NBA playoffs, Windows, FDA, Caketown, toothpaste
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Tomorrow will be the fifth birthday of this blog. I was not so prolific in the early days, but I nevertheless did make my first blog post five years ago (which also means I’ve been designing websites for 10 years now). Some 100+ posts later, what do I have in store for you in this special anniversary post?
A potpourri of random crap. Here we go, in no particular order:
NBA playoffs. The Cleveland LeBrons, I mean Cavaliers (my namesake), will meet the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. It is the first time Cleveland has reached the finals. I’m just glad the Pistons didn’t make it. So, how far can LeBron James carry this team on his back? Doesn’t seem like they should be able to beat the Spurs, but you never know. LeBron (and rookie Daniel Gibson) might continue to play with an intense level of motivation and just do it (Nike?). But beware, the Spurs have the power of Horry. (In related news, the Phoenix Suns just gained the power of Kerr, who will become Suns president and GM.) In the end, I think I’d rather see LeBron join the cabal of eight NBA championship stars as the ninth.
Windows keystroke shortcuts. I use dual monitors at both work and home, but when I login to my work computer from home using Windows Remote Desktop Connection I can only see my primary screen, as dual screens are not supported. Thus, some of my program windows get stuck on my secondary screen and cannot be moved (or seen) via the taskbar, context menus, or mouse actions. How to fix my inability to access them? Type “Alt-Space,” then “M,” then use the arrow keys to bring the hidden window into view on the primary screen. (FYI: I am blogging about this so when I forget again in the future, I can just check this post for the answer.) Here are some other useful keystroke shortcuts.
Windows Automatic Updates nagging. Speaking of Windows software, here’s something else I’ve failed to mention here before. 
Ever wanted to kill the most annoying dialog box in the world, the Windows XP Automatic Updates dialog? Well, it can be done. See the “XP Automatic Update Nagging” post from a couple of years ago at Coding Horror. “Restart Now” or “Restart Later”? Sadly, there is no “Die!!!” button in the Automatic Updates dialog box. But at least the problem can be addressed.
FDA-approved drugs. Did you know that there are currently 5752 FDA-approved drugs on the market? More drugs start with the letter “P” than any other letter, totaling 589. Second and third are “A” (538) and “C” (519). The letter “Y” brings up the rear with only four approved drugs.
I never did fill my Vicodin prescription. Drug pushers!
Two goofy news stories. 1. The 1,051-pound “monster pig” (named Fred) shot by an 11-year-old Alabama boy. 2. British artist Damien Hirst‘s $100 million diamond skull: “The life-sized platinum skull, studded with 8,601 stones weighing 1,106.18 carats, cost Hirst $20 million to make.”
And as a final celebratory note:
This is Caketown! A friend of mine found this YouTube video a couple of weeks ago and I forgot to add it to one of my previous posts. It’s another 300 parody video, but so awesome (and it’s only a minute long). Brush your teeth! It’s my favorite 300 parody . . . LisaNova’s parody being second.
OK, just one more thing: Since I mentioned the FDA and teeth-brushing in this post, perhaps it would make sense to mention today’s toothpaste-related news, “Toxic Toothpaste Made in China Is Found in U.S.,” which is about Chinese-imported toothpaste that contains the thickening agent “diethylene glycol, a sweet, syrupy poison,” also used in antifreeze.
From the Associated Press: The Chinese Health Ministry had deemed diethylene glycol a “low-level” poison that does not accumulate in the body and found no evidence the substance caused cancer or deformities. “Therefore the warning issued by the FDA . . . is unscientific, irresponsible and contradictory,” the agency said.
“Frosting!”