Image courtesy: Storm Prediction Center

As of early this morning, we’re in the moderate risk for severe weather. Usually, if I remember correctly, we go under the moderate risk when the NWS is certain that we have an elevated risk for some type of severe weather. From what I can tell, today that happens to be an increased risk for severe winds from the t-storms. That, my friends is not good considering the moist soil. Crops, trees, etc. don’t have any footing and can fall very easily

-A

 

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Posted in Weather

It never ceases to amaze me how much Microsoft is like the Republican party. They’ll go to any length they have to to get what they want. Take this as an example… I just restored my computer back to Vista from my Linux experiment (that will be discussed at a later time). As I do on any system where I can install software, I download the tools I use like Firefox and Thunderbird. I also frequently install a third browser (Opera) for testing and since this is a Windows machine, I install probably the best Anit-Spyware solution ever, Spybot Search & Destroy.

Well.. It seems that the last two are a bit of a concern for Microsoft because Internet Explorer 7 gave me the following when trying to download Opera (left) and Spybot (right):

Click on the thumbnails for a larger view.

Opera, is of course, a threat to Internet Explorer itself. Ironically, Firefox and Thunderbird, which are more probably a bigger threat to IE (and outlook) did not generate an error. Spybot is a threat to Windows One Care, or whatever it’s called.

So there you have it, Microsoft is once again asserting that they’re nothing but evil.

-A

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Posted in Commentary, Computers, Geek, Internet

via Boing-Boing:

A “significant proportion” of the city’s bars and restaurants are now operating two or even three price lists: one for tourists, another for locals, and a third for “sympathetic” tourists who make more effort than the usual grunted demands.

The situation is so widespread that Italy’s financial police have opened an investigation. Colonel Giulio Piller said the Guardia di Finanza (financial and customs police) would make random checks on establishments’ price lists and compare them against the receipts in the till.

Locals cheerfully admitted the con, saying that it was the tourists’ fault for not paying more attention, or for behaving boorishly.

Ok.. This article makes me laugh.. This is the sort of thing that you see here in the states at EVERY tourist trap. When I visited Candace in Tennesee a few years ago, we headed over to Gatlinberg, which is a very big tourist trap. You know, the typical deal where everything is overpriced. Well, what I found out was that all she had to do was show her Tennesee DL showing that she lived in the area and mysteriously, everything was significantly cheaper since I was with a local.

I’ve not tried this yet, but I do head that this works in the Wisconsin Dells, too.

-A

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Posted in Commentary, Internet, Random