October 2000 Archives
October 31
Mr. Compassion.
Mr. Compassion. This man sickens me.
"When did you graduate?" Bush asked her, as she recalls. She told him. That's when Bush told her that Yale "went downhill since they admitted women."
Your president, America?
Bill clinton hangs out with Esquire
Bill clinton hangs out with Esquire
The cover of the new Esquire had all the right-wing goofballs up in arms on Politically Incorrect tonight. Personally I don't see anything wrong with it, but then I am not want to spend $60 million looking for something dirty in everything the President does.
The cover of the new Esquire had all the right-wing goofballs up in arms on Politically Incorrect tonight. Personally I don't see anything wrong with it, but then I am not want to spend $60 million looking for something dirty in everything the President does.
Where can I get this as a poster?
Athlon + DDR:
Athlon + DDR: Bert McComas is a very highly respected analyst of the CPU and memory industry, and I always read his articles with great interest.
Intel has announced that they don't expect the P4 to be a significant part of their business until late 2001. According to McComas, if they don't change that plan, AMD is going to eat them for lunch, because the P3 is no longer competitive. The performance/price ratio for the new AMD stuff has to be seen to be believed. I think Intel is in major trouble, because informal reports are that a 1.5GHz P4 is about the same power as a 900 MHz P3.[more>
Intel has announced that they don't expect the P4 to be a significant part of their business until late 2001. According to McComas, if they don't change that plan, AMD is going to eat them for lunch, because the P3 is no longer competitive. The performance/price ratio for the new AMD stuff has to be seen to be believed. I think Intel is in major trouble, because informal reports are that a 1.5GHz P4 is about the same power as a 900 MHz P3.[more>
Can a computer tell a dirty picture from a clean one?
Can a computer tell a dirty picture from a clean one? This is a review of a product which claims to be able to filter pictures attached to your email and remove the naughty ones. Particularly interesting is its response to a portrait of Dubya...
walmart.com has a new site design after a 30-day haitus. Gone are the 78-cent pencil sharpeners.
Singapore Airlines Flight 006 Survivors Report.
Singapore Airlines Flight 006 Survivors Report. A rather gripping account of the crash here last night. Hard to believe that they would have a plane taking off in the middle of a typhoon but hey "we do this all the time; it's fine."
Anti-holidays
Anti-holidays I found a nice little category on dmoz.org called "Anti-Holidays" while looking up some Halloween info online. Right now there's only three listed holidays that get people up in arms enough to make & publicize wesites - Valentine's Day, Christmas, and of course Halloween. "Boo!" to all you spoilsports.
RLC's crypto-Nader ad in Realplayer (lo-fi)
OS X to support 2 button mice.
OS X to support 2 button mice. Nice to see Apple finally catch up the cutting-edge, 1983 technology.
Nader's new television ad
Nader's new television ad parodies those hilarious monster.com ads with the little kids hoping they'll grow up to have crappy jobs. In the Nader ad, the kids hope they'll grow up to have the same crappy politicians, sold out to corporations, with no real change.
You've seen that video of the man who's trying to brand a horse but instead gets a kick in the gut, right? Or the one of the woman being prematurely pulled off the pier by a speedboat? Apparently, so has Southwest Airlines, and they've decided to incorporate them into their new ad campaign. It seems they've overlayed new audio tracks and more current time stamps and then found actors to play the part of the videos' victims. The connection to airline savings is tenuous at best.
Furious George,
Furious George, a silly little cgi game, but it amuses me to no end.
Three major environmental groups break with Nader
Three major environmental groups break with Nader "You pledged you would not campaign as a spoiler and would avoid the swing states,” [Sierra Club’s executive director] Pope added. “Your recent campaign rhetoric and campaign schedule make it clear that you have broken this pledge." (via the blorg.)
"The irony, of course, is that I can buy the book in any country except the one I've been living in for the past 14 years."
"The irony, of course, is that I can buy the book in any country except the one I've been living in for the past 14 years." -Eddie Campbell who can't get his book, From Hell, that he made with Alan Moore imported into Australia.
Hmm, should we maybe reduce funding for the Pentagon?
The Ralph Nader Control Panel
The Ralph Nader Control Panel I don't know quite whether to laugh because it's amusing, or to be very, very afraid because it's probably true.
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue : Gore hints on CNN that he'd consider appointing Bob Dylan as Poet Laureate. But there's no folk gap quite yet. "Times Are Changin' Back" scribe Senator Bob Roberts endorsed Dubya at a Nader rally two weeks ago.
California shuts down Nader-Gore vote trading site.
California shuts down Nader-Gore vote trading site. This is absolutely ridiculous. "William Wood, chief counsel for the office of the secretary of state, said yesterday morning that trading for anything valuable is illegal. "
Even if it didn't just plain old look neat [*large graphic*] the Clock of the Long Now is an awesome idea.
signal succumbs to noise
signal succumbs to noise -- frankly i'm not surprised, but still it's depressing. then again i never really recovered from daljit daliwal's leaving ITN world news for public television...
Bertelsmann, Napster to Develop Music Service
Bertelsmann, Napster to Develop Music Service
As part of this arrangement, BMG will be providing a loan to Napster, with a warrant to acquire some of Napster's equity.
If you can't beat 'em, buy 'em!
As part of this arrangement, BMG will be providing a loan to Napster, with a warrant to acquire some of Napster's equity.
If you can't beat 'em, buy 'em!
This is the true story of what happens... when seven strangers... are picked to live in a house and have their lives taped... to see what happens when people stop being polite fat and start being real skinny. America's obsession with weight loss continues on ABC. It's the anti-Fat Project.
The redesign blitzkrieg continues: Webvan is getting a new look, complete with light influences from Aqua and - yes - amazonesque tabs. As an added bonus, it won't work with Macs. I'm interested to see how this plays out.
October 30
These Posters were an Artbomb
These Posters were an Artbomb that went off across the street from my apartment last night. The posters were plastered over a bus shelter ad and over several other public objects nearby. I was taken aback, as I had last seen those images hanging in an exhibit at the San Jose Museum of Art. San Jose has a fairly bad graffiti/tagging problem, but I'm OK with this type of thing. Apparently, the SJPD are too (quoted from the Mercury News): "The poster-pasting could be considered a violation of municipal statutes on vandalism, but San Jose Police Department spokesman Steve Dickson seemed more amused than concerned. "It's not something that we would get involved in unless someone makes a complaint," Dickson said. "Then we'd ask them to take them down. People have a right to political speech."
In fact, Dickson broke into laughter at a description of the two posters.
"Hey," he said apologetically, "we have a sense of humor like
anyone else."
After getting the inside story (ha?) on the inventor of everyone's favorite non-orientable surface, the Klein Bottle; and perhaps playing a few games inside of one, you can check out a few 3-dimensional immersions of klein bottles: in Lego, knitted fabric, paper, or glass.
election results canada
election results canada will provide real-time results of the Canadian 2000 general election on Nov. 27th from across the nation, as the polls report their results. In B.C., where I live, the eastern polls close at 5p.m. our time, but results are blacked out on t.v. until 8p.m. "The Canada Elections Act has certain provisions, which attempt to make the transmission of factual information to the public a crime, imposing a hefty penalty on those who do not obey it. This election gag law will harm numerous responsible, law-abiding Canadians. It is unconstitutional, and must be challenged on that basis. The citizens of Canada deserve timely access to public information. This site will provide it to them." Is there such a site for the U.S. election?
Now while these guys
Now while these guys are not exactly the most unbiased source for an evaluation of the PlayStation 2, they have nonetheless backed up their evaluation with a lot of convincing hard information on the performance and in particular about the financing. If these guys have got it right, Sony's going to take a bath on this; they'll never come close to recouping their costs of production, let alone all the research they did. If these guys have it right, Sony will lose money on the PS2 as long as they sell it. This Is Not Good. (Unless you hate Rambus, like I do, because this means both of their markets will collapse.)
Attack of the Killer MS Flacks
Attack of the Killer MS Flacks Has anyone seemed to notice that shortly after the Wall Street Journal broke the story about the Microsoft hackers that the NYT became a voice for MS when they first claimed that no source code was stolen and next when they seemed to remember they tracked the entire attack for all 12 days.
The New Venue Aggressively Boring Film Festival
The New Venue Aggressively Boring Film Festival is accepting submissions of silent greyscale films in the resolution of a Palm Pilot (or less). Any length, any format, just 4- or 8-color greyscale. Win a Sony CLIÉ and a showing of your film at Comdex. The catch: deadline is November 7th.
MSNBC gained some weight.
MSNBC gained some weight. No, it's not a redesign but an evolution of MSNBC's homepage. Looks better than one before. Sigh. Where have all the real redesigns gone?
Who was that masked man?
Who was that masked man? And what was he thinking when he put it on?
The Fireland.com Blind Dialog contest.
The Fireland.com Blind Dialog contest. This is a hilarious contest. And how can you resist putting an entry in, when the grand prize is a Lego Ninja Fire Fortress?
Isn't this how the IMDB got started?
Isn't this how the IMDB got started? Maybe this guy will eventually be able to sell out. (But to who?)
Boo is back.
Boo is back. And apparently "this time it's personal".
Eric is fat!
Eric is fat! After a month of gorgeing himself for The Fat Project, Eric has finally achieved his goal of 30 lbs. in 30 days. Nicole, on the other hand, isn't faring so well. Updates every few hours today.
Ninga?
Ninga? Nintendo and Sega to form joint company. With Sony and M$ to contend with, it doesn't come as much of a surprise.
Patrick Farley's latest comic
Patrick Farley's latest comic is a great halloween treat. Anyone know of other good online comic artists?
Court Finds Mr. Cannabis Guilty of Growing Cannabis
Court Finds Mr. Cannabis Guilty of Growing Cannabis (insert similar play on words to evoke laughter here).
Not exactly "Green".
Not exactly "Green". "The trouble is, Nader seems uneasy being Green. He refuses to join the party (never has joined one, and swears he never will). And while he matches the Greens in anticorporate fervor—our current government is "of the Exxons, by the General Motors, and for the DuPonts," he says—the environment seems rather low on his policy agenda. Last year he devoted just three of his weekly syndicated newspaper columns to the subject. "
About.com acquired by old-media concern Primedia
About.com acquired by old-media concern Primedia for $690 million in Primedia stock. One of the true original web-content concepts has found a valuation anchor.
Introducing Flash 6 - now only 98% Bad!
Introducing Flash 6 - now only 98% Bad!
Jakob Neilsen focuses his alertbox on the evils of Flash, calls it 99% bad. Take that Rob Burgess, CEO of Macromedia (who last week equated the technology have-nots with being damned to Hell).
Jakob Neilsen focuses his alertbox on the evils of Flash, calls it 99% bad. Take that Rob Burgess, CEO of Macromedia (who last week equated the technology have-nots with being damned to Hell).
I'll take great jobs for $100, Alex.
I'll take great jobs for $100, Alex. My favorite quote: "I used to joke that I mentioned how I collected caps, so I wind up getting a lot of caps. I should have mentioned that I collect Rolex watches and see what happened." Fluffy, but fun.
You gotta love that Tom Tomorrow. . .
Unsafe in any state.
Unsafe in any state. Salon trashes the Nader campaign big time, mainly claiming that his run for the Presidency is "reckless" and "dangerous". In an alleged democracy, doesn't any candidate who passes muster with the entry requirements have the right to run for the office?
U2's site
U2's site gets a redesign, losing the befuddling wireframe "studio" concept for something a little more familiar: a timeline-cum-blog, taking elements of Classic Motown and U2log.
An article in The Standard about vote swapping... Nice to see that someone other than the folks here at MeFi noticed.
The Hereford Mappa Mundi (Map the World) is a remarkably beautiful and rare glimpse into the medieval view the world. It is the largest map its kind (54 x 64 inches) to have survived and dates from around 1295. It still resides at Hereford Cathedral in England just as it has done for the last 700 years.
The map depicts the world as a flat disk with east at the top. It shows all the features the then known world including Africa, India and China. Paradise is depicted somewhere east India. The Holy Land and its important sites expand to fill the middle the map. Jerusalem is placed at the centre the world.
It is a work of cosmology as much as a cartography. That is, it seeks to explain the world as well as merely depict its features. This was a time when the population was uneducated and provincial. In the Hereford map, people could revel in this vision of the outside world, which taught natural history, classical legends, explained the winds and reinforced their religious beliefs.
Here is a simplified sketch which makes the details and country names easier to identify. Here is the original and a very good written description.
The map depicts the world as a flat disk with east at the top. It shows all the features the then known world including Africa, India and China. Paradise is depicted somewhere east India. The Holy Land and its important sites expand to fill the middle the map. Jerusalem is placed at the centre the world.
It is a work of cosmology as much as a cartography. That is, it seeks to explain the world as well as merely depict its features. This was a time when the population was uneducated and provincial. In the Hereford map, people could revel in this vision of the outside world, which taught natural history, classical legends, explained the winds and reinforced their religious beliefs.
Here is a simplified sketch which makes the details and country names easier to identify. Here is the original and a very good written description.
Now this is really too meta. MetaFilter's post about borrowed blogs being borrowed by borrowed blogs.
October 29
An
Australian Man who sent millions of e-mails around the world falsely stating shares in an American company would rise 900 per cent was today sentenced to two years in jail. The charges filed are believed among the first of their type made against anyone in the world.
Mr Hourmouzis had pleaded guilty to two charges of making a false statement on the Internet.
BSE Inquiry report
BSE Inquiry report Took me the better part of two weeks of fishing around to find the online version of the £300 million U.K. report on BSE/mad-cow disease/nvCJD. BSEInquiry.gov.uk didn't work. Got this one from the redoubtable Mad-Cow.org.
More than you wanted to know
More than you wanted to know about the "Tomb Raider" movie. What's weird about it all is that the timing sucks. The game has gone through five successive versions and they've used the same basic engine for all of them. These days it's looking significantly dated, and the last couple of games have gotten really poor reviews. Of course, it probably still sells well to frustrated teenage boys, but I think the last couple of games haven't sold anything like the previous ones did because it's the same old same old.
By the time the movie finally comes out, the game may already be history.
Has there ever been a movie made from a computer game which was either a commercial or critical success? "Mortal Combat" and "Super Mario Brothers" spring to mind as counter-examples.
By the time the movie finally comes out, the game may already be history.
Has there ever been a movie made from a computer game which was either a commercial or critical success? "Mortal Combat" and "Super Mario Brothers" spring to mind as counter-examples.
How Corporations Operate Tax Free
How Corporations Operate Tax Free Senator Byron Dorgan on corporations getting away with billions of dollars of taxpayer money. One of the reasons: they negotiate their taxes behind closed doors with the IRS. Wouldn’t you like that access?
www.georgewbush.com/Helper/CoalitionTransfer.asp?coalition=your-site-here!
www.georgewbush.com/Helper/CoalitionTransfer.asp?coalition=your-site-here!
this url redirects anywhere you want. heh heh. the possibilities are endless...
this url redirects anywhere you want. heh heh. the possibilities are endless...
The Mind Reading Markup Language (MRML)
The Mind Reading Markup Language (MRML) MRML tags can be embedded into any regular HTML document. They are completely invisible to all browsers. No one will ever know you are using them. For example: Thoughtsuck performs a deeper scan of the client's thoughts which may included details of significant events within the past 24 hours.
How to have fun
How to have fun with your new Playstation 2!
Tiny little Nader on a magcard.
Tiny little Nader on a magcard. According to a poster at my site, he and his wife stumbled over a mysterious mag-stripe card at the mall. On this card, the number "4" and a small dot. When examined with a jeweler's loupe, it proved to be a microscopic holographic image of Ralph Nader
The New York Times endorses Al Gore
The New York Times endorses Al Gore The Philadelphia Inquirer and Denver Post also endorsed Gore, while rival George W. Bush picked up endorsements from Chicago’s two daily newspapers and Denver’s Rocky Mountain News.
Disturbing Search Requests
On October 15thThe Guardian had for its editorial "If Palestinians were black, Israel would now be a pariah state subject to economic sanctions led by the United States. Its development and settlement of the West Bank would be seen as a system of apartheid, in which the indigenous population was allowed to live in a tiny fraction of its own country, in self-dministered 'bantustans', with 'whites' monopolising the supply of water and electricity. And just as the black population was allowed into South Africa's white areas in disgracefully under-resourced townships, so Israel's treatment of Israeli Arabs - flagrantly discriminating against them in housing and education spending - would be recognised as scandalous too.
Expanding on this description, Noam Chomsky gives an account of Israel's shift from coercive diplomacy to using direct force in implementing its "final status map". That is, the cantonization, containment and control of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
Expanding on this description, Noam Chomsky gives an account of Israel's shift from coercive diplomacy to using direct force in implementing its "final status map". That is, the cantonization, containment and control of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
Macromedia CEO Rob Burgess admits what many of us have known for a long time: "Flash can be used for good or evil ... That's not the problem of the tool. That's the problem of the designer."
October 28
"An Oklahoma high school suspended a 15-year-old student [Brandi Blackbear] after accusing her of casting a magic spell that caused a teacher to become sick.
"An Oklahoma high school suspended a 15-year-old student [Brandi Blackbear] after accusing her of casting a magic spell that caused a teacher to become sick. Blackbear was summoned to the office of assistant principal Charlie Bushyhead last December after a teacher fell ill, and was questioned about her interest in Wicca."
I was flooded with retro-memories of Commodore 64 music at c64audio.com. I distinctly remember playing boulderdash and hearing this for hours.
Gore's Connection to Occidental Petroleum
Gore's Connection to Occidental Petroleum goes much deeper than an investment in a mutual fund. From the article: "...the Clinton Administration has been quietly helping the company--a generous donor to the Democrats in recent years--to win support in Colombia for its drilling plans."
nader's stock portfolio
nader's stock portfolio "In the financial disclosure form Nader filed on June 14, the Green Party presidential candidate revealed that he owns between $100,000 and $250,000 worth of shares in the Fidelity Magellan Fund. The fund controls 4,321,400 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock."
Read on for more...
October 27
The hitman retires
The hitman retires A series of concussions has forced professional wrestler Bret (Hitman) Hart to end his 22-year career today.
Nader/Gore Vote swap in effect
Nader/Gore Vote swap in effect 1,107 votes changed hands so far
NASA to announce 2005 mission to Mars.
NASA to announce 2005 mission to Mars. Forget the mapping missions. Send over some monkeys already!
The Meatball Ad
The Meatball Ad is mostly being run in California by the Buchanan Campaign. Today was the first time I saw it running in New York. I have not seen any of the other presidential candidates are running any TV ads here. The ad shows a man passing out while waiting for the 911 voice choice menu after choking from eating a meatball as the TV news in the background declares that English is no longer America's official language. (The link is to a quicktime file.)
A Green Flash from the Sun
A Green Flash from the Sun - I always thought this was a myth, but if NASA says it's true... (and I believe everything I read).
While I originally thought that this was a joke, in the 11/14 print version of Business2.com mentions that they will be shipping and receiving "the goods" via WAP enabled phones. Aww jeah!
Rhino Records' anti-Napster PSAs
Rhino Records' anti-Napster PSAs are hilarious. Almost makes you want to stop using napster ("it's just not cool").
a GOP group is airing pro-Nader ads in critical battleground states in which he is threatening a gore victory.
a GOP group is airing pro-Nader ads in critical battleground states in which he is threatening a gore victory.
that is all.
that is all.
Why haven't I seen reports of this anywhere else? This is a pretty serious spill.
Bush vs. Gore vs. Nader
Bush vs. Gore vs. Nader (51 minute RealAudio file) Listen to the 3 way debate.
The Daily Howler
The Daily Howler dissects Gore-bashing in major media outlets. In a campaign with real issues -- and two candidates whose policies and proposals deserve serious scrutiny -- so why is it that we've been forced to endure poorly-grounded pieces about "Look for the Union Label"?
AOL's walled garden.
AOL's walled garden. Anyone who doesnt think that AOL will only link to AOL/Time Warner properties in the broadband future is fooling themselves.
Etour.com claims it's like "channel surfing" on the web, but it isn't.
Etour.com claims it's like "channel surfing" on the web, but it isn't. Surfing is something in-between purposefully seeking a goal and letting the wind blow you wherever it wishes. It's not totally random. It's not totally goal-driven. So it must involve a human who is making half-choices, taking half-risks. It can't be programmed. [more…]
Cube Co-lo
Cube Co-lo I have no idea how I came across this but, does anyone else find this as amusing as I do? I am just imagining rows of racked cubes.
Microsoft’s network is hacked
Microsoft’s network is hacked It's gotta be tough for MSNBC to report this...
"Fastest f*** ever"
"Fastest f*** ever" according to F***edCompany.com. "Scout Electromedia, the maker of the Modo lifestyle pager, will hold a launch party tonight at Les Deux Caf€ in Los Angeles, despite the fact that the company ceased operations Tuesday after less than two months of selling the device."
A better way to select party candidates.
A better way to select party candidates.
Instead of holding silly primaries that end up picking the worst possible candidates from each party, why not have party leaders pick the best 3-4 candidates and then have registered party members vote (by mail or at the convention) and announce the winner in August? [more inside]
Instead of holding silly primaries that end up picking the worst possible candidates from each party, why not have party leaders pick the best 3-4 candidates and then have registered party members vote (by mail or at the convention) and announce the winner in August? [more inside]
Chernomyrdin to sue George W. Bush
Chernomyrdin to sue George W. Bush to clear his name and business reputation. While we're on this, Monica Lewinsky, too, plans to sue Bill Clinton, because she too, wants 'to clear her name and business reputation.'
Your-anus doesn't have the most moon anymore, Saturn does. 22. haha.
Yankees Suck! (Note: Graphic Content)
Yankees Suck! (Note: Graphic Content) Well, it looks like someone cracked the New York Yankees site because they won the Series. I hope one of the tv stations are forwarding anyone to the site.
It's been a standing joke for decades, but it's finally arrived. Smellovision is real. (I'm having a hard time thinking of a more useless computer peripheral.)
October 26
Canada Denies Eminem Entrance.
Canada Denies Eminem Entrance. I'm sorry if it's already been posted, i've been out of the loop.
Joe Frank:
Joe Frank: When endowed with profound religious feeling, your skin becomes transparent and your blood begins to turn a thin watery hue until the light of the sun streaming in the window passes entirely through you. At last, having evolved into pure spiritual energy, nothing remains of your existence but a small pile of dirty underwear, damp socks, rumpled garments, a driver's license, credit cards and perhaps a small nail clipper.
letter from a freedman to his old master
letter from a freedman to his old master jourdan anderson's letter offers a compelling view of one man's view of freedom. page 2, page 3
Slashdot
Are you really in favor of who you should be?
Are you really in favor of who you should be? Not having seen this in a quick scan, I'll point you to SpeakOut's VoteMatch quiz. It correctly pegged me as a Browne voter, but I was surprised that Bush came in second, Gore fourth, and Nader 7th. Hmmm...
GW Hits The Bong!
GW Hits The Bong! Well it's been rumoured for years... But now we have the proof! Light it up Georgie Boy!
Could you gain 30 pounds in 30 days?
Could you gain 30 pounds in 30 days?
From the group that brought you The Stinky Meat Project comes The Fat Project
From the group that brought you The Stinky Meat Project comes The Fat Project
Can somebody tell me if this is for real?
Can somebody tell me if this is for real? --Gore sought help from anti-homosexual group 'God hates fags' creator preaches 'hate because the Bible preaches hate'--
Are taxonomai copyrightable?
Are taxonomai copyrightable? This topic isn't new; West Publishing stole their legal referencing system from the government, then copyrighted it and successfully sued a couple people out of business. But should it be possible? [Hint: Hell, no!]
Have yourself a G.G Allin Christmas
Have yourself a G.G Allin Christmas and if you don't know who he is/was, have a look here. I thank you. (Contains naughty words.)
Those artists!
Those artists! What will they do next?! Hmmm, let me think...
How could Sony be low on cash when
How could Sony be low on cash when Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Circuit City all have lines of people around the corner who have been waiting since yesterday morning? All waiting to get their very own PX2.
Think about this - approximately 500,000 of the units will sell today, at $300 a pop, plus numerous purchases of games in addition to the console. Let's estimate that each lucky customer will spend $400 (1 PX2, and 2 games per customer - a modest estimate). That's a one-day gross of $200,000,000.
My bet? Sony will not only turn itself around by the end of the day today, cause a major boom in US currency flow, but also cause a sharp decline in spending for the next month - people will be at home playing their new games, and will have little interest in going out to buy anything else!
Think about this - approximately 500,000 of the units will sell today, at $300 a pop, plus numerous purchases of games in addition to the console. Let's estimate that each lucky customer will spend $400 (1 PX2, and 2 games per customer - a modest estimate). That's a one-day gross of $200,000,000.
My bet? Sony will not only turn itself around by the end of the day today, cause a major boom in US currency flow, but also cause a sharp decline in spending for the next month - people will be at home playing their new games, and will have little interest in going out to buy anything else!
October 25
Am I Hot or Not?
Am I Hot or Not?
Beware of this link. If you click on it you will be sucked in for hours. The idea, rate people's looks on a scale of 1 to 10. The people? Anyone who uploads their picture to the site, both men and women.
Beware of this link. If you click on it you will be sucked in for hours. The idea, rate people's looks on a scale of 1 to 10. The people? Anyone who uploads their picture to the site, both men and women.
I have never found a site more habit forming in my life. Like Dack (who I got the link from) I skipped food, drink and missed my bus.
Has there been a negative Nader thread here yet?
"According to his former editor David Sanford, Nader is a hypochondriac who refuses dinner invitations from anyone with pets, because he thinks cats cause leukemia, and simply hates dogs."
There are even crazy quotes.
"According to his former editor David Sanford, Nader is a hypochondriac who refuses dinner invitations from anyone with pets, because he thinks cats cause leukemia, and simply hates dogs."
There are even crazy quotes.
THE AMIGA IS BACK!
THE AMIGA IS BACK! Why, oh why, did i throw out all my Amiga games. And it wasn't that long ago, that i did that either. Aaaaarrgh.
Online petitions have much less clout than old-fashioned paper ones, but...
Online petitions have much less clout than old-fashioned paper ones, but... ya gotta appreciate the twist on this one, demanding that Gore withdraw from the race because he's spoiling it for Nader!
Sanctions Born Of Indifference
Sanctions Born Of Indifference The United Nations' sanctions against Iraq - which would have been lifted long ago, if not for America - have been killing 4,500 children a month for nearly 10 years now. A million people in all so far, half of them kids.
The Iraqis die because America insists the sanctions continue - despite their illegality under the principles of the Nuremberg war crimes tribunal, the United Nations Convention Against Genocide Convention and particularly the Geneva Convention: (Protocol 1 Additional to the Geneva Conventions - 1977 Part IV, Section 1, Chapter III, Article 54)
1. Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is prohibited.
2. It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove, or render useless objects indispensable to the agricultural areas for the production of foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies, and irrigation works, for the specific purpose of denying them for their sustenance value to the civilian population or to the adverse party, whatever the motive, whether in order to starve out civilians, to cause them to move away, or for any other motive.
The Iraqis die because America insists the sanctions continue - despite their illegality under the principles of the Nuremberg war crimes tribunal, the United Nations Convention Against Genocide Convention and particularly the Geneva Convention: (Protocol 1 Additional to the Geneva Conventions - 1977 Part IV, Section 1, Chapter III, Article 54)
1. Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is prohibited.
2. It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove, or render useless objects indispensable to the agricultural areas for the production of foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies, and irrigation works, for the specific purpose of denying them for their sustenance value to the civilian population or to the adverse party, whatever the motive, whether in order to starve out civilians, to cause them to move away, or for any other motive.
Looking Out Across Dao, Niger, and Harmakhis Valles
Looking Out Across Dao, Niger, and Harmakhis Valles on Mars. Okay, boring subject. The Martian Global Surveyor has been in orbit around Mars for three years. Sometimes you just have to take some time to look at what's been coming back and admire the raw beauty of the landscape.
This is a mid-autumn view of three major valley systems east of the Hellas plains. From left to right, the first major valley, Dao Vallis, runs diagonally from the upper left to just past the lower center of the image. Niger Vallis joins Dao Vallis just above the center of the frame. Harmakhis Vallis extends diagonally across the right half of the picture, toward the lower right. These valleys are believed by some to have been formed--at least in part--by large outbursts of liquid water some time far back in the martian past. The picture is a composite of red and blue wide angle images obtained by MOC on September 13, 2000.
This is a mid-autumn view of three major valley systems east of the Hellas plains. From left to right, the first major valley, Dao Vallis, runs diagonally from the upper left to just past the lower center of the image. Niger Vallis joins Dao Vallis just above the center of the frame. Harmakhis Vallis extends diagonally across the right half of the picture, toward the lower right. These valleys are believed by some to have been formed--at least in part--by large outbursts of liquid water some time far back in the martian past. The picture is a composite of red and blue wide angle images obtained by MOC on September 13, 2000.
Good Magazine.
Good Magazine. Some amusing stuff here. Eg, right now the home page has "An Interview with Neal Pollack Using Questions Intended for Mark Kingwell that Refer to His New Book."
Internet To Be Bigger Than TV - UCLA Report
Internet To Be Bigger Than TV - UCLA Report "For the first time in the history of television, TV usage by children under 14 declined," recalled Cole. "Kids finally found something that was more interesting than TV. It was an epiphany moment for me." Download the report here.
thumbs up
thumbs up for Bush!
Hi Jack!
Hi Jack! HIJACK!! Hehe... You'd think they'd have addressed this problem a long time ago with pilots being named Jack...
Nostalgic time-wasting.
Nostalgic time-wasting. Anyone else getting misty-eyed?
Bernard Shaw can't wait...
Bernard Shaw can't wait... because everything is so exciting!
Happy Birthday, Alexis Massie!
Happy Birthday, Alexis Massie! And oh, I do like the redesign.
Be a Nader Trader!
Be a Nader Trader! This site puts American University law professor Jamin Raskin's theory into practice.
A new concept in blogging:
A new concept in blogging: Can't think of anything to say? What the hell, just borrow someone else's life.
just another perl poet.
just another perl poet. program your refrigerator. from /usr/bin/girl
These cool, creepy images used to cover the walls of Ariel Dolan's house
These cool, creepy images used to cover the walls of Ariel Dolan's house until "almost all were destroyed when an Iraqi Scud missile crashed my house during the Gulf War." Apparantly, when Dolan isn't making these images, he's programming alife simulations like eFloys.
October 24
Too Much Information?
Too Much Information? Heavy information overload: the world's total yearly production of print, film, optical, and magnetic content would require roughly 1.5 billion gigabytes of storage. This is the equivalent of 250 megabytes per person for each man, woman, and child on earth.
Undecided voters aren't stupid after all.
Undecided voters aren't stupid after all. They're just waiting to see which candidate will best achieve their goal of governmental gridlock, which will be determined primarily by how control of Congress shakes out.
Top level domain names lodged with ICANN.
Top level domain names lodged with ICANN. These are the TLD's lodged with ICANN, of which we might see the first ones early next year. And yes, .xxx is one of them.
Is the Revolution really over?
Is the Revolution really over? According to Wired it is, “…one day, the digital revolution was over. The big media companies wrested control of the Internet from the kids in the horned-rimmed glasses.” Derek has his comments on this but to add my own, nothing new and exciting happens anymore.
The Internet has become synonymous for pink slips, mergers, and legal battles.
I know there was a previous link to this article but I was inspired by Derek to bring a different matter to the table.
Gore vs. Nader saved by vote swapping?
Gore vs. Nader saved by vote swapping? Here's your political Napster...
Netscape 4.76 is available for downloa...
Netscape 4.76 is available for downloa... oh, to hell with it, why do I even bother?
The true culprit behind the Bush/Gore billboard has been revealed. No, it's not Nader -- it's a publicity-grubbing dot-com.
IKON's Website Ranked Among Top 200 Business Sites By BtoB, Advertising Age's Marketing Newspaper
IKON's Website Ranked Among Top 200 Business Sites By BtoB, Advertising Age's Marketing Newspaper Your stock's in the toilet, you're being slapped with a class action suit, and you've been put on CreditWatch with negative implications. But your web site shore is purty!
napster bought macster!
napster bought macster! (am i the only one who didn't know this was gonna happen?)
I challenge you to help me learn Tok Pisin
I challenge you to help me learn Tok Pisin
Mi laik i harim Tok Pisin. Olgeta manmeri i tokim long Tok Pisin long Papua Niugini. Mi laik i lukim na stap long PNG! That was some poor Tok Pisin. Tok Pisin is a Melanesia pidgin language extensively used in Papua New Guinea. Help me learn more! Post links for Tok Pisin language learning here!
Mi laik i harim Tok Pisin. Olgeta manmeri i tokim long Tok Pisin long Papua Niugini. Mi laik i lukim na stap long PNG! That was some poor Tok Pisin. Tok Pisin is a Melanesia pidgin language extensively used in Papua New Guinea. Help me learn more! Post links for Tok Pisin language learning here!
The Mideast's forgotten people,
The Mideast's forgotten people, Bedouins cling to ancient tradition - and Israel's bottom rung. With strong historical ties to the land that go back 2,500 years, they feel left out of the who-gets-what debate in the Holy Land.
Internet recording history
Internet recording history
An IRC chat transcript recorded immediately after the 1994 Los Angeles 6.6 earthquake.
An IRC chat transcript recorded immediately after the 1994 Los Angeles 6.6 earthquake.
Ethel talks about CNN censorship
Ethel talks about CNN censorship of Crossfire with Larry Flynt and Donna Rice Hughes. The transcript is MIA from the site.
Journalism profs are soliciting Internet users' opinions
Journalism profs are soliciting Internet users' opinions on how "politically interested Web surfers are using the Internet in the 2000 U.S. presidential elections."
Win the popular vote, lose the election?
Win the popular vote, lose the election? Talk about your constitutional crisis...
mylackey.com (an overpriced errand service) closed shop...and I'm disappointed that there's no secret message in the source code.
Beam me up, Scotty!
Beam me up, Scotty! They are one step closer to making the Holodeck a reality. Now I can really ditch the world and live in my very own bubble.
Hey, kids!
Hey, kids! Statistics is cool! (Amazing introduction to the concept of estimation, and error computing.)
The OPE Campus Security Statistics Website allows you to research criminal offenses that were reported at over 6000 colleges nation wide, (United States). University participation is compulsory.
Of course, what they don't mention is lots of schools, including my alma mater, refer certain complaints (commonly those dealing with sexual assault) directly to local law enforcement, and keep no official record of the incident with the school itself. I was semi-involved with my school's Women's Resource Center in '98, and I can tell you there were a lot more incidents of sexual assault than listed on the OPE site.
Of course, what they don't mention is lots of schools, including my alma mater, refer certain complaints (commonly those dealing with sexual assault) directly to local law enforcement, and keep no official record of the incident with the school itself. I was semi-involved with my school's Women's Resource Center in '98, and I can tell you there were a lot more incidents of sexual assault than listed on the OPE site.
Fear and Loathing in the Magic Kingdom,
Fear and Loathing in the Magic Kingdom, or something. First Dennis Miller to "Monday Night Football" and now Hunter Thompson and ESPN. When the going gets wierd...
You saw it on the news but you didn't send flowers? Now there's no excuse...
The War on... education?
The War on... education? It's estimated that 7000 US college students will lose their entitlement to at least some financial aid because of previous drug convictions. Which is nice. Now, the follies of the "war on drugs" are well-documented, but this takes the cake. I thought that punishment was for the criminal justice system to dispense...
The Complete Bushisms - Bush Quotables
The Complete Bushisms - Bush Quotables Lets get the daily Bush Bash started with a bang today. Some of these are just too much. "We want to promote families in America. Families is where our nation takes hope, where wings take dream."
Okay, we know that web polls are nonsense, but I'm sure some people here on MeFi will be interested in the Time.com virtual voter booth.
U.K. Bride-to-Be Killed Due to Cramped Conditions on Quantas Airlines
U.K. Bride-to-Be Killed Due to Cramped Conditions on Quantas Airlines A spokeswoman for Qantas was quoted as saying: “The safety of our passengers is always of paramount importance and we refer to the possible effects of flying in our in-flight magazine.”
October 23
Amazon dead by Mar 19, 2001
Amazon dead by Mar 19, 2001 Just thought you like to know the exact time of death of Amazon.com That's according to Downside's Deathwatch is a cash-flow analysis. The death date is simply the day the company will run out of cash, based on their reported liquid assets and loss rate. When the cash runs out, something bad for stockholders has to happen.
In the spirit of the American Memory Digital Library or Duke's Digital Scriptorium, the American Museum of the Moving Image has a new exhibit called The Living Room Candidate- a comprehensive collection of presidential campaign ads since the 1950's.
GWB on Letterman
GWB on Letterman "As executive producer Maria Pope leans over Dave's desk shouting something of importance to Dave, see Governor George W. Bush reaching over and grabbing the end of Maria's shawl. His glasses needed cleaning and everyone knows the shawl of a TV producer makes for a great cleaning cloth. So the Governor cleaned his glasses on Maria's shawl, as if she were a kleenex."
More and more American girls are hitting puberty at 7 or 8 and nobody seems to know why. Some say pesticides are to blame; Dr. Drew points the finger at MTV.
If I ever get as good as Joakim and the Double You crew, I could die a very happy guy. These two new sites for Menta and the Audi A2 pretty much blow my mind.
"e-mail" vs. "email" - Wired declares style guidelines (again)
"e-mail" vs. "email" - Wired declares style guidelines (again) - so in today's Wired News (lycos.wired.com, not wired magazine), there's a long explanatory article about a change in Wired News' style standards. A) do declarations from Wired News matter much anymore? B) is "e-mail" really 'more proper' than "email". To me, the hyphen looks amateurish and silly, but I'm too close to this to be objective.
a blog for typography junkies!
a blog for typography junkies! i'm in heaven.
Doesn't this billboard say it all?
You know that ad where a guy offers to pull a semi with his Chevy Tracker?
You know that ad where a guy offers to pull a semi with his Chevy Tracker? Well, these guys showed up Chevy by pulling a truck with their...uh...winkies. [Via fark]
Kite aerial photography
Kite aerial photography is basically hanging a remote controlled camera off a kite string and shooting pics high above the ground at random. How this guy gets such great shots is beyond me. It's amazing photography you probably haven't seen before.
October 22
deja trouble?
General Wiranto, the butcher of East Timor
General Wiranto, the butcher of East Timor launches a singing career.
Nader not backing down
Network Solutions faces 'hoarding' allegations.
Network Solutions faces 'hoarding' allegations. "Networks Solutions Inc. has illegally restrained trade and willfully maintained monopoly power over expired domain names, according to a class-action lawsuit recently filed by an Alabama businessman."
A while ago I posted about some guys who built a computer case out of a refrigerator the better to overclock their CPU. Those guys were wusses. REAL men use liquid nitrogen.
"I wasn't doing anything wrong..."
"I wasn't doing anything wrong..." So says Jonathan Lebed, the 16-year-old who paid out $285,000 to the SEC to settle his pump-and-dump case. His father agrees: "He earned it. He did a lot of work. He didn't sit behind a garage smoking pot, or stealing wheels off a car." Yeah, right: after all, he bought his parents a Mercedes with the profits of his stock manipulation.
whois microsoft.com?
whois microsoft.com? You might be surprised. or maybe not.
I just got polled for the presidential election
I just got polled for the presidential election . . .and they didn't even mention Nader's name as a choice for president! I had to tell them 'I am voting for Ralph Nader." Ralph is pulling 6% in recent national polls. This really gets me steamed that they don't include his name in the %#@*!! polls.
In an attempt to preempt Arafat's declaration of an independent state, Israel is threatening to unilaterally declare its own borders. "In its most absolute form, Israel would separate by creating its own borders, thereby carving out a Palestinian state as well, although in a form unlikely to be acceptable to Palestinians.
" Okay, now imagine trying to draw lines on a map like this!.
National Day of Protest
National Day of Protest against police brutality, repression, and the criminalization of a generation. Take a stand and wear black today.
Female kicker's chilling effect.
Female kicker's chilling effect. "Instead, the $2 million Mercer was awarded has given them two million reasons to question the risk of giving any woman a chance, especially at smaller schools where female players would otherwise be most likely to succeed."
Apparently, Bush and Gore really are the same . . .
Apparently, Bush and Gore really are the same . . . While it looks like a brillant AdBusters culture jamming experiment, this was apparently just a simple 'proofreading' mistake.
The Ab-Doer? I guess they ran out of verbs.
A Complete Map of What?
A Complete Map of What? Buchanan International claims to have created a complete page-level map of the Internet. I think (the article's not really clear on that). Am I the only one who finds this ridiculous? And their motives are so pure: "the completion of the map is prob-ably (sic) the first big step in the quest to control internet anarchy." Does the Financial Times usually publish such drivel? (via Brian Carnell)
Lots of posts lately about the election, about other strange things, (and especially about my favorite subject to not read: Nader) and we haven't had a knock-down drag-out argument about ethics for a while. So I thought I'd start one about this. Using up humans to collect medical data is unquestionably immoral and those who do it should be hung, if not put to death by torture. The question is whether those of us who had nothing to do with the collection of that data and have not done anything immoral become immoral by using data collected that way in order to save lives. I'm going to make three posts below, so be patient.
New evidence of madness in the halls of power in the Chinese Empire. An excellent example of how water issues will dominate in the 21st century.
October 21
We didnt' start the weblogs...
We didnt' start the weblogs... They were always thinking of good sites for linking. Found in my referer log. *Very* well done.
Greens for Gore
Greens for Gore have a voting strategy. If you like Nader, you might want to see what they have in mind.
Donate a dollar to fight breast cancer.
Donate a dollar to fight breast cancer. October is breast cancer awareness month. Click on the little pink ribbon in the left hand column of this link, and Yahoo will donate $1 to the Susan Komen Foundation.
Tell your friends!
Bankruptcy without style:
Bankruptcy without style: living.com posted their employee (and customer) data on their web site when they "made their documents public." It included salaries and addresses of employees. "Privacy advocates said it appeared to be the first bankruptcy filing posted on a retail Web site and a cautionary tale about the posting of private information that is contained in a public document."
http://fast.weblogs.com/
http://fast.weblogs.com/
Sure, it's not quite what I'd call fast right now. But here's to hoping ...
Sure, it's not quite what I'd call fast right now. But here's to hoping ...
Hey Bay Area Nader fans -- get your tickets! (if you haven't already) -- 6:30 PM today at the Kaiser Arena in Oakland: the only California Super Rally, featuring Cornel West, Medea Benjamin, Danny Glover, Jello Biafra, Patti Smith, Tom Tomorrow, and other surprise guests! For those who can't make it there will be a Live Webcast available at votenader.org.
October 20
Now I know fathers want their kids to follow in their footsteps,
Now I know fathers want their kids to follow in their footsteps, but this is really weird. In March, the daughter of Muhammad Ali will take on the daughter of Joe Frazier in a boxing match. (And they're both pro's.)
That Warm Toasty Feeling
That Warm Toasty Feeling
Here is a guilty pleasure that I can no longer keep to myself. Toasy is a new blogspot blog written by a friend's younger brother. Along with his vivid accounts of dreams (well written and never boring) toasty has a fantastic essay on Ralph Nader that should inspire all to think a little harder about who they are voting for.
Here is a guilty pleasure that I can no longer keep to myself. Toasy is a new blogspot blog written by a friend's younger brother. Along with his vivid accounts of dreams (well written and never boring) toasty has a fantastic essay on Ralph Nader that should inspire all to think a little harder about who they are voting for.
Group photo from the last MeFi lunch get-together.
Group photo from the last MeFi lunch get-together. (You mean you didn't hear about it?)
I want one of these for my birthday.
I want one of these for my birthday. (Courtesy Hard OCP) I wonder how much they cost. If you have to ask, you can't...
USS Cole
USS Cole cleanup continues. Very patriotic email I got 2nd hand.
"Nader's Raiders"
"Nader's Raiders" ask Nader to reconsider. "It is now clear that you might well give the White House to Bush. As a result, you would set back significantly the social progress to which you have devoted your entire, astonishing career''
U.S. mean temperature (January-September) warmest on record.
U.S. mean temperature (January-September) warmest on record. That's in 105 years. Something to be alarmed about? Maybe, maybe not, but call me concerned, folks. Given the fact that we don't seem to have winter around here anymore, I guess our grandkids will be asking us, "Hey, tell us about the time it was cold!".
Pardon me for posting links in rapid succession; the NCDC website is obscenely slow, if you can get to it at all.
Pardon me for posting links in rapid succession; the NCDC website is obscenely slow, if you can get to it at all.
Humans Pushing Planet Earth Beyond Capacity.
Pennsylvania's new license plates
Pennsylvania's new license plates featuring the state's web address are just plain Sick and Wrong, somehow. Please tell me that other states aren't going to follow suit. I saw my first one yesterday, in Austin, TX, of all places.
Woody, shut the f@#! up!
Woody, shut the f@#! up! Slight problem with the Toy Story 2 DVDs. Bet these go for a tastey sum on e-bay.
Adobe.com gets hijacked.
Adobe.com gets hijacked. At the time of this posting, he still has it. Find out how you can hijack domain names in this step by step guide.
"clouds and even rain showers seem to have been spotted on Titan, Saturn's largest moon.
"clouds and even rain showers seem to have been spotted on Titan, Saturn's largest moon. Scientists have already labeled Titan a hot spot in the search for extraterrestrial life, and the new work adds to that enthusiasm." You bet it does.
The battle for .web has been well underway,
The battle for .web has been well underway, and this open letter brings light to the issue. Small time contenders are busy spending what resources they have on producing a proposal that will launch the success of .web as well as promote competition while big boys like NSI are scrambling to simply snatch the hot commodities any way they can.
Those were the days...
Those were the days... you know, back in 1999...
Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwarzbaum whacks Pay It Forward.
Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwarzbaum whacks Pay It Forward. And I do mean whacks -- there's blood everywhere.
The Real Gore/Bush Debate Transcript
The Real Gore/Bush Debate Transcript -- "The candidates have agreed on these rules: I will ask a question. The candidate will ignore the question and
deliver rehearsed remarks designed to appeal to undecided women voters. The opponent will then have one minute to respond by trying to frighten
senior citizens into voting for him."
Anyone tried Flyswat?
Anyone tried Flyswat? Reads web pages with you and makes hyperlinks for words it recognizes. Very cool hypertext tool...
True Food Shopping List
True Food Shopping List - how to avoid genetically engineered food
What does it mean?
What does it mean? The two sides are at it again. So I guess they will be declaring war agianst each other some time soon. Anyone really think these meetings will yield something that lasts more than say 48 hours?
Ambient light
Ambient light powered screens (/. i think). ...waiting for a large to buy up patent and then sit on it.
Oldest liveing organism
Oldest liveing organism found in salt cave in New Mexico. 250 million and counting. What gets me is this quote: ``If something can survive 250 million years, what's the difference .. another 250 or longer,'' wonder if digital data can be stored in bacterium.
October 19
Teen Accused in Plot to Kill 'N Sync.
Teen Accused in Plot to Kill 'N Sync. Foiled Again! Doh!
The rock-critic "community"
The rock-critic "community" Jack Saturn and Jack Saturn manqués, ahoy! A young fella runs an entire site, Popped, dedicated to the art of rock criticism. And despite being from Toronto, he's not so prissy as to pretend he isn't a fan. Because those are the worst rock critics. If rock even matters anymore.
The Strong Colo(u)r Classic
The Strong Colo(u)r Classic One keeps running across coverage of the cult of the Macintosh Color Classic. Imagine stuffing a G3 parentboard and a CD-ROM into one of those wee chunks o' sculpture. Or stop imagining and go do it. (Second article.) Note: Some Strong Color Classic fan sites crash every browser I have, even iCab. Too strong for the Web, perhaps.
A movie-quote page that avoids the obvious
A movie-quote page that avoids the obvious Harry Knowles wishes he were this good. (And so do his readers. Gah!) Anyway, Andrew de la Rosa's Movie Quote Page epitomizes the Wildean dictum that there is no high or low art, only good and bad. You want quotes from Serial Mom? Alphaville? Everyone's welcome. (But why no mention of the infamous exchange between Diana Christensen and Loreen Hobbs in Network?
As a despised and adored lesbian historian, I...
As a despised and adored lesbian historian, I... The hottest date I could imagine (with a woman) would be an overnight escapade with... Camille Paglia. Yes! McSweeney's sums up her life in introductory catchphrases from the goddess's own Salon columns. How Dada. How cut-n-paste.
Relaxed encryption exports get green light.
Relaxed encryption exports get green light. See comment inside.
These guys need to go back
These guys need to go back and look at some movies of the Normandy invasion. [more inside]
Imagine the reaction in the delivery room!
Imagine the reaction in the delivery room! Baby swap in hospital is one thing, but fetus-swap?
Alien Props For Sale
Alien (1979; dir. Ridley Scott) original props and stuff for auction. Here's a Halloween costume the kids down the street won't soon forget. And wouldn't a plaster cast of Tom Skerritt's teeth make a great stocking stuffer? Also, this prop seems like it could be put to some alternative uses the makers never intended.
Tired of stepping in some dog's crap???
Tired of stepping in some dog's crap??? Behavior modification starts at your poperty line! This doesn't only work for people that don't have dogs. It can also work for those of us who do, and are tired of our trusted companions going into the neighbor's yard to do their doodi.
Though I could care less that they do, I like my neighbors, so I am gonna give this a shot.
Though I could care less that they do, I like my neighbors, so I am gonna give this a shot.
Wicked Series
Wicked Series - For long-suffering BoSox fans, New York's Subway Series is a Jacob's Ladder tube ride to baseball Hell.
Bezos and O'Reilly teamed up
Bezos and O'Reilly teamed up with a new approach at Patent reform. And if you can prove someone else had this idea first, they will give you $14k.
Essay by Richard Dawkins
Essay by Richard Dawkins (the scientist, not the game show host) on the supposed convergence on science and religion.
The US Government should buy it and make it a national monument.
The US Government should buy it and make it a national monument. PARC up for sale? I didn't realize that Xerox was hurting so badly.
Kinship database written in Prolog
Kinship database written in Prolog
From your friends at the Center for Computing in Anthropology at U of Kent / Canterbury
From your friends at the Center for Computing in Anthropology at U of Kent / Canterbury
Imaxo pays you go on job interviews
Imaxo pays you go on job interviews Fees for interviews range from $25 - $1000 Some people could You can only interview a maximum of 12 times a year, so you couldn't live off of doing this unless you had a lot of aliases
Takuu, an atoll community in Papua New Guinea, threatened by rising sea levels
Takuu, an atoll community in Papua New Guinea, threatened by rising sea levels
I don't know what to make of it, but I've heard similarly dire fates predicted for minor islands of Oceania, if present trends continue into the next 50 years.
I don't know what to make of it, but I've heard similarly dire fates predicted for minor islands of Oceania, if present trends continue into the next 50 years.
Deja.com is putting its archive of Usenet news, covering a period from 1995 to the present, up for sale. As you might have noticed, for some months now Deja's archive of older (pre-1999) news has been unavailable. They had claimed the situation was temporary, but now it appears to be permanent.
This leaves me with something of a sick feeling. While much of late-1990s Usenet is junk, it has both practical and historical significance. The notion that archiving Usenet is not commercially viable does not bode well for saving other parts of the Internet's history.
Travolta's officially lost his marbles:
Travolta's officially lost his marbles: "George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino and a lot of people saw [Battlefield Earth] and thought it was a great piece of science fiction." In an alternate universe, maybe.
Gore and horses have something in common...big feet.
Gore and horses have something in common...big feet. Al Gore has endured criticism for years that he's constantly giving his image a makeover. Now Inside.com reports that Rolling Stone magazine airbrushed some of Gore's assets in its latest issue. Apparently, a certain bulge in the vice president's pants had to be "brought down a bit" in the photo adorning the rock magazine's cover.
Am I the only one who finds this disturbing? It's the "official britney spears website" and the intro flash is quite illuminating. Different parts of Ms. Spears' body get highlighted during the opening flash animation while areas of the site are displayed. When her breasts get illuminated, "Your Stuff" is the area that gets shown. (Her breasts are also used to showcase the "tour info", which may say more about the flash designers than anything else.)
October 18
What is a likely voter
What is a likely voter This morning, while listening to Democracy Now, I heard something very interesting. it seems that the Republicans lobbied Gallup to redefine a 'likely voter' for this election season's polling. It seems Gallup is now defining a 'likely voter' as someone who voted in the last three presidential elections ('88, '92, '96). This leads to voters who are older (at least 30) and to people who participated in the last election to elect a Republican. Furthermore this polling method would have shown Bob Dole winning the 1996 election. No wonder Shrub is in the lead.
Savannah Now describes the pool of likely voters "tend to lean Republican."
Deconstructing the walls of Jericho
Deconstructing the walls of Jericho Old article, but an interesting one. Archaeologist Ze'ev Herzog of Tel Aviv University has said that "Following 70 years of intensive excavations in the Land of Israel, archaeologists have found out: The patriarchs' acts are legendary, the Israelites did not sojourn in Egypt or make an exodus, they did not conquer the land. Neither is there any mention of the empire of David and Solomon, nor of the source of belief in the God of Israel. These facts have been known for years, but Israel is a stubborn people and nobody wants to hear about it." Also the BBC Article.
ZACH LEFT RAGE!!!!?????????????????
ZACH LEFT RAGE!!!!????????????????? speechless. I'm f#@*ing speechless.
WONDERcorp: The name has corporate all over it
WONDERcorp: The name has corporate all over it
"My daughter Tayler marie is the most beautiful little girl in the whole world. May all her most peaceful dreams come true. Love Daddy."
"My daughter Tayler marie is the most beautiful little girl in the whole world. May all her most peaceful dreams come true. Love Daddy."
Those conservative Republicans...
Poetictech
Poetictech has some pretty nice workstation desks (dang cool). I want the one that rotates 120 degrees every 8 hours. (warning: slow site)
Neural net pilots
Neural net pilots - just thought this was cool...
Ralph Nader got a whopping 40% jump in the polls!
Ralph Nader got a whopping 40% jump in the polls! But the american public doesnt know. Michael Moore explains how the polling process is skewed to reflect favorably on the two major parties.
Are Undecided Voters Stupid?
Are Undecided Voters Stupid?
Undecided voters "don't come across as terribly swift..."
"If you're undecided at this point, you're an idiot."
"These soft voters do not have a coherent set of beliefs."
More inside...
Undecided voters "don't come across as terribly swift..."
"If you're undecided at this point, you're an idiot."
"These soft voters do not have a coherent set of beliefs."
More inside...
You can have my All-Stars
You can have my All-Stars when you pry them from my cold dead feet. If they discontinued Vans, I'm not sure what I would wear..
In last night's debate, Bush reassured the American people that he has absolutely no idea what affirmative action is. If you think it's got anything to do with quotas or with hiring less-than-qualified applicants then neither do you. Someone ought to send this info on pertinent Supreme Court decisions along to the Bush campaign for the governor's edification. Yesterday's New York Times carried an op-ed which examines a critical review of 200 scientific studies of affirmative action and concludes that the facts vindicate such policies. In fact, a Nobel Prize for Economics was awarded last week to an economist who developed methods of analysis which, among other things, demonstrated the effectiveness of affirmative action in integrating the textile industry. Little-known fact: the greatest beneficiary of affirmative action has been white women.
And what would you do with 2 Million dollars?
And what would you do with 2 Million dollars? Ah yes, buy a piano.
October 17
Effective Web Design and the Tao of Plinko
Effective Web Design and the Tao of Plinko all this time I have been reading the wrong web sites to figure out the web. What I needed to be doing was spending some quality time with Bob Barker and friends on The Price is Right!
Oh yeah, rumor has it that Bob Barker is set to retire next season (the shows 30th).
The SDMI Hack challenge seems to have gone down in flames.
The SDMI Hack challenge seems to have gone down in flames. And apparently it wasn't even very difficult to break into it. This article goes into it in some detail. [more]
Somebody call a lawyer!
Somebody call a lawyer! Now this is a blatant case of someone ripping off someone else's trademark in a URL if there ever was one. (Courtesy of Hard OCP)
Handspring releases Visor Platinum and Visor Prism.
Handspring releases Visor Platinum and Visor Prism. Platinum = fast; $300. Prism = color; $450.
Just in time for the you-know-what season. And here I bought a Visor Deluxe for $250 just last month like a sucker...
The third presidential debate
The third presidential debate is on, and I can't stop watching it. Though I'd rather be taking in the simple pleasures of Dark Angel, my politically active mind won't allow me to do so . . .
for the first time in my life, I find myself wishing for a brain annuerism.
All of this talk about madonna.com and string.com seems to me to be just a mad scramble to grab a 'scarce' resource (ie. the .com TLD). The only problem is that the scarcity is completely artificial.
Networking expert and lawyer Karl Auerbach has just been elected to ICANN as the US at-large rep on a platform of reducing ICANN's role from it current one as a overreaching international law making body.
He says that the DNS system is capable of handling far more than just a few top-level domains like .com, .org, .net, .uk, .au etc. He says it could handle millions.
Save priceline.com and Win!
Save priceline.com and Win! Poor Priceline. It was such a cool thing to have available.
kevin bacon as math theory:
kevin bacon as math theory: properties of the kevin bacon absorbing set
Americans 'have more sex'.
Americans 'have more sex'. No, that's not a order. But according to Durex, you're meant to be getting it more often, at a younger age. Does this say "as much about bragging as actual sexual behaviour"? Or are we just being led to think that "we are strange if we aren't thinking about sex all the time", as this Salon piece suggests?
Doesn't this
Media Metrix with some online election stats.
Media Metrix with some online election stats. Nothing particularly useful. Although it does seem that the web may actually be right leaning? Require Acrobat Reader
Army's new uniform code to include berets.
Army's new uniform code to include berets.
"...this "symbol of excellence" once reserved for members of elite units will be made available to all soldiers as "a signal to the young that we are moving, we are changing."
This really belongs in The Onion.
"...this "symbol of excellence" once reserved for members of elite units will be made available to all soldiers as "a signal to the young that we are moving, we are changing."
This really belongs in The Onion.
Go.com redesigns.
Go.com redesigns. Some sort of improvement...
Planet Project:
Planet Project: Harris, the pollsters, team up with a bunch of other marketing-minded corporations to ask the people of the world (or at least, those with access to the Web) such questions as "Would you switch your
race if you could not change it back?" and "When
you die, what do you think will happen to you?" Sign up to lend your voice—or do a little culture jamming and explain why, when you die, you'll meet Claire, the giant armadillo who lives on Pluto and directs everything we do from a colossal high chair, where she eats nothing but creamed corn forever and shouts "Corn! Corn! Corn for me!"
"No Senate Race in New York in 2000."
"No Senate Race in New York in 2000."
I was at the my AOL page and from there, two-clicked my way to their election 2000 link to find my local races; where I was greeted with the aforementioned quote, in red. At first I thought it was a reference to the New York State Senate. But the top of the page clearly says, "U.S. Senate Race." Am I the only person being duped by the AOL election information services?
I was at the my AOL page and from there, two-clicked my way to their election 2000 link to find my local races; where I was greeted with the aforementioned quote, in red. At first I thought it was a reference to the New York State Senate. But the top of the page clearly says, "U.S. Senate Race." Am I the only person being duped by the AOL election information services?
"Atari is now a sophisticated
"Atari is now a sophisticated computerized programmable unit...." Magazine ad for the 2600, back when TVs had handles and video games were blue, pink and magenta. (Obviously not the same meaning of "programmable" today.)
Very good election analysis by Joan Didion in the current NYRB. (More inside.)
Geeks get behind Al. He maybe behind Shrub in the polls, but who cares when you have geeks on your side.
For anybody who wanted to see an open presidential debate
For anybody who wanted to see an open presidential debate Judical Watch is running your pony. They’ve invited all the major third party candidates and the other two guys to hash it out over ethics in government. Bush has already declined.
October 16
Virtual Pig Dissection.
Madonna finally wins madonna.com
Madonna finally wins madonna.com Under what grounds warrent her rights to that domain name? At the bottom it notes singer Sting was denied his attempt at aquiring sting.com, which is merely owned by some online gamer called =Sting=.
Ahh....community spirit.
Ahh....community spirit. "Some people on the street, noticing the brewing trouble pulled over and got out of their cars to participate in the ruckus", said Sam Cook, 25, of Oakland.
Anonymous speech on the web is not protected.
Anonymous speech on the web is not protected. A Florida court ruling could force forum hosts to identify posters by name, if they post defamatory messages. Could this ruling lead to more civil exchanges on the net, or will curtailing unfettered speech reduce the amount and scope of many discussions?
The next Java frontier: your car.
The next Java frontier: your car. Sun Microsystems announced Monday it would partner with General Motors' dashboard technology division, OnStar, in an effort to make Java the computing standard for the automotive industry.
LA Cop shot Notorious B.I.G.?!
LA Cop shot Notorious B.I.G.?! While I hope justice will be served, I can only pray that this does not come to be the case. LA is already spooked about the police force. This could start another riot.
Just another day in Southern California. Sigh.
Excellent, in-depth analysis
Excellent, in-depth analysis of "spyware" used by insidious and horrible software entities such as RealPlayer. Written by my hero and yours, Steve Gibson.
Search Engine Northernlight Donating Ad Revenue to Hospital
Search Engine Northernlight Donating Ad Revenue to Hospital One of my favorite search engines, Northernlight.com, is doing some benefit work -- during the week of October 14th through October 20th, searches on Northern Light will benefit the Duke Children's Hospital.
Pretty cool -- and they're a good search engine, too.
Nobody really cares for the Internet--except...people who can't sleep and need something to do. It has created an undisciplined culture of slothfulness and foolishness that's now a culture of despair.
Nobody really cares for the Internet--except...people who can't sleep and need something to do. It has created an undisciplined culture of slothfulness and foolishness that's now a culture of despair. That's James Cramer, erstwhile CEO of TheStreet.com going off in a Fortune.com interview. Granted, his own problems on the Net have been documented ad nauseum, but is there a bit of truth in what he says? .
Dr. Lau.. Err..Gore
Dr. Lau.. Err..Gore [When one participant asked Gore about homosexuality -- which the man described as a "sin" -- Gore responded that homosexuality is an abnormality which should be discouraged. "I think it is wrong," Gore explained to the audience. "It is not just another normal optional lifestyle."]
The Republicans make character assassination an art form.
The Republicans make character assassination an art form. Several people have linked to this already on their sites and I haven't had a chance to update my own yet, but Phil Agre's latest piece about Republican dirty tricks is a must-read. "The past ten days will go down as a turning point in American history. This is what it's like when the far right is taking over your country: the people support Al Gore's policies, but the polls are shifting toward George W. Bush because the media is filled with false attacks on Al Gore's character."
Somebody found my blog while searching for a 'doctor's surgery webpage'.
Somebody found my blog while searching for a 'doctor's surgery webpage'. AltaVista, Yahoo, Lycos -- has anyone ever found anything
useful from any search engine ever? Really? I don't believe you. Never ever
has any search engine -- not even lovely, nifty little Google -- given me what I want in any
useful way whatsoever. You would not believe how long it took me to find a
sodding picture of Steve
McQueen smoking the other day.
And for God's sake don't get me onto the utterly pointless localised versions or the abyssmal AltaVista picture search.
October 15
Microsoft beefs up Windows for cars.
Microsoft beefs up Windows for cars. Do we really want Windows controlling our cars computers?
Giger Flash.
"We probably don't want your business. Go away."
"We probably don't want your business. Go away." That actually seems to be the message here. I don't recall such a hostile advertisement before. (Via HardOCP)
Piggybacking off of SETI's success...
Piggybacking off of SETI's success... Anyone downloaded this FightAIDSAtHome program? I figure it's a bit more practical/useful than SETI@Home, and I'd rather cure a disease than search for intelligent life. Let's get cracking! [via Salon.]
Parisian Attack Monkeys
Parisian Attack Monkeys used by thugs in place of guns. What would Charlton Heston say?
You've seen the movie, you've read the book. Now, watch Dead Man Walking, the Opera. (more inside...)
among other stuff, the adam clymer fan club brings us: anagrams: george walker bush & gore blew a keg rush, The Dubya Virtual Magnetic Poetry Page, the compassionate conservative problem-solving flow chart, and punch sam donaldson and win $20!
A moment
A moment of silence for the end of The Mini. "My theory is 'Buy a Mini, get a social life for free.' It's true, believe me."
Should have used Blogger.
Should have used Blogger. Is Groksoup.com dead? (Or is it just resting? And why did it go down on a full moon Friday the 13th?) Seems quite a few bloggers just lost EVERYTHING in their Groksoup weblogs. Ouch.
October 14
Myst, in an actual 3d environment. Or so they say. Having no 3d card, I can't check it out.
Reality tv
Reality tv with a neato science lesson curve. Plus the mom claims to be "one of the ugleist women in Britain."
Neato.
Neato. This is one of the coolest 20 things I've found online yet. Self described as: the 2¢ of...a guy...who likes to golf, cocktail, and watch movies ... in that order.
found via coolstop.
found via coolstop.
Honey, I'm home...
Honey, I'm home... This is something that could only happen in Ohio.
FREE KEVIN MITNICK! (oh, he is?)
FREE KEVIN MITNICK! (oh, he is?)
Yahoo Internet Life interview with Mitnick (shh about posting stories from big sites). Interesting: how clueless he appears to be about the commercial web (and other post-1995 internet developments). Be very strange to go to jail when we did for what he did and, really, miss out ...
Yahoo Internet Life interview with Mitnick (shh about posting stories from big sites). Interesting: how clueless he appears to be about the commercial web (and other post-1995 internet developments). Be very strange to go to jail when we did for what he did and, really, miss out ...
It's common knowledge that Tetris players often see the game in their dreams. Now scientists are using the game to help understand the very nature of dreams themselves. But it doesn't address the question I've always had: Why Tetris? Why doesn't this happen with Quake or Ultima or even Super Breakout?
Owners who look like their dogs.
October 13
Whatever happened to...
Whatever happened to...
The Weblog of a Six Year Old. It was soo-o-o cute, and so precocious of a kid to practice typing on the Web, with parents' help, of course!
The Weblog of a Six Year Old. It was soo-o-o cute, and so precocious of a kid to practice typing on the Web, with parents' help, of course!
NYTimes.com has low security
NYTimes.com has low security
Even me, the casual passerby, could access secret documents about the mysterious "partners," while trying to avoid downloading a cookie. Heh, "channel", "partners", the number 10. They're all related somehow? PS: "channel.nytimes.com" doesn't give access to pages without logging in. Any ideas?
Even me, the casual passerby, could access secret documents about the mysterious "partners," while trying to avoid downloading a cookie. Heh, "channel", "partners", the number 10. They're all related somehow? PS: "channel.nytimes.com" doesn't give access to pages without logging in. Any ideas?
Crime does pay.
My grandma likes to cook, sew, and smoke a lot of crack.
My grandma likes to cook, sew, and smoke a lot of crack. This tiny article intrigues me, not for the cocaine information, but rather the cliffhanger of an ending sentence... Apparantly that part wasn't as newsworthy.
No cookies for you!
No cookies for you! Representative Gene Green has introduced H.R.5430 (hopefully, they'll have the text up soon), which would control collection of personal data over the net. I guess this is a backlash from some companies' policies, but does it go too far?
Urban Fetch Stops Selling to Consumers
Urban Fetch Stops Selling to Consumers They're strictly B-to-B from now on. They're also laying off around 160 people. They are having a pretty good sale, though.
Duke University must pay cut female football player two million dollars.
Duke University must pay cut female football player two million dollars. I am sure this will change the face of college athletics.
I didn't win.
I didn't win. But Mr. Kottke gets his props in Slate. Now I'm wondering whether that is good or bad.
Rabbi shot at in Chicago.
Rabbi shot at in Chicago. Could you keep your war on your side of the world please?
Girls can't throw?
Girls can't throw? They found that men had a better aim than women, but male and female monkeys were about equal
Scour goes bankrupt.
Scour goes bankrupt. Where am I going to get my copy of X-Men the movie now? Don't tell me I have to dust off my FTP client!
An art project called Screenshots
An art project called Screenshots has some very interesting pieces. A series of drawings from an isometric perspective, in the style of a computer game, are the new body of work by Tempe-based artist Jon Haddock. You can check out the full gallery here. See how many you can identify without reading the the img tag's "alt" text.
Very good analysis of the trouble in the Middle East.
He held up his palms to the crowd.
He held up his palms to the crowd. They were red with blood. As the mob bayed, a body clad only in grey underpants shot through the corner window of the Ramallah police station. It left a smear of blood on its descent.
In the tense moments before Israel exacted its retribution, witnesses described the scenes of horror in which at least two Israeli soldiers died at the hands of a Palestinian lynch mob.
Eyes on the Prize
Eyes on the Prize White House lobbied Norwegians for Clinton Nobel Peace Prize. Clinton and his minions are despicable, no?
October 12
Bushisms
Bushisms (flash) hee!
Jesus, put some clothes on.
Jesus, put some clothes on. It is always nice to see that someone is using DHTML for a healthy purpose...
Docs Online Bulgaria
Docs Online Bulgaria
It seems to make available the full text of many computer books for free -- Is this legal in Bulgaria?
It seems to make available the full text of many computer books for free -- Is this legal in Bulgaria?
Edward Said's analysis in the Guardian
Edward Said's analysis in the Guardian of the fatally flawed Peace Process and its inevitable demise. "Israel's priorities were always put first, as was its bottomless insecurity and its preposterous demands. No attempt was made to address the fundamental injustice done when Palestinians as a people were dispossessed in 1948."
Former Russian Prime Minister Suing George W. Bush
Former Russian Prime Minister Suing George W. Bush The irony is, Bush's statements were probably true
These are TEST returns. They must not be broadcast or published.
These are TEST returns. They must not be broadcast or published. Except on the web I take it? It looks like the conspiracy theorists will put Bush on top, by 4 percent. It's kind of creepy in the "Brokaw doing fake Sinatra has died news spots"
File under: "Duh!"
File under: "Duh!" "We agree that smoking is addictive and causes disease in smokers," said David Davies, vice president of corporate affairs of Philip Morris Europe.
According to a double-blind study, Zicam, an over the counter nasal spray, cuts duration of the common cold by 75%.
According to a double-blind study, Zicam, an over the counter nasal spray, cuts duration of the common cold by 75%. Now when I call in sick to work, I'll have to say I have cancer.
Terrorist attack in Yemen. 5 US sailors dead many more injured.
Terrorist attack in Yemen. 5 US sailors dead many more injured. This is just amazing. I can't believe the Yemeni President says it's not terrorism. What? Two people steering a small boat packed with explosives isn't terrorism? Was that a welcoming committee with too many fireworks? The hole is 20 feet high and 40 feet wide!
The next time you someone with a finger in their ear
The next time you someone with a finger in their ear they might be on the phone.
"Israel declares war"
"Israel declares war" I guess things have gone a little too far on both sides. Sad.
"Instead of pretending that prohibition on college campuses is realistic, we should be investing in helping those young people learn to make healthy and responsible choices."
"Instead of pretending that prohibition on college campuses is realistic, we should be investing in helping those young people learn to make healthy and responsible choices." -- August A. Busch III, chairman, Anheuser-Busch
In other McDonald's news....
In other McDonald's news.... Not only is the story amusing, but the headline includes the words "Hot Pickle Burn," which is, undeniably, a great name for a band.
You want fries with that?
You want fries with that? McDonald's employees are being "strip searched"? I thought you had it "your way" at Burger King.
Just a Coincidence?
October Coffee Crisis.
October Coffee Crisis. Montreal Gazette: "In its communiques, the BAF warned that Second Cup franchises were to be 'in the line of fire' and warned of an escalation of violent acts if Second Cup and other chains insist on keeping their trademark English names." More Trudeau nostalgia?
October 11
The Internet caused the Columbine massacre,
The Internet caused the Columbine massacre, according to George W. Bush in Wednesday night's presidential debate. Maybe Al Gore shouldn't have been so quick to claim that he took the initiative in creating the Internet.
Intel has a terrible quarter.
Intel has a terrible quarter. Is the PC industry in the toilet, or is it just Intel executing badly?
It's just Intel executing badly. (Reports of the demise of the PC industry are greatly exaggerated.) AMD has another great quarter and appears to be stealing Intel market share.
It's just Intel executing badly. (Reports of the demise of the PC industry are greatly exaggerated.) AMD has another great quarter and appears to be stealing Intel market share.
Wondering what to do with your :CueCat?
Wondering what to do with your :CueCat? These guys have got some answers.
Bummer.
How important are Amazon's customer reviews?
How important are Amazon's customer reviews? They may be fluff at best, but here's what I found when I dug a little deeper. I shudder to think that anyone is being positively influenced by this guy.
Duke kickers testify in gender case.
Duke kickers testify in gender case. Asked to rank her leg strength, Sims Lenhardt told jurors: "It was inferior to other guys out there. I would say 35 yards was probably the most she could kick."
Business 2.0 Evil?
Business 2.0 Evil? Tim Cavanaugh claims that Business 2.0 mutilated his article in order to attack Jesse Jackson.
Scroll to the October 6th letter on MediaNews to read B2.0's response, and Tim's response to their response.
I suspect I won't be buying their publication again.
Scroll to the October 6th letter on MediaNews to read B2.0's response, and Tim's response to their response.
I suspect I won't be buying their publication again.
Tell Congress you want Low Power Radio!
Tell Congress you want Low Power Radio! There is a bill before the Senate that would gut the FCC's ability to license low power radio. Click the link to tell your reps that you think S3020, which prohibits LPR, should be voted down. We like free speech here, right? We like having the right to use our own airwaves, right? Click the link, type in your ZIP and spread some legislative love, babies.
Duke 2000.
Duke 2000. If Nader wasn't getting my vote, Duke would.
He's drugged out, he's freaked out, he's heavily armed, he's ready!
He's drugged out, he's freaked out, he's heavily armed, he's ready!
I'm sorry.
Dear Blog....
Dear Blog.... with all the "ranting" and "whining" going on out there why would anybody want to be a part of this online community?
"Tax Clarity
"Tax Clarity was created to help you decipher what the tax plans by both presidential candidates mean to you personally." Enter some information from your paycheck and find out how much you'd save using either Bush's or Gore's tax plans. via dandot.
Spyware Control Act introduced. Senator Edwards is worried about certain companies spying on you. Now, these companies might be forced to tell you what information they send back to their servers. (via grc)
Former FCC Chairman Hundt's Reply
Former FCC Chairman Hundt's Reply to Nader on Wired (featured in an ealier Metafilter Posting). Essentially the message is, we promised you competition on Radio/TV/Cable but, oops, we really just meant the Internet.
October 10
Actors Beaten After Staging Bag Snatching -
Actors Beaten After Staging Bag Snatching - I just find the stupidity of their stunt funny, hehe...
Some people don't know when to keep their mouths shut.
Some people don't know when to keep their mouths shut. You'd think a judge of such long experience would know better. (Also this.)
Ooops. Bloghop make the coolest error ever.
Ooops. Bloghop make the coolest error ever. Admitedly it's only cool for me. You see...(more inside).
Today Apple announced Quicktime 5.
Today Apple announced Quicktime 5. It sounds cool but it's only available for Macintosh right now. Doesn't Steve understand that he needs to get this software out to as many platforms as possible, as soon as possible?
Windows Media Player 7 is looking better and better...
Finally, the promise of the internet realized. Your online guide to the best public toilets (by city). Memorize them all.
If you think that the monitor screens in Star Trek are cool looking, then you must check out this Screen Saver! Very well done. Mac version soon.
use my drive space, give me monopoly money!
use my drive space, give me monopoly money! ... i'm not sure at all that i understand this vision of p2p but it gives me a funny feeling reminiscent of the time my roommate tried to get everyone in the house to switch their phones over to excel. then again it's being touted as the killer *nap*
A spec for a really impressive new website service.
A spec for a really impressive new website service. I especially liked the design comments on the Flash intro; I think you will to.
The FBI is pushing for online ethics education in schools,
The FBI is pushing for online ethics education in schools, but I wonder if it's even possible to teach good ethics in school anymore? It must be a great time to be a young geek: music is free, porn is plentiful, you can save anything on the web by simply right-clicking and choosing save as, you can easily trade and copy reports online, cracks and warez mean never having to pay for software or games again, hacking tools are freely available to anyone, and you can be male/female/old/young online and no one knows the difference. How could you possibly teach kids that all those are bad things?
look ma no pocket protector!
look ma no pocket protector! -- and no clothes either. i trolled around the site this article refers to for a while and clearly the weirdest thing is that the whole project is essentially a resume. a riot.
The GOP just spammed me.
The GOP just spammed me. I received an email sent supposedly on behalf of "Jim Nicholson, Chairman, Republican National Committee" inviting me to become an "eChampion":
Once you've registered as an eChampion, you will receive fact-filled e-mails twice a week on the upcoming election, the candidates' stands on issues, etc. Your role as an eChampion is to send these e-mails on to AS MANY friends, neighbors and family members as possible, and invite them to register as eChampions themselves at http://www.echampions2000.com.
No, I didn't opt-in to some Republican mailing list. For a start, I'm Canadian, in Canada, and if I was going to vote for a right-wing wing-nut, it would be Stockwell Day. Talk about "idea viri"...
Once you've registered as an eChampion, you will receive fact-filled e-mails twice a week on the upcoming election, the candidates' stands on issues, etc. Your role as an eChampion is to send these e-mails on to AS MANY friends, neighbors and family members as possible, and invite them to register as eChampions themselves at http://www.echampions2000.com.
No, I didn't opt-in to some Republican mailing list. For a start, I'm Canadian, in Canada, and if I was going to vote for a right-wing wing-nut, it would be Stockwell Day. Talk about "idea viri"...
Nasa is funding an anti-gravity machine!
Nasa is funding an anti-gravity machine! Is this a good use of funds or a crackpot scheme? You be the judge.
Invasion of privacy, or good politicking?
Invasion of privacy, or good politicking? It's "computer software that helps political operatives intuit voters' beliefs and predilections based on data about their income, lifestyles, past electoral participation and other personal information."
o/~ Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday mathowie.
Happy birthday to you! o/~
This has certainly been the week of celebration at the Haughey household. Best wishes.
"Managers at the Morganfield store elected to go with a male Santa after a customer said her child had asked about Santa's breasts."
All Their Magic Kingdoms are Burning
Motorola's invasion of privacy.
Motorola's invasion of privacy. Taken from Slashdot.
Vote for ICAAN Board of Directors!
Vote for ICAAN Board of Directors!
If you are an at large member of ICAAN and still have not voted for the 5 at large Board of Directors seats, cast your vote before time runs out. The polls close October 10 at Midnight GMT.
If you are an at large member of ICAAN and still have not voted for the 5 at large Board of Directors seats, cast your vote before time runs out. The polls close October 10 at Midnight GMT.
October 9
The best idea for a PDA in a long time!
The best idea for a PDA in a long time! I love my palm but I think this would be even better yet.
Rapist speechless after victim bites tongue the victim "then ran off, tongue in mouth, to the nearest police station a kilometre away. Police were shocked when she produced the bitten-off tongue. Moments later, the suspect also arrived in agony, with blood pouring from his mouth, hoping to get medical help. He was immediately arrested. He received medical attention but it was not possible to have his tongue sewn back on. Police said the tongue would be kept and used as evidence."
MetaFilter has already noted
MetaFilter has already noted that Ralph Nader was prevented from debating Gush and Bore in the presidential debates hosted by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). Here is Nader's letter to the commission explaining the events and also making three demands that come due October 10...
cisco and microsoft didn't pay federal taxes last year.
cisco and microsoft didn't pay federal taxes last year. it seems it has something to do with paying employee stock options instead....
Speaking of campaigns,
Change of scenery.
Change of scenery. Weblogs.com has had a serious overhaul. What does this group of rag-tag critics think?
talk about a captive audience
talk about a captive audience 'AT&T Corp. is mulling a plan ... [that] ... would charge for each customer that accesses an Internet retail site using AT&T’s communications network. It would receive an additional commission when customers buy something, analysts said.'
Tonight & tomorrow on Frontline: The War on Drugs
Tonight & tomorrow on Frontline: The War on Drugs The PBS show Frontline is airing a four hour special on the (first?) 30 years of the War on Drugs, split over tonight and tomorrow nights. Advance coverage in today's Boston Globe indicates that it is well worth watching with interviews from leaders of the DEA, the Columbian cartels and everyone "in between".
Who wants to be a...Grab.com is giving away $1 Billion
Who wants to be a...Grab.com is giving away $1 Billion Grab.com, an email marketing company announced it would give $1 Billion to the player who selects the same series of seven numbers between one and 77 that Grab.com picks at random on Dec. 28.
As the article points out, the odds of any one individual claiming the $1 billion prize are a subatomic 1 in 2,404,808,340. Compared to the chance that Berkshire Hathaway will have to cough up $1 billion this year to cover one of its natural disaster insurance policies which is something like 1 in 100.
As the article points out, the odds of any one individual claiming the $1 billion prize are a subatomic 1 in 2,404,808,340. Compared to the chance that Berkshire Hathaway will have to cough up $1 billion this year to cover one of its natural disaster insurance policies which is something like 1 in 100.
Lookee what Microsoft is giving me as a potential update!
Lookee what Microsoft is giving me as a potential update! (Yeah, I know why it's really there.)
Episode Four!
Episode Four! Will Radiskull's evil helpmate, Devil Doll, tempt sweet Candy Angel into hell with him? Also: What better way to display that you're cooler than your compatriots than a Devil Doll doll for your desktop? What's next, "Must See Radiskull" on NBC?
Nader debates Gore advisor this week
Nader debates Gore advisor this week They might not let him debate Gore face to face, but hey, at least this is something. Way to put the issues on the table, Ralph.
Why?
Why? Story talks about stupid dot-com ideas who are having trouble getting funding. But somehow this ugly site burns through $50,000/month. How? Why can't someone give me some of that cash?
Time Warner "improves" its DVD region coding
Time Warner "improves" its DVD region coding to crack down on region-disabled players. Sony plans to use the new encoding as well, and the rest of the industry is likely to follow along. A leaked memo explains the new plan, which Warner had been trying to keep as quiet as possible.
He (Bush) has shown a consistent pattern of making major league mistakes when discussing his pubic-policy proposals
He (Bush) has shown a consistent pattern of making major league mistakes when discussing his pubic-policy proposals "pubic-policy"? Irony alert.
Surrogate clone mother
Surrogate clone mother Bessie, an Iowa farm cow, is pregnant. But she's not having a cow. Inside her uterus is an endangered species called an Asian gaur, a heavily muscled, humpbacked, ox-like animal native to the bamboo jungles of India and Burma. The embryonic gaur, Noah, due to be born next month, was cloned from a single skin cell taken from a dead gaur, researchers report in a paper in the latest issue of the journal Cloning, to be released this week. It is the first endangered species ever to be cloned, and the first cloned animal to gestate in the womb of another species.
Is this a new era in wildlife conservation? (Already, the Massachusetts scientists who created Noah are laying plans to clone endangered giant pandas.) Or are we bringing on Jurassic Park?
October 8
Give It Away?
Give It Away? Seth Godin's book Idea Virus is available for free on his website, but the book is ranked #973 on the Amazon.com best-seller list (which means more than a few people are buying it anyway). Interesting...
Don't know if this is a sign of the apocalypse, David Hasselhoff is starring as Jekyll and Hyde on the Broadway musical.
In the NY debate
In the NY debate between Clinton and Lazio a reporter asked them about House bill 602p. An evil bill this one, purporedtly letting the US Postal Service tax email!
A 38-year-old Slovenian
A 38-year-old Slovenian became the first person ever to ski non-stop down the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest, on Saturday. "I feel only absolute happiness and absolute fatigue," Davo Karnicar told Reuters by satellite phone after the descent
Al Gore, Artist.
Al Gore, Artist. Slate's listed a set of drawings done by Al Gore for a New Yorker profile. If you haven't read the article yet, Slate wants you to analyze each drawing and figure out what Al's trying to get accross. Post your ideas to The Fray; the most creative ones will be hilighted.
Clandestine Radio.
Clandestine Radio. Rebels, guerrillas, opposition groups, separatists, nationalists, regionalists, propaganda. You name it, it's on the air. [Via NASWeblog]
Racism, Ra-Ra!
Racism, Ra-Ra! The real "fighting Sioux" in North Dakota are the ones fighting racism. You'd think an institution of higher learning would be sensitive to issues like racial genocide, but apparently not. The Sioux could use your support.
Memorial to those who died of heroin.
Memorial to those who died of heroin. This is what I got in email today, after, I guess, they found my half-completed story on such a topic:
"I was looking on the internet on Google for heroin drug overdose. You can see my daughter's before and after picture on www.ourwall.net. Click on Cheryl Dean born July 11, 1979 overdosed on Oct 5, 1997. Cheryl didn't die but she can't walk, talk, move legs arms or hands is blind and on a feeding tube. She had a cardiac arrest and didn't get enough oxygen to the brain in time."
Ferrari has the title back in Maranello after 21 years.
Ferrari has the title back in Maranello after 21 years.
Michael Schumacher wins Suzuka and his third driver's championship. (More Here)
Michael Schumacher wins Suzuka and his third driver's championship. (More Here)
October 7
Creator of MetaFiler: Wedding Bliss,
Creator of MetaFiler: Wedding Bliss, As Matt's Brother, I can report to all here at MetaFilter, the Wedding went as picture perfect as they imagined!
No rain, Everybody was in time for the ceremony, Lucky no Television Reporters crashing or blocking streets, No helicopters hovering above.
It was a beautiful, simple gathering of friends and family
Here are the Exclusive Photo's only for the Metafilter Community:
Exchanging of Vows
and The Big Kiss!
Best of luck to Matt & Kay!!!
For those who like to watch carcrashes but don't want to patronize that site with the vulgar name, The Standard maintains Dot Com Flop Tracker, Dot Com Layoff Tracker, and Dot Com Ex-Exec Tracker.
the serpent foundation
the serpent foundation promotes a radical new theory merging biological evolution with cultural evolution and founded on human female sexual selection. This is the shift theory. "Since ancient times, the serpent has been closely associated with the mythological power of the female. In shift theory biological and cultural evolution are redefined in light of unifying concepts that make for a compelling argument that culture was initially derived from female sexual selection."
"Bringing Capitalism and Democracy Closer Together"
"Bringing Capitalism and Democracy Closer Together" My recent move to Seattle has lessened the value of my vote from $16.31 to $12.36. Aw, shucks.
It was bound to happen.
Stalking Prince William...?
Stalking Prince William...? There's been an upsurge in applications to St Andrew's from US high school students -- mostly female -- after news of William's choice of university. (Whether Britney Spears is applying to do Physics, I don't know.) Talk about great publicity... (more inside)
So was the dress red or purple?
So was the dress red or purple? - And was Frances Bean dressed in black or Blue? An AP photo and Reuters photo taken at the same moment, less than two or three feet apart - yet so blatantly different. Don't trust everything you see, indeed. (and don't ask how I stumbled onto this page).
Cracks in the Cube
Cracks in the Cube Great animated piece in response to the cracks in the Apple Cube. Flash 5.0 required - by way of dreamless.org
All the best, for today and for the future.
A striking photo of The Sigma Orionis star cluster
A striking photo of The Sigma Orionis star cluster where the astronomers have found 18 "planets" which are not orbiting around any central star. On the same note, you may want to visit the new planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History. My mother was not impressed by the New Hayden Planetarium when she visited NY this summer. I thought the Rose Center was a real life version of the Hawking book, The Illustrated A Brief History of Time. The book was a much better experience.
If anyone is (or will be) in New York and have nothing else planned for this evening, may I suggest a trip to the Brooklyn Museum of Art. BMA is free on every first saturday of the month (from 5 PM - 11 PM). Today's theme for the evening entertainment revolves around their special exhibition, Hip-Hop Nation: Roots, Rhymes and Rage. There will be an outdoor dance party (at the BMA parking lot) starting at 9 PM featuring samples from 20 years of Hip-Hop music. You can also walk through their current exhibitions, of which the Robots and Space Toys seems promising.
October 6
Cliques in chat!
Cliques in chat! This is one of the most unique chat apps I have ever come across. What do they serve in the food over at MIT anyway?
This has always been one of my worst nightmares,
This has always been one of my worst nightmares, even though it has always been much more likely to happen to my next door neighbor...
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" Aye, Corumba!
IG NOBEL PRIZES
IG NOBEL PRIZES Honoring individuals whose achievements "cannot or should not be reproduced."This year's prizes were awarded on Thursday evening, October 5, 2000, at Harvard University. Winners include levitating frogs and The Reverend Sun Myung Moon, for bringing efficiency and steady growth to the mass-marriage industry
Some people still believe that the Moon landings were faked.
Some people still believe that the Moon landings were faked. Some actually believe an even more disturbing scenario: that in fact a "World Government" has secretly colonized the Moon and Mars. This is the premise of the "Alternative Three" conspiracy theory. Interestingly enough, the "documentary" that spawned this theory was admittedly a hoax (Copyright April 1, 1977), and so was the book that followed it. However, it seems that even the author has been having a hard time convincing believers that it was indeed a hoax. Well, why don't you see for yourself?
How many times
How many times have you said "THERE'S GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY TO CARRY A GUN CONCEALED!"
Fat chance.
Fat chance. Since when do these four companies have the ability to prevent anyone else from creating yet another version? (Also, conspicuous by its absence from this story is Corel.)
Feel like a zombie? - Suck.com's take on Tivo giveaway
Feel like a zombie? - Suck.com's take on Tivo giveaway Okay, so the link's not all that recent, and Dack already made mention of it, but this is just for those who didn't see it before (Plus it's slow today.)
I was a winner, I got my Tivo last week, and love it. It was a 30-hour model, not the 14-hour one advertised. How do all you other winners feel about yours (now that you no longer have to kiss up to Tivo to get them)?
Flutterby
Flutterby wonders what the difference is between those who have faith in media and those who see them as "an unending stream of barely edited press-releases."
you would think that in researching child-pornography in order to report on it [for esquire?!] one might come across the information that transmitting such images is illegal. not this guy. "The Story That Can't Be Told"
October 5
Jar Jar Binks: E! True Hollywood Story.
Jar Jar Binks: E! True Hollywood Story. Something that has to been seen and felt. Bring kleenex and your pet cat.
Vice Presidential Debates:
Vice Presidential Debates: Though I disagree with everything he stands for, Dick Cheney came off as a much more eloquent and intelligent individual than did George W. Bush. This raises an interesting question - should GWB win the election, who will really be running the country?
Fight spam with silly human tricks!
Fight spam with silly human tricks! This service is built around a low rent Turing test. Anyone who is not already on your list of approved correspondents gets their message bounced back to them. If the poor sod can't pass a "fast and simple" challenge, their mail won't be passed on to you as they'll be presumed to be a spambot. I use Pine: I guess I'd fail. (Found via Webmonkey).
Do you remember the magic?™
More engineers who aren't afraid to dream.
More engineers who aren't afraid to dream. This is like that humongous telescope I posted about a few weeks ago, only in a different area.
Of course, the question is "If you get it working, what do you do with it?" What would you do with a 100 GHz petaflop CPU?
CNN whips out a dual headline format to cover both Yugoslavia and VP debates.
CNN whips out a dual headline format to cover both Yugoslavia and VP debates. What does one do when there are 2 top stories and your design only has room for 1? Is it worthwhile to bother with an alternate design like this?
al gore came to town
al gore came to town today and spoke on the plaza beneath my office window. unfortunately i wasn't able to hear much of what he said, since the secret service wouln't let us onto the lobby level. and you actually needed tickets to get onto the plaza. (here in conservative west michigan, where they were lucky anybody showed up at all!) those of us in the building had to settle for shooting a few pictures out the window. pretty much sucked.
Animals thought extinct found in remote Cambodian jungle:
Animals thought extinct found in remote Cambodian jungle: British scientists have found a wilderness in the Cardamom region of Cambodia where exotic species, some though to be
extinct, have been found. These include the Siamese
crocodile, the wolf snake (a new species so named because of
its dog-like fangs), large populations of tigers and Asian
elephants, and the gower, a forest cow. Ironically, the habitat was protected from significant human
intrusion because it was a longtime Khmer Rouge stronghold
and also because routes lead to and from it are landmined.
Yahoo! Buzz
Yahoo! Buzz See what everyone on Yahoo is looking for (excluding porn)
Wondering when and where your favorite band is playing?
Wondering when and where your favorite band is playing? Musi-cal is sort of the Internet Concert Database; a collaborative scheduling information site. To make it even cooler, it runs the Insanely Great™ Zope.
Is this not the best?
Teacher Fired Over Project to Plan Assassination
Teacher Fired Over Project to Plan Assassination
Tasteless or not, this poor bastard did not deserve to be fired. I just wish my high school teachers could've been half this creative.
(via christian of infliction.org.)
Tasteless or not, this poor bastard did not deserve to be fired. I just wish my high school teachers could've been half this creative.
(via christian of infliction.org.)
Wow!
Wow! Got to give it to the people in Yougoslavia... This is damn impressive and it looks like the end of Milosevic. Europe is almost completely democratic now!
An eaves dropping 'blog
An eaves dropping 'blog - for example:
"I looked over, and I noticed that she's stepped out of her Kia, and is talking on her Nokia cell phone... in the parking lot of Ikea." "And...?" --Two guys in line for the ATM
Order your creepy furniture today!
Order your creepy furniture today! Halloween is just around the corner.
A table that sets itself?
A table that sets itself? Great! Now if I can just find a bathroom that cleans itself, life will be perfect.
One word: Creepy. (Note that IBM doesn't actually own this patent -- they just run the patent lookup service.) Props to Victor.
"Babylon" brothers and sisters,
"Babylon" brothers and sisters, a fan has collected, archived and portaled a large collection of postings (Usenet and other forms) on writing, SF and TV work by J. Michael Straczynski, the "Babylon 5" creator-executive producer, also a longtime SF writer and, if you are as old as I am, you may remember him as the Scripts columnist for Writer's Digest. They're not ordered chronologically or topically, so they read more like random postcards from the volcano. But there's plenty of writing advice here and some nuggets of TV gossip dropped along the road.
Open Letters is juicy.
Open Letters is juicy. Here's a bit of one I liked...
"I nod gravely at my wife, to assure her: He's a brother. Everything will be all right. Here is no busta-ass wigger bullshit-talkin' IRS chickenhead. This man will not use the U.S. tax code to bully a pair of struggling bohemians; he will not be so rock-ribbed or steel-hearted as to pursue some hairsplitting perversion of justice, unleavened by sympathetic understanding, in the course of setting aright whatever trivial infractions he happens to uncover on our 1998 return; he will not plow us over with penalties."
Not with a whimper, but a bang...
Not with a whimper, but a bang... The Belgrade parliament is in flames. The State television building is broadcasting for Free Serbia. If you can get a stream, FreeB92 is the place to be listening. The revolution may not be televised, but this it has its own weblog
More Hot Nader Action Coming At You.
More Hot Nader Action Coming At You. Because you cannot post enough links about Ralph Nader on Metafilter. The curious thing about this article comes at the end, with the analysis of Nader's message. Yeah, Ralph's against a lot of stuff, but what is he for? What are his plans and agendas?
Two good to be true?
Two good to be true? 12 CDs for the price of one. I thought the Napster-obsessed Major Labels didn't like free music. Perhaps there's a nasty surprise in store when the service charges arrive.
I don't recall having heard from anybody that the consumer experience of getting online required redefinition.
Obviously
Obviously the Swedes have never heard of Howard Stern.
Napster for sale
Napster for sale -- potential buyers include "a Western telecommunications giant and a brand-name 'pure' Internet service provider."
Yet another
Yet another attempt by the networks to use "underground marketing" to promote their new shows. Pretty transparent.
October 4
The Sydney games make be gone, but they're not forgotten.
The Sydney games make be gone, but they're not forgotten. Now you can relive them and even pretend to participate. (But why in hell would anyone want to?)
Sometimes the irony is just too hard to resist.
Sometimes the irony is just too hard to resist. It's a little hard to read because it's a photo of a monitor, but well worth the effort. (Courtesy of Hard OCP.)
This script for Stanley Kubrick's never-made film "Napolean"
This script for Stanley Kubrick's never-made film "Napolean" probably won't be online for long.
Google expands advertising options...
Google expands advertising options... and still doesn't appear to have blown their rep.
Clinton critic accused of being a wanker
Clinton critic accused of being a wanker -- Matthew J. Glavin, who heads a legal foundation trying to have President Horndog disbarred, has been accused of publicly fondling himself and an undercover federal officer. More details here.
"Shut the gates! Shut the gates!"
"Shut the gates! Shut the gates!" Yasser Arafat... willing participant, or kidnap victim? In all seriousness, I think the real problem now is that all sides are represented by drama queens.
Soon the rebellion will be crushed and Steve will be one of us.
Soon the rebellion will be crushed and Steve will be one of us. Dark times begin to loom over 1 Infinite Loop once again.
This is just disturbing.
This is just disturbing. A baby boy "was stolen from his slain mother's womb by another woman, who passed the baby off as her own until she killed herself under police scrutiny." The references to similar cases at the bottom of the article, especially the one involving the car keys, are quite messed up as well.
The content is somewhat graphic - be advised.
FLASH!
FLASH! Sanity breaks out in Congress! Doesn't sound like grandstanding to me; sounds like these guys have a clue on software and business method patents. "Healthy skepticism" sound like real friendly words to me.
A large collection o' more on the CueCrap.
A large collection o' more on the CueCrap. Some very nice points in this one... "I don't want it, how do I send it back?" "You can't send it back; keep it and do whatever you want with it." "You threatened me for 'doing what I wanted with it'."
Netscape redesigns.
Private school ejects Sailor Moon fan
Private school ejects Sailor Moon fan for inadvertently accessing an "adult" Sailor Moon site. The kid didn't know what the site was ahead of time, the site slipped through the school's content filters, and the boy "immediately logged off after less than a minute on the Web site". I don't know if this qualifies as a zero tolerance issue, but it's definitely an overraction, not to mention an ugly failure of blocking software. [via Ribbit]
Microsoft: The next 25 years.
Microsoft: The next 25 years. Microsoft's "freedom to innovate" produces the paradigm-shifting "red screen of death". And other gems. (Care of brainwords.com)
Keep the Deja Archive Alive!
Keep the Deja Archive Alive! Help encourage Deja.com to bring back their pre-1999 Usenet archive by signing the petition.
(from Search Engine Watch)
(from Search Engine Watch)
A 12-year old Palestinian boy whose death in an Israeli-Palestinian gun battle shocked the world was killed by Israeli soldiers, a senior army commander confirmed today. The death of the boy, Mohammed Jamal Aldura, was captured by French television. The images of his terrifying last moments have come to symbolize the chaotic nature of the violent confrontations of the past few days. The death toll is at more than 50 now, almost all of them Palestinians.
Me and my wife both saw this on TV the other day.
Needless to say, it was very graphic and shocking. The poor boy was hiding behind his father who himself was behind only a small stone and trying to wave that he was unarmed and not a threat. He did this continuously for 15-20 seconds, and then all of a suddenly, there was a burst of gunfire, with 10-20 bullets hitting him, the boy, and all around them. The boy was dead, and the man was injured critically.
This to me, did not look like a random act of chaotic violence, but more of an act of murder.
This distressed my wife so much she started crying, the images were so shocking.
Thanks to Sudama for the link... I hadn't seen the story in the "press" which seems not to want to print the "other" side of the story.
Me and my wife both saw this on TV the other day.
Needless to say, it was very graphic and shocking. The poor boy was hiding behind his father who himself was behind only a small stone and trying to wave that he was unarmed and not a threat. He did this continuously for 15-20 seconds, and then all of a suddenly, there was a burst of gunfire, with 10-20 bullets hitting him, the boy, and all around them. The boy was dead, and the man was injured critically.
This to me, did not look like a random act of chaotic violence, but more of an act of murder.
This distressed my wife so much she started crying, the images were so shocking.
Thanks to Sudama for the link... I hadn't seen the story in the "press" which seems not to want to print the "other" side of the story.
Anyone know the URL of the site in this article?
Anyone know the URL of the site in this article? It's an interesting (if misguided) opinion piece about a database that lets you look up campaign donors by zip code. Only he never gets around to giving you the address.
Monkeyfist has some alternate questions for the two candidates.
Damien Barrett
Damien Barrett launches a new column on Macworld with a novel Holmesian (not Oliver Wendell, but Sherlock) approach. Give the man some feedback in the comments section at the bottom of the column. He also redesigned his web site. Damien's cool.
George W. Bush "suspended" from Texas Air National Guard.
George W. Bush "suspended" from Texas Air National Guard. He repeatedly says he was discharged "honorably", but some government documents seem to say otherwise
Foamhenge.
Yeah, Nader couldn't get in, but...
Yeah, Nader couldn't get in, but... Did anyone read the bottom of this story?
Other protesters objected to Gore's relationship with Occidental Petroleum, which plans exploratory drilling a few miles outside the boundaries of a U'wa Indian tribe reserve in Colombia. The U'wa believe oil exploration will destroy their culture.
This, to me sounds pretty hypocritical of Gore. He bemoans Bush's ties to Oil, when he himself also has ties, and then complains about opening up the Wildlife preserve in Alaska. But hey, I guess other people's and countrie's rights don't matter when it comes to money, and it isn't in America.
Other protesters objected to Gore's relationship with Occidental Petroleum, which plans exploratory drilling a few miles outside the boundaries of a U'wa Indian tribe reserve in Colombia. The U'wa believe oil exploration will destroy their culture.
This, to me sounds pretty hypocritical of Gore. He bemoans Bush's ties to Oil, when he himself also has ties, and then complains about opening up the Wildlife preserve in Alaska. But hey, I guess other people's and countrie's rights don't matter when it comes to money, and it isn't in America.
Facts, fiction, and half-truths.
Facts, fiction, and half-truths. What was said, but what was reality. For both canidates.
October 3
Irritated? Problem fingers?
Irritated? Problem fingers? Then try perpetual bubblewrap! It's like bubblewrap....only perpetual! (link found with the much appreciated assistance of this dutch bint
At least Nader tried to debate...
the debate is on
the debate is on and I've learned two things
Arrggg!!! LA NBC is showing baseball!
Arrggg!!! LA NBC is showing baseball! I should have figured that people in Southern California would be more interested in watching sports than the debates.
Milosevic is a bad, bad man.
Milosevic is a bad, bad man. Not that we didn't know this before, but.... really.
Freedom of Speech
Freedom of Speech Zine 2600 cannot link to DeCSS, but CNN can?
Amazon.com keeps adding to the black hole.
Amazon.com keeps adding to the black hole. Looks like Amazon.com has taken a page from the Government's "running the country" book - they keep throwing money at a black hole instead of restructuring what they already have.
Zero Tolerance gone bad. Again.
Zero Tolerance gone bad. Again. More inside.
Weak leg?
Weak leg? A female kicker is suing Duke University because she was cut from the team. She says it was because she's a woman, the coach says she wasn't as versatile as other kickers on his roster. With colleges passing illiterates through based on football skill, I'm skeptical that a coach would make a roster decision based on sex.
Did Anybody catch Nader and Buchanan on Larry King last night?
Did Anybody catch Nader and Buchanan on Larry King last night? I did, and I actually found myself *agreeing* with Buchanan -- on so many issues that I surprised and shocked myself!
Rocket firing gunships vs. rock throwers?
Rocket firing gunships vs. rock throwers? Am I the only one who finds this stuff a bit disturbing? If it was any country other than Israel, wouldn't there be a completely different slant to the news stories?
NYTimes.com asks for feedback on its new home page
NYTimes.com asks for feedback on its new home page
The New York Times on the Web previewed a new design for its popular home page today. The page widens the content areas to over 750 pixels, up from around 500. The page now presents special feature teasers, and links to NYT's hideously unpopular Internet "knowledge network" venture, Abuzz.com, along the enlarged right-hand margin. No word was given as to whether the site would abandon its free registration requirement. "Surfers" may register their opinions about the new design at newhomepage@nytimes.com
The New York Times on the Web previewed a new design for its popular home page today. The page widens the content areas to over 750 pixels, up from around 500. The page now presents special feature teasers, and links to NYT's hideously unpopular Internet "knowledge network" venture, Abuzz.com, along the enlarged right-hand margin. No word was given as to whether the site would abandon its free registration requirement. "Surfers" may register their opinions about the new design at newhomepage@nytimes.com
Superfluous and unnecessary.
Superfluous and unnecessary. The :Cue Cat reader has insinuated itself into the very fabric of the Dallas Morning News, promising links to "expanded content" and "special promotions" by using this $50 future garage sale item. Is there a real need for bar code scanners in the average household? Or is :Cue Cat merely artificially creating a need for their services?
Almost two decades ago (19801208), Mark David Chapman fired the fatal gun shot which killed John Lennon. Today, Chapman will meet with the New York State Board of Parole to convince them of his reform. (You can be my) Yoko Ono has written the Board, requesting the denial of Chapman's parole out of safety for herself, Sean and Julian.
Should Chapman be paroled?
"Microsoft Bails Out Rival Corel"
"Microsoft Bails Out Rival Corel" ...but the "L-word" is never mentioned. Still, looks like MS-branded Linux and/or a port of Office to Linux just became a lot more possible.
October 2
Oh, my god! They sell stuff concerning sex in that store! Stone them!
Oh, my god! They sell stuff concerning sex in that store! Stone them! So, why is it again that sex is bad? [Courtesy of Dan Lyke's excellent Flutterby.]
Divas Defeat Goliath!
Divas Defeat Goliath! The Digital Divas have been successful in their effort to get Microsoft to cease and desist use of the Digital Diva name.
A radio DJ's prank on travelling friends.
A radio DJ's prank on travelling friends. ...involved faking an Interpol officer and the suggestion of "concealed" bird eggs. [More inside...]
Here is an interesting account of S11
Here is an interesting account of S11 written by a journalist who went to protest on his day off. More inside...
Worship Little Debbie cakes.
So how much money is Stephen King throwing away?
So how much money is Stephen King throwing away? G. Beato's take on the world's most famous e-publishing experiment makes a great point: King has the clout to drive traffic, and that can worth a hell of a lot more than what he's getting directly from his readers. King's got brand identity and endless content -- why is he bothering with a subscription fee?
Ralph Nader's Latest Super Rally
Ralph Nader's Latest Super Rally The man is drawing some BIG crowds. (Requires RealAudio)
Have fun laughing your ass off.
Don't just sit there, go buy some un-used 3 Letter Acronym domain names for the heck of it.
In general, if you want to use drugs and keep your job then become a programmer.
Home schooling.
Home schooling. While it can be beneficial to some, I still have to wonder about the quality of education and the social stagnation kids may be subjected to...
Long, closely-argued explanation of how America went back to the death penalty.
Al Gore and the Internet
Al Gore and the Internet
A post to nettime from Vinton Cerf, someone who knows a little something about the development of the internet (he led the development of TCP/IP), giving Al Gore props for taking initiative for creating the Internet. Al never said he "invented" the internet. But he's had a lot of influence in creating the internet we all know and love.
I have no interest in toadying for Gore, but it does bother me how people parrot the misattributed quote, and seemingly have no desire to know how things really developed.
A post to nettime from Vinton Cerf, someone who knows a little something about the development of the internet (he led the development of TCP/IP), giving Al Gore props for taking initiative for creating the Internet. Al never said he "invented" the internet. But he's had a lot of influence in creating the internet we all know and love.
I have no interest in toadying for Gore, but it does bother me how people parrot the misattributed quote, and seemingly have no desire to know how things really developed.
Democrat election site spamming search engines?
Democrat election site spamming search engines? What does Al Gore have to do with MP3's? Did he take the initiative in inventing them too?
October 1
Television stations in New York are refusing to run ads questioning Hillary Clinton's sexuality: "The ads were prepared by the Virginia based Christian Action Network. The 30-second TV ad features pictures of Hillary Rodham Clinton with the following narration: "It is rumored that Hillary Clinton is a lesbian. It is rumored that Hillary Clinton supports homosexual marriage. It is rumored that Hillary Clinton will leave her husband upon taking office. It was rumored that Bill Clinton had an affair with Monica Lewinsky. Sometimes rumors are true." The narrator then says to contact CAN for 'more information on traditional family values.'" whoa, that is so classy! way to go, christian action network!
My God! Brits actually have rights!
My God! Brits actually have rights! Of course, it's not part of their constitution since they don't have one, but they actually have a codification of things the government can't do to them.
First the New York Times, now the OC Register.
First the New York Times, now the OC Register. This most recent defacement was Subversion of Information. One step closer to something more dastardly. (more inside)
It's a slow Sunday and so I thought I would share with you the best public radio station out there.
It's all over...
It's all over... And I can honestly say that watching this Olympics has shaken all the pre-Games cynicism out of my system. It's been wonderful to watch, looked wonderfully organised, and suffused with a sense of good spirit by its hosts... good on you, mates.
The Dutch demonstrate yet again
The Dutch demonstrate yet again that they have the most open-minded and progressive culture on the planet. They've also legalized cannibis.