and paste this new address:

http://starfire.planet48.net

new starfire

The first post has been made over at the new starfire home.

words transfer is done

Wow!!! That was easy. The new blog location is set up (at least for the word content). A few tweaks still needed. Meanwhile, you can read yesterday's post here at its new home:

http://planet48/starfire

This is the default theme so it's a little plain. That will change. I will also eventually change the url to starfire.planet48.net, when I figure out subdomains.

I really didn't think it would be that fast and easy.

annual blog migration post

I've been considering the possibility of migrating this blog to a different service.  Typepad has been really good to me, but I think I've outgrown it.  I'd like to have more control over  the blog's innards.  I've been on TypePad for years, but a couple of years ago I decided to play with WordPress.

If you check my archives, you'll see this is not a quick decision.  I've been considering it since 2005.  It seems I always think about this topic at this time of year.  Do a search for WordPress over on the right to see how long I've been thinking about it.

There are two (actually three) types of WordPress.  The Wordpress I talk about, is WordPress.org.  It's a free download, but requires that you have a host for the files, and you must install it. The other  is WordPress.com.  This is also free, but it's like Typepad in that you have a lot less control over things.  No download necessary,... takes less than five minutes to get a blog.  The third WordPress is a multiple users version and is generally used by big companies like the New York Times (blogs).

All of this is to say, that I will definitely be moving the blog over to WordPress, but before I quit Typepad, I'll need to find out how to move my Typepad Photos blog.

I don't think I mentioned my hosting service, which has been really fantastic.  They have been so good, that I have one of their tags at the bottom of my whispers blog. They're called HostM.

Best Web Hosting by

Official Hosting Partner

NYTimes Music Store

The New York Times has entered the fray of music downloads. When we got the Sunday Times, there was an insert offering two free music downloads so I went to the free music downloads site, and after entering the numbers that came with the insert, I ended up at the new Times store.

Interesting. Though the site FAQ claims that the store is accessible to iPod users, many of the songs available for download are in the proprietary WMA format. The rest of them are MP3 format, but the mp3s tend to be older songs. Something else that is different from stores like Apple's iTunes Store and Amazon's MP3 downloads is that rather than listing the songs' prices, you are told how many points you need to purchase the songs. Right now, a single will cost you 89 points or if you would rather pay cash,...99 cents. The store offers point incentives if you recommend a song to a friend and they buy it.

I could get New Soul by Yael Naim at Amazon for 89 cents and at a higher recorded bit rate.

Just my opinion, but I think the Times has a way to go. Maybe I'm just mad because the welcome sign says "Welcome back, null."

Giants vs. McCain

From Yahoo News:

Since 2002, the NFL has held its season opener on the first Thursday night after Labor Day. This year, the game runs smack into the final night of the convention, when McCain will officially accept the nomination and give a nationally televised speech from Minneapolis.

While the NFL has yet to announce its schedule for the 2008 season, it's apparently not going to shy away from having its season opener on the scheduled day, with the game likely featuring the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

So, the NFL and NBC have agreed in principle to have the kickoff at 7 p.m. ET instead of the traditional 8:30 p.m. That would mean, except in the event of an overtime, that the game would end before NBC's expected one hour of convention coverage for the night.

Unbelievable.

obamba

I realize I've been posting quite a few videos lately, but this one is really important. Barack Obama gave a speech today that wasn't just political. It was historic. Rather than just viewing snippets from whatever your news program deems important, here's the whole thing

the bank job

I saw a thoroughly enjoyable movie today. The Bank Job.

If you get a chance to see it, then do see it. Lots of suspense, twists and turns, and a love triangle just to add some spice. These days of inflated movie prices, it's rare that a movie matches or exceeds the money I have spent to see it. ;)

I couldn't find the website, but here's the movie trailer from YouTube. The trailer doesn't do the movie justice.

here we go again

I find it interesting that while everybody is all abuzz about Spritzer and whatever her name is, that this curious bit of information about a significant resignation should go unnoticed.

It is no secret that Fallon was in favor of diplomacy and engagement rather than confrontation in dealing with Tehran’s nuclear issue. Once quoted as saying a war with Iran “would not happen on my watch,” the former Navy fighter pilot earned the respect of his staff and the men and women in uniform he commanded, but according to Washington insiders, he also earned a bitter enemy in Vice President Dick Cheney.

Matters came to a head last week when Esquire magazine published an extensive article on Fallon titled, “The Man Between War and Peace.” The article credited Fallon as being almost solely responsible for thwarting Vice President Cheney’s and President George Bush’s plans for a preemptive strike …

This quote is from Tehran Times, but you'll find the same story in the NY Times.

Ooops, almost forgot... here is the Esquire article.

clinton and winning

Gary Hart makes some interesting comments in his column, over at The Huffington Post:

It will come as a surprise to many people that there are rules in politics. Most of those rules are unwritten and are based on common understandings, acceptable practices, and the best interest of the political party a candidate seeks to lead. One of those rules is this: Do not provide ammunition to the opposition party that can be used to destroy your party's nominee. This is a hyper-truth where the presidential contest is concerned.

By saying that only she and John McCain are qualified to lead the country, particularly in times of crisis, Hillary Clinton has broken that rule, severely damaged the Democratic candidate who may well be the party's nominee, and, perhaps most ominously, revealed the unlimited lengths to which she will go to achieve power. She has essentially said that the Democratic party deserves to lose unless it nominates her.

As a veteran of red telephone ads and "where's the beef" cleverness, I am keenly aware that sharp elbows get thrown by those trailing in the fourth quarter (and sometimes even earlier). "Politics ain't beanbag," is the old slogan. But that does not mean that it must also be rule-or-ruin, me-first-and-only-me, my way or the highway. That is not politics. That is raw, unrestrained ambition for power that cannot accept the will of the voters.

(my emphasis added at the end)

I practically quoted the whole article, but there is more. Clinton is, in my opinion, acting more in her own self interest than the interest of the Democratic party or the voters. If you would like to see the Clinton comment, you can view it below.