Coming Soon! – Latest News
Steven Beck will direct a big screen adaptation of the popular sci-fi TV series Babylon 5. The movie, titled The Memory of Shadows, is intended for theatrical release and was written by series creator J. Michael Straczynski. Production Weekly reports that the project starts filming this April in the UK.
Babylon 5: The Movie
12-Dec-2004 by
For dessert, we have… chocolate lip balm!
25-Nov-2004 by
Chocolate lip balm, all natural ingredients
I’m still stunned by the perfume so this doesn’t seem so bad, heh.
Chocolate perfume?!
25-Nov-2004 by
I like chocolate kind of a lot, but I think I can say I don’t quite like it that much. :-)
Six Tips for a Clean Credit Record
01-Nov-2004 by
This is not an advertisement. A lot of people I know don’t have the first clue about their credit score; what it is, why it matters, or how to keep it from sucking. Motley Fool is widely recognized as an authority on matters of finance.
Fool.com…: Six Tips for a Clean Credit Record [Motley Fool Take] October 22, 2004
Want to improve your credit score? Concentrate on the areas that matter most to lenders.
Comment spam
31-Oct-2004 by
Due to the increasing amount of comment spam lately comment moderation has been enabled for any post more than a week old. When posting a comment on such a post you’ll get no notification that it’s awaiting moderation other than your comment not actually appearing immediately. :) Sorry for the bother but I think everyone will agree that the spam is worse than waiting a few hours for your comment to appear on the page.
Yahoo! News – Marijuana measures on 3 states’ ballots
29-Oct-2004 by
Yahoo! News – Marijuana measures on 3 states’ ballots
Alaska will become the first state to make marijuana legal if voters approve a measure on Tuesday’s ballot that has drawn criticism from the Bush administration.
Coffee May Raise Heart Disease Risk
22-Oct-2004 by
Coffee May Raise Heart Disease Risk
Moderate Amounts Raise Inflammation and May Increase Heart Disease Risk, Says Greek Study
New York Yank-who?
20-Oct-2004 by
Not a huge surprise given how the last three games have gone; but, it was surprising the Sox pulled off a 10-3 win. I guess the Yankees were tired after all. Fine by me; they’ve certainly had more than their share of winning, especially against Boston. Hope the Sox win the Series, too; like everyone else, I’m sick of hearing the whining about the Curse(tm). :)
Threaded comments
17-Oct-2004 by
Thanks to Brian Meidell we now have nested/threaded comments. Doesn’t affect pre-existing comments, though.
Blog from FeedDemon
17-Oct-2004 by
Finally, someone made a direct-blogging tool for WordPress. And in case it isn’t obvious from the last few posts, it works very nicely. :-)
About i-node one
21-Sep-2004 by
Without getting into what exactly an i-node is, suffice to say, simply, I chose it as the site’s name for its geek appeal.
“Okay, so what about the snow leopard (panthera uncia)? What the heck does an i-node have to do with a small, endangered Asian cat?” you say. Or, more likely, you don’t say. More like, “Who cares?!“? Understandable. :) The cat is my totem animal, or spirit guide in some lexicons.
The connection between the two? Me. I spend my working days, and a good bit of my personal time, mucking about in Unix-land, being a geek — surviving — teaching the finer points of “Do what I want, not what I say… argh!” to those lovely, hulking collections of fiber-glass, plastic, solder, and silicon. Along the way I try to do some living — carpe diem, etc — and that’s where the snow leopard helps out. Of course, living in California helps, too.
Actually, living in California helps a lot, but that’s another story . . .
Revenge of TikiWiki
20-Sep-2004 by
I should’ve expected as much, really. Post a blog entry in the old blog-place saying I’ve migrated to other software and, the next day, the only other person who uses the site can’t login any more. What’s more, none — and I do mean none — of the password reset techniques works. Well, except one: upgrade to the latest development code.
The latest code allows the admin user to reset any user’s password without the need to know their existing password, which is stored as a one-way MD5 hash; something the previous versions couldn’t do, at least not so directly or easily. There was one trick in the old version that worked once before: use a “hidden” URL and a specially-crafted “old password”, and voila! Too bad it didn’t work this time.
I guess if the development code is good enough for the public TikiWiki site (tikiwiki.org…) it should do well enough for me.
Then again, maybe tomorrow the admin account won’t work any more…
Migrated from TikiWiki blog
20-Sep-2004 by
Apparently I got the “it’s not pretty or fast enough” itch this weekend with respect to TikiWiki, in particular the blog section. Don’t get me wrong; I still love the Wiki part of it. It’s just that it was a bit of overkill for weblogging and it kinda got in the way of itself as a result. I wanted something with a more blog-centric existence, commensurate development, and presentation features/tools. That said, I wish WordPress would grok Wiki markup (I don’t mean the DoubleCaps bit — could actually care less about that). Kinda funky to learn but awfully handy for taking care of the “ugly” HTML/CSS work.
Just finished migrating all my blog entries, and their comments, a little while ago. Not exactly fun but it motivated me to hack a few things to make ‘em easier to do (mostly the Quicktags) and look a little better (tables and CSS boxes). Still not perfect, but close enough for now.
Talk like a pirate day!
19-Sep-2004 by
Captain Dave Barry strikes again! In case you didn’t know today is officially Talk Like A Pirate Day. So get to it!
The authoritative site: Ahoy!
Wikipedia
12-Sep-2004 by
Made my first contribution to the Wikipedia last night/today by correcting, enhancing and adding to a couple of the pages: one about Yosemite, the other about National Parks which references Yosemite.
Yosemite National Park
National Park
Lots of stuff going around the blogosphere lately about the Wikipedia and how reliable it is (or isn’t, depending on your viewpoint). Probably in a year or two it’ll be at least as accurate as any recent treeware version for non-active entries, assuming publishers of said treeware don’t sue the Wiki out of existence because some people are copying verbatim from the text of their dead-tree version(s).
Personally, I’m not too worried about the Wiki’s authority because no one should rely on a single Internet-based source for accurate information; two or three sources, at least, should be considered good practice, just like with non-Internet-based resources. The people that do rely on Wikipedia for 100% authoritative info are probably the same people who rely on television or print media, both of which tend to get their info from the same one or two sources these days, for accurate information.
How to stop procrastinating
09-Sep-2004 by
Link: merlin.blogs.com…
Perfect for the geeks in the audience but likely applicable to anyone with a fondness for procrastination.
Excerpt:
The Problem with “stuffâ€
Getting Things Done succeeds because it first addresses a critical barrier to completing the atomic tasks that we want to accomplish in a given day. That’s “stuff.†Amorphous, unactionable, flop-sweat-inducing stuff. David says:
Here’s how I define “stuff:†anything you have allowed into your psychological or physical world that doesn’t belong where it is, but for which you haven’t yet determined the desired outcome and the next action step. [pg. 17]
Stuff is bouncing around in our heads and causing untold stress and anxiety. Evaluation meetings, bar mitzvahs, empty rolls of toilet paper, broken lawn mowers, college applications, your big gut, tooth decay, dirty underwear and imminent jury duty all compete for prime attention in our poor, addled brains. Stuff has no “home†and, consequently, no place to go, so it just keeps rattling around.
Worst off, we’re too neurotic to stop thinking about it, and we certainly don’t have time to actually do everything in one day. Jeez Louise, what the hell am I, Superman?
So you sprint from fire to fire, praying you haven’t forgotten anything, sapped of anything like creativity or even the basic human flexibility to adapt your own schedule to the needs of your friends, your family or yourself. Your “stuff†has taken over your brain like a virus now, dragging down every process it touches and rendering you spent and virtually useless. Sound familiar?
A Girl’s Guide to Geek Guys
08-Sep-2004 by
This is basically correct, although I’d argue (as those who know me would expect) that a geek is “a nerd with social skills”; what’s described in this article is essentially your average nerd, or something in-between. Nonetheless, the more insight women — that is, potential mates — have about the Geek Species, the better.
Link: www.com…
So, your crush on the bass player from Vibrating Sandbox has finally died a whimpering death and you’re wondering where to go from here. All the sinister dudes are either dating a series of interchangeable high-school riot girls in baby doll dresses and an overdose of manic panic, or permanently shacked up with some bitter old lady who pays all the bills. Which will it be, a wifely prison or a humiliating one night stand? Into this void of potential mates comes a man you may not have considered before, a man of substance, quietude and stability, a cerebral creature with a culture all his own. In short, a geek.
The purpose of education? Not education.
07-Sep-2004 by
Link: slashdot.org…
Chris Acheson writes, “John Taylor Gatto is a former New York City school teacher. During his 30-year career, he has taught at 5 different public schools, has had his teaching license suspended twice for insubordination, and was once covertly terminated while on medical leave. He has also won the New York City Teacher of the Year award three times and the New York State Teacher of the Year award once during the final year of his career. The whole time he has been an outspoken critic of the school system. Nine years after leaving his career, he published The Underground History of American Education (full text available here), in which he puts forth his insider’s vision of what is wrong with American schooling. His verdict is not what you’d expect: the school system cannot be fixed, Gatto asserts, because it has been designed not to educate. Skeptical? So was I.” Read on for the rest of Acheson’s review.
Web browser security test
05-Sep-2004 by
Link: Browser Security Test
Test your web browser for common security issues. It can run tests for all known problems or only those specific to the browser you’re using at the time.
If you’re using Internet Explorer (IE), please do the world a favor and run these tests on your machine. NOW. Pretty please. biggrin
And stop using IE! There are plenty of other, far superior browsers available: Mozilla/Firefox and Opera to name two.
Uh.. what was that about size?
05-Sep-2004 by
Link: www.valtio.org…
According to one of the comments, it’s a all-in-one canal excavator. For BIG FREAKIN’ HUGE canals! Holy crap. 8-)
George W. Bush $200 bill
03-Sep-2004 by
No, really. A store clerk in Pennsylvania took a $200 “George W. Bush” bill, despite almost nothing about it appearing genuine.
More writing for the web stuff
02-Sep-2004 by
Since I just spent 45 minutes debugging the firewall, smtp server, and dns server on the machine hosting this site I don’t have time to write much about any of these sites. Nonetheless, I’ve read some or all of them and the info looks useful so I’m putting it here to remind myself to go look at it again and maybe mentally digest it too.
Phil Windley — How to Start a Blog
Features: Gar’s Tips on Sucks-Less Writing
Writing the Living Web
29-Aug-2004 by
A very poignant article by Mark Bernstein with blogging becoming increasingly popular.
Link: 10 Tips on Writing the Living Web
The brief list
1. Write for a reason
2. Write often
3. Write tight
4. Make good friends
5. Find good enemies
6. Let the story unfold
7. Stand up, speak out
8. Be sexy
9. Use your archives
10. Relax!
Decision Disorder(tm): The real thing?
29-Aug-2004 by
For years, I’ve been teasing people I know — particularly my girlfriend — about their occasional inability to make a (simple) decision. Well, this may go a long way towards explaining why those seemingly simple decisions aren’t simple at all to some people. At the same time and more or less to myself, because I never really thought about how to articulate it, I’ve suspected that the “too much choice” issue was a big part of the problems in western (I’ll add capitalist) societies.
Quoted from The tyranny of too much choice:
An article in Scientific American, titled The Tyranny of Choice has sparked a considerable debate on the web about the problems faced by western societies as a result of too much choice. In fact the idea is a very old one, I came cross it years ago but it is not mentioned very often by your every day Happiness literature which tends to talk more about internal changes that people can make to the way they think rather than factors from their external environment.
You can sum up the material prior to this article as follows:
- The intent of advertising is to make us dissatisfied with what we have
- If we meet people who have more than we have, or have different spending priorities or saving priorities then we tend to be dissatisfied with what we have
Click the link above to read the rest of the article at the original author’s site.
Security Theater(tm)
29-Aug-2004 by
I was flying from Denver to Oakland, CA last June. In the post-takeoff announcement, we were told by the flight attendant:
“For security reasons, passengers must use the lavatories in their section of the aircraft. First class has two lavatories at the front of the cabin; coach has two lavatories in the rear of the plane. Thank you for your cooperation.”
For security reasons!? The lavatory? Like the “bombs” dropped in first class are somehow more secure than those in coach class. We have executive poop now? Chief Pooping Officer? Vice Poopident? Ahem, sorry. The fumes… got to me.
Where’s Bruce Schneier when you need him. Sheesh.
An unusual personality quiz
28-Aug-2004 by
My results. It’s odd, my g/f and I were just having a discussion earlier today and she referred to some group of people as hippies; what she didn’t know was, I rather identified with that group.
20 questions.
Wackiness: 34/100
Rationality: 50/100
Constructiveness: 60/100
Leadership: 50/100
You are a SECF–Sober Emotional Constructive Follower. This makes you a Hippie.
You are passionate about your causes and steadfast in your commitments. Once you’ve made up your mind, no one can convince you otherwise. Your politics are left-leaning, and your lifestyle choices decidedly temperate and chaste.
You do tremendous work when focused, but usually you operate somewhat distracted. You blow hot and cold, and while you normally endeavor on the side of goodness and truth, you have a massive mean streak which is not to be taken lightly. You don’t get mad, you get even.
Please don’t get even with this web site.
Douglas Adams answers, “Why 42?”
28-Aug-2004 by
In Article 2b4asr$b7r@syzygy.socs.uts.edu.au, mjcherka@socs.uts.EDU.AU
(Mark J Cherkas) wrote:
-
- I am new to this group so bear with this beginners question:
- Why is the answer 42 ?
- Has Douglas Adams ever explained this ?
-
-The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations, base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk, stared into the garden and thought ’42 will do’ I typed it out. End of story.
Best,
Douglas Adams London, UK | dna@dadams.demon.co.uk (dormant) Currently in Santa Fe, NM | adamsd@nic.cerf.net (current)
Sweden – the 51st state? Only in Hollywood.
27-Aug-2004 by
(Mirrored here in case the original goes away. Apologies to the authors.)
Link: static.thepiratebay.org…
Edited slightly to remove the binary characters around ”DreamWorks” and ”Shrek 2”.
Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2004 18:21:43 -0100 (GMT)
From: anakata
To: KMWLAW@flash.net
Subject: Re: Unauthorized Use of DreamWorks SKG PropertiesOn Mon, 23 Aug 2004 KMWLAW@flash.net wrote:
> Dennis L. Wilson, Esq.
> KEATS McFARLAND & WILSON, LLP
> 9720 Wilshire Blvd., Penthouse Suite
> Beverly Hills, CA 90212
> Tel: (310) 248-3830
> Fax: (310) 860-0363
>
>
> August 23, 2004
>
>
> VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
> AND U.S. MAIL
>
> ThePirateBay.org
> Box 1206
> Stockholm 11479
> SWEDEN
>
> tracker-40-aa-5f-03-412675c8@prq.to
>
> Re: Unauthorized Use of DreamWorks SKG Properties
> http://www.thepiratebay.org
>
> To Whom It May Concern:
>
> This letter is being written to you on behalf of our
> client, DreamWorks SKG (hereinafter DreamWorks).
> DreamWorks is the exclusive owner of all copyright,
> trademark and other intellectual property rights in
> and to the Shrek 2 motion picture. No one is
> authorized to copy, reproduce, distribute, or
> otherwise use the Shrek 2 motion picture without
> the express written permission of DreamWorks.
(. . .)
> As you may be aware, Internet Service Providers can
> be held liable if they do not respond to claims of
> infringement pursuant to the requirements of the
> Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). In
> accordance with the DMCA, we request your assistance
> in the removal of infringements of the Shrek 2
> motion picture from this web site and any other sites
> for which you act as an Internet Service Provider.
> We further declare under penalty of perjury that we
> are authorized to act on behalf of DreamWorks and
> that the information in this letter is accurate.
> Please contact me immediately to discuss this matter
> further.As you may or may not be aware, Sweden is not a state in the United States
of America. Sweden is a country in northern Europe.
Unless you figured it out by now, US law does not apply here.
For your information, no Swedish law is being violated.Please be assured that any further contact with us, regardless of medium,
will result in
a) a suit being filed for harassment
b) a formal complaint lodged with the bar of your legal counsel, for
sending frivolous legal threats.It is the opinion of us and our lawyers that you are fucking morons, and
that you should please go sodomize yourself with retractable batons.Please also note that your e-mail and letter will be published in full on
Go fuck yourself.
Polite as usual,
anakata