Whitmarshall, MN

Let's call this site dead

2009-04-23T22:25:00.003-04:00

I've really abandoned good ol' Whitmarshall. I've set up a new personal site under my own name at www.brianwhitmarsh.com. If you are interested in Brian musings and updates, please check it out. I'm going to try and stay away from the random collection of link reposting that Whitmarshall basically ended up being.

Plastic Logic

2008-09-09T22:05:00.006-04:00

Just saw some info on this new e-paper product from Plastic Logic. This is good; a step in the right direction. It seems like it has been years that people have been talking about e-paper and e-book readers, and there are several out there, but they are pricey and still don't seem to have great usability. I'm going to keep an eye on this one (still some glitches apparent in the presentation in that company link). If someone comes up with a good reader, I'll definitely look into buying on. I do still love the physicalness of a real book, but this looks like a great way to carry around several, and to access other document types as well.

Here's some more video of the device at the DEMO convention earlier this week:

(remember to buy Brian's products from Zazzle!)

Braid

2008-09-06T18:48:00.003-04:00

I recently downloaded the game Braid via the Xbox 360 Live Arcade, and just finished up playing through it. I can't say enough good about this game. It is a little indy game by a small team (essentially two guys), and it is very much worth the $15 bucks for it. I'd love to see more creative works like this. It is hard to tell from still photos (which might even look kind of childish and silly), but it is a very beautiful game, with painterly graphics and a fantastic score. It is mainly a platformer (with heavy nods to Super Mario Bros.) but includes the use of time-manipulation to collect puzzle pieces that help you proceed or add to the story. The story and approach is so refreshing: it is well thought out, it is thought provoking, and it is mature. I can see how some people might be put off by the ambiguous, arty story, but it is challenging (story wise and many of the puzzles) and you'll be rewarded by well earned a-ha moments (again in the story and from solving the puzzles). Without spoiling anything, I was at first kind of confused and underwhelmed by a change of style of the last level, but then when I figured out what was going on, it completely floored me and made me appreciate the game much more.

Other recent games (not so thought-provoking):

Oblivion: Shivering Isles - Fairly recently finished this. If you are looking for a game (an older one) that will give you a ton of hours of play, it is Oblivion.
NCAA Football 2007 - I found this for $5, so I bought it. Oh, Iowa State, why can't you be more powerful?
Soul Calibur IV - Far from thought-provoking or life changing, the Soul Calibur series is still a fun bit of mindless fighting.

Jon Stewart on media, fun election merchandise

2008-09-04T20:07:00.009-04:00

Well, political season is in full swing again, and that is angrying up my blood so I thought I would try to start posting every once in a while again.

First stop:

Jon Stewart on Palin's Media Surrogates found on Comedy Central Insider. I'm really glad that someone pays attention to what these people say over time. His examples are all Republicans, I believe, but I certainly don't think this kind of two-faced-ness is limited to just that party. I would love to see a 24-hour media channel that constantly challenges people on their changing positions and hypocrisy, or shows video proof of contradictory stances.

Otherwise, I've put some hopefully fun political designs on my Zazzle Store. Please feel free to check them out and buy many, many items. (Using the link in the first sentence of this paragraph gives me a better royalty, by the way, thank you.)

create & buy custom products at Zazzle

A lot of fish, bubbles, customer service, monitors, laterals, music

2007-11-03T12:19:00.000-05:00

Here's a little link potpourri for you on:

Plentyoffish: 1-man company might be worth $1 Billion. OK, that's impressive. In the article you find that he recently hired a second person.
Bubblewrap, now in electronic form! And it is refreshable, so you can pop it over and over.
The Ultimate Consumerist Guide to Fighting Back. I haven't read through all of it yet, but looks like it might be a good resource for those unfortunate times when you don't get the service you need.
Make the most of dual monitors. Some neat tips and freebies for those of us with two (or more) monitors.
I'll close with a couple videos:

Here was an amazing football clip showing a great (but unusual) use of laterals:
And this last one... all I can say is brilliant:

The electric company

2007-10-18T22:24:00.000-04:00

I'm not generally a huge YouTube scavenger, but occasionally I link to it from some other forum or site and get sucked into chasing a nostalgic path. Like today, when I ran across a link to a video from the old "The Electric Company" children's show from my youth (it was "Billy Lick a Lolly"), and that started me browsing for more. I was pretty sure I had watched this show, and now that is confirmed because in seconds of video, or just from the video titles, it all comes back to me. (What a strange and awesome show this was!) Other good ones:

It really blew my mind
Steady Freddy
Whimper and Whine
Freeze
T-I-O-N (shun, shun, shun, shun), which is a song I never really forgot, along with
Eleven Twelve (this one is a bit of a remix) from Sesame Street
Lost Kid and Yo-Yo Master - another one from those trippy 70s episodes of Sesame Street

Browse around YouTube and you'll find tons more (just be careful about getting the songs stuck in your head).

Five differences

2007-10-17T21:12:00.000-04:00

Remember those activities in magazines when you were a kid where you had to look at two pictures and identify the differences in the two? Well, someone used the power of the Internet to make an updated version with nice animations. Five Differences is a neat little time waster.

IT vision, student vision, future vision, bleak vision

2007-10-16T19:47:00.001-04:00

Here's a small set of items for today:

10 little secrets you should know about working in IT - as an IT person myself, I saw some truth in these, though I thought it was a bit pessimistic.
A Vision of Students Today (YouTube video) - I thought this was an interesting class project, but I'm not entirely sure the point they were trying to make, if any. I'm guessing it was that classes are too impersonal, but there was a little bit of students-are-slackers-that-don't-pay-attention-or-study in there too.
The Smartest Futurist on Earth - a short article on Ray Kurzweil (someone most IT geeks have probably heard of already). His vision of the future is fascinating, and I'd like to hear more about the ethical aspects of how these technologies would be applied.
Top 50 Dystopian Movies of All Time - This is a good list for fans of this type of movie (like me), but I completely agree with several of the posters that the author is really loosely using the term "dystopian". Many of the movies don't belong on the list.

Current and recent inputs: music

2007-09-27T22:17:00.000-04:00

I covered books last time, so now here are some recent music purchases:

James Blunt "All The Lost Souls" - I enjoyed his first big release, and like this second one as well, though I think it lost some of the naivety and simpleness that made the first good. I definitely need to listen more before judgment, but it also has a bit of the "every song sounds the same" syndrome to me.
Queens of the Stone Age "Era Vulgaris" - I think QOTSA continues to produce solid rock albums that are consistently good and consistently evolving. I never quite know what the style and theme will be, but I'm pleasantly surprised, as I was with this one.
Linkin Park "Minutes to Midnight" - I used to be a big Linkin Park fan, and I definitely think this is a good CD, but it just doesn't capture my attention like their older albums did. It is definitely a more mature album, and there are some nice touches in style.
Shiny Toy Guns "We Are Pilots" - This is a fun one; some discotheque beats and synthesizers, with some wailing lyrics and voices. I like the combination of the great male and female lead vocalists.

Current and recent inputs: books

2007-09-23T22:02:00.000-04:00

Thought I'd go over some recent things I'm reading:

Books:

The Fourth Bear is the second book in the "Nursery Crimes" series (and I'm currently reading it). It is good literary based humor about a detective agency that investigates crimes by nursery rhyme characters. So far it seems a little more busy and chaotic than its predecessor, The Big Over Easy (about Humpty Dumpty's murder).
The Surrogates is an interesting graphic novel set 50 years in the future, where most people stay home and conduct their life through a robotic 'avatar' (like Second Life in a physical world). The main plot is a pretty simple detective story, but the book does a good job fleshing out the social and judicial aspects of a Surrogates based world.
The Futurist is about a popular futurist that "comes clean" about how his work is all a guessing game, and it plunges him into turmoil and adventure. It's definitely not one of the best books I've read, but it provides some thinking material.
Snow Crash is a classic cyberpunk sci-fi book that introduced a lot of concepts (like avatars, Second Life and The Surrogates owes it for this). While in the virtual world, hackers are getting infected with the Snow Crash virus, turning them into babbling fools or comatose victims. This is a rich and creative vision of the future, and I really enjoyed the out of the box portrayal.

Changed the blog template

2007-09-23T20:54:00.000-04:00

Changed the look of the blog. A friend pointed out that it was all messed up in Internet Explorer 7.0 (looks like that LibraryThing badge wasn't rendering right), and I noticed other odd spaces show up there in IE and Firefox. So, I decided to just use one of the Blogger templates to keep it easier from now on. Hope you like! I think it is much simpler and clean.

Misery, email comprehension, year 2000, einstein

2007-09-13T21:00:00.000-04:00

Hi there! Here's a random variety of things:

7 Reasons the 21st Century is Making You Miserable - an article from Cracked.com that has some nice insights and food for thought (and some not suitable for work/rated R language).
From that article, I also linked over to this one about why emails are so easily misunderstood. Another interesting one that puts a pretty low rate of actually comprehending emails correctly.
Paleo-Future has another good find with these 1910 French postcards that depicted what life in the year 2000 would be like.
Check out this amazing speedpainting of Albert Einstein (4 hours condensed to 3.5 minutes).

US Americans don't have maps

2007-08-26T21:15:00.001-04:00

Ah, America's youth. Here is a fine example in this year's Miss Teen ~~Intellect Contest~~, er Beauty Pageant...

Miss Teen South Carolina answers "Why do you think a fifth of Americans can't find the US on a world map?"

Now, she was probably very nervous at the moment, but even if you don't have an answer, you can spin this into some practiced speech about education. But hey, at least she is pretty.

Tigers, smoke, and the final countdown

2007-08-21T22:20:00.000-04:00

Just a mish-mash again today since my posting is so few and far between...

For you Calvin & Hobbes fans, here's a site where you can find every comic strip in the series in order of publication. Very cool, but I don't know if that site has the rights to it, so it may not last forever.

Frozen smoke will change the world says scientists. An interesting article on something that sounds straight out of science fiction.

And I'll end things with another goofy YouTube video. This one is of the worst "Final Countdown" rendition ever; even worse than the one by band Europe (I kid; I actually used to really like that song).

News bloopers, boomshine

2007-08-08T20:08:00.000-04:00

I ran across this Yahoo! article today about TV anchor mishaps caught on video. The article has many links to YouTube videos of said goofs caught on tape. I didn't watch all (or most) of them, but the couple I did were funny.

Before I link to some examples, I've also been playing this simple, little web game called BoomShine. Easy to learn (and really the whole game wasn't that difficult) but fun.

On to a couple news videos, and I don't know if they really count since they are University news channels. The first is an old favorite (Boom Goes the Dynamite!):

This other one is very similar; a painful awkwardness. I hadn't seen this one before today (Bad Weatherman):

Doh, simpsonize yourself

2007-07-19T21:59:00.000-04:00

In another use of picture face recognition, you can use the Simpsonizer to create a Simpsons character version of yourself. However, I'm not sure it even uses any of the photo recognition, as the first attempt looked nothing like me at all. I had to customize the heck out of it to get remotely close.
Here's what I ended up like:

The site was pretty buggy, and took many attempts for the page to even load, so the other alternative is to build your character from scratch at the Simpsons Movie website. Here's what my total-from-scratch Brian looked like:

The end all pizza

2007-07-18T22:15:00.000-04:00

I saw this monstrous beast of a pizza from a post on Plastic Bamboo. It is the "Double Roll" from Pizza Hut Japan (check out their website menu here; it shows a lot of other wonderful creations).

According to one poster on the Plastic Bamboo comments, the translation says the ingredients are:
the bacon-weiner/cheese-stuffed crust, hamburgers, edamame, corn, red pepper, Italian sausage, ham, bacon, bacon bits, sliced mushrooms, onions, green pepper, garlic chips, basil, and black pepper. It also includes maple syrup to drizzle on the cheese crust.
The page also apparently says "Recommended for children"!

Now that's a pizza!

My celebrity look-alikes

2007-07-17T20:32:00.001-04:00

Hello! I haven't had much interest in blogging much lately, but I'll still try to throw a little something up here every once in a while.

For instance, here is my "MyHeritage.com Celebrity Look-Alikes". I've done this a few times with different pictures, and I get all different celebrities, so I'm not sure how good it is.

Facts, exams, polls on positions

2007-04-28T17:42:00.000-04:00

Hello! Spring is here! Mowed the lawn for the first time today. It is always a great feeling, until I realize "Wait, now I have to do this once a week or more!".

Some links:

301 Useless Facts. While many are useless, a lot of them are interesting.
Comparison of a Chinese high school test question with a British college one. Ah, it's just math. You'll never need to use that again... In reality, I find this disturbing. (Not that the Chinese are educating their kids well, but that the British and Americans are letting education slide.)
This political poll states that three quarters of Americans like leaders that will compromise, and two thirds of Americans like leaders that stick to their positions, even if unpopular. I very firmly believe in this and will stand strong on it, but I'm willing to change my mind.

Monkey business, plumber problems, future visions

2007-04-19T19:51:00.000-04:00

Hello there. Here are some stories for you to review:

That whole hundred monkeys on a hundred typewriters thing? Probably not likely to produce the works of Shakespeare.
Rookie plumber burns down $12 million mansion on his first day. Now that is sure to affect his performance review.
AT&T "Visions of the Future" videos from 1993 (see links to parts 1 through 6 below). I actually remember seeing this way back when and thinking it was cool. Now I just mourn that it hasn't materialized or I dread that fashion and hair style will revert in the near future when this tech is available.

Super computers, double standard, double image, kong

2007-04-15T13:32:00.000-04:00

Hello! After last week's blizzard, it is starting to actually get nice again here in whitmarshall. Crazy weather this spring. So whether you are huddled in to stay warm, or indoors escaping the heat, here are some links for you:

Something only the geeks like me will appreciate: Things computers can do in movies.
With Don Imus gone, critics turn towards rap. I saw another blog post where the author went through the Billboard Hip Hop top ten and found all kinds of examples much worse than what Imus said. I hope this criticism continues, because we've had a double standard for too long. I know rap supporters say that the language reflects the tough life and childhood of the performers, but allowing it in song just spreads that attitude instead of combatting it.
Hybrid images may possibly creep you out. They are images that change as you distance yourself from the picture. I didn't have a lot of luck backing up to see the changes, but it worked OK if I took my glasses off.
Some Post-It happy fellows at USCS created a work of Donkey Kong art on one of the campus buildings. Go Mario!

Feud disease, spy program, power point, robots, spoons

2007-04-08T13:20:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter to you! Hope you are enjoying your day.
Here's some quick links:

Rare, inherited disease may be underlying cause of Hatfield/McCoy feud. That, or the article also mentions inter-marrying. Hmmm.
Ex-Wal-Mart employee claims he was part of elaborate surveillance program. So that's how they find ways to rollback prices?
Power Point presentations are bad for your brain. I would like to see this article summarized in several easy slides.
Finally, robot technology has caught up with our grandest imaginations. Sega's robot chicken.
Help complete the feeding time illusion with this baby spoon with airplane wings.

Sea city, pyramids, senses, four square

2007-03-31T11:41:00.000-04:00

Hello,
Here's some stuff to read:

See the marvelous Sea City of the Future! coming in the year 2000!
Has the ancient riddle of the Great Pyramids' construction been solved? Interesting new theory.
Hacking your senses for cool new uses.
Buying a new car? This former car salesman explains how the dealership uses the Four Square to rip you off.

Wisdom, oaths, rats laughing

2007-03-22T21:57:00.000-04:00

Hi there!
Some links to welcome the start of Spring:

The Wisdom of Children - funny, but I'm not sure this is real, or if it is an adult interpreting what children would interpret adults saying.
Funny Things People Say In Court - some real gems caught while people were under oath.
Speaking of under oath, subpoenas authorized for talks in the federal prosecutors scandal. And the White House will fight it! So, it is OK to let aides talk as long as it is not under oath and what they say can't be written down?
Rats laugh when tickled or playing. Who knew?

Dilbertization, gentlemenship, aerial Africa

2007-03-18T22:50:00.000-04:00

Hello,
Stuff for today:

How to stop the Dilbertization of IT - a good article for those of you in an IT organization. Does not contain the humor and wit of a Dilbert comic strip, though.
Etiquette of a Gentlemen - a good read for men for the unfortunately lost art of chivalry and being a gentleman.
Aerial photos of Africa - a very beautiful set of photos.

Home alone, master song, optical confusion, stupid test

2007-03-12T21:53:00.000-04:00

Hello there. Just some more quick links today:

Home becomes an island when they refuse to sell to developers. But at least they won! They did win, right?
Master's thesis hits the Billboard top 10 single list. Overachiever. Way to ruin it for everyone else in the class.
The Neave Strobe optical illusion will make you dizzy. It's cool, but be sure your PC speakers aren't turned up too loud.
I did well on the Stupid Test, or rather I did poorly (less stupid):

Burgers, ads, time, teens, tech

2007-03-10T18:36:00.000-05:00

Hello,
Here are some quick links for you today:

McDonald's tests bigger burger, the Angus Third Pounder. I sure hope they make a Double Third Pounder.
Subliminal Ads shown to work, or "wasn't this known years ago?". Liminal ads however are more effective - READ BRIAN'S BLOG DAILY.
Scientists say you can't travel back in time. What a buzzkill! I'll show them! I'll go back and beat them up in high school.
73 percent of today's youth ineligible for the Army because they are “are morally, intellectually or physically” unfit for service. Ah, that's reassuring.
Top 5 future technologies. What? Time travel isn't on the list? I particularly liked the sketch understanding system and touch hardware. Now only if they'd invent robot replacements for today's unfit youth.

Dolls, animatronics, pricing practices

2007-03-06T21:54:00.000-05:00

Hello,
I'm back from a nice vacation in Florida to find that Minnesota was buried in snow while I was gone. It was nice to avoid the huge storms that hit the Midwest in the last week and a half.

Anyway, I'm watching "The Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll" as I write this; I am further convinced that this country is retarded. The "contestants", the dolls themselves, everyone involved, they are all vapid, clueless, two-dimensional people. There is so much focus on the veneer and none on the substance.

A couple quick links:

Disney reanimates theme parks with "free-roaming, interacting audio-animatronic Muppets capable of 'seeing' and 'talking' without a human puppeteer in sight". Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker are the first up. Please, oh please tell me one of these will be running for president in '08!
Best Buy web site pricing probed. Apparently there is an in-store employee site that looks like BestBuy.com but with different pricing. I'm a Best Buy shopper (use the RewardZone program) but this sounds awfully shady.

Anna Nicole! Britney! Idiots! Copernicus!

2007-02-18T13:29:00.000-05:00

Hello,
A little warmer here, but with some more snow now. This weekend is giving a little warmth that is starting to hint at spring. (Maybe that groundhog was right after all!)

Anna Nicole, Anna Nicole, Anna Nicole. Argh! I ran across this article about how television is failing the public because of the obsession on non-news disguised as important news. I could not agree with this more. It is unbelievable how her death has taken more air time than President Ford's death, or even the North Korean six party talks, the "Scooter" Lewis Libby trial, Iranian nuclear news, bombs in Thailand, or anything else that is, well, news.

I just saw the movie Idiocracy this weekend. It deals with a man frozen until the year 2505 where he wakes to find society is so dumbed down due to celebrity worship, commercialization, mass media/entertainment, and larger number of children from lower intelligence families. While it was mainly a dumb comedy (and a pretty funny one at that), there was a hint of horror there because you can really see things moving that way. I recommend the movie, but be aware there is a high amount of very bad language and sexual and bathroom humor. But it fits in with the analysis of...

...oh wait! There's new Britney news! Hooray! Let's see what top celebrity psychiatrists say about her bald headed, rehabbin', tattooin', partying like she's crazy lifestyle! We need a replacement when this Anna Nicole stuff dies down anyway!

Other bits:

A different kind of crazy: Texas Republican Chairman Warren Chisum believes the earth stands still and the sun rotates around it. And he's distributing memos to legislators pitching this knowledge.
A bit of fun: the Line Rider is a fun little online diversion. Give it a try and check out some of the saved movies.

Books and other links

2007-02-08T22:06:00.000-05:00

Hi,
I'm giving an online site called LibraryThing a try. It is essentially a tag-based online cataloging tool for your books. You can then share links, review, get recommendations, and so forth. I've been plugging in my books (far from over) before realizing there is a 200 book limit for free accounts. If I like it enough, the lifetime membership only costs 25 bucks, so that's a pretty good deal. You can find my library by following this link.

Other stories:

The big story today is Anna Nicole Smith's death, I guess. It's sad, but I'm not quite sure if I'm watching a soap opera or not at this point.
The CSPI picks the best and worst fast foods. Bad news, Burger King. Not only is your mascot creepy, your food is dangerous too.
Now that the Super Bowl is over, what happens to all those losing team championship shirts and hats? I've actually wondered about this in the past, so I was pleased to run across this article about it.
And finally, for you deep thinkers, the 11 most important philosophical questions. Why eleven? Good question... think on that.

Boston police work, oil profits, shared spelling

2007-02-01T23:28:00.000-05:00

Hello!

More ranting by Boston on the Aqua Teen Hunger Force publicity stunt. They've been talking about suing them for the "hoax" (which there is no hoax that I can see. The devices aren't intended to look like bombs.) If these devices looked to be a threat, then I think the people of Boston should sue their city for not reacting until three weeks after these things were placed. That's some top notch policing. But, I also don't see how the Lite-Brite like devices would be thought of as a terrorist threat. What terrorist puts colorful LEDs in the shapes of cartoon characters on their bombs? Is Boston more used to dealing with the Joker and the Riddler instead of Al Qaida?

Other stuff:

Exxon Mobil posts the biggest profit ever in US history. Whew! I was so worried that those fluctuating oil prices would hurt them!
Tonight, I spent way too much time on WannaSpell.com, which is a shared whiteboard with "magnetic" letters you can drag around. It was fun and frustrating. There were bits of collective comedy laughs, but you are also always fighting everyone else's agenda on it (and then eventually a group of people start dragging all the letters into a corner). Check it out to see what I mean.

Coffee, ATHF scare, big boss battle

2007-01-31T21:03:00.000-05:00

Welcome from the cold in Whitmarshall!

Here are a few items for today:

Coffee taste test, and who beats Starbucks? McDonald's wins. I'm not a coffee drinker myself, but how can McDonald's be better when it is obviously much cheaper than Starbucks?
Aqua Teen Hunger Force viral ads cause Boston bomb scare. Hey, what do you know? Viral marketing does work!
Think it's time to pack away that old generation Playstation 2? You need to check out this video of the first boss battle in God of War 2.

Applebee three, hogfather, computer interfaces

2007-01-28T20:02:00.000-05:00

Hello!
I went to Applebee's the other night, and the meal was fine. The one thing I don't understand is why, every time I'm there, they have three girls standing by the door. Are they extra employees in case there is a rush? No, because it was busy there last night, but there were still always three or four of them there. They even sometimes send two of them to seat new patrons. So are they trainees? I don't think so, because it is always like that. I'm not sure why a manager would pay for them all to just stand around there. Maybe I don't understand the restaurant business.

Links for today:

Terry Pratchett Discworld fan? The UK Sky One adaptation of Hogfather is online (not sure how official the links are, though).
There are some interesting new interface projects out there, like the Bumptop (video on YouTube). I certainly think this one is cool, but I don't really see it as practical.
Something else is the D'Fusion system of integrating CGI realtime with video. Very cool.

Idol authenticity?

2007-01-24T21:38:00.000-05:00

I'm watching "American Idol" as I write this (please forgive me), and something about it has bothered me (past seasons as well). And maybe I should say there are many things about it that bothers me, but I'm going to bring up one in particular. In the later half of the show, they show a little bit of strung together clips of losing auditioners singing the same song (tonight's was Lionel Ritchie's "All Night Long"). This montage includes some of the losers that stormed out in high emotion or in a rage. So I'm to believe they were willing to come back to sing a little bit for comedic purposes? Or do they film that song before the people audition? It all seems a little phony to me. I don't doubt that there are people so delusional that they think they've got a chance when they can't sing, but I suspect that a lot more of them are phonies or plants.

Plus, I think that Ryan Seacrest might be a muppet.

Activist judges, average iq, villager villains, punch out

2007-01-21T20:49:00.000-05:00

Snowy day here in Whitmarshall. Thought we'd miss most of it this winter, but snow is now all around.
Links:

Attorney General Gonzales raps 'activist' judges, saying that federal judges can not make rulings (or judge, ahem) matters of national security. He says they should defer to the President and Congress. But wouldn't that be disabling one of the checks and balances from the three equal parts of government? I don't know what to say: I'm torn between my confusion on how we have cabinet members that don't understand the basics of government, and my obedience of Big Brother. He's double-plus good! All hail Oceania!
Average IQ Map of the World. Uh-oh, changed my mind: All hail Eastasia! (This Wikipedia page is flagged for possible deletion, so view it before it goes away.)
Entire village suspects in mayor's murder. Wow, must have been a well liked politician. Darn those activist villagers!
Sorry to link another live-action video game recreation, but this live action Mike Tyson's Punch Out was pretty humorous for those that remember the game.

Uncanny Orville, below average children

2007-01-17T23:08:00.000-05:00

Hello!
I watched bits and pieces of the Golden Globes (though I usually try to avoid the big awards shows), and the thing that disturbed me most was the new Orville Redenbacher commercial. Yikes! That's creepy. Why do we always need to use dead spokespeople? I'm more or less OK with it if it is an animated cartoon capturing the trademarked image, like the animated Colonel Sanders from a few years back. But integrating old footage of a celebrity or creating a computer generated version of a dead spokesperson is just weird and seems kind of disrespectful. Did these people say from their deathbed "Please, if technology provides a way to milk my image for corporate gain, please do so!"

Switching topics: I ran across this article that says you can't blame schools and teachers for American woes because intelligence, not education, is part of the problem. The author points out that half of all children are below average, and I guess I can't argue with that. I think there are definitely problems in educational systems (and discipline and parental guidance, and such), but the article has some interesting points.

Apple phone, singing, sodium, virtual reality

2007-01-14T20:04:00.000-05:00

Hello on this cold January weekend. A small potpourri of links for you today:

One of the big tech stories recently has been the (currently named) Apple iPhone. Check out Gizmodo's Macworld 2007 iPhone coverage for details and pictures. Pricey, but I got to admit I checked out Cingular's website to find that, alas, they have no service in my area. That's probably for the best; I'd like to see this thing in the real world for a while to see if it lives up to the hype.
Speaking of the hype, Conan O'Brien's show has captured it in this iPhone parody commercial.
While we're linking videos, here's a couple more.

An older one, but still good. Amazing splicing creates George W. Bush singing 'Sunday Bloody Sunday'.
Here's an even older one; old newsreel footage of the government disposing of sodium by dumping it in a lake. What, didn't they pay attention in chemistry class?

Lastly, here's an article about businesses embracing virtual reality. It has a mention of the Iowa State University facility. I saw a predecessor of it years ago, but I'm sure the new one is more impressive. (But not as impressive as the iPhone.)

College saga video

2007-01-03T22:09:00.000-05:00

Hello!
I ran across the following video from Kotaku. The website it was linked from looks like it is down (must have been too much traffic), but I found the 4 episodes in the series on YouTube. It is a live action parody of the Final Fantasy games (with a little Zelda and other pop culture references thrown in). If you weren't a Final Fantasy geek like me, you'll probably not get it. I thought it was funny, but the story gets really pretty lame as it goes.
Enjoy! (And episodes 2 - 4 are on YouTube, if you want to continue. It is called "College Saga".)

Saddam spectacle, fringe economy, apple suits, back taxes

2006-12-31T18:26:00.000-05:00

Last post of 2006! Hope you all have a fun and safe New Year's celebration!
A few items to read when you have the day off work tomorrow:

Saddam execution shown on tv and web (links to a story about this; I'm not linking to any execution footage). I hope I'm not the only one that finds this absolutely horrendous. I will not be looking for this footage. I don't care what you thought of him, I think it is disturbing that anyone would want to watch footage of someone dying. It is vengeful thinking or extreme morbid curiosity. For it to be shown on CNN and Fox is no better, in my opinion, then terrorists floating around videos of killing captives. (And yes, I know those were available on the web too, and that people here would want to watch that makes me sick.) The trial and fact he was executed is certainly news, but that can be covered adequately without showing this footage. I fear it is only a few years before real executions are part of America's reality tv culture. Time to rebuild the Coliseum for gruesome entertainment!
Millions living in America's "fringe economy". Read this if you get a chance, because it was fascinating and sad. It is amazing to think about how much money these people are losing, just in order to survive. It also will further divide the rich from the poor in this country.
Apple facing more lawsuits: Is iTunes/iPod an illegal monopoly? Does the iBook G4 logic board fail at an unusually high rate? Does the Nike/iPod infringe on patents? Stay tuned in 2007 for the exciting answers!
Mystery billionaire pays $200M in CA back taxes, almost single-handedly closing their revenue shortfall. That's a lot of tax, and my question is how did the state not know someone owed $200 million?

Tough job, expiring leader, apple options

2006-12-28T19:28:00.000-05:00

Here's a few more links for you:

Think your job is bad? This guy was arrested for barring his employees from leaving, under feeding them, and arranging beatings. But what is the health insurance like?
Saddam to be hanged by Sunday. Or one of his many look-alikes will be hung. Hmmm.
Questions raised in Apple stock options. But then they gave the investigator iPods and no one cared anymore.

Ford, fees, finds, fun, fleece

2006-12-27T21:21:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays! I hope your holidays are going well; mine have been great!
Here's a few quick links for you to browse while finishing off the Christmas cookies:

President Gerald Ford passed away this week. The link goes to various quotes from the former president.
Might be a bit late for your holiday travels, but it's worth reviewing the 35 most outrageous fees (and how to avoid them).
As we reach the close of 2006, what have we learned? 50 things we know now that we didn't know at the same point in 2005.
At ROXIK, there is a cool interactive drag-and-drop people in the wind thing. (Better to see than to take my feeble description.)
Lastly, a couple of fun looking projects at Instructables:

Customizable fleece hats for the cold winters ahead.
Low cost illuminated signage for your leftover Christmas lights.

Eragon

2006-12-22T22:13:00.000-05:00

Tonight, I went to the movie Eragon. I've not read the book, but thought it looked to be OK based on the commercials. It is maybe geared for a slightly younger audience (as long as they like a little blood and violence). The effects are alright, but I noticed something early on about the plot.

At this point, I will reveal a lot of spoilers, so stop reading if you don't want to know.

Eragon is Star Wars.
Please see the following plot summary that applies to both movies:

The knights rule peacefully until one betrays them and ends up wiping them all out.
A princess steals something that belongs to the head bad guy.
The thing ends up in the hands of a small town farm boy.
The farm boy meets up with a mysterious stranger with a noble past.
The farm boy realizes he might have a destiny.
The bad guys (technically the ruling empire) kill the farm boy's uncle.
The farm is burned down.
The farm boy and the mysterious old, oh let's say knight/wizard, go on the run.
The knight/wizard helps the farm boy learn to tap into his magical powers.
They are looking to meet up with the rebels.
They take a detour to save the princess from the bad guys' stronghold.
The older knight/wizard is fatally wounded and dies during this.
They are helped by a scoundrel with a shady past, but ultimately a good heart.
The farm boy, princess, and scoundrel meet up with the rebels.
The rebels and bad guys fight.
The farm boy plays the critical role that wins them the fight. This involves fancy flying and trusting in yourself.

The evil king lives on for the next movie, and I will cringe if we find out he is the farm boy's real father. Sorry, I suppose I should have also included a Star Wars spoiler warning for you as well.

It wasn't a terrible movie (not nearly as good as when it was Star Wars, of course), but the pacing was bad. Everything happened so fast that you never really cared about any of them, and never felt that it was even remotely believable (for a movie about dragons and magic, that is).

Ageless turtles, coicidence, bad hack, vacuum shoes

2006-12-17T13:57:00.000-05:00

Hi, just a few items for you today:

Turtles may be immortal. Bow before the might of Turtle!
15 strange coincidences. Includes that tired Lincoln/Kennedy one. The others are interesting, but I wonder how many are just urban myth or stories.
Logic bomb backfires on hacker and costs him $23,000. Well thought out, sir.
Electrolux unveils "vacuum shoes" concept. Great, how am I supposed to walk under the coffee tables?

Country quiz, seven wonders, scams, txting

2006-12-11T21:16:00.000-05:00

Here's a few items for the day:

World geography quiz; a cool little test that I unfortunately did not do as well at as I'd hoped.
The Seven Wonders of every US State, of the ones I looked at there are a lot of not so impressive wonders.
Keep your eyes open for the top 10 scams of the year. I guess I take for granted that some of these scams would be obviously suspicious to most people, but apparently a lot of money is lost to them.
Text messaging blamed for bad English. I'm totally fine with texting where appropriate, but I think it is disappointing that people can't write more formally, IMHO.

Food safety, nullity, scary mary, scrubs Christmas

2006-12-09T16:57:00.000-05:00

Hi, here's some things to look at:

Nine people get food poisoning at a buffet at a food handling training conference. I suppose that's one way to train. Kind of like letting your kid touch the hot pot on the stove. They won't do it again (and may need medical attention).
A computer scientist has solved the age old "divide by zero" problem by inventing a new "number" called "nullity". So dividing anything by 0 results in nullity. Wait, how does this solve anything? I agree with one comment poster that divide by zero isn't a computer "problem", it is an exception and the problem is if the programmer didn't handle it correctly. Also, I need more things "in quotes".
I don't browse a lot of YouTube (usually finding things from external links instead), but occasionally there's some good things out there. Like this clever recut of Mary Poppins footage to make it looks like a horror movie "Scary Mary".
Or, this clip of the Charlie Brown Christmas redubbed by the cast of Scrubs. Ha!

Healthy states, evd, gadget bag, lottery prank, player displays

2006-12-06T20:47:00.000-05:00

Hello, new collection of items for you today:

Hey, I'm in the healthiest state in the union! I'm sure Whitmarshall is greatly influencing that rating.
Can't decide between Blu-ray and HD-DVD? Just wait for the EVD format when China takes over the world.
I don't need this at all but thought it was a cool idea: Elekson's keyboard/gadget bag.
If you were thinking about creating a fake winning lottery ticket as a prank, don't.
Pitch speed meters, digital line markers, the glowing FOX hockey puck? All ancient technology. What's next? Electroluminescent displays on player uniforms.

Trivia, vista, digestion, ps4, riddles, hamster

2006-12-04T20:09:00.000-05:00

Hello! Here are a few interesting things to take up your time:

50 Things Everyone Should Know (or 50 useless, but mildly interesting facts). It is a nice list of trivia, and since I found it on the Internet, I can only guess that some of it might be true.
Why Vista might be the last of its kind. An interesting perspective on Microsoft Vista (versus Google tools and such). The thing I found most amazing in the article was that it took Microsoft 10,000 employees for 5 years to create Vista! Wow!
Can't finish that last bit of food? You can put it in the digestive table, which is simultaneously neat and gross.
I haven't gone for a Sony PS3 yet, but why bother now that they've announced the PS4 will be available shortly (in 2010)?

Site of the day:

Weff Riddles - a very fun and challenging web puzzle path. It was refreshing how clever it is even though it is very low-tech.

And just for fun, here's a clever and cute YouTube video of a live action hamster video game:

Seven wonders

2006-11-19T19:42:00.000-05:00

Hello!
Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I haven't been really motivated to post due to the extremely low readership of this blog. If you are reading and like it, spread the word!

Anyway today I took a look at the New 7 Wonders site. The idea here is that since only one of the original seven wonders of the world still stands (Great Pyramids), that they are going to vote in seven new wonders. The list is down to 21 candidates, and you can vote via the site or phone until July. I think this is a cool idea, but what I'd really love is if they started rebuilding/restoring the original seven wonders. Who wouldn't want to visit the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? In general, I think the world has a vast shortage of Colossi, as it is.

Tolerance, maps, polls

2006-11-04T13:49:00.000-05:00

Happy November to you!

I ran across this interesting site recently, Tolerance.org's Active Hate Groups Map. It lets you see the locations of known hate organizations in the US. Interesting, but sad. It is especially sad to see the sheer number of active groups around. With as much education and information that is out there today, it is still shocking that people here in the US can hold such hateful opinions of other people for cultural, religious, racial, or historical differences.

Regardless of the content, the Hate Group Map is a good use of map technology on the web. A recent Lifehacker post lists the top ten (non-Google) map innovations. While I am not a hardcore map nut, I do like to check out map technologies and mashups occasionally. I also do like the Flickr geotagging feature quite a bit.

And another good map use for the link of the day:

Pollster.com - See the latest political poll results on a map. A great way to see the standing of current races.

Check it out and then remember to vote on November 7th!

Stay the buzzphrase, lottery odds, regifting, elemental

2006-10-26T21:53:00.000-04:00

Odds and ends today:

Bush says we've never said 'stay the course' in Iraq, but this blog article lists six other times when he's said exactly that.
I don't care what politician it is, but they all seem to have a very short memory and a completely oblivious attitude to what they've said in the past, even if it has been recorded.

It pays to work for the lottery as Ontario lottery insiders have a unusually high proportion of wins. From the article:

The odds that the 214 insiders who claimed major prizes — $50,000 or more — since 1999 won as a result of pure luck, is one in a trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, said University of Toronto professor Jeffrey Rosenthal, who conducted the analysis.

The City of Chesapeake asks for chesapeake.com domain name for almost ten years. The tech company that owns the domain eventually decides to give it to the city for free. So what does the city do? Sell it to a company for $120,000, of course! That just seems a little inconsiderate, like selling your Christmas gifts for a profit.

For the science fans out there (and who isn't?): the Periodic Table gets a makeover into a new "spiral" design. Gee, I know it will change my life.

Site of the day:

Mrs. Dewey - a prototype search engine/avatar. Not all that practical yet, but I thought this was a neat glimpse at maybe some future search engine possabilities.

Full time, crazy court, crazy defendant

2006-10-19T22:46:00.000-04:00

Hello there! A few short news stories:

Ask Yahoo!: How did 40 hours become "full time"? What? 40 hours is full time? I generally work more than that! I know there are a lot of people that gripe if they have to work much more, but when you look back historically to times when 60 or 70 was the norm, we've got it pretty good today.

Briton accused of killing a cabbie has execution delayed in Pakistan due to Prince Charles visit. Here's the part I found scary: the guy was assaulted by the cabbie and killed him in self defense, he was cleared by the courts, but the Islamic Court still imposed a death sentence on him.

Man presents defense in his murder case. The defendant shot a man in the back of the head, torched the body, cut off the head, threw it in a river, burned the man's store, and lied about even being involved. His brilliant plan now? Plead not guilty because it was self-defense. Let's see how well that works for him.

World food

2006-10-17T21:49:00.000-04:00

Hello! Been a few days since posts, as I've been having a lot of long nights (and some early mornings) at work lately due to problems and last minute emergencies. Otherwise, I was also out of town this weekend, once again at the World Food Festival in Des Moines, IA. A little chillier than last year, but a good time. There were more vendors there (see the web link for more details) this year, but unfortunately my stomach was smaller than my ambition, so I didn't sample all that much. I did however have:

Chicken Curry over Steamed Rice, Crab Rangoons - from Cafe Fuzion (Asian non-specific)
Pork Pupusa with cole slaw - from Pupusas de El Salvador

(also sampled a Canoa from this same place)

A sample of hummus - from Saloo's India

All very good, and it makes me wish whitmarshall had a little more variety in restaurants.

Site of the day:

The Pumpkin Lady - a whole bunch of pumpkin patterns for your jack o lanterns.

Vanishing cursive, assaulting language

2006-10-12T21:39:00.000-04:00

I didn't write earlier this week as it was a bad one at work. I actually worked through the night Tuesday on an issue we had, then was back around noon Wednesday. Long nights at work is a tiring ordeal, but thankfully it isn't all that frequent for me.
The long work hours seemed even longer since it was early autumn when I started, and we had snow when it ended! We had snow on the ground this morning. I can't believe it is already here.

Some stories for the day:
Cursive writing is being forgotten. 15% of SAT essays were written in cursive handwriting in 2006. A lot of schools are scaling back or dropping instruction in cursive as more and more computer use takes its place.
Quote from one of the teachers in the article:

"I can't think of any other place you need cursive as an adult other than to sign your name," she said. "Cursive -- that is so low on the priority list, we really could care less. We are much more concerned that these kids pass their SOLs [standardized tests], and that doesn't require a bit of cursive."

I think this is sad because it feels like a good skill is vanishing. Cursive writing is faster for note taking (and there will always be times when you don't have a keyboard to write with), and it helps with cognitive development. According to the article, kids instructed in cursive end up better able to express thoughts. So, I certainly hope this trend turns around.

In other news, watch out what you say to VP Cheney! According to this story, this man was arrested for "assault" for calmly telling Cheney "Your policies in Iraq are reprehensible." I would hope that is not true, but it wouldn't be the first report of someone being arrested for a peaceful expression of opinion against the administration.

Nightmare dream homes, monopoly, xbox blogging

2006-10-09T22:21:00.000-04:00

It's official. TV Dream Homes are a nightmare. I've read stories about "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" houses where the community has had to pitch in afterwards to help the family pay for the property taxes and such, then the linked article is about an HGTV Dream Home sweepstakes house that is driving the winning family to financial ruin. You watch those shows and are wowwed by the homes and think the people are so lucky, but no one things about the electric/utility costs, the maintenance costs, the property taxes, etc. To be fair, I think the family in this article has a lot to blame on themselves (why keep making payments on the old house, why spend so much on gifts and entertaining, why the heck does a two adult family need seven cars??? It is more of issue with people owning a million dollar house thinking they need to live like millionaires as well.).

Maybe you are better off winning the McDonald's Monopoly game. If that is your plan, here is a guide to the game pieces, including which ones are rare vs common.

My XBox 360 is now writing its own blog. Weird? Yes. But I thought it was a neat little service available from 360Voice. For the most part, you'll be able to read how I'm neglecting my game console.

Link of the day:

10 Reasons People Make Stupid Decisions - a list to reflect on to help you make wise decisions.

A secret letter, war, online communication

2006-10-07T14:11:00.000-04:00

Here are a few items for today:
A very candid and interesting Secret Letter from Iraq is circulating, and it gives a great, sometimes moving, perspective of a Marine officer who is there. It is refreshing in that it isn't full of the spin that all of the politicians try to put on this war, and it makes you really feel for the heroes that are putting their lives at risk for our country. It is very much worth your time to read.

In a much more politically charged piece, Keith Olbermann about to be wiretapped and arrested. Okay, I made that headline up, but this is a very critical opinion piece claiming President Bush is focusing more on his enemies the Democrats instead of his enemies the terrorists. I take any commentator's opinion pieces with a grain of salt, but there are some good points in there too.

The Internet is dying! Some youth rethinking online communications. I posted this because 1) good points about the value of online relationships versus face to face, and 2) it is from my alma mater Iowa State University.

And in the ironic story of the day: Veteran actor dies unexpectedly on stage in a play in which he portrays a character that dies unexpectedly. Ironic in the sad sense, I suppose, but at least he went out doing what he loved.

Site of the day:

Make: - it's in my Links section, but in case you missed it there, this is a good site for people that mod, hack, craft, make, and like to know how things work.

Witch infiltration

2006-10-05T21:32:00.000-04:00

In a followup to the earlier post about book banning, here's another recent similar story. A Georgia mother wants to ban the Harry Potter books from her childrens' school because the books are evil and encourage children to practice witchcraft and to be Wiccans. I've read the books and I know I've certainly been more encouraged in the black arts! Sheesh. The school's response is that using the criteria to ban the Potter books would also lead them to ban Cinderella, The Wizard of Oz, Lord of the Rings, Alice in Wonderland, Chronicles of Narnia, and others. OK, good point. I would say in the Potter books, the lead child characters have a much more active magical life and participation than in many of the others cited.
Again, I think this is a case of making sure that you've helped your kids understand real v. fiction. These books are fun to read and so they encourage reading, and thus they should be encouraged.

Hey, did you watch the 'Lost' season premiere last night? If not, why the heck not?!

Link of the day:

Top 15 Movie Mistakes - I question that some of these qualify as the 'top' mistakes, but a neat list nonetheless. Caution: some pictures from Harry Potter movies!

These are the days of our lives

2006-10-03T22:10:00.000-04:00

Who needs daytime soaps? The Rep. Mark Foley scandal has become one, rivaling that of the Anna Nicole Smith soap opera saga. If you're keeping track, Foley sent a bunch of inappropriate emails and instant messages to male teenage pages (all while being co-chair of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children), was found out, originally blamed it on a campaign smear, resigned, blamed it on alcoholism, now admits he's gay, and now blames it on being molested by Catholic priests when he was a child, leading to controversy in what Republican leaders knew about it and when, and now leading to some of those leaders suggesting that House Speaker Hastert should resign based on his handling of the scandal.
(take a breath...)
And as for the more tragic, and more unusual Smith case: she marries a 89 year old oil tycoon who dies a year later, is wrapped up in legal wrestling over the estate, has a baby girl, three days later her 20 year old son dies from an accidental lethal combo of medicines, 18 days later she marries her lawyer who says he's the father of the girl, her ex-boyfriend pipes up that he is the father and files a lawsuit for a DNA test and for the baby to be tested for drugs (what the?).
Well. Have you ever watched a movie and been disgusted with the plot because "that's ridiculous, nothing like that could ever happen in real life", "that's just too unbelievable and unrealistic", etc.? I'm probably pretty bad about picking apart movies like this, but current events these days are quickly shattering my ability to do so. If some strange connection between Foley and Smith surfaces in the next few weeks, I'll have to conclude that reality really is much stranger than fiction.

Like of the day:

FactCheck.org - I've posted it before, but with campaign season heating up, I thought I'd list this political fact check site again. Good resource.

Burn that book!

2006-10-02T21:56:00.000-04:00

Good day to you!
Parent asking school to ban "Fahrenheit 451" from reading course. He's suggesting replacing it with books about Irony and Not Getting The Point.
OK, I made that last sentence up, but still you have to appreciate the request to remove a book that is about, among other things, a world where reading books is banned and thought is discouraged. Maybe the parent misunderstood and thought they'd be watching "Fahrenheit 911" at school.
I think "Fahrenheit 451" is a great read and gets you thinking about freedom of speech and expression, critical thought, and even technology and apathy. I do understand that it may not be appropriate for any age, but can't see how it would be much of a problem for high school sophomores. They had some religious based complaints as well, but I think that if reading a book will do that much damage to your beliefs, then maybe you don't really understand your own beliefs that well. So, I'm not sure that this was a very enlightened request. Especially considering this quote:

"It's just all kinds of filth," said Alton Verm, adding that he had not read "Fahrenheit 451." "The words don't need to be brought out in class. I want to get the book taken out of the class."

Link of the day:

Better Fonts - 10,000 free fonts. Everyone needs more fonts.

War, decisions, denial, quotes, widgets

2006-10-01T17:02:00.000-04:00

We're having a beautiful weekend here, so I'm starting to prep the yard for fall. Trimmed all the bushes yesterday, and with all the traffic at the yard dump it looks like a lot of other people had the same idea. Need to get to my garden yet; maybe I'll wait a week on that. The vegetables didn't really survive some of the earlier cold nights, but a lot of the flowers still look OK.
Some links:

Maps of War has an interesting animation that shows 5000 years of Middle East control in 90 seconds.
Perhaps Rock, Paper, Scissors would be a good alternative to war. We could use this guide on how to win at it.
I thought President Bush came from the state of Texas, but maybe it was the State of Denial. I don't know; I mainly posted this as an excuse to link to the top ten Bushisms (some with audio and video).

And my link of the day:

Widgetbox - a great collection of widgets for your website or blog.

Whitmarshall Celebration Day

2006-09-27T23:13:00.002-04:00

Hey, it's my birthday!
I had a pretty good day. Co-workers took me out for lunch, team members gave me balloons and candy, a friend baked me a cake; all good birthday things. I went to a semi-nearby casino this evening to try out their birthday money booth (you stand in it for 20 seconds and try to catch bills and slip them through a small slot). I got $15, which I proceeded to lose on their lousy slot machines. I don't think I'll do this again. I was carefully examining the booth and it was probably 90% ones, a smattering of fives, and I saw only one ten. In the past, I went and caught a twenty and generally saw better bills. Plus, now they require that you have a casino membership card and you gamble there at least 6 times over the year, or they won't let you do the birthday booth again.

Here's my link of the day:

Baby Toupee - Just what it sounds like. What a wonderfully unusual idea!

Terror intelligence, sci-fi cliches, toast art, not time travel, hand shake, not your photos

2006-09-26T20:53:00.000-04:00

Hello, here's a handful of links for you to browse:

Global terror intelligence report declassified and released. Does not give a rosy picture of the Iraq war effects. But then, it was a war after all.
Sci-fi themes that should be retired. Anonymous crewmen killed by monster not on the list. Maybe for part 2.
Toast art. Underrated?
Grandmother gives birth to own grandson. Be prepared for disappointment. Turns out she was a surrogate. When I saw the headline, I thought maybe time travel was involved.
The Time Curtain. Again, big time travel let-down. But it is a cool clock thing.
Exchange info with a shake of the hand. Know what would be neat? A little paper card with your business info on it to exchange with others.
The Blind Camera is a neat idea for taking other people's photos. Especially if you take really boring photos.

Changing the design (again)

2006-09-24T16:38:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the mess. I decided that I never really liked the previous look of my site, so I'm working on something new again.
Not quite there yet, and it is a bit frustrating when the preview looks different than the published site, and I can hit Refresh several times in a row and get several different alignments, font sizes, and layouts....

Contractor deaths, csi props?, ijeans, super fish

2006-09-18T23:06:00.000-04:00

Cold today here. A bit rainy. What happened to summer?
Links:

Contractors sue over deaths in Iraq. Think about that when you think your job is bad.
Body washes up on set of CSI. Second dead body found near a CSI show set. Now I question how they do their research for the show.
Levi's iPod Jeans. Now that just seems excessive.
Fish used to detect terror attacks. And they're also delicious.

Gas prices, soda pop, wii, zune, outrage, nay ney, spinach

2006-09-15T19:21:00.000-04:00

Links:

Complaining about gas prices? You are actually paying lower in real terms than gas in 1980. So there.
I call it "pop", but "soda" is fine with me. I don't understand why anyone would call it all "coke" when it is not Coke, but here is a generic names for soft drinks by county map so at least I know what to call it to fit in.
Nintendo Wii available November 20 for $250. Still no word on availability of the Nintendo They.
I am liking this new iTunes 7, but more news is breaking this week about the Microsoft Zune. I don't think I'll replace my iPod anytime soon, but here are a couple stories on the Zune for you:

Muslims furious with the Pope. Aw, and they had been getting along so well.
Rep. Bob Ney pleads guilty in Abramoff probe. But he had been saying he was not guilty all this time? Does this mean he was lying?
E coli outbreak in bagged spinach. Children cheer and say "told you so".

Blogger bugs, free furniture, swim teacher, speeches, apple news

2006-09-12T21:49:00.000-04:00

I used the wrong font in last time's post, but can't correct it. I've been having trouble with Blogger recently where it doesn't let me edit past posts (just get a blank editor screen). Don't know if anyone else is having that issue.

Today's news:

Furniture store offered deal of free furniture if the Bears shut out the Packers, and guess what? It happened. They are honoring the promotion. The article says that insurance will cover the $300,000 loss (not sure how that works).
Want to learn to swim without getting wet? Try this old mechanical swimming teacher.
Bush accused of using 9/11 speech for political reasons. He is a politician, so how is this different from any other speech?
Apple unveiled several new products/services today including movie sales on iTunes, game sales on iTunes, new incremental iPod releases, and a smaller iPod Shuffle (careful to not lose it!). Also some mention of their new iTV product coming later. I got the new version of iTunes today and it has some cool new features. I'll have to play with it some more to see if it is more than eye candy (or iCandy, as it were) additions.

Fall, footboall, lost, ilium and olympos

2006-09-10T19:53:00.000-04:00

Wow, it is chilly here. And rainy. And very un-summer-like. Fall has fallen. I actually spent part of the day watching pro football (didn't really plan it, but got kind of sucked into the season starting games). I'm sure there will very soon be a post over at Kahn's Korner about the Bears destruction of the Packers.
Otherwise, fellow Losties need to be sure to pick up Season 2 on DVD (available last week) if you haven't already.

I'm starting my rewatching of the season now.

As far as books go, I'm not quite done reading the second one yet, but I recommend "Ilium" and "Olympos" if you're in the mood for something very different. This set includes almost everything from the Trojan War and Greek gods, Shakespearean characters, cyborgs from Jupiter, little green men, human cloning, and quantum mechanics. It seems like a ton of stuff (that's not even related) to pack into a couple books, but it all comes together nicely and seems to make sense.

Labor day, cfl bulbs, star wars comparison

2006-09-02T19:14:00.000-04:00

Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone!
In the last post, I linked to a story about Wal-Mart pushing compact fluorescent bulbs to their customers. Shortly after that, I ran across this story about ten reasons why CFLs will change the world. I've been using a few (older ones) for a couple years now, so I decided to start switching out my other incandescent bulbs for CFLs.
Sure enough, our Wal-Mart had bulb displays in other areas (like the grocery side of the store), but they had regular incandescents right along with the CFLs; how does that sway customers to the CFL?
As an aside, our Wal-Mart has 20 some checkout lanes, but I never see more than 5 manned, so I always have to wait in line. That is, unless I use the self-checkout. But the thing I don't understand is that usually half or more of the self-checkouts are also turned off. What's the deal? Did the self-checker call in sick? Is this the case at all Wal-Marts? (I've never seen the checkout lanes more than half staffed at our Shopko or K-Mart either.)

Anyway, here's a time waster for you this weekend: This month, the 2004 Special Edition of Star Wars: A New Hope (Episode IV) is being released on DVD with the original 1977 version as a bonus disc. Here is a scene by scene comparison showing the differences. Many are obvious, but there are a lot that are subtle.

Hot gas, geotag, vista, bulbs, blu, open mic, music

2006-08-29T22:15:00.000-04:00

Here's some new stuff for you!

Hot gas costs us money. Basically, gas expands when it is hot, so you may be getting slightly (very slightly) less than you pay for if you pump in the heat of the day.
I haven't checked it out yet, but the new Flickr geotagging feature looks kinda cool.
Hey, you can already preorder Windows Vista on Amazon. Yikes, the Ultimate version will cost you 400 bucks!
Wal-Mart to start major push on compact fluorescent bulbs. Actually, that sounds like a good idea.
Still more troubles for Blu-Ray.
CNN anchor Kyra Phillips leaves her mic on in the bathroom during live President Bush speech. Boy, there is going to be one uncomfortable family get together after this one. Funny though:

I've been listening to the new The Panic Channel - (ONe) CD lately, and it is very good. I actually checked it out after watching "Rockstar: Supernova", and while I probably won't listen much to Supernova, I'm glad it directed me to The Panic Channel.
Main CDs currently on the rotation for me:

(OK, I don't really have the St. Elsewhere CD, but "Crazy" is one of my most listened to songs at the moment.)

Wrong thoughts, cat wheel, big photo, k-fed strikes

2006-08-21T20:51:00.000-04:00

Getting a quick post in before the "Treasure Hunters" finale tonight. Some stuff to look at:

Ten most commonly thought things that are wrong. And from the comments to this post, the list may be wrong itself. (And I am not the Brian W that posted a comment.)
It works for hamsters, but a running wheel for cats?
The Legacy Project creates the world's largest photograph. Darn, so I need to get a new camera?
Kevin Federline, why did we ever doubt thee? *Statement is dripping with sarcasm. (Caution: strong language in the comments.)

No call, new planets, nuclear beings, software, nyc lego

2006-08-19T23:57:00.000-04:00

Ever since my hassles with PeoplePC's telemarketers, it seems like I'm getting a ton of telemarketer calls every day (like 4 or more); did it increase after I got after PeoplePC? Maybe I've just hit a point of frustration and am noticing them more. So, I finally broke down and registered myself on the National Do Not Call Registry.
But, in other news:

As a follow up to last post's Pluto/planet story, looks like the new planet definition will open things up to more planets. Ceres, Charon, and Xena: welcome to the neighborhood.
We've always known nuclear war would be bad. But now I am terrified to learn that it could create evil super human mutant overlords.
I'd seen this a while ago, but it is still funny for software developers: a cartoon depicting how software development really works.
This is cool: a New York City made of Legos.

Pluto status, gel ant farm, volcano tunes, game kit

2006-08-14T20:30:00.000-04:00

Today's stories:

Throw out your old textbooks, looks like Pluto may be reclassified as not a planet, or several other solar bodies will be classified as planets. I hope none of them contain hostile alien invaders.
Even ants are getting more high tech, with this gel filled ant farm.
Volcano music made by feeding seismographs into a MIDI interpreter. Of course! I would have thought of that!
Microsoft to release cheap version of XBox 360 game development tools. You could make the next Tetris!

Rain, Talladega, 3d murals, human control, next gen dvd

2006-08-13T19:14:00.000-04:00

Rain, rain, and rain. Thunderstorms last night, then rain this morning, and now it is raining as I write this. It's much better than the drought-like conditions we had earlier this summer, but now it is going a bit overboard with the water.
I saw Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby this weekend. It was one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time. The dialogue and interactions are hilarious. If you go to the Ricky Bobby website (from the link earlier), you can generate a NASCAR nickname and banner for your site. Here's mine:

In other stuff:

Here are some amazing pictures of the 3D illusion murals of artist Eric Grohe. Even more can be found on his site.
Scientists have figured out how to artificially control human walking and balance. Finally! I'm tired of doing all my own walking.
HD-DVD or Blu-ray... is it possible that both are losers?

Foiled plot, security patches

2006-08-10T21:00:00.000-04:00

Links:

Well, the obvious big news item is the foiled airline terrorist plot today. Again, I hope you are not getting your main news from my site. Good job to those that caught this horrible plot before it could happen.
I spent a late night at work Tuesday as we applied the latest round of Microsoft security patches. There are some very critical ones in there, so make sure you run your Windows Update. (Even the Homeland Security Department wants you to.)

Wired home network

2006-08-06T17:48:00.000-04:00

Hello,
I just wired some network cable through my home yesterday, replacing my wireless network. I'd been having a hard time get a good signal (something was causing interference; possibly my furnace was in the way). Also, I think one of my neighbors is starting up their own wireless network as I had a laptop and a PC try to connect into mine, and my downstairs PC could find their network, but not my own. I figured it was time to wire in for it, as it would also give me better speed. I use my XBox 360 as a Media Center Extender, so the faster speed is better for video.
It was a more challenging task that I thought, the most frustrating of which was trying to figure out how to thread the cable from my upstairs office down through my utility room. Then I wanted especially to state that if you are in the need of wire staples (little brackets to nail wires and cables up in place), I highly, highly recommend staying far away from Leviton staples, which I bought for cheap at Wal-Mart. More than half of them broke as I was nailing them in.

New touch interface, mistaken mpg, Beruit devastation

2006-08-04T22:06:00.000-04:00

Links for today:

Please watch this fantastic presentation by Jeff Han at the TED conference. He demonstrates a new 'interface free' touch based system that is incredible.
Cars on average 8% more fuel than they claim. But, hey, fuel's cheap, right?
Amazing and sad satellite photo Before and After of Beruit.

Branson vacation photos

2006-08-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

16 Kansas City Zoo - Tiger
Originally uploaded by Brian Whitmarsh.

I've made some of my KC/Branson vacation photos available on my Flickr account. Feel free to browse.

The tiger pictured here was basking in the heat at the Kansas City Zoo.

Dark Place, alien coverup, light art, questionable sources, rubber artillery, website dna

2006-08-03T22:47:00.000-04:00

Taking a moment to post as I was all set to watch Garth Merenghi's Dark Place on Sci Fi (which was listed in the guide), but they had that lame "Ghost Hunters" show on instead. I saw "Dark Place" for the first time last week, and thought it was hilarious.
But instead, I post:

Allegations of a SETI coverup. Did they indeed receive signals from aliens?
Some cool light animations done with webcams and light pens.
Where did that web video spoofing Al Gore come from? Wait, the Internet was used for devious purposes?!?
I had a rubber band gun when I was a kid, but today, you can get plans for a rubber band machine gun. When will the escalation end?
Would you like to see your website represented as human DNA? Not sure why you would, but there's a site that will do it for you.
And I thought about posting an endless list of links about Mel Gibson's recent issue, but decided the mainstream media is covering that very much well enough.

Annoying PeoplePC, science, projects, furnishings, centaur, tmnt

2006-07-30T14:10:00.000-04:00

I just recently finished an angry email to PeoplePC because their Contact Center has telemarketted me 3 times in the last two weeks. It is obviously an offshore Indian call center (which generally I don't have issues with; just when they are really bad like this one), though they all gave "American" names. I don't like it when they do this. It is belittling to them by having to use a fake name (especially when sometimes they have trouble pronouncing it) and everyone knows that they are lying. The first agent kept up even though I said "no" seven or eight times. I try to be respectful, so I took the time to explain why my 5MB cable model is better than the dial-up he was offering. He was not understanding me and trying to stick to the script, so he responded with "So is your main concern about tying up your phone line?".
The next call was after 8PM on a Sunday (not against the law to my knowledge, but I thought general courtesy of telemarketers is to avoid this time). I told the agent I already had a call and was not interested. She proceeded to tell me I was hasty in declining and was argumentative.
The third call was relatively straightforward; the agent said OK and goodbye after I said this was the third call.
I don't see how any company expects to do business like this, but it is getting more and more common.
Anyway, here are some unrelated links for me to browse while waiting for the inevitable fourth call:

Could you pass 8th Grade Science? online quiz. I was a bit disappointed in how easy it was.
Tired of paying Coca-Cola for their drink? Make your own Coca-Cola.
Bleach Spritz Clothing looks to be an easy craft project for decorating old shirts. I may give this a try.
I think of parabolic dishes for signal reception, but not as a parabolic lamp. This is an interesting idea.
Redoing that living room? You might want the sensor embedded carpet that can guess shoe size, age, gender, and other characteristics of the person walking on it.
Think the two wheeled Segway is not for you? You may like the 4 wheeled Segway Centaur concept.
What you've been waiting for: trailer for the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles move. Wait... they're making a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles move?

Back from vacation in Branson

2006-07-25T20:17:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm back! I visited fabulous Branson, MO, with a stop in Kansas City on the way. Today's links will be for some of the spectacular vacation fare that I experienced:

Kansas City Zoo - Nice zoo, but not as fun when it is 105 degrees out.
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art - Very good museum. Got kicked out because they were closing.
Silver Dollar City - Fun theme park. Not huge, but good variety. (On most of the rides: you will get wet!)
Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Museum - full of great oddities.
Titanic Museum - I thought it was a bit out of place in Branson, but it was very well done.
Grand Country Square - Didn't stay at the hotel, but ate at the buffet and played the mini golf course.
57 Heaven (in Dick Clark's American Bandstand complex) - awesome collection of 1957 cars.
Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede - horse show and singing, and a four course meal with no silverware.
Hollywood Wax Museum - just creepy enough.
The Track - go-karts and other rides.

Vacation

2006-07-18T20:20:00.000-04:00

Well, I'll be heading out on a mini-vacation here soon, so no updates for a while.
See you in a bit!

Dancing around the world, open mic, clean bills, generous corps, cap magnets

2006-07-17T20:40:00.000-04:00

So, what's new? Looks like I'm past the blistering heat here for the moment (over 100 degrees this weekend...fahrenheit, that is). Here are some links for you to read as you sit in your nice air conditioned space:

If you haven't seen Matt Harding's Dancing Around The World videos, you really should. They are a little goofy, but also kind of touching. What a fun project to do!
President Bush really needs to learn to be careful around open mics. Candid with some language.
Two robbers misunderstand money laundering. I hope they used the right detergent.
The nation's most generous corporations by charitable givings. Wal-Mart is number one? I thought they were supposed to be evil!
Here's a simple craft project that's kind of neat: turn bottlecaps into magnets or thumbtacks.

Whitmarshall new look (and other stuff)

2006-07-15T15:26:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the long stretch between updates. I've been working on a new design for the site (as you can see by now), but it took longer than I planned (and was difficult to find the time to work on it. There are still a few rough edges (like the alignment around the top), but I wanted to get it out there. I welcome any feedback on it!
In other news:

Rare, mutant two-toned lobster caught. He's been immediately signed to be in "X-Men 4".
RIAA loses a file sharing case. If only they would have downloaded a better legal argument.
Google sends blogger aspirin after he writes a post entitled "Dear Google, You're Giving Me A Headache." Funny, but does this mean Google is reading everything on the web?
This hilarious Darth Vader video on YouTube is one of the funniest things I've seen lately. The video author took Star Wars footage and dubbed in James Earl Jones lines from other movies. Genius.

And that is all the news there is for the day...err, except all that Israel/Hamas/Palestine/Lebanon/Hezbollah/Syria/Iran/North Korea/etc. stuff...

Censor, executive gift, payment pals, marios, msPod, KFed's good joke

2006-07-06T22:24:00.000-04:00

Hello, here's some new links:

Need to stay incognito? You need the Black bar 'censor' sunglasses.
Nintendo sends Bush a birthday gift of a DS Lite and "Brain Age". Finally, a gift he can use. (By the way I have "Brain Age", and my brain age is currently 22!)
eBay banning users from using Google Checkout as a form of payment. No self interest there.
Very sweet animated gif of infinite Super Marios.
Some new details of Microsoft's iPod killer have been released. Blue screen of death not listed.
Kevin Federline insists his first song release was actually a joke all along. Yeah, we all believe that.

The Star Mangled Banner, annihilation, genuine spying

2006-07-03T22:44:00.000-04:00

Hope you have a fun and safe Independence Day tomorrow. But before then, here are some links:

With Independence Day comes the singing of "The Star Spangled Banner". Are you one of the two thirds of Americans that don't know all the lyrics to our National Anthem? I think the might change that just to Anthem. By the way, the last words are not "play ball" or "gentlemen, start your engines".
And we can celebrate our Independence thinking about North Korea's threat of an 'annihilating strike' and 'nuclear war' in case they are pre-emptively attacked. Of course, I suppose that is only if we don't pre-emptively attack the couple nuclear bombs they have.
I mentioned it last time, but here is another article about Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage spying on you.

New China, Genuine spyware, internets, struggling penny

2006-07-02T19:45:00.000-04:00

Boy, it's been a while. I had much trouble at work this week, with some late nights working on issues. The last few days I've just been catching up on home stuff and trying to not do too much computery stuff. I saw Superman Returns the other day, and generally liked it. I thought it was a bit too long. This new guy does a lot in his performance that really makes you think of Christopher Reeve, and didn't really seem unnatural in any way. (Maybe I'll post a longer review later.)
In other news:

More evidence that China discovered America. And this would be before Columbus... or it wouldn't be much of a story.
Lawsuit says Windows Genuine Advantage anti-piracy software is spyware. I've noticed this thing (firewall catches it) trying to dial home several times a day. It is a bit annoying, and I've wondered exactly what it is trying to send.
Senator Ted Stevens delivers brilliantly insane speech on why he voted as he did on the net neutrality subject.
The penny may be on the way out due to it now costing 1.2 cents to make the 1 cent coin.

Long life (until the asteroid), ignoring the law, maglev frame, grill pizza, Digg

2006-06-26T23:07:00.000-04:00

Here's some links for the day:

We may one day live to be 1000. I don't know if I'll keep my blog up that whole time though.
Half mile wide asteroid to pass by Earth on July 3. Bruce Willis readying his spaceship now.
President Bush adds 'signing statements' to laws he signs to say that he can ignore them if he wants for national security purposes. Must have missed that whole "checks and balances" part in American History class.
This magnetic levitation picture frame is pretty cool, but the $150 is a bit steep (cost when you add in the magnetic display unit).
And this is a nifty tool: grill top pizza stone.
I've mentioned it before, but Digg is a great social news site (the best, I think), and they've just gone live with version 3. Check it out for a good place to get top submitted stories.

Wireless troubles, future of Futurama, animations, the birds

2006-06-25T19:48:00.000-04:00

I'm going to suggest avoiding D-Link routers. My Linksys burned out a few weeks back, so I went and bought a new wireless router and wireless adapter for my PC (I got the WBR-2310 router and the PCI adapter recommended to go with it. They have Rangebooster! and are supposed to get me up to 108 Mbps rates.) I'm having trouble with it.

Firstly, my PC that is directly hooked to the router occasionally just loses internet access. A reset of the router or sometimes unplugging it or rebooting the PC is required to fix it.
Secondly, my other PC (which is downstairs, probably about 30 - 40 ft away) gets a weak signal and will also lose the network.
Thirdly, today some of my router settings were wiped out (including network name) so my other PC and XBox couldn't connect at all (this was possibly due to the router reseting and unplugging I've needed?).
Lastly, and not really a product problem, I found out after the fact, that this router is not "certified" for the XBox 360, but I've generally been able to get it working so that may not be a big deal.

I called D-Link support today and after giving a ton of information, the guy had me make some router config changes to try and address the first issue. He didn't seem to even want to address the second and third (and I hadn't realized the settings were wiped out at the time of the call), saying we should try and fix one first. He gave me a case number and said I'll have to return the router to the place of purchase if the dropped connection issue continues (which is conveniently about 2 hrs away). I was not impressed with their tech support at all. If anyone reading has any ideas, please let me know.

In other news:

Futurama returns! with all new episodes for Comedy Central.
Visit this fun and clever animation of animator versus animation.
Some other good animated shorts at Alan the Box. I haven't spent much time here yet, but found it from the "B & W Drama Theater 13" which I thought was funny.
And while you're watching stuff, check out this amazing video of a flock of starlings crushing a tree.

Average cable and internet service, quote quiz, Holy Trinity renamed

2006-06-21T22:50:00.000-04:00

Hello, all! A few links:

Comcast service person falls asleep on customer's couch after spending an hour on hold with home office and missing three scheduled appointments. Customer videotapes this.
AOL wants to make sure your dead loved ones have their service.
Test your quote knowledge with the Ann Coulter or Adolf Hitler Quote Quiz.
Some Presbyterian Churches considering renaming the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to gender inclusive options like "Mother, Child, and Womb", "Rock, Redeemer, Friend", or others. Oh, Rock, why have you forsaken me?

Cars, routers, web dislikes, msPod, config.shirt

2006-06-18T22:23:00.000-04:00

Hello! How are you? I had a decent Saturday, and saw the movie "Cars", which i thought was excellent (like all Pixar movies). There's not a single human or animal in the movie (technically), yet it still conveyed a lot of emotion. Plus, it contains probably the only "Larry the Cable Guy" performance that I even found to be tolerable, which is a tremendous feat.
Today, I've been struggling with my new wireless router and PCI card for my home network (my previous router blinked its last light a week or so ago). I got this new one set up relatively easily, but I'm having problems with it dropping the network or dropping my Internet connection until I reboot. So, if you are shopping for a router, I may have a suggestion about one to avoid.
But in other news, here are some links:

What people hate about web sites. Are your pet peeves on the list?
Is Microsoft developing a rival to the iPod? But with...er, more reboots?
For the customizer: a configurable t-shirt, but a rather low-tech one.

Dozens, vanity surprise, smart states, liquid armor, Gates steps down, light faucet

2006-06-15T22:39:00.000-04:00

Looking for some links? Here are some:

Theives steal 279 copies of "Cheaper By The Dozen" on DVD. Apparently it's a lot cheaper by the 3,348.
Maybe not the 'value-add' service they were expecting, but several customers found drug 'bricks' in their Home Depot bathroom vanities.
How does your state rank on the list of most educated states?
Another step towards Terminator 2... liquid body armor could help protect our troops.
Bill Gates to step down from day-to-day duties in 2008. I hope he's saving up a nice nest egg before leaving the job.
Tired of not knowing the temperature of your water? You need the Equa Light Delight faucet that changes color with temps.

Rove safe, bogus assistance, interrogation methods, music sharing contained, iSweatshop

2006-06-13T20:27:00.000-04:00

How do I pass on great stuff to you? Through links:

Karl Rove will not be indicted in leak case. Boy, that guy must have some friends in high places.
The GAO finds up to $1.4 Billion in bogus assistance given out for Katrina and Rita. This news is causing me mental anguish, such that perhaps some government restitution is in order.
The Pentagon won't hide some interrogation techniques in a classified section of their manual. Or, are they just going to classify the existence of that section of the manual? Think about it.
RIAA chief says music piracy is "contained". Whew! I have noticed the increase in quality of life already!
Is Apple producing their iPods in overseas sweatshops? Employees working 15 hr days for $50/month... but at least they get to listen to sweet tunes while they work.

Symphony, body claim, fake ID, Transformers, ring stock

2006-06-12T21:31:00.000-04:00

After a cool weekend, it is back to much warmer days again. Saturday night, the Minnesota's Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra gave a performance at our new high school's arts center. This is the first time I've been there, and I've got to say the accoustics are terrific there. The theater is very nice (maybe a bit much for a high school, but it will get a lot of community use). The performance was excellent as well.
Anyway, here are a few links for today:

Don't want to pay for that funeral? Just don't claim the body of that family member. Sheesh.
Your tax dollars at work: man gets into Homeland Security HQ with obviously fake ID.
Keep an eye out for your favorite consumer electronics devices in the upcoming Transformers movie.
Wrestling stock soars, then turns on crowd and becomes a heel, then later redeems self by surprise turn in cage match.

Terror leader killed, castle illusion, panel interference, magnet-sense

2006-06-09T19:29:00.000-04:00

Who's in the mood for some Internet links? Well, here are some for you:

Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi killed, but then if you haven't heard this already, you're probably living in a cave in Tora Bora... oh, wait, you'd probably have heard this there by now.
Big Spanish Castle optical illusion is pretty cool.
Sen. Specter asks Cheney to quit interfering with NSA panel. Cheney responds by inviting Specter to go quail hunting.
Tired of plain old sight, smell, taste, etc? Get electromagnetic sense by implanting magnets in your fingers.

Vintage vandals, cave art, web 2.0, classic shed

2006-06-07T22:40:00.000-04:00

Hello, here are some links for the day:

The Wurst Gallery "Vintage Vandals". I thought this was a neat idea and could be a good craft project. Taking art found at a thrift store and modifying it.
27,000 year old cave face is oldest portrait on record, and it is a portrait of, you guessed it, Joan Rivers.
So what is Web 2.0? Oh, it's just all that stuff.
Need some more style for your backyard? How about a Roman garden shed?

Getaway genius, private email?, photo mosaic, free ebooks, red cells from space, more

2006-06-04T17:07:00.000-04:00

I was holding out on filling my gas tank as prices were going down for a while here, but apparently whatever random reason for raising prices has occurred. I ended up filling up today at a higher cost than had I done it a couple days ago. Oh well, I guess constantly changing prices adds that element of risk and suspense, like playing the lotto or betting on a horse race.
Some good bets for you:

If you are going to rob the grocery store you work for, don't return for your shift driving the same car you used for getaway.
A third of companies read their employees' outbound email. (44% for companies over 20,000 employees.) So at least someone will read that dumb joke you forwarded to everyone you know.
I thought this was a pretty cool time-waster: Photo mosaic that you can infinitely drill into.
Keep your eye open for free eBooks in July, from both Project Gutenberg and World eBook Library.
Mysterious red cells might be aliens. They are currently gathering Reese's pieces, satellite dishes and Speak N Spells in order to "phone home".
Good article about 20 things you won't like about Windows Vista.
Being challenged to consume Mentos and Diet Coke together? You might want to watch this experiment first.

Irancentives, hilt-hop album, ipod info, rear view, holy grilled cheese, poopsicle

2006-06-01T21:00:00.000-04:00

Howdy all! Wow, the weather is nice now (cooled down a little bit). I am stubbornly trying to avoid using the A/C (air conditioner, not alternating current), but have turned it on a couple times since last weekend. I'm also not ready to water the lawn (in fact, without mowing, I don't need to mow as often), but have put the hose on the garden a couple times.
Anyway, here is a variety of stories for you:

Countries putting together an incentive package for Iran to give up their nuclear ambitions. Yet if I try to build my own nuclear reactor, they send the police.
In more disturbing news, Paris Hilton plans Reggae, Hip-Hop album. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Need a lot of free iPod and iTunes info? The Free iPod Book 2.0 is available (for free)!
Tired of people sneaking up on you while deep in word processing thought? Get a Computer Rear View Mirror.
Can't afford those mysterious holy images on food from eBay? Make your own with the Jesus Pan.
Ever see the movie "Envy" where one guy gets rich after inventing "Va-poo-rize"? We are getting close to that in real life, with Poop-Freeze.

Squaremelon, money folding, justice spat, secret wars, phone phollies

2006-05-29T13:10:00.000-04:00

Hope you are having a great Memorial Day weekend! Here's a few things to keep you busy:

What makes those summer holidays better? Why, square watermelon, of course.
Got so much money you don't know what to do with it? Try some money origami.
Dept of Justice and FBI officials threatening to resign if they don't get their way in the Jefferson raid. Ministry of Love unavailable to comment.
I ran across this video for the Secret Wars Re-Enactment Society, a spoof of war re-enacters acting out Marvel Comic's Secret Wars series. I thought it was funny, but posting it here just reinforces that I like some geeky stuff.
A few inappropriate cell phone ringing stories. I think people should use a little more common sense with their phones; I hate it when one goes off during a movie or event. Toward the end of this article, a professor comments on the pointless conversations he hears immediately before and after classes. I couldn't agree more. I don't understand the inane calls, or why people feel they need to be in constant communication and be always connected.

Hicks idol, red hot album, enron conviction, da Vinci thoughts

2006-05-25T21:17:00.000-04:00

Just a hodgepodge of thoughts and links today:

Taylor Hicks wins 'American Idol'. I really stopped watching this show after the initial mass auditions, but remember Hicks and was glad someone less traditionally 'pop-ish' won. I'm mainly mentioning this story because I read in another article that the 63 million votes cast was "more than any president has received", which is actually pretty sad when you think about it. (However, later I realized that this is not the same as "more than total votes cast in a presidential election".)
On the drive to Green Bay last weekend, I had a chance to really listen to the Red Hot Chili Pepper's new "Stadium Arcadium". Very good album, maybe not as good as "By the Way", but similar in its more mellow and mature Chili Pepper style.

Enron's Lay and Skilling convicted finally. You know, I wonder how much this whole trial cost, and what it compares to the actual cost of the Enron collapse.
I am currently reading "The Da Vinci Code" (I know, I know, way behind everyone else). I've been pretty aware of the controversial concepts brought forth in it, but have been pretty much blowing off the controversy because it is fiction. However, now reading it, I think I understand some of the concern. I had assumed that the controversial info (which I will not mention for the one or two people who have not read this yet) was discovered by the characters as they progressed through their quest; which should be fairly obvious as fiction to the reader. Instead, these things are stated flat out as facts by the "educated", "professorly" characters as being without a doubt, obvious, accepted fact, etc. and reinforced with a statement in the front of the book claiming this info is fact. They don't even say "some theories say...", or "some speculate..", so I can see how people might get confused what is history and what is fabrication. A ton of what is presented is extremely far from proven fact. (Didn't the guy who "discovered" the Priory of Scion evidence, Dossier Secret, later admit he created it all? Other claims about the Council of Nicaea and such are also pretty much proved otherwise. Etc.) I got to say too that I really don't think Dan Brown is a good writer. His text is flat and straightforward and not very creative writing, but the plot is pretty exciting. I think the scavenger hunt/puzzle solving aspect of it is really what saves it and makes it a kind of fun read. But, it also follows the same formula as "Angels & Demons" of find puzzle, solve it quickly, rush to next stop (or run away from someone), find puzzle, solve it quickly, rush to next stop, etc.

The runner mentality

2006-05-23T22:00:00.000-04:00

I'm back from a visit to Green Bay, where I went to cheer my sister on in her first marathon. It was awfully chilly, but there were a ton of people there, and she did a really good job. When she finished, she asked me if it had inspired me to run a marathon. My answer: "no". I don't really get the runner mentality. Even if I was in the shape that I could run a marathon, I'm not sure why I would want to. I have a car. I don't need to run from any large predators. I don't need to urgently deliver a message to the next village. I still think it is a very impressive feat and am amazed by those that accomplish it, but it just isn't for me.

3D specs, nuclear gift, phone spying, that rabbitty thing, fan transformer

2006-05-16T21:52:00.000-04:00

Since someone asked about where to get 3D glasses after my last post (you know who you are, Kahn), I spent minimal time doing research and found this place (Rainbow Symphony) which will send you "free" glasses for a dollar.
But in other news:

Europe talks about giving Iran a nuclear reactor. If they accept before the end of the month, they'll get a free side of nuclear bombs.
Verizon sued for giving phone info to the government in the NSA phone snooping program.
and the government is also spying on the phone calls from/to the media to root out confidential sources. (Also, confirmed by the FBI.) Big Brother is watching.
After years of waiting, looks like there will be a new Sam & Max game. Finally, gaming gets more of the sadistic, dangerous lagomorph.
Very cool CGI screen test of a Transformer (Optimus?). Fan created, but hopefully the actual movie will be even better.