Not Workers Compensation

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Jun
13
2009
Not Workers Compensation

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I 3 Huckabees is the worst movie ever made
"I Heart Huckabees" is the worst movie ever made

Life’s too short to watch a bad movie. 1 Unfortunately, the only way to really determine whether a movie is bad is to wait until the end credits roll.2

I have a simple rule about watching movies that has saved me countless hours of agony.  I don’t care about reviews, awards won, who’s in the movie, what’s going on in the movie, or what’s about to happen.  If I’m not entertained within 30 minutes, I shut it off. 3

Before I created this rule I sat through innumerable movies in the hopes that they might somehow get better.  Eventually I came to the realization that the people who made the movie boring me cannot be trusted to improve the movie before its end.

Don’t believe me?  Try and think of one good movie that bored you for the first half hour. 4

What’s the worst movie you’ve seen?

  1. Like “I Heart Huckabees” the worst movie ever made.  Just go to YouTube.com and do a search for “I don’t heart Huckabees” to see what I mean. [↩]
  2. Photo courtesy of Scootie. [↩]
  3. Fifteen minutes for a TV program. [↩]
  4. I can only think of one movie that falls into this category: Unforgiven.  Cinematography, acting, blah, blah, blah.  The movie was just barely worth it for the last fifteen minutes. [↩]
Jun
12
2009
Not Workers Compensation, Open Source, PDRater, Website Updates, Wordpress

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Wordpress Upgrade
Wordpress Upgrade

Last night I updated this website to use WordPress v2.8.  There’s a lot of new features under the hood.  One that I really like is the ability to browse new website themes.

The calculators should all be completely impervious to changes in WordPress.  However, its theoretically possible you might notice a little bit of weirdness in how the rest of the website looks/acts.  If so, please drop me a line and let me know so I can look into it.

Enjoy!

Jun
9
2009
Author, Blogging, Marketing, Not Workers Compensation, Technobabble

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We can

It turns out that this website is actually in the top 5% of all blogs in the WORLD.  Where did I get this incredible statistic?  The Internets, of course.1

While there are some 133,000,000 blogs in the world, all but 7,400,000 of them have been abandoned. 2  Since I add a blog post on average at least once a week, I’m quite safely in the top 7.4 million blogs.  That doesn’t even count the number of updates to the permanent impairment and permanent disability calculators.

Top 5%!  I wish I had prepared a speech.

  1. Photo courtesy of Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com [↩]
  2. Apparently not updating a blog in four months is considered abandoning it. [↩]
Jun
6
2009
Not Workers Compensation, Technobabble

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What has the world come to when Bill Gates is sending spam?
What has the world come to when Bill Gates is sending spam?

A few days ago I posted about how to prevent spam.  That method works in most instances by allowing you to give out fake e-mail addresses.  It also works most of the time against the shadier kinds of people/entities sending out spam.

However, few methods will work that spam is coming from a legitimate source.  A few days ago I received spam about “Bing.”  This is a new MicroSoft search engine, intended to be a competitor to Google.  I’m using the term “competitor” loosely here.  This spam e-mail was from “communications@communications3.msn.com”1

A recent blog post on BoingBoing.net summed up MicroSoft woes.  The “I’m a PC” ads are just not as compelling as the “Mac ads” with Justin Long.  The Zune is a poor shadow of the iPod/iPhone.  Hell, Windows Vista can’t compete with Windows XP.  On top of it all, the recent public interest in cheap laptops/netbooks has made Linux an actual competitor in the marketplace.

But, stooping to spamming?  Can I really expect to be receiving e-mails about MicroSoft along with Nigerian investment oportunities, hot young singles in my area, and erectile dysfunction medication?

  1. Photo courtesy of Annie Mole [↩]
May
30
2009
Not Workers Compensation

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This weekend I went to the Maker Faire.  Having never been to a Maker Faire before, I described my expectations to a co-worker as it being a cross between the State Fair and the Exploratorium.1  It was way better than that.

Art cars, robots, and all kinds of incredible stuff.  Everything was made by ordinary people who would happily tell you exactly how they made everything you saw.  I also got to see Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame.

The highlight was meeting the guys of MakerBot (Zack “Hoken” Smith, Bre Pettis, and Adam Mayer) and seeing their Cupcake CNC machine in action.  These guys are real-life MacGyver’s and Scotty’s. 2

Their Cupcake CNC is a computer controlled robot that builds a 3D object layer-by-layer using molten plastic.  You can buy a kit or build one from the plans freely available on their site.  Their robot is based upon the incredible work of the RepRap project.  The things it can build are really only limited by your imagination.

  1. I’ve never been to Burning Man, otherwise I would have included it in this hybrid description. [↩]
  2. Minus the mullets and accents. [↩]
May
29
2009
Author, Not Workers Compensation

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Pirate Radio!
Pirate Radio!

Last week while in Stockton I heard on NPR that a local station was switching to an “all ’90’s” format.  I hoped against hope that it was not KWOD 106.5.

However, on the drive home yesterday I was flipping around the dial and caught FM 106.5 from Sacramento.  I grew up in Sacramento and have fond memories of this particular station.

  • I remember the time a rival station, 102.5, was playing rap and hip hop and alternarock.  At about the same time 102.5’s format went more towards the rap and hip hop while KWOD 106.5 went towards the grundge and alterna-rock scene.
  • I remember a DJ on 106.5 who decided to play the entirety of U2‘s (then) newest album “Achtung Baby” start to finish without interruption at midnight the day that it was supposed to be released.  He was doing this because for some reason the release date had been delayed a few days.  I sat next to my stereo1 with a blank cassette so I could tape the entire album.  That album was released on November 19, 1991. 2  This album was also one of the first prerecorded cassette tapes I ever owned. 34
  • I remember feeling a little sad and nostalgic when the morning duo5 jumped to another station, 100.5.
  • I was listening to KWOD 106.5 when I learned that Kurt Cobain had committed suicide.

Anyhow, KWOD 106.5 just became “The BUZZ.”  I listened to it for about five minutes this evening and shut it off.  BuzzKILL is more like it. 6 7

  1. Dual cassette –  thankyouverymuch [↩]
  2. Thanks to Wikipedia for making me look smarter than I really am. [↩]
  3. So much for the RIAA and music piracy, eh? [↩]
  4. Photo courtesy of id-iom [↩]
  5. Shawn & Jeff in the Morning [↩]
  6. I sound like my dad. [↩]
  7. Sorry Dad! [↩]
May
27
2009
Not Workers Compensation, Technobabble

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SPAM so fresh, you can eat it as sushi!
SPAM so fresh, you can eat it as sushi!

Several months ago I listed several obvious and non-obvious benefits to owning your own domain name. 1  One of the less than obvious benefits was a way to avoid and stop spam.  Two easy ways to do this are to:

  • Set up a default e-mail address  to collect all the misaddressed mail.  Then, if you have to sign up for something or give out a valid e-mail address, you just make up an e-mail address at your domain.  It will go to your server and then be directed to your “catch-all” address.  If the made-up address includes the name of the place you gave your e-mail address to, then you know the source of your spam.  This is easy to fix by just creating a filter at the server for that one address.
  • You can also create an address just for the purposes of giving out to sites/people you think will send you spam.  If you get too much, just delete the account.

In just the last two months I’ve been getting spam about:

  • Why celebrities love the acai berry
  • Free life insurance quotes
  • Discount ink and toner
  • Protecting my family against financial hardship

A while ago I sent an e-card to a friend of mine.  EVER since then I’ve been getting these spam e-mails to that address.  How do I know these e-mails are from that e-card website?

All of these spam e-mails are being sent to:  happy.birthday.from.me@pdrater.com !

  1. Photo courtesy of chotda [↩]
May
21
2009
Not Workers Compensation

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Chuck Season 3
Chuck Season 3

The NBC show Chuck is about a nerd turned hero.  I found out yesterday that it was renewed for a third season.  This got me thinking – why not a dramedy about a devilishly handsome workers’ compensation defense attorney?  Here are a few ideas:

  • “Readiness to Proceed” – a wacky romantic comedy about two attorneys afraid to “compromise and release”
  • “CA-PD New (Schedule)”
  • “EAMS: Rise of the Machines” – Jay Shergill fights against a cyborg-govenor and travels back in time to stop the DWC from adopting EAMS
  • “Stip and Order“

NO!  Even better:  “Stockton Legal”1

  1. Denny Crane! [↩]
May
8
2009
Not Workers Compensation, PDRater

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I heard a song the other day that has just become my new theme song.  “No Rest For The Wicked” by Cage the Elephant.  Here’s the chorus:

  • There ain’t no rest for the wicked
  • Money don’t grow on trees
  • I got bills to pay, I got mouths to feed
  • There ain’t nothing in this world for free
  • I know I can’t slow down, I can’t hold back
  • Though you know I wish I could
  • Oh no, there ain’t no rest for the wicked
  • Until we close our eyes for good.”

A little bleak for this Friday, but ever so appropriate.

Those who know me know my last theme song was also my ringtone…

Cage The Elephant
Cage The Elephant