UtterlyBoring.com is produced by Jake Ortman (e-mail, resume), a 31-year-old dad, percussionist, freelance Web designer, consultant and jack-of-all-trades computer geek, living in Bend, Oregon. He created this so that his expensive journalism and technology degree isn't getting totally wasted. In addition to editing this site in his free time, he is the IT Director and Ad Designer at both Sunray and Discover Sunriver. He has LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook profiles if you're trying to stalk him.
Opinions and comments on this site are the opinions of the author, not the author's employer, family, friends or pets.
This site is powered by Movable Type and is hosted by orty.com. Internet connection provided by BendBroadBand. Since December 1st, 2002, there have been 5529 entries. Visitors to this blog have posted 18145 comments.
If you're reading this, you have too much time on your hands.
When the Sony Walkman was launched, 30 years ago this week, it started a revolution in portable music. But how does it compare with its digital successors? The Magazine invited 13-year-old Scott Campbell to swap his iPod for a Walkman for a week.
This little bookmarklet makes reading long bits of content on the web (like news stories) immensely more enjoyable by putting it in a simple, clutter free layout.
The Pirate Bay is being sold, undoubtedly to pay its huge legal fees. It plans on decentralizing its operations, probably to protect itself a bit in the future. For an interview with the Pirate Bay founder, read up here.
I used the Bay's tracker for a variety of purposes -- anybody have any recommendations where else to look instead?
Sadly, Facebook is all about creating them. This comic made me laugh out loud as it's so true and why I don't care (like some) how many "Friends" I have on Facebook:
Heard but didn't see an ugly car accident on the Parkway in front of the Cascade Village mall. Can't tell exactly what happened but it looks like SUV crossed center line, clobbered a pickup, lost its wheel, and still drove 100 yards or so. Truck driver is fine, ambulance attending to SUV driver, traffic northbound down to one lane. KTVZ is here, will probably have full story later. Camera on phone is worthless so no decent pictures.
In case you haven't heard already, Ed McMahon passed away today (read a short story from his nephew). While I remember him fondly as Johnny Carson's partner in crime on the Tonight Show, this generation probably only knows him as the old guy in this modern (albeit funny) commercial:
HUNTINGTON BEACH – Colby Curtin, a 10-year-old with a rare form of cancer, was staying alive for one thing -- a movie.
From the minute Colby saw the previews to the Disney-Pixar movie Up, she was desperate to see it. Colby had been diagnosed with vascular cancer about three years ago, said her mother, Lisa Curtin, and at the beginning of this month it became apparent that she would die soon and was too ill to be moved to a theater to see the film.
After a family friend made frantic calls to Pixar to help grant Colby her dying wish, Pixar came to the rescue.
The company flew an employee with a DVD of Up, which is only in theaters, to the Curtins’ Huntington Beach home on June 10 for a private viewing of the movie.
[...]
Colby died about seven hours after seeing the film.
Up was a great movie -- I saw it last week. This story, and that movie, brought a little tear to my eye.
To this day, one of the most-commented-on entries is this site is an old post about the crackpots at PETA. I'm sure this entry will get some anti-PETA commentary as well.
One I got my 'net connection back (over two hours later after it went out), I spent my lunch break reading this fascinating story of the life of a homeless family in Sims 3. It's a bit long, but start at the beginning -- it's well written and worth the read.
Our office internet connection is down at the moment (I'm typing this on my cell phone). Has been for over an hour and a half now. Naturally, I can't do anything as 99% of what I do on a daily basis requires a net connection.
The cable company "is working on it" and there is also apparently a power outage in part of Sunriver that may be related.
Just wish my company had the extra money for a backup DSL line. Maybe this will convince them they need one.
I've always had a great deal of respect for all that Cheryl Howard has done for this town and our neighborhood in particular. She's also contributed a ton of links to this site. Today's Bulletin has front-page profile of her, and while I haven't had a chance to read through it completely, any praise she gets is well-deserved.
If she ran for political office, I'd vote for her. I'm not giving her computer help anymore, however, as that girl is nothing but trouble in that regard (joking, Cheryl).