Youv'e got to here this hilarious phone call from an 88 year old woman from Austin, Texas to Ellen DeGeneres on her show. Too funny!
http://www.thefunnystuff.net/viewmovie.php?id=905
Friday, August 22, 2008
Just in Time for the Elections......Programming Errors in Voting Machines Admitted
A major voting machine maker has cautioned its customers in 34 states to look out for a programming error that may cause votes to be dropped.
At least 1,000 total votes were dropped in nine Ohio counties over the course of a handful elections back to 2006, including the March presidential primary, though the error was in all cases discovered and corrected within several hours. Premier Election Solutions Inc. previously had said complications with antivirus software caused the problem, but on Tuesday the company said in a product advisory that the problem is with the machines themselves.
The error occurs when multiple memory cards are being uploaded at the same time, and it is more likely to occur in jurisdictions that have several voters and use touch-screen voting systems, said Premier spokesman Chris Riggall.
Allen, Texas-based Premier, a unit of North Canton-based Diebold Inc., supplies touch-screen voting systems as well as scanners for paper ballots. The problem is more likely to occur in touch-screen systems because they use more memory cards, one for every touch screen.
Premier said in its product advisory that the problem can be corrected as long as officials monitor whether the memory cards are being uploaded, and if they are not, reload them until they are.
"We are communicating to customers around the country, making sure that we're answering any questions concerning it," Riggall said.
In Ohio, the dropped votes were discovered within several hours by election officials who noticed the memory cards weren't being read properly. Workers re-fed the cards into the server until they worked, and the votes were added to the overall vote totals.
After Premier blamed the problem solely on antivirus software, officials in Ohio's Butler County kept testing the machines and claimed that there was a problem with the machines themselves. That was later verified by Premier's own testing. The company said the software can cause the error, but that the programming glitch can produce the error even when the software isn't used.
Ohio will continue to use the Premier machines in the Nov. 4 election. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said identifying the cause of the problem will enable the state to prepare election officials to watch for the problem and correct it should it resurface.
"We are finalizing plans that will walk board officials through the process of identifying the problem, loading the affected memory cards and verifying that the votes are counted," said Brunner spokesman Kevin Kidder.
The company and state election officials said there are multiple layers of security in place, such as post-election audits that match voting machine totals with a paper trail, that will ensure that no votes are missed.
Cuyahoga County, Ohio's largest county and the home of Cleveland, dropped Premier touch-screen systems in 2007 after the system malfunctioned. The company sued the county for breach of contract. Brunner then countersued, citing the dropped votes that the company acknowledged in its letter to Brunner this week.
Premier spokesman Riggall said he could not comment on the lawsuit.
~~Excerpt from Wikipedia~~
For criticisms of the former Diebold Election Systems, see Premier Election Solutions#Security issues.
On July 31, 2002, Cathy Cox, Georgia's Secretary of State, signed a contract with Diebold, allowing the firm to distribute electronic voting machines throughout the state and design the ballots.[8]
In August 2003, Walden O'Dell, then the chief executive of Diebold, announced that he had been a top fund-raiser for President George W. Bush and had sent a get-out-the-funds letter to 100 wealthy and politically inclined friends in the Republican Party, to be held at his home in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio.[9] When assailed by critics for the conflict of interest, he pointed out that the company's election machines division is run out of Texas by a registered Democrat. Nonetheless, he vowed to lower his political profile lest his personal actions harm the company.
In December 2005, O'Dell resigned following reports that the company was facing securities fraud litigation surrounding charges of insider trading.[10]
In March 2007, it was reported by the Associated Press that Diebold was considering divesting itself of its voting machine subsidiary because it was "widely seen as tarnishing the company's reputation".[5]
In August 2007, Wikipedia Scanner found that edits via the company's IP addresses occurred to Diebold's Wikipedia article, removing criticisms of the company's products, references to its CEO's fund-raising for President Bush and other negative criticism from the Wikipedia page about the company in November 2005.[11]
For more on Diebold & Premier go here......http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diebold
At least 1,000 total votes were dropped in nine Ohio counties over the course of a handful elections back to 2006, including the March presidential primary, though the error was in all cases discovered and corrected within several hours. Premier Election Solutions Inc. previously had said complications with antivirus software caused the problem, but on Tuesday the company said in a product advisory that the problem is with the machines themselves.
The error occurs when multiple memory cards are being uploaded at the same time, and it is more likely to occur in jurisdictions that have several voters and use touch-screen voting systems, said Premier spokesman Chris Riggall.
Allen, Texas-based Premier, a unit of North Canton-based Diebold Inc., supplies touch-screen voting systems as well as scanners for paper ballots. The problem is more likely to occur in touch-screen systems because they use more memory cards, one for every touch screen.
Premier said in its product advisory that the problem can be corrected as long as officials monitor whether the memory cards are being uploaded, and if they are not, reload them until they are.
"We are communicating to customers around the country, making sure that we're answering any questions concerning it," Riggall said.
In Ohio, the dropped votes were discovered within several hours by election officials who noticed the memory cards weren't being read properly. Workers re-fed the cards into the server until they worked, and the votes were added to the overall vote totals.
After Premier blamed the problem solely on antivirus software, officials in Ohio's Butler County kept testing the machines and claimed that there was a problem with the machines themselves. That was later verified by Premier's own testing. The company said the software can cause the error, but that the programming glitch can produce the error even when the software isn't used.
Ohio will continue to use the Premier machines in the Nov. 4 election. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said identifying the cause of the problem will enable the state to prepare election officials to watch for the problem and correct it should it resurface.
"We are finalizing plans that will walk board officials through the process of identifying the problem, loading the affected memory cards and verifying that the votes are counted," said Brunner spokesman Kevin Kidder.
The company and state election officials said there are multiple layers of security in place, such as post-election audits that match voting machine totals with a paper trail, that will ensure that no votes are missed.
Cuyahoga County, Ohio's largest county and the home of Cleveland, dropped Premier touch-screen systems in 2007 after the system malfunctioned. The company sued the county for breach of contract. Brunner then countersued, citing the dropped votes that the company acknowledged in its letter to Brunner this week.
Premier spokesman Riggall said he could not comment on the lawsuit.
~~Excerpt from Wikipedia~~
For criticisms of the former Diebold Election Systems, see Premier Election Solutions#Security issues.
On July 31, 2002, Cathy Cox, Georgia's Secretary of State, signed a contract with Diebold, allowing the firm to distribute electronic voting machines throughout the state and design the ballots.[8]
In August 2003, Walden O'Dell, then the chief executive of Diebold, announced that he had been a top fund-raiser for President George W. Bush and had sent a get-out-the-funds letter to 100 wealthy and politically inclined friends in the Republican Party, to be held at his home in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio.[9] When assailed by critics for the conflict of interest, he pointed out that the company's election machines division is run out of Texas by a registered Democrat. Nonetheless, he vowed to lower his political profile lest his personal actions harm the company.
In December 2005, O'Dell resigned following reports that the company was facing securities fraud litigation surrounding charges of insider trading.[10]
In March 2007, it was reported by the Associated Press that Diebold was considering divesting itself of its voting machine subsidiary because it was "widely seen as tarnishing the company's reputation".[5]
In August 2007, Wikipedia Scanner found that edits via the company's IP addresses occurred to Diebold's Wikipedia article, removing criticisms of the company's products, references to its CEO's fund-raising for President Bush and other negative criticism from the Wikipedia page about the company in November 2005.[11]
For more on Diebold & Premier go here......http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diebold
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Stephen Colbert...You Just Got Told!
More from the land of meth labs and mullets......
A city councilman in Canton, Texas, called Colbert a sucker and joked that he would "mash his nose," days after the comedian referred to the town as an "incorporated outhouse."
"What does that sucker know about it? He's never been here anyway," Councilman John Fuller said in a story Friday in the Tyler Morning Telegraph. "If he comes down here, I'll mash his nose."
A city councilman in Canton, Texas, called Colbert a sucker and joked that he would "mash his nose," days after the comedian referred to the town as an "incorporated outhouse."
"What does that sucker know about it? He's never been here anyway," Councilman John Fuller said in a story Friday in the Tyler Morning Telegraph. "If he comes down here, I'll mash his nose."
Stephen Colbert Calls Out Canton Texas..."An Incorporated Outhouse"
In an ongoing gag on his show "The Colbert Report," Colbert has been taking pot shots at a variety of towns named Canton. It began when he referred to a Georgia town as "the crappy Canton."
Colbert then referred to Canton, Kan., with an unprintable epithet and claimed the town's residents watched "horse-drawn paintings" for entertainment. Colbert also referred to Canton, S.D., as "North Dakota's dirty ashtray" and suggested the town's dogs all suffer from alcoholism.
Cantons in Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Ohio have so far escaped Colbert's ire.
Leaders of the Texas town of Canton, which has a population of about 5,100, invited Colbert to the town's monthly flea market. Called "First Monday Trade Days," the flea market harkens back to Texas' frontier traditions, "when it was common to trade a rifle for a good hunting dog," according to a city Web site.
"Canton is known worldwide," City Manager Andy McCuistion said of the town, located about 55 miles southeast of Dallas. "You can go anywhere in the world, and people will say, 'Canton? Yeah, I know where that is. It's where that big flea market is."'
It's about time someone noticed what a cesspool this little town is. And on national television no less! I had the unfortunateness of having my family move to Canton after I graduated from high school. (At least I didn't have to go to school there!) I have since long ago moved but I will never forget the wisom of one older woman who once told me "Dear, you were'nt born here, you will never belong".
Thank you God!
Colbert then referred to Canton, Kan., with an unprintable epithet and claimed the town's residents watched "horse-drawn paintings" for entertainment. Colbert also referred to Canton, S.D., as "North Dakota's dirty ashtray" and suggested the town's dogs all suffer from alcoholism.
Cantons in Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Ohio have so far escaped Colbert's ire.
Leaders of the Texas town of Canton, which has a population of about 5,100, invited Colbert to the town's monthly flea market. Called "First Monday Trade Days," the flea market harkens back to Texas' frontier traditions, "when it was common to trade a rifle for a good hunting dog," according to a city Web site.
"Canton is known worldwide," City Manager Andy McCuistion said of the town, located about 55 miles southeast of Dallas. "You can go anywhere in the world, and people will say, 'Canton? Yeah, I know where that is. It's where that big flea market is."'
It's about time someone noticed what a cesspool this little town is. And on national television no less! I had the unfortunateness of having my family move to Canton after I graduated from high school. (At least I didn't have to go to school there!) I have since long ago moved but I will never forget the wisom of one older woman who once told me "Dear, you were'nt born here, you will never belong".
Thank you God!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Texas Sales Tax Holiday.....
August 15-17, 2008
Texas shoppers get a break from state and local sales taxes on August 15, 16 and 17 - the state’s annual tax holiday. Lay-away plans can be used again this year to take advantage of the sales tax holiday.
The law exempts most clothing and footwear priced under $100 from sales and use taxes, which could save shoppers about $8 on every $100 they spend. Backpacks under $100 and used by elementary and secondary students are also exempt.
Below is a list of tax free items............................................
Baby clothes
Backpacks for use by elementary and secondary students
Belts with attached buckles
Boots - cowboy, hiking
Caps/hats - baseball, fishing, golf, knitted
Coats and wraps
Diapers - adult and baby
Dresses
Gloves (generally)
Gym suits and uniforms
Hooded shirts and hooded sweatshirts
Hosiery
Jackets
Jeans
Jerseys - baseball and football
Jogging apparel
Neckwear and ties
Pajamas
Pants and trousers
Raincoats and ponchos
Robes
Shirts
Shoes - sandals, slippers, sneakers, tennis, walking
Socks (including athletic)
Shorts
Suits, slacks, and jackets
Sweatshirts
Sweat suits
Sweaters
Swimsuits
Underclothes
Work clothes and uniforms
Texas shoppers get a break from state and local sales taxes on August 15, 16 and 17 - the state’s annual tax holiday. Lay-away plans can be used again this year to take advantage of the sales tax holiday.
The law exempts most clothing and footwear priced under $100 from sales and use taxes, which could save shoppers about $8 on every $100 they spend. Backpacks under $100 and used by elementary and secondary students are also exempt.
Below is a list of tax free items............................................
Baby clothes
Backpacks for use by elementary and secondary students
Belts with attached buckles
Boots - cowboy, hiking
Caps/hats - baseball, fishing, golf, knitted
Coats and wraps
Diapers - adult and baby
Dresses
Gloves (generally)
Gym suits and uniforms
Hooded shirts and hooded sweatshirts
Hosiery
Jackets
Jeans
Jerseys - baseball and football
Jogging apparel
Neckwear and ties
Pajamas
Pants and trousers
Raincoats and ponchos
Robes
Shirts
Shoes - sandals, slippers, sneakers, tennis, walking
Socks (including athletic)
Shorts
Suits, slacks, and jackets
Sweatshirts
Sweat suits
Sweaters
Swimsuits
Underclothes
Work clothes and uniforms
No Mas Awesome Blossom @ Chili's
My party of three was saddened by the news of the loss of this noble appetizer at a local Chili's last night. Even worse the brusque way our server informed us of it's demise......~~Server hollering across filled restaurant at other server~~..."Hey, Have they yanked the blossom off the menu yet." YANKED!
Indeed they had.
However, we were informed that they had "onion strings for like $6 or $7, or something."
Really...
Indeed they had.
However, we were informed that they had "onion strings for like $6 or $7, or something."
Really...
Genuine Haiku Generator
OK....I'm addicted...You can even save one forever in cyberspace!
Go Here..........http://www.everypoet.com/haiku/default.htm
Go Here..........http://www.everypoet.com/haiku/default.htm
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Letting it all Hang Out
A Texas truck driver was arrested Wednesday evening for allegedly exposing himself to customers at the Huddle House in Galliano.
Steve W. Carter, who told police he weighs 285 pounds, said his pants fell down because he had recently lost 28 pounds, Lafourche Sheriff’s spokesman Larry Weidel said.
Carter, 44, of 2495 Van Zandt County Road in Wheeler, Texas, was charged with one count of felony obscenity and disturbing the peace.
Deputies made Carter go to his truck and put on a belt, before cuffing him.
According to police, a Huddle House employee saw Carter exposing himself and informed a manager.
Carter, who stands 6-foot-4, complied with the manager’s request to zip his pants, but later when he left the bathroom, his pants dropped to his ankles.
One patron requested another order of food because Carter’s exposed private parts came close to their plate, Weidel said.
The penalty for obscenity is a fine of $1,000 to $2,500 and/or a prison sentence between six months and three years.
Steve W. Carter, who told police he weighs 285 pounds, said his pants fell down because he had recently lost 28 pounds, Lafourche Sheriff’s spokesman Larry Weidel said.
Carter, 44, of 2495 Van Zandt County Road in Wheeler, Texas, was charged with one count of felony obscenity and disturbing the peace.
Deputies made Carter go to his truck and put on a belt, before cuffing him.
According to police, a Huddle House employee saw Carter exposing himself and informed a manager.
Carter, who stands 6-foot-4, complied with the manager’s request to zip his pants, but later when he left the bathroom, his pants dropped to his ankles.
One patron requested another order of food because Carter’s exposed private parts came close to their plate, Weidel said.
The penalty for obscenity is a fine of $1,000 to $2,500 and/or a prison sentence between six months and three years.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Ewwwww........
Verne Troyer (aka Mini-Me) has an explicit sex tape out. Wow.
Does everyone have a sex tape out? I feel cheated.
Where's my explicit sex tape?
Does everyone have a sex tape out? I feel cheated.
Where's my explicit sex tape?
Friday, August 1, 2008
Edgewood Police Chief & Officers Treated Like Criminals...
We all know by now that last Thursday, Edgewood Police Chief, Henry Askew & his officers were put on paid leave until Monday due to "economic concerns". What we didn't know was exactly how it was handled.
Apparently, Charles Prater, Mayor of Edgewood, asked Chief Askew & the Edgewood Officers to meet him at the Edgewood Police Department. What they didn't know was who else would be there....
Also waiting at the police department were two Texas Rangers, Van Zandt County Sheriff Pat Burnett and a sheriff’s investigator who watched as the Edgewood police chief and his staff were made to turn over city keys and property and clean out their desks.
“I felt like we were treated like criminals,” Askew said.
The Edgewood officers said they were told by the mayor that, because police officers are considered to have “Type-A Personalities,” they could pose a danger to city employees, Askew said.
Apparently, Charles Prater, Mayor of Edgewood, asked Chief Askew & the Edgewood Officers to meet him at the Edgewood Police Department. What they didn't know was who else would be there....
Also waiting at the police department were two Texas Rangers, Van Zandt County Sheriff Pat Burnett and a sheriff’s investigator who watched as the Edgewood police chief and his staff were made to turn over city keys and property and clean out their desks.
“I felt like we were treated like criminals,” Askew said.
The Edgewood officers said they were told by the mayor that, because police officers are considered to have “Type-A Personalities,” they could pose a danger to city employees, Askew said.
Was this really necessary? Puhleeze!
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