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If this is how your child looks when you take him to a gym and give him a ball:

then you’d better save up for cleats.

If this is how your child looks when you take him to a gym and give him a ball:

then you’d better save up for the bookstore.

A few days ago I posted something about the warning of “Do not break this seal”. It had to do with software agreements and EULAs and such.

The warning, however, was written in English. I have taken the liberty of updating the warning to be understood by today’s international users / global marketplace / illiterate population.

Here is my contribution: an easy-to-understand warning to not break the seal. Feel free to use it in all your software documentation. I estimate this will be good for about 1.5 more years, at which point no one will be releasing software on CDs anymore.

And, as Ricky pointed out, zoos might be able to put this image to good use also.

Parents of small children will eventually have their children invited over to birthday parties. And those parents will probably be thinking of important questions to ask before the party, such as

• What time is the party?
• Do I drop off my child, or am I expected to stay?
• Who else will be there that my child knows?
• etc.

Allow me to add one more question to that list, so that you will have a more complete checklist before accepting the invitation:

What live animals will be involved in the party?

Alpha and Beta went to a birthday party, and they won something as prizes for a little game they played.

They won two goldfish.

Each.

We went from zero to four goldfish instantly.

We had fish before, but not for very long. The bowl has been sitting in the basement for a while (about 3 years now), so I rinsed it out and put the new fish in it.

The older two kids are somewhat excited about the fish, at least enough so that they ask whose turn it is to feed the fish.

Beta named his two fish “Biggy” and “Mediumy”.

The only problem is that the fish are not very hardy. It’s not really a problem to us parents because we didn’t invest much in the fish, and we don’t expect much out of them. I think the kids remember from last time that fish are quite temporary. They won’t be heartbroken either.

We started out with 4 fish.
The next day, we were down to 3 fish.
Two days later, 2 fish.
A week, 1 fish.

At this rate, we’ll be out of fish by Thursday.

Oh, and my wife informed the giver-away of the goldfish that we will be giving away kittens to her kids next time.

It’s June, the start of the summer quarter. Time for me to update the theme on this blog.

As is usual, it’s not really a new theme – all I did was replace the images and reaarrange the sidebar. It’s supposed to look like sand on the beach.

Anyway, here’s a slightly new look. Expect some tweaks in the days to come.

One of the more ridiculous things in this modern age is the EULA. It is the subject of many a complaint and many a spoof, and some cartoons too.

I, on the other hand, have found a way around the EULA. This post is a photo-documentary of what happened when I got a software upgrade (identifying information has been scrubbed from the photos).

At first, I just thought it was a command to be followed:

Then I noticed that the sticker went around the CD case. It was no longer a command – it was a challenge. Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t normally cause people to do double-takes.

But I surprised Jon Acuff in person and it was one of those moments that, if it had been in a movie, would have the needle-scratching-across-the-record sound effect.

Here’s what happened:

Chapter 1: Getting Ready

I found out about a week ago that Jon would be speaking at one of the nearby mega churches, so I sent Jon an email letting him know that I’d try to see him there. I’d have to skip my home church, since I can’t be in two places at once, but Jon rarely makes it out this way so this was my one chance to see him in person.

Lesson #1: If you have to contact Jon Acuff about something that’s time-sensitive, do not use email. He’ll get to it, eventually. If it’s urgent, use Twitter. Or text him.
Read the rest of this entry »

These corporate sponsorships are getting out of hand.

I would have thought that Machu Picchu was safe, being on all the historical preservation lists. But apparently they are running short on money and had to resort to taking advertising. Nintendo, through their Pokemon brand, stepped up and helped fund the landmark archaeological site.

In return, the government of Peru allowed them to place one billboard next to the ruins. Unfortunately, they did not restrict the size of the billboard: