17
Oct 05

10-17-05

Recent example of “open source warfare” “He revealed that one trigger used in a recent Iraqi bombing was a three-way device, combining a command wire, a radio signal and an infra-red beam – a technique perfected by the IRA.” I’m curious how infrared signalling can be jammed since it is directional, unlike radio. Via

Bittorrent: The Great Disrupter “I didn’t have any clear plans when I first started,” he says. “I wasn’t worried, partially because what I was doing was really cool, and partially because I’m broken and can’t feel anxiety.”


15
Oct 05

A Couple Thoughts: “A History of Violence”

A History of Violence:

Saw David Cronenberg’s “A History of Violence” a few hours ago. It was a work of brevity. Almost nothing included that did not add to the central themes of the story. That was nice for a change.

**Spoilers ahead**

Continue reading →


13
Oct 05

salacious rap euphemisms – asides

Spielberg teams up with EA. “The acclaimed film director and producer has agreed to develop three new games under a long-term exclusive deal with video game maker Electronic Arts Inc. The deal to be announced Friday reflects the increasingly intertwined interests of Hollywood and the video game industry.” Looks like the LA studio is finally showing its value, ie. close relationships with Hollywood. Courtesy of linkbunnies.

Hanlon’s Razor “Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.” Courtesy of Jeremy Zawodny’s linkblog. Paranoid types should bear this in mind.

I noticed an unknown (to me) salacious rap euphemism while driving around today: “beat it up” For example lyrics: petey pablo, Young Jeezy (NSFW), Pretty Ricky, OutKast,
David Banner (NSFW), Missy Elliot (NSFW), Ying Yang Twins, 2Pac (NSFW).


13
Oct 05

Basecamp Review and Result

I just cancelled my basecamp subscription yesterday. In theory, it’s a good idea, a web-based project management solution. It’s nice looking and fairly functional. It didn’t do a few things I wanted it to do, like reminders and export to various formats. And, it was too expensive (22$) for how much I used it. The main problem with it was that none of my clients logged into it more than once. I would create an account they could use to track project status and they would log in the first time then never again. That’s not going to work, and I’m not going to hound anyone into using it.


13
Oct 05

asides – 10/13/05

The Lorem Ipsum generator. Generate the traditional dummy text. “Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.”

THE NAMES OF THE PRESIDENT AND THE MEMBERS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL CABINET ACCORDING TO THE ETYMOLOGICAL BACKGROUNDS OF THEIR FIRST AND LAST NAMES, AND OF THEIR MIDDLE NAMES WHEN AVAILABLE.*

Pizazz. If you’ve been to the Alamo Drafthouse recently, you’ve probably seen this. Quicktime.

Astroventure lets you Search, Design, and Build your very own planet…then test if it can support life! Courtesy of digg.

Bittorrent supernova.org clone for those that miss that format. New nova. Warning: piratical (piradical?) link ahoy.

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret Disorganized twenty-something writer interviews a very
patient Margaret Atwood. “I’m now the home for other people. That’s how it works.”


12
Oct 05

The search for God is the search for Father

These are just loosely connected thoughts, so please view them as such. In monotheistic belief systems, God is a remote, inscrutable being most often portrayed as male. In the mythology of the ancient Greeks the creator gods were the sky (male) and the earth (female). This has some logic. The sky father is remote and the earth mother is always near. The earth supports and nourishes us. We spring from the female body and it nourishes us as infants. On the other hand, when you are a child, where is your father? Above you and away from you, like the sky looking down on you. Before science, the natural world was alive with being and soul. It is logical that early man extended their relationships to interpret the systems of nature.

Continue reading →


12
Oct 05

Ooh Ahh: New Video iPod

Finally, an iPod I covet. The newest iPod supports video playback via the onboard display and tv-out. Now I’ll have a place to put all the episodes of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Extras” I’ve been planning to watch. It is kinda sheisty of Apple to release this so soon after the Nano, which I’m sure many people bought. May be a good time to troll eBay for deals. This trumps everything else they’ve done thus far in my opinion, and I would actually consider paying $400 for something that had video playback, especially with the added benefit of tv output. The 60gb model is definitely the one to get. I could store all my mp3’s and a good portion of some of my videos on it. Tempting, so tempting. Must reign in impulse buying chemicals… delaying desire for awesome frivolous gadget…

Oh yeah, according to Waxy.org, ABC is currently offering episodes of Lost and Desperate Housewives for sale via iTunes for $1.99 an episode.

Update: To my chagrin, I read the fine print. This is not a video iPod as such, just an iPod that can play video. To view video on the iPod it has to be in Quicktime. That means converting to their crappy copy-restricted video format. Bleh. I guess the recording industry is excited as the prospect of selling video singles though.


11
Oct 05

asides – 10/11/05

The World According to Kurt Vonnegut “Where is home? I’ve wondered where home is, and I realized, it’s not Mars or someplace like that, it’s Indianapolis when I was nine years old. I had a brother and a sister, a cat and a dog, and a mother and a father and uncles and aunts. And there’s no way I can get there again.” I just remembered that I had the pleasure of seeing him speak several years ago at Trinity University in San Antonio.

Exercise amount more important than intensity “In journal CHEST, researchers from North Carolina report that people who walk briskly for 12 miles per week or for about 125 to 200 minutes per week will significantly improve their aerobic fitness and lower their risk of developing heart disease.”

Addicts’ own stories confirm neuroscience “Research has shown that stress is a major contributor to addiction. People who repeatedly take drugs may end up with an exaggerated response to stress, so minor stressors become major ones, says Frank Vocci, director of NIDA’s Division of Pharmacotherapies and Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse.” Great article.

Never Get Involved in a Land War in Asia (or Build a Website for No Reason)


10
Oct 05

Congratulations, Gabe!

My good friend and ex-Fedex compadre, Gabe dropped a bombshell on me this weekend quite subtly over email. See for yourself:

Hey Chris. just wanted to let you know that you if you ever feel like taking a vacation to Galveston, you are always welcome to stay at our place. My wife and I have a two bedroom, 2 bath apt..Might be buying a house soon. Yeah, that’s right, married. …

I always enjoyed the time we spent riding to work together, eating our Taco Bell before work and making each other laugh. From all the time we spent together it was obvious that Gabe was a very sincere and heartfelt person. But, like some sort of wandering romantic, he always seemed to be looking for that perfect female muse to keep him inspired. He is a rare person and a rare friend indeed. It makes me very happy to see that he finally found his lightning bolt. I wish them both the best of luck.


10
Oct 05

The Algebraist

The AlgebraistDuring my evening saunter to the bookstore I was delighted to discover a recently published (as of September 21st) sci-fi novel by Iain M. Banks, author of some of the most enjoyable science-fiction you’ll ever read. This new book is called The Algebraist, for reasons I haven’t discovered as of yet, and it was a Hugo Nominee for best novel. Iain Banks is one of those authors I look for every time I make my circuit through the aisles during my visits to the mega bookstores in my area. It is a very short list of authors and I was very pleased and pleasantly surprised to see his new book. I was wondering when he would get around to writing something else. I spent the next two and a half hours blissfully installed in one of the leather chairs back in the business section, which caused me to get home later than expected. I called breen on the walk home to let him know there was a new Banks book, but he quickly became less interested when he found out it wasn’t a Culture novel, the usual setting for Banks’ sci-fi where sleek machine minds run the show with characteristic dry wit. He said he might get it to read for his and Sarah‘s trip to Japan. That’s gotta be a long flight.