kapgar

It was an honest mistake...

2012-02-09T12:34:06-06:00

So that whole post earlier today about registering to comment here? Let's pretend it didn't happen, okay? Too many issues already in the short time I had it implemented. We'll just pray we can get normal commenting to work again.

Please note that if you don't see an entry form field for the CAPTCHA right away to try clicking anywhere in the box and, supposedly, something will appear. We'll see.

Say my name, say my name...

2012-02-09T06:53:21-06:00

I've been having quite the issue with commenting lately on this here blog. What I thought was isolated to just one browser and operating system seems to actually be a bit more widespread affecting readers regardless of O.S., browser, and whether you're on a desktop/laptop vs. mobile device.

Some of you may not have noticed at all. Who knows how it picks? But it seems that CAPTCHAs (those weird word ID thingamajigs meant to prove you are a human and not a spambot) are popping up on my blog even though I have them shut off.

I've been in talks with TypePad customer support since December and they still haven't been able to solve the CAPTCHA problem... and they can't shut it off either. They say that if you were to click somewhere in the box near where the CAPTCHA entry field initially appears and then suddenly disappears, it will come back. But that's just not very user friendly, in my estimation or their own.

One solution they did suggest was for me to set up comment registration. After looking into it a bit, I agree that it's the best route to go down for now.

What does this mean for you? Well, simply put, instead of just being able to type in your name, e-mail address, and homepage URL (optional), you will now have to login to my site via any number of possible third-party options. This includes Google, Yahoo, TypePad, Twitter, Facebook, and more.

When you go into a post, you'll now see this way down at the bottom where you would normally see the comment entry fields...

If TypePad, Facebook, or Twitter are your thing, click one. If not, click the "more..."

Either way, you'll be taken to this screen...

If you're a TypePad user, sign in on the left, or choose from the options in the "Or, use..." dropdown on the right. Then you have to go through the authorization option given to you by the registrar you choose.

I know, I know, it's not ideal. There are more hoops to jump through. But if you do it once, the system should remember you for a little while and not make you re-register at least for a few weeks. Another bonus is that those funky little avatars that are a TypePad default will be replaced by the avatar you have set up in the service you select.

For 99.9% of the people commenting here, this shouldn't be a problem whatsoever. I know all of you have at least one of these accounts. There is one I can think of that may have issues (Scott... but even you use Yahoo for e-mail, don't you?), but the rest of you should be good to go.

I'd really like it if all of you would test this out and make sure it works. PIck whichever service is your "poison" and leave a comment. If you're uncomfortable using this method, you can always e-mail me at kevinwapgar [at] gmail [dot] com.

Please don't give up on me. I love your feedback. I truly do.

C'mon boys, let's rock the ho-o-o-o-ouse...

2012-02-08T19:32:07-06:00

Does anyone know Bill Kurtis personally? I think it would be awesome to have him record, "My name is Bill Kurtis and you're reading Snippet Wednesday at kapgar.com" and embed the MP3 in all future editions. Can anyone make this happen?

Lens
After all this time finding an iPhone case that allows me to use my cool little Photojojo macro/wide angle lens, guess what happens? If your answer was, "did you lose the lens, you idiot?" you'd be correct. I can't find that stupid thing anywhere. Well, it's not stupid. It's a great lens. I didn't mean to call you stupid, lens. Just come home, okay? We cool.

Goodnight
I love good parodies. They are so few and far between. I found one earlier today in my local bookstore. It's called Goodnight iPad by Ann Droyd (get it?). It looks and reads like a children's book and is even modeled after the classic Goodnight Moon but pokes fun at modern society's dependence on electronic devices of all forms. TVs, iPhones, computers, DVD players, e-readers, etc. Nothing is sacred. And it's so well done. Go out and buy this book. And if you buy an electronic copy... FOR SHAME!!!

Depressing
The other day, I heard a really depressing song. Well, it's not depressing in the tempo or anything like that, just the lyrics. It's called "Birth, School, Work, Death" by The Godfathers. The implication of the song being that life is nothing but birth, school, work, and death, in that order. Wow. I know there are some days that it feels that way, but to basically sum up your entire life in four words like that? Depressing, indeed.

Candydates
Speaking of depressing, this whole thing with the resurgence of Rick Santorum in the polls due to wins in Minnesota, Missouri, and Colorado? That's just wrong on so many levels. I get that Newt and Mitt aren't the best candidates. I said as much last week. But Rick Santorum? Whaaaaaa??? Oh Republican Party, you're even more FUBAR than I previously thought. It's time to just kickstart the U.S. political process from scratch, isn't it? Like Hollywood rebooting the Spider-Man and Superman franchises because the previous ones didn't go as planned. Just wipe the slate clean.

Oh well, time to go clean through some more boxes of childhood crap at my parents' house. Figure out what to keep and then throw away or donate the rest to charity.

If only it were as simple with the White House and Congress.

Do you L-U-V...

2012-02-07T14:52:03-06:00

By the sound of things, I'm one of the only people in the world that was actually let down by this year's Super Bowl. And the commercials.

I can't really explain it but I think all but the last five minutes of the game was a big ol' snoozefest. Neither Tom Brady nor Eli Manning played up to snuff as far as I'm concerned. Yes, Giselle, I realize that Tom can't pass and catch the same ball. I get it.

I guess I just don't care much for either team. I have no personal investment in them at all. It's a great game for people living in the northeastern United States, sure. But for the rest of us? Not so much.

The most exciting thing for me was the heads up play by Giants receiver Mario Manningham. Catching that sideline bomb and having the mental wherewithall to get both his feet down while inbounds? Awesomesauce. He was my MVP of the game, without question.

Typically, though, when you have a boring game, you can always look forward to the commercials, right? Not so much lately. They've been steadily losing quality over the last few years. Sure, you get a gem or two here and there (cheetah versus Hyundai, anyone?), but not nearly the consistency that we've come to expect from Super Bowl commercial programming.

The surprise for me was that I actually enjoyed Madonna's halftime show. Before you get your panties in a bunch, my expectations for it were pretty ground level so, basically, any derived enjoyment is a bonus.

Madonna was decent enough. She belted out a few classics and did it pretty well. I loved the addition of the guys from LMFAO and the subsequent mashup they did of her song "Music" and their own song "Party Rock." And her time with Cee Lo Green was pretty fun to watch, too.

I thought, however, that the bits with Nikki Minaj and MIA were very lackluster by comparison. You almost wouldn't know it was either of them performing. And, no, I don't remember seeing MIA flip off the camera or drop an F-bomb. I watched it twice before hearing about the offense and didn't notice it either time.

I was also a bit letdown by the new Madonna track "Give Me All Your Luvin." I haven't heard the studio version of it, but if it sounds anything like what was played live at the Super Bowl, then I doubt I'll be looking into it much further. As I told my brother, who was watching it with me, the song is nothing but a bunch of self congratulatory crap. "Do you L-U-V Madonna?" Seriously? I hate people that sing about themselves unless it is part of a story being told. All the backpatting and asskissing inherent in that song make it more than slightly despicable by my standards.

Maybe I'm just getting old.

I've been making it a point lately to not mention a lot of peoples' birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions here on my blog. I hate when I forget to post one or another and either guilt that is either self imposed or put on me by the person I neglected. This is why I'm making it a point to only mention stuff regarding Katie and me.

On occasion, however, I may make an exception. Such exceptions will be granted to those events I deem worthy of mention or for those people who fill out my 20 page exemption form (single spaced and double sided) in triplicate at least six months ahead of time.

I guess it's a good thing the next two people were conscientious enough to fill out the forms well in advance. I guess they knew what was coming!

First off, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, S&B, just had their first child last Thursday! Woo hoo! Congratulations to you two on a healthy and happy Baby A (I wasn't sure if you wanted me to mention names or not).

Second off, a big congrats to my Sister-From-Another-Mister, Sizzle, on her engagement to her very own Mr. Darcy. See, sis? I told you it would happen. I believed in you!

But even the crowd can't help me now...

2012-02-02T13:34:10-06:00

I don't like to get into political discussions on my blog. I don't feel entirely well versed in the topics and truly hate sounding stupid. You can probably count on one hand the number of times I've discussed politics. Let's see... Obama in 2008 and Bachmann last year. Yeah, that's about it.

Clearly it takes some severe motivation to want to discuss politics and, even then, I do tend to keep it pretty general. And, by "general," I mean something like how I think the Republican party is completely FUBAR.

I should preface this by saying that I'm not anti-Obama. I'm not his biggest supporter by any stretch of the imagination. I truly do believe he should've waited things out a bit and served more time in Congress before running for the Presidency. A little more experience would've gone a long way, in my estimation.

Going into last year, though, support across the board for President Obama was at a horribly dismal level. Republicans, Democrats, Independents, those unable to vote... it was just pathetic.

So you'd think that the Republicans would jump all over the opportunity to present us with the best candidates they could possibly think of to counter him in the 2012 Presidential campaign and restore what they define as "order" to the White House.

Who did we get? Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Michelle Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Herman Cain, John Huntsmann, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Perry, almost-Sarah Palin, almost-Donald Trump, and, according to this site, a bunch of others I've never heard of who clearly don't know when to abandon a sinking ship.

Really? That's all you've got?

The Conservatives are down to two "viable" (and I use that term very loosely) candidates in Gingrich and Romney. And their viability only continues to weaken both as we hear them talk more and as the former is likely to be endorsed by Sarah Palin and the latter by Donald Trump. Oh. My. God. Talk about a political kiss of death.

Well, in any case, the Republican ticket will be a "Newt" or a "Mitt" vying against the Democratic incumbent in "Barack."

And you wonder why Obama's support has picked up. It's because everyone knows he's going to be our president again and they might as well find something positive about him.

Talk about blowing a golden opportunity, Republicans.

Did you ever think you'd miss Dubya?

No, I don't. Not yet, anyway.

[image courtesy of the Democratic Underground]

I've got the day off today and I've spent it watching a few episodes of Doctor Who (I told February to "bring it on"), reading crap on the web, formulating this sorry blog post, and listening to a guy in Starbucks who has a cellphone with a lightsaber ringtone. Yes, every time his phone rings or he receives a text message, it makes the sound of a Star Wars lightsaber firing up.

Cool and geeky... but very freakin' annoying at the same time.

Can't he just leave his phone on silent and pay attention to the screen to see when someone calls? I'd be far less likely to be wishing him a slow and painful death by cellphone rectal breach.