Exciting news!

11:10:43 AM     leave/read comments []

DAMN YOU, ATMOSPHERE!!!

6:32:20 PM     leave/read comments []

A Cheap Space Documentary, which is better than some expensive space documentaries I've seen.

Link props to juliebeth

5:28:32 PM     leave/read comments []

"I have been feeling a little guilty about causing so many people out there to have nightmares, depression and sickness from my little joke. The reaction of people word wide has blown me away. I never intended for such a thing to happen."

5:20:47 PM    

From the looks of the guy in the corner, things don't smell very good at all.

12:02:33 PM     leave/read comments []

Oligoplies and copyrights

An article in a recent New York Times Magazine ("The Tyranny of Copyright," 1/25/2004) explores the way in which big companies use copyright laws as a weapon to control mind space on the market and threaten competition, criticism, or even reportage.

[Oligopoly Watch]

US copyright law is increasingly used to strangle the free exchange of information and move creativity into corporate-controlled veal pens of thought and expression, and DRM schemes only look to accelerate this trend.

The result has been almost no work entering the public domain. Even worse has been the mad scramble by entities like music companies, photo archives, and book publishers to snatch up the rights of anything they can get their hands on. In addition, states the article.

The law has also extended the scope of copyright protection, creating what critics have called a "paracopyright," which prohibits not only duplicating protected material but in some cases even gaining access to it in the first place.

You can't fight back, if you don't know you're being screwed.

11:24:14 AM     leave/read comments []

Speaking of searching the archives, I found my first ever online photo gallery.

Ah, 1996.

10:46:05 AM     leave/read comments []

I've added the ability to search my weblog's archives via Google search. Natch:

It's in my sidebar, just down a bit from the list of fine blogs.

12:34:28 AM     leave/read comments []

Stuff is getting unpacked and set up....

Guitars first, of course.

11:57:37 PM     leave/read comments []

Horseshit.

Dr. Rice insisted that Mr. Bush had had no real choice but to invade Iraq. "The president's judgment to go to war was based on the fact that Saddam Hussein had for 12 years defied the international community, refused to account for large stockpiles of weapons," she said in an interview with Matt Lauer on NBC's "Today" program. "Nobody could count on the good will of Saddam Hussein to tell us that he did not have anthrax or botulinum toxin. He didn't even try.'

But Condi, my dear, that's a far cry from the "Imminent Threat" of the Yellow Cake Sate Of The Union. Lies followed by lies.

4:39:08 PM     leave/read comments []

Y'all remember the ISS, right?

NASA has pretty much abandoned it to the Russians.

The head of Russia's space program, Yury Koptev, has also expressed frustration that the United States has yet to give a date for the resumption of U.S. shuttle flights to the International Space Station. A U.S. Space Agency's web site says the next shuttle flight won't take place before mid-September.

NASA grounded the shuttle early last year after the U.S. ShuttleColombia disintegrated on reentry into Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts on board.

Russia has been handling all cargo and manned flights to and from the ISS ever since.

[From VOA News]

Nothing like a Bush announcing a Mars program to really screw up the U.S. manned space program.

3:19:02 PM     leave/read comments []

BoingBoing brings us the story of what has to be the stupidest computer mod EVER.

G5-to-PC modding. This guy's parents gave him a dual-CPU Mac G5 for Christmas, which wouldn't run any of his Windows apps, so he gutted the box and installed the guts of a PC, then donated the Mac parts to a friend who is going to try to jam them into his old G3 chassis.

It's a good thing my parents don't know anything about computers, because I'm sure they would be really angry if they knew what I did. I have to say that I'm happy - I can keep on using XP.

The board is a Biostar Micro ATX, with a 2200 Athlon XP with an Adaptec 29160 SCSI controller and two 36 GB Atlas 10K V hard drives. I am stuck using the onboard video because there is no AGP slot. I had no money for a SATA controller and quite honestly, I swear by SCSI (the G5 comes with SATA drives).

Link

Oy.

UPDATE: It was all a joke, actually.

From Andy the "G5 Killer":

I am sure you are wondering why this all took place.

Are the pictures real? Yes. Is it my own G5 case that has been cut and hacked? Yes. Did I give away two G5 2GHz processors (IBM PC 970)? No! So what happened?

I got a free G5 shell from a buddy of mine and pulled a prank on a Mac loving friend. He got so upset. I wrote up a little story, my imagination and warped sense of humor kicked in. I sent it to OC.com just to see the reaction. I honestly didn't think it was going to be posted. I cannot believe how fast or how far it has spread on the internet. There are an amazing number of people who are emotionally attached to inanimate objects such as computers. Mac fans seem to be much worse that I ever expected. The G5 is amazing, I would never dream of really doing that ;)

1:22:54 PM    

Spirit is with us again!

NASA's troubled teen of a Mars rover, Spirit, is back in communication with Earth and sending photos to JPL.

Click on the photo at right to make it BiG.

12:58:30 PM     leave/read comments []

It's impossible to not sound apocalyptic, because, well, Bu$hCo is all about The Apocalypse.

3) Iraq is a fine launching point for the planned Christian missionary infiltration of the last great heathen empire.

The new American empire is Christian. This is the mission, and George Bush was elected to fulfill that mission. The job is already well under way --

the continent of Africa is becoming Christianized at an astonishing rate, and missionaries are swarming around the globe, carrying seed packets and Bibles. The wave of religious conversions is comparable to the sudden impact of Islam in the world 14 centuries ago.

With that goal -- global political and religious hegemony -- it's not surprising that the Bush administration has little time for things like individual civil liberties and balancing the budget. It is, as he said once, a crusade.

God help us all, that is if He isn't too busy making Haliburton even more wealthy and powerful.

12:35:33 PM     leave/read comments []

Or, "Size matters!"

"Oh, I don't care about all that," she said. "I just want to get him a really huge plasma."

If there had been subtitles under this conversation, they would have said: "I don't care about viewing. I care about status."

This woman was about to drop $20,000 on a screen that was ridiculously oversized for her TV room- but didn't care, because it was ridiculously chic.

Sort of sums up America's Supersized attitude towards everything.

12:09:39 PM     leave/read comments []

I vant! To be!

ALONE!!!

6:50:19 PM     leave/read comments []

"I hates WINTER!"

5:25:05 PM     leave/read comments []

Sperm whale explodes in Tainan City, Taiwan. Blood and guts of 17-meter long 50-ton mammal splatter sidewalks, automobiles parked nearby. A dead sperm whale being transported through Tainan City on its way to a research station suddenly exploded yesterday... [Taiwan News]

Man, this story has it all: sperm, cars, explosions! It's the feel-good hit of the season!

Well, except for the whale. And maybe those folks who have to smell it.

Local news reports showed a number of people who had gathered to take photographs of the whale before it exploded in Tainan City, as well as residents and shop owners following the explosion. Many were wearing gauze-masks and trying to clean up the spilled blood and the entrails with brushes and brooms.

"What a stinking mess! This blood and other stuff that blew out on the road is disgusting, and the smell is really awful," said one resident.

Well, you can't have everything.

3:55:30 PM     leave/read comments []

"I'll have the Ill-Jong Chicken, please."

3:41:56 PM     leave/read comments []

What Famous Leader Are You?

Props to Adam for the link.

2:00:53 PM     leave/read comments []

Mars rocks may be 'sedimentary'. Nasa scientists discover what might be the most compelling evidence yet of rocks formed in water on Mars. [BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition]

Exciting news!

1:16:51 PM     leave/read comments []

Stunning political advocacy Flash..

This is one of the most effective pieces of political advocacy I've ever seen. Ben Cohen, the Ben of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, narrates a short Flash movie for TrueMajority.org, in which he explains -- using Oreo cookies -- the way that the federal budget is currently apportioned, and how little rearrangement would be necessary to renew all of America's social programs. The examples are vivid and charming, and the logic is compelling.

The only thing I'd change is adding a fast-forward, pause and rewind button. I wanted to refer back to specific sections of the movie, and the "play all the way through" interface really frustrated me (just taking this screenshot was really hard).

Link (via Vertical Hold) [Boing Boing Blog]

12:29:22 PM    

I thought the WHOLE POINT of a guillotine was to cause serious injury, especially when used carefully.

This page on office safety is just priceless. The photo illustrations are downright Brentian in their obvious genius.

10:57:03 AM     leave/read comments []

Files 'overloaded' Mars probe. Hundreds of data files accumulating on the computer belonging to Mars rover Spirit may have crippled it. [BBC News | Technology | UK Edition]

I know how Spirit feels; a filing cabinet nearly crippled me the other day when I tried to move it.

"We have lots and lots of files on the spacecraft."
- Jennifer Trosper, surface development manager, Spirit

10:48:20 AM    

"The frangible justification for the war in Iraq became even moreso with the resignation of David Kay."

10:41:24 AM     leave/read comments []

Please note:

Thousands of e-mails triggered by the worm, which only affects computers using Microsoft Windows, were bombarding networks within hours of its discovery on Monday.

Windows only? I'm shocked.

OK, not really.

But this part is certainly novel:

"But it also seems it will attempt to perform a denial of service attack on SCO from 1 February to the 12th," said Mr Hogan.

SCO is one of the largest Unix open-source vendors in the world. It has been in the news recently because it has claimed that key parts of the open-source operating system, Linux, are under SCO's copyright.

When will it be the RIAA's turn, I wonder?

10:26:30 AM     leave/read comments []

A little something for my pal Adam, who just got off the phone with Sprint:

Five ways I tend to feel after speaking with Sprint's Customer Service

1. Like I was just traded to another inmate for 2 packs of menthol cigarettes
2. Like I've been slapped repeatedly with a half-frozen sturgeon
3. Like I've accidentally just agreed to finish the homework of every kid in my middle school
4. Like somewhere in a big Sprint building, there's a fat man with a monocle and a top hat smoking a cigar while dancing a jig and holding a fat bag of five-dollar bills with my bewildered face on it
5. Very, very unclean

Link props to Boing Boing Blog

12:56:10 PM     leave/read comments []

Risky E-Vote System to Expand. The federal government wants to try out a new Internet voting system during the next presidential election and dismisses a report on its security risks. But a Canadian online vote indicates the risks are real. By Kim Zetter. [Wired News]

Oh, yeah, I trust them. This is the same Federal Government that brought us the USAPATRIOT act and Operation Iraqi Freedom (also known as "Kill Your Sons And Daughters For Haliburton")

12:44:29 PM     leave/read comments []

I have seen the future and it is cheap, fast and hella cool.

Primer follows a pair of young scientists working in their garage who create a device with great moneymaking possibilities -- and some time-bending side effects. Shot and edited for $7,000,Primer is surely one of the cheapest sci-fi films ever made. It's also as tense and atmospheric as most studio movies, and far more distinctive.

I can't wait to see these pictures. Hope they make it to The Ross, so I can see them.

12:22:56 PM     leave/read comments []

Teen gets Xbox for MikeRoweSoft. A Canadian teenager has agreed to hand over his website to Microsoft in exchange for a goodie bag. [BBC News | Technology | UK Edition]

...and this item:

Microsoft creator to be knighted. Bill Gates is to receive an honorary knighthood from the Queen for his contribution to enterprise in the UK. [BBC News | Technology | UK Edition]

I wonder if Lizzie got an Xbox, too?

11:40:52 AM     leave/read comments []

Hey! Cool!

Bob Mould has a blog!

But man, if he can't afford the $49.00 for iLife (with GarageBand), then that's really, really depressing.

11:13:56 AM     leave/read comments []

Chillin', mon.

10:46:13 PM     leave/read comments []

Wow! I'm number one at MacIdol.com! (Which used to be GarageBand Planet, until they got cease and desisted out of their name.)

Pop on over and have a listen to what folks are doing with Apple 's cool new way to make music.

10:39:51 PM     leave/read comments []

10:24:17 PM     leave/read comments []

Good Bush. Bad Bush. In the Truly Tasteless category, I offer this t-shirt. [The Slat Rat Chronicles]

I couldn't have said it better myself.

5:12:04 PM     leave/read comments []

Welcome to Mars!

The spacecraft, which landed in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars early Sunday, sent back over 75 black-and-white and color images of the landing site taken within a few hours of landing. Unlike Gusev Crater, the region where Opportunity's twin Spirit landed three weeks ago, the landscape is not littered with rocks and shows few major terrain features. A panoramic image of the landing site does show an unusual rock outcropping that scientists think may be the first accessible bedrock feature seen on the planet. The surface also has a darker color than see in other landing sites. "Opportunity has touched down in a bizarre, alien landscape," said principal investigator Steven Squyres.

Well, duh.

5:00:49 PM     leave/read comments []