Lurq Who's Talking

United Breaks Guitars: Effective Social Media Use, or Artistic Inspiration?

2009-07-10T17:31:00.002-05:00

So your band is flying between gigs, and during one of the legs, you happen to see your equipment getting tossed around as it's loaded into the plane. When you finally become reunited with your luggage, you discover that your guitar has been terribly damaged, despite its robust packaging.

Then you face a brick wall when you complain to the airline, who refuses to pay. Then what are you supposed to do? Call a lawyer? Call the Better Business Bureau? Call the media? Organize a boycott to draw attention to the cause?

One creative musician suffered that experience, but he chose a different way to get results. And, it appears that it's worked, and perhaps in more ways than one.

Dave Carroll, a Halifax songwriter and member of the band Sons of Maxwell, spent months negotiating with United Airlines. After repeatedly getting absolutely nowhere, Carroll wrote a song, produced a (quite admirable) video, and uploaded it to Youtube, where it has been seen almost a million and a half times in the past four or so days since its upload on July 6, 2009.

The video is reproduced here:

The day after the video appeared, United appeared to come around. After the video had gone viral and been viewed about 150,000 times. It appears that the matter is actually settled, with Carroll no longer seeking compensation but suggesting that a charity be named to receive any funds in this follow-up video posted today, July 10, 2009:

Now, this still has to all play out. The song "United Breaks Guitars" is the first of three that Carroll vowed to write; he indicates on the follow-up video that he is continuing to write the avowed songs. At first glance, this story appeared to be about getting satisfaction in an ongoing dispute. Now, though, the story seems to split into different directions.

On the surface, this appears to be another example of the use of Social Media to get the attention of a major company to address some wrong. As the story continues to unfold, though, it looks as if Carroll has embraced the opportunity for artistic inspiration and has written a very catchy tune with some very poignant lyrics. (Let's not forget the absolutely amazing use of airline stewardesses as representing the airline - this is brilliant in and of itself! And so beautifully acted!)

So now we must ask the question of ourselves - did this work because it was a complaint, or did it work because it was an opportunity to get a damned good song AND video out there for a whole new audience to find? The response has been quite amazing, and the song and video are very, very good. This seems like it's turned into an incredible opportunity for the band, and I look forward to the next installments!

If you'd like more background, check out the cbc story here.

the Disappearing DVD Drive (Fixed!)

2009-06-06T06:37:00.004-05:00

Well. The DVD problem is fixed. I learned a couple of things:

My memory is certainly not infallible. When I described the way the drive sat out and how it had always done so along with the cushiony aspect, this was a complete and utter fabrication of my imagination.
The damned drawer simply wasn't seated properly. It somehow had slipped out of alignment. Friend shut the machine off, opened the drawer, breathed magic dust or something on it, then closed it perfectly flush. And voila, fixed.
DVD burner works great now. Burned a number of data dvds to deal with my now-rampant paranoia about not being able to get files etc onto backup media.

So, there we have it. There was nothing wrong with it the entire time, I just didn't close the damned drawer properly. Let's never forget to look at the most basic solutions first. Just so glad this got figured out before I wiped the machine of confidential & priviliged data and sent it in for repair.

ORIGINAL POST:

Please help, twitterverse!!!

My HP laptop has suddenly stopped recognizing the lightscribe DVD burner entirely.

The drive does not show up under "My Computer" in Windows Explorer anymore, and the eject button doesn't even work. So far as the OS is concerned, no CD or DVD drive is attached to the computer at all, although it is present (and enabled) in BIOS. The Device Manager in Vista does not even have a CD or DVD option listed.

I can use a paperclip in the pinhole to open the tray, but if I put a disc in and close it, the computer still does not recognize the drive or the presence of a disc. Most curiously, and most inconveniently, the Drive Tray Now Acts As A Power Button if tightly closed.

The drive drawer has always sat a little bit outside the case when closed, about 1/8" or so, and not flush with the case; it has a bit of "play" to it. It used to be that if I put a disc in and closed the drawer, I could push it all the way closed, flush with the case, and a cushiony-type spring action would bring it back out to its regular 1/8" non-flush position. I just assumed this existed to keep the drive drawer from being slammed shut, so that the components in the tray did not get damaged.

Well. Now, if I push the drive drawer in all the way, so that it's flush with the case, it seems to act like a power switch and abruptly cuts all power to the laptop - without giving Vista a chance to power itself down or enter sleep state or anything. It just immediately cuts all power, and I then get a "Windows did not properly shut down" warning screen when I turn the laptop power back on.

I contacted HP support, and they sent me to a Microsoft page with instructions on how to change the registry info to fix it by deleting supposedly corrupted files. However, those two files are not even listed in my registry.

I tried re-installing drivers from HP but that had no effect. I ran Windows Update and installed what was available but it made no difference. Computer doesn't recognize it, and it still cuts off the power. HP support had assured me that the magical Microsoft page would fix that too.

So now I'm at a loss. What do I do? Should I use some sort of Registry cleaner like argente registry cleaner or some other program you might suggest? It would be disastrous to have to re-install Vista, as I can't back up any of my data since I can't burn any DVDs.

I'm at a complete loss. Any suggestions would be most greatly appreciated, either @Lurquer or here in the comments section. Thank you so much!!

Technical Info: The laptop is an HP Pavilion Verve Special Edition, model dv2740se, running 32-bit Vista Home Edition, with SP1 installed. AMD processor, if that makes any difference.

Twitter Tools: Tweaking your TwitList

2009-04-25T04:34:00.006-05:00

If you are a twitter user who believes in reciprocal following, there are a number of tools available to help you manage your lists. As with everything in life, there are pros and cons to each. Here are a couple of tools that will take the pain out of managing your TwitList.

Important Note: While there's a wide selection of twitter-helper "follow" tools available on the Web, many require your username and password to access your data. These types of sites tend to use your API allotment, which is limited to 100 per hour. (API means "Application Programming Interface" and is the protocol that lets third-party applications access twitter's servers.)

If you use up all of your available API, you are then forced to wait about an hour until your API limit is reset. This means you also have to wait to be able to tweet with applications like Tweetdeck or Seesmic Desktop.

Important Note: Because you are only allowed 100 API accesses per hour, you can quickly burn through your allowed API usage with some applications and end up hitting your hourly limit within minutes. TwitterKarma, for example, is a very popular tool designed to help manage your lists, but it does utilize API. In addition to affecting third-party applications like TweetDeck or Seesmic Desktop, it also becomes unwieldy if you either have an especially large number of followers or are following a very large number of people. While TwitterKarma is handy for Tweeters with small lists, it quickly becomes cumbersome and unmanageable with larger twitter lists.

Fortunately, there's a simple solution. Two invaluable sites, http://FriendorFollow.com and http://DoesFollow.com, can be used together to help maintain your follow lists, even if you are dealing with large numbers of followers. These sites allow you to easily find out who is not following you back, and you can also find the people who are following you but you're not yet following. Because these two particular sites do not use your API allocation, they will not affect any third-party applications you happen to use.

http://FriendorFollow.com/ compares the people you're following with the people who are following you, and does not require that you give your password. At the main screen, simply type in your user name, and click on the "submit" button.

The site then grabs your follow lists and breaks down the information into three categories, which are accessible by choosing the appropriate tab at the top of the screen. The choices are:

A) the people you're following who aren't following you back,
B) the people who are following you but you're not yet following, and
C) the people you're following who are also following you back.

Each section appears with its own tab at the top of the table where the information is displayed, making navigation quick and easy.

The follower/following data itself is presented in a graphical format which displays the picture or avatar of the user. When you hover your cursor over an individual's picture, a little pop-up window tells you the user's name, username, the number of people the user is following, the number of people who are following the user, the date of the user's last tweet, and the date the user joined twitter.

The default display shows the users in alphabetical order. By using the pull-down menu at the upper right corner, you can change the display to sort by Username, Name, Location, Number of Followers, Number of people the user is following, the date of the users last tweet, and the date the user joined twitter. Clicking on an avatar opens the user's twitter home page in a new window, where you can then choose to follow or unfollow, depending on which FriendorFollow tab you are viewing.

Important note: The information presented on the FriendorFollow results page is not necessarily current. Some of the content is cached, so the actual stats may vary. It is a good idea to refresh the list periodically by going back to the main screen and re-entering your username to conduct a new query.

Remember that the FriendorFollow information is not always current, so it's a very good idea to verify whether someone is following you back before you remove them permanently. This is where http://DoesFollow.com/ comes in handy. This site lets you type in two user names to see if one is following the other, and using this resource will keep you from accidentally unfollowing someone who is actually one of your loyal followers.

These two tools should help make your follow list management effortless and easy. If you have found any other twitter resources that have helped you manage your followers, please leave a note in the comments section below, and I will post a review of them once I have had a chance to check them out. Thanks in advance for your input, and happy tweeting!

Richard Bandler, the Master Hypnotist

2009-04-01T21:49:00.002-05:00

Paul McKenna has uploaded a wonderful video to youtube which tells the story of the extraordinary Richard Bandler and how he helped a woman overcome her terrible fear of flying.

The lady's fear was legitimate - she was a victim of a hijacking while a passenger on a plane in Peru and genuinely feared for her life. For almost three decades she lived with a terrifying fear of planes and flying, made all the more sad because she was a trained pilot herself.

This short program illustrates the brilliance that is Bandler and how he uses seemingly simple techniques to overcome acute fears and phobias.

Based on my studies of Bandler, the explanations of Bandler's techniques are oversimplified and somewhat inaccurate, but the video is worth the watch to see the effects he achieves.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Google's Virtual Eye: Expanding "Street View" with In-Home View

2009-04-01T04:49:00.011-05:00

Google, the unofficial owner of the Internet, plans to unveil its newest project today, which expands upon its popular Google Maps, Google Satellite, Google Earth, Google Street View, and other related services.

Google In-Home View, tentatively dubbed Google's Virtual Eye, will allow users to type any street address or phone number into the search field and instantly be transported to a screen that shows the interior of the home. The technology uses a new proprietary API developed in conjunction with web cam manufacturers and cell phone developers, and has already undergone extensive secret beta testing.

Virtual Eye will have two options - a Cached View, showing Google's most recent capture of the interior of the home, and an optional Live View which will provide visitors with a Real-Time peek inside the walls of the requested business or residence, using the existing web-cams attached to in-home devices.

The new service is designed to work with all browsers and platforms, including Android, Windows Mobile, iPhone, and the as-yet-unreleased Palm WebOS.

Future plans include synchronizing the system with portable camera-enabled phones to provide Real-Time views of images captured by cell cameras, allowing unfettered and unrestricted access to almost every camera on the planet.

Google does not plan to charge for the service. Watch for the official announcement later today.

Irrelativity

2009-03-31T00:25:00.003-05:00

A new noun, irrelativity: The notion that time actually passes according to human experience, as opposed to an orderly flow as it is normally assumed to be.

To us as humans, time obviously flows at a uniform rate. After all, if we set up a clock, it will tick away, measuring specific increments of time. Right?

But, oh how different this is from our actual subjective perception! Standing in a line-up at the grocery store can be an excruciating experience. Seemingly hours can go by. Time, in these circumstances, just drags, now, doesn't it?

Time can fly, though, too. Think of how often we're amazed at how quickly something seemed to go, relative to how that clock was ticking away over in the corner.

And with those experiences where time drags, we can be equally amazed at how relatively little time actually passed.

There's a sub-set of those experiences, though; there are times where we will glance at our watches, stare at the clock on the wall, and basically obsess about those little moments ticking away.

Maybe we want to be doing something else, maybe we have an appointment and can't be late. The opportunities for frustration abound. And it almost seems as if the more we observe how slowly things are going, the more slowly they actually seem to go. Time literally drags.

How can our experience of such a "uniform force vary so greatly?

Here's where Einstein missed the boat. He concocted his entire theory on the presumption that this thing called time was regular, predictable, and uniform, and the definition he used was based on the velocity of light - how fast it is moving. It is inherently time-dependent.

The ticking of our clock dictates how much "time" is passing from an objective standpoint. Each interval is carefully measured, in a uniform fashion, giving us an objective evaluation of the passage of time. That's the yardstick we use to measure how long things happen.

Thank God for the clock. If we didn't have it, how would we measure our day? How would we know when the doctor will be able to see us? Or, how would we know when he's supposed to, given that he's usually late?

Well, that clock we use to measure everything was invented by a human. Imagine, for a second, a Swiss craftsman working away at a mechanical watch, building a true quality timepiece.

By that craftsman's determined efforts to install those little tiny gears and springs, the watch comes together, a piece of machinery that will last for years, and keep good time. It will do the same thing over and over and over, namely tick. At a constant rate and in a constant fashion.

The watch gets purchased by a businessman who must closely observe his schedule. The quality and craftsmanship assure him that he will always be on time. All thanks to that Swiss watchmaker who painstakingly made sure, indirectly, that this businessman would always be on time.

The woman standing next to him in a queue, though, won't appreciate that when she asks him for the time. She's gotta be home before the ex drops the kids off, and she still has a gazillion things to do, and this line is taking for frickin' ever. When she asks for the time, the businessman glances down at his quality timepiece and tells her its current measurement.

From an objective standpoint, both of them now know what time the Swiss watchmaker's device reads. But both treat the result of that reading very, very differently.

From the moment the first clock was invented, that idea grew in its manifestation and set the referential point from which all things would eventually be measured. Other clocks would follow, and become synchronized. The proliferation of identically-set clocks allowed for the exact measurement of a passage of time according to the pre-established rate, based on that first human observance, recording, and reproduction of it.

But how does time pass for a tree? If a tree had eyes, would it see us as a blur? Relative to itself, of course, which exists for many decades in the same physical location.

For that matter, how does a rock perceive time? Or a crystal? Or a mountain?

The only answer I have is: much, much differently from us.

Einstein: The Amazing Parrot

2009-03-30T23:25:00.004-05:00

If you haven't heard of TED.com yet, you're missing out. There's a plethora of fascinating video lectures available for free, streaming right into your browser. Jane Goodall, Dan Dennett, Dr. Brian Cox, Tim Berners-Lee, Jill Bolte Taylor, Hans Rosling.. all of these lecturers have brilliant little 20-minute clips available for your viewing pleasure. Treat yourself, and check it out. Then, become addicted, and enlighten your mind.

From a pureley entertaining perspective, this nice little clip of Einstein, an African Grey Parrot, illustrates the magic of communication and how humans and animals can learn to interact. It isn't so much a display of intelligence as it is a demonstration of how animals can learn to manipulate humans to get what they want.

original organic link here

new pic: Lurq hard at work at the office!

2009-03-26T07:09:00.011-05:00

A quick pic for all my new twitter friends... snapped March 24th 2009. Just about as current as they come!

Yup, that's me, working hard at the office... and yes, that's a bluetooth headset in my ear, but I *am* happy to see you..

I can't remember if the bluetooth was on at the time; mostly I keep it in my ear so I don't lose the darned thing or have it accidentally turn itself on in my pocket - a pocket is a dangerous place to keep it, because it has this annoying tendency to connect and call people at random. Maybe it looks goofy hanging off of my ear, but.. I just don't care =)

Still looking for some site/app that will run on my Windows Mobile 5.0 Treo 700wx.. the mobile IE browser will NOT load the mobile twitter site, nor can I log into twitter proper using the phone.. any advice greatly appreciated! If you can help, twoot me a tweet @Lurquer =)

Thanks!

Amazon re-Kindles

2009-02-10T02:26:00.002-06:00

The Kindle 2 is out. Well, it will be on February 24, 2009, anyway. The nice folks at Amazon have announced the new and improved version of the Kindle, their ebook reader, with a sleeker look, longer battery life, and even a Text-to-Speech option (so your ebook reader can actually read to you). Amazon even makes it easy and effortless to purchase electronic versions of books with a built-in free 3G Wireless access to Amazon's servers.

Definitely worth checking out if you want to save trees and don't mind inconveniencing a few innocent electrons. Amazon boasts upwards of 230,000 titles available for download, so there's sure to be something to please every imagination.

Even though the official release date isn't until February 24, you can take a sneak peek and even pre-order right now.

Seeing what isn't yet there...

2009-01-20T04:44:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, people looked at a large piece of marble and saw it as a weathered, pathetic hunk of stone.

Michaelangelo looked inside it, and saw The David.

He carefully helped lose the parts that kept The David from being The David. With loving and meticulous care, the Artist freed, for the world to see, the divine beauty that was there within the stone all along.

Look within. What do you see?

Insanity Defined

2009-01-15T05:26:00.003-06:00

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results."

So far, via various Web searches, I've found that quote attributed to Richard Bandler, Albert Einstein, Thomas Jefferson, and Rita Mae Brown. All of whom had/have brilliant minds, of course, but I still don't know yet who said it first.

Not that it really matters. They're still brilliant words to live by. What it boils down to is:

If what you're doing isn't getting you what you want, do something different!

Google's new (but slightly unpolished) Chrome browser

2008-09-03T22:33:00.007-05:00

Tuesday, September 2, 2008, saw the release of a new Web browser from Google. For reasons unknown, it is called Chrome, and can be downloaded here. (It appears that, so far, only Windows Vista & XP users may partake.)

Google offers a nice confusing explanation of how it's different from other browsers by using a completely incongruent and unhelpful comic-book tutorial, but I'm afraid that most readers won't understand what on earth they're talking about or why any of it matters.

The gist: Chrome handles memory better, and can clear out unnecessary or unused areas of your computer's memory very quickly, which the traditional browsers aren't very good at. Chrome also isolates individual elements of pages, so that if one starts to act up, it can terminate that one process rather than the traditional browser response of shutting down every instance it can.

Definitely, Chrome needs work. Full integration with other Google services (like a right-click menu that includes a "send to > Gmail" link) would certainly be nice. Google also freely admits in its nice little comic book that Chrome won't necessarily work with all Web pages. And, from what I understand, the history doesn't comunicate well when you're using multiple instances of the program. However, I trust that the Chrome team at Google will integrate these sorts of things very quickly.

The customizable bookmarks bar is a nice touch, and importation of bookmarks from Internet Explorer was a cinch. Chrome has tabs, and even has an "incognito mode" - where your browser history doesn't record or track the sites you visit, presumably so that those pesky partners or parents can't tell where you've been or figure out what you've been up to.

While I hope the Google Chrome team soon integrates the other Google services and amalgamates the history settings across multiple instances, I have to admit that after only about two hours using it, I think that I'm already sold.

By the way: This entry was written using Chrome.

Dear Mr. Gore and Mrs. Kyoto,

2008-07-08T18:46:00.022-05:00

I've been hearing a lot about what you've had to say about carbon dioxide. You know the stuff, whose molecules are made of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms combined in some force scientists still don't quite fully understand. It's the stuff human beings - and most living creatures - breathe out after making use of the oxygen they breathe in. Sorry... in case you hadn't heard, it's a bit of a Biological Truth.

Carbon dioxide - or CO2, as it's sometimes* abbreviated, is a fundamental part of our Earth.

* Technically, the 2 should be a subscript, appearing as a smaller-sized number placed about halfway down the line. The C indicates that there is one Carbon atom, and the O indicates the Oxygen aspect. The 2 placed in such a fashion indicates that there are 2 Oxygen atoms in the molecular equation. That's how a chemist looks at it, anyway, and that's how you'll find it written in the chemistry books. The abbreviation described herein might also be utilized by people who know how to make such a damned symbol on a Web site or, better yet, care to bother to learn.

Carbon Dioxide, when frozen, makes this cool stuff called "dry ice." It's what allows smoke to swirl about the stages in theatrical productions everywhere, and it's what lets smoke billow forth out of a witch's cauldron in plays along the lines of MacBeth.

Apparently the stuff has industrial uses, too.

But the most fascinating aspect of all, in my most humblest of opinions, is that Carbon Dioxide is also used by plants in the magical process of photosynthesis, where visible spectrum light radiation (from our friend, the Sun) provides energy to convert the demonic gas into substances the plant needs to survive. This process, coincidentally, creates a byproduct - which just happens to be the Oxygen that we need to survive and eventually end up breathing.*

* Oxygen, coincidentally enough, as an individual atom, can join up nicely with two Hydrogen atoms. This makes the substance commonly referred to as H2O. Referring back to the notation process outlined in the earlier note, the 2, which should be subscript, denotes 2 Hydrogen atoms present in the molecule, with one Oxygen atom rounding out the trilogy. These atoms combine with each other to make the magical substance known as Water - which, by all accounts, seems to be pretty darned important to human survival, too. Go figure!

I don't know about anybody else, but suddenly I'm hearing strains of Elton John's voice streaming through my head, with fuzzy visions of lion-like creatures bandying about.

- Astute readers will have noted that water plays an integral part in the production of Electricity, a point which will be elaborated upon and further explained in the upcoming paragraphs.

So, they tell me, Mr. Gore and Mrs. Kyoto, that you report drastically rising levels of CO2, and offer terrible predictions about the future of this planet Earth, which, I remind, just happens to still be continuing to allow us to live on it... for now.

And I hear mention of some "Carbon footprint" people are leaving by using too much Electricity*. Somewhere, you have lost me in that leap of logic.

* Electricity is the forced march of electrons through a conducting material, which is manipulated to accomplish various tasks. Electricity is generated (ie, forced to march) by a combination of coil windings of conductive wire and a set of corresponding magnets, either of which may be forced to rotate. This rotation then forces electrons to travel down the conductive wire in a particular direction, which is known in electrical parlance as Direct Current.

Alternating Current, on the other hand, was pioneered by Nikola Tesla in the late 19th century. It uses a specially-placed array of magnets and a specially-designed set of coils, and when rotated against one another, a standing wave of Electric current is created in the conductive wire, which in a sense travels in both directions at once with the electrons basically doing a mini-jig back and forth. Alternating Current is more versatile, safer, and can be easily converted into Dirrect Current power to energize those devices which require it. Alternating Current is such an advanced concept, in fact, that several standing waves can be created in a wire at once at slightly different intervals. This is known as a polyphase system and is preferential because the system as a whole loses much less energy through heat than as with Direct Current; the reduced heat also makes the system safer.

At a fundamental level, almost all of the Electricity we use is generated by making the components spin. Whenever a component of an Electrical generator uses something to make it spin, it is usually referred to as a turbine. Wind turbines use blades to harness the power of the wind, causing the components to spin. Most turbines, however, are placed in an enclosed system and driven by forced water, as in the case of hydroelectric dams, or steam, created by fuels such as coal or natural gas.

In the case of hydroelectric dams, gravity provides the force to pass the water over the blades of the turbine, causing them to spin. In a steam generation system, pressurized steam (ie, boiled water) passes* past the turbines, causing them to turn.

* Turbine design traditionally has the gas passing against perpendicular blades. Nikola Tesla, however, designed a powerful generator whose blades were actually parallel to the flow of the high-pressure gas, using a little-understood principle of hydraulics that caused the gas to congeal between the tightly-spaced blades, providing forward impetus. The Tesla Turbine, while a practical success, never received the popularity and usuage it probably deserved, however.

The means for creating steam includes coal, natural gas, petroleum products, and radioactive materials. Radioactive materials? That's right. A nuclear power plant, despite the years of "public education" about the technological advance of "harnessing the power of the atom," is nothing but a big container for radioactive material that makes the water surrounding it boil. The steam from the radiated water is then piped past perpendicular turbine blades, making them turn the parts of the generator attached to it...

Starting to doubt the "nuclear age" yet?

But back to Carbon. The methods of generating Electricity indicated above don't all use carbon. Coal, natural gas, and petroleum products certainly do; they use a lot of other chemicals, as well. Hydroelectric dams, though, don't inconvenience any carbon at all, but quite often a lot of surrounding habitat undergoes changes as the water levels change and channels seal off the migration of the life forms - fishies and things - living in the water.

Nor does Nuclear power seem to have anything Carbon at all, even if the technology is possibly the most deceptively stupid ever developed in the past century. Sorry - no carbon here, sir.

The so-called Carbon Footprint, as applied to Electricity, seems to be an imaginary concept designed to create an imaginary sense of social responsibility. If it's about Energy Conservation, then call it that. But blaming Carbon hardly seems fair, and, Mr. Gore and Mrs. Kyoto, you frankly ought to be ashamed of yourselves.

If C02 really is the problem, people, there's probably another explanation. Over the past century especially and to a lesser extent the few preceding it, Humans have been taking a greater and greater hold over the surface of the Earth. As part of that process, Humans have "tamed" the Earth, turning it from its natural state into what Humans either Wanted it to be or Believed they Needed it to Be in Order to Survive.

That means that a huge part of the surface of our Mother Earth has been stripped of Her natural vegetation and has had removed the plant life that once did abound, replaced with what Humans wanted to be there - be it wheat, barley, oats, corn, or any variety of crops Humans happen to believe they may need at the moment.

I am reminded of the poem by Joyce Kilmer:

Trees and Other Poems (1914)

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
When you think of love and fame
And all that might have come to pass,
Then don't you feel a little shame?
And don't you think you were an ass?I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Text courtesy Wikipedia; permission courtesy express psychically channelled permission from the author

Of course, more apropos to the C02 debate may be Ogden Nash's elaboration:

I think that I shall never see
A billboard lovely as a tree
Indeed, unless the billboards fall
I'll never see a tree at all.

Text from memory; permission courtesy express psychically channelled permission from the author

Have you never thought, Mr. Gore and Mrs. Kyoto,

that it's maybe not Humans driving up CO2 levels the way you think - maybe it's because we cut down all the frickin' trees?????

Want Happiness? Now you can have it - free!

2008-07-05T03:28:00.005-05:00

There's a brand new magazine out there on the Web. Happiness Magazine has just been released.

Do check it out! The inaugural issue includes a wonderful article by the venerable Richard Bandler himself, entitled "The Girl on the 7/7 Bus." It's about a survivor of the London bombings and the techniques Bandler used to help her get past that traumatic experience. Well worth the read! (You'll find it on Page 9.)

The rest of the magazine is great, too. You can download your free copy here. Get it now, while you still can!

www.wendi.com - the Wonderful World of Wendi

2007-07-19T23:20:00.001-05:00

Wendi Friesen is an amazing hypnotist, and is poised to become known as the World's Greatest. (Yes, everyone knows I'm a Bandler junkie, but even HE might want to watch out!)

Wendi has appeared as a guest on the internationally syndicated radio program Coast to Coast A.M. with George Noory, and for the past year also hosted her own radio program. Wendi now provides free live teleseminars via her Web site, where she offers sage wisdom and advice on a variety of topics. Visit her site and click on the "teleseminars" link to check out upcoming topics and past archives.

You can also check out her hypnosis CDs on stopping procrastination, losing weight, public speaking, confidence building, migraine relief, insomnia, and even improving your sex life.

Wendi's style and effectiveness are amazing, and her compassion makes her one of a unique few. Try her out and change your life.. or not!

What will you do?

Kozier Announces Run for Kirkfield Park Riding

2007-01-11T23:58:00.000-06:00

Christopher Kozier, former UMSU president, present Associate with the
Cassidy Ramsay law firm, and all-around brilliant guy, is seeking nomination as the Provincial PC Party Candidate for Kirkfield Park.

February 12, 2007 is the date to mark on your calendar.

All of us at Lurquer.com (and especially Lurq!) wish Chris the best in his nomination, candidacy, and eventual election. (You heard it here first)

New Years Revolutions

2006-12-31T20:42:00.000-06:00

Every year, right around this time, people set their minds to the changes they would like to make for the future. They call them "resolutions."

A "resolution" is a noun; the relevant definition is "the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc." (thanks to the nice people at dictionary.com for that.)

So, a New Years Resolution, then, is choosing a course of action to effect change. Pick something about yourself that you'd like to change, and "resolve" to change it. Countless people follow this tradition each and every year - they resolve to quit smoking, they resolve to lose weight, they resolve to be more caring to their spouse or other loved ones. They resolve to make more money, they resolve to get out of debt, they resolve to improve their lives in some way.

Within days, however, these "resolutions" usually fall by the wayside - the mind creates rationalizations, excuses, or reasons to stop following through on the "resolute" chosen course of action. Those good intentions have paved the way to - well, you know where.

This year, why not try something a little different? Instead of a resolution - create a Revolution. Identify the things you'd like to change about yourself. Identify the behaviours that you don't want to continue. Identify the ways you would like to act - or react - in a different way. Then, plot your course, decide how you're going to allow those positive changes to become a part of your life, and pivot from the way you used to be. Find the benefits to the changes you wish to make, and concentrate on those. Figure out who you'd like to become - and then become that. Aim yourself in your new direction, and continue forth in the knowledge that you are becoming the ultimate you - the person you want to be. Change who you were by becoming who you want to be, and rest assured that each little baby step you take in your new direction will carry you towards the ultimate you.

Change doesn't have to be painful. It doesn't have to be lengthy. It doesn't have to be a battle or a struggle or a fight. Instead of creating an inventory of what you would like to change about yourself, why not approach it another way? Use this opportunity to really change your life. Create a personal Revolution. Be resolute in your resolve, but aim it in a positive direction. Point yourself in the direction that will carry you to where you want to be.

So, this New Years, don't resolve. Revolve.

Go Figure

2006-09-05T21:24:00.000-05:00

I just took the Famous Leader test at http://similarminds.com/leader.html, which purportedly tells you which famous figure or leader you most resemble (billed on that site as "an amusing personality test").

Here is my result.

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Quite entertaining. Plus, it explains all the bad hair days lately.

Go take the test. I recommend doing the full 45 answers, although you can opt for less (and for less accurate results, I would imagine, although I got the exact same result using the 9 answer option afterwards.)

Fun. Post your results in the comments section!

-Lurq

oh, ps, somebody told me I had to update the blog, so I did...

My Busy Saturday

2006-04-02T00:53:00.000-06:00

The early flight to New York was worth it. The meeting late-morning meeting practically turned into an impromptu bidding auction for the next novel, with some of the "without prejudice" offers consisting of a tidy sum and including first rights to my next six books. Go figure! It seems we've agreed to adjourn the issue, so to speak, pending provision of further information regarding the outline. Thanks to the NDA, that's all I can say at this time, but I expect to be able to make a further announcement regarding same in a relatively swift time-frame.

The afternoon was simply a time of wandering through shops and taking incredibly long cab rides, for some reason... but it was neat to look at all the different kinds of buildings. The couple of late-afternoon meetings were productive as well, with the promise of quite interesting projects on the near horizon.

And then, the flight back home.. never a more relaxing one before.

Don't forget to turn your clocks ahead. 'Tis the season!

Lurquer Declines Nobel Nomination

2005-09-11T20:34:00.001-05:00

Sadly, because of numerous pending commitments, it had to be done. The following email was sent today, September 11, 2005, to the Nobel Foundation.

To the Esteemed Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, and the Norwegian Nobel Institute:

It is with great regret that, for reasons various and sundry, I find that I must decline any potential nomination for the 2005 prize year.

I apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause and wish you all the best of luck in this year's prize awards.

Sincerely,

David L. Hebert

Stay tuned for further details.

UPDATE: The winners all have me to thank....

Yahoo's dirty little secret

2005-07-11T05:53:00.000-05:00

I thought of a new drinking game.

You know those college drinking games, where anytime the word "conspiracy" was said in the X-files, everybody had to take a drink?

Well, I think that every time Yahoo asks you for your password, you have to take a shot.

For some silly reason, I've signed up for way too many YahooGroups. (I guess I like getting mail.) The annoying thing is, though, any time I click on a yahoo link from one of those emails, I get asked for a password. And, know what? It's damned annoying.

That's not the only thing that annoys me about Yahoo. Any time they acquire a new property, they're very quick to brand it into their domain, like they did with groups.yahoo.com when they snatched up egroups.com. (It's kind of humourous - some of the older groups still refer to egroups.com in their subscribe/unsubscribe info).

Now this got me to thinking…. (Uhoh..)

Remember when Geocities was the big thing? Oooh, free web pages. Every yokel on the Internet wanted one. And they could have it, too. Easily. Want a Web page? Just fill out a template. Publish your page instantly! (funny - almost like the technology that gave us blogs! My good friend wyzaz, whom I have known longer than either of us will admit, perfectly summed up the origin of "blogs" - "If you call them 'diaries,' men won't do them.")

Unfortunately, the design of almost all geocities pages quickly took on a universal theme. It quickly turned into the Trailer Park of the Net. Just follow the easy steps:

First, you come up with the most god-awful background image you can find. Hopefully one with a lot of squiggly lines that make text absolutely impossible to read. ("But it looks so PRETTY!")

Second. Format your text so it's bolded, and centered, in the largest type available. (What was the logic in that, anyway? Font size envy?)

Third, you choose the most god-awful colour for the text that you can find, one that almost matches the ugly background image you chose in step 1. Why should anybody be able to READ your page? We all know they're only there to look at the things from step four...

Step Four. Plaster the page in flashing animated gifs, thereby creating poor, embarrassed, and ashamed electrons everywhere. Not to mention all the wincing visitors.

Isn't it funny that when Yahoo bought it, they didn't change it to a yahoo subdomain? Geocities, my friend, is Yahoo's dirty little secret. Almost like they're ashamed to own it.

Now why is that?

Discuss.

The Journey Begins Again

2005-07-10T02:38:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the New version of the site. The 2001 version was getting to be a tad dated.

Check back often for new comments!

Apparently with the magic of RSS and XML, you can "feed" upon some file called Lurquer.com/atom.xml if you have any clue about how it works. I don't. =)