This guy wrote a program that converts a .bmp picture to an html table — I know, I know: why?

You see I was challenged about two years ago to come up with a way to embed an image right into a web page, so that there would only be one file to download. It’s a pointless challenge, I know, but I thought what the heck, why not have a bit of fun and see if I can actually do it. In order to keep it strictly pointless, I decided to keep things strictly HTML. How boring it would be if we just embedded the raw binary data into a PHP page and use the “imagecreatetruecolour” function to build the image, or some other cheap method like that.

In the Toledo Blade

In the battle to win the hearts of voters, George Washington knew what it would take to get him elected:

- 46 gallons of beer. – 40 gallons of rum. – 35 gallons of wine. – 2 gallons of cider. – 31/2 pints of brandy.

Wow. Whaddya say we go back to the old system?

This article suggests that the condition of Saddam Hussein and the hovel he was found in indicate that he was being held there captive.

After his last audiotaped message was delivered and aired over al Arabiya TV on Sunday November 16, on the occasion of Ramadan, Saddam was seized, possibly with the connivance of his own men, and held in that hole in Adwar for three weeks or more, which would have accounted for his appearance and condition. Meanwhile, his captors bargained for the $25 m prize the Americans promised for information leading to his capture alive or dead. The negotiations were mediated by Jalal Talabani’s Kurdish PUK militia.

John Breaux (D-LA) is not going to run for re-election to the Senate. That’s five (5) southern Democrats who are bowing out for next year’s election.

I ran across an article this morning about the climatic battle sequence from the Return of the King. Apparently, programmers created virtual armies in which each combatant had a repertoire of physical moves, the ability to analyze his surroundings, and the choice to make what he deemed to be the correct and most advantageous moves.

Result? The heroic defenders of Middle Earth consistently ran away.

Eventually, the geeks decided that the program needed some tweaks.

Some of my favorite things about the holidays are all the great food/drinks that come out each year.

This year I’m especially digging on Anchor Steam Christmas Ale. Wonderful body and great lingering flavors. The perfect drink to help recover after that long day at work or following a final.

I’m also a true egg nog fan. My personal favorite is made by Southern Comfort. But this year I’m watching the waist line and have discovered Silk Soy Nog. Excellent stuff. Suprisingly similar flavor to egg nog, or at least light egg nog.

Anybody have any personal holiday favorites?

The latest political cartoon from Pat Oliphant has a sidebar joke that seems awfully racist to me. Maybe the term Polly Wanna Cracker is more recent than Pat’s era, but portraying Condi Rice as a parrot is offensive.