Dictum Ridiculum - July 2005

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Dictum Ridiculum: July 2005

Archived rants and raves from the main page of the Colin Campbell Network.

Friday, July 22, 2005
Watch it!

Transmitted 01:17 AM PST | Link |

Monday, July 18, 2005
A Special Message
CSYLU GTKOR TEQBC PYLUJ UPQIR TARKG YMHRT PRELK QFCHH JRGLK AOTQU HTQCL KPLKE RGLEC KAQBC PGCMB ROCSY LUBTV RALQQ RKQBC PSTOP RKEJR TKRJT CHJYT EEORP PCPGG TQGLH CKGTJ MIRHH ELQKR QPRRY LUTQQ BRQBC OQYYR TOXXX!
Transmitted 02:58 AM PST | Link |

Friday, July 15, 2005
A Rival for the Trekkies?
I don't know if they're as nerdy, but you've got to think that even Trekkies might wonder about the fine folks attending a convention for people who really, really like fonts. They've got such exciting panels as, "The Swedish Type Scene." Who knew there was a Swedish type "scene"???
With the declining popularity of Star Trek, and the emergence of a next generation of fontologists raised on Adobe Type Manager, I predict the inevitable merger should take place sometime around 2015 -- the first convention for people who really like Star Trek fonts.
And at that gathering, a "Nerd Black Hole" shall open...
(Note: Who am I kidding? If there was a convention for Trek fontologists, I'd probably go... just to see who else would show up, if for no other reason.)
Transmitted 10:11 AM PST | Link |

Sunday, July 10, 2005
What’s Wrong With America Today
Oh, plenty. But here’s a good example.
I’ve just arrived at my local coffee house – a fine and friendly place with the all-important bonus feature of free Internet access. (Take that, Starbucks and t-Mobile). But today, something has gone wrong – one of the huge plate glass windows in the front of the store, about eight feet wide by fourteen feet high, has been shattered. So one of the baristas, a guy who’s helped me here before, is assisting Johnny Glass Repair Guy in knocking out the remains of the window, and putting up a gigantic multi-plank wood barricade. This temporary wood “patch” is unwieldy, at best – four pieces of, maybe, 8’x4’, screwed together and flexing wildly at the joints.
So as the boys struggle to get this patch in to place, I put down my tea, and my computer, and offer to help by lending a steadying hand on the outside of the boards while Johnny Glass Repair Guy screws the thing in to place.
Barista is all for it – until JGRG looks at the barista, and speaks those most American of all words – “Uh, you got insurance to cover that?”
We all look at each other, silently realizing that yeah, the coffee shop’s insurance has got Barista covered, but if a plank should give way, or a bizarre accident leads to a piece of glass getting in my eye, we now live in a country where it is automatically assumed I will sue the coffee shop to within in an inch of their worthless lives, and probably end up owning the place after a multi-million dollar settlement.
That’s what we assume is normal in America today. And that is so, so, so wrong. We’ve become a country where kind offers of helping hands are automatically discounted without debate, rejected on sketchy legal grounds. And that’s kind of sad, don’t you think?

Transmitted 02:46 PM PST | Link |

Saturday, July 9, 2005
Supreme Rhetoric
From the Associate Press story about the impending retirement of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, we find this gem:

TV news crews and an Associated Press photographer waited in pelting rain for three hours Friday morning for Rehnquist to emerge from his suburban Virginia town house. He eventually did, wishing reporters a good morning. When asked about retirement rumors, he answered: "That's for me to know and you to find out," before getting into a waiting car.
Rehnquist failed, however, to indicate between the media and himself which one should be considered "rubber," and which should be considered "glue," making it unclear for now where those words would stick.
I'm not sure if Mr. Justice Renhnquist uses that sort of brilliant third-grade rhetoric in his current legal rulings, but if so, then yeah, it's time to retire.
Transmitted 11:02 AM PST | Link |

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