The Civisi Site

I love Google Adsense. I mean, where else can a photo of a co-worker posing with a celebrity generate these kind of results?

Pilot Pups! Go Sparky!

Lupus Rash Picture? Some things I don't want to see...

Find Picture of G Spots? I'll say it again: some things I don't want to see!

The Phoenix lander, the research device that recently landed on Mars, is apparently a stationary device designed just for scooping and scraping. In a blog posting on Universe Today, Peter Smith was quoted as saying, "So being able to scrape with our scoop is a high priority for us."

It's a scoop, not a scraper!

I'm kidding. I just found that to be an odd choice of words.

Link to story...

If you're interested in photography (as I am), check out www.TWIPPhoto.com. It's the home page for This Week in Photography. Site highlights include a regularly update blog, a weekly audio podcast, occasional videos with tutorials and information, and links to their Flickr groups - TWiP, TWiP Contest, and TWiP Photo Critique. Check them out if you haven't already.

Zune users using XP looking to do an in-place upgrade to Vista should take note that the "May 2008 Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Application Compatibility Update," as it's titled by Microsoft, will block the Zune software.

According to the Knowledge Base article,

When you try to install and to run certain legacy games or applications in Windows Vista, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms:

• The game, the application, or the firmware may not be installed correctly.
• The game, the application, or the firmware may cause system instability.
• The primary functions of the game, of the application, or of the firmware may not work correctly.

This update improves application compatibility in Windows Vista by using the following methods:

• The update puts a hard block on the application. A hard block prevents an application that is incompatible with Windows Vista from running on the operating system.
• The update puts a soft block on the application. A soft block provides notification when an application that is incompatible with Windows Vista starts to run.
• The update improves the application’s functionality in Windows Vista.

The notes on the Zune software state, "

Microsoft Zune Software
This application is hard-blocked when you upgrade from Windows XP to Windows Vista.

I don't know what the workaround is, but I assume you uninstall and reinstall the Zune software.

View the Knowledge Base article at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947562

As much as I hate set-top boxes, I purchased another one.

Netflix has a feature that allows you to watch selected movies and rentals online. It's typically older shows and shows on TV, but I find myself watching them often. (*Rather, I did until Vista SP1 broke the Netflix player!)

The latest news about this feature is that Netflix has been working with third-parties to create devices to watch Netflix movies. The first partnership is with Roku, who has a box with an impressive spec sheet. Yes, I ordered one, but no, I don't have it yet. Let's hope it performs as good as expected. And let's hope that a lot of people will also order this devices (or future devices), which would then prompt Netflix to persuade the movie industry to release movies as digital downloads shortly after their DVD release.

More info? http://www.netflix.com/NetflixReadyDevices?lnkctr=wnph_nfrd

(This box now joins my satellite receiver, HD-DVD player, Xbox, N64, and Wii. And I don't have a surround-sound system yet!)