May 31, 2002
This is the problem you
This is the problem you face when you are "just friends" to a lot of people, from different circles of friends and different interests. Sometimes those groups of friends overlap and you can spend time with both and nirvana springs forth and life is good. Then there are times that all groups are in discord, with one group moving one way, while the other moves one, and a third is way out somewhere in left field. Continue reading "This is the problem you"With the World Cup 2002
With the World Cup 2002 is upon us, we are set for a month of great footbal. Some great storys are coming out already, from players distaste for Adidas' new foam ball, to Party Plans for round one, to Ending of hostilties for the duration, Mid Danny Murphy still out and England's Mids are still cursed. And finally, all things good and holy can be found at ESPN's World Cup SiteMay 30, 2002
I have just returned from
I have just returned from one of the better critiques I have had in the last year or two. It is always a good sign when you can't get people to shut up about yor project. One of the jury members congratulated us on the effectiveness of our solution and how we were able to address many different issues and resolve them well. That doesn't mean we didn't have any constructive criticism, but it was more the type that leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.
Checklist for final crit.
- Make list.
- Follow list.
- Do not try to print out full color glossy, large format prints and expect them to be done in 2 hours.
- Always expect your crit slot to be later than it is due to the Prof Factor, a multiplier:
Prof Factor Delay = T x [tu/e^2 + j^2 + o^2] / [S x Jm]
where
T = Duration of Critique Slots (normally .5 hrs)
S = number of students
Jm = number of jury members
tu/e = Tuyznz ratio
o = amount of sleep, in hours, for the last 2 days averaged throughout the studio.
j = number of times a senior faculty member will inturrupt a junior faculty member - if your professor is a senior faculty member, please use 1 as the value, if not use the following formula j = (Y x .625) where Y = number of years at school.
The Tuyznz Ratio is the ratio of useful to extraneous information named after a professor who had an encyclopedic amount of knowledge paired with a sense of duty to share his wealth of information. As tu/e approaches 1, the number of useful to extraneous information that is generated by a particular professor approaches equitable levels. Please not that the generally agreed upon value for tu/e hovers around .125 [that is 1:8 useful to extraneous comments].
NOTE: The agreed upon nominal value to use for o hovers around 4. This is due to the fact that a portion of the studio will be up all night regardless of the assignment, a portion will give up/finish on time, again, regardless of the assignment. Then there is, of course, the portion of the studio that had finished all design around mid-terms and only made small changes to avoid unwarrented thinking, academic investigation, and lost happy hour experience.
Please remember to watch your significant figures and to recognize what this formula really represents.
New York Times slams Dems and Reps for 9/11
9 hours until deadline
'nuff said.
Fair/Balanced?
In one of the more fair and balanced [no not FoxNews] look at the apparent contraversy about BuchCo's supposed lapse of readiness, the NYTimes slams both the current administration and the former.
The best lines are:
"We are the richest, most can-do country in the world, but at home we're pursuing the war on terrorism with a management style that's pure Kmart."
"But as we need some version of a Warren Commission to get to the bottom of what went wrong, so we need an inverted Manhattan Project (one that will stop a bomb rather than build one) to recruit America's best minds to set things right."
May 29, 2002
Tenacious D crashes a Weezer
Tenacious D crashes a Weezer show and performes a dance. Need I say more?
Things I have heard in the last two hours
Just start pleasuring yourself now.
Show me your oranges while I pleasure myself.
How about I Jizz all over your scanner!
[friend] What are you doing?
[me] I am cleaning off my chopsticks.
[friend] Why?
[me] So I don't get bamboo splinters.
[friend] What, are we in China? Over here in this country we have the ingenuity to have developed a bowl like scooping utensil and then marry it with a four prong eating utensil thus calling it a spork.
20 hours to deadline...
20 hours to deadline...
GOP operatives recruited candidates for the Democratic primary
"
href="http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standa
rd.xsl?/base/news/1022255115241060.xml" title="Calling it the work of overzealous staffers, GOP leader admits staff faked Dems">Calling it the work of 'overzealous' staffers" GOP staffers deliberately mislead individuals into thinking they would be on the Republican ballot, but they ended up being on the Democratic Primary ballot running againts established incumbents in the attempt to provoke them into spending more money earlier. Choice quotes:
"We don't do things like that," Steil said. "We're not in the business of running Democrats against Democrats. Democrats always have these conspiracy theories going."
Rusty Hills, the state GOP chairman, called the Democrats' allegations "wild accusations. Mark Brewer has a history of making wild and reckless charges during an election year."
Ok, you say, maybe they have a point. Whiny democrats again, can't they act like men instead of crazy loonies. Nice logical fallacy there both of you. Why don't you turn the conversation around and blame the victims of you campaing [that has already been done before]. Ok, how about this, switch Republican and Democratic around so that the roles are reversed. Mad yet? If you are you have a serious hypocracy problem and need to deal with it. This isn't just, about the two parties, it is about fair and honest campaigns. The Republicans are all about family values and getting back to the basic good values of America. If that is true [and you aren't hypocrates] DO AS YOU SAY FUCKWITS. Don't bring down our system so you can become elected. I'm looking at both of you, ass and elephant.
May 27, 2002
Episode II v. Triumph The Insult Comic Dog
Triumph visits Return of the Nerds ...er... Attack of the Clones. You can find it here here here:
Partial Transcript of Triumph and a Dearth Vader costumed nerd:
Triumph : What is that on your chest?
Nerd : That would be my chest box that helps me to breathe.
TtICD : Hmmm...chest box, so this is to help you breathe, yes?
N : Yes, you are correct.
TtICD : Then which on of these buttons calls your parents to pick you up?
In the end, you have the holy trinity of geekdon, Star Wars nerds, Star Trek nerds and weird geeks from Fellowship of the Ring. Can life get better, I submit that it cannot!
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New additions
If you haven't noticed [and by the server logs you haven't] we have been slowly improving the site section by section. We have added a Backward Compatible Style Sheet Switcher by the well endowed [we presume] Daniel Ludwin. Along with this bit'o css trickery, we have added a search string for the news and still life sections. We are endeavouring to finally move the entire site to xhtml like we should, but the grubbykid team needs to pass their collective classes first.
Martian Water
So it seems that there is a large amount of water on Mars. The BBC in their usual glee of all things scientific, upstaged NASA's planned Thursday announcement of Ice reservoirs on Mars and the world is in an uproar. The possibilities of ice water on Mars brings manned missions closer, because if we lug a large power source - say a Westinghouse Reactor - to the Martian surface, we can start to process that ice water into O2 and H2 for fuel for the return trip and any further trip.
z00100 on K5 has another thought.
Marketing rules the world
Looks like those crazy marketers are at it again [nytimes - free reg req'd]. Upset that total control of our eyes, ears and soul has not reached 100%, several transnational corporations including Viacom Inc., NBC, Walt Disney, AOL Time Warner Inc., and Twentieth Century Fox has asked a federal court in Los Angeles to stop Sonicblue from selling their digital video recorder. It very nice of them to petition the government to extend their dominant control that exists on the hearts and minds of today's youths and adults.
When asked by a congressional aide about the possible stiffling of creativity that this measure would provoke, CEO Gerald Levin responded by calling for all national public airwaves to me relocated out of the pesky publically handled trust and then operated by AOL Time Warner. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the ACLU published reports detailing how this measure, along with Hollywood's plan to plug the Analog Hole, limitation on fair use and continued strengthening of copyright would slow down innovation, put an undue burdon on the user, and remove the covenant between inventor and user.
Yet Will Doherty, EFF Media Relations, said in a press conference last week that, "Most Americans can give a shit about the DMCA, the SSSCA and degregation of fair use. What they really want is porn, football and two cars and a huge suburban house on a small lot." Doherty continued, "Frankly, what pisses us off here at the EFF, is the total lack of interest on the part of the American people and thier sheep like attitude. Come on fuckwits! Don't you realize that the transnationals are winning? Do you want ANY CHOICE at all? Are all just morons?" Doherty continued on much the same for the next 30 minutes, stopping to relieve himself.*
"There has grown up in the minds of certain groups in this country the notion that because a man or a corporation has made a profit out of the public for a number of years, the government and the courts are charged with the duty of guaranteeing such profit in the future, even in the face of changing circumstances and contrary public interest. This strange doctrine is not supported by statute nor common law. Neither individuals nor corporations have any right to come into court and ask that the clock of history be stopped ,or turned back, for their private benefit."
-The Judge in Life-Line - Robert A. Heinlein
*Sarcasm is a dangerous tool and will be relabled a terrorist threat due to the DMCA. The black helicopters will be arriving shortly. Have a nice day.
May 26, 2002
en charette
m and the grubbykid [l to r] forced to work at home because of Daapwerks. Notice the amount of grime and dirt affixed to each member.
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Streaming
Are you a fan of music? How about free music? How about free, streaming music that is accessible through a wonderful website? Still with me? Matt pointed Grassy Hill out to me, and I have been hooked ever since. I have since found a new site, PublicRadioFan.com, a collection of streaming music, talk radio, and the like from all over the world. Because all of the programming is subsidized by the public, it is free for our listening pleasure.
Right now I have been listening to to the Hillbilly at Harvard. The internet at its best is here.
And now time for public humiliation
It seems that 30 or so Candians [you know, those nice people who gave us Alex Trebek, Dan Aykroyd and Phil Hartman] will be humiliated by posting their names on the web and in newspapers. I just love the headline: Canadians Choose Humiliation:
More than 30 people who tried to vote twice during the last federal election have been punished under Elections Canada rules that allow public humiliation to substitute for criminal proceedings.
Instead of facing a court, the first-time offenders agreed to have their names published in the Canada Gazette -- the government's official chronicle more often used to list national honours and appointments. They also must apologize and promise never to vote twice again.
May 25, 2002
Daniel Pearl
Two days ago I posted on MeFi a story about how the FBI has used threats of prosecution against ISP's in order to get the infamous Daniel Pearl murder video [WARNING NOT WORK SAFE - NOT FOR CHILDREN OR THOSE WITH WEAK ANYTHING] removed from the internet. The fact that this video was on the internet, in my eyes, shows both the positive aspects of the internet and the most horrible and despicable. This gives me hope that information is becoming more and more difficult to suppress and distort.
On the other hand, a movie of someone being tortured and forced to lie about his "crimes", a movie that runs a shiver down my spine every time I think about it, a movie that some sites have as content and are presumably making money off of sickens me. With any medium, from books, to photographs, to the internet, someone will use to exploit and use for personal gain - no matter what the cost or pain that it might cause. Either way, there was much controversy and discussion on MeFi about whether a link to the video should appear on MeFi. These are my points:
I Posted the link out of the sheer news value of it. The situation is very unfortunate, but I think thinking and then discussing why this atrocity happened, who did it, and the aftermath is an important tool in making sure this doesn't happen again. The reason I posted this thread is the fact that the FBI - the national law enforcement agency - wants to ban this information. I have seen the video, and it made me physically ill, but the thought that a national police agency is banning choice is abhorrent to me as much as the content of the video. I believe that everyone has a choice to watch or to not. That is what America is about, the freedom to choose what defines your life, what passes before your eyes and what you think.
Like rcade said, the video link is topical and central to the discussion. in fact I hope it will spawn many sub themes such as the connection between pornography-death-commercial culture, instant celebrity, geopolitical influence and the role of the media to name a few. To yank this link would not necessarily limit these comments, but is essential to the discussion at hand. Either way, I think I was pretty clear about the contents and many have heard of the video, so it is not like you weren't warned. (1)
I stand by what I posted because whenever I post to the front page, I strive to add as much information to the post. I try not to editorialize the post as much as possible, because I believe that the real discussion should be inside the thread, not in the post itself. I see real problems with people telling me what I can/can't look at, read, eat, etc. My body, my life. As adults we have the maturity to decide for ourselves the comfort level we exist in. I would just like to thank willnot, WolfDaddy, raaka, and dogmatic - for creating debate, and rushmc. The level of discourse on MeFi is excellent because of you and everone else who participates.
Manual
A "How To" [pdf - 203 Kb] guide from a number of web writers. My favorite is How to Get Your Man to Propose by Alexis Massie.
Cremated remains dropped on Safeco from plane
The ash-filled container bounced off the roof and fell into the street. As, usual, Hargrove's quote is a work of art: "That would be my luck. Somebody would drop my ashes and miss."
May 23, 2002
Cross Media Guru Greg Lynn
Greg Lynn is at it again. This time he was invited to design a screensaver for the Art Museum.
It appears that it is a plant, "Plantoid examines forms based on the natural structure of a blossoming plant." Interesting, yet on my screen it is a bit small and the saver program is a bit unflexible. Overall an interesting cross-section of digital artists. This one reads your harddrive and creates a scene from it.
How to stop piracy
FightCloud.com is a small indy label that has decided to put listners first. In a Salon.com article, the future of music could be here. After years of high pirice CD's and lame music, not to mention abuse of copyright, music fans have had it. CD's are free at FightCloud, except for a $4.95 shipping cost, where a quarter of that goes to artists, a quarter to the studio and the rest to production.Eldred v. Ascroft
So you may or may or may not have noticed the Button to our left. Right now copyright lasts at most 140 years, so long that the covenant between the public and invetor is severed. The site says it best:Over the past forty years, Congress has extended the term of existing copyrights 11 times, thereby stopping the flow of creative material into the public domain. The biggest supporters of these laws are individuals and corporations with extremely valuable copyrights that are about to expire (for example, Mickey Mouse). The biggest effect of these laws is to make unavailable an extraordinary range of creative material for next generation's creators. Just as Walt Disney used the works of the Brothers Grimm to produce some of the best of the Disney stories, so too should the next Walt Disney be able to build upon the stories told by Disney.
But more important than the few valuable copyrights that these extensions protect, this case is about freeing the vast majority of creative work still under copyright that no one seeks to protect -- indeed, work which the current copyright owner doesn't even know he or she owns. Many films from the 1920s and 1930s are decaying in vaults because current copyright holders cannot be identified. Many books and songs published in the early part of the century are unavailable because the cost of finding the copyright owner is just too high. Congress sacrificed all these works, just to protect a few valuable copyrights. But as the Supreme Court has said, "you can't burn the house to roast the pig" -- not even to save The Mouse.
May 22, 2002
get your war on
The growing conflit over Kashmir has forced the UK to recall some of thier diplomatic staff. At the same time, India and Pakistan are mobalizing. Great news, especially because in Pentagon simulations every India-Pakistan conflict goes nuclear.Last time this happened, Pakistan actually made them operational and was only stopped when President Clinton interviened. Does the current President have resolve like Clinton? I hope to God he does.
May 20, 2002
Microsoft admits flawed software
It was reported that "A senior Microsoft Corp. executive told a federal court last week that sharing information with competitors could damage national security and even threaten the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan. He later acknowledged that some Microsoft code was so flawed it could not be safely disclosed."This is beyond asinine. OK, let me think this through. Microsoft, in court testimony under oath and under the threat of perjury, admitted that there are many flaws in the code base and that, "He later acknowledged that some Microsoft code was so flawed it could not be safely disclosed." So therefore, Microsoft is asking the court to allow a "national security" carve-out from the requirement that any code or API's be made public. OK, lets think about this somewhat. If this was Firestone and they came out and admitted that their tires had been the cause of numerous accidents, then those tires would have been recalled and the owners reimbursed. But somehow in the software world, developers have a giant "pass" card that grants them immunity? I call bullshit on this one. If the damn code base is so flawed, if the code base can cause national security [whatever that is] to be compromised, why don't you just spend some of that $36 billion US and FIX THE FUCKING PROBLEM!!
Now that Microsoft has admitted culpability and admitted to knowing about this issue, I believe it is high time for all of us users, isp's, programmers, and anyone who has lost any manner of money, time or energy to send in invoices to Redmond, Washington and get our refunds. This whole ordeal has me thoroughly disgusted at our court system and the recent strategy of running the clock out. Use that cash on hand and fix the damn problems so I don't have to restart my computer every few hours. I hope this backfires and Micro$oft loses customers over Allchin's remarks. Why don't you just use the Chewbacca defense now, huh Micro$oft?
From Peruvian Congressman David Villanueva Nuñez:
To guarantee national security or the security of the State, it is indispensable to be able to rely on systems without elements which allow control from a distance or the undesired transmission of information to third parties. Systems with source code freely accessible to the public are required to allow their inspection by the State itself, by the citizens, and by a large number of independent experts throughout the world. Our proposal brings further security, since the knowledge of the source code will eliminate the growing number of programs with *spy code*.
In the same way, our proposal strengthens the security of the citizens, both in their role as legitimate owners of information managed by the state, and in their role as consumers. In this second case, by allowing the growth of a widespread availability of free software not containing *spy code* able to put at risk privacy and individual freedoms.
May 19, 2002
The truth about the RIAA
You want the truth? Try this example.
Upcoming article about the recording industry is in progress, once I get done with my homework.
Space...the final frontier...for eBay
So you want to go to space? This auction is for a trip to the International Space Starion. But it is really for the pre-flight verification at Star City. Soyuz tickets sold separately.
Predictions for upcoming eBay Space Auctions:
L@@K!! Like New Soyuz Spacecraft! No Reserve! Like NEW!!!
L@@K! WoW! Terrific Space Flight! Be the first on the block to MArS! L@@K! Low RESERVE!
~MINT CONDITION~ MIR Spacestation. Small burn damage from re-entry. (please read!!)
Mies Beware
'This is what I have learned' by Milton Glaser - excellent thoughts on Modernism, Reletivity, and indeterminancy.Being a child of modernism I have heard this mantra all my life. Less is more. One morning upon awakening I realised that it was total nonsense, it is an absurd proposition and also fairly meaningless. But it sounds great because it contains within it a paradox that is resistant to understanding. But it simply does not obtain when you think about the visual of the history of the world. If you look at a Persian rug, you cannot say that less is more because you realise that every part of that rug, every change of colour, every shift in form is absolutely essential for its aesthetic success. You cannot prove to me that a solid blue rug is in any way superior. That also goes for the work of Gaudi, Persian miniatures, art nouveau and everything else. However, I have an alternative to the proposition that I believe is more appropriate. 'Just enough is more.'
Just enough is more - I like the sound of that.
May 18, 2002
Insidious
"If you hate your parents, the man or the establishment, don't show them up by getting wasted and wrapping your car around a tree. If you really want to rebel against your parents: outearn them, outlive them, and know more than they do." -Henry Rollins
Helping hand
Right now I am participating in 1000 Hands for my 3rd year in a row. This is a volunteer initiative where people from all over Cincinnati gather to pitch in and bild a big toy playground that was partially designed by the kids themselves. Last year my friends and I worked on Union Terminal, this year we have been working on the Statue of Liberty and a Dinosaur. This project is by far one of the most rewarding volunteering project I have ever worked on. Many old faces, and many new. After 3 years everyone starts to know each other, and it becomes a great place to work and socialize. And you get to use power tools. Yeah!May 17, 2002
Don't like spam, huh?
Giant Troll at C|Net"My spam is important to me. In this new age of the Internet, I need the information and opportunities that e-mail marketing provides.", writes BARRY DENNIS in C|Net's trolling-for-hits opinion column. For someone who loves the interactivity of the Web and runs a Net marketing company himself, Barry seems strangely reticent to link to his company's site or give away his e-mail address. Can we help? One quick search finds Barry's impressive corporate Net presence is a detailed Geocities site, which reveals his e-mail address as the equally prestigious BDennis410@AOL.com. That's BDennis410@AOL.com, you Web-spidering spambots.
http://web.archive.org/http://www.geocities.com/bdennis410/netweb.html
May 16, 2002
Phallic Tree
Need I say more?Am I a good Professor, or Not?
It seems that someone has taken this hot or not meme a bit too far. I wonder what kind of legal issues this raises if any? What level of privacy do our professor's expect/deserve? If they work at a state university do they have any expectation of privacy? On one hand I think this could be a good tool, yet my thoughts are that the scores will be skewed to the negative by students with axes to grind. The site founder already has to deal with the problem of garbage data by people entering in fake professors. I wander when a CS professor hears about this and sees his poor score and decides to write a script/bot to enter in fake data to ruin the dataset?You are not Sancho, I
You are not Sancho, I am SanchoGooglebombing Over?
It seems that the now famous Googlebomb is starting to fade from memory. The most recent attempt was in response to Versign/NetSol's incompetence. Apparently the bomb has run its course from either the tweaking of Google's algorithm or the fading nature of blogging. No one really knows. There is a great debate over at Metafilter regarding this issue.May 14, 2002
Right now I am listening
Right now I am listening to Grassy Hill Radio. Right now I am listening to Joules Graves a folk guitarist. Right now I might want to hear some more. So I might buy a CD soon. Eat that RIAA!May 13, 2002
Sub-atomic Fury
In a new development, scientists have reportedly found sub-atomic particles called Strangelets, which are thought to be made from quarks. It was reported that in at least two occurrences, Strangelets passed through the Earth at approximately 900,000 mph. Take thank neutrinos.May 12, 2002
Results from the Google Smackdown:Round
Results from the Google Smackdown:Round One
god (32,200,000)
plemel (555)
Round Two
spangler (191,000)
plemel (555)
Round Three
randy (3,350,000)
john the baptist (243,000)
Results
As you can see the Holy One totally demolished my puny existance as did my good friend's last name. In the final round I changed my strategy and randy won over 'john the baptist'. He he he...now I know my power. Or not.
I think I will retire for awhile and produce better content.
My newest favorite ex-President Jimmy
My newest favorite ex-President Jimmy Carter has arrived in Cuba to meet with Fidel Castro. At the first press conference Mr. Carter said a few lines in english and then switched to spanish! His spanish was even pretty good, Castro of course was laughing when Mr. Carter proclaimed that he would finish his remarks in spanish, but at the end it seemed that el Presidente Castro was genuinely impressed at Mr. Carter's reverence for the occasion. Unfortunately, all of the news stations that we covering the even had commentators who used the terms 'naïve', 'misguided' and 'failure' directed right at Mr. Carter. Who, if memory serves me, is the only one with any connection with the Executive Branch who is actually trying to move past the Cold-War mentality that has gripped the administrations of so many presidencies. Hmmm, I wonder why the administrations of so many presidencies have bowed down to the Cuban minority who fled from Castro and now work so hard to bring him down? This question isn't rhetorical...I just don't know why.May 11, 2002
The new celine Dion CD
The new celine Dion CD [besides being horrible] will destroy your computer. Sony has produced this CD off of the Red Book standards set by Philips in 1980.Please take down this no talent ass-clown [Celine Dion] and don't buy her CD.
May 10, 2002
Hope for the future
Hope for the futureMay 8, 2002
Many people have been asking
Many people have been asking where I have been? Well I have been really busy. Studio is frustrating and long hours, and my fellowship takes up too much time.Basically I am frustrated with all of the political infighting and undercutting here at the university. The lack of accountability and truthfulness is also not refreshing and is disappointing considering these are the people we have to use as guides to professional life. Coupled with that a complete resistance to anything slightly new or different in the design studio, has lead me to label this studio's motto: "Safety First: At All Cost".
I'm going to Chicago for a Cubs game.
Go Here for some fun PB & J