RIP Lady Bird

[Judy G. Russell]

If you are old enough, as I am, to remember when driving down a highway -- any highway, anywhere -- meant seeing nothing but one billboard after another, then I am sure you will join me in mourning Lady Bird Johnson, who died today at the age of 94. One of her great personal causes was highway beautification. She thought flowers and trees should be where billboards were, and she accomplished quite a bit in that direction. She also established a marvelous wildflower center in more recent years. And frankly anybody who made it a priority to bring flowers into people's lives is a good soul as far as I'm concerned.

The New York Times notes that she was the great steadying hand of the Johnson presidency: "Mrs. Johnson was a calm and steadying influence on her often moody and volatile husband as she quietly attended to the demands imposed by his career. Liz Carpenter, her press secretary during her years in the White House, once wrote that “if President Johnson was the long arm, Lady Bird Johnson’s was the gentle hand.” " She lived a long and varied and full life and never once tried to be anything other than who she was.

RIP Lady Bird. We'll miss you.

[Lindsey]

Over the years, I have come to have a great deal of respect for Lady Bird Johnson. She was not only a gracious woman, but one with a good deal of personal strength. I don't for a minute doubt that she was a critical steadying influence on her husband during a very difficult presidency.

--Lindsey

[Mike]

Amen.

Why can't we have another classy first lady like her?

[Judy G. Russell]

Why can't we have another classy first lady like her?Because they don't make 'em like that any more, I'm afraid.

[ndebord]

Because they don't make 'em like that any more, I'm afraid.

Judy,

If there is still a Republic in a couple of generations, I suspect we'll have a better chance of getting a classy lady in the post. Not from this ultimate "me first" generation though imo.

[Judy G. Russell]

If there is still a Republic in a couple of generations, I suspect we'll have a better chance of getting a classy lady in the post. Not from this ultimate "me first" generation though imo.I can't wait until we get a classy lady in the White House who's being called "Madame President"!

[Mike]

I can't wait until we get a classy lady in the White House who's being called "Madame President"!
On a Simpsons rerun this evening, Bart got to see into the future, and Lisa was president. During a speech, she noted her pride at being the first woman president who isn't a lesbian. <g>

[Judy G. Russell]

On a Simpsons rerun this evening, Bart got to see into the future, and Lisa was president. During a speech, she noted her pride at being the first woman president who isn't a lesbian. <g>ROFL! Hey, I'd settle for a straight woman President! (After meeting some of the friends of my niece and her partner, I might prefer a gay woman President!)

[Mike]

... I'd settle for a straight woman President!
Right now, I'd settle for a president who is human and can think.

[Judy G. Russell]

Right now, I'd settle for a president who is human and can think.The human part we can manage. But think??? You ask too much.

[Mike]

The human part we can manage. But think??? You ask too much.
<sigh> I'm such a demanding cretin.

[Lindsey]

Right now, I'd settle for a president who is human and can think.
Or at least talk in complete sentences!

--Lindsey

[Judy G. Russell]

<sigh> I'm such a demanding cretin.Is it legal to use the terms "demanding" and "cretin" in the same sentence, and in this context?

[Judy G. Russell]

Or at least talk in complete sentences!Using words that exist and mean what the speaker thinks they mean!

[Jeff]

Using words that exist and mean what the speaker thinks they mean!

Substitute "simian" for "speaker".

- Jeff

[Judy G. Russell]

Substitute "simian" for "speaker".He surely does have those ears...

[Lindsey]

He surely does have those ears...
There's one political cartoonist (I can't remember which one) who has elongated his ears to the point that he is beginning to look like a rabbit!

--Lindsey

[Mike]

Is it legal to use the terms "demanding" and "cretin" in the same sentence, and in this context?
Let me ask my lawyer.

Hey, Judy, is it legal to use the terms "demanding" and "cretin" in the same sentence, and in this context?

[Judy G. Russell]

There's one political cartoonist (I can't remember which one) who has elongated his ears to the point that he is beginning to look like a rabbit!Well, it would be nice to think that he's on the run...

[Judy G. Russell]

Let me ask my lawyer. Hey, Judy, is it legal to use the terms "demanding" and "cretin" in the same sentence, and in this context?Are you sure you want me to answer that? Without a signed retainer agreement in advance?

[Mike]

Without a signed retainer agreement in advance?
Nah. We can work on contingency.

[Judy G. Russell]

Nah. We can work on contingency.And just who are we going to collect from, from whom I can collect my part of that contingent fee, pray tell?

[Mike]

And just who are we going to collect from, from whom I can collect my part of that contingent fee, pray tell?
<shrug> You were the one asking me the question I had to pass to my lawyer.

[Judy G. Russell]

<shrug> You were the one asking me the question I had to pass to my lawyer.I'm going to end up suing myself???

[sidney]

I'm going to end up suing myself???

Isn't there a well known saying. "A lawyer who sues herself has a fool for a plaintiff"? Or is that a problem only if you also try to defend yourself pro se?

That does remind me of the guy who went to both med school and law school so he could sue himself for malpractice and get paid no matter which side won.

[Judy G. Russell]

That does remind me of the guy who went to both med school and law school so he could sue himself for malpractice and get paid no matter which side won.ROFL!!

[Mike]

I'm going to end up suing myself???
Well, as Sidney pointed out, you should win.

[Judy G. Russell]

Well, as Sidney pointed out, you should win.Yeah, but I'm so broke with this kitchen renovation, I wouldn't be able to collect! Oh woe is me!

[sidney]

'm so broke with this kitchen renovation, I wouldn't be able to collect!

Settle for a lien on your new kitchen.

[Judy G. Russell]

Settle for a lien on your new kitchen.I haven't yet GOT a new kitchen!

[sidney]

I haven't yet GOT a new kitchen!

I've been watching SCO vs IBM and SCO vs Novell wind their ways through the court for the past four years or so. I'm sure that being on both sides of the suit you can find ways to stretch it out until your kitchen is complete. Besides, think of all the legal fees you'll be able to charge! Just in case as a criminal prosecutor you never had reason to try to make a case last years longer than it had to, here is an example of how it is done, from SCO v IBM:

The parties, through their counsel of record, hereby stipulate and jointly move the Court for an Order enlarging the deadline for SCO to file its sur-surreply to IBM's Sur-Reply Memorandum in Further Opposition to SCO's Objections to the Magistrate Judge's Order on IBM's Motion to Confine and SCO's Motion to Amend its December 2005 Submission, on or before May 11, 2007.

[Mike]

Yeah, but I'm so broke with this kitchen renovation, I wouldn't be able to collect!
We can start the Judy G Russell Defense Fund.

[sidney]

We can start the Judy G Russell Defense Fund.

Maybe Judy would like to contribute to it.

[Judy G. Russell]

I've been watching SCO vs IBM and SCO vs Novell wind their ways through the court for the past four years or so.That's nothing. One of the original IBM lawsuits had attorneys whose parents had been attorneys on the case! (A possibly apocryphal story but a good one anyway...)

[Judy G. Russell]

Maybe Judy would like to contribute to it.I am not prying the pennies out of my loafers!

[Mike]

I am not prying the pennies out of my loafers!
Ahem. You're a lawyer. Those pennies have already been pried, stretched, sliced, diced, and everything else.

Besides, you'll get to deduct all your expenses twice, since you're doing double the work.

[Judy G. Russell]

Besides, you'll get to deduct all your expenses twice, since you're doing double the work.The IRS would like to chat with you about that...

[Mike]

The IRS would like to chat with you about that...
Neither did I say that I have deducted anything twice, nor am I an enrolled agent. Thus, my advice is worthless.

As usual.

[Judy G. Russell]

Neither did I say that I have deducted anything twice, nor am I an enrolled agent. Thus, my advice is worthless. As usual.I always tell friends who ask me legal questions that the advice is worth exactly what they're paying for it...

[Mike]

I always tell friends who ask me legal questions that the advice is worth exactly what they're paying for it...
I try that for friends and family who ask me questions about computers. But somehow, regardless how little I tell them, it's still more than they could get elsewhere.~

[Judy G. Russell]

I try that for friends and family who ask me questions about computers. But somehow, regardless how little I tell them, it's still more than they could get elsewhere.~Yeah... sigh... there is that...

[Mike]

Yeah... sigh... there is that...
Let's face it. Around them, I am a god.

[Judy G. Russell]

Let's face it. Around them, I am a god.ROFL!! That is NOT the way my family and friends would refer to me. Bad Fae, maybe, but...

[Mike]

Bad Fae, maybe, but...
<snicker>

Actually, my mom still believes that by telling me something that vaguely describes her problem (oriented, of course, to what she thinks I need to know, instead of what's actually on her screen), that I can solve any problem.

Eventually, I drag enough details from her that I do figure it out. Like the time she had duplicates of all her icons on the screen. After asking a sufficient number of questions (many asking for the same information, but using different words), I finally figured out that somehow she'd enabled a desktop toolbar from the taskbar, and I was able to tell her how to turn it off. She still has no idea how she enabled it.

[Judy G. Russell]

Actually, my mom still believes that by telling me something that vaguely describes her problem (oriented, of course, to what she thinks I need to know, instead of what's actually on her screen), that I can solve any problem.My mother had a different view of the entire computer thing. She wore a t-shirt that read: "I got run over on the information superhighway."

[sidney]

Like the time she had duplicates of all her icons on the screen

Isn't the to solution to put on her glasses?

[Judy G. Russell]

Isn't the to solution to put on her glasses?ROFL!!! Sidney, you made me spill my soda (all over my monitor screen!)!!!

[Mike]

glasses?
ROFL!

[Mike]

"I got run over on the information superhighway."
Some days I feel like roadkill on it.

[Judy G. Russell]

Some days I feel like roadkill on it.Tell me about it... and I don't even do IT stuff like you do! But I do often feel like I'm tethered to the damned computer!

[Mike]

But I do often feel like I'm tethered to the damned computer!
Brent believes that I like spending time at the keyboard. He doesn't quite understand that it's a tool for me to accomplish certain things, and nothing more.

[Judy G. Russell]

Brent believes that I like spending time at the keyboard. He doesn't quite understand that it's a tool for me to accomplish certain things, and nothing more.There was a time when I played at the computer -- games and the like. Now... it's a tool.

[Jeff]

There was a time when I played at the computer -- games and the like. Now... it's a tool.

Did you ever play the original b/w 'stick figure' Star Trek? Been there, didn't often come back.

- Jeff

[Judy G. Russell]

Did you ever play the original b/w 'stick figure' Star Trek? Been there, didn't often come back.Nope, not that one. There were a couple of early games I played a lot (including the text game where you could NOT let the #$%@# snake eat the bird and an early graphics game involving dungeons and dragons -- lower case -- the name of which escapes me), and I still like word games and card games. But I am so tired of sitting at the computer by the time I get home... and I go back on the computer to do genealogy work and the like!

[Lindsey]

But I am so tired of sitting at the computer by the time I get home... and I go back on the computer to do genealogy work and the like!
I know exactly what you mean. Besides, the latest games are just too damned complicated -- takes all the fun out of them. I really enjoyed the old B&W arcade games, where you were shooting things, or hitting things, or being chased by things. They were great stress-relief. Now, I don't know, I just can't get excited about computer games.

Well, OK, there is one exception. I sort of get a kick out of this online game (http://flash.abunawaf.com/2005/12/game33.swf) -- I guess because it reminds me of the old DOS games! The object is to "shoot down" the red squares IN NUMERIC ORDER by passing the mouse cursor over them. (Hmmmm, now that I re-visit that site, I don't remember the Arabic script from when I was there before ...)

--Lindsey

--Lindsey

[Judy G. Russell]

(Hmmmm, now that I re-visit that site, I don't remember the Arabic script from when I was there before ...)Why do I have this strange feeling that folks from the TSA will have my name the next time I fly?

[Lindsey]

Why do I have this strange feeling that folks from the TSA will have my name the next time I fly?
LOL!! Well, if they have yours, they will have mine, too!

--Lindsey

[Mike]

There was a time when I played at the computer -- games and the like. Now... it's a tool.
I did some games, too, but I also spent time writing my own programs for fun.

Now that I manage others who do the programming, I've lost interest.

[Judy G. Russell]

LOL!! Well, if they have yours, they will have mine, too!
We're doomed...

[Judy G. Russell]

I did some games, too, but I also spent time writing my own programs for fun. Now that I manage others who do the programming, I've lost interest.The only programming I ever did was a little BASIC program that painted the American flag on the screen and played the Star Spangled Banner.

[Jeff]

The only programming I ever did was a little BASIC program that painted the American flag on the screen and played the Star Spangled Banner.

In a loop which your brother could not turn off..?

- Jeff

[Judy G. Russell]

In a loop which your brother could not turn off..?You remember perfectly: he put it into a computer in the university computer lab, everybody started staring at him (long hair and beard and all, not exactly the music they'd expect from him) and he didn't have a CLUE how to stop it...

[Jeff]

You remember perfectly: he put it into a computer in the university computer lab, everybody started staring at him (long hair and beard and all, not exactly the music they'd expect from him) and he didn't have a CLUE how to stop it...

And his backatcha gotcha was..?

- Jeff

[Judy G. Russell]

And his backatcha gotcha was..?Believe it or not, he didn't pull anything in response. Now my youngest brother pulled a trick or two (notably the Great LAWSIG Scam), but not this one...

[Mike]

The only programming I ever did...
Once a hacker, always a hacker.

[Judy G. Russell]

Once a hacker, always a hacker.Any kind of hacking these days is beyond me. I'm still struggling to understand CSS, for pete's sake!

[Mike]

I'm still struggling to understand CSS, for pete's sake!
Hacker.

How many other legal editors and part-time law professors old enough to be gran^H^H^H^Haunts are even trying? Heh, I don't do no CSS, and I am a programmer!

[Judy G. Russell]

How many other legal editors and part-time law professors old enough to be gran^H^H^H^Haunts are even trying? Heh, I don't do no CSS, and I am a programmer!I have to say I'm finding CSS to be harder in many ways than the #$%$ programming was. I just don't understand WHY things work the way they do, and that frustrates me when it's so easy to do something in plain HTML (using tables, for example) and so hard to do it in CSS.

[Mike]

...and that frustrates me when it's so easy to do something in plain HTML (using tables, for example) and so hard to do it in CSS.
Simple reason. Because CSS is so much more powerful and flexible.

What's easier to fly? A two-seater, single-engine (propeller) Cessna, or an F-14? But which can do more?

[Judy G. Russell]

Simple reason. Because CSS is so much more powerful and flexible. What's easier to fly? A two-seater, single-engine (propeller) Cessna, or an F-14? But which can do more?Don't try to be reasonable with me when I'm frustrated.

[ktinkel]

I have to say I'm finding CSS to be harder in many ways than the #$%$ programming was. I just don't understand WHY things work the way they do, and that frustrates me when it's so easy to do something in plain HTML (using tables, for example) and so hard to do it in CSS.I meant to mention this the other day when you were asking on the DTP Forum about CSS instead of tables.

Tables can be perfectly legit; what is not legit is the inline HTML we used to use to control them.

Unfortunately, there seem (to me) to be a few pitfalls with using CSS for tables. It is hard to select some elements unless you create classes or IDs for them, and even then some things do not obey (me, anyway).

I always had trouble with tables, until they were being despised by everyone; then they came easily. But there are still good reasons to use them, so I have been trying to figure out the CSS aspects.

I posted about this on DTP (http://desktoppublishingforum.com/bb/showthread.php?p=49126#poststop) but Marjolein, who would always be helpful with these questions, seems to be away, so the message languishes.

I have to admit that tables can solve several problems that CSS is lousy at — setting a fixed area to have a background-color, for example. And setting up tabular material, for another.

The CSS is cleaner than tables with inline HTML; thus faster (one assumes), easier to read and edit the code, etc.

[Judy G. Russell]

I meant to mention this the other day when you were asking on the DTP Forum about CSS instead of tables.... Unfortunately, there seem (to me) to be a few pitfalls with using CSS for tables. It is hard to select some elements unless you create classes or IDs for them, and even then some things do not obey (me, anyway). My problem is that I simply do not know how to reproduce some things in CSS that I can do in a trice with tables.

I have to admit that tables can solve several problems that CSS is lousy at — setting a fixed area to have a background-color, for example. And setting up tabular material, for another.Exactly. And then some.

[Mike]

Don't try to be reasonable with me when I'm frustrated.
Oooops. Sorry. Carry on with the bitching.




:-)

[Judy G. Russell]

Oooops. Sorry. Carry on with the bitching. :-)A much better idea at the moment, when I am stuck at home waiting for a #$%@# building inspector who could have been here anytime after 7 a.m. today. Sigh... I'm glad I did this the right way, with proper permits and all, but it is such a pain...

[Mike]

... stuck at home waiting for a #$%@# building inspector who could have been here anytime after 7 a.m. today.
What? You're expecting a government employee to do its job?

[Judy G. Russell]

What? You're expecting a government employee to do its job?Oh they do their jobs, all right. But not on my schedule, is all. Another day, I had two inspectors here at oh-dark-thirty (just after 7 a.m.). I was glad to have the inspections over, but thought it was positively obscene to have to be up, showered, dressed and coherent by 7 a.m.

[Mike]

...up, showered, dressed and coherent by 7 a.m.
Couldn't they pick just one?

[Judy G. Russell]

Couldn't they pick just one?Sigh... I think they gave up on the coherent bit about 30 seconds after I answered the door.

[Mike]

I think they gave up on the coherent bit about 30 seconds after I answered the door.
They'll learn.

My honey was so sweet to me this morning. After two weeks of long nights and early mornings, he didn't wake me at all. He let me awaken by myself, somewhere around 11ish. I must have needed that sleep, because I did not awaken any sooner.

[Judy G. Russell]

My honey was so sweet to me this morning. After two weeks of long nights and early mornings, he didn't wake me at all. He let me awaken by myself, somewhere around 11ish. I must have needed that sleep, because I did not awaken any sooner.Sigh... I'm beginning to forget what that feels like. Had what I refer to as the "weekend from hell" at the office (last stages of a new book) and keep having to be up at 7 a.m. for inspections. (Just had another one here and it's barely 8 a.m.)

[Mike]

...keep having to be up at 7 a.m. for inspections.
The true hell of remodeling!

Brent now is thinking we may postpone the remodeling of the kitchen in our new place until after the winter. I think he can use the break. Other than the three weeks he took for our move, he has been working on remodeling our place in Sacramento since late March! I go up for the weekends, but I can only contribute day and a half of useful labor, because I need to be back home on Sunday afternoon so I can go to work on Monday.

[Judy G. Russell]

Other than the three weeks he took for our move, he has been working on remodeling our place in Sacramento since late March!Egads... that's forever!

[Mike]

Egads... that's forever!
That's what happens when only one person is working on it full time, even if he is working more than eight hours a day.

[Judy G. Russell]

That's what happens when only one person is working on it full time, even if he is working more than eight hours a day.Give him my most sincere condolences...

[Mike]

Give him my most sincere condolences...
Thank you, I will.

The good news is that he estimates only a couple of weeks of work are left. It would be nice to get it rented by mid-September.

[Judy G. Russell]

The good news is that he estimates only a couple of weeks of work are left. It would be nice to get it rented by mid-September.Getting some money coming in would surely make you both feel better about the time he's spent (and you've spent) on it!

[Mike]

Getting some money coming in would surely make you both feel better about the time he's spent (and you've spent) on it!
Not to mention to cover the insurance, the taxes, the HOA dues...

[Judy G. Russell]

Not to mention to cover the insurance, the taxes, the HOA dues...Details, details...