Steve’s Weblog
Ga. Woman Found, Reportedly Got Cold Feet
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A Georgia bride-to-be who vanished just days before her wedding turned up in New Mexico and fabricated a tale of abduction before admitting Saturday that she got cold feet and “needed some time alone,” police said.
Jennifer Wilbanks, 32, was in police custody more than 1,420 miles from her home on what was supposed to be her wedding day Saturday.
Tell Microsoft Corporation to reinstate their support for workplace fairness legislation in Washington State. Microsoft withdrew their support for House Bill 1515, which subsequently failed by one vote in the state senate. Send a message to President Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer today.
via Americablog.
Was it ever safe? Every day there are new stories… look at this one: Alabama Bill Targets Gay Authors.
It’s not like we’re going away, so what’s next on the right wing homosexual agenda, American concentration camps and gas chambers?
Microsoft’s Gates urges end to US tech visa limits
Wed Apr 27, 2005 03:44 PM ET
WASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) – The United States should remove visa limits to allow more skilled foreign citizens to work at U.S. companies if it wants to remain a leader in technology, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said on Wednesday.
Microsoft is having a hard time finding skilled workers within the United States, and the lack of H-1B visas for skilled workers is only making the situation worse, Gates said in a panel discussion at the Library of Congress.
Maybe it’s because all the gay techies are going to work for companies that really do value diversity?
via Americablog.
Wow.
Oh, and found this over there too from the Seattle Times:
Microsoft may rethink position on gay-rights bill
By Brier Dudley
Seattle Times technology reporter
Microsoft may re-evaluate whether to support state legislation that would ban discrimination against gays and lesbians, Chairman Bill Gates said yesterday.
Gates welcomed the feedback.
“It’s perfectly fair for us to be scrutinized on anything,” he said. “We didn’t realize that one would get that level of scrutiny, but there’s people who care a lot. They care a lot about the issue.”
No shit Sherlock, basic civil rights that straight white men like you take for granted. Yes, you could say we care about that issue a lot.
duh.
The Washington Post weighs in on the issue too:
Microsoft Draws Fire for Shift on Gay Rights Bill
Activist Minister Had Threatened a Boycott
By David A. Vise
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 26, 2005; Page E01
Microsoft Corp. has long taken pride in its progressive employment practices. It was one of the first major companies to provide domestic partner benefits, and it has long included sexual orientation in its own anti-discrimination policies. The company, headquartered in Washington state, also is one of a handful to protect workers based on whether they follow gender conventions or not, through their dress, mannerisms or other expression.
But Microsoft’s decision to withdraw its support for state legislation that would have banned discrimination against gays and lesbians in housing, employment and insurance drew sharp criticism yesterday from those who say the company missed an opportunity to make an important public statement. Instead, they say, Microsoft caved in to pressure from religious conservatives who opposed the bill, which failed by one vote last week.
Gee, I hope my company never waffles on gay rights like that. 
By Scott Gold, Times Staff Writer
HOUSTON — Leading Republicans in Texas distanced themselves Friday from a proposal to make the state the only one to prohibit gays and lesbians from being foster parents. It appears the plan will die without becoming law.
The Texas House approved the plan this week, despite concerns that as many as 3,000 children could be removed from their foster homes. But amid a groundswell of anger and criticism, conservatives backed away from the proposal Friday. GOP leaders, including Gov. Rick Perry, said the proposal was so flawed it could endanger a broader initiative to overhaul the Texas Department of Child Protective Services.
I need to find out where to buy this stuff in the US:
Anyone?
It’s available for purchase online at FairPrice but only for shipment to addresses in Singapore. 
2 Evangelicals Want to Strip Courts’ Funds
Fri Apr 22, 7:55 AM ET
By Peter Wallsten Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — Evangelical Christian leaders, who have been working closely with senior Republican lawmakers to place conservative judges in the federal courts, have also been exploring ways to punish sitting jurists and even entire courts viewed as hostile to their cause.
What ever happened to the novel idea of separation of Church and State?
Texas House passes bill to bar gays from becoming foster parents
By Natalie Gott
The Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas could become the only state to bar gays from becoming foster parents under legislation passed Wednesday by the House.
The ban is part of a bill to revamp the state’s Child Protective Services agency. It passed 135-6 with two abstentions and now heads to the Senate.
MICROSOFT CAVES ON GAY RIGHTS
by Sandeep Kaushik
© 2005 The Stranger
Pressured by Evangelical Minister, Microsoft Withdraws Support for Civil Rights Bill
In a move that angered many of the company’s gay employees, the Microsoft Corporation, publicly perceived as the vanguard institution of the new economy, has taken a major political stand in favor of age-old discrimination.
And it appears that the religious right nutjobs have gotten their way on this one, according to AP.
What I don’t get in all of this is how these fundies could have pulled off a boycott of Microsoft that would have had a negative impact on the company’s bottom line. What, all the born-again NASCAR thugs were going to convert to linux or Mac? right…. it could happen. 
HARTFORD, Conn (Reuters) – Connecticut became the first U.S. state on Wednesday to legalize civil unions for gay couples without the prodding of a court, following an overwhelming approval of the state legislature and a prompt signature by Gov. Jodi Rell.
And here’s why:
New pope intervened against Kerry in US 2004 election campaign
Tue Apr 19, 6:20 PM ET
German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican theologian who was elected Pope Benedict XVI, intervened in the 2004 US election campaign ordering bishops to deny communion to abortion rights supporters including presidential candidate John Kerry.
No one has it better, say Austin’s smitten techies, who, like their Silicon Valley cousins, are rebounding from the bust.
April 11, 2005 Print Issue
On the Third Coast, the pain has eased—Austin’s answer to Silicon Valley, known for its unique mix of bohemian, red-neck, and geek atmospheres, is in recovery.
Apr 16, 12:54 AM EDT
Wall St. Suffers Worst Day in Two Years
By MICHAEL J. MARTINEZ
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street suffered its worst single day in nearly two years Friday, with the Dow Jones industrial average falling 191 points for its third straight triple-digit loss. Deepening concerns over economic growth and higher prices led to the worst week of trading since August.
What’s New 1.0.3
Firefox 1.0.3 is a security update that is part of our ongoing program to provide a safe Internet experience for our customers. We recommend that all users upgrade to this latest version.
Here’s what’s new in Firefox 1.0.3:
From ABC News.
April 12, 2005 — Wisconsin residents backed a controversial proposal to allow hunters to stalk and kill feral cats, and some naturalists say pet owners should treat the vote as a wake-up call to be more responsible about their furry friends.
sort of. Well, so the windows on the back of the house, especially the four on the deck, reflect the trees and sky behind the house. So, I’m guessing that the birds see that, and think there’s somewhere to go… through the windows. And they fly into them… *bonk!*.
Anyway, Joe picked up this suicidal Mourning Dove who had an untimely meeting with the back window, and Nhut took a bunch of pictures and video, posted here.
The issue of e-mail return receipts came up for me this week when someone sent out a note to an e-mail list that I subscribe to, with a return receipt requested. Since, by default, Lotus Notes responds to Return Receipts, my return receipt went out to everyone on the mailing list. As a result, I went looking for a way to:
I found some background information in RFC 2298 (An Extensible Message Format for Message Disposition Notifications) that applies here:
While Internet standards normally do not specify the behavior of user interfaces, it is strongly recommended that the user agent obtain the user’s consent before sending an MDN. This consent could be obtained for each message through some sort of prompt or dialog box, or globally through the user’s setting of a preference. The user might also indicate globally that MDNs are never to be sent or that a “denied” MDN is always sent in response to a request for an MDN.
Also useful to understand what the definition of “recommended” is in the context of an RFC: RFC 2119.
SHOULD This word, or the adjective “RECOMMENDED“, mean that there may exist valid reasons in particular circumstances to ignore a particular item, but the full implications must be understood and carefully weighed before choosing a different course.
Guidance in the use of these Imperatives
Imperatives of the type defined in this memo must be used with care and sparingly. In particular, they MUST only be used where it is actually required for interoperation or to limit behavior which has potential for causing harm (e.g., limiting retransmisssions) For example, they must not be used to try to impose a particular method on implementors where the method is not required for interoperability.
I found two excellent tips that do both of those things, the first identifies when a return receipt request is present: Lotus Developer Domain article one.
The second displays a prompt asking if you want to delete the return receipt: Lotus Developer Domain article two.
I implemented the first suggestion as it was described, and it worked fine. I’m running a Notes 6.5.4 client on Windows XP. But I wasn’t satisfied with the wording of the prompt on the second tip, so I modified it to make it more usable. I compared the text of the prompt to the text used in the prompt of my other mail clients, and decided to go with what Mozilla mail does. The code snippet is below:
The next time I open a message with a return receipt requested, I am prompted whether or not I want to honor that request, by allowing the return receipt to be sent.
Full instructions on how to implement are here.
Mr. Peabody decided to take a walk outside this evening, giving us quite a scare. After searching through the house and garage for about 1/2 hour, Nhut found him by our neighbor’s house two doors down. He’s like an alzheimer’s patient, walking around aimlessly…
Bad Behavior has blocked 11 access attempts in the last 7 days.
