Links for September 23rd through September 24th

by

Sometime between September 23rd and September 24th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

  • Tom’s Essay: Suzanne Vega tells the curious legend of “Tom’s Diner” — how an a capella ditty became a hit single and, eventually, a key component in the development of the MP3.
  • Ten Ways to Celebrate National Punctuation Day: I'm sure I don't have to tell you that September 24 is National Punctuation Day. For weeks we've been gathering dashes, calling up old commas, and hiding gaily wrapped colons where (we think) the kids can't find them. So now that we've hung all those apostrophes with care, let's kick out the stops and celebrate! (via Seattlest)
  • VH1 crowns Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” No. 1 of 100 greatest hip-hop songs: At No. 2 is the Sugar Hill Gang's groundbreaking song, "Rapper's Delight," followed by Dr. Dre's "Nuthin but a 'G' Thang" at No. 3. Run-D.M.C.'s "Walk This Way" with Aerosmith and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five's "The Message" round out the top five.
  • Democrats sue to keep Rossi a Republican: Rossi's listing his party as "prefers GOP" instead of "Republican", leading to confusion among voters who don't know the GOP nickname — enough confusion for a six-point jump in polls for "GOP Rossi" over "Republican Rossi". He's a shmuck and a Republican, this is a dirty, underhanded trick, and I hope he doesn't get away with it.
  • Fake popup study sadly confirms most users are idiots: …the students seemed to find any dialog box a distraction from their assigned task; nearly half said that all they cared about was getting rid of these dialogs. The results suggest that a familiarity with Windows dialogs have bred a degree of contempt and that users simply don't care what the boxes say anymore. (via Slashdot)

Links for September 23rd from 10:22 to 15:40

by

Sometime between 10:22 and 15:40, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

  • Seattle collaborates with 22 banks and credit unions to offer services to people who have no bank accounts: The city is collaborating with 22 banks and credit unions to offer services to people who are "unbanked" — those who have no bank accounts and turn to high-cost payday lenders for their financial transactions.
  • The World, Justified: It shows the world we live in as only one of four possibilities, the others being a left-aligned, centred and right-aligned world. Our world is a justified one, i.e. aligned with both left and right margins. (via Daring Fireball)
  • Drobo Data Robot: Planning ahead. Much as we love 'em, my G5 and Prairie's iMac (iLamp) will need to be replaced someday. I'm thinking that with BluRay software support strongly rumored for OS X 10.5.6, and with the 24" iMac already sporting a full HD resolution screen, there's a strong chance that the next iMac revision will include BluRay drives. Pick up new iMacs then, transfer the two SATA drives in my G5 to a Drobo, and add the DroboShare to allow both machines to use the Drobo with TimeMachine.
  • Adventures in Flickr biking: I need to try to remember this idea. I'm planning on picking up a bike next spring/summer, and I'm wondering how easily/inexpensively I could rig up some small camera/GPS combo and mount it to the front of the bike to do something like this. Ooh, wait, the Eye-Fi Explore uses SkyHook's pseudo-GPS functionality. That'd get me pretty close pretty easly (just find a way to mount the camera to the bike). Of course, if Skyhook doesn't speed up making adjustments to their database it won't be very accurate. Still, better than nothing, I suppose.
  • New Trailer For Roddenberry’s ‘Trek Nation’ Doc Online: Gene Roddenberry’s son Rod Roddneberry has been working on a documentary about his father and Trek fandom for a few years. Over the summer TrekMovie reported that Roddenberry had hired a new editor (Emmy winner Allan Holzman) who was finally putting it all together and had created a new trailer, which is now online.
  • Neighborlogs is for neighborhood blogging: I'm looking for a few more 'some people' types to join the Neighborlogs beta. We're looking for a few good bloggers who either are already writing neighborhood sites and want to take their effort to the next level or bloggers in other fields (animal husbandry, for example) who are crazy enough to give placeblogging a try. If you are interested or know somebody who ought to be, you can register for our beta here. Neighborlogs gives you all the tools you will need to create a great neighborhood site. And it gives you all of that for free. (via Seattle Metblogs)
  • iPhone App Store: Let the Market Decide: It's a huge mistake for Apple to appoint themselves arbitrator of what's cool, or to even appear to do so. It's an equally huge mistake for Apple to decide that all innovation must come from Apple. (via Ranchero and Daring Fireball)

Links for September 20th through September 23rd

by

Sometime between September 20th and September 23rd, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

  • Flickr: Genres: Genre artwork for iTunes or any other use you see fit.
  • Custom Genre Artwork for iTunes 8: iTunes 8 ships with a total of 52 genre artwork images, which are plain jpeg files contained in the software's application bundle, and a property list file determines which image is assigned to which genre. Customizing iTunes's genre artwork is as simple as copying an image file into the application bundle and editing the plist file.
  • Bartell launches free CFL bulb recycling program: Bartell Drugs is providing free recycling of compact fluorescent light bulbs at its 56 locations in the Northwest. The drugstore chain is working with Seattle-based Total Reclaim to collect and recycle the bulbs, which contain small amounts of mercury. The stores will accept mini-twists, flood, globe, 3-way bulbs and other CFL bulbs. Fluorescent tube lights aren't being accepted.
  • MPAA causes ‘Zack and Miri’ Poster to become BETTER: Zack and Miri Make A Porno, the next film to be released by Clerks creator, Kevin Smith, has had some issues in the past with the MPAA, mostly dealing with the final rating of the film.  Now, however, the MPAA has complained about the theatrical poster for the film. The new poster…is Smith’s comeback to their decision to prevent the first poster from being used.
  • Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G: After years of "they really should…" conversations, Nikon's finally updating one of their old standard primes with internal autofocus for D40/40x/60 compatibility. Good choice for the first to arrive, too. No word on price yet. Worth noting in the preview image and info: M-M/A switch, metal mounting ring, supplied bayonet-style lens hood, filter ring does not rotate during focus, and it's now a Canon-size 58mm thread (rather than the old standard 52).
  • Microsoft’s ‘I’m a PC’ ad images made on Macs: Four of the images that Microsoft made available on its PressPass site today display the designation "Adobe Photoshop C3 Macintosh" when their file properties are examined. The images appear to be frames from the television ads that Microsoft will launch later today. (Yes, this is petty and silly. It's also really amusing.)

Say what, Sarah?

by

Y’know, I think one of the things that really bugs me about Sarah Palin is simply that all too often, when I’m reading transcriptions of statements she’s made, I have no idea what she’s saying. Well, okay, not no idea — generally it is possible to figure out what she’s trying to say — but her spoken grammar goes beyond the usual sloppiness one can expect in off-the-cuff spoken English into sheer gobbledygook.

Her feelings upon being asked to accept the VP slot, for example (which have been hilariously expanded on in the New Yorker):

I answered him ‘Yes’ because I have the confidence in that readiness and knowing that you can’t blink, you have to be wired in a way of being so committed to the mission, the mission that we’re on, reform of this country and victory in the war, you can’t blink. So I didn’t blink then even when asked to run as his running mate.

And then today I read this statement on the Freddie Mac bailout (quoted in the midst of a Washington Post editorial pointing out that 24 days into her VP nomination, Palin has yet to really take on the press):

Well, you know, first, Fannie and Freddie, different because quasi-government agencies there where government had to step in because the adverse impacts all across our nation, especially with homeowners, is just too impacting. We had to step in there. I do not like the idea, though, of taxpayers being used to bail out these corporations. Today, with AIG, important call there, though, because of the construction bonds and the insurance carrier duties of AIG. But, first and foremost, taxpayers cannot be looked to as the bailout, as the solution to the problems on Wall Street.

Many people remark upon just how good Palin is at giving speeches, and that may well be true. But when she’s not reading off a teleprompter, she’s barely coherent, possibly even giving our current president a run for the money (though, admittedly, with fewer mispronunciations).I’ve read better constructed sentences written by ESL students when I was tutoring at NSCC’s Writing Center. Is this really the kind of person people find to be a reasonable candidate?

Star Trek Story Record #8 (BR 513)

by
Star Trek Story Record #8 (Front)

Star Trek Story Record #8 (Front), originally uploaded by djwudi.

A treasure I found a long time ago, and recently reacquired from my brother. Star Trek Story Record #8, Power Records BR 513, still in the shrink wrap. This set includes the LP and a comic book with two stories: A Mirror for Futility by Alan Dean Foster, and The Time Stealer by Cary Bates and Neal Adams. While there’s a little bit of damage to the top right corner (it looks like it got nibbled at while in storage at some point) so I can’t claim perfect mint condition, since most of the shrink wrap is still intact, I assume the record and comic are both still mint. From this eBay search it looks like I could get as much as $60 for this if I wanted to…I’m just not sure that I want to!

Links for September 18th through September 19th

by

Sometime between September 18th and September 19th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

  • Twitter, ye markup be non-standarrrrrd.: I know this will make me sound like the annoying standardista, but how could anyone who still uses <center> still be doing web design professionally in, of all places, San Francisco? This is an element which has been deprecated for eleven years. Do we really have people who haven’t changed their coding practices since before 1997? (Also, as noted by wnalyd, going all AJAX-y broke accessibility. The redesign is pretty, but flawed.)
  • Rollergirls win bout with Starbucks over logo: The roller derby team got into a bit of a dispute with Starbucks this spring after the coffee giant asked the team to change its logo, which it deemed too similar to its own.
  • The 20 Best Worst Science Fiction Movies Of All Time: Not every movie gets to be the Oscar darling of its time, but sometimes we love the bad movies the most. These movies exist to be found in the bottom of bargain DVD bins and are met with squeals of excitement. Movies like Red Planet, Enemy Mine, The Faculty — these aren't successful by any standards other than the people that love them and treasure watching them for the 14th time. So I asked around and pulled a sampling of what I believe is the science fiction equivalent to Point Break. Here's our list of the greatest bad scifi movies of all time. (I want to go out and rent ALL OF THESE RIGHT NOW. At least the ones I don't own already.)
  • Chuck’s ‘Buy More’ Versus Best Buy: Do Best Buy workers really watch movies in the stores' theater rooms? Do Geek Squad members (called the Nerd Herd on the show) really go joy-riding in the Geek-mobile? Is there really a special evacuation code word for use on Black Fridays? (via Engadget HD)
  • Is there anything that can’t be made into a “sexy” halloween outfit?: I totally get the sexy costume idea for some of them – cheerleaders, witches, Playboy Bunnies, nurses, all of that stuff.  I even get the sexy Alice in Wonderland and Princess Peach and stuff like that.  But these… these are ridiculous. (Related: this YouTube bit for the Girls's Costume Warehouse) (via Mike and Mellzah)
  • Fla. judge rules saggy-pants law is unconstitutional: A judge has decided a law banning sagging pants in this town is unconstitutional after a teenager spent a night in jail on accusations he exposed too much underwear. (This is good. As stupid as I think this fashion is, the law was ridiculous. From what I remember of the stories from when the law was first passed, the way it was presented, you could get busted and fined $150 for showing too many inches of your boxers above your pants — but if you took off your pants and just wore the boxers as shorts, you'd be fine.)

Links for September 17th through September 18th

by

Sometime between September 17th and September 18th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

  • Eat together, stay together: Mealtime — from prep to cleanup as well as the actual eating part — may help couples bond just as the family dinner has been shown to benefit kids, suggests a researcher at the University of Missouri who has been studying newlyweds. (Being able to eat together nightly has been one of the nicest side effects of my new job and having a 'normal' work schedule.) (via Unlibrarian)
  • “Battle in Seattle” brings back memories of WTO riots: "The Battle in Seattle," a feature film based in the 1999 WTO riots in Seattle, opens this Friday. Reporter David Postman, who covered the riots for The Times, has seen the movie and talked to writer-director Stuart Townsend.
  • Unscrambling the Claims of the Boastful Egg: Some claims on egg cartons are regulated by the federal government, some by the states and some not at all. Some affect consumers’ health, some touch upon ethics and some are meaningless. All purport to describe how the hens were raised, or what they were fed, or what extra benefits their eggs might provide. So, what do these terms mean? (via Danelope)
  • Microsoft announcement tomorrow: No more Seinfeld ads!: Microsoft's version of the story: Redmond had always planned to drop Seinfeld. The awkward reality: The ads only reminded us how out of touch with consumers Microsoft is — and that Bill Gates's company has millions of dollars to waste on hiring a has-been funnyman to keep him company.
  • New Hitchhiker’s Guide to be published… seven years after the author’s death: I'm really hard pressed to see this as anything but a Bad Idea prompted by nothing more than the desire to wring as much money as possible out of an established fan base. Not impressed.

Obama vs. Palin

by

Apparently the following list comes from a viral e-mail making the rounds right now. I haven’t seen it, but CQ Politics posted this excerpt. As tends to be the case in these things, it has its fair share of oversimplifications, and there’s one comparison with McCain that snuck in there, but on the whole, it’s an effective summary of some of the (many, many) reasons why people who think that McCain/Palin is a better choice for the White House than Obama/Biden drive me batty, and why there’s no chance I’d give my vote to anyone other than the Democratic party this election.

  • If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you’re “exotic, different.”
  • Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, and it’s a quintessential American story.
  • If your name is Barack you’re a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.
  • Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you’re a maverick.
  • Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.
  • Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you’re well grounded.
  • If you spend 3 years as a community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate’s Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran’s Affairs committees, you don’t have any real leadership experience.
  • If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you’re qualified to become the country’s second highest ranking executive.
  • If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising two daughters, all within Protestant churches, you’re not a real Christian.
  • If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you’re a Christian.
  • If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.
  • If , while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state’s school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you’re very responsible.
  • If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family’s values don’t represent America’s.
  • If your husband is nicknamed “First Dude”, with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn’t register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

(via The Republic of T.)

Links for September 16th through September 17th

by

Sometime between September 16th and September 17th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

  • Sarah Palin’s Yahoo! email addressed hacked: Both of AK Gov. Sarah Palin's Yahoo e-mail addresses (gov.sarah@yahoo.com and a previously not publicly known gov.palin@yahoo.com) — which, unlike .gov e-mail addresses, are not subject to archiving and oversight, leading to controversy from several sources, including fellow Republicans, asking her to release e-mails from her Yahoo account — were hacked into and have since been deleted. This link has a rundown of the events and links to screenshots and images of the hack. (via Waxy)
  • My Gal: Explaining how she felt when John McCain offered her the Vice-Presidential spot, my Vice-Presidential candidate, Governor Sarah Palin, said something very profound: “I answered him ‘Yes’ because I have the confidence in that readiness and knowing that you can’t blink, you have to be wired in a way of being so committed to the mission, the mission that we’re on, reform of this country and victory in the war, you can’t blink. So I didn’t blink then even when asked to run as his running mate.” (via Daring Fireball)
  • Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest 2008 Results: Carmen's romance with Broderick had thus far been like a train ride, not the kind that slowly leaves the station, builds momentum, and then races across the countryside at breathtaking speed, but rather the one that spends all day moving freight cars around at the local steel mill.
  • Lynda Carter (1970’s TV’s Wonder Woman) on comparisons between Wonder Woman and Sarah Palin: Don’t get me started. She’s the anti-Wonder Woman. She’s judgmental and dictatorial, telling people how they’ve got to live their lives. And a superior religious self-righteousness … that’s just not what Wonder Woman is about. Hillary Clinton is a lot more like Wonder Woman than Mrs. Palin. She did it all, didn’t she? No one has the right to dictate, particularly in this country, to force your own personal views upon the populace — religious views. I think that is suppressive, oppressive, and anti-American. We are the loyal opposition. That’s the whole point of this country: freedom of speech, personal rights, personal freedom. Nor would Wonder Woman be the person to tell people how to live their lives. Worry about your own life! Worry about your own family! Don't be telling me what I want to do with mine.
  • Nine Whispered Opinions Regarding the Alaskan Secession by George Guthridge: Beautifully written, and very Alaskan, short sci-fi. Worth reading if you're an Alaskan (past, present, or future), a sci-fi buff, or both. From IO9: "To celebrate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's nomination as vice president, the Magazine Of Fantasy & Science Fiction has posted its 2004 story, 'Nine Whispered Opinions Regarding the Alaskan Secession' by George Guthridge. It's a collection of nine vignettes about a future Alaska…." (via IO9)

Say Cheese!

by

Y’know, I probably shouldn’t have posted anything about that textbook I popped up in the other day. After months of quiet, as soon as that goes up, the Washington Post includes me in a list of twelve photos that should never have been posted online.

Michael Hanscom did not pose nude on Flickr, attack the locals with a stick on his trip to Mexico, or dress up like the Fairy Princess while calling in sick. His crime? In October 2003, the Microsoft temp posted photos of Macintosh G5s being unloaded on the Redmond campus to his blog with the title “Even Microsoft wants G5s.” And that was enough to get him canned from his job in Microsoft’s print shop for an alleged “security violation.” Apparently, the world’s largest developer of software for the Mac (besides Apple) didn’t want anyone to know that some of its employees use Macs. (Thanks for Michael Hanscom for use of the photo.)

(via Dad)