Only in California do you have people like Robert Anton Wilson running for Governor.
bOING bOING patron saint Robert Anton Wilson is running for California Governor! "After all, why should I remain the ONLY nutcase in California who ain't running," RAW says. [Boing Boing]
Edith Sitwell: "Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us believe, a form of madness. It is often a kind of innocent pride, and the man of genius and the aristocrat are frequently regarded as eccentrics because genius and aristocrat are entirely unafraid of and uninfluenced by the opinions and vagaries of the crowd." [Quotes of the Day]
It's been a slow weekend for blogging, but it's been a nice weekend so far otherwise. Yesterday I woke up early and drove out to kidnap Emilily to hang out for the day. We had breakfast at Rosebud and then took in a showing of Thirteen. The movie was pretty interesting and while wasn't as outwardly shocking/disturbing as I expected, it is still pretty freaky to think that the movie was at least based on the real world. I did like the movie overall though. While I was waiting for it to start I was sure I was going to fall asleep almost as soon as the lights went down (I was exhausted and hadn't slept well the night before) and it actually kept my attention and I didn't close my eyes to sleep at all (though, I did for the piercing scene, I'm too much of a wimp).
After that we swung back by my place so Emily could get a demonstration of my Roomba and watch an episode of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" I'd been saving on my TiVo for her. Oh, and she got to create a character for Animal Crossing. Then we grabbed a late lunch, stopped by to see Lukas and Gen, and I zoomed her back home. Then I passed out for a long nap.
Last night. I finished Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance on the X Box. Overall, it was a fun dungeon crawl, but it was actually kind of easy. Easier than I expected. The end Boss battle was almost too easy compared to some recent games I've played. I started up .hack//Mutation, but won't start really playing that for a few days I think. More later after I've had some time to catch up on my blog reading.
Someone mentioned this quote on a MOO I hang out on and I had to share it:
Cruz Bustamante's campaign for California governor boasts what is no doubt the most unwieldy URL in the short history of online politics: www.noonrecallyesonbustamante.com. [Slate]
Is this the first shot in the Blog wars? It appears that AOL (who has a new blog service online or coming online very soon) has blocked all links coming from Live Journal. Slashdot points to a thread on the LiveJournal development community about how first it was pictures and then any links.
Evan Martin writes "LiveJournal.com is an open-source weblog site with over a million users, some of whom use AOL. Last week, AOL began blocking all HTTP requests with "www.livejournal.com" Referer headers. This is a common practice by image hosting sites to prevent off-site linking of their images and 'bandwidth theft'. However, in AOL's case, they're blocking everything, not just images, effectively breaking all links to any AOL member's site--but only from LiveJournal. To be clear: nobody on LiveJournal can even make a link to any AOL member site without getting a '404 Not Found' error. We've also heard reports of the same thing happening on AOL properties (Netscape, Compuserve). This concerns us because we have to deal with the support requests: it worked in the past for our users, and it continues to work for other sites, so our users think it's our fault." [Slashdot]
The post about them blocking more than images is about halfway down on the page. I personally hope that this is just some screw-up on AOL's part and not a deliberate attempt to slow down some competition. People have pointed out that AOL can block whatever they want, it is their site. While that may be true, this isn't people just linking to stories on AOL. This is AOL even blocking traffic from Live Journal to someone's personal web space. Which seems like a big difference to me. I hope this is just some silly misunderstanding, as it's pretty lame otherwise. Now the next question is, how long till AOL responds?
After wondering what game to play next for a bit the other day I decided on Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. I'd picked it up a month or two ago because I'd heard it was okay (but nothing special) and was on sale for like $11. I figured for a price like that even if I got 10 hours of play out of it, I'd have gotten my money's worth. So far I'm really digging the game. It has that kinda Diablo feel, which I also think of as the Angband/Nethack feel. It's even got something called Recall to teleport you back to the safety of town and to go back to where you were last in the dungeon. There's a little bit of plot to hold things together, but in the end this feels a lot like your basic arcade style dungeon crawl. I've got to say I've been enjoying it quite a bit, more than expected.
Now, one of the new games I'm awaiting is Armed and Dangerous from the good people over at Lucas Arts. These guys can really put out amazing stuff when they are in the right mood. This game looks to be a bit of a first person shooter, but the storyline looks fun. And the trailer is really funny, the voice acting sounds amazing. Maybe that one will be a birthday precent to myself.
Oh yeah, and last but not least I've been playing The Golden Sun on my GBA. It's quite fun and easy to just pick up for a few when I can't sleep in the middle of the night. I can't help it, I love console RPGs.
Oh, and next up after Baldur's Gate, I take the plunge into Silent Hill 1
George Bernard Shaw: "Martyrdom is the only way in which a man can become famous without ability." [Quotes of the Day]
Thanks to my friend Ellen (who gets very annoyed with me if I don't credit her) for pointing me at the Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics site. It includes ratings of movies with the following rating system:
- GP = Good physics in general
- PGP = Pretty good physics (just enough flaws to be fun)
- PGP-13 = Children under 13 might be tricked into thinking the physics were pretty good; parental guidance is suggested
- RP = Retch
- XP =Obviously physics from an unknown universe
- NR =Unrated. When a movie is obviously a parody, fantasy, cartoon or is clearly based on a comic book it can't be rated but may still have some interesting physics worth discussing.
The rest of the site covers common poor physics used in movies. It's pretty interesting seeing just how many standard movie effects are so inaccurate.
Yay! There's finally a new publisher for MegaTokyo Volume II when it comes out.
Well, it's been a very interesting few months here at Megatokyo. To say it's all been a whirlwind would be a bit of an understatement. Back when Megatokyo first went online three years ago, I had no clue of what I was getting myself into. It's sort of like scrambling up a mountain, looking back and not having any clue how you managed to get yourself where you are. I've been clambering over some pretty difficult terrain lately, but I've reached a spot now that has the kind of view that makes it worth the climb.
I would like to announce that I have gone with Dark Horse Comics as my new publisher, and that we are already working to bring the long awaited Megatokyo Volume 2 to store shelves this January. You can view the official press release here. [MegaTokyo]
Very cool. Dark Horse will be a great company for them to be teamed up with. Quite cool. A big congrats out to Piro and Co.
I've finished .hack//Infection, I've finished KOTOR as both a light and dark Jedi, I'm almost done with Zelda (I think). I need something else to work on. My goal is to work through all the games I've bought recently and never finished. So I think the next one may be Silent Hill or Jak and Daxter.
For some reason, I feel greatly comforted that there is a National Pasta Association. Their web site is at http://www.ilovepasta.org/. Thanks to them, I now know what kind of sauce to use with what kind of pasta. They actually have lots of cool pasta recipes there too. (Site found thanks to Dane Carlson's Weblog.)
Halley had cataract surgery today. Wow. I'm sure I can't even begin to imagine how cool it must be.
Have you ever seen these illuminated manuscripts? I can't do a link right now, so go look them up yourself. They are gilded and shine out with a stunning beauty.
Okay, that's what my world looks like now. Illuminated. Golden. Gorgeous. I can't even begin to describe the ecstacy of what I am now seeing --- but I'll try. [Halley's Comment]
I wonder if this is the visual equivalent of what it will be like to get a new lung.
Sir Winston Churchill: "From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put." [Quotes of the Day]
The other day I posted about light-bulbs that glow in the dark. One of the comments to that post pointed to a neat product that I just had to bring up to the top level here and share. It's called Candela and they are these little rechargeable lamps that glow kind of like candles do. What I liked a bit more was the Candeloo product, which are these keen looking versions for kids.
The way the work is simple. The Candela lamps sit in a base unit that charges them. When you take them out of the base unit (or the power is interrupted) they start to glow. I want a bunch. I love candles, but lately I've been finding that they give off just enough smoke to irritate my lungs some, which annoys me to no end. These would at least help recreate some of that candle feel.
Best Mentos parody I've ever seen (requires Flash). [via gchan]
Okay, who else had one of these kickass football games when they were a kid? Everyone knows this one was better than the Mattel one.
I actually knew where mine was up till a few years ago. I know I had it in Boston. It looks like they sell on eBay now and then so I may have to pick one up when I'm employed again.
Okay, as Bryant says, the original kicks ass, but this stick figure dancing to Fatboy Slim is great. There are some things Flash rocks for.
Unknown: "What if this weren't a hypothetical question?" [Quotes of the Day]
One of those truth is stranger than fiction things from the NYTimes.
Step Right Up, Live Human Target
By MAREK FUCHS
Aiming a ball at a target to drop a clown into a tub of water is old school at the Coney Island Boardwalk. Now people eagerly shoot the Freak.
The Freak, as signs and the barker say, is a live human target.
Coney Island has seen a lot, from real-life crime to the Painproof Rubber Girl. But even in a place where trouble and cheap spectacle are the norm, "Shoot the Freak" has been turning heads.
Up to six customers at a time can stand on the Boardwalk, a few yards from Stillwell Avenue, and aim their rifles down an alley filled with trash and concrete bits. There, one finds the Freak, darting and dodging.
He is dressed in a combination of hockey, baseball and bicycling protective gear, making him look like a creature of some post-urban nightmare. Periodically, he stands still and takes one in the chest, or the forehead. The customers are firing paint pellets, and as they hit the Freak, there's a short snapping sound and a small spray of mist. Think of it as a video game come to life.
Prices range from 5 shots for $3 to 75 shots for $20. No stuffed animals — the thrill of the pursuit is the only prize. [New York Times]
Imagine having that as a summer job.
Tom Stoppard: "I think age is a very high price to pay for maturity." [Quotes of the Day]
Gizmodo has a neat post about lightbulbs that glow in the dark. They definitely would have been useful for those folks stuck without power last week. I wonder how bright they are, It would be cool to have ones to use as night-lights.
The other day I saw a post over on Surfin' Safari that was discussing Safari's 'misrendering' of Chris Lydon's weblog. This came about because of a post over on Scripting News about Lydon's blog (I think, it may have actually originated someplace else, but I'm not sure). The end issue was a poor use of CSS and IE being very forgiving of it.
I started wondering why browsers started being forgiving of bad HTML (and CSS) to begin with. It first started with things like not closing table tags correctly, and moved on to all kinds of other things. But why? Why not just refuse to render it correctly from the start. Most people check their site in at least one browser before making stuff live, so why not just eliminate the problem right there. Because now we have this problem where if someone interprets the HTML/CSS the way defined in the spec, it is wrong because IE chooses to just ignore the parts that aren't right. This further causes problems because it seems that we won't see an update to IE until Longhorn comes out. So it remains an issue for a considerable length of time.
There's also second post over on Surfin' Safari from yesterday that talks about quirks in browsers and rendering that also made my head spin a bit. All of these issues seem to boil down to the same thing, web designers being lazy or not checking their work well enough. It's like putting together a puzzle, either you put all the pieces together right and you see the picture or you don't and you see something that doesn't look right.
Bah. My coffee from Dunkin Donuts has much more than one cream and one sugar. Ick. Way too sweet.
For those of you on Windows, there are some options. Dave is trying Eudora, which I'm iffy on myself. Last time I used it, I found that it became a massive resource hog. The one I've tried lately I like is Thunderbird. It is the mail part of Mozilla, split out to its own app. One thing that is cool about it is that it has built in learning spam filtering that is supposed to be great. It's not even a version 1.0, but the code isn't anything new so I'd definitely recommend giving it a try. I've been playing with it under OS X, but from what I've seen there's little functional difference between platforms. My hope would be that the built in spam filtering could learn to filter off the virus mails and leave the others alone. I haven't really been hit by the virus, so I'm just guessing though.
Harry S Truman:"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." [Quotes of the Day]
Computerworld has an interesting article on Mac Myths and IT.
But the truth is that Mac OS has changed quite a bit in the past few years, and today's Apple systems offer a reasonable alternative to Wintel systems for many mainstream uses and are often best-of-breed tools for tasks such as desktop publishing, multimedia and other content creation. OS X, code-named Jaguar, and the recently announced successor called Panther are rock-solid Unix at the core, with Apple's elegant user interface on top. But if you plan on deploying them, you'll need to overcome your preconceptions regarding three myths about the Mac that still linger.[Computerworld]
It really reminded me of how I used to view macs before I got my first TiBook and OS X. Pre-OS X if someone at work someone mentioned a mac they were pretty much laughed at. At the point I was laid off that probably wouldn't have been as true. The issue is that Apple has a lot of negative inertia to overcome. It still does. I still know lots of people who have never sat down and used OS X who will tell me all kinds of reasons Macs suck. And 95% of the time the things they are saying aren't even true anymore. Now, if there was just a way to strap them into a chair and make them use one for a week.
I'm sorry, I can't see spending almost $2/bottle for water for my dog (if I had a dog that is). Even if it is healthy for them.
K9 Water Co., Inc. is proud to offer you Toilet Water, Puddle Water, Hose Water and Gutter Water, the world’s first vitamin fortified bottled water specifically formulated to provide your dog with essential vitamins that contribute to overall good health and provide the hydration your dog needs.
Our water can be enjoyed in four of the flavors dogs enjoy most: chicken, beef, liver and lamb. Try all four tasty flavors today and your dog will rave that it is Rebarkably Refreshing!
Do we really need to spend money like this on pets?
I think I'm going to go get my coffee, sit outside, and read a bunch more of Hard-Boiled Wonderland. It just feels like it is too nice outside not to enjoy it for a little bit. Then hopefully I'll be able to focus on some things I need to get done.
I just was woken up from a nap by the door buzzer going off. By the time I realized it wasn't in the dream I was having and stumbled out to check if someone was there they were gone. Now I'm wondering who it was that stopped by un-announced.
I love my Roomba. So it is nice to see NASA working on new uses for them.
After facing a number of dissapointments over failed Mars missions, NASA has decided to use an already proven technology for the exploration and collection of soil samples on the surface of the planet. "We've ordered 1,000 Roomba robotic floor vacuums from the Sharper Image," said Johnson. In a move of what could be considered fiscal genius, NASA also opted for the five year extended warranty. "How can we lose? If the project is a failure, we just make them replace the non-working units and we can sell them on eBay. Have you seen how much money people will pay for crap with an official NASA sticker on it?" [Trial and Error]
Around fourteen years ago, one of the bigger time wasters for me on the net came online. It was called TinyMUD and I at least partly blame it for my dropping out of school. For those of you who were once there, or curious about a taste of history, you can go visit it at 216.27.160.128 4201. No, it's not a web site, you've got to know how to use things like telnet, or some mud client like tinyfugue to connect. For a pretty decent guide to the history of MUDs, check out the MUDline.
Other interesting links I found when googling for TinyMUD:
I think the thing that amazes me the most is that there is still anyone running TinyMUD.
A story from the Hartford Courant about a woman who went nuts at her wedding reception.
Marital Bliss Ends At Reception
Police Arrest Agitated BrideSOUTH WINDSOR -- If Adrienne Samen ever forgets the details of her wedding reception, the police will be able to provide her with an official account, including a photograph.
The 18-year-old North Haven woman was arrested Saturday night after police said she "flipped out" at the Mill on the River Restaurant, cursed workers who asked some of her guests to leave the bar and then stormed out of the establishment.
According to Helmar Wolf, a co-owner of the restaurant, the bride and groom began to argue in the parking lot, where the bride shouted, "I hate you!" Soon after, Wolf said, the angry young woman "started throwing wedding cake and smashed vases of flowers." [Hartford Courant]
Yikes. Talk about a night to remember. Something to tell the kids about, if the marriage lasts that long.
One of my favorite new shows on Showtime is Dead Like Me. It took a little while, but the feel of the show has started to really grow on me. Plus it's got Mandy Patinkin being abrasive, and he seems to do really well with roles like that (at times this reminds me of his role as Dr. Geiger on Chicago Hope). Last week he had a line about cooking that I thought was absolutely wonderful.
A dish is a collection of flavors, consistencies, You start swapping ingredients in that carefully thought out melange, it's like fucking with the Jenga tower of taste.
This news story just passed by on a MUD I hang out on. The BBC news has a story reporting that Giant Gerbils Infest China.
The Great Gerbil found in many parts of Central Asia can be up to 400 millimetres (16 inches) long from head to tail.
With its short fur, it is the member of the family most resembling the rat.
Officials say the gerbils have damaged more than 4m hectares (11m acres) of grassland - about the size of Switzerland. [BBC News]
Damn. 16 inches. I remember having gerbils in the classroom when I was in gradeschool. Those were what, three, maybe four inches long? I remember getting one or two gerbil bites because of them being a little jumpy. If you got bit by one of these you might lose a finger!
Because the post is buried way in the past, I thought I'd reference this post I made over a year ago about Scott Adams Adventures. I got an email that there was a comment on the post and was surprised to find it was by Scott Adams himself, his web site. He's got downloadable versions of his games there, though no versions for OS X (rats!). At least there's a version for the Palm, as well as web versions in java. Pretty cool!
I posted the last two posts to the anime blog by mistake. Augh!
Don Park posts about the idea of a Cellphone Rescue Button.
To use your cellphone to make a Great Escape, just download a piece of yet-to-be-written software and set the delay time (let say 1 minute). To use it, just put your hand into your pocket and press a button. After 1 minute, the phone rings and you say "Excuse me, I have to take this. [after ten seconds] I am sorry, I have to leave, it's an emergency." [Don Park's Daily Habit]
I would love something like this. There haven't had many times I've wanted one, but I can think of a few times it would have come in handy.
This morning I woke to find five identical messages from Microsoft informing me of an Important Security Update for .NET Messenger Service. Thanks for the information, but I don't need you to be spamming my mailbox ever hour to tell me about it. Especially since it doesn't apply to me.
My friend Jeff was telling me about GLTerm for OS X and how it was a great substitute for the Terminal application that comes with OS X. So, last night I finally grabbed a copy of it and started playing with it, after some tweaking of my configuration on the remote systems I connect to everything was working great. It uses X11 fonts, which means the window ends up looking kind of like an xterm. Also, it has options like copy on select, which just plain rocks (I guess if you had a programmable mouse you could set the mouse wheel to do paste when pressed). I give it a big thumbs up. I just have to pay for it so I quit getting nagged.
This is partially for my benefit. I'm always trying to find a link to this post about why csh programming is considered harmful by Tom Christiansen. But if you haven't read it before it's pretty good reading, especially if you are one of those people who does program in csh (tsk tsk).
I woke up a few min ago and of course couldn't fall right back to sleep. I picked up my remote and started flipping through channels when I noticed something wasn't quite right. It wouldn't change correctly to anything that had a six in the number. It just wouldn't accept the code for a six. I scratched my head a moment, since this was odd. I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't still asleep. I grabbed the old remote to test things out and the six that got sent by that was received by the cable box. Then, I started looking through the TiVo setup menus and decided to fiddle around with the remote settings. One way the TiVo works is by sending remote control codes to the cable box. When you set up the TiVo you get to choose what kind of remote to send a bunch of test signals to it. In the end I found a setting that not only worked perfectly, but worked even better than the old settings. Now I am able to watch Comedy Central. Btw, if you've got the General Instruments cable box from AT&T/Comcast and live in the Cambridge area you might try setting 10006, that's the one that worked best for me. It even changes flawlessly on the 'fast' setting.
Dude, you are in the zone.
David T. Wolf: "Idealism is what precedes experience; cynicism is what follows." [Quotes of the Day]
This is mostly first impressions, but the other day my new DVD player arrived. I bought the Panasonic RV-32 from JVB. JVB is a nice company that sells DVD players as well as mod chips to make them multi-region. I'd heard decent things about them from over at AnimeOnDVD.com, so I thought I'd give them a try. This model also seemed to get good overall reviews.
So far, I love it. I'd owned two Pioneers before this and I had liked both of them for the most part. This Panasonic though, is already working its way towards being my fav of the three. One feature I liked right out of the box was 'Quick Replay', which jumps back a few seconds. While in general I don't skip back much, if I'm rewatching, or watching a commentary it's most useful. It will also play CDs with mp3s on them, but I haven't played much with that feature yet. Setup was trivial. The player has a very clear and easy to use tabbed setup screen, which you can bring up at any time. On my old Pioneer, you could only do it when the system didn't have an active DVD in. It also seems to have an auto-shutoff if you leave the player idle for too long.
So far, picture quality looks at least as good as the Pioneers I had, but I've only watched about one and a half DVDs. If you're looking for a multi-region player and are looking to not spend a ton of money, I highly recommend this player. If anything major goes wrong with it, I'll be sure to post here whining about it.
Still yet more proof that monkeys are evil.
I haven't been blogging too much lately, my brain has kind of been scrambled lately. But I've had a number of tabs open to Boing Boing about things I'd wanted to blog about, so I'll just list them here.
As usual, I love so many of the links posted to Boing Boing. I have to be careful or I'd link to 85% of the things they have there.
Thanks to colubra over on LiveJournal I found The Museum of Techno. This site chronicles the history of techno through the ages.
The museum exists to preserve, research and celebrate our shared techno heritage. The museum was founded in 1837, around founder Sir James Soame 's unique collection of badboy kickdrums . It moved from its original location in Manchester to premises in London in 1863, opening its doors to the general public for the first time.
Amazing. It appears the history of techno goes back even further then I'd realized, even as far back as the Jin dynasty.
The Museum has received news that a complete early 303 has been found by archaeologists from Nanjing University conducting excavations in the Luoyang district of China.
The age of artefacts found in close proximity to the Bassline suggest that it dates back to the Jin dynasty (CE 265 - 420) and as such may be one of the oldest intact asian acid boxes discovered.
And on a final note, when you visit the site, make sure you check out the Journal of Charles Franklin. Franklin gives his own account of his experiences with the 19th century equivalent of the rave scene. I can't wait for them to publish more of it. This site is sheer genius.
Immanuel Kant: "Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life." [Quotes of the Day]
Today has had some of the oddest weather. It was warm and humid earlier, then was pretty damn hot, then it poured, now it's sunny out, but I haven't felt how the air is yet. The downside to this is I got a raging headache when the storm ran through and normal headache remover isn't touching it. Bleh.
So I was showing someone some neat OS X software today and went to show them Hydra, this cool collaborative editing program. But when I hit the site, something was weird, everywhere where you'd see Hydra, there was #####, and the name of the program had been blurred out in the graphics of it. My first thought was that maybe they got hacked. Then I looked in their news and saw:
13.08.2003
Due to legal issues we removed any occurance of the application's former name and replaced it with "#####". As of now we are trying to resolve the issues and are searching for a new name, if you want to help us feel free to drop us an email .
Well that sucks. I hope they come up with another cool name. ##### is hard to say.
Okay. I like kitchen gadgets. It's kind of like an addiction. But even with my love for kitchen toys I just can't see spending $1,500 for a mixer. No matter how good it may be. [found via Blah Blah Blog].
The Register is reporting the first win by Habeas in the fight against spam. Habeas is a company helping to stop spam by identifying which messages aren't spam. Users can sign up and put the text of a copyrighted haiku into all their messages. By signing up you agree that you will not use this to send spam.
"The system worked exactly as designed," Mitchell said in a statement. "We filed the lawsuit as soon as we received and verified the complaints, and Mr. Heller immediately stopped using our warrant mark, and it's safe to say that he will never use it again." [The Register]
Pretty damn cool. I signed up with Habeas a few months ago, I actually have my mail set to color-code messages that have the Haiku in it. So far though, no spam with it has reached me.
This morning I wake up bright and early and realize I have an appointment with my therapist at 11. Of course this means there is no way I can make it to lunch with my friend Peter who works a good 30 minute drive away. So I drop Pete a line and reschedule to tomorrow. Then, when I get to my appointment it ends up that it is actually for tomorrow at 11 instead. Of course at this point it's too late to change the plans with Peter, so now I'll have to change the plans for tomorrow, hopefully he can do lunch a little later. One of these days I'll get more organized.
So, BloggerCon is coming up in October and I got an invite for it in my email over the weekend. The good part about it is that I really think it could be an interesting thing to go to. I've definitely really gotten into the weblog thing and have used them for all kinds of things. The only issue is that it's kind of expensive. Bryant posted about this over at Population: One and I somewhat agree with him, though can see know things like this can easily get expensive to run. The part about it that really sucks is that I'm unemployed (just hit my year anniversary) and there's just no way I can swing this, even though I think it would be very worthwhile (as both a learning experience and a networking experience). Dave Winer posted about the idea of micro-sponsorships, which I think is a really interesting idea that I may pursue more. Or maybe I'll see if they need any volunteers to help getting set up in exchange for attending. Since I'm local (like 5 blocks away) I may be able to help out somehow. We shall see.
Dave Hyatt posts about playing a Dark Side character in Star Wars: KOTOR. I just started doing this as well. It is more fun than should be allowed. I never play evil characters, but I did in this case. At times you get to do things that are just too wrong. For instance. I meet a lady on the street who was poor and starving. The last thing she had some something from her late husband. I offer to take and sell it for her. I then sell it, pocket the cash, and then go back and tell her I did it and she runs away crying. Woohoo! Dark Side Points Earned! It's oh so wrong and oh so fun. It's also fun doing something for someone, then when they pay you, you demand more. If they don't give you more? KILL THEM.
Abraham Lincoln: "'Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt." [Quotes of the Day]
The Universal Church of Cosmic Uncertainty has a link to a post that takes about chihuahuas and synchronicity and getting bit on the ass. There really isn't much more to say about it than that.
Ellen's giving me great links left and right tonight. This one is for a great deal on a 20" TV thanks the the More Stuff 4 Less Bargin Blog. That's a heck of a lot to go through just to get a TV (and CD-Rs, and Speakers, and other stuff).
Lockergnome has a link (that appears to be slashdotted) pointing to the "100 oldest currently extant domain names" and lists the oldest 15.
03/15/1985 SYMBOLICS.COM
04/24/1985 BBN.COM
05/24/1985 THINK.COM
07/11/1985 MCC.COM
09/30/1985 DEC.COM
11/07/1985 NORTHROP.COM
01/09/1986 XEROX.COM
01/17/1986 SRI.COM
03/03/1986 HP.COM
03/05/1986 BELLCORE.COM
03/19/1986 IBM.COM
03/19/1986 SUN.COM
03/25/1986 INTEL.COM
03/25/1986 TI.COM
Unfortunately, that list is wrong. That might be the 15 oldest .coms, but cmu.edu (Carnegie Mellon) was registered on 4/24/1985, mit.edu (MIT) was registered on 5/23/1985, and Harvard, UC Berkeley, and Stanford were also registered in 1985 (as I'm sure a bunch others were). I'd actually like to see the real list.
This is site showing how pictures of models are retouched is scary. There's another one there that just made me go buh too. I mean, I kinda sorta understand airbrushing, but that's much more than just airbrushing. Yow. [via Lockergnome [via ellen]].
Tommy Smothers: "Red meat is NOT bad for you. Now blue-green meat, THAT'S bad for you!" [Quotes of the Day]
Unfortunately, my parents are already on the internet. But if yours aren't, here's How to keep your parents off the internet (Flash) [via jenett.radio [via mini]]
Bah. My DVD player died today. Well, not completely, but enough to make it pretty much unusable. Anytime it hits the layer change on a disk it stops playing. And in some cases even pops open the drive drawer. So, I did a bit of DVD player shopping and ended up ordering a Panasonic RV-32. It got pretty good reviews and I ordered one that is modified so that it can play multiple regions and is macrovision free. I almost went with one of the under $100 players like the Digix DV-288, but I wanted something a little bit nicer than that. Hopefully I'll have it by mid-week. At least I can still play region 1 DVDs on my laptop.
Ahh. I think it's going to be one of those popcorn and DVD nights. Sometimes I think I have a serious popcorn addiction.
Elbert Hubbard: "Never explain--your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway." [Quotes of the Day]
The Accordion Guy has an interesting post about going Microsoft free (found via a post on The Scobleizer Weblog). It's always nice to see I'm not alone in my thinking.
I'm one of those recently (well, I guess not so recently anymore) switched to Mac people. Though I also admit that I'm not necessarily your normal home user. I've been a unix guy for over 15 years, so I'm very comfortable doing all kinds of goofy stuff in OS X.
Can you tell Programming Language Inventor or Serial Killer?. [via Ellen]
ADV's manga division has announced the release date for the first Volume of Azumanga Daioh. This series is great, it's more of your typical newspaper comic than a comic book.
Azumanga Daioh Vol. 1
It’s not manga, it’s Azumanga (and it’s smart, fun and totally addictive)! Created by the iconoclastic Kiyohiko Azuma (hence the name), Azumanga Daioh is strongly character driven, telling the story of the precocious Chiyo (promoted to high-school at age 12), a group of her classmates, and their hilarious daily tribulations. Azumanga Daioh boasts exceptionally strong name recognition, including overwhelming fan enthusiasm about the anime series (forthcoming 2004 from ADV Films).
It's due out in September 16th and I can't wait.
Alfred North Whitehead: "Seek simplicity, and distrust it." [Quotes of the Day]
Wired has an interesting article on spam and why spammers keep doing it.
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire -- A security flaw at a website operated by the purveyors of penis-enlargement pills has provided the world with a depressing answer to the question: Who in their right mind would buy something from a spammer?
An order log left exposed at one of Amazing Internet Products' websites revealed that, over a four-week period, some 6,000 people responded to e-mail ads and placed orders for the company's Pinacle herbal supplement. Most customers ordered two bottles of the pills at a price of $50 per bottle.
Do the math and you begin to understand why spammers are willing to put up with the wrath of spam recipients, Internet service providers and federal regulators. [Wired News]
Even for the money, I just can't see doing that. It would just feel too slimy.
Hey folks. It's Wednesday night again. And you know what that means. No, not monkeys and lard. It means there's another visit to the Analog Lounge scheduled for tonight. So you need to come out and drink heavily and listen to some cool tunes. What better way to relax after a busy day at work.
Changmian and Dubcoast present
*~The Analog Lounge~*
The relaxed side of things. Join us every Wednesday for a mix of music styles in the lounge at Vertigo, with lots of mellow mixed in.
This week we proudly present our special guest: Jeff Mission. This will be Jeff's second visit to the Lounge and I am pretty psyched about it.Special Guest:
Jeff MissionThe Analog Lounge with resident dj's
Gregory Blake (Changmian) Boston
Special Pete (dubcoast music) CA
Peter Ellis (ttb) Boston
Pete Yagmin (Changmian) BostonWednesdays
@ Vertigo (upstairs)
126 State St. Boston, MA
617-723-7277
10pm - 2am
21+ with ID
$5 cover (gets you into both the Lounge and Anitya)
Free before 11
No dress code
www.changmian.com
www.dubcoast.com
www.vertigoboston.com
www.mapquest.com (directions)
This week at Anitya: TAYLOR (Changmian) Boston
Are you a DJ in the Boston area? Are you interested in playing out some Wednesday night? If so, drop me a line at lounge@ezoons.com.
Since I haven't been typing much this week, I haven't gotten around to posting about things like TypePad going live on Monday. What is TypePad? It's a new hosted blogging service from the folks who brought up Movable Type. They seem to be offering a really nice service at a reasonable price. They have three pricing levels, $4.95/month, $8.95/month, and $14.95/month. When you compare what you get for features for this it's quite reasonable. For instance, at the top two levels you also get photo blog support (that supports using cell phone cams). Overall it looks like a very complete package. I actually think they need to consider making a photoblog option.
If I wasn't the control freak I was I'd probably think about using them, but as of now I can't live without things like threaded comments and my mail notification plugin. But I'd definitely suggest that friends interested in blogging without having to deal with installing Movable Type give it a looksee. Now hopefully some of these features will also filter down to Movable Type too.
Franklin P. Jones: "Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger." [Quotes of the Day]
Most of my other friends who have Macs have tried out the video part of iChat A/V. But for some reason I was having a really hard time getting it working. I finally figured out the problem with my network configuration and mentioned to my friend Halsted that I wanted to give it a try. A moment later my computer was beeping that she wanted to talk to me, even though I said I looked like I'd just woken up and was all scruffy looking.
My reaction to the whole thing? Frickin' Cool. It's amazing how well it works. One of the coolest things was setting it full screen for a while. Even there it was pretty smooth, though I'm sure the camera quality makes a difference there. I wish I'd taken a screen shot while it was running so I could post a pic of it. Now I want my parents to get all set up with this. It's so cool!
So I somehow got it in my head that I wanted to fix some of the bad links on my site. I cleaned up any link in my blog entries that pointed to the old permalink system and got rid of a bunch of broken image posts. Hopefully that will cut down on some of bad links I have.
I'm also thinking of putting a banner ad on the site using Google AdSense. Given that I'm unemployed every little cent I might take in would help, even if it wouldn't be a real lot.
CNN has an AP story up about someone who had installed keystroke logging software on a bunch of machines at Kinkos in the New York area. This strikes me as common sense. Any machine in a public area isn't going to be completely secure.
NEW YORK (AP) -- For more than a year, unbeknownst to people who used Internet terminals at Kinko's stores in New York, Juju Jiang was recording what they typed, paying particular attention to their passwords.
Jiang had secretly installed, in at least 14 Kinko's copy shops, software that logs individual keystrokes. He captured more than 450 user names and passwords, and used them to access and open bank accounts online.
The case, which led to a guilty plea earlier this month after Jiang was caught, highlights the risks in using public Internet terminals at cybercafes, libraries, airports and other establishments. [CNN]
Feeling very uninspired today. I'll possibly post more tonight.
Tonight at midnight on Cartoon Network is the beginning of FLCL. This is probably one of the most bizzare animated shows I've ever seen. It's about this kid who gets run down by a girl on a vespa who then smacks him with her guitar. Next, something starts growing out of his head. The show is insane. I love it. I'm real curious to see how the dub is (since even though I have the DVDs I've never listened to it in english).
Via /usr/bin/girl, I found this great review Real Life
It's the beginning of a new week. Hopefully this one will be a bit more productive. The weekend was kind of lame. The weather and I fought again on Saturday night. I lost. I played tons of KOTOR this weekend. I think I must be getting pretty far in it. There's been some great little twists and turns. My one big question is: why can't we get the people who wrote this to write the next Star Wars movie?
It sounds like Cartoon Network is going to be showing a new Star Wars based cartoon called Clone Wars this fall.
"Clone Wars" will continue the story laid out in "Episode II," although it doesn't appear that it will establish plot points for "Episode III" as "The Animatrix" did for the "Matrix" sequels. Lazarus does say that the shorts could lead to "a more longer-form partnership between Cartoon Network and the 'Star Wars' franchise." [TheForce.net]
Cartoon Network already has a page up for it.
[Via LockerGnome]
Darrin Weinberg: "It matters not whether you win or lose; what matters is whether I win or lose." [Quotes of the Day]
I think I just saw a mouse. Aren't I supposed to be having good luck this month?
Rabbit. Rabbit.
Hee. I was sitting on my couch, half asleep, staring at the screen when I realized that it was now August. I paused, and tried to remember if I'd spoken at all this morning. Luckily I hadn't talked to myself at all this morning (Hey, when you live alone it happens!), so I quickly said it and breathed a sign of relief. I'm such a dork sometimes.
