Ye Olde Rad Blog II

EAOS anniversary, First Photoshop Layer & The Bug's First Root Beer Float

I created my first image using layers (in Photoshop) today. If you scroll down to the previous entry, you'll see I put some radEyes in the skull pictured on the pirate flag there. Simple, but the technique is the same, no matter how sophisticated you wanna get. Anyway, the Bug (who has always enjoyed that part of the story) turned and asked, "What's a root beer float, dada?" "A root beer float?!" I says. "You mean to tell me you've never had a root beer float? My son! We must correct this discrepancy immediately!"

Posted on December 2, 2007 9:00 AM

New Identity » Good Dad + "Break Down the Subjects" (Bourne Ultimatum)

More people than ever told me today that I'm a good dad. Maybe this is something I need to hear. Seems like everywhere I went » the coffee shop, the bank, the library, Mother's market .. I ran into somebody asking, "Where's the little guy?" (Most I didn't even know.) Ironically, the last thing Tom & I discussed that day .. was prompted by a line from the Bourne Ultimatum, where Julia Stiles' character (Nicky) states » "They found they had to break-down the subjects before the training would take."

Posted on October 30, 2007 11:54 AM

Download Classic Books (for Free) from PlanetPDF + Military-style Mass-Innoculations

Link worth bookmarking » PlantetPDF. Contains 7 pages worth of links to books (all free) .. with authors such as Dickens, Homer & Dostoevsky, and titles like Dracula &

Posted on August 24, 2007 6:54 AM

U.S. Naval Nuclear Power School | An Inside Look - Part II

Far from being coddled, Nuclear officers were taken to task and held responsible. Do you recall the fiasco at Abu Ghraib prison? .. the one where the officers in charge claimed ignorance? before fingering the enlisted folk? That would've never happened under Rickover's watch. He would've had their officer nuts hanging in his office by sunset. Nobody told Rickover, "Sir, I uh, didn't know that was going on ..." .. uh, not if they wanted to keep their jobs. In Rickover's Navy, not knowing about something (ignorance) is *worse* than condoning it.

Posted on July 31, 2007 7:45 PM

United States Naval Nuclear Power School | An Inside Look - Part I

The Wikipedia entry for the US Naval Nuclear Power School says » "It is regarded as one of the most difficult academic programs in the world." The words in the world caught my attention. Never quite sure how much I can (.. or can't) say .. cuz the curriculum is comprised, largely, of material labeled confidential (big red stamp).

Posted on July 28, 2007 12:42 PM

Difficulty Relating to an Enthusiastic Parent | Skinny-dipping in the Baptistry

Before becoming a dad, I had a job where one of my bosses spoke often & enthusiastically about his kids (teenagers at the time). Despite my best efforts (to suck-up to the boss), I had difficulty relating to his stories. I remember thinking, "If I ever have kids, I need to realize that people who don't (yet) have kids might have trouble relating."

Posted on July 23, 2007 10:11 AM

Best Books for Learning the Basics of Web Site Design (XHTML + CSS)

While researching what books might help, two stood out: Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML, by Eric & Liz Freeman, Dec 2005, 694 pgs HTML, XHTML, and CSS, 6th Ed, by Liz Castro (Barcelona), Aug 2006, 456 pgs The Head First book has an Amazon.com Sales Rank of 1154 (at time of this writing, rankings fluctuate constantly). The Castro book comes in slightly higher at 1110. Both are Amazon BestSellers.

Posted on July 1, 2007 8:57 AM