I have a cheap and now aging laptop. 

But the touch pad has always been iffy, tending to make the cursor jiggle or glom onto various links that I'm would be trying to pass quickly to get to another spot or the scroll bar.

I decreased the sensitivity via the software controls to the minimum and used a function that turns off touchpad completely when I'm typing.

Still it was pretty awful.

Tonight I realized the laptops with better control that friends have seem to have a thicker layer of  coating on the touch pad. 

So I decided to try covering the pad with some clear packing tape and that is working pretty well.  I can now roll over a link without the browser thinking I'm demanding to go to it.  Yet I don't have to hit the touchpad any harder to ask to visit a link's destination. Even the bubbles don't seem to affect use of the pad adversely.  (Packing tape is the 2+ inch tape used to secure boxes for shipping or storage.)

Cheap computers tricks.  Just one more free feature of our blog.  LOL

Okay, you might want to ignore the fact that we haven't had any other posts on computer help IIRCC.  But when we come up with something, we'll put it down.

I'm not a techie but I have one thing they might not, a lot of experience with cheap old computers.  So sometimes I might know something they don't need to know.

LA Sunset From Bill and Ted's Burg

San Dimas gets a different veiw than the South-Western one we can see from our local high spot.

But we get Alpenglow off windows of the Skyscrapers.

Picture and adaptation allowed via Creative Commons license. No support of nor further contribution to this blog by photographer/artist implied. Thanks to "kla4067" at flickr.com. Click on picture to go to original site and for link to options on different sizes. Rollover picture for further attribution.

As ACORN claims the latest video footage the hidden video attack team is again doctored to make conversations appear to be different than they are and California's Attorney General Jerry Brown is investigating the actions of James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles who secretly video taped conversations with ACORN employees.  Unacknowledged recordings of confidential conversations are illegal in the state.

An ACORN statement released after the tape says what one can see in the tape, heavy editing and manipulation of at least one employee involved.  The employee tried repeatedly to get them to go to some other agency and took the couple to the hall to hold what conversation she was having with them because it was not one that should be had within ACORN offices.

The philly office actually called the police and told them the couple had been talking about setting up an underage call girl racket.  

ACORN statement on the LA tapes:

 As you view the videos the statements become are born out.  In fact you can see the lady trying to aid what she thinks was an underage prostitute open and then shut a door.  She, apparently, thought she the pair was complaining about Hannah being pimped when she was underage and was trying to help her get restitution or aid.  

People don't automatically think the worst of others, at least of others who come to them for help.

I think that's what this shows.

This story isn't getting a lot of traction from mainstream news.  Finding the most requires  searching on "Hannah Giles" rather than "ACORN" or "O'Keefe". 

As I surmised a few days ago, this team destroyed their credibility last month with the videoless video that could be the result of extensive editing like the LA one.

And maybe OKeefe and Giles better stay out of the Golden State for a while.

See LA Times 'Top of the Ticker' blog  James O'Keefe releases another ACORN video -- this one from Los Angeles

Abandoned Gingerbread House

Lower Ninth Ward, N. O.

The good news is that no bodies seem to have been found here.  Picture was uploaded in February 2009.  Still abandoned all that time or ?

Picture allowed via Creative Commons license. No support of nor further contribution to this blog by photographer/artist implied. Thanks to "Clementine Gallot" at flickr.com. Click on picture to go to original site and for link to options on different sizes. Rollover picture for further attribution.

The flooding of the Lower Ninth Ward and St. Bernards Parish was due to negligence on a shipping canal from New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico according to a decision on November 18, 2009 from a US District Court as reported by CNN.

 CNN also reports that that five out of six plaintiffs were eligible for damage awards from the flooding.  And I guess those will dwarf the $26k FEMA doled out to those who lost homes in the flood. "Lost your entire house?  Here's pocket change for you."  seemed to be FEMA's message.

Though the five winning couples got only about $170k each, the consensus is that 100,00 other homeowners will be eligible for awards as well.

See CNN "Court: Army Corps of Engineers liable for Katrina flooding" (no registration required) for details in a pretty thorough article that doesn't require registration or payment for access.

The sixth couple, who's home was in East New Orleans, was not awarded money or a victory or damages.  The Washington Post says that was because the judge concluded that the flooding of that area was not due to ACE negligence.

My thoughts:

If new rules hadn't been put in place forcing new housing to lack a bottom floor this could repopulate the Ninth Ward it seems.  Now that the flooding has been proven to be manmade, maybe they should rethink the restrictions as long as houses had a safe way to the roof or other safe spot at the height needed during the post Katrina flooding.

1800 killed.  Where have they been hiding that number?  That's much worse than has been reported before.

Yes, citizen this is our money, but we really owe these people and we will all be safer if we pay it out and make sure the Corps doesn't work like a bunch of slackers.

Micro payment receiving pundits in the comment section represent a libertarian lot mostly whining about people who live in floodable zones as well as other kinds of danger spots, ignoring the fact that just about every point in the US is a danger zone, if not for hurricanes and floods, then for tornadoes, earthquakes, slides, fires, etc.  Los Angeles will make Post Katrina New Orleans look like paradise if a big earthquake off shore unleashes the size Tsunami that is considered a possibility for the area.  I can guarantee if that happens half of us will end up in the Lower Ninthof New Orlieans looking for someplace safer to rebuild our lives.  And the "libertarian" commenters never think about what happens if a tornado wipes out half of the trailer park in which they live.  They'd probably even lose their entire stash of meth.  They don't seem to think about that, do they?

To get back to seriousness the constant clamor for reduced taxes by "friends" of fat cats is the biggest danger  to our nation today.   One day every libertarian and conservative activist will know that, but it is likely to be too late.

Doug Hoffman was the poster-boy for the new Conservative Republican-Libertarian-Teaparty-9/12 Party in the recent special election in New York's twenty third district, and this may be the first salvo in a new kind of campaign for the right, one which never ends. 

A fund raising letter from the Bob Hoffman campaign alleges that ACORN and unions teamed to game the NY 23 election results.

What I'm getting is that he's alleging that not all the eligible votes were counted.  

Shades of Minnesota 2008-2009.  Will we see a half-year plus hassle to verify, justify, and recount every ballot?

Or is this just about Hoffman having to  run against Bill Owens who won the vote count and has already been installed in the House of Representatives again next year, your just a kind of political bomb throwing for money (so easily diverted from campaign funds) and power? 

See Marc Ambinder at the Atlantic "Hoffman Wants Recount, Blames ACORN, Unions For "Tampering" With Election"

Santa Barbara Beach

Many nicer things to do in Santa Barbara than attend a convention of vindictive "take over the world for Exxon and Chevron" activists.

And what is their problem with energy independence? I guess they hate energy independence that isn't dependent on Big Daddy Oil Bucks.

Picture allowed via Creative Commons license. No support of nor further contribution to this blog by photographer/artist implied. Thanks to "Emmyboop" at flickr.com. Click on picture to go to original site and for link to options on different sizes. Rollover picture for further attribution.

 Young activists have declared war on you, or at least your mind and have decided you're stupid enough you won't be able to see through their BS if they keep lying. 

These gung ho rebels liken themselves to the civil rights activists, disregarding that civil rights are natural rights and what they are pushing is a regressive national policy including more wars (which political analysts like Susan Eisenhower say will necessitate a wide-scale military draft.  They also forget to tell you that conservatives like them were against civil rights and fought  long and hard to keep people of color and women from having equal rights and they haven't stopped yet.

But some are asking their newly popular "young" (Okay Breitbart isn't that young) leaders what do the "big money bags that make young Republican activists rich" want them to work on?  One of two primary focuses is to destroy an organization to that promotes energy independence.  

Wait a minute isn't energy independence a lot like mom and apple pie?  Well, apparently not if that energy independence promoter is into alternative energy instead of drilling for gas and oil.

Another interesting thing about the LA Times is that they have not run puff pieces on young liberals and their organizations and actions.  But this is at least the second report from Sam Zell's LA Times promoting young conservative activists in the last twelve months.  Please notice Mr. Murdoch how much Sammie boy wants to be your buddy.

And, again next week LA Times reporters will be claiming to be fact checked and unbiased.  

One might even think that claim to be an act of propaganda, if he or she were of a skeptical mind.

See LA Times "Young conservative activist Hannah Giles speaks in Santa Barbara " for details about what Human Hotdog Andrew Breitbart and his fake Ho were doing in Santa Barbara last weekend.

Two Hotdogs looking for their Sugar Daddy Pickles

Still unclear who represents the ketchup.

I know the purists will be hurt by the red stuff and lack of pickles or onion, and hey where's the kraut, cheese, bacon the things that make a hotdog delicious heartattack in a bun?

Picture allowed via Creative Commons license. No support of nor further contribution to this blog by photographer/artist implied. Thanks to "plindburgh" at flickr.com. Click on picture to go to original site and for link to options on different sizes. Rollover picture for further attribution.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/plindberg/ / CC BY 2.0

Okay I can't resist just one more.  Maybe I  should go to the desktop.  I can't open may laptop cover more than 30% right now without it blanking, so typing mistakes may be numerous.

The Human Hot Dog and his crew who between the three produced and promoted sometimes dishonest anti ACORN tapes appear to have thoroughly trashed their own credibility, or would have except for the miracle of modern journalism in which anything that helps big business control American minds is great.

They claim to have proven that ACORN officials are lying about them being thrown out of the Philly ACORN rapidly, but people are sceptical that a video that has no video and omits half a conversation represents reality.

Say you wanted to keep a conversation going, but a second party doesn't cooperate?  What could you do?   Why omit the second party's conversation altogether.

And to seemingly continue a conversation (in a videoless video) in an office from which you have been ejected?   Just don't show the video. Continue the discussion in your own undisclosed location with the walls.  Since you have cut out the ACORN worker's conversation, who's to know?  You could be talking to a squrirrel in the park!  

The length of time the conversation went on in the Philly office is important because the staff there claiim they threw the assumed pimp and ho out quickly and called the police.  That's probably why Breitbart and his crew are trying to destroy the people who stood up to them.

The Washington Post shows very subtle skepticism.  Okay, invisiible skepticism.

But you'd think the tape released in October would teach mainstream to stay 100 yards away from "journalism" that Andrew Beitbart is pushing.  He's got worse stuff that Bush's TANG record to bring down a fine media star's career.

See Washington Post report:  Duo release another video of their meeting with ACORN worker.

If you can't get into that report see alternate.

So OKeefe, and Giles and Breitbart won't be promoted anymore by mainstream since they've shown they can't be trusted, right?

Ha! The LA Times just wrote a report on Miss Giles the other day.   The adoring piece tells us how the young Surfer/slacker discovered that phony reporting for the far right is the new "Get Rich Quick" scheme.  All those chamber businesses are ready to throw money and "journo" awards at you if one of your scams hits the big time.   Now they need to show her what sleazy scheme she needs to pull to finish her inevitable slide into becoming the new Ann Coulter/Michelle Malkin.  I think for those followers she'll need to get a skimpy skirt. Oh wait, she already has one. 

(Andrew Breitbart earned the name Human Hotdog the day after Edward Kennedy died when he trashed the late  senator's memory.   Trying to scope out the measure of such an asshole I came across a picture of a pudgy guy in a mustard yellow shirt.  Breitbart also made, about that time, personal statements to other Twitterers that went beyond political discussion and appeared to border on a threat.  I won't talk about the details or the seriousness, but I found it deeply disturbing and will continue to call this vicious character a Human Hotdog.)

The LA Times has featured right wing attack journos before.  Funny, I never read about Media Matters or other such liberal media wonders from their pages.  Promotion from mainstream news is essential to getting more funding for politically inclined journalists.  But I don't see the Tribune Company promoting any liberal journalists.  

Poor Sam Zell and His lacky publisher at the Times (who formerly headed Direct TV despite Zell's promise to keep Tribune's authority under the scope of "journalists" he also put a Clear Channel alumni in as COO of the Tribune Company.

I wonder if the old guy (who has spoken glowingly of Rupert Murdoch and has even sought a partnership with the right wing news hack over a NY paper he later sold to a third party and seems to want to follow in the footsteps of the king of propaganda) has a pickle green shirt. Then Miss Giles and James Okeefe can be the two sides of the buns and the picture is complete  But beware of ptomaine poisoning.

Original reporting will be low for a few days.

I'm having serious trouble with my main laptop and am trying to get it cleared to try to take advantqge of a two year nmaintenance contract before it expires.

I will try to find a video or two q day until this problem is over.  I think I'll break my promise (made after the show helped spread Breitbart's anti-ACORN BS) not to seek out Daily Show pieces. I can't wait for them to fall into my lap if I don' have a lot of time to spend with social media.