The McDonalds restaurant on my way to work (2310 West Stadium Blvd, Ann Arbor, MI) has a chronic problem with their flags when it comes time to lower the American Flag to half-mast. It is nice that they took the time to lower the American flag. However, as seen in this picture, they're not bothering to set the Michigan and McDonalds flag lower than the American flag, as specified by The Flag Code: "No other flag or pennant should be placed above ... the flag of the United States of America."  I've brought this to their attention a couple times in the past, and in the rare case I actually get a response, it's just a shrug of the shoulders.

Here's the picture from this morning:

I'm hoping whoever did this didn't get a license yet.

That's not sarcasm - I really do love the weather here. I'd even like to live further north (Say Ya to da UP, eh!), but the eternally cold person in my family would never stand for it.

It's interesting what we see in the weather around here. In December, before heading up north to the old homestead to go Christmas tree hunting, I visited my favorite weather Web site (Weather Underground, wunderground.com), to check the forecast for that area. What I saw were two weather bulletins: the first was a notice listing the record high temperatures from the previous day, and the second was a warning about blizzard conditions, dangerous wind chill temperatures, and a traveler's advisory for the coming evening.

Then, today, the day after I was outdoors in a t-shirt, I receive in my email a warning about snow, sleet and the first spring thunderstorms, all in the same bulletin!

LOCAL SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
WASHTENAW COUNTY EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER
1045 AM EDT WED MAR 14 2007

A SURFACE COLD FRONT DRAPED ACROSS CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN WILL MOVE SLOWLY ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE STATE TODAY AND COULD COMBINE WITH SOME WIND SHEAR, A PLUME OF MOISTURE, AND PERHAPS JUST ENOUGH SURFACE HEATING TO GENERATE A FEW STORMS UNTIL THE FRONT MOVES INTO OHIO.  BEHIND THE FRONT, TEMPERATURES WILL FALL DRAMATICALLY AND PUT THE CHANCE OF SNOW AND SLEET BACK IN OUR FORECAST.

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH 40 MPH WINDS, ONE HALF INCH HAIL AND HEAVY RAINFALL AS THEY MOVE TO THE EAST AT 25 MPH.  SEVERE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME, AND SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

Brick Bash is an annual public LEGO-building party and exhibition for all ages. It's held every March in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and this year it's on Saturday March 24. The location is the Ann Arbor Academy, and the times are 11am to 6pm.

There's some real slick stuff there, and also hands-on educational exhibits. There are even free robotic lessons given by the people at Rocks and Robots summer camp. Check out the Brick Bash Web site for more information, and to see an example of things that have been ther ein the past.

CodeMash, a software development conference that was held at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio last week, turnred out to be a fantastic event.  I very much liked the overall concept, which is that it addressed development for several platforms and at least a dozen technoloies.  It was on the level of a natinoal confernece, but for a much lower price. The accoomodations, both lodging and for meetings, were extremely comfortable.  Speakers, content, format, food, accessories (wireless Internet, etc) were all found to be top-notch.

On top of all that, the water park was a blast. I assumed it would be interesting only for my kids (who came to join me at the end of the conference) but I found myself challeneged, stomache-wise, after a few trips down the water slides. These are not your acerage water slides -- they exhibit twists, turns, drops, and misdirections that rival roller coasters. after a few trips down these things I had to convince my kids to join me for a couple trips around the Lazy River, a two-dimentional attraction that invovles a moving circuit of water. Basically, it's a river that doens't go downhill, and you just hop on a inner tube and let it push you around the water park a couple times to give your stomache a break.

So, if you missed it, you really missed it. Don't even think about missing it next year.

Finally, a large, affordable software development conference is being held in the Great Lakes area. Now we don't have to spend thousands of dollars travelling to places like San Francisco or Orlando to attend a useful, educational conference.

According to the Web site (http://www.codemash.org), which you need to visit right after you read this, "CodeMash is a unique event that will educate developers on current practices, methodologies and technology trends in variety of platforms and development languages such as Java, .NET, Ruby and PHP."

I'll be there, and if you have any sense at all, you will too! Click on the sticker below to find out more or to register!

The other day I got a message from a Casting Producer for ABC's Wife Swap show.  She found me on LEGOFan.org, which is a site where LEGO hobbyists discuss our hobby. Yeah, I know -- GEEKS.  Anyway, she told me she was looking for, "... families who are avid adult Lego hobbyists."

The funny thing is that she's been trolling/spamming discussion forums all over the Internet looking for potentially quirky people who will subject their family to great conflict and confrontation for $20,000 and a few minutes of fame. Below is an entertaining sample of some of her posts; notice her pandering to each group like a bad politician.

• In the Roofing and Construction forum at roofing.com: "... I’m actually seeking parents, preferably moms, who are roofers. (It would be great to feature parents who aren’t afraid of hard work and getting their hands dirty!) "
• In the forum at RealityTVRules.com: "Do members of this forum know that perfect family that should be on the show? ... I am currently seeking families for our third season who embrace appearances, looking nice and the finer things in life!"
• In the Livestock and Farming forum at MotherEarthNews.com: "I’m actually seeking moms for our show who work with livestock. It would be great to feature a mom who’s not afraid of hard work and getting her hands dirty!"
• In a comment on Frugal Veggie Mama's blog at blogspot.com:  "I wanted to write to you after I came across your blog entry on ways to live frugally. Loved it! I am currently casting families for our third season and I thought you would be an ideal candidate. Showing a family with your values would be a positive influence on another family who spends money lavishly and wastefully."
• In the San Francisco Forum at Topix.net: "I am looking to feature a San Francisco family for our third season that enjoys shopping and spoiling the family with the finer things in life!"
• In the forum at TheMagicCafe.com: "I am looking to feature a family on our show with one or all family members who work in the circus for our third season."
• In the forum at 2Old2Play.com ("The Older Gamer's Paradise"): "...currently looking for families that have any or all members who love and/or are addicted to playing video games. Time to show the world why we love gaming!"
• In the Republican Forum at simpilot.net: "I am looking to feature a family on our show with good morals and conservative values. As an avid Republication myself, I would like to share the lifestyle of a conservative family with the national public."
• In the General Video Games Discussion forum at RottenTomatoes.com: "I saw you on NintenDojo. I am currently looking for families that have any or all members who love playing video games. I would like to show the world that gamering [sic] doesn’t equal violence, that that family can actually bond and grow closer through gaming!"
• In the forum at 1Branson.com (A web site about Branson, Missouri): "ABC’s hit show Wife Swap is seeking Branson families for the third season!"
• In the forum at XBoxOverheating.com: "I am currently looking for families that have any or all members who love playing Xbox. Time to show the world that families can actually bond and grow closer through gaming!"
• In the Freebies & Contest section of the forum at BargainShare.com: "I am looking to feature a family on our show who have the “hangout” house. Specifically, this house is Fun and laid-back, The kids are allowed to have sleepovers, friends over, etc, The kids run the household, Mom does the chores (ie. cooking, cleaning, shopping)"
• In the Balloon Entertainer's Post & Tips forum at mbd2.com: "I would like to feature a family on our show with one or all family members who work as professional clowns!"
• In the Belly Dance forum at OrientalDancer.com: "I am looking to feature a family on our show with one or all family members belly dance!"
• In the forum at Families.com: "I am currently looking for families that hold high standards in education (ie. Ivy league for the children) and are involved in associations of excellence (either parents or children). Showing a family with those values would be a positive influence on the American public!"
• In the message boards at PartyPop.com: "ABC's hit show Wife Swap is seeking fun, unique, interesting and quirky families and it's members for our third season!"
• In the forums at CSCDRA.com (Central States Compact Drag Racing Association): "I am interested in featuring families where one or all family members are drag racers. Female and teen drag racers would be ideal, though my search is not limited to those scenarios."
• In the Vampyre forums at Darkness.com: "I would like to feature a family on our show who is a non-mainstream, non-traditional family and share their way of life. Thought this site would be a great way to meet potential applications who would be willing to share their gothic/satanical/vamyrical lifestyle."
• In the forums at Discovery.com (The Discovery Channel): "I’m seeking moms for our show who work in "dirty jobs". It would be great to feature a mom who’s not afraid of hard work and getting her hands dirty!"
• In the forums at iTulip.com (The Contrary Market View): "... looking to feature a family on the show who is non-mainstream, anti-consumerist and anti-materialist, to share their way of life and raise awareness on how people can reduce waste in their everyday lives."
• In the Denver Broncos forum at TheRedZone.org: "I am currently looking for families that love and are addicted to football. As a born and raised Coloradoan, I am biased I would love to have a Denver Bronco family on, and show some nationwide love for the Big Orange."
• In the forums at the Web sire for the 11th At-home Dad Convention: "I am seeking families for our third season with SAHD [Stay at home dads] and career moms."
• In the Talk About Your Kids forum at GamerDads.com: "I am currently looking for families that have any or all members who love playing video games. Time to show the world why we love gaming!"
• In the forums at SENGifted.org (Supporting Educational Needs of the Gifted): "I am currently looking for families anywhere along the lines of the following: holding high standards in education, involved in associations of excellence (either parents or children), and/or children who are leaders in some way (gifted and talented)." She also added, "... our intentions would be to match them with families that may not emphasize those values and could learn from this family."

You just have to love reality TV, eh?

This is how a "Block M" should really be built - WITH BLOCKS!  The LEGO builders in this household are very clear about their favorite for Big 10 and National Champion...

GO BLUE!!!

(click on the picture to see a bigger one!)

And in fairness to the other side, here's a very clever creation by a Buckeye fan (who lives in Michigan... that must create a serious identity crisis!)...

As foreshadowed in a previous post on this blog, I recently gave a quick talk about dasBlog (the blogging engine on which this blog runs). At one point during the talk I compared blogging with MySpace, using a Letterman-esque Top-n list to explain why MySpace is not blogging. So, here we go...

Top 5 Reasons Why Blogging Is Better than MySpace:

5. Tom.
4. Blogging is literature, MySpace is drivelature.
3. No strange phone calls from Dateline NBC.
2. Trackback? Blogroll? Sure. Add you to my Friends list? Go away.

.. and my personal favorite, which is why it's #1:

1. If you're too old for trick-or-treat, you're too old for MySpace.

The Great Lakes Modeling Association has posted an article about my LEGO model of the STEWART J CORT, which was the first 1000-foot ship to sail the Great Lakes. I recently went to show it at a Great Lakes modelers show, and while I was there I was amazed at the real models I saw there. Those guys have an amazing level of detail that I could never accomplish with the LEGO medium, like ship-board workers, little tiny capstans, and complex 3D curves. However, I do have one advantage over them: when my model experiences damage during transit, I can just press it back together!

You can see the article, and more pictures, here:
http://www.greatlakesmodeling.com/museum/dc_stewart_j_cort.htm.

I guessing that if you're reading a blog called "Stay-at-home Geek" (that's this one you're reading right now) you're either a geek yourself or you're at least tolerant of geek-speak. So, I won't hesitate to "talk tech" for a moment.

I'll be giving a quick talk about dasBlog, the software I use to power this blog, at the November 2006 meeting of the Ann Arbor .Net Developers user gorup (http://www.aadnd.org). This will be the tutorial segment of the meeting, so it will be an introductory-level presentation, about 30 or 45 miunutes. AADND meets the second Wednesday of each month, at SPARK (formerly IT Zone) here in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Here's the abstract (or at least a first draft of the abstract):

dasBlog is a free, BSD-licensed weblog engine for the .Net Framework. This presentation will focus on the installation, customization and usage of dasBlog, from basic style changes to enhancing the engine through code changes. Along the way we will also touch on other blog-related topics, including syndication, pinging blog search engines, and trackbacks.

Y'all come!

For about three Saturdays now I've been taking my kid to swimming leessons at a pool here in Ann Arbor. While his lesson is going on in one part of the pool, people are swimming laps in another part. It took three weeks, but I finally realized I really should get off my behind and get in there myself, rather than sitting on the bench playing the mini golf game on my mobile phone.

But that's not what this is about. What it is about (and this certainly won't be the last post on this subject) is how screwy and obscenely politically-correct this town is.

So, the fourth Saturday, there I am with my swim suit and goggles, ready to get some exercise. After seeing my kid get to his lesson in his part of the pool, I head down to the other end of the pool, where there are three little signs, telling people, with graphic illustrations, how to swim lengths: when there are one or two swimmers in a lane you go back and forth, but when there are three of more you have to do circles so you don't bash heads. You have to explain obvious stuff like this to people these days. Also on these signs are indicators that are supposed to help you decide which lane you should use, based on your speed. They are labeled:

"Quick (formerly slow)," "Quicker (formerly medium)" and "Quickest (formerly fast)".

I'm thought to myself, "Hey, this is great! It's been years since I got off my behind to exercise, and I'm still 'Quick!'" I made a comment about this to an older gentleman who was also getting ready to jump in, and he added, "Yeah, it's great. One day I was 'slow,' and the next day I come here and all of a sudden I'm 'quick.' Just like that, overnight!"

This whole thing is pretty funny until you think about it a little more. You just know the reason it changed from slow/medium/fast to quick/quicker/quickest is that somebody complained about being labeled 'slow.' Well, let me give it to you plain and simple: if you're swimming in the same lane as me, you're slow!

I keep getting all this spam email with "joanetta clowney" in the subject line. It's not just a couple a day, it's dozens. And it's for all sorts of things... mortgages, pharmaceuticals, all the standards. But the amazing thing is that nobody else I talk to gets these things. Do the spammers use a different name for each recipient, just to mix it up, so that there's somebody else out there who's getting dozens of emails every day with the name "Freddy Inkelpinkelstein" in the subject line?

It's only a step above the ones I get that have a substitution tag like ##RANDOM_ENGLISH_WORD## in there. Some loser really got his money's worth for that one didn't he?