Riveting stuff, waiting for eaglets to hatch. Sort of like watching paint dry or water boil…

The Raptor Resource Project brings you the Decorah Eagles from atop their tree at the fish hatchery in Decorah, Iowa.

A new line of clothing for flyers features the 4th Amendment printed in metallic ink!

There are also kid’s clothes printed “Read the 4th Amendment, perverts!”
Love it.

Rocky Flats Gear also sports a line of underwear to protect your nether regions from radiation and prying eyes. I like the fig leaf design; very biblical. >;-D

Click to embiggen.

Via iOTW

Adobe and Apple use a script called Bonjour that can kill internet access in Vista/Win7 boxes after installation of one of their products.

This is what my access problem came down to: a tool designed to help networking killed the net. I could still access my router and home network, just not the internet. Just an FYI.

Ironically enough, an Apple tool designed to deliver zero-configuration networking to Windows clients manages to kill off Internet access for Windows Vista Service Pack 2, according to Microsoft. The Redmond company indicated that all Vista editions could be affected, whether from the RTM, SP1 or SP2 releases. In certain scenarios, installing the Apple Bonjour on a Vista machine causes the service to create a default gateway of 0.0.0.0. Microsoft pointed the finger at Bonjour and the service’s logic used to add a route designed to identify a default gateway, which, if set incorrectly to 0.0.0.0, is not removed subsequently, even if the correct connection data is provided via DHCP.

The software giant explained that the problems were related to Vista computers that did “not receive an address through DHCP prior to the Bonjour service start. Under this condition, the Bonjour service adds a default route to the computer indicating that all internet hosts are “onlink”. The computer is subsequently able to receive an address through DHCP. Bonjour does not remove the default route, leaving an incorrect default gateway configured on the machine. This gateway usurps the proper gateway configuration DHCP provides and prevents Internet access.”

There is no update or hotfix from Microsoft or Apple designed to resolve this issue. The Redmond company did however provide end users with the guidance necessary to manually remove the erroneous route. End users will have to open command prompt with elevated privileges. In cmd, running the following command “route delete 0.0.0.0” will delete the route created by Bonjour.

Microsoft emphasized that manually removing route 0.0.0.0 could be nothing more than a temporary solution. While Vista will indeed be able to regain Internet access, the problem could repeat itself. “This does not ensure that the Bonjour service will never create the route again as this depends on the sequence of events under ‘Cause’ occurring,” the company said. In this context, users will simply need to run the “route delete 0.0.0.0” command yet again.

Hubby disabled the script in services and everything is fine once again.

I knew it!

A judge has ruled that Vitaminwater is not healthy and cannot be marketed as such. In short, Coca-Cola has perpetrated mass consumer fraud. But isn’t that what marketing is all about?

A federal judge ruled this week that Vitaminwater will not, as its labels promise, keep you “healthy as a horse.” Nor will it bring about a “healthy state of physical or mental being”. Instead, Vitaminwater is really just a sugary snack food; non-carbonated fruit coke disguised as a sports drink. Because it’s composed mostly of sugar and not vitamin-laden water, judge John Gleeson held that Vitaminwater’s absurd marketing claims were likely to mislead consumers.

Coke tried to explain away claims like “vitamins + water = all you need” as “only puffery.” The judge disagreed.

The ruling rejected Coca Cola’s motion to dismiss a class action suit brought by the scrappy do-gooders at the Center for Science in the Interest. The case should now be clear for trial, although it could settle if Coke is willing to change Vitaminwater’s name to something less misleading.

The Consumerist

Puffery my ass.

The judge gets straight to the point:

“By including the suggestion that the product will “keep you healthy” or “help bring about a healthy state of physical and mental being” alongside such statements, the quoted language implies that the nutrient content of vitaminwater may help consumers maintain healthy dietary practices. I conclude, therefore, in light of the language and context in which they are used, that the statements on the “defense” and “B- Relaxed” labels constitute implied nutrient content claims which use the word “healthy.” Such claims are in violation of violation of FDA regulations because . . . vitaminwater achieves its nutritional content solely through fortification that violates FDA policy.”

I know people who drink this mess constantly, thinking it’s so much better for them than plain old water. I’ve been able to resist temptation because I actually read labels. Well, that… and if I want to drink water away from home I just fill a container before leaving to bring along. Too logical for Coke’s ultra hip marketing campaigns, eh?

What’s That Smell is having a contest to win a Bissell ProHeat 2X Select Pet Deep Cleaner. All you have to do to enter is comment.

Someone’s going to win; it may as well be me. Or you. No, really me. I need it more than you do, trust me. Heh…

As a skin cancer survivor I wear sunscreen on a daily basis… So when I see an article about the stuff I tend to pay attention.
That’s what happened when reading through What’s That Smell one day… and I’m really glad I did – Imagine my surprise upon finding out that some manufacturers lie about how much protection a sunscreen will provide its wearer!

Kim links to the Environmental Working Group site and lists the 10 best sunscreens, but you have to go to the EWG’s site, really. They have a Find Your Sunscreen function and a don’t-miss Hall of Shame list along with some interesting information about ingredients and their side effects, such as ‘hormone disruptors’.

Don’t be caught unawares with a product that doesn’t protect like it should as we gear up for summer! In my case it’s a little like closing the barn door after the horse got out, but kids especially should be protected against burning.