For example, what I had intended to type was the following:

I have an erectile dysfunction medication clock and an alarm on my phone.

Referring to the Viagra promotional wall clock I purchased at the local ASPCA Thrift Store. Gem like that has got to be worth a lot, eh? Nope. $1.49 out the door. Best purchase I've made in weeks.

So here is the consequence of having man-sized fingers while typing on the dainty keyboard of a netbook:

I have an erectile dysfunction
medication clock and an alarm on my phone.

Dammit!!

As with anything in life, you have a choice. Read further...or don't. It's your time, your life and your web.

Following the steps for downloading and installing the MySQL headers provided by Apple, I was able to compile and successfully utilize the mysql gem without having to resort to third-party software like MacPorts or Sun's MySQL. This was done because of a project I am working on.  I wanted to keep the server as close to stock as possible.

While that worked for Leopard, I needed to do the same for Snow Leopard Server since the project may move to a newer server.  So, I followed the steps in Technical Article 25017 and retrieved the MySQL binaries for Mac OS X 10.6.1 (last version to have changes to MySQL).  After untarring the binaries and installing the gem, Rails would fail every time it had to access the MySQL database.

A combination of FLAGS and command line switches is necessary to get the gem to compile properly:

sudo env ARCHFLAGS="-arch x86_64" gem install mysql


Having done that, the gem compiled and installed, my Rails app functions correctly and I didn't have to install any additional software beyond the gem itself.  Downside of this method, however, is that MySQL is still frozen in an older version and there is no way of telling when Apple will update it.

Also, the Apple-supplied documentation for Deploying Rails Applications on Mac OS X Leopard is incredibly out-of-date and should be avoided until it's updated for Snow Leopard.

New approach? Hands off?

The gravity of Google's ultimate decision on this matter will not be felt until well after the choice is made and implemented. I further believe that it will impact the internet as a whole.

Here's some other links I came across regarding this subject:
From the U.S. Department of State
From ComputerWorld: Government
From PublicAddress.net <- Yeah, I don't know either, but Google said it was relevant. K?

MySQL and Ruby ship with Leopard and Snow Leopard Server, so why waste the time reinstalling it? Like me, you probably never found this little gem of wisdom in Apple's knowledge base. Follow the steps listed there (using -45 [10.5.8] instead of -43 [10.5.5]) and you'll be able to perform the magic incantation:

sudo gem install mysql

The advantage to this is that you needn't resort to installing anything that didn't ship with it. Oh, and you don't need to pass any flags to gem.

There's also this additional documentation for Deploying Rails Applications on Mac OS X Leopard. I've not traveled that route, but will soon.

Require all Amurikans to purchase only vehicles from Amurikan companies. Require every citizen of the United States to mortgage a home. Require every Amurikan to carry life insurance.

How the hell did we get to a point in our society where our government can force us to redirect our earnings to private organizations? I'm not a historian nor do I enjoy learning more about Amurikan history because the more I discover, the less faith I have in our government to help shape a better future for its citizenry unless they're a "corporate" citizen.

While researching options for name changes, Jen came across "The Name Equality Act of 2007." It's the document that spells out your options for changing your name after being legally wed.

I discovered two things that night:

1. The California Department of Health has a Genetic Disease Branch
2. You can change your middle name when you're married

Neither of these are earth-shattering, but still revelations to me. Turns out you can also use a combination of both last names in whole or segmented. The act doesn't state whether you can use only a single segment or multiple, so I anagrammed our names and thus we are now Mr. and Mrs. Wannerbob.

Mmmm...looks like something I'd want to taste twice.

This is a marketing masterpiece. I'm hoping there is a board room somewhere with a bunch of hooting monkeys jerking each other off at their brilliance.

"Taste it twice."

Ummm...maybe their ad people aren't from the U.S. because tasting a food twice is not something you want people to be associating with your food(?) product. The picture only reinforces that there is a strong chance you'll be tasting bile with a tinge of cheese and whatever else is in there.

My name is bean and I like this ad.

Results of 'Best of 2009' search on 12/15/2009. 64,700,00

Recently, friends have been sending me links to "Best of 2009" lists. Best of 2009? Really? I believe it's still the year 2009. How can anyone be deciding what's the best of anything for this year when it's not even done yet?

Winners aren't declared in sporting events until it's done. Movies don't start rolling credits 5 minutes before the end although some should. Your torrent is not marked as completely downloaded when you've only got 95% of the file(s).

I understand we're only a few weeks from the end of the year, but no matter what category your list covers, there is still a chance that something or someone could happen to change your feelings about any items on it. Patience, people.