05 May 2001 @ 4:04 PM 

I love Texas. I suppose it’s the same anywhere with a strong cultural identity, but I’ve spent more time in Texas than anywhere but California and Korea, so I’ll fixate on Texas.

There is a common phrase heard by anyone not from the South, when we are visiting Texas: “Where y’all from?” With major emphasis on the from, naturally.

My best “Where y’all from” story is one from a couple years ago. I was stationed in Texas, as an instructor at the intel school. (No, military intelligence is not an oxymoron, you cretin. Come up with a more original slam, ok?) We instructors would often go out to dinner together, when we were working evenings. This particular night, we went to the Catfish Corner nearby. Oddly, the Catfish Corner is not on a corner, and in fact is not even in sight of any street corners. But, it is alliterative.

So, we go to the catfish restaurant (and restaurant is a generous description), noting as we arrive that they are having an all-you-can-eat special on catfish and quail. I don’t eat enough to ever feel that “all-you-can-eat” is a good deal, but a couple coworkers did. So, Chip asks what quail tastes like, since his Ohio-born self had never tried such a delicacy.
“It tastes like dove,” replied the waitress, pronouncing dove in a way nearly impossible to describe in mere roman letters, but something like “du-uhve”. Extra long, with some breathiness in there.
“And what does dove taste like?” quipped friend Chip, while visions of the bird of peace bounced in my head.
“Where y’all from?”

It had never occured to her, apparently, that there was anyone who had never actually tried eating doves. Go figure.

Posted By: Gary
Last Edit: 05 May 2001 @ 04:04 PM

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Categories: Funny Stuff
 05 May 2001 @ 11:07 AM 

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Posted By: Gary
Last Edit: 05 May 2001 @ 11:07 AM

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Categories: Journal
 05 May 2001 @ 9:22 AM 

OK, here I am, spouting about one of the few things I actually am an expert on for a change.

When you design your websites, or your LJ styles, here’s a very important thing to remember. Ready? OK, here we go…
Do not hard-code a specific point-size for your fonts.
Do you know how terribly annoying it is to change the font size setting and see no change? Maybe 8-point Arial Narrow is readable on your monitor, but I don’t run at 640×480, so 8-point fonts are TINY. The HTML standards include standard sizes, such as 1, 2, 3 or even relative sizes, such as +1 or -3. Please use them. Those folks running in a high resolution, as well as people with worse eyesight, will be very grateful.

Otherwise, I end up with two options: squint at the microscopic font, or discard all server font info and run every page in my fonts. Well, I LIKE other folks’ typography, just not itty-bitty fonts. Go look at some HTML primers, and stop using “8-point” as a font size.

/rant off

Posted By: Gary
Last Edit: 05 May 2001 @ 09:22 AM

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Categories: Geek
 05 May 2001 @ 8:54 AM 

So, the FBI finally announced how often the infamous Carnivore email-snooping program has been deployed. During a 10 month period, they used it 13 times. Some civil liberties reactionaries.. er, groups claim that is too frequent. How often did they run wiretaps? Bet it’s more. Why are you more worried about email than phone taps? Or is it just the allure of the new? Seriously, most people are boring, so don’t worry about the FBI and the NSA snooping on your email: nobody wants to read it, including many of the recipients. Deal with it.

Posted By: Gary
Last Edit: 15 Apr 2006 @ 10:17 AM

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Categories: Civil Liberties, Journal
 05 May 2001 @ 8:48 AM 

OK, so, when going to the US name generator, I discovered that, although my family name has been in the US since 1640 (130 years before there was a US), it’s not American enough. I guess we just have to breed faster. I am now Robert Greer.
current_mood: amused

Posted By: Gary
Last Edit: 05 May 2001 @ 08:48 AM

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