It’s true! The scourge of all web developers has died and gone to the fiery furnace where it belongs. If you are using IE6, be aware that you are floating down river on the bones of a dead browser.

IE6 has caused so many headaches for me over the years that about a year ago I simply quit worrying whether or not my blog loaded in it or not. If you are using IE6, you are definitely not seeing this blog as it was meant to be viewed. I have no idea what you’re seeing — like I said — I haven’t tested for IE6 in a long time.

And, it’s not only me, there are plenty of others that gave up on it, including the biggest dog of them all: Google. They phased out IE6 support on March 1st for Google Docs, Google Sites and announced YouTube will discontinue support on March 13th.

Of course, Microsoft, the creator of this horrid monster, hasn’t exactly killed it off yet; they’re keeping it on life support until officially pronouncing it dead in May of 2014 when they will stop support completely.

As a result of Microsoft’s slow hand to pull-the-plug, Ryan Parr and David Stewart have created an IE6 Countdown to Death website complete with a fully functioning countdown timer leading up  to the big day.

Personally, even though it’s been dead to me for over a year and Woopra Analytics is reporting only 4% of my visitors are using the specific “IE version 6″ over the past month, I can’t wait ’til this thing is completely non-functional on the internet.

Aten Design Group, a design firm in Denver, Colorado, isn’t waiting. They held a funeral last night (March, 4th) at Forest Room 5, also in Denver. Photos of the event are rolling in as we speak:

If you’re still using IE6, it’s definitely time to upgrade. Aren’t you tired of seeing misaligned web pages, suffering browser crashes and getting infected by web bugs? If you are, just go to the official Internet Explorer 8 web page and upgrade now. Then come back and see what Dead Rooster actually looks like!

Or, if you want to use what I use and recommend to all my readers, download the latest version of Firefox.

OK, let’s all just simmer down a little — this is Bobby Slayton we’re talking about here…  if you were so easily offended, you shouldn’t have watched his hilarious 1-hour comedy special premiering this week on Showtime® (Premieres March 4th, 9/8c).

If you like, vicious, “Pit-Bull of Comedy” style stand-up routines, this Scarsdale, New York native will yank out your funny bone and crush your skull with it. He’s rude, crude and not afraid to burn every sniveling morsel of political correctness in his wake.

If all that didn’t chase you away, I have one last word of warning: the guy is hilarious. There’s a reason why he appears on Comedy Central’s 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time. He’s side-splitting funny and, while watching this special, you should seriously consider having an oxygen tank nearby to revive your uncontrollable laughter.

Here’s a taste of what you’ll see on March 4th:

Thanks for the laughs, Bobby! See you on Showtime® March 4th. And, thanks for doing the following special video “shout-out” for Dead Rooster; it really means a lot to me. You’re the greatest!

…And don’t forget to check out Bobby’s official web site at www.BobbySlayton.com

I rarely put videos on my blog, but when I saw this Walmart Clown Commercial during the NFL playoffs yesterday, I laughed so hard I knew I had to share it.

It is easily the funniest commercial I’ve seen in years and it boggles my mind as to why Walmart didn’t wait a couple weeks to feature it during the Superbowl. What a bunch of clowns! I’m sure it would have been one of the winners.

Death Metal Rooster Bonus

This next one isn’t nearly as funny as the Walmart Clown Commercial, but I think  it is related and relevant enough (given the “rooster” theme of this blog) to earn a spot on this post. Thanks to my friend John Sullivan at the Best Blog in the Universe for turning me on to it.

Screaming clowns and screaming roosters… I hope you’ve had your coffee!

In 1982 Arthur C. Clarke published a novel called, 2010: Odyssey Two which was made into a film in 1984 with the shortened title 2010 which was a sequel to his 1968 novel 2001: A Space Odyssey which was really just a novelization of the Stanley Kubric film predictably called 2001: A Space Odyssey which — I know this is getting confusing — was based on Clarke’s short story The Sentinel.

I remember seeing 2010 at the movie theater in 1984, seeing the awesome space-oriented special effects, and thinking how awesome it’s going to be when 2010 finally gets here. But, the tag-line of the movie was: the year we make contact which, after seeing other movies such as Signs and Pitch Black make me wonder if we really want to be here barricading our farm house and waiting for the aliens to swoop down and suck-out our insides.

1984 was also the year I bought a Hewlett-Packard 11c calculator with RPN (Reverse Polish Notation). I’m guessing most of you have no idea what this calculator is and why I should be making such a big deal about it, but I’m also willing to predict that those of you that actually own one have never upgraded and are still using it to this day.

How can I make such a claim? Because, not only is the HP 11c the greatest calculator ever invented, but once you get used to it you are completely ruined when it comes to operating other calculators!

I’m not going to bore you with the details as to why this is such a great calculator because you will most likely have the same reaction as hatingtherain did on the phone yesterday: “I don’t want to hear about it!” which was quickly followed by her calling me a “geek” and asking me what color pocket-protector she should buy me for my birthday.

See how she loves me?

The sad thing is that my 11c is beginning to show signs of wear and Hewlett-Packard stopped making them more than 10-years ago. You can periodically find them on eBay for $200-$300 but usually they are in worse shape than the one I’ve already got.

Which is why I am so glad I live in 2010. Yesterday, after fiddling around in the app store on my iPhone, I discovered they have an application. Yes, someone created an exact duplicate and I can now have a fully functional HP 11c calculator with me at all times wherever I go!

When will the future get here? Trust me, the future is now.