Bryan Strawser

I’ve been trying to figure this out ever since I switched to Windows XP back in April – now I know the answer..  annoying as all hell.

Thanks, Ev…

Status? Argh.. In all the time I’ve been using Windows XP on my primary machine (since the 3rd beta), one thing has consitently driven me nuts: The status bar in Windows/Internet Explorer always disappears. No matter how many times I go to View | Status Bar, the next window I open or the next time I launch IE, it doesn’t have a status bar. I had this problem on two different installs now. It finally occurred to me to find the fix this this problem, so I Googled it and had it solved in three minutes. Duh. (There’s some complicated instructions there, but the simple one in the second post seemed to work for me.) I find it surprising that they decided to hide the status bar by default. It’s like surfing blind. Perhaps they found that to newbies it was just a distraction and figured people who wanted it would figure it out, which wouldn’t have been a problem had it behaved as expected. [evhead]

I’m rather looking forward to having Pelosi leading the Democrats…

WSJ.  Economists predict consumer spending this quarter will be the lowest in a decade.  Things aren’t looking that good.  We are close to a tipping point. 

Personal consumption is expected to grow just 1.1% — slower than at any time during last year’s recession, when the overall economy shrank for three consecutive quarters. It would be the slowest rate since 1993.

Sorry to the folks that like Pelosi for the post made below.  She probably is a great person.  I am just very sad to see the only viable opposition party retreat into bad habits.  Her politics aren’t nationally viable by a long shot.  This is important given that the country is sliding towards an economic morass. 

With Bush for all intents and purposes unopposed, we have a recipe for disaster.  Instead of financial stimulus for the average consumer we are going to see tax cuts (the repeal of the estate tax) aimed at people that don’t need it and will not spend it (which will serve to push up the deficit and thereby raise long term rates — adding further downward pressure on the economy).  Instead of psychological reassurance that we can return to our economic lives without fear of disruption, we are getting more talk of disruption from an unnecessary war.  Instead of confidence building measures dealing with the clean-up of corporate management practices, we are getting a whitewash of the issue. The list goes on… [John Robb’s Radio Weblog]

I am more inclined to stay at a hotel that offers high speed internet than a hotel that does not – by far.  I’m even more inclined to stay at a hotel that has wi-fi access – or a Starbucks nearby that has wi-fi access. 

I need high speed internet access when I’m on the road – to run my sites, to do real job ™ email, and so on..  Lessig makes great points..

“Are you WIRED?” but stupid?. The lack of broadband access at hotels drives me nuts. It was bad enough when you had to carry a… [Lessig Blog]

Security guards at Rolling Stones concerts are ordering people to hang up their cellphones and stop “violating copyright” by letting long-distance pals listen in on the show. [Adam Curry: Adam Curry’s Weblog]

Page Six: Clinton still getting oral sex offers. [Adam Curry: Adam Curry’s Weblog]

IPods Go Wherever Their Owners Do. Apple’s portable music devices are popping up around the world. One website has the pictures to prove it. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News]

War Plan in Iraq Sees Large Force and Quick Strikes. President Bush has settled on a war plan for Iraq that would begin with an air campaign shorter than the one for the Persian Gulf war, senior officials say. By The New York Times. [New York Times: NYT HomePage]