Monday, June 15, 2009

PC Question

Okay, can some tech-head explain this to me? I run a PC and I have Mozilla Firefox installed as my default browser. I also have Microsoft Internet Explorer installed because...well, because you have to have it installed. Windows will go into anaphylactic shock if it doesn't find I.E. installed.

As I read e-mail and surf the web and do other things, I often click on links that cause browser windows to open and display webpages. Usually, these are windows generated by Firefox but sometimes, they're Internet Explorer. My question is why. Why aren't all my browser windows Mozilla windows since that's what I have installed as my default brower? Somebody write and clue me in.

• Posted at 1:46 PM · LINK

Main Menu

According to this piece, chain restaurants will soon be including nutritional info (like calorie counts) on their menus. I am of two minds on this. I think it'll do some people a world of good to know what they're putting in their pieholes but I'm uncomfy at this being government-decreed. Some gov't intrusions into our lives seem logical and justifiable but this one...I don't know about it...

Back when I had a serious weight problem, it helped me a lot to start reading up and finding out how many calories were in things I ate. I found many situations where there would be two foods I liked equally but one would have 350 calories and the other would have 800. It was pretty easy to knock some calories out of my intake by just opting for the former.

A lot of folks really don't know. I had my Gastric Bypass Surgery at the same time 'n' place as a lady who has become an e-mail buddy. On operation day, she weighed the same as I did but she was a foot shorter...and since I had a problem, you can imagine what hers was like. As we chatted about Things We'd Tried before resorting to surgery, she said, "My problem was that I saw that the Lean Cuisine lasagna had only 320 calories and I guess I convinced myself that all lasagna, in any portion size, was low in calories." It was easy to indulge in that self-deception in restaurants where there was no label to tell her otherwise.

It really has helped me to look up the nutrition info for restaurants where I'd be dining but it isn't always easy or convenient. Most chains have it on their websites but some hide it well...or they make it more complicated to access by constructing it as an interactive game where you put certain items on a cyber-tray to get a breakdown of carbs and protein and fat grams. Obviously, it's not always possible to research in advance when you dine, either because you don't know that far ahead where you'll be eating or because non-chains (i.e., most restaurants) don't supply the data.

The proposed law only applies to chains with twenty or more outlets and that won't include many places I eat...but it'll help in some and I'm hoping it will become so standard that all eateries will stick those numbers on their bills of fare. When you're at the Olive Garden trying to decide between the Linguine alla Marinara and the Chicken Parmigiana, it might be relevant to know that one has 660 calories more than the other.

I'm curious as to how much, if at all, having that info on the menu right there under your taste buds will affect what gets ordered. Will we see the high-calorie items decline in popularity to the point where less of them are offered? Probably not. This is, after all, the nation that invented the deep-fried Twinkie and the six-buck everything-in-the-world-on-it burger at Carl's Jr. But I think it'll have some positive effect.

And still, despite that belief, I'm not sure it's the government's business to make it mandatory.

• Posted at 1:41 PM · LINK

Today's Video Link

Back in the eighties, shortly after I bought the house in which I now reside, I had a nightmarish year due to heavy rains and a leaky roof. No matter how we patched or even reroofed, H2O was still pouring in and destroying things like my whole heating or electrical system. Finally, one fine day, a carpenter who worked for my contractor found the entry point. Rain was getting in via a termite-munched board that was nowhere near any of the spots where the water was emerging. The offending plank was replaced and that leak was gone for good.

Shamefully, I do not remember the name of the heroic craftsman who finally, after so many others had failed, located and repaired the problem. He was a former dancer on, among other programs, The Red Skelton Show. We talked a lot about Red (with whom I'd had some memorable encounters) and about variety shows (the writing of which was then my main source of income). We also talked about dance numbers from the Skelton show and I'm fairly sure he mentioned this one, which was from 1968. It features the British pop star Lulu, who every guy my age had a crush on for at least an hour or two, and it's all extremely 1968.

I have no idea which one he is but I believe one of the boy dancers in this number is the fellow who saved my house and sanity. And I'm pleased to say that at least the house is still here...

• Posted at 1:00 AM · LINK

The Rate Grace

I just used this silly online test to determine the "rating" (G, PG, PG-13 or R) of this weblog. It came back "PG" due to the presence of the word "hell" once and the word "rape" twice. Aren't both those words in the Bible? Like a jillion times apiece?

I also used the test to check my POVonline website. It got a "G" because I only had one naughty word — "dyke." And this was because of a reference to Dick Van Dyke.

This is about as intelligent as the real movie ratings usually are.

• Posted at 12:57 AM · LINK

June 14, 2009 • Current • June 16, 2009