Like many long time flickr users, I was upset yesterday afternoon when I received a mail from flickr saying my old login is gone (though to be fair, the accounts themselves are untouched) , and I now have to use a Yahoo account to login to the site…. I hate having to explain how to access a new site or service to someone, or worse yet, ask them to sign up for an account just to view something I’ve posted.Here are the services that I’ll be evaluating in the coming weeks: flickr (I know it well, and except for the Yahoo meddling, love it)23fotkizoomr (this one seems to have the largest and most supportive user base of the flickr alternatives)smugmugI may very well decide that after all this to just suck it up, the Yahoo login isn’t as painful as I thought it would be, or that the other services just don’t offer what I need in a way that I’m comfortable with. I will certainly be paying for at least one of these services in the coming months to support my photo addiction hobby, I just don’t know which.Of course, I welcome any suggestions based on your experiences with these or other services.

One of my favorite TV shows ever to come out of Great Britain was called the “Peep Show”. It featured a hilariously painful dynamic between two bachelors living together, but leading completely separate lives. It seems that others have paid attention to the brilliant pairing these two make while in character.

This evening I started hearing rumbling from outside the house in North Seattle, but just thought it was a neighbor with is movie turned up too loud or something along those lines. When I got in the car to go pickup some food, I saw what was really going on. Unfortunately for me, thousands of other people all over Seattle saw this display and where equally surprised. For an hour or so, the freeway, and major streets with a view of the Lake Union area where clogged with gawkers staring skyward.

The beer can is in for a technology makeover that will shake-up the beverage industry, and it’s being brought to you by a company called Tempra Technology, which has ambitious plans for their cold can technology.The specially modified cans use proprietary engineering to create a temperature drop that will reduce the I.C…. The average American drinks 22 Gallons of beer annually, and even though this product would demand a large price premium over a traditional can, the convenience factor and bragging rights would make this a must have item. Camping and fishing will drivethe initial sales, and as volumes increase more andmore uses will be found.Expect the first cans to show up on store shelves in mid-2007 under the Miller Genuine Draft and Miller Lite labels.These are two beers that I wouldn’t ordinarily purchase for a summer afternoon at home where I have one of those new fanged electric iceboxes.

This is one from the what the hell category. After reading this article, I imagine that anyone who has worked in a grocery store, food supplier or restaurant wouldn’t be terribly shocked to learn about this pilfering of animal flesh. To someone like myself though who has not had the privilege of such employment, this is a humorous surprise.
From Slate.com –

Every supermarket detective—or “loss-prevention specialist,” as many prefer to be called—has an offbeat meatlifting story to share. There’s the one about the lady who seemingly defied the laws of physics by stuffing an entire HoneyBaked Ham in her purse, the man discovered with a trove of filet mignons in his Jockey shorts, or the meth addict who explained that his dealer, exhibiting an atypical benevolent streak, had agreed to accept prime rib in lieu of cash.

Yet most shoppers who use the five-finger discount in the meat aisle are neither so brazen nor so desperate. Carts brimming with groceries, they’ll stealthily slide a single tenderloin or T-bone into a coat pocket, then hit the checkout line alongside their nonlarcenous peers. In this way, millions of pounds of beef, pork, and veal disappear from supermarket shelves each year. Meatlifting is a grave problem for food retailers: According to the Food Marketing Institute, meat was the most shoplifted item in America’s grocery stores in 2005. (It barely edged out analgesics and was a few percentage points ahead of razor blades and baby formula.)

…Story continues at Slate.com

Tags: crime, food

Photos are credit of fotoduet.ru.

The comes from EnglishRussia.com where you can find many more photos and captions in english.

A guy from fotoduet.ru recently took a trip to a Russian space agency near Moscow.

This is where all of the Russian cosmonauts are trained and prepared for their trips in to space, as well as the former command center for the Mir space station.

Many, many more photos and descriptions here…

Technorati Tags: Russia, space travel

I’ve been telling myself that grey hair isn’t going to bother me even when it’s more pervasive on my head since it will blend with my light red hair so well that it will hardly be noticable…. at least I have no realistic chance of going bald!BTW, I’ve wondered for a while about the disparity in spelling between “gray” and “grey” Here’s the explanation according to wikipedia:British/Canadian: GreyAmerican: GrayGrey became the established British spelling in the 20th century, pace Dr. Johnson and others[49], and is but a minor variant in American English, according to dictionaries…. Some American writers[citation needed] tend to assign wistful, positive connotations to grey, as in “a grey fog hung over the skyline”, whereas gray often carries connotations of drabness, “a gray, gloomy day.”Wistful and positive seems suitable for the topic at hand, so I’m sticking with my roots and going with “grey”It also seems relevant to point out that I just noticed that today is my “half birthday”..

We where treated to some great hockey last night in Seattle when we saw the Seattle Thunderbirds take on the Portland Winterhawks. The quality of play was great, the fans turned out in force, and the t-birds won it for the home fans. I was pleasantly surprised with the overall experience and will definitely be going to more games in the near future.

We where sitting back, watching an archived Simpsons episode last night when I heard what sounded like gunfire down the street. While we live in a relatively nice neighborhood, we’re only a couple of blocks away from the lovely Aurora Ave (hwy 99) which is well known for it’s seedy and tumultuous past. I wasn’t completely sure that the sounds I heard where gunfire as there are many other sounds that can be mistaken for it. The almost immediate response of police, fire, and ambulance sirens from what seemed like all directions was a bad sign though.
From the Seattle Times:

One man was killed and a police officer wounded in an exchange of gunfire in North Seattle on Wednesday night.

The shootout — between the man and two Anti-Crime Team (ACT) officers — began about 9:45 p.m. on Aurora Avenue North near North 90th Street, said Seattle police Sgt. Deanna Nollette.

Yeah, that’s 3 blocks from my house..

• The complete story from the Seattle Times
• Follow up story from the Seattle Times
• Story from KING5.com

The King5 story has a quote from a witness stating that they heard at least 10 shots, which is exactly what I heard. It apparently all came to a head right on the street corner where I used to catch the bus downtown.

I’m aware that there is violence all around us in the city on any given night, but it really strikes you in a different way when it’s close enough to hear it from your living room.

Technorati Tags: gun violence, urban jungle

One of the highlights of the recent weather is that my companies corporate Sonics tickets went unused. Apparently our clients didn’t want to brave the “ice” and freezing temperatures. Fortunately for us, the overnight freeze never materialized and we where able to drive home from the game on bare and wet pavement, with temps in the high 30s.
In any case we where treated to a great game.

Cleveland was, as expected, a heavy favorite going into the game but the Sonics are on a mini hot streak right now and played really well. We where sitting center court, row 10 in the lower level so the view was spectacular. It was really a treat to get to watch Lebron James perform his magic, but even better considering that the Sonics managed to contain him when it counted (0 points in the 4th quarter) and come away with a win (101-96).

Game Recap: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2003528326_soni17.html

Thanks to Tony, Carley and Sydney for a great evening.

Photo Credit : RIKRIKA SCHULTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Technorati Tags: Seattle Sonics