http://www.tobiasly.com My blog about politics, technology, and dogs Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:18:06 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I bought a Garmin Nuvi 785T recently, which has a built-in receiver for the MSN Direct over-the-air service. Now, there's not much that Microsoft does these days that impresses me in the slightest, but MSN Direct is definitely an exception. It sends real-time traffic data (although the data in Louisville ... http://www.tobiasly.com/2009/11/20/cancel-your-msn-direct-service-today-theyll-still-let-you-use-it-until-2012/ So I was reading the latest story on the whole sordid Blagojevich scandal today on the Chicago Tribune's website when I noticed this lovely graphic in the bottom-right corner titled "Colonel Tribune Recommends". Colonel Tribune is apparently the Chicago Tribune's "Web Ambassador". Now folks, this is just a stroke (pardon the ... http://www.tobiasly.com/2008/12/30/facing-extinction-chicago-tribune-adapts-to-teh-intarwebs/ Something tells me this whole "green" craze is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better. I got an email today from Scott's Lawn Care touting their new "Water Smart" fertilizer. Their "new Water Smart™ formula saves you thousands of gallons of water a year!" Curious as to ... http://www.tobiasly.com/2008/05/08/so-green-it-hurts/ Jake, the Black Labrador who became a national hero after searching for survivors of the WTC attacks and Hurricane Katrina, died today. He was put to sleep by his owner after his battle with cancer took a turn for the worse. Jake was one of fewer than 200 government-certified rescue dogs. ... http://www.tobiasly.com/2007/07/25/rip-jake/ Here's a stunning bit of information you're not likely to see played out too much in the mainstream media. A recent public opinion poll found that by a margin of two to one, most Iraqis are still optimistic about their future and prefer life under the current government to life ... http://www.tobiasly.com/2007/03/18/iraqis-say-life-is-getting-better/ Here's a great YouTube video of the Twirl-A-Squirrel bird feeder, which aims to solve the age-old problem of squirrels stealing birdseed from feeders. The squirrel's heavier weight sets the gadget in motion, which gently spins the little varmint off, leaving him just a little bit dizzy but none the worse ... http://www.tobiasly.com/2007/03/14/twirl-a-squirrel/ Double rebates, making the sales rep happy, getting out of a bad contract -- here's a great post on how to get Cingular to hose you a bit less. http://www.tobiasly.com/2007/03/06/confessions-of-a-cingular-sales-rep/ I have finally made the switch from Nucleus to WordPress. Nucleus has served me very well over the years but it has fallen behind in its development lately. The conversion to Wordpress was very seamless, thanks to this wonderful Nucleus to Wordpress importer tool. With a bit of modification I ... http://www.tobiasly.com/2007/02/27/moved-to-wordpress/ Just as the media disproportionately portray the progress we have made in most of Iraq, so too do they slant their reporting on the parents of soldiers who have been killed in battle. If you just listened to the major media outlets, you might think that anti-war zealots who are ... http://www.tobiasly.com/2006/12/26/parents-of-slain-gis-travel-to-iraq/ Apparently it is possible for a party to win an election without having a plan. What yet remains to be seen is whether Nancy Pelosi is actually Speaker material... her first bungled attempt to instill her pal John Murtha as Majority Leader certainly doesn't look good for her. Not only ... http://www.tobiasly.com/2006/11/18/of-course-i-could-be-wrong/